" Master Xiaoyi has already returned to Mirror Cloud Residence with his two disciples."
"Bring them all here."
After the immortal soldier withdrew,Situ Fanzhi took out the letter in his hand and burned it in the candle flame.
In Yun Qingyi's room,
Li Luoning was pouring spiritual power into the Xiahe Flower, and then the Xiahe Flower transferred that power into Yun Qingyi's seven channels and eight meridians.
As one petal after another of the Xiahe Flower withered, Yun Qingyi's face gradually regained some color.
"Master, when will Brother Qingyi wake up?" Mi Xingzhe asked.
"Now that the Xiahe Flower is protecting his inner core, he should wake up in a few days."
"Then I will stay here and watch over Brother Qingyi until he wakes up."
"You still have other things to do now," Li Luoning said.
Only then did Mi Xingzhe remember that Yun Qingyi had mentioned this matter to him before.
"Master, the matter with the Medicine King really was not me."
"I believe you...,but..."Li Luoning saw Qingyuan walk in with a group of immortal soldiers.
"Master Xiaoyi, the Immortal Venerable has ordered that you and your two disciples come with me," Qingyuan said.
"My disciple Qingyi was injured earlier and is still unconscious, so I am afraid he cannot go with us,"
Inside the Immortal Venerable's Hall,
"Yun Wannian, you say you did not harm the Medicine King. Can you show any evidence?" Situ Fanzhi asked.
"I was taken away that day, so where would I get any evidence? You accuse me of harming the Medicine King, but it is not as if you have no evidence either," Mi Xingzhe said.
"Nian do not be rude," Li Luoning said.
"When the Medicine King was harmed, he was holding half a petal of Empty Valley Orchid in his hand, and it matches the flower found in your room. And you still say you did not do it!" Situ Fanzhi slammed the table and shouted.
"Judging by only one petal is a little too careless. I have heard that Xuanming Star Lord has a magical artifact called Jianxuan Yingcu, which can present memories in the form of images. Why not borrow it and find out with one look?" Li Luoning said .
"The Medicine King now has only a trace of soul left. How can his memory be read?" Situ Fanzhi asked
"If someone is willing to give up ninety percent of their cultivation and use their own body as a vessel, the Medicine King's remaining soul can be placed into that body for a short time, and only then can the memory be read. It is just that during the process, the person serving as the vessel will suffer pain like ten thousand insects tearing through their brain, with a splitting headache," Xuanming Lord explained.
"I am willing to bear my adoptive father's remaining soul and read the truth," Oushi Nan stepped.
"It is just that your true form is a flower, and I fear you cannot serve as a vessel for the remaining soul," Xuanming Lord said with a shake of his head.
"I will do it!" Mi Xingzhe spoke.
"No, I willing to serve as the vessel for Jianxuan Yingcu and prove my disciple's innocence," Li Luoning said.
"Master..." Mi Xingzhe could not help wanting to step in and stop him, but Li Luoning gently shook his head.
"Very well. Since you insist that your disciple did not harm the Medicine King, then let you, as his master, find out the truth for him," Situ Fanzhi agreed.
Inside the great hall, Li Luoning swept both hands, and nine streaks of golden-red power were called out.
Xuanming Star Lord first took up the Medicine King's sealed remnant soul, and a flickering brown light slowly entered through the back of Li Luoning's head. Then, with seals formed in his hands and an incantation on his lips, he summoned a golden tendril from Jianxuan Yingcu, which swiftly pierced into the back of Li Luoning's head.
Li Luoning only felt a burning force enter his body through the back of his head, and what followed was a splitting pain like being torn apart by bites. He tried hard to hold himself back from making any sound. His eyes were shut tight, and his brows could not help but knit together.
Mi Xingzhe at the side grew nervous as well. If not for him, his master would not have had to suffer like this.
And the one at the side who also could not bear to watch Li Luoning in pain was Yue Ruling.
Standing behind the crowd, Oushi Nan showed a satisfied smile instead.
The golden tendril pierced into the back of Li Luoning's head, and Jianxuan Yingcu showed the Medicine King's final memory in the air above everyone. In the image, the Medicine King first appeared refining pills, and then a black mist rushed into the room and struck him to the ground with one hit.
"This black mist... demonic energy?" Qingyuan recognized.
As soon as they heard it was demonic energy, everyone in the hall could not help but start whispering among themselves.
Xuanming Star Lord withdrew the magical artifact, pulled the Medicine King's remnant soul back out, and placed it again into the container. Li Luoning, unable to hold himself up, collapsed weakly to one side. Seeing this, Mi Xingzhe quickly rushed over and caught his master in his arms.
"Immortal Venerable, if Qingyuan is not mistaken, that mist that struck down the Medicine King just now was indeed a mass of demonic energy," Qingyuan said.
"How is that possible? My adoptive father has always lived quietly and kept to himself in the Liao Yin Immortal Realm. How could he possibly have made enemies with people from the demon realm?" Oushi Nan argued.
"Immortal Oushi has a point. The Medicine King rarely went out, so how could he have offended someone from the demon realm for no reason at all? Xuanming Star Lord, could there be some mistake with your Jianxuan Yingcu?" Situ Fanzhi asked.
"Jianxuan Yingcu cannot be mistaken. What we saw just now was indeed the final image from the moment the Medicine King was attacked," Xuanming Lord replied.
"But this makes no sense no matter how you look at it. Wuming Demon Mountain is thousands of miles away, so why would someone go all the way to my Liao Yin Immortal Realm just to harm the Medicine King?" Situ Fanzhi asked.
Just as everyone was full of doubt, an immortal soldier hurried in from outside the hall.
"Not far from Mirror Cloud Residence, in the mountains outside, we found Yingde Dragon King. After examination, Yingde Dragon King has... passed away."
At Wuming Demon Mountain, inside the Demon Lord's Hall,
"What? Passed away? When did this happen?" Li Minghan also received the news of Yingde Dragon King's passing.
"Our demon soldiers saw the Dragon King leave a few days ago, saying he was going to Mirror Cloud Residence to get something. After that, he was found dead in the mountain woods not far from there. His bones had been gnawed by demon beasts. The scene was... too horrible to look at," Hua Qiuyuan reported from the side.
"Nonsense. His magic power is strong. How could he possibly have been simply gnawed to death by demon beasts? Did you check this clearly?" Li Minghan did not believe what the demon soldier had reported at all. His voice trembled slightly as he tried to confirm it again.
"It is said that the dragon bones have already been taken back to the Dragon Palace for burial," Hua Qiuyuan nodded.
"I understand. You may leave."
Li Minghan did not even know how he made it back to his sleeping chamber. He looked as if he had lost his soul, his steps weak and unsteady, and then he staggered into the secret room.
Seeing Li Minghan in such a state, Shentu Zhuojia found it very strange.
Li Minghan looked desolate, and even his hair was somewhat messy. Before entering the secret room, he had thrown a huge fit in the bedchamber, smashing everything inside, and blood was still dripping from his injured hands from time to time.
Li Minghan stumbled all the way to where Shentu Zhuojia was and suddenly dropped to his knees. His eyes were empty, his expression sad, and he did not even look at Shentu Zhuojia. He only slowly said one sentence.
"Adoptive father... has passed away."
"What? Explain yourself clearly. My uncle... what happened?" Hearing this news, Shentu Zhuojia was also deeply shocked. He stepped forward and grabbed Li Minghan by the shoulders and shook him hard as he questioned him.
"Do you think the people of the Dragon Palace will let me go and mourn for adoptive father?" Li Minghan still showed no intention of answering Shentu Zhuojia. His eyes were dim and empty as he let Shentu Zhuojia shake him.
"Who killed him?" Shentu Zhuojia asked, his voice full of sad and anger.
"He was found dead at Mirror Cloud Residence, Mirror Cloud Residence! That damned Mirror Cloud Residence again! Li Luoning's territory!" Li Minghan finally push him away and shout back. Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes as he cried like a child who had lost his home.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible," Shentu Zhuojia muttered.
"How is it impossible? It was that Li Luoning again. From the very moment he was born, he took away my life and the love of my parents. He could have everything, while I ended up with nothing. All of this happened because he exists. It is all because of him!" Li Minghan knelt on the ground and cursed in a broken, desperate voice, tears still pouring from the corners of his eyes.
"Minghan, calm down. Before things are fully investigated, you cannot make a conclusion. Otherwise, you may wrong someone else and let the real killer go free." Shentu Zhuojia knew it was not the true, but the only thing he could do at this moment was try to calm him down.
"Even you are protecting him? You are my sworn brother, the elder brother I have always admired. And Li Luoning is only a medicine immortal, some low-level cultivator. You have never even met him, and you know nothing of what kind of person he is. So how can you be so sure that he did not kill adoptive father?"
Li Minghan's eyes were red, his voice full of rage and hatred, and his fists clenched tight as his whole body trembled while he shouted.
"I..." Shentu Zhuojia was suddenly at a loss for words.
"Fine! Since all of you protect him and believe him, and no one cares about me, then I will make sure he never knows peace again. I will make all the people who protect him watch how he is slowly flayed and torn apart bit by bit! I want his life. I want everyone who cares about him to die for him. I want him buried along with my adoptive father!" Li Minghan's face turned dark with fury, his through clenched teeth he forced out those words before standing up to go find Li Luoning.
"Minghan, don't...." Shentu Zhuojia stepped forward and grabbed Li Minghan to stop him from leaving.
"Move!" Li Minghan slapped Shentu Zhuojia's arm aside and then turned and struck him with a palm.
Shentu Zhuojia staggered back several steps from the hit, and that strike from Li Minghan just happened to trigger the parasites inside both of them. Almost at the same moment, blood spilled from the corners of both their mouths.
"What?" When Shentu Zhuojia saw that he was injured and Li Minghan also spat out blood, he immediately became confused.
Ignoring Shentu Zhuojia, Li Minghan flicked his cloak and stormed out, slamming the door so hard that he did not notice a crack appear in the seal on the door.
Hua Qiuyuan saw the Demon Lord come out, and his eyes turned toward the half-open door of the Demon Lord's sleeping chamber.
Back in the Liao Yin Immortal Realm, Li Minghan took off his mask and walked out from a corner...
"Master Xiaoyi?"
Hearing the voice from behind him, Li Minghan looked back warily. When he saw the person walking toward him in a friendly way, he naturally understood that this person had mistaken him for Li Luoning, so he simply nodded lightly without saying anything.
"Is Brother Qingyi feeling better now? I still have some healing salve the Medicine King gave me before. It works especially well on external wounds. Master Xiaoyi, please take it and put it on Brother Qingyi. Otherwise you have to look after Brother Qingyi and also make medicine, which must be quite hard on you," Yue Ruling said without noticing in the slightest that the person before her was not Li Luoning. She just kept talking on and on.
"Thank you," Li Minghan replied.
Seeing "Li Luoning" react like this, Yue Ruling thought he was grieving over Yingde Dragon King's passing.
"I never thought that the last time I saw the Dragon King would be that time outside Mirror Cloud Residence with Immortal Oushi." Yue Ruling said.
"Immortal Oushi?" Li Minghan asked.
"Yes. That day, while I was on patrol passing by Mirror Cloud Residence, I saw Immortal Oushi standing outside the gate. At that time, the matter of the Medicine King had still not been settled, so I thought I would go over and ask why he was there. After that, the Dragon King arrived too and said he had come to Mirror Cloud Residence to get something," Yue Ruling recalled.
"And then?"
"Then I left. Only Immortal Oushi and the Dragon King remained there. I do not know what they talked about," Yue Ruling continued.
"The Immortal Oushi you are talking about, was it Oushi Nan?" Li Minghan asked.
"Yes. Who else could it be? At that time, he still insisted that little junior brother was the one who had harmed the Medicine King. I argued with him for a few sentences, but I did not stay any longer and then left," Yue Ruling said.
"Oushi Nan always likes to make his plans very carefully, but at the same time, he is ruthless and cruel. If adoptive father had found out any clue, it would not be impossible for Oushi Nan to attack him. And demon beasts gnawing him? Adoptive father was powerful. How could he possibly have been eaten by a few demon beasts? Looking at it this way, all of this really does seem more like Oushi Nan's work." Li Minghan thought to himself, then asked,
"Have you seen that Immortal Oushi today?"
"Yes. While I was on patrol just now, I saw him in the pill room. I think he was probably making medicine," Yue Ruling nodded and pointed in the direction of the pill room.
"Thank you," Li Minghan said, and then headed straight toward the pill room.
"Hey... why is Master Xiaoyi acting so strangely today?" Yue Ruling said, a little puzzled, but she did not think too much about it and continued on with her patrol.
Inside Lianzhan Pavilion, Qingyuan was resting with his eyes closed.
"It is demonic energy!" Qingyuan suddenly opened his eyes wide and rushed out at once.
Yue Ruling kept patrolling, and not long after, she ran into Li Luoning on the road.
"Master Xiaoyi, why have I run into you again?" Yue Ruling looked behind herself and then back at Li Luoning in front of her. She had clearly just seen Li Luoning head toward the pill room, so how had he appeared here again so quickly, and in a different outfit too?
"Again? Have we met today?" Li Luoning asked.
"Yes,did you not ask me whether I had seen Immortal Oushi, and then head off to the pill room to look for him? How are you here again so fast?" Yue Ruling pointed.
"The pill room?" Li Luoning lowered his head in thought for a moment, and then suddenly realized something.
"This is bad!"