Chapter 87: The Path of the Dao is Nameless
Respecting each other like guests.
Watching Yin Buran and Si Mingyue leave, Jiang Ai’s eyes slanted, and she asked calmly, “Fellow Daoist Chu, with such an arrangement, have you discovered something?”
The corners of Chu Xuan’s mouth twitched, her smile not reaching her eyes.
“Mm, it’s a major matter. If I were the only one investigating, the conclusion I give would probably not convince some people.”
The “some people” in her words specifically referred to the “Immortal Alliance.”
It was well-known that the Immortal Alliance was riddled with factions and cronyism.
However, Chu Xuan’s style of doing things was to only cooperate and not take sides, which had offended many people.
After hearing this, Jiang Ai nodded in understanding. “In that case, I am willing to do my best.”
Chu Xuan was also polite. “With Fellow Daoist Jiang’s guarantee, it will naturally be more stable. I should be the one thanking you.”
Then she walked directly to the front of the sentry post, squatted down, and checked the formation patterns.
After all, if they continued to be so polite, Ning Ruoque would have already finished her lightning tribulation!
“Fellow Daoist Jiang, how much do you know about the dao of formations?”
Hearing this, Jiang Ai replied with a calm expression, “I am a sword cultivator and only know some basic formations. Otherwise, why would I have asked you to come and investigate?”
“By the way, what are the results of the investigation?”
Chu Xuan was silent for a few breaths before she stood up and walked into the tent. “The barrier has been damaged, and a group of Lili have dug a tunnel underneath.”
She lifted the curtain, and the Taiyi Sect disciple, who had died with his eyes open, was still lying in a pool of blood. A thick demonic aura was in the air.
Chu Xuan turned around and saw a trace of surprise flash in Jiang Ai’s eyes.
“This…” Her expression was one of astonishment, not like she was pretending.
Immediately after, she knitted her brows and pressed, “Fellow Daoist Chu, do you have a way to repair the barrier?”
Chu Xuan did not answer and first explained the cause and effect of their coming here. While she was talking, she examined the corpse on the ground.
Logically speaking, the entire sentry post should have at least three people, but now there was only one corpse.
And looking at the bloodstains on the ground, the time of death should not have exceeded two hours.
There was a bloody fox claw print on his chest, and strangely, there was also a fatal wound across his neck.
After comparing, Chu Xuan found that this fatal wound matched the dagger beside him. In other words, this person had committed suicide.
Normally, this kind of death was very strange, but with the nine-tailed fox here, everything before her made sense.
After a moment of thought, Chu Xuan came to a conclusion.
“He died of the fox demon’s illusion. Looking at his hand, he was also a formation master. The formation outside should have been drawn by him.”
Jiang Ai nodded in agreement. “Perhaps he was coerced by the fox demon.”
Chu Xuan rummaged on her own, without any reservation, and directly took out the corpse’s storage ring.
The owner of the storage ring had already fallen, so it could be easily opened.
After a long while, Chu Xuan opened her hand, and a huge, brown demon core was lying in her palm.
A thick and pungent demonic aura rushed to her face, and her brow furrowed tightly. “Why does he have a Lili’s demon core?”
However, that was not all. Having found a clue, Chu Xuan directly turned the entire sentry post upside down.
She was a top-tier artifact cultivator, and the hidden formations and restrictions were like nothing in her eyes. She quickly found several account books.
Chu Xuan quickly flipped through them once and handed the account books to Jiang Ai.
On them were recorded the black goods that the Taiyi Sect had traded and smuggled through the tunnel, the materials and ores they had plundered from the ancient battlefield, and the personnel they had secretly executed.
One by one, they were written clearly, and the last page even had a mantra.
It was a mantra on how to use a demon core to control a monster.
Chu Xuan let out an annoyed “tsk.”
The earliest transaction in the account book could be traced back to more than ten years ago.
If the monsters had used the tunnel to smuggle themselves in, who knows how many had come in!
“Fellow Daoist, calm down.”
In comparison, Jiang Ai was very calm, and her tone was also so gentle that there was no ripple.
She handed the account book back to Chu Xuan. “This is not enough to convict them. What if it was deliberately done by the enemy, just to make us suspicious of each other?”
Her guess was not without reason. After all, the Immortal Alliance had already had several disputes over these demon cores.
The latter put the things away, still looking impatient. “I know. It seems I have to ‘ask’ that nine-tailed fox.”
“Since we’ve already caught it, we just have to find a way to pry open its mouth.”
Jiang Ai seemed to have curled up the corners of her mouth, the curve very shallow.
“If Fellow Daoist Chu is in a difficult position, I can also offer some help.”
Chu Xuan subconsciously felt that it was out of place.
It was as if she had seen an elegant and dignified great white crane suddenly burst out and injure a demon.
She always saw Jiang Ai wearing wide-sleeved and wide-robed clothes, and she often forgot that this person was a sword cultivator.
But if the person who had said such a thing was Ning Ruoque, she would have felt that it was very reasonable.
Chu Xuan waved her hand. “No need. I can do it myself.”
She carefully investigated again, recorded the damage to the barrier here, and then the transmission talisman in her arms lit up.
A soft voice sounded out of thin air, “Hello? Can you hear me? I’m Si Mingyue.”
Chu Xuan grinned. “I can hear you. Go on.”
The other seemed to have poked the transmission talisman and complained with a troubled expression, “The spiritual energy seems to be blocked, and the sound is intermittent.”
“Ranran… is treating the wounded… they’re all fine. What about you?”
Chu Xuan: “I’ll wait for her for a moment.”
She didn’t say who she was waiting for, but they all knew it, so tacit that there was no need for too much explanation.
“Alright…”
The communication ended, and Chu Xuan walked out of the tent, taking a deep breath.
The air was still damp, and the dark tribulation cloud in the distance showed signs of dispersing.
An ordinary cultivator’s tribulation would not be so fast, and naturally, it would not be so grand.
Even from such a distance, one could still get a glimpse of the might of the Heavenly Dao.
Jiang Ai followed out unhurriedly and asked softly, “Is that your friend?”
“Mm.”
Jiang Ai: “Looking at the scale of this tribulation cloud, aren’t you worried?”
“A little, but not much.”
After Chu Xuan finished her answer, she took out the artifact for recording and slowly recorded the situation on the scene.
Then she transmitted it to the major sect masters, not caring at all about how much of a storm it would stir up.
“The next time the Immortal Alliance meets, I’ll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Jiang to testify for me.”
Jiang Ai nodded. “Naturally.”
The rumbling thunder gradually faded away, and a five-colored spiritual light slowly replaced the thick tribulation cloud.
Chu Xuan hugged her chest and said nonchalantly, “Thank you. Fellow Daoist Jiang, you should go back first. Your fellow sect members should need you.”
She dismissed her so lightly, just as unreasonably as she had asked her to stay.
But Jiang Ai did not say anything and just bowed properly. “See you again.”
After speaking, she flew away on her sword, her back straight and upright, without looking back.
After the person had left, Chu Xuan stroked her chin in deep thought.
At first, she had thought that all of this was a setup by Jiang Ai, a deliberate test. But after a few observations, she felt that it was not quite the case.
Would the mastermind behind the scenes openly tell her his true purpose, and even show up in front of her? That would be too arrogant.
Could it be that she was really overthinking it?
She walked around in place, fiddling with the artifact and studying the formation patterns out of boredom.
After waiting for a while, she finally saw a black shadow quickly approaching from a distance.
That person was like a gust of wind, and in a few blinks, she had landed lightly in front of Chu Xuan.
Ning Ruoque was the same when she left and when she came back. It was just that her hair was a little messy, and the sharp and incomparable aura around her had not been restrained.
Chu Xuan fearlessly met that pair of cold eyes and also sized her up and down.
She could still judge Ning Ruoque’s current realm.
Heart Fasting realm.
Logically speaking, the later the stage, the more difficult it was to improve one’s realm.
But Ning Ruoque was a person who had come back from the dead and did not follow common sense at all. At her speed, it would probably not take much time to return to her peak.
The person before her had a cold face, her hand on the hilt of her sword, not saying a word, as murderous as a biting wind and a cold snow.
Chu Xuan looked and looked, and finally couldn’t help but raise her hand and pinch Ning Ruoque’s face. “You—”
Ning Ruoque frowned and was about to push Chu Xuan’s hand away.
She heard her tease, “Hmm, look at your gloomy look. You look like a person who has been killing on the battlefield for several years and is about to fall to the demonic path.”
Ning Ruoque: “…”
Chu Xuan slanted her eyes at her. “You should put it away. Yin Buran and Mingyue will be worried if they see it.”
Ning Ruoque subconsciously took a deep breath, trying to make her complexion look better and not so stiff.
However, she couldn’t maintain it for a breath, and her face unconsciously darkened again, her brows filled with coldness.
She took out a sword and handed it to Chu Xuan.
The body of the sword was completely black, with two obvious cracks, and even a part of it was missing.
It was unknown what method Ning Ruoque had used to connect them, so that they would not fall apart.
This was the Dao is Hidden and Nameless sword.
Ning Ruoque took out the sword box and the Nebula Dark Gold that Yin Buran had given her and handed them over together.
“Help me reforge it. Be careful. It seems to have been contaminated with a lot of killing intent.”
When she said this, her brow had not relaxed at all.
Cultivation required a calm heart and a quiet mind, and there should be no killing intent or distracting thoughts.
If one was contaminated with too much, it was possible to develop an inner demon.
Chu Xuan observed for a moment and raised an eyebrow. “This ghostly appearance of yours, is it also affected by it?”
Ning Ruoque lowered her eyes. “A part of it.”
She paused for a moment and said slowly, “I remembered some things.”
It would have been fine if she hadn’t mentioned it, but as soon as she did, Chu Xuan’s heart itched.
All the conspiracies were thrown to the back of her mind, and she only wanted to inquire about her friend’s romance.
She released her flying boat and very deliberately stole a glance at Ning Ruoque. “Then I have to ask. With that silly look of yours back then, how on earth did you get along with Yin Buran?”
In her opinion, her friend was a complete blockhead, and Yin Buran’s personality was not direct either.
Thinking that two such people could get together, Chu Xuan’s heart was like an ant crawling.
Ning Ruoque did not say a word, and the killing intent around her became even stronger.
Seeing this, Chu Xuan gave up the idea and turned to leap onto the flying boat.
But she heard the person behind her say faintly, “Yin Buran and I… respected each other like guests.”
She subconsciously turned her head. “What do you mean?”
After a long while, Ning Ruoque’s voice was as light as a fragile autumn leaf, floating on the cool water.
“Literally.”
After speaking, Ning Ruoque seemed to have suddenly fallen into a low mood.
