Chapter 1785: Allow Me to Explain a Bit

Especially recently, as the next Black Abyss Confrontation draws nearer, the cultivators of the Scarlet Talisman Association have been under increasing pressure. Lu Ye’s sudden appearance undoubtedly boosted their morale, making them realize that Mount Fangcun had not abandoned them!

Morale is an intangible thing, yet it can often play a crucial role. Lu Ye’s arrival conveyed Mount Fangcun's stance, and Hu Dequan immediately understood that Mount Fangcun was still working hard, and that the cultivators previously dispatched here were not without support.

“Which section of Mount Fangcun are you from, fellow Daoist?” Hu Dequan asked, “And who is your Dao companion?” Although the power of the Scarlet Talisman Lu Ye wielded felt familiar and close to him, some things still needed clarification.

“The East.” Lu Ye replied, “As for my Dao companion... Su Yuqing!”

“Who?” Hu Dequan paused, almost thinking he’d misheard.

Lu Ye repeated himself.

Hu Dequan’s expression turned strange. After scrutinizing Lu Ye for a moment, he hesitantly said, “Fellow Daoist, this is not something to joke about.” Of course, he knew Su Yuqing; she was one of the three great Sun-illuminated cultivators of the Eastern Mount Fangcun! How could Lu Ye, a mid-stage Moon-illuminated cultivator, possibly be her Dao companion?

“This is certainly not a joke.” Lu Ye’s expression was solemn.

Hu Dequan was somewhat discombobulated, instinctively unwilling to believe it, yet he also knew Lu Ye wouldn’t trifle with such a matter. But if that were the case...

He himself had been dispatched from the Eastern Mount Fangcun, and his Dao companion was a female cultivator from Cloud Sea Peak, a disciple of Chen Xuanhai. Chen Xuanhai was on the same level as Su Yuqing, meaning he had to address Su Yuqing as ‘Martial Aunt’ through his Dao companion. If Lu Ye truly was Su Yuqing’s Dao companion, then wouldn’t that mean... this younger man, whose cultivation was lower than his own, was also a Martial Uncle?

“Fellow Daoist, you are truly... admirable!” Hu Dequan choked on his words for a long moment, unable to fully express the complexity of his feelings. It was hard to imagine that someone like Su Yuqing would choose such a young man as her Dao companion. As for the title ‘Martial Uncle’... he absolutely could not bring himself to utter it, nor would he ever mention his own Dao companion to Lu Ye.

Clearing his throat, Hu Dequan changed the subject: “Did you come here specifically to find us, fellow Daoist?”

Lu Ye nodded. “Someone told me that there are two major powers in this realm: one is the Scarlet Talisman Association. I guessed it was founded by our own people, so I came to try my luck.”

“Indeed.” Hu Dequan beckoned, “Come with me, fellow Daoist. I’ll take you to meet the others. They’ll certainly be delighted to know you’ve arrived.” The ‘Martial Uncle’ matter shouldn’t be something he alone had to endure; it would be fair if everyone shared the ‘loss’... Hu Dequan could already imagine the expressions on their faces when they heard that Su Yuqing’s Dao companion had arrived.

Because they constantly had to guard against sneak attacks from Saint Blood Peak cultivators, Hu Dequan tried his best to suppress his spiritual power fluctuations as he proceeded. Along the way, he asked another question: “You haven’t been tainted by the blood rain, have you, fellow Daoist?”

“No!” Lu Ye had already learned the Scarlet Talisman Association’s attitude towards recruiting members from Xiang Yin, so he naturally knew how to answer at this moment. Moreover, he was ultimately different from Xiang Yin and the others. As long as he didn’t activate his Bloodline secret techniques, he was no different from a normal human. Xiang Yin and her group, however, were. Even if they didn’t activate their Bloodline secret techniques, nothing outwardly showed, but if Lu Ye activated his Sacred Prowess, they would still be suppressed because they already possessed Bloodline characteristics internally.

“That’s good!” Hu Dequan breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that he fully trusted Lu Ye, but primarily because Lu Ye had only arrived a few days ago, making the probability of being tainted by blood rain low. “The Sacred Prowess contained within the blood rain is all-pervasive. Once tainted, it’s a huge problem.”

They walked and chatted along the way.

After most of a day, the two arrived at an underground cavern. Lu Ye looked around, finding it seemingly abandoned for a long time, with no signs of living activity. He looked at Hu Dequan questioningly, who explained, “Fellow Daoist, please wait here with me for a moment. Fellow Daoists Meng Xu and Yang Ling will be here shortly.” Lu Ye had noticed earlier that Hu Dequan had sent out a message using a sound talisman on the way. Meng Xu and Yang Ling were likely the ones he called to meet here. Glancing at the cavern’s environment, Lu Ye blinked and nodded, “Alright!” With that, he found a spot and sat down cross-legged.

After waiting a while longer, footsteps echoed from outside, followed by a loud voice: “Another brother has arrived?”

Another voice chimed in: “Keep your voice down; you might attract enemies.”

The loud voice scoffed, “I’m already hiding here. If I can still draw them over, I’ll twist off my own head.”

As they spoke, two men, one fat and one thin, entered from outside. Their gazes swept past the familiar Hu Dequan and fixed on Lu Ye, their eyes shining as if they had discovered a treasure.

Hu Dequan stood up and introduced them: “Brother Meng, Brother Yang, this is Fellow Daoist Lu Ye from the East.” He then introduced the two men to Lu Ye: the fat one was the loud Yang Ling, and the thin one was Meng Xu. Including Hu Dequan, all three were late-stage Moon-illuminated cultivators! After all, they were dispatched by the Minor Human Race to search for the core of Mount Fangcun, so their strength certainly wouldn’t be low. This time, had Lu Ye not insisted, Su Yuqing would have wanted him to wait until he reached late-stage Moon-illuminated before helping with the search.

Yang Ling laughed heartily, “We’re family! I was also sent from the East. Who is your Dao companion, fellow Daoist? I’ve spent some time at Mount Fangcun; perhaps I know them.”

Hu Dequan secretly chuckled to himself.

When Lu Ye stated ‘Su Yuqing,’ Yang Ling’s expression suddenly stiffened. He turned to look at Hu Dequan, his face asking, ‘Is this kid joking with me?’ Hu Dequan shrugged. His reaction hadn’t been any better than Yang Ling’s when he first heard the news. Meng Xu also realized the gravity of the situation. They had all called each other brothers here, living freely and happily. Who could tolerate a sudden ‘Martial Uncle’ appearing? Meng Xu didn’t even bother to state which section of Mount Fangcun he was from, fearing he’d make himself uncomfortable.

After a moment of awkwardness, Yang Ling scratched his head. “Never mind, never mind. No matter where we’re from, once we’re here, we’re brothers sharing thick and thin!”

“Exactly!” Hu Dequan and Meng Xu agreed wholeheartedly.

Changing the topic with a single sentence, Yang Ling’s expression turned serious: “Brother Lu, while some things are mostly confirmed, there are still some procedures we need to follow for you to join the Scarlet Talisman Association. Please don’t mind them.”

Lu Ye nodded. “No problem. What do I need to do?” He was actually mentally prepared for this, knowing that joining the Scarlet Talisman Association wouldn’t be so simple. If it truly were that simple, the Scarlet Talisman Association wouldn’t have remained so pure for so many years.

“First, please reveal your Scarlet Talisman.” Yang Ling began. Although Hu Dequan had felt the power of Lu Ye’s Scarlet Talisman, Yang Ling and Meng Xu had not seen it. Lu Ye immediately activated the power of his Scarlet Talisman, allowing Yang Ling and Meng Xu to quietly sense it. Moments later, both nodded, indicating no issues. Yang Ling then continued, “Brother Meng will also need to test if you’ve been tainted by Sacred Prowess. If not, then from this day forward, you’ll be a member of the Scarlet Talisman Association.”

As he spoke, Meng Xu suddenly reached out, took a spherical object, and tossed it directly to Lu Ye: “This item was painstakingly refined by me over many years. Brother Lu, please drop some of your blood onto it.” Lu Ye looked at the spherical object in his hand and readily nodded, “No problem!” He had actually been somewhat puzzled before: how did the Scarlet Talisman Association distinguish whether cultivators had been tainted by Sacred Prowess? Now he finally understood that they had specialized artifacts for detection. Having contended with Saint Blood Peak in the Core World for so many years, the Scarlet Talisman Association naturally possessed its own methods.

He didn’t know what the result of using this item for detection would be. Although his Talent Tree had incinerated all things detrimental to him when he refined the Sacred Blood, and he wasn’t usually affected, he had, after all, refined some things belonging to the Blood Race. Normal methods wouldn’t reveal any abnormalities, but with such a blood-drop test, Lu Ye couldn’t be certain of the outcome.

In fact, when Hu Dequan brought him here, Lu Ye already had some suspicions. If Hu Dequan had truly trusted him completely, he should have been at the Scarlet Talisman Association’s stronghold by now, not brought to this location. By bringing him here, Hu Dequan was clearly being cautious. In this environment, with three late-stage Moon-illuminated cultivators gathered, if Lu Ye’s test showed an issue, it would be extremely difficult to escape – Lu Ye even suspected that the exit he came through had already been set up with traps by Yang Ling and Meng Xu, who arrived later. Regardless, he couldn’t avoid this test. If he could successfully join the Scarlet Talisman Association, their resources for countering Saint Blood Peak would greatly increase. As for confessing beforehand... that was likely out of the question. The Scarlet Talisman Association’s standards for recruiting members were clear; if he confessed, the only outcome would be his exclusion. So, he could only take a gamble.

Drawing his Panshan Blade, Lu Ye lightly cut his hand, and drops of fresh blood fell onto the spherical artifact. Yang Ling’s voice chimed in: “Don’t be too nervous. Brother Hu said you’ve only been here for a few days, so as long as you haven’t been tainted by the blood rain, there won’t be any problems.” As he finished speaking, the originally pitch-black sphere suddenly burst forth with a brilliant red light, growing brighter and brighter until it illuminated the entire cavern in a crimson glow.

Lu Ye looked up and saw Yang Ling’s expression turn extremely grave, saw the regret and sorrow on Meng Xu’s face, and felt Hu Dequan’s distinctly palpable hostility from behind him! At some unknown point, the three Moon-illuminated cultivators had spread out into a triangle, surrounding him. Lu Ye sighed. He raised his hand and tossed the spherical artifact to Yang Ling, saying, “Would the three of you allow me to explain?”

Yang Ling’s expression was heavy. “There’s no need for explanations. I know you didn’t intentionally get tainted by the Sacred Prowess; it’s just that the blood rain is all-pervasive, and you’re new here, unaware of anything...” At this point, he couldn’t help but curse, “It’s our fault for being too slow, fellow Daoist. If you must blame someone, blame us!” If they had been better informed and acted quickly enough to find Lu Ye the moment he arrived, they could have avoided the current situation.