Chapter 45
The Magic Domain, Kunshan, and the Xiao family, the three major forces in the cultivation world, all fell because of one person.
But the instigator has not been found yet.
Or rather, the body of the instigator has not been found yet.
Under Taixu Peak, there is a deep Chenjian Pool, with a heavy aura of killing and destruction. In fact, the fact that Qiao Wan's body hasn't been found already speaks volumes.
Qiao Wan may have fallen into the Chenjian Pool, leaving no trace of her remains.
But no one was willing to believe this seemingly far-fetched answer.
Ma Huaizhen led a group of disciples from the secret sect, searching day and night under Taixu Peak. The water in the Chenjian Pool was almost drained, but they didn't find any trace of Qiao Wan, only a broken pink butterfly jade button.
The secret sect's leaders held the broken butterfly button in their hands, looking somewhat ridiculous. But no one dared to laugh or found it funny.
When Ma Huaizhen held the half-broken butterfly button in his hands, everyone saw it. This ruthless man, who usually enjoyed training his disciples and had a decisive attitude, sat in a wheelchair, pursed his lips, and remained silent for a long time. He didn't speak for a while.
"Let's go."
After a while, Ma Huaizhen finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"Let's go back. We won't search anymore."
Over a dozen big men from Wenshi Hall searched for more than ten days and nights, but in the end, they only brought back half of a butterfly button.
The butterfly jade button was placed in a small box, sealed, and delivered to Lu Pihan. When Lu Pihan looked up at Ma Huaizhen, he asked, "What is this?"
Ma Huaizhen remained silent for a while before saying, "Qiao Wan."
Lu Pihan's old illness was stirred up by the surge of blood and he coughed violently, his face grimacing. It seemed like he wouldn't stop coughing until his lungs came out.
After a while, he took out a white handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the bloodstains from the corners of his lips, stabilized his breath, and didn't even glance at the butterfly jade button.
"Qiao Wan isn't dead."
Ma Huaizhen had been in charge of Wenshi Hall for many years and had seen too many cases like this. Those who were said to be missing, very few of them were truly found. Most of them just disappeared. Now, Qiao Wan was one of them.
Ma Huaizhen didn't say a word.
He could actually accept this more easily than Lu Pihan.
Ma Huaizhen said in a deep voice, "Her life flame has extinguished. Don't you understand?"
The handkerchief against Lu Pihan's mouth stopped, and his fingers slowly tightened around it. He lowered his eyes, his eyes like two extinguished flames.
Yes.
Qiao Wan's life flame has extinguished.
In Kunshan, there is a Spirit Flame Tower, which houses the life flames of the disciples from Kunshan.
Only a small flicker of dim light.
When the life flame is extinguished, it means that the person is gone.
That day, Qiao Wan, in front of the thousands of disciples in Kunshan, jumped down from Taixu Peak. Since that day, her spiritual flame has gone out.
These past few days, Ma Huaizhen led the members of the undercover team to search down Taixu Peak. They were only hoping to find her alive or at least her body.
But no one believed that Qiao Wan would die so easily.
Ma Huaizhen didn't believe it either.
He had frequent contact with Qiao Wan as she was a disciple of Yuqing Peak, always busy running to Wenshi Hall.
Over time, Ma Huaizhen started paying more attention.
The time she came back from the mountain, Qiao Wan was covered in injuries.
Among the disciples, she was the harshest to herself.
Sometimes, Ma Huaizhen would imagine, in his wheelchair, he would see Qiao Wan rushing towards him with blood on her face to complete a task. But in Wenshi Hall where people came and went, he never saw her pink figure again.
But he always looked forward, even though he seemed a bit cold and heartless, he was efficient.
He didn't indulge in the past; it was his principle in behavior and decision-making. The people who died were always on his mind, and he would never forget them.
As for Lu Pihan.
Actually, their personalities were quite similar. But Qiao Wan was, after all, the younger martial sister brought up by Lu Pihan.
When the news reached Yuqing Peak, Zhou Yan sat by the window all day.
These past few days, he kept dreaming about Qiao Wan.
Some people live like shadows, but only when you lose them do you realize they were always there, just living in the darkness that you never noticed.
Zhou Yan rubbed his forehead, closed his eyes, and the image of Qiao Wan jumping down appeared in his mind.
The young girl lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped out, disappearing into the swirling clouds.
In a daze, he saw Qiao Wan sobbing, her tears flowing. "But the disciple knows that expectations are just the disciple's wishful thinking. Master, you have never had any expectations for the disciple, and you have never truly seen the disciple."
"The disciple... the disciple has been practicing day and night, just hoping to have a place in master's heart."
"I hope that you, master, can also treat me as your true disciple, a true person."
Zhou Yan opened his eyes.
How could there be no affection after more than thirty years of being together?
Now, he finally understood... Zhou Yan felt bitter on his tongue, his expression heavy and guilty.
He had let down his disciple.
"Master."
The hesitant and gentle voice of a young girl sounded from behind.
Zhou Yan turned slightly and saw Mu Xiaoxiao standing hesitantly behind him, looking at him with uncertainty, not daring to approach.
Ever since that day when her younger martial sister jumped down, her master had changed.
Her master wasn't the type to smile before, but he had never been like this, seemingly lost in thought all the time, his eyebrows tightly furrowed and never relaxing.
Zhou Yan nodded slightly, gathering his thoughts. "Xiaoxiao."
Mu Xiaoxiao walked up and said, "Master, Elder Martial Brother, someone just delivered something and it's placed in the outer room."
Zhou Yan rubbed his forehead and replied, "I'll go take a look."
Lately, Master has been having frequent headaches, Mu Xiaoxiao worried.
She happened to have a cool forehead cloth that feels comfortable. Mu Xiaoxiao called Zhou Yan and handed him the snowy white forehead cloth from her sleeve, saying, "Master, I'm giving this to you. Maybe wearing it will make you feel better."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Zhou Yan stopped in his tracks.
Mu Xiaoxiao looked at Zhou Yan in astonishment as his face changed suddenly.
Did she do something wrong?
After a while, Zhou Yan finally spoke. Mu Xiaoxiao noticed that her immortal-like master had a hoarse and exhausted voice at this moment.
"It's nothing."
With that, he turned and headed towards the outer room.
Mu Xiaoxiao stood in place for a while, then suddenly heard a muffled sound of something falling from the outer room. She lifted her skirt and ran into the outer room to take a look.
All she saw was the scattered box on the table, and the broken half of a jade butterfly rolling on the ground.
*
And at this moment, Qiao Wan, who was supposed to have received her lunchbox and left obediently, looked up at the black and gold sign in front of her with some worry.
A few days ago, Gan Nan carried her and flew all the way to the foot of Kunshan before letting her down.
As soon as she landed, Qiao Wan asked Gan Nan to help seal her sea of consciousness.
After a chaotic and almost explosive process, they finally managed to seal it, barely.
She didn't die from jumping down from such a high place, but Gan Nan's skills almost cost Qiao Wan her life.
Now, she couldn't go back to Kunshan or the demonic realm.
The young man was worried, "Little sister, you have nowhere to go. Why not go back to the demonic realm?"
Qiao Wan looked at Gan Nan seriously.
The young man had white eyelashes, white eyebrows, and crystal clear white eyes. In his naive gaze, there was a sense of goodness.
He perfectly embodied the term "naive and innocent."
Qiao Wan said, "No, I won't go."
Gan Nan was confused, "Why not? Our demon clan has always been neutral."
"And what about you?"
He was a Confucian cultivator, so he must care about the distinction between good and evil.
The young man visibly stiffened, and his voice weakened, "Little sister, you are different from others, after all."
Qiao Wan simply sat down and shook her head, "If my uncle really cared about me, he wouldn't treat me like this."
She patted the empty space beside her, gesturing for Gan Nan to sit as well. She was very patient and intended to teach him a lesson.
"If he truly cared about me, he wouldn't time everything so perfectly, pushing me to this point and then helping me regain my position."
Gan Nan widened his eyes, then lowered his head, looking hurt.
His family was as chaotic as a pot of seafood porridge, and he had always had an indescribable hope for this familial affection.
When Qiao Wan saw the situation, she couldn't help but feel a little sympathy towards Gan Nan. She shook her head again when she saw what he wanted to say.
"I won't go to your home." Gan Nan's intentions were clear, but Qiao Wan shook her head again.
"In that case... why don't you come back with me to Qingyang Academy? I can recommend you to the elders." Qiao Wan shook her head and sat down. "I can't go with my current cultivation level."
Qingyang Academy is one of the four major sects in the cultivation world. It's not easy to get accepted there, especially now that her cultivation has declined and she can't even become a low-ranking disciple.
Moreover, Qingyang Academy has a close relationship with Kunshan. If they found out she was Qiao Wan, they would probably bring her back to Kunshan.
She didn't want to go to either place.
Gan Nan was conflicted. "What are your plans after leaving the mountain?"
Qiao Wan replied, "First, I need to repair my meridians and then cultivate again."
Qiao Wan completely understood Gan Nan's concerns. In this world, it's difficult for independent cultivators.
Without the support of a sect, everything has to be done on their own. They can't even enter large secret realms or have access to resources. They have to compete with others for opportunities.
Without a background, life and death are always a possibility.
Qiao Wan, with no cultivation, no sect, and no family, was in a difficult situation. She stood out in her destitution.
In addition, she had made a lot of enemies during her years of helping Kunshan. She needed to pretend that she had abandoned her previous identity to avoid pressure from Kunshan, the Demon Territory, and the Xiao family, as well as from her enemies.
If someone shouts her name at the foot of the mountain, her enemies would probably rush over from all directions.
Love runs deep.
Qiao Wan asked Gan Nan to help seal her spiritual sea to temporarily prevent Mei Kangping from intruding.
The Spirit Flames in the Spirit Flame Tower of Kunshan were said to be their life flames. However, it didn't make sense to put all of them in the tower. If the Demon Territory found the Spirit Flame Tower, Kunshan would be destroyed.
In reality, the life flames of Kunshan's disciples were used to create a projection of the true flames. Qiao Wan destroyed the restriction and cut off the connection between the true flames and their projections.
Next, she had to be careful with her disguise, hide her identity, and slowly start cultivating. It wasn't going to be easy.
Her storage pouch had already been confiscated when she was imprisoned in Precept Hall. After searching for a while, Qiao Wan finally found the Daoist book that Ma Huaizhen had given her.
Since there was no use inspecting it, the disciple of precepts allowed her to bring the book into the prison as a way to pass the time.
She didn't expect to bring it out by accident.
The problem was that Qiao Wan couldn't open this Taoist book no matter how hard she tried, she could only stare at it blankly. But this book was indeed her most valuable treasure. Maybe in the future, she would rely on it for cultivation.
Before leaving, Gan Nan gave her a bag of White Dragon Scales and a bag of spirit stones.
"Your cultivation is currently wasted, these Bai Long Scales might be beneficial for your cultivation, little sister," he said.
"And there's this spirit stone too," the young man lowered his head and simply handed the storage bag to Qiao Wan.
After losing his storage bag, he hadn't been able to find it and only recently got a new one. However, the new storage bag had fewer things than the old one. It only contained a few spirit stones, several bags of Bai Long Scales he had taken off, and a stack of talismans.
As the heir of the Dragon King who was used to seeing spirit stones and magical artifacts, he felt a bit embarrassed about his humble belongings. "Little sister, please wait for a moment. I will go to the treasure pavilion and get something for you."
Qiao Wan interrupted him, saying, "No need."
"Thank you," Qiao Wan looked earnestly at Gan Nan. She was sincere and genuinely grateful.
Once she settled down, she would repay him.
Gan Nan blushed a little and awkwardly scratched his head.
But in an instant, he seemed to think of something and his mood became a bit low. He answered in a muffled voice, "You have been through hardships all the way, and the only help I can offer is these."
Qiao Wan smiled, showing her teeth. "That's enough."
"You should hurry back and not arouse suspicion," Qiao Wan reminded him. Gan Nan was a dragon and had disappeared for so long. If he continued to stay, the people in Kunshan would eventually notice something was amiss.
After saying goodbye to Gan Nan, Qiao Wan didn't rush to leave. She first opened the storage bag and glanced inside, taking out a set of men's clothing.
Qiao Wan reasonably suspected that Gan Nan had prepared it after the painful lesson from last time.
In the cultivation world, female cultivators often wore men's clothing for convenience, and Qiao Wan would not attract attention when she wore it.
After changing into the clothes quickly, Qiao Wan reached up and touched her head, enduring the pain as she unhooked the butterfly jade hairpin.
When she counted, she realized that one was missing.
She let her hair down and tied it into a ponytail. Then she tore off a piece of her sleeve and used it as a makeshift veil to cover her face.
Next, she needed to think of a new name for herself.
Qiao Wan squatted on the ground, deep in thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with a new name.
For the surname... let it be Lu.
Lu...
Qiao Wan extended a twig and poked the ground, gesturing for a long time. Finally, she decided on her new name.
Lu Wan.
After getting everything ready, Qiao Wan stood up and dusted off the dirt on her clothes. She left behind all the memories of seeking immortality and enlightenment in Kunshan's vast mountains and calmly walked down from Kunshan.
At the foot of Kunshan was Youxian Town, where Qiao Wan wanted to rest and take a look around first.
Kunshan only opened its doors for enrollment every thirty years.
Recently, during the spring recruitment in Kunshan, there gathered in Youxian Town a group of cultivators who had come from all over, from different regions. However, there were few who had reached a high level of cultivation. Most of them were newly admitted disciples who had just entered the immortal sect. There were also some who had just achieved the level of Qi refinement.
Qiao Wan walked down the street and overheard people whispering that the extraordinary and famous Lone Sword Xie Xingzhi had also arrived.
