Chapter 535: Goodbye, Qingnu

All Nascent Soul cultivators of the Immortal Sect are members of the committee. However, since these high-ranking figures rarely involve themselves in daily affairs, the committee is currently presided over by Ye Yun'e, the Deputy Head of Kaiyuan Hall.

When Chen Mobai saw the email, he knew he couldn't escape this matter.

Wang Shuye from the Martial Arts Academy is also one of the rotating committee members. The dispatch of this email meant the Martial Arts Academy must have already been informed of the situation. Under these circumstances, True Lord Scarlet Robe, Yu Tianguang, had likely been abandoned by the academy. As the Core Formation True Lord closest to Danxia City, Chen Mobai was obligated to assist the Heaven-Mending Group in their mission.

What a hassle.

Frowning, Chen Mobai called Che Yucheng, but the latter merely instructed him to follow the Immortal Sect's decrees without acting impulsively, then promptly hung up.

That evening, a knock sounded at Chen Mobai's door. The door opened, and someone he didn't wish to see walked in.

Lan Haitan: "Long time no see. You must have received the message from above, right?"

Chen Mobai: "Yes. Are you alone?"

As he spoke, Chen Mobai glanced around the empty space. Due to privacy concerns within the Immortal Sect, it was inappropriate for him to casually use his Insightful Spiritual Eye.

Lan Haitan: "Lin Yin is arranging the next steps. And with two Core Formation True Lords meeting, there's no point in her coming."

Chen Mobai: "You haven't told me one more piece of bad news."

Lan Haitan: "An important witness has confessed, identifying True Lord Scarlet Robe, Yu Tianguang, as one of the Ascension Cult's high-ranking members."

Just as expected!

Hearing this, Chen Mobai's brows furrowed even deeper. To be fair, Yu Tianguang had been very good to him. Had it not been for Yu Tianguang's recommendation back then, he might not have been able to enter the Martial Arts Academy. Furthermore, Yu Tianguang had later used the Lamp-Igniting Art to help him transform his Five Elements Art into the Pure Yang Scroll. These were all acts of great kindness. Now, facing the prospect of confronting Yu Tianguang due to the Immortal Sect's orders, he truly felt uneasy inside.

Chen Mobai: "What should I do?"

Lan Haitan: "Come with me and deliver the arrest warrant to Yu Tianguang."

Chen Mobai: "Is that all?"

Lan Haitan: "If Yu Tianguang dares to resist, you and I will need to work together to suppress him if necessary."

Chen Mobai: "My mere first-level Core Formation cultivation, I'm afraid, will only hold you back."

Lan Haitan: "That's too humble of you. With the Purple Lightning Sword in your hand, among all the Core Formation True Lords in the Immortal Sect, probably few would dare to face you directly."

Chen Mobai: "The Purple Lightning Sword's grade is too high; I can't fully control it yet..."

Although he couldn't defy the Immortal Sect's higher orders, Chen Mobai had indeed only just formed his Core. It was perfectly normal for him not to be a match for an experienced Core Formation True Lord like Yu Tianguang.

Lan Haitan: "Then just assist me from the side."

As he said this, Lan Haitan wore a confident expression. Since the Immortal Sect had dispatched him, they clearly had absolute confidence in his abilities.

Chen Mobai nodded and said nothing more.

Lan Haitan: "I'll inform you when it's time for the operation."

After saying this, Lan Haitan turned to leave.

Chen Mobai: "What about Qing Nü?"

Finally, Chen Mobai couldn't help but ask.

Lan Haitan: "She's meeting with a witness. If you want to see her, I can give her a day off tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, a flash of inspiration went through Chen Mobai's mind, and he felt as if he vaguely grasped something. Although Qing Nü was involved in many secret matters and had direct connections with the Ascension Cult, there were very few people she was willing to meet. Kong Feichen and Yang Jing would not appear on the Primeval Star. So, recalling Qing Nü's life story, Chen Mobai quickly thought of a particular Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Chen Mobai: "That witness is Gu Changfeng!"

After hearing this, Lan Haitan smiled slightly, offered no direct reply, and simply turned and left. At the time, Gu Changfeng's case had been personally handled by Lan Haitan in Danxia City. That was also precisely when Chen Mobai had his college entrance exam, and by coincidence, he was inadvertently caught up in the affair. Since Gu Changfeng was the first Foundation Establishment cultivator he had seen arrested by an Immortal Sect agency, and because it involved Qing Nü, Chen Mobai remembered him distinctly.

After Lan Haitan left, Chen Mobai picked up his phone. After much hesitation, still worried about Qing Nü, he called her. At first, the call didn't connect. Qing Nü called back two minutes later.

Qing Nü: "Sorry, the place I was just at was a bit special, so I couldn't answer the phone. I'm out now."

Chen Mobai: "Hmm, Lan Haitan said you came with him. I'm in Yumun City. If you encounter anything life-threatening, make sure to tell me immediately."

Chen Mobai didn't have many friends, and he was willing to fully devote himself to helping Qing Nü.

Qing Nü: "Thank you!"

As she said this, Qing Nü's voice was already a bit choked. After exchanging a couple more sentences, they agreed to meet tomorrow.

After hanging up, Chen Mobai had no mind to meditate. He simply took an upper-grade spirit stone and cultivated the Pure Yang Dharma Body, spending the entire night this way.

Before dawn, Chen Mobai left his courtyard and headed towards their agreed meeting place. This was the location of an Enforcement Department base, and the Heaven-Mending Group had requisitioned two of its floors. Qing Nü was not originally permitted to go out alone, but because of Chen Mobai, Lan Haitan granted her a day off.

"Long time no see."

When Qing Nü walked out and saw Chen Mobai at the entrance, she greeted him with her brightest, most radiant smile.

"It hasn't been that long, has it?"

As Chen Mobai spoke, he looked up and saw Lan Haitan smiling and waving at him from a window on the top floor of the building.

"Let's go."

Qing Nü proactively took Chen Mobai's hand. He was a bit surprised but didn't refuse, allowing her to lead him away.

In Lan Haitan's office, a short-haired woman in a white shirt and green suit sat formally to the side. She could see Chen Mobai below, but he could not see her.

"Is that him?"

The short-haired woman, whose pupils were light grayish-brown, watched Chen Mobai's retreating back with an intrigued expression.

"Yes, Deputy Minister Gongsun seems quite concerned about him."

After hearing Lan Haitan's words, the short-haired woman withdrew her gaze. She toyed with a toothpick in her hand, her eyes deep and contemplative.

Chen Mobai led Qing Nü to a shaded path. He had been here before with Yan Bingxuan; the scenery was very beautiful, and at the end of the path was the Geda Courtyard, home to Yumun City's most famous fourth-grade elm tree.

"To ensure the success of this mission, the Immortal Sect, in addition to the Heaven-Mending Group, even dispatched a top Core Formation True Lord from the Enforcement Department."

As they walked, Qing Nü spoke of confidential matters.

"This should be confidential, right? You don't need to tell me."

Chen Mobai, somewhat worried about Qing Nü, took the initiative to tell her to speak less.

"Deputy Group Leader Lan said that you are one of the key persons in charge of this operation, so these things can be revealed to you."

Qing Nü's words made Chen Mobai nod. Since she put it that way, he voiced the doubts in his mind.

"Which True Lord came from the Enforcement Department?"

As the most powerful agency of the Immortal Sect's Righteous Law Hall, responsible for maintaining internal discipline, the Enforcement Department, while varied in quality due to its large size, possessed far more masters than the Heaven-Mending Group. Moreover, its minister was a Nascent Soul Grandmaster of the Immortal Sect.

"My status isn't high enough; I haven't met that expert from the Enforcement Department. However, yesterday, when I was escorted to see my teacher, I sensed powerful sword qi similar to yours. It must be a Sword Cultivator."

A Sword Cultivator!? In the Righteous Law Hall, there happened to be one of the Immortal Sect's top Sword Dao masters. Chen Mobai recalled and vaguely guessed who it was. It must be Gongsun Jielü, one of the Immortal Sect's Four Great Sword Cultivators. She also happened to hold the position of Deputy Minister of the Enforcement Department. This person originated from Kunpeng Academy and is said to have mastered a portion of the Six Royal Sutra, integrating it into her own Sword Dao. Her reputation was no less than that of Nangong Xuanyu.

So she was overseeing things. No wonder Lan Haitan was so confident. As Chen Mobai thought this, he suddenly felt a sense of relief. With Gongsun Jielü present, it meant it wouldn't matter whether he took action or not; Yu Tianguang certainly wouldn't escape. If that's the case, the reason he was made to participate might be for the Martial Arts Academy to clear its own name. After all, a Core Formation True Lord from the Martial Arts Academy being a cult member would be a huge blow to any academy in terms of public opinion. And if Chen Mobai, as a representative of the Martial Arts Academy, were to assist, it would at least give them the justification of "righteousness over family," allowing them to salvage some face with future public relations efforts.

Chen Mobai: "Is Gu Changfeng imprisoned in Yumun City?"

Qing Nü: "Yes, he's serving his sentence by chopping wood in a dark forest. It was his sudden accusation against True Lord Scarlet Robe that prompted such a large-scale operation from the Immortal Sect."

In nearly a hundred years, there hasn't been a single incident of a Kaiyuan Hall councilor falling from grace. If Yu Tianguang is arrested this time, the shock to the Immortal Sect will surely have far-reaching effects. At the very least, the Martial Arts Academy will face heavy criticism, and Wang Shuye and others within the system will endure a difficult period.

Chen Mobai: "He didn't confess earlier or later. Why did he choose this particular moment to confess?"

If it had been a few years earlier, Chen Mobai wouldn't have formed his Core yet, and even if he had been conscripted in Danxia City, he wouldn't be in such an awkward position now. Taking action, while for the sake of the academy and an act of "righteousness over family," would still burden his conscience. But not acting was even worse, lest he himself be branded a cultist.

Qing Nü: "Because the side effects of his Divine Devouring Art cultivation have flared up. At his Foundation Establishment realm, he can't control his rapidly surging spiritual sense and likely doesn't have much time left to live."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai couldn't help but show an expression of sudden understanding. Back then, Gu Changfeng had been arrested by Lan Haitan precisely because of forbidden techniques. Qing Nü, his former disciple, had been protected by Jumang Academy because she possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root and showed no signs of cultivating forbidden techniques.

"Just cultivate normal techniques properly. Why cultivate forbidden techniques? Raising spiritual sense isn't that difficult..."

As Chen Mobai spoke, he himself felt a bit guilty. If his spiritual sense realm hadn't been aided by Meng Huang'er's Mysterious Sound Marvelous Method, he probably wouldn't even be at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment yet. But such polite words still had to be said to maintain his persona as a genius.

"Teacher was just a very ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had passed the physical peak of his life limit and had no channels or seniority to obtain Core Formation elixirs. The only way he could break through was through forbidden techniques."

Qing Nü, however, understood Gu Changfeng somewhat. After all, he had taken care of her for many years, teaching her alchemy knowledge, which allowed her, during her impoverished life, to befriend Chen Mobai, this child of destiny. Because of the existence of things like Qi-Replenishing Spirit Water, over 99% of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Immortal Sect died regretting their inability to break through before reaching the bottleneck, unlike geniuses who didn't feel such limits.

"How did he identify Yu Tianguang?"

Chen Mobai asked again. As it concerned the Martial Arts Academy, merely relying on the testimony of a single criminal would not be enough to convict Yu Tianguang.

"I don't know about that. The interrogation was handled by another department of the Righteous Law Hall. But judging by the importance the Heaven-Mending Group and Enforcement Department are placing on this, they must have found decisive evidence through his testimony."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai could only sigh. The order to arrest Yu Tianguang had been issued. If he wanted to consider the academy's interests, he had better perform well in the upcoming operation.

Burdened with worries, Chen Mobai led Qing Nü to the end of the shaded path.

"This is Geda Courtyard."

Before the tall, fourth-grade elm tree, Qing Nü held a wooden plaque with her hands clasped together, closing her eyes as if making a wish. Chen Mobai watched her. Just as he was wondering if he should also buy one to wish his family good health and safety, a strange spiritual fluctuation caught his attention. He looked up in the direction the spiritual fluctuation came from and saw a middle-aged man with a refined face and gentle eyes standing opposite the elm tree, looking at Qing Nü, who was making a wish, with a doting expression.

Chen Mobai frowned slightly and instantly appeared beside him.

"Eh!"

As soon as he got close, Chen Mobai found that the middle-aged man who should have been there had vanished. His gaze had clearly never left. Just as Chen Mobai couldn't help but use his spiritual eye technique, Qing Nü had already opened her eyes and happily hung the wooden plaque in her hand with a red string on one of the elm tree's branches.

Chen Mobai saw four names written on the wooden plaque: Qing Nü, Kong Feichen, Yang Jing, and his own.

"How did you get over there?"

Qing Nü saw Chen Mobai, who should have been behind her, was suddenly across from her and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"You look beautiful when you pray. I can see it most clearly from here."

Chen Mobai said with a smile, causing Qing Nü's cheeks to flush. She softly turned her face away, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Let's go. It's getting late."

By this time, it was almost dark. Unbeknownst to them, they had already spent the whole day walking around. As he left with Qing Nü, Chen Mobai couldn't help but look back at Geda Courtyard, his doubts deepening.