Yin Hua's help for Tian Feirong's group of four was not limited to providing them a place to stay. He also arranged cultivation schedules for them and provided several dangerous places suitable for them to temper themselves. Although entering those places carried certain risks, the path of cultivation had never been smooth sailing. Thus, after expressing their gratitude to Yin Hua, Tian Feirong's group also began their cultivation.
After arranging these juniors, Yin Hua went to see someone - Luo Huaijing's elder, Ancestor Luo.
Ancestor Luo looked at the youthful elder in front of him with faint wariness in his eyes. "Who exactly are you? Where is Huaijing? Where did you take him?"
Yin Hua smiled. "Fellow Daoist Luo, do not panic. This Yin will not do anything to Huaijing. On the contrary, I feel Huaijing has great potential that was nearly wasted under the hands of the Huo father and son from Changxian Sect. Fellow Daoist Luo, do you regret it very much? Oh, as for my identity, Fellow Daoist Luo really can't recognize me? Back then, you and your fellow daoists had chased after me too. I spent so much effort before finally shaking you all off."
Ancestor Luo's pupils abruptly shrank. "You... you are Fellow Daoist Yin Hua? If you have any issues, come at me. This has nothing to do with Huaijing."
"That's right, it has nothing to do with Luo Huaijing. But what wrong has my nephew committed that he ended up on your Changxian Sect's wanted list again? Let me introduce, the Pill Master Gu Yao you all are hunting down is this Yin's nephew. My nephew and I should feel extremely honored to receive such attention from the esteemed Changxian Sect. Speaking of which, it was thanks to my nephew that Luo Huaijing's life was saved. Otherwise... hehe..."
What would have become of Luo Huaijing otherwise, how could Ancestor Luo not know? Gu Yao had also given him an address and a name list - the cultivators who had escaped from the Bloodcolored Forest together with Huaijing. Yin Hua had also arranged for people to properly settle them, ensuring their safety. Since Little Yao was willing to care for them, as his uncle he naturally would not drag his feet.
After understanding the connections, Ancestor Luo could not help wiping his old face. He dispelled all the wariness in his body.
He had not expected at all that the person in front of him would be from the Yin clan's bloodline, much less that Gu Yao and Yin Hua were uncle and nephew. This meant that the Yin siblings who had escaped back then had fled to the Tianlin Continent. It made sense - Yin Hua had a way to go there and would have surely left this method to his nephew. That was why many years later, Gu Yao and another sword cultivator of the Thunder element would appear in the Qianhao Continent.
Regarding how the Yin clan was destroyed, perhaps outsiders could claim ignorance, but Ancestor Luo knew clearly. Thus there was no possibility for reconciliation between Yin Hua and Changxian Sect for even a day. If he stood in Yin Hua's shoes, he would not have spared the clan's murderers either.
"You have a good nephew. Not only is Pill Master Gu Yao's pill techniques extraordinary, he is also kind and benevolent. The antidote for Lord Guan's situation from before was researched by Pill Master Gu Yao, wasn't it? His abilities are enough to surpass all the talented pill masters in Qianhao Continent. There are people outside who say he obtained an extremely profound inheritance, but in this Luo's opinion, while the inheritance is important, one's own capabilities are even more important."
In Ancestor Luo's perspective, inheritances were dead things. Even if two pill masters obtained the same inheritance, they may not necessarily reach the same level of mastery. So it still depended on who it fell into the hands of.
After pondering for a moment, he could not help reminding, "Right now, not a few cultivators, including some people from within Changxian Sect, should have their eyes on Pill Master Gu Yao. I hope Pill Master Gu will be more careful and avoid travelling outside recently. Some people's methods are endless."
Yin Hua naturally understood this logic. He looked at Ancestor Luo meaningfully, "Is Fellow Daoist Luo prepared to completely betray Changxian Sect? Regarding all the shameful things Changxian Sect has done over the years, although Fellow Daoist Luo did not participate, can you really wash your hands clean of it? Sometimes, maintaining neutrality and minding one's own business - can that really leave you with a clear conscience?"
Ancestor Luo revealed a ashamed expression with a sigh. "Fellow Daoist Yin is right. Looking at Changxian Sect's current state, I truly cannot keep a clear conscience. My inaction and failure to prevent actually nurtured the evil side too. Perhaps in my selfish heart I also harbored a shred of hope, hoping they could really find a way out. But when Changxian Sect becomes a target of public criticism, even the innocent younger disciples within who know nothing will be pulled into the disaster..."
"Innocent?" Yin Hua gave a cold snort. "Since they have utilized Changxian Sect's cultivation resources, how can they be considered truly innocent? Unless they vomit out everything they have eaten and taken from the sect, does Changxian Sect need me to spell out the various methods it used to accumulate its tremendous foundation? To say they are innocent, what about those free cultivators who ended up neither human nor ghost after becoming experimental materials for certain people? Are they not innocent as well?"
Ancestor Luo was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly without end. When tallied this way, no one could be considered blameless. "Fellow Daoist Yin, what plans do you have? This Luo wishes to make up for some past mistakes to the best of my ability."
Disdain flashed through Yin Hua's eyes. He had not told the full truth to Little Yao. Reality was far crueler than what that child believed. The reason why Qianhao Continent had developed to its current state was also inextricably linked with that aloof bunch of cultivators.
Some people like Ancestor Luo here, despite not participating, had adopted neutral or acquiescing attitudes, or perhaps even lent a hand behind the scenes as they watched the entire situation unfold. These people were likely not oblivious that things could spiral out of control, but in their perspective, even if it did, it was better than waiting around for their lifespans to deplete.
Had the Yin clan died terribly? Yes, extremely terribly. Their entire clan was massacred, leaving only him and his half-sister to escape.
Yet the Yin clan could not be considered completely innocent either, because there were also clansmen who participated.
Therefore, when the Yin clan was destroyed, he did not harbor hatred to the extent Little Yao believed, wanting to eliminate the enemies to find relief. Sometimes, he even maliciously wanted to see just how far these cultivators would go before self-destructing - perhaps even wiping out the entire Qianhao Continent from the cultivation world and eliminating these evils from the mortal realm. He felt that might not necessarily be the worst outcome.
Gu Yao's appearance was an accident to him. He actually wanted to see what path his nephew would choose as well. The Yin clan people were actually all quite selfish and self-serving, including Gu Yao's mother, his good sister. But although this child had the blood of the Gu clan and Yin clan flowing in him, he was completely different from the people of those two surnames, so Yin Hua could not bear to ruthlessly destroy him.
Sometimes he really wanted to tell Little Yao that the child was truly silly - willing to sacrifice his own life for unrelated people's benefit. Yin Hua asked himself, he could not do that. If it was him, he would absolutely choose the path more aligned to his own interests. But that did not mean he could not admire someone who made that kind of choice.
Moreover, A Dream of A Thousand Years had already told him how it would end, so he would no longer be a bystander, but push the waves behind the scenes and lend Little Yao a hand.
"Plan?" Yin Hua looked at Elder Lou and said, "I do have a plan, or rather, my nephew has a plan. Otherwise, why do you think he could persuade the Silver Wolf Clan's chief to personally send someone to save you? This is not something an supreme spirit restoring pellet could resolve, including subsequent cooperation. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Lou?"
Elder Lou's breath hitched. Could it be what he thought?
Yin Hua smiled meaningfully, "Other than that matter, what else could make the Silver Wolf Clan chief leave his clan grounds? When his clansmen went to save you, he himself went to meet my nephew. You guessed right. The Silver Clan chief should be gathering materials everywhere now, wanting to unseal the sky shielding our continent, so he would need to do something that Fellow Daoist Lou can easily guess."
Elder Lou was extremely shocked. He understood clearly what Yin Hua meant. Even if Yin Hua did not tell him to do it, he would still do his utmost, not for himself, but for the younger generation of the Lou clan, for talented juniors like Lou Huaijing. Their future should not be confined on the Qianhao Continent, eventually becoming vicious tyrants like Huo Yan father and son.
Being suppressed for too long would distort and warp one's mindset.
"I know what to do now. Fellow Daoist Yin can rest assured."
Yin Hua smiled and left a jade slip before departing with a flick of his sleeve.
Elder Lou quickly checked the contents of the jade slip. It recorded the materials needed and the construction of the passage, but the crucial parts were still in his own hands. Even if they gathered all these materials, they would not be able to construct the passageway.
Want to leave? Then protect his nephew's safety well. Do not let those completely fallen fellows threaten his safety.
Covet the inheritance in his nephew's hands? Then consider which was more important, inheritance or constructing the passage.
Although Elder Lou was hunted by his fellow sect members, it did not mean he did not have like-minded allies and his own power. Otherwise, how could his soul tablet be so easily destroyed for others to assume he had perished? Up till now, Changxian Sect still wrongly believed he was dead. As for the few cultivators who did not return as well, dealing with Nascent Soul cultivators was not so simple after all. Perhaps Elder Lou pulled them down with him in the end. What Elder Lou did not expect was that Sect Leader Huo and the man behind him would move to kill him.
This matter spread quickly. Elder Lou had cultivated for many years and interacted with other sects. Those who held the same stance as him were basically people he needed to pull over. He made many copies of the jade slip and tried every means to deliver them into the hands of these cultivators. All of them were Nascent Soul stage, and they were shocked upon reading the contents after receiving the slips.
Ta Luo Sect, Elder Zhang called out to the disciple who delivered the jade slip, "Who sent this jade slip? Where is the messenger?"
"Master, this disciple does not know."
"Forget it, you may leave." Elder Zhang understood that if the other party deliberately wanted to hide their identity, it was not something a junior disciple could uncover. It was just that the contents of the jade slip were too important, and the credibility reached 80-90%.
The Nascent Soul cultivators who received the letters also had fellow Daoist friends, so they passed it on one by one. Very quickly, the Nascent Soul cultivators met and the first sentence they said was not a greeting, but "Do you know about that matter?"
Next came, "Can the passage really be constructed?"
Only then could they sit down to talk properly, still unable to move away from the topic, wanting to know the initiator behind it to further verify the matter of the passage. Moreover, the state described of the Wanluo Continent in the jade slip made them extremely yearn for it. There existed not a few Soul Formation and even Soul Ascension stage powerhouses there, with lifespans of Soul Ascension cultivators reaching tens of thousands of years. Just this one point already made the Nascent Soul cultivators.....
"It seems Alchemist Gu Yao does have an extremely profound alchemy inheritance, even catching the attention of Witch Alchemist," this showed the rumors outside were not false. But more importantly, "How can we confirm Alchemist Gu Yao has what we want?"
Fellow Daoist Tang smiled and said, "Actually there are two fellow daoists who can testify. One is the current Silver Wolf Clan Chief, who met Alchemist Gu Yao in person. The other one is... heh... Fellow Daoist Lou from Changxian Sect who was said to have unfortunately perished fighting demons. Fellow Daoist Lou, why not come out and speak?"
After careful consideration, Elder Lou chose this Fellow Daoist Tang, because others could still wait, but Fellow Daoist Tang did not have much time left to wait. Also, Fellow Daoist Tang was strong enough, with sufficient strength to ensure his safety.
Elder Lou walked out from behind and cupped his fists at the Nascent Soul cultivators present, "Fellow daoists, I hope you have been well recently?"