ISWTDB Ch23

Chapter 23: The Disfigured and Blind Sect Leader (23)

Seeing this, Nan Zheng had no choice but to follow at the back of the group. Soon, everyone arrived at the scripture tower within the Piaomiao Pavilion. Upon arrival, they indeed saw the tall tower engulfed in roaring flames.

Seeing the fire growing larger, Nan Zheng quickly formed a few hand seals and swiftly extinguished the flames. Nan Zheng was puzzled; the fire was obviously easily extinguishable, so why did the disciple earlier claim that the fire couldn’t be put out?

Ying Zhao noticed the puzzled expression on Nan Zheng’s face and smiled slightly, thinking that the subtle use of inner demons was not just to amplify the desires in people’s hearts. Once rooted in a person’s heart, if manipulated by demonic cultivators, those with lower cultivation levels could even be directly controlled.

Then, Ying Zhao gently squeezed Wen Renming’s palm. Wen Renming lowered his eyelids, and with a burst of divine sense, saw several more disciples from the Piaomiao Pavilion rushing into the scripture tower.

Subsequently, this group of people began to carry out a large number of jade slips and treasures from the scripture tower, shouting loudly:

“Come quickly and help! See if the treasures in this scripture tower are damaged by the fire! The fire is so big, we can’t afford any problems. The treasures in this tower are the most cherished treasures of our Piaomiao Pavilion!”

Hearing the disciples of the Piaomiao Pavilion say this, people from other sects couldn’t help but gather around curiously, wanting to see what kind of secret techniques and treasures were hidden in the Piaomiao Pavilion.

After all, the tower was so large, it was surely filled with many treasures. Nan Zheng couldn’t stop them in time, and the disciples of the Piaomiao Pavilion moved out quite a few items.

These items were piled on the ground, glittering and dazzling, even the experienced sect leaders couldn’t help but take a few more glances. But soon, a loud shout came from the crowd.

A disciple of the Purple Cloud Pavilion pointed at a glowing treasure on the ground and shouted:

“Master, look! Isn’t that the ‘Golden Nirvana Technique’ which has been missing from our Purple Cloud Pavilion for a long time?”

The sect master of the Purple Cloud Pavilion immediately stepped forward upon hearing this. Looking closely, he found that the glowing jade slip was indeed the long-lost treasure of his sect.

He immediately picked up the glowing jade slip and turned around, glaring at Nan Zheng with a frown. However, this was just the beginning.

Before long, similar exclamations were heard from the surrounding cultivators.

“Look, isn’t this the lost artifact of our sect?”

“Yes, it is!”

“Isn’t this the treasured Purple Vine Whip of my Nanyun Mountain? It’s been missing for many years, who would have thought it would be here!”

…

People crowded around to check, ignoring the disciples of the Piaomiao Pavilion. Most of the sects found treasures that had once belonged to their sects among the pile of treasures.

Just as everyone was eagerly searching for their sect’s treasures, a heart-wrenching cry suddenly erupted from the crowd.

A female cultivator fell to the ground, clutching a sword tightly, crying out:

“This is the Lingyun Sword, the treasured sword of my late Dao partner, Master Chongming. Twenty years ago, he went to a secret realm to seek heavenly materials and earthly treasures and never returned. I placed a tracking charm on him, but when I found him, all that was left was his broken corpse! And his ever-present Lingyun Sword was missing. I never expected it to be here!”

Then, the female cultivator wiped her tears vigorously. She stood up, glaring at Nan Zheng with rage, and said through gritted teeth:

“Nan Zheng, today you must give me an explanation. Was my Dao partner killed by you?”

Hearing the female cultivator’s words, cold sweat dripped from Nan Zheng’s forehead, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Soon, many people found treasures among these secret treasures that belonged to small sects that had mysteriously disappeared or been annihilated. All these treasures were now found in the Piaomiao Pavilion.

The answer was obvious, the entire Piaomiao Pavilion was absolutely connected to these incidents. Nan Zheng watched as people from various sects approached him step by step, retreating while pondering why today’s Dao companion ceremony had suddenly turned out like this.

However, when he looked up and noticed the smile at the corner of Ying Zhao’s mouth, everything connected and became clear.

He turned around and shouted angrily at Ying Zhao:

“It was you! You treacherous disciple! I raised you from a young age, and you repay me by framing your master in this way.”

Then he said to everyone:

“I truly do not know about this matter, truly! This must all be the doing of this treacherous disciple, he is trying to frame me.”

Hearing Nan Zheng’s words, Ying Zhao knew he had no more tricks up his sleeve and laughed in front of everyone. After laughing enough, he raised his head, his expression suddenly becoming extremely cold, and said to Nan Zheng:

“Master, how could I have such great abilities to blame everything on me? It seems you can’t think of any other good excuses. I have never touched the things in this scripture tower. As you can see, they have always been here. These were all brought back by my good master and the good brothers of the Piaomiao Pavilion. After being in the Piaomiao Pavilion for many years, I discovered that these treasures all originally belonged to others.”

Then Ying Zhao stepped forward, gently stroking the frost and snow at his waist, and said to Nan Zheng:

“Heh, Master, you see me every day, but did you ever think of your old friends, my deceased parents? You coveted the secret techniques of the Ying family and did not hesitate to kill friends you had known for many years. But they never told you, even in death, what the Ying family’s secret techniques were.”

As he spoke, tears welled up in Ying Zhao’s eyes, which, combined with his unparalleled beauty, moved the hearts of the onlookers.

“At that time, I was still very young, and you thought I knew nothing and remembered nothing. Unfortunately, I was precocious by nature and remembered everything. I clearly remember how you killed my parents and forced them. Nan Zheng, I’ve waited all these years just to tear off your hypocritical mask in front of everyone!”

Upon hearing Ying Zhao’s words, Nan Zheng’s eyes instantly burned with rage. He immediately drew the sword from his waist and thrust it towards Ying Zhao without hesitation.

However, before his sword could reach, Wen Renming flicked it away in an instant. Nan Zheng looked at Wen Renming in shock, wondering why the supposedly lowly Wen Renming had such immense strength.

At this moment, Wen Renming released his aura. The aura of a Demon Emperor was naturally formidable. Apart from a few highly esteemed and skilled cultivators, everyone else broke into a cold sweat.

Some juniors with low cultivation levels even trembled and were forced to their knees by the pressure. Nan Zheng, with his poor aptitude, had not achieved high cultivation despite having stolen many treasures through deceit.

Targeted by Wen Renming, he was pinned to the ground, unable to move. Nan Zheng’s desperate attack confirmed to everyone that the Piaomiao Pavilion had indeed committed countless dirty deeds in secret.

They had stolen secret treasures from various sects and killed so many people. Such actions were truly unforgivable. Ying Zhao stepped forward and addressed the crowd:

“Today was supposed to be the Daoist ceremony for Wen Renming and me. We took this opportunity to invite you all here to reveal the true face of Nan Zheng and the Piaomiao Pavilion. Though I would love to personally kill Nan Zheng and avenge my parents, I know that many here bear deep grudges against Nan Zheng and the Piaomiao Pavilion.”

As he spoke, Ying Zhao looked towards the female cultivator who had just been crying and questioning Nan Zheng. When she heard Ying Zhao, her eyes welled up again, and she took a deep breath before turning to Nan Zheng.

She drew her sword, walked up, and ruthlessly chopped down on the immobilized Nan Zheng. In an instant, Nan Zheng’s hand was forcibly severed.

However, this was just the beginning, for when all the treasures from the Piaomiao Pavilion’s scripture tower were brought out, many people found relics of their relatives among them.

Faced with the obvious looting and murder, all the cultivators who had lost loved ones walked towards Nan Zheng with bloodshot eyes. Nan Zheng could only pale, clutching his bleeding stump in terror.

He wanted to retreat but was unable to move, watching helplessly as the crowd closed in on him. Ying Zhao did not participate; he simply stood aside, coldly observing Nan Zheng’s terrified expression.

Ying Zhao closed his eyes. Are you afraid now? When those innocent people were killed by you, in their fear, pleading for their lives, did you care?

Turning away, Ying Zhao took Wen Renming’s hand, and they silently left.

Nan Zheng died a miserable death, not only pierced by a thousand arrows but also subjected to spells that tore his soul apart, condemning him to eternal damnation.

As for the Piaomiao Pavilion, all those who had participated in the dirty deeds received their due punishment. From then on, the cultivation world no longer knew of the Piaomiao Pavilion.

After that day, Ying Zhao and Wen Renming disappeared. No one knew where they went, and even the Qingliu Sect vanished from sight.

Those who had heard of the “Qingyuan Jue” speculated that perhaps they had ascended to immortality because of cultivating this secret technique.

However, what people did not know was that while demonic cultivators could also ascend to become heavenly demons through hard work, Ying Zhao and Wen Renming had not ascended. Instead, they indeed lived a life akin to that of immortals.

After leaving that day, Ying Zhao and Wen Renming returned to the secret realm passed down through Wen Renming’s family for generations. They sealed the entrance, preventing anyone from entering.

Since the secret realm could be controlled by Wen Renming’s bloodline, Ying Zhao and Wen Renming lived there even more freely. They built a bamboo house beside a hot spring cave, making it their home and creating their own paradise.