Chapter 59: Shocking News

Kaiyuan Peak was located at the boundary between the inner and outer sects. Jiang Ying had inquired about this long ago. Since she needed to familiarize herself more deeply with Yonglu Mountain, she naturally had to visit it in person.

A great sect was indeed a great sect. Even if it was only at the bottom of the Five Great Sects, its grand scale and deep heritage completely exceeded Jiang Ying’s imagination. A cultivation level of the eighth layer of Qi Refining would make one a personal disciple of a sect master in a small sect, but at Yonglu Mountain, an ordinary eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivator was absolutely nothing.

Let alone inner sect disciples, even in the outer sect, they were everywhere. If she wanted to be promoted to the inner sect, she would still need to use some methods.

Jiang Ying’s eyes darkened. She had already exhausted all her methods to get to where she was today, so she absolutely could not make a mistake. She had to rise above everyone else.

Jiang Ying watched the entrance of Kaiyuan Peak for a moment, then copied the other disciples by taking out her identity jade token to swipe her way in. Once she entered the peak, she began to wander around meticulously.

Kaiyuan Peak was the peak where Yonglu Mountain handled miscellaneous chores, so it also had the most low-level disciples. There were countless low-level missions on the walls of Kaiyuan Peak, carefully categorized by rank. Jiang Ying found herself somewhat engrossed in looking at them, until she spotted a missing person mission. The mission description was a recording on a Shadow Retention Stone. She randomly played just the beginning of it and immediately recognized that it was… the voice of the real Jiang Ying.

“Jiang Ying” was instantly plunged into terror. How could this be? How could such a thing have been left behind?!

No, she couldn’t panic. Since the mission was still there, it meant no one had noticed yet. She had to resolve this mission immediately, preferably…

“Jiang Ying” did not dare ask the disciples of Kaiyuan Peak about this mission, as that would easily expose her. So… should she accept this mission? No, that would be too obvious.

She shouldn’t do something so foolish. The mission wasn’t actually that conspicuous; she should just let it hang there. She couldn’t accept the mission, but she could change her own voice.

Fortunately, Jiang Ying was a solitary loner.

Yes, exactly. That was what she had to do. Then, she needed to go home as soon as possible to completely eliminate this hidden threat.

Indeed, one could not be too soft-hearted, and there was even less need to be so toward others. Anyone who blocked her path forward should become her stepping stone. Once “Jiang Ying” figured this out, she hurriedly requested leave to go down the mountain. She had a ready-made excuse: she had to return home for a funeral.

It was time for the name Jiang Baozhu to disappear.

Although she did not like the name Jiang Ying, it did not matter. As long as she became strong enough in the future, she could completely reclaim her old name. She could endure this temporary period of lying low and changing her identity.

“Jiang Ying’s” efficiency was quite astonishing. By the time she requested leave, went down the mountain, and returned home, it was only shortly after noon.

When Madame Jiang saw her daughter return, she immediately welcomed her with joy. “Bao… A-Ying, why are you back today? You didn’t even tell me in advance so I could have the kitchen prepare your favorite dishes. Chunhua, quickly go order them to…”

“Jiang Ying” quickly pulled her back and whispered, “Mother, the mourning hall is still set up outside. If people see this, it will make a bad impression.”

Hearing the words “mourning hall,” Madame Jiang looked a bit displeased. She did not understand why they had to hold a funeral for Baozhu. It was so unlucky. Couldn’t they just say she was sick or had gone out to seek medical treatment? Why did they have to say she was dead when her daughter was clearly alive and well? Heaven was truly unfair; her Baozhu was clearly the best child in the world.

Seeing her mother’s sullen face, “Jiang Ying” did not bother to comfort her. She had been pampered for too long and had long forgotten respect and gratitude. Of course, she never denied that she was a selfish person, but who in this world wasn’t? If she had been born with a single spiritual root, she wouldn’t have needed to scheme so much. “Mother, that person… where is she?”

Madame Jiang’s brow twitched. Actually, she did not really want to take a life. After all… that was Baozhu’s body, born from her own womb. “What do you want to do?”

“To eliminate the threat once and for all, of course.”

A mother knew her own child best. When Madame Jiang saw her daughter’s expression, she had already guessed what she wanted to do. But for some reason, she felt too much resistance in her heart. “Didn’t we say we would keep her alive to…”

“Things have changed. I had no idea she actually called her sect members for help that day. The missing person mission is posted right on the mission wall of Kaiyuan Peak. Mother, please have some pity on me. I cannot afford to make a mistake.”

Madame Jiang wavered. She could never resist her daughter’s pleading. “But she was taken away by your father. I don’t know where she is.”

“So, the mourning hall outside has an empty coffin?”

Madame Jiang nodded. Just as she was about to ask how her daughter was adjusting to Yonglu Mountain, her daughter turned around to look for her father. The hand that had been holding her daughter’s was suddenly empty, and for some reason, she felt a strange sense of unease.

She was just a mortal. In this family, her husband was a cultivator and her daughter was a cultivator. She only managed to match her husband’s youthful appearance by taking Youth Retaining Pills.

“Madame, the immortal masters of the Yunxia Sect have arrived.”

Madame Jiang composed herself and walked out quickly. “Quickly invite them in. Actually, never mind, I will go welcome them myself.”

Bian Chunzhou and the other two had followed the people from the Yunxia Sect. How should they put it? It was just too strange. They felt that if they didn’t come to take a look, they wouldn’t even be able to cultivate in peace tonight. Since that was the case, they might as well come and see.

The Jiang Family was wealthy and noble. Because they were a cultivation family, they lived in a very secluded area, with no other households around them. It was a truly grand estate, even more magnificent than Tinghe Villa.

“I just asked around. Senior Sister Jiang’s father is named Jiang Fengnian, a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage. He was a rogue cultivator in his early years. After settling down in Langyuan City, he married the daughter of the wealthy Sui family in the city, who is the current Madame Jiang. Madame Jiang gave birth to two daughters. The eldest daughter is gone, and the younger daughter is Senior Sister Jiang.”

Wen Xu heard this and asked, “Are both daughters born of Madame Jiang?”

“I don’t know, but Jiang Fengnian has no concubines. People who know the Jiang Family all say Madame Jiang is very lucky. Even though she didn’t give birth to a son, she still firmly… cough, you know.”

Wen Xu, however, seemed to understand all too well. “Chunzhou, generally speaking, the more loving a couple is rumored to be in public, the more fake it is.”

“Ah? Why?”

Wen Xu smiled and did not explain. He only said, “Junior Sister Jiang Ying is twenty-nine years old this year. What about her older sister, Jiang Baozhu?”

Bian Chunzhou was taken aback by the question. “I don’t know. What is this, a background check?”

“No, I just find it a bit strange.”

“Strange how?”

Wen Xu was about to speak when a fierce argument suddenly erupted inside the Jiang Family residence. All three of them were cultivators with exceptional hearing. Listening closely, they realized that people from the Yunxia Sect were arguing with Madame Jiang. More accurately, they were confronting the Jiang Family.

“Why won’t you let us see Senior Sister Baozhu’s remains? Her injuries clearly weren’t fatal. Why did she pass away the moment she returned home?”

20: “Exactly! How on earth did you take care of Senior Sister? You even got the cultivator funeral rites wrong. If you didn’t want Senior Sister back home, you should have just said so! Our Yunxia Sect might be a small temple^[1], but we still have room for her!”

“Madame Jiang, our request isn’t unreasonable, is it? This is the Youth Retaining Bead our Eldest Senior Brother went to great lengths to obtain. He risked his life entering a minor secret realm and was severely injured just to bring it back. Right now, he’s still lying unconscious in his cave dwelling. Before he passed out, he urgently told us to deliver it. Even if you try to stop us today, we will-“

Whoa, they were starting a scene right then and there?!

To be fair, the passing of a cultivator was indeed different from a mortal’s funeral. Bian Chunzhou couldn’t help but peer toward the entrance of the Jiang Family residence. Sure enough, he didn’t see any funeral banners.

If the Jiang Family doted on their eldest daughter, they certainly hadn’t put much care into her funeral. But if they preferred Senior Sister Jiang Ying, that didn’t seem to be the case either. Bian Chunzhou was thoroughly baffled now.

Still, the Yunxia Sect’s request was perfectly reasonable. There was no reason for Madame Jiang to refuse.

Just as the doubt crossed his mind, he heard Madame Jiang speak, “No, the coffin cannot be opened. Baozhu cared about her appearance above all else in life. As her parents, we naturally knew this, so we acquired a Youth Retaining Bead long ago. There is no need to trouble you three immortal masters…”

“Impossible! If there were a readily available Youth Retaining Bead in Langyuan City, my Eldest Senior Brother wouldn’t have risked his life in that secret realm! Madame Jiang, what exactly are you hiding? Or is there really something suspicious about Senior Sister’s cause of death?”

Well, well. She was digging herself into a deeper hole. Madame Jiang was definitely lying, Bian Chunzhou concluded. All sorts of melodramatic scenarios began to flood his mind. Could it be some cliché fake death plot? A tale of love and hate?

“An empty coffin! Third Senior Brother, it’s actually an empty coffin!”

Holy crap, for real?!

Bian Chunzhou wanted nothing more than to stick his head into the Jiang Residence to see for himself. How could it be an empty coffin? Could it be that Jiang Baozhu wasn’t dead?

“Speak! Where did you hide my Senior Sister? If you don’t hand her over today, our Yunxia Sect will-“

Right at that moment, a powerful wave of Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure swept through the entire Jiang Residence. Even Bian Chunzhou and the other two waiting outside were affected. And the Foundation Establishment cultivator appearing in the Jiang Residence at this moment could only be the head of the Jiang Family, Jiang Fengnian.

The three disciples from the Yunxia Sect had cultivation bases at the fifth level of Qi Refining at best. Right now, let alone drawing their swords, not a single one of them could even remain standing.

“If you three did not come in good faith to pay respects to my daughter, then please leave. As for the Youth Retaining Bead, take it back. My daughter’s spiritual root was damaged because she was dragged into his affairs in the first place. He didn’t dare show his face himself, yet he sent you here to cause trouble. Even if I were to kill you today and take this to the City Lord’s Mansion, our Jiang Family would still be in the right.”

Suppressing them with his cultivation and then invoking the City Lord’s Mansion, he shut them down completely. The three minor Qi Refining disciples of the Yunxia Sect left in a fit of rage.

“Furthermore, the three friends outside the door, are you friend or foe?”

Bian Chunzhou’s heart skipped a beat. He turned his head, only to meet the strange looks of the three Yunxia Sect disciples. As he brainstormed frantically to come up with a plausible excuse for their presence, he heard Wen Xuxu speak up, “Is Junior Sister Jiang Ying at home? I am Wen Xu, a disciple of Yonglu Mountain. I have taken on a mission and would like to ask Junior Sister for a small favor.”

Bian Chunzhou gave him a mental thumbs-up. My friend, you really just make things up on the fly.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fengnian indeed withdrew his pressure instantly and even came out to welcome them. The title of “Yonglu Mountain disciple” carried far more weight than the Yunxia Sect. Even without considering their masters, a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator like him did not have enough standing to put on airs before them.

Furthermore, he had heard the name Wen Xu before. His daughter, Jiang Ying, had mentioned it to him herself.