Chapter 75: This Venerable One Is Illiterate, Deal With It

The gathered crowd gawked at Jiangui, then looked at the blazing

red willow vines wrapped around the necks of the murdered and grew even

more agitated.

"You did it! Just like when you killed Eighteen!"

"How could you be so cruel?"

"Kill him!"

The clamor hurt the Elder Immortal's head. With a hand pressed

against her temples, she said coldly, "Mo Weiyu, I will ask you one last time:

Did you or did you not kill them?"

"I did not."

"Very well." The Elder Immortal nodded.

Mo Ran let out a breath, thinking she was going to let him go. He was

about to express his gratitude for her wisdom and righteousness when she

lifted a hand in a gesture of indifference.

"This person has committed myriad transgressions and refuses to

admit to his crimes," she said in an icy tone. "Seize him."

When Shi Mei came outside after washing up and getting dressed, he

saw Mo Ran being restrained with magic by over a dozen high-level

members of the feathered tribe while another tied his wrists with immortalbinding rope.

"What are you doing?!" All color drained out of Shi Mei's face as he

hurried to Mo Ran's side. "What happened?"

No one replied, but the corpses swaying eerily between the peach

blossoms were answer enough. Shi Mei drew in a sharp breath and took a

step back, bumping into Mo Ran's chest. "A-Ran…"

"Don't panic, calm down." Mo Ran kept his eyes on the Elder

Immortal while whispering to Shi Mei. "Go get Uncle and the Xuanji Elder."

With the situation being what it was, the feathered tribe might not be

open to reason. If they decided to rip him apart no matter what he said, he

had zero chance of winning, not with his current abilities. He needed Xue

Zhengyong and Xuanji to step in as soon as possible.

Shi Mei left, and Mo Ran stood alone against those faces twisted by

rage, his gaze steady as he glanced them over one by one.

"Puh!"

A gob of phlegm flew out of the crowd toward him. Mo Ran moved to

dodge, but the feathered folk who had spit was too close, and it caught him

anyway. He turned around slowly and came face-to-face with a pair of

scarlet eyes.

"You killed so many people and you dare to call for help? I'm going to

put you down right now!"

With that, a fiery blaze gathered in the feathered tribe folk's palm and

hurtled directly toward Mo Ran.

Mo Ran stepped back and to the side. The scorching fire singed his

bangs as it shot past and crashed into the peach tree behind him, snapping the

sturdy trunk in half.

Thud. The peach tree fell over, flowers scattering across the ground

like snow in the wind.

Mo Ran looked at the tree on the ground, then turned to the attacker. "I

already said: I didn't kill them. The purity pills will be ready in ten days. If

you want revenge, you could at least wait till then."

"Ten days? You'll have murdered everyone here by then!" his attacker

roared furiously and lunged at Mo Ran. "Give me back my zizi!"

Mo Ran dodged the attack once again, and his eyes landed on the Elder

Immortal looking on from the side. She had no intention whatsoever of

stopping this. Mo Ran felt a flare of rage and raised his voice in a bellow,

"Hey! You old bird! Get a grip on your people!"

No response.

"Fucker." Mo Ran cursed under his breath when she still refused to

budge. "Pretending to be deaf-mute at this juncture. You wanna watch me get

burned to death or something? If I'd known you shitty birds couldn't even tell

right from wrong, I wouldn't have come to this shithole to start with! Who

wants to get incriminated like this for no reason?!"

The Elder Immortal's expression twitched slightly, and there was a

fierce thwap as she lifted her sleeve in a sweeping flourish—that landed

right on Mo Ran's face.

The feathered tribe looked like humans, but their way of thinking was

quite alien. In the cultivation world, not even the head of a small martial hall

—much less the leader of an entire tribe—would jump to conclusions

without definitive proof. But in the end, the feathered tribe was half-beast,

and their blood ran thick with their bestial nature.

The color of the Elder Immortal's hair changed from black to bright

scarlet, and what looked like steam rolled from every strand. Her eyes

opened wide in a glare as she said darkly, "Who is your master? Who taught

such an uncouth disciple?! Watch your mouth!"

At her words, the rest of the feathered tribe began to shriek, one after

another, and closed in on Mo Ran with murder written in their crimson eyes.

Whoosh!

An arrow of flame pierced through the sky, flying directly toward Mo

Ran's heart.

Mo Ran dared not dismiss the threat, and sparks coursed through

Jiangui as he dodged while brandishing the willow vine. The shot was only a

feint, and when he turned to block, one of the feathered tribe bereaved rushed

his back with sword drawn.

Arrow at the fore, sword at the rear—there was no way out. These

half-beasts meant to kill him right here. Mo Ran steeled himself, called to

mind how Chu Wanning had wielded Tianwen before, and raised his hand

with a flick of his wrist.

Jiangui was flung into the air then abruptly pulled taut, the bloodred

willow vine whirling into a blur and creating a massive vortex. The leaves

on the vine instantly turned knife sharp as the maelstrom pulled in everything

in his vicinity, even the air itself, and shredded it all to pieces.

It was one of Chu Wanning's ultimate techniques: "Wind!"

With his vine as the eye of the storm, everything surrounding Mo Ran

was pulled in by powerful spiritual energy—swallowed by the vortex,

ground into dust, and swept away by the wind until nothing remained.

"Ahhh!" The attacker screamed. Her arrow had been pulverized by

Jiangui, and her longsword was lost in the storm as well, too close to rescue.

Clang!

There came the sharp sound of metal breaking, and before anyone

could react, she had also been pulled to the edge of the bloodred storm as she

shrieked, "Let me go! You lunatic! You fucking lunatic!"

The Elder Immortal was infuriated by the sight of her own people

endangered. Her red robes fluttered as she rose into the air. A brilliantly red

crystal of high purity appeared in her hand, and her sleeves billowed as she

channeled spiritual energy into it. A frenzied gale roared to life, sweeping

clouds along and flattening grass and trees alike.

The image of a fire phoenix blazed into being behind her. Her eyes

were a deep, unsettling red, and that originally beautiful face twisted.

"Bastard," she hissed. "Still not standing down?"

"You've called out your phoenix. If I stopped now, wouldn't that just

be asking for death?" As Mo Ran spoke, the phoenix cast a massive shadow

over him, its fiery reflection dancing across his face. "You stop first, then I

will!"

"You—"

The Elder Immortal rose even higher into the air.

"Have—"

Her bloodred eyes stared Mo Ran down as she spit out each syllable.

"No right—to make demands—of me!"

An explosive sound came from above, then the phoenix dove toward

Mo Ran with a screech.

Bang!

Another deafening sound, louder than the last, like the awakening of an

ancient dragon from its thousand years of slumber as it smashed through stone

and earth to burst forth from the depths of the ground.

The phoenix was met by a golden light, and the force of the impact sent

shock waves through the air. The weaker members of the feathered tribe

shrieked as the gales bashed into them. Some even spat blood as they were

thrown dozens of feet away.

The tempest swept through Campsis Pavilion, instantly obliterating

trees and buildings until they were leveled to the ground.

When the dust settled, a slender, familiar figure was in the air in front

of Mo Ran, shielding him.

"Sh-Shizun…?!"

Robes white as snow, sleeves billowing in the wind. When he heard

Mo Ran's call, his face turned slightly, his expression as cool and composed

as ever, and his phoenix eyes swept over Mo Ran where he knelt on the

ground. Chu Wanning's voice was cold and deep, like clear water from the

well on a hot summer's day. "Are you injured?"

Mo Ran was too stunned to react. His eyes were wide, and his mouth

opened in shock as he gaped wordlessly.

Chu Wanning looked him up and down and detected no obvious

injuries, so he turned back to the Elder Immortal. "Weren't you asking who

his master was a moment ago?" He released his terrifyingly potent spiritual

energy and slowly descended to the ground, where he said, simply and

sharply, with not a single superfluous word, "Chu Wanning of Sisheng Peak.

Show me your best move."

"Wh-what?"

Chu Wanning frowned. It looked like these bird people didn't

understand etiquette. That was fine by him. He was out of patience. "I said, I

am his master." A pause. "And I don't remember giving you permission to

hurt my disciple."

The Elder Immortal might have been called an immortal, but this was

only on account of her noble bloodline—she was far from an actual

immortal. In their exchange moments ago, Chu Wanning had shattered her

phoenix and Tianwen had slashed her arm. She wore a sour expression as

she held her limb, black blood seeping from between her fingers. "H-how

dare you—a mere mortal! Who let you into Peach Blossom Springs?! How

did you even get in here?!" She was almost crazed. "You conceited—"

Slash!

Tianwen appeared as summoned and lashed straight across her face,

splitting the corner of her lips and spilling blood.

"Yes? Go on," Chu Wanning said with a cold smile as he smoothed

down his sleeve, which had fallen slightly askew while he brandished

Tianwen. Then he grabbed Mo Ran by the collar and dragged him upright

with one hand, eyes never once leaving the Elder Immortal. "You were

saying? I'm a conceited what?"

"H-h-how dare you, you—"

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Chu Wanning gazed at her, unimpressed.

"What ought I be afraid of?" He paused, then pulled Mo Ran closer. "Listen

up: This person is mine. I'm taking him."

Mo Ran hadn't even recovered from his shock at Chu Wanning's

sudden god-like descent before he was smashed into smithereens by the

words, "This person is mine."

"Sh…Shizun…"

"Shut your trap." Chu Wanning's face was as impassive as ever, but

Mo Ran could clearly see the anger simmering in his eyes. "All you ever do

is bring me trouble. Can't do anything right."

This scold was punctuated by a slap to the back of his head. Then Chu

Wanning took off into the air with Mo Ran in tow, and he was dozens of feet

away in a single leap. By the time Mo Ran realized what was happening, they

were at the barren outskirts of Peach Blossom Springs.

"Shizun! My shidi is still back there—"

Chu Wanning glanced at him and let out a cold hmph at the panic on his

face. "Shidi? The one named Xia?"

"Yes, he's still at Campsis Pavilion. I have to go save him—"

Chu Wanning lifted a hand to interrupt. "I already sent him to Xuanji

with a spell. There's no need to worry."

Mo Ran finally let out the breath he was holding and lifted his eyes to

look at Chu Wanning. "Shizun, why…are you here?"

Chu Wanning had been woken by the commotion outside his room, and

when he saw that the situation was dire, he'd quickly taken one of Tanlang's

pills to temporarily regain his adult form. He couldn't explain that to Mo Ran

right now, so he only said, icy as ever, "Why can't I be here?" Then he lifted

a hand and manifested a golden haitang on the tip of his finger.

"Withered blooms outside the wistful tower / Night and spring breeze

down the Qiantang River." Chu Wanning lowered his lashes and blew gently

on the flower bud, which instantly bloomed with a flourish of resplendent

light. He flicked his slender fingertip and gave it a quiet command: "Seek."

The haitang flower drifted away with the wind and disappeared into

the forest.

"Shizun, what spell was that?" Mo Ran asked curiously.

"Flower Toss."

"Huh?"

"Flower Toss." Chu Wanning's expression was totally serious, without

the slightest hint of humor. "It didn't have a name, but since you asked, I've

given it one."

Mo Ran's mouth hung open. This guy could not possibly be this lazy.

"The sect leader already told me what happened." Chu Wanning gazed

in the direction where the haitang had gone, voice deep and cold as always,

like jade in the flow of a stream. "The person responsible for these events is

likely also responsible for the incident at Jincheng Lake. I'm afraid that the

Zhenlong Chess Formation has been performed here at Peach Blossom

Springs as well."

Mo Ran was startled. "How could that be?"

He'd excelled at the Zhenlong Chess Formation in his previous

lifetime, and when Eighteen was killed, he had checked for signs of its use.

This forbidden technique was always accompanied by the stench of blood—

once unleashed, murder was inevitable. So, one only had to look for intense

yet seemingly unfounded resentful energy to determine whether the Zhenlong

Chess Formation had been deployed in the vicinity. If this mysterious person

had indeed used that forbidden technique again, he would have had to pull it

off perfectly. Otherwise, Mo Ran would have been able to detect it.

There was a tinge of suspicion in the look Chu Wanning threw him, and

Mo Ran hurried to explain himself. "I mean…they're all half-immortal at

Peach Blossom Springs. How could they miss a forbidden technique being

used here?"

Chu Wanning shook his head. "This person had already proved

themselves capable of controlling the ancient spirit beasts of Jincheng Lake.

Although spirit beasts can't hope to compare to holy beasts in terms of

strength, they are equipollent to demi-immortals. As he was able to control

Jincheng Lake, he is very likely doing the same at Peach Blossom Springs

right now."

"I see…"

"Mn."

Mo Ran lifted his head, the bashful grin on his face framed with

dimples. "Shizun, what does equipollent mean?"

Chu Wanning gave him a look.