DD Spiritual Sword [417-419] (Patreon)

Chapter 417: Scandals Everywhere

Bang!

In the Pope's Hall, Bibi Dong slammed her hand down in anger. "Hmph, that Tianlin from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile sect, how dare he barge into my Spirit Hall alone and even bully my disciple!"

"Nana, did you really see clearly? Was it really Tianlin who bullied you?" Xie Yue looked at Hu Liena, puzzled. While he disliked Tianlin, he never thought him such a despicable person.

"Xie Yue, do you still not believe Nana? When her message came, I was the first to rush over. I definitely saw Tianlin—he must have escaped using some illusion or teleport skill after Nana hit him. Unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough to catch him." Yan said angrily—how could his goddess be insulted like this?

"Some people act righteous, but are actually more shameless than anyone." Bibi Dong thought of someone she hated. She'd once even considered bringing Tianlin into the Spirit Hall.

Thankfully, her daughter Qian Renxue was in seclusion; otherwise, she'd be devastated if she heard about this.

"Nana, don't worry. I remember your grievance. Once we defeat the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile sect, I'll hand Tianlin to you and grind his bones to dust." Bibi Dong comforted Hu Liena.

"Thank you, Teacher." Hu Liena didn't cry—that wasn't her style. She simply hid her hatred deep inside.

After leaving the Pope's Hall, Yan caught up to Hu Liena, trying to comfort her.

"Yan, I've lost my purity. I'm not worthy of you anymore. Find someone else." Hu Liena said gloomily.

Yan's heart broke for her, but he couldn't defeat Tianlin. All he could do was say, "Nana, I don't care at all. In my heart, you're still that pure, good girl."

"Thank you, Yan. I promise you—help me get my revenge, and I'll marry you." Hu Liena smiled sweetly. As expected, her natural charm hooked Yan instantly.

Seizing the chance, Hu Liena said, "Yan, even if I can't kill Tianlin now, I want to ruin his reputation. Will you help me?"

"Of course. I'll do anything for you." Yan agreed without hesitation.

"Good. I want you to spread this story everywhere—let the world know what a lecher Tianlin is."

"But Nana, won't this ruin your own reputation too?" Yan hesitated.

"I don't care about reputation—what's the use? If you won't help, I'll do it myself." Hu Liena said angrily.

"Don't!" Yan stopped her. He couldn't let her do such a thing herself. Relenting, he said, "Leave it to me, Nana. I'll make sure he's condemned by the whole continent."

Yan's hatred for Tianlin had reached its peak. He was determined to take revenge.

Watching Yan leave, Hu Liena smiled. Both she and Tianlin began to act according to their plan.

The next day, a rumor spread in Spirit City, but not the one Yan intended. Instead, the gossip was that Hu Liena had seduced Tianlin—spread by Tianlin's side first.

The method was simple: using his controlling skill, Tianlin made a few thugs spread the rumor. Even if they were caught, it didn't matter—the story was out.

This enraged Yan even more. How dare Tianlin spread lies first! So Yan sent people out to claim that Tianlin had lusted after Hu Liena, spied on her bathing, and tried to assault her.

By now, Tianlin's plan was almost complete. He used this as a spark, went to a tavern near Slaughter City, controlled more thugs, and spread many rumors slandering the Spirit Hall. He even made some disciples from other factions and empire officials spread gossip too—after all, he couldn't take all the blame himself.

Headlines like:

["Shocking! Both Spirit Hall saintesses have an affair with Tianlin."]

["Who could believe it? The real relationship between Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo."]

["Secret: The Hall's Grand Worship's secret crush is..."]

["Unbelievable! Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong are actually a couple, not just master and disciple!"]

The Spirit Hall was furious. The other sects and the Heaven Dou Empire were also enraged, wondering if this was a prelude to war.

Hu Liena, meanwhile, egged Yan on to retaliate, spreading rumors about the top three sects and the empire:

["Shocking! Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo's unusual bond."]

["Inside story: Ning Fengzhi and the Empress's passionate night."]

["The story of Tang Xiao and the wife of Clear Sky Douluo."]

["Tianlin is a womanizer, sleeping with ten women a night!"]

["For revenge, Emperor Xue Ye seduced the Star Luo Empress and mastered the Nether White Bird Fusion!"]

Yan was proud of his counterattack, not realizing he was being used. But as rumors multiplied, wise people quickly realized these were just smear campaigns from both sides and didn't take them seriously.

At this time, due to the disappearance of Yu Luomian and Fallen Angel Douluo, and the lack of progress on assigned tasks, the mastermind began to suspect trouble. He summoned Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan.

"My lord, what are your orders?" Yue Guan knelt before the figure in black robes.

The person's form and voice were indeterminate.

"Yu Luomian and my subordinates are missing—I fear for them. Still, our plan must proceed. Since we can't frame the top sects, let's expose Bibi Dong's scandals ourselves."

His real goal was simply to push Bibi Dong into darkness again. Whether war came sooner or later didn't matter.

But Chrysanthemum Douluo hesitated. "My lord, you may not know the situation outside. Even if you spread more rumors, it's useless now."

Chapter 418: Tianlin's Shameless Move—Plan Fails

The black-robed figure was stunned. "Why? Don't you know how damaging this would be to Bibi Dong? If the whole continent heard, she'd go mad and start a war, and the Rakshasa God's inheritance could be triggered. I could enter the God Realm for what I want."

"Yue Guan, are you unwilling? Do you still feel grateful to your former master?" the figure questioned.

"Of course not! No one is more important than Old Ghost. You promised me revenge and to resurrect him; I'll always be loyal. But it's useless to act now—please wait!" Yue Guan said, then left to fetch something.

A few minutes later, he brought back a beggar.

"My lord, you can read his memory. You'll understand everything." Yue Guan said.

The black-robed figure did so and learned that the rumors about Spirit Hall, the sects, and the empire had spread across the whole continent—even beggars discussed them.

Now he understood: it was pointless to spread more rumors about Bibi Dong. Everyone would just think it was the work of the top sects and the empire trying to smear the Spirit Hall.

People would only scoff, "Another fabricated scandal? How boring."

Ironically, one of the rumors about Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji was actually true. Bibi Dong was furious when she heard, but she didn't go mad—she knew people wouldn't believe it in this environment.

She also thought her past wasn't really exposed, just mixed with fake rumors and now considered false too.

"Who started all this?" the black-robed figure raged.

These were the continent's top forces—weren't they supposed to be strong and dignified? Now they were acting like quarreling housewives, making up endless gossip and ruining his plan.

"This all started because Tianlin barged into Hu Liena's room, then Yan tried to ruin his reputation, sparking this rumor war," Yue Guan replied.

"Just from such a small matter? My plan is ruined?" The black robe seemed to burn with fury.

Tianlin—a top genius—why would he risk so much for Hu Liena? The black-robed figure sighed. "Didn't expect to lose to a womanizer. Man proposes, heaven disposes."

With the plan ruined, he could only lay low and prepare anew.

…

Outside, all the factions declared the rumors fake and promised to investigate and punish the culprits. But upon checking, they found the rumor-mongers were all their own loyal disciples, controlled by Tianlin's mental skills. They didn't even try hiding their identities—how could they punish them all, especially core disciples?

Eventually, Ning Fengzhi punished Tianlin with three years of seclusion—no going out unless necessary. Tianlin agreed, since he was planning to train anyway. Ning Fengzhi was truly angry this time—he could tolerate most things, but Tianlin even dragged him into a rumor with the Empress, making Emperor Xue Ye look at him strangely.

Bibi Dong similarly punished Yan—though it was Hu Liena's idea, Yan took all the blame as a loyal follower and was also confined for three years.

All forces ordered: anyone starting rumors will be thoroughly investigated. The mastermind's plan was now impossible—any move would be dismissed as fake and draw unwanted attention.

The black-robed figure had to give up on ruining Bibi Dong, letting things cool down and bringing peace for a few years.

Qian Renxue had just finished an Angel God trial and learned of the incident. She didn't care about the rumors, but was shocked the cause was supposedly Tianlin trying to assault Hu Liena.

Nonsense! The Tianlin she knew wasn't like that at all.

Angry, Qian Renxue confronted Hu Liena: "You vixen, why did you slander Tianlin? If you hadn't set him up, none of this would have happened!"

Hu Liena secretly found this amusing—Qian Renxue really trusted Tianlin. Others believed the rumors, but only she never doubted him.

Hu Liena smiled flirtatiously. "Yes, I set him up. In fact, he came looking for you, but you were in seclusion, so I became the scapegoat—at his own request!"

Chapter 419: Tianlin in Seclusion, Pursuing Title Douluo

"At his own request? He was looking for me?" Qian Renxue was stunned.

She could understand Tianlin seeking her out, but why ask to be framed?

"I don't know. Unlike you, I'm his enemy, not a lover. I really wanted to kill him for barging in on me. Framing him doesn't hurt me—he's my enemy." Hu Liena deliberately distanced herself from Tianlin.

"Did he leave any other message?" Qian Renxue asked, knowing Tianlin would leave some clue.

"Just something about water and the sea—I didn't understand." Hu Liena repeated Tianlin's message.

Qian Renxue returned to her room and thought deeply. When she was Xue Qinghe, she and Tianlin once discussed: how to make a cup of water disappear without evaporating it? Pour it into the sea.

Connecting the dots, she quickly reviewed all recent rumors. Only one was true: the story about Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji.

"Tianlin promised never to reveal this. Why did he do it now?" Qian Renxue wondered, then realized: he wasn't trying to hurt her mother, but help her.

Someone else must have known the secret and planned to expose it. Tianlin, not knowing who, couldn't stop it directly—so he hid the truth among countless fake rumors, making the real one seem false.

"Clever, and ruthless—he involved even himself and Ning Fengzhi. With both sides spreading rumors, everything seems fake." Qian Renxue smiled.

She also realized only a few people knew the truth; the mastermind must be close to her mother.

…

At this time, Tianlin returned to Seven Treasure Mountain for his punishment—which was really just secluded training.

He ruled out Qian Xunji as the mastermind, but with new intel from Golden Crocodile Douluo, he had another idea. If he was right, he needed to train hard to prepare.

He entered the secret training chamber, only a handful knew of its existence.

Chen Xin also went into seclusion to perfect his swordsmanship, aiming to defeat Qian Daoliu.

For now, Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong held the fort. Gu Rong had reached level 97, and with Ning Fengzhi's support, could even fight Golden Crocodile Douluo. Given their current reputation, no one dared cause trouble.

Tianlin sat in the dark chamber and sent a message to the two spirits in his mind. "Brother Skydream, Little White, we'll spend the next three years here. Until I reach level 90, I won't leave!"

"No problem. Being sealed for 12 years was harder than this. Nothing's more important than your cultivation. We'll help you," skydream Ice Silkworm said.

"Yes, Uncle Tianlin! My mother told me to assist you before she left," said Little White.

Three years was nothing to such ancient soul beasts.

Tianlin smiled, sat down, and began meditating with the Holy Spirit Domain.

…

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun and Qin Ming had arrived at the Extreme North, ahead of Ning Rongrong and the others.

Following Tianlin's map, they went straight to the former territory of the Ice Jade Scorpion. No other beasts dared claim this land yet, making it the safest place in the Extreme North.

Both were high-level fire soul masters—though they couldn't survive long in these conditions, they could endure brief exposure.

Qin Ming said, "Hongjun, unleash your firepower. When your flames reach a certain intensity, the Fire God's legacy will sense it and open the portal."

Ma Hongjun nodded, spread his flaming wings, and unleashed his abilities, setting the freezing valley ablaze—his ultimate fire unaffected by the cold.