Chapter 44: Acting
In the distance, Zhao Wanqing watched with her own eyes as the black-robed heretic, his body brimming with blood qi, smashed Guan Quan's head into pulp with one brutal punch after another.
The senior's prediction had been correct!
Those heretics had indeed sent someone to the docks—and Guan Quan must have been hiding something.
To protect their secrets, the heretic had chosen to silence him permanently.
Zhao Wanqing's role was to serve as bait, to draw attention, while Senior Chu Xingchen had already circled around from another direction.
Catching this heretic alive would be the best way to pry open the truth.
She could only place her hopes on the senior now.
Before long, Chu Xingchen burst forth from the side, just as Zhao Wanqing had expected.
The light of his spirit sword flared brilliantly.
Even from a distance, Zhao Wanqing could clearly feel the pressure of a Gold Core-stage cultivator emanating from him.
At least late-stage Gold Core!
No wonder Yaoqin had recommended him—he was indeed formidable.
Chu Xingchen's sword turned into a streak of rainbow light, slashing toward the black-robed heretic.
Boom!
The strike's power was overwhelming.
Dust surged into the air, obscuring Zhao Wanqing's view.
A moment later, a violent wave of blood qi erupted from within the haze.
They were clearly exchanging blows inside the dust storm.
Flashes of spiritual light burst through the smoke, followed by several thunderous explosions that sent waves of energy rippling outward.
Even the aftershocks of their clash made Zhao Wanqing's heart tremble.
This was a battle far beyond her reach—she wasn't even qualified to take part.
She grew tense, for the dust made it impossible to tell who held the advantage.
But her worry didn't last long.
The black-robed heretic was the first to retreat, bursting from the cloud and fleeing frantically toward the southeast.
Moments later, Chu Xingchen shot after him with his spirit sword in pursuit.
Seeing this, Zhao Wanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
——————
Chu Xingchen chased closely behind the black-robed man for about two quarters of an hour.
Then, the black-robed figure suddenly stopped, turned, and pulled back his hood—revealing a ferocious ghost mask beneath.
His hoarse voice changed. "Master, that's far enough."
Chu Xingchen halted as well, spreading his divine sense to confirm no one was near. Then he sighed and sheathed his sword.
Finding a large rock, he sat down casually.
The black-robed man—Li Xingtian—removed his ghost mask and stepped forward to stand before his master.
He asked, "Did everything go smoothly? Did she suspect anything?"
"Smoothly," Chu Xingchen replied, looking at him with faint amusement. "At the very least, she didn't suspect you. Your acting wasn't bad."
Li Xingtian's expression remained calm. "In cultivation, many skills are worth learning. Acting is just one of them."
He clasped his hands respectfully. "Master, I'll go help Senior Sister finish up. There's still work to be done."
Chu Xingchen nodded lightly and rose to his feet. "Good. But remember to control yourself—don't go too far."
"Understood," Li Xingtian answered, nodding once before turning away.
Chu Xingchen watched his disciple's departing figure and let out a quiet sigh before heading back toward Zhao Wanqing's location at the docks.
From the very beginning—meeting Zhao Wanqing, setting the bait—everything that happened today had been part of a carefully laid plan.
But the scheme hadn't been meant solely to frame the Clearwind Sect.
Every clue Zhao Wanqing had uncovered was genuine.
The purchase of Taixuan Stones was real. The heretics' origin from the Central Domain was real.
Even their plan to sacrifice an entire sect—it was all true.
After Zhao Wanqing had returned injured the previous night, Chu Xingchen and Li Xingtian had gone to investigate further together.
If a late-Foundation cultivator had been left behind to clean up, then it was highly likely that among those heretics, there were cultivators at the Gold Core Realm.
Although his disciple carried protective talismans, Chu Xingchen still felt uneasy letting him wander freely when the situation remained unclear.
Moreover, Li Xingtian's suggestion had been reasonable.
They should first investigate the situation, then decide how to act.
The array diagrams Li Xingtian drew all required a vast number of foundation stones.
Thus, Chu Xingchen's first target became the smuggling docks where cultivation materials were traded.
Since Li Xingtian's cultivation method allowed him to manipulate blood qi, it was easy for him to impersonate a blood qi heretic.
Chu Xingchen, meanwhile, stayed nearby to ensure his disciple's safety.
With a proper cover identity, it wasn't hard to visit a few docks, identify key names, and then stage the act they needed.
After all, Guan Quan had deserved his fate.
All in all…
Everything had gone smoothly.
Chu Xingchen returned to Guan Quan's dock.
By now, the rogue cultivators who had been working there had already scattered like frightened birds after Guan Quan's head was smashed to pieces.
Only Zhao Wanqing remained, searching the dock for any leftover traces or clues.
Chu Xingchen spoke first. "Apologies. There were people waiting on the other side. I couldn't catch him."
Zhao Wanqing, however, didn't seem too disappointed. "It's fine, Senior. I'm just glad you weren't hurt."
"Did you find anything?" Chu Xingchen asked.
"A few clues." Zhao Wanqing reached into her belt pouch and produced a blood-red spirit stone. "I found this inside his body."
Chu Xingchen frowned and extended a hand, brushing his fingers lightly over the stone.
This spirit stone hadn't been planted by him or Li Xingtian.
It was Guan Quan's own possession.
The crimson spirit stone's blood qi was purer than the ones produced in the Clearwind Sect's mines.
The Clearwind Sect's blood stones were refined using the blood qi of second or third-layer Qi Condensation cultivators, but even so, their quality was inferior to the stone in Zhao Wanqing's hand.
Chu Xingchen furrowed his brow. "It seems they've already succeeded once. At least one sect must have been sacrificed."
That was likely the secret Guan Quan had been hiding.
He had probably used heretical methods to force his Foundation Establishment breakthrough—no wonder he'd trusted Li Xingtian so easily.
However, those heretics were not only fast but also greedy. Even after succeeding once, they didn't retreat. They were still working under the pressure of the Demon Suppression Bureau.
This time, the situation was entirely different. The heretics were moving with alarming force.
Zhao Wanqing stared at the blood-qi stone in her hand, her expression grave.
"We'll return to the Demon Suppression Bureau and send people to inspect the nearby minor sects."
"I'll head back for now," Chu Xingchen sighed softly. "If you need me, come find me at the courtyard. Be cautious—don't push beyond your limits."
With things escalating so rapidly, Chu Xingchen would need to re-evaluate his plans.
Zhao Wanqing clenched the blood-qi spirit stone tightly in her hand.
The deeper she dug, the more horrifying the truth became.
From the heretics ambushing Demon Suppression Bureau agents, to the massacre of entire villages by blood sacrifice—
And now, their true aim revealed: sacrificing entire sects.
And they had already succeeded at least once.
Even the smallest sect had a Gold Core cultivator seated in protection.
The situation had developed too quickly, far beyond Zhao Wanqing's capacity to handle.
The battle between the senior and the heretic had already been on a level she couldn't even comprehend.
Now, only a crushing sense of powerlessness weighed upon her heart.
At last, Zhao Wanqing could only whisper softly,
"I understand, Senior. You can rest assured."
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