Chapter 60: Senior Brother

Jiang Fengnian was one hundred and fifty years old this year. A Foundation Establishment cultivator had a lifespan of two hundred years, but with his cultivation and spiritual root, he had essentially no hope of advancing to the Golden Core Realm. In fact, even his chances of reaching the middle stage of Foundation Establishment were slim.

However, cultivators possessed abundant spiritual energy, and their bodily functions were far stronger than those of ordinary people. Although Foundation Establishment cultivators could not preserve their youthful appearance forever, Jiang Fengnian looked like a middle-aged man in his forties—perhaps even a little younger than He Qian, the master of Listening Crane Manor.

Such were the benefits of cultivation.

“So you are esteemed disciples of Yonglu Mountain. This old man has failed to welcome you properly. My younger daughter is indeed at home, but unfortunately… as you can see, something has happened in the family. I’m afraid she won’t be able to help you.”

Bian Chunzhou was surprised to hear this. He had just been wondering why Senior Sister Jiang Ying had not returned home to attend the funeral, yet now it turned out that she had been home all along.

Perhaps he really had been overthinking things.

“Uncle Jiang is too polite. We are the ones who came at an unfortunate time. Regrettably, I cannot see, so I failed to notice the white funeral banner hanging at the entrance.”

Bian Chunzhou whipped his head around in astonishment.

Friend, why did you suddenly become so direct?!

When a cultivator died, any surviving relatives would hang a spirit banner outside the family home. Passing cultivators would then know that a fellow Daoist had died there. The type of spirit banner varied according to the cultivation realm the deceased had reached before death.

If the Jiang family were holding a proper funeral, a Qi Refining spirit banner should have been hanging outside right now. Even though Wen Xu could not see, he should still have sensed it immediately.

Wen Xu spoke lightly, as though he had merely mentioned it in passing, but that was not how the words sounded to Jiang Fengnian.

He could dismiss the people from Yunxia Sect however he pleased, but he could not do the same with Yonglu Mountain—especially when one of these disciples had a master in the Body Integration Realm.

A Divine Venerable in the Body Integration Realm!

Jiang Fengnian had never seen one in his entire life, yet some people could soar to the heavens in a single step purely through talent. He sighed inwardly. Thinking of the circumstances his two daughters now faced, his heart naturally filled with a tangle of emotions.

“To tell you the truth, my eldest daughter, Baozhu, died after her spiritual root was damaged. By the time she died, she was no different from an ordinary person. That is why this old man decided not to hang a spirit banner. Otherwise, passing cultivators might have entered to offer incense and accused me of trying to deceive them.”

Jiang Fengnian’s explanation was somewhat strained, but it was at least plausible.

The people from Yunxia Sect had originally intended to leave. Now that he had come out to speak, however, one of the younger disciples, an impatient boy, could no longer restrain himself and rushed forward again.

“Then what about the empty coffin? How do you explain that?”

At that moment, all Wen Xu and the other two needed to do was play the role of “idiots who knew absolutely nothing.”

Bian Chunzhou even added with remarkable intuition, “What empty coffin?”

A flash of anger crossed Jiang Fengnian’s brow. The anger was clearly directed at Yunxia Sect, but with disciples of Yonglu Mountain present, he did not let it show.

“As you said, the weather has been poor lately. My daughter always cared greatly about her appearance, but we did not have a Beauty-Preserving Pearl, so I hired someone to set up an Ice Array in the rear courtyard.”

As everyone knew, an Ice Array was extremely overbearing. Even someone standing outside the array could be harmed if they were an ordinary person. Madam Jiang was a mortal, so it was understandable that they had not placed the array inside the mourning hall.

Once again, the excuse was strained but plausible.

Compared to Madam Jiang, Jiang Fengnian was clearly far more skilled at handling such matters. His actions were also much more thorough. At the very least, the people from Yunxia Sect now had nothing to say.

After hearing this, the fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator leading them hesitated briefly, then took out the Beauty-Preserving Pearl once more.

“Uncle Jiang, please accept it.”

Wen Xu quietly opened his eyes and watched the scene before him.

Just as Jiang Fengnian reluctantly reached out to accept the Beauty-Preserving Pearl, Wen Xu suddenly spoke.

“Since she was Junior Sister Jiang Ying’s biological elder sister, how could her spiritual root have been damaged for no reason, resulting in her death? Uncle Jiang, should you be facing any difficulty, you may speak frankly. Although the three of us possess limited cultivation, Yonglu Mountain would never stand by and ignore an injustice.”

Doubt rose in Jiang Fengnian’s heart.

What exactly had these three come here to do?

He did not know much about great sects. Although Langyuan City stood at the foot of the Yonglu Mountain Range, he was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Sending his own daughter into Yunxia Sect had already pushed his abilities to their limit.

As for a great sect like Yonglu Mountain, had Jiang Ying not encountered an opportunity of her own, he might never have come into contact with it in his entire life.

Yet even with his limited understanding, he knew the difference between an inner disciple and an outer disciple.

Could it be… that they had discovered something?

Alarm and suspicion filled him. For a moment, he did not know how to respond.

And it was precisely this hesitation that lent even greater weight to Wen Xu’s question.

“A cultivator’s spiritual root is as precious as their life. Destroying another person’s spiritual root is no different from killing them. Uncle Jiang, you may tell us what happened.”

What was he doing?

He was holding Jiang Fengnian over a fire—and stomping furiously on Yunxia Sect’s sore spot at the same time!

Even the habitually straightforward Chen Zui noticed it. The moment Wen Xu said those words, the eyes of the three young Qi Refining cultivators on the other side reddened with fury.

The third-level disciple with the lowest cultivation was especially incensed. Had someone not held him back, he might already have charged straight at Wen Xu.

Even though he could not rush over, his sharp words struck like a blow to the head.

“Bullshit! Does belonging to a great sect mean you can slander people however you like?! Eldest Senior Brother treated Senior Sister Baozhu so well! He practically wanted to tear out his own heart and give it to her!”

After hearing this, Bian Chunzhou’s first thought was actually:

What? The cultivation world has love-struck fools from the heart-ripping school too?!

“Junior Brother, watch your words.”

The senior brother beside him tried to cover his mouth, but the young junior brother seemed to have thrown all caution aside.

“Why can’t I say it?! Are we supposed to let them smear Eldest Senior Brother’s name however they please? If Senior Sister Baozhu hadn’t insisted on exploring that secret realm, Eldest Senior Brother would never have gone with her! The greatest mistake Eldest Senior Brother made was coming back with his spiritual root intact!”

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Was this really something they were allowed to hear?

This young junior brother seemed to have been nursing a tremendous amount of resentment.

“You keep saying you don’t blame Eldest Senior Brother, but whether it’s you, Third Senior Brother, or Fourth Senior Brother, all of you blame him! Even after learning that Senior Sister Baozhu had died, you forced Eldest Senior Brother to search for a Beauty-Preserving Pearl. His injuries had only just begun to improve! After this trip, not only has his cultivation fallen, but it may even affect his future cultivation!”

No one knew where the young junior brother found the strength, but he snatched the Beauty-Preserving Pearl from Second Senior Brother’s hand.

“He doesn’t want it, so why are you still begging him to accept it?! We could sell the Beauty-Preserving Pearl for spirit stones and use them for Eldest Senior Brother—”

Smack!

The young junior brother was struck.

The blow sent him tumbling to the ground, and he could not even climb back to his feet. It was clear how much spiritual energy Second Senior Brother had used.

“What nonsense are you spouting?! Once we return, I will report this to Master and have you punished with solitary reflection on the rear mountain.”

The moment Yunxia Sect’s Second Senior Brother finished speaking, a pretty yet cold-faced female cultivator emerged from the Jiang residence.

She carried a low-grade spirit sword and stood ramrod straight.

Wen Xu had never seen this person before, yet for some inexplicable reason, she felt extraordinarily familiar.

“Jiang Ying” had never expected inner disciples of Yonglu Mountain to come knocking on her door—much less Wen Xu of Spring-Crossing Peak.

She had fought him once before. He appeared gentle and warm as a spring breeze, but his methods were fierce and razor-sharp.

She disliked dealing with cultivators whose every fiber proclaimed them heaven-blessed prodigies.

She preferred people… who were inferior to her, weaker than her, or only slightly stronger than her. Such people were much easier for her to control.

But since they had come to her door, she had no choice but to show herself.

Not only that, but she would use one force against another. These people from Yunxia Sect had become far too troublesome.

“Outer disciple Jiang Ying greets Junior Granduncle-Master.”

Junior Granduncle-Master?!

All three members of Yunxia Sect—including the young junior brother who still could not rise from the ground—stopped breathing.

Even the most ignorant cultivator knew how much influence someone of such high seniority in Yonglu Mountain must possess.

We’re finished.

The same three words drifted through all three of their minds at once.

Wen Xu, however, had an excellent memory.

With his seniority exposed on the spot, he raised his head and opened his eyes, his gaze settling on the female cultivator before him.

With a single glance, he saw the ambition in her eyes—an ambition so dense it had almost taken physical form.

He had seen that kind of ambition before.

On his own face.

On the faces of countless mud-legged nobodies desperate to climb higher.

How should he put it?

Because his face blindness kept him from distinguishing anyone’s features, he instinctively focused all his attention on a person’s eyes.

It had been the same when he first met Bian Chunzhou. Chunzhou’s gaze had been sincere and clear.

That was the true reason Wen Xu had been willing to place his bet on him in the first place.

“Last time, on the arena, you addressed me as Senior Brother. Why have you changed your form of address today?”

Wen Xu heard his own voice slowly sound out.

It seemed like a casual remark, yet also like a blunt interrogation.

Other than Senior Brother Zheng Jin, no one on Yonglu Mountain addressed him as Junior Brother.

And the only person who had ever called him Senior Brother was Jiang Ying, the woman standing before him.

Two days earlier, Chunzhou had said that Senior Sister Jiang Ying seemed strange.

Wen Xu ordinarily paid little attention to whether other people were alive or dead, but when he thought back carefully, her smooth use of spiritual energy immediately after advancing through a minor realm had not been the strangest part.

The strangest part was that Jiang Ying had called him Senior Brother.

No outer disciple of Yonglu Mountain, no matter how bold or reckless, would ever be foolish enough to call him Senior Brother merely to create a sense of closeness.

Jiang Ying was no fool.

Yet she had done so, and she had said it with complete ease—as though, in her understanding, he was supposed to be her senior brother.

Wen Xu was not being arrogant.

There should not be anyone on Yonglu Mountain who did not recognize him.

Even those who did not recognize his face knew that he was blind, and a blind man was very easy to identify.

But Jiang Ying had not recognized him.

Then there was this bizarre funeral.

Wen Xu thought to himself that Chen Zui ought to be capable of defeating someone in the early Foundation Establishment Realm.

“I spoke improperly at the time. Please forgive me, Junior Granduncle-Master.”

“Of course. I do not mind. It was only a form of address.”

Wen Xu smiled, then took out a shadow-recording stone.

Instead of speaking directly, he placed the shadow-recording stone into Chunzhou’s hand.

“As for that assignment, why don’t you ask Junior Sister Jiang Ying herself? We are already here.”

Bian Chunzhou froze.

What assignment?

Hadn’t that been something Wen Xu had casually invented to placate Jiang Fengnian…

Oh.

The shadow-recording stone assignment.

He accepted it in a daze.

When it came to using his brain, he definitely could not compare to Wen Xuxu. Since Wen Xuxu wanted him to ask, he would simply ask.

Should they turn out to be mistaken, the worst that could happen was that he would immediately drop to his knees and apologize.

And so, he spoke directly.

“Senior Sister Jiang Ying, when I returned late on the fifteenth, I recorded this cry for help at the foot of the mountain. When I heard your voice on the arena that day, I realized the two sounded almost identical. Back then… was that you?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ying nearly lost her grip on the spirit sword in her hand.

Her mind went blank with a buzz.

Then she began frantically considering whether there was any way to deny everything and escape.

Next Chapter >