ILDV Chapter 56

“Father, Shen Muxuan has gone too far!”

Feeling the faint prying gazes from all around, the young master of the Feng clan’s handsome face flushed red. The middle-aged man who had been keeping a low profile in the crowd said nothing, turned and left, saying indifferently, “Elder Jing, please trouble you to clear out the unrelated people.”

Apart from the white-haired old man who had initially struck the dandy’s father with a palm and severely injured him, the rest of the Feng clan’s upper echelon all followed behind the family head as he departed, turning a blind eye to the screams that subsequently erupted from the restaurant.

“Father!”

The young master hurried after him. Upon reaching the Feng clan’s main branch residence, the Feng family head stopped, and wherever his gaze swept, the heads of the various branches wisely withdrew. Feng Qishan was also planning to quietly slip away while wiping cold sweat.

“Elder Qishan, please wait a moment.”

Feng Qishan’s foot, just about to step forward, stopped. He lowered his head and shuddered. “Family Head…”

The Feng family head looked down at him and said indifferently, “Regarding today’s incident at the restaurant, let us consider it as never having happened. No one from our clan is permitted to cause trouble for Tianji Daojun.”

Feng Qishan replied in a low voice, “…Yes, yes, I understand.”

“Father?” The young master suddenly raised his head. “How can Shen Muxuan be so—”

“Silence.”

The Feng family head raised his hand and neatly gave him a slap, his expression calm and undisturbed. “Daojun was right. Our Feng clan has today’s glory precisely because we have the Old Ancestor backing us. And in the Old Ancestor’s heart, which is more important—our Feng clan’s descendants or Tianji Daojun? Wasn’t the struggle for the Sword-Wielding True Disciple position enough for you to see that clearly? Moreover, now that he has advanced to the Tribulation stage, no one in our Feng clan can withstand the might of his single sword strike.”

The words “Tribulation stage” directly made the young master’s eyes red with anger. The calm and composed demeanor he maintained before outsiders was completely destroyed. In his agitation, he spoke without thinking, “Old Ancestor must have forgotten what his own surname is! If he hadn’t deliberately favored Shen Muxuan, the one who should have taken the True Disciple position back then would have been me, and today—”

Slap!

This slap was even heavier. The young master was sent flying entirely, his cheek swollen red and blood seeping from the corner of his lips. He lay on the ground unable to get up for a long time.

The Feng family head’s voice remained calm. “Failing to properly discipline my son—I’ve made Elder Qishan laugh.”

Feng Qishan had long been stimulated to the point of mental tension by Yin Lang’s tactic of making an example to warn others and the Feng family head’s indirect scolding. Hearing this, how dare he respond? He wished he could swear to the heavens on the spot that today’s events simply never happened, let alone dare to hold a grudge against Tianji Daojun.

After Feng Qishan and the young master left one after another, the Feng family head suddenly let out a heavy sigh. A figure in green robes appeared silently behind him. “Since the matter has been resolved, why is the Family Head so worried?”

The Feng family head remained silent for a long time, then suddenly asked an unrelated question, “Grand Elder, what do you think of this person Shen Muxuan?”

“Why do you ask this?”

The Feng family head said, “The outside world all says that Shen Muxuan, one of the Seven Sons of Taihua and the Tianji Sword Master, is cheerful and tolerant, transcendent and detached from worldly matters. Unless it’s a life-or-death grudge, he never takes things to heart, let alone seeks revenge.”

“Is the Family Head saying that the Tianji Sword Master we saw today is very different from the rumors?” The man in green thought carefully for a long while before answering cautiously, “Less than a hundred years after the dust settled on the Sword-Wielding True Disciple position, there were rumors that Tianji Sword Master caused a great disturbance at Tianshu Peak and then defected from the sect to establish his own peak. At that time, most of our Feng clan thought the Old Ancestor would surely be furious, but unexpectedly, for the next several hundred years, the Old Ancestor’s attitude toward Tianji Sword Master remained the same as before, and those rumors gradually disappeared.”

The Feng family head frowned slightly. “Grand Elder’s meaning is that this rumor might be true? Because Shen Muxuan is already at odds with the Old Ancestor, he would act as he did earlier?”

Though he phrased it as a question, he was already seventy percent convinced in his heart. If not for this explanation, how could Shen Muxuan, as the Sword-Wielding True Disciple, have any reason to show the Feng clan no face whatsoever?

The Grand Elder said helplessly, “Family Head, it was the disciples from Qishan’s branch who first spoke disrespectfully, which angered the Tianji Sword Master.”

The Feng family head casually waved his hand. “I have already strictly ordered the clan members not to retaliate. Let this matter be turned over. If the Grand Elder’s speculation is correct, I need to immediately go up Taihua Mountain to seek an audience with the Old Ancestor.”

The Grand Elder silently withdrew, gazing at Yueqing City that stretched for dozens of miles, then thinking of the various behaviors of the younger generation, he suddenly felt powerless.

Forget it, forget it! He would do what he could and protect them for as long as he was able.

The young master, who had received two slaps from his father, limped back to his own residence, grinding his teeth all the way—what did he say wrong! If it weren’t for Feng Jiangcheng elevating Shen Muxuan to power for his own petty concerns, the Sword-Wielding True Disciple position should have been his! The abundant resources of Taihua Immortal Sect, the incomparably sharp Tianji Immortal Sword, should all have been his! Even the person who had recently advanced to the Tribulation stage in front of everyone should have been him!

Shen Muxuan merely had the advantage of appearance. If he weren’t seventy percent similar to Shen Qinghuan, who had long since perished, how could these good things have gone to a farmer’s son?!

The young master walked through the courtyard gate with a dark expression, cursing internally, when suddenly someone knelt before him, hugging his injured leg and voicing grievances, “Young Master, that Shen Muxuan is really going too far. Does he think Yueqing City is his Tianji Peak, running amok like a crab? He’s simply trampling the Family Head’s and your face into the ground! He…”

The young master nearly kicked the person away from the pain. He listened intently for a couple of sentences, then looked down carefully before remembering who this person was.

Someone from Qishan’s branch—the unfortunate father of the dandy youth who had been beaten to death in the restaurant and whose soul was taken away to be tortured.

Seeing that he had some pitiful connection with the dandy youth through eating, drinking, and playing together, he only lifted his foot and lightly kicked the man, making him roll twice, his eyes full of impatience. “Speak plainly. What are you here to see this young master for? If you want revenge for your dead ghost of a son, forget it. The Family Head has ordered that no one is to take revenge on Shen Muxuan. Coming to beg me is useless!”

The middle-aged man faltered, carefully listening to the young master’s form of address. His eyes rolled twice before he changed his approach and moved closer. “Young Master…”

The young master listened for a couple of sentences with downcast eyes. His expression of anger and dejection gradually disappeared under the man’s honeyed words, and his eyes slowly brightened. “That makes sense.” He sneered twice. “Shen Muxuan acts so arrogantly, doesn’t he? Since he dares to kill someone else’s junior, we can take action against his disciple—that can be considered using his own methods against him!”

That’s right—if they couldn’t deal with someone at the Tribulation stage, could they still be helpless against a Foundation Establishment kid?

After eating their fill and resting, the master and disciple once again leisurely continued their journey.

Xu Rong carefully brought up the matter in Yueqing City in a roundabout way, trying to extract some information about Feng Jiangcheng. Shen Muxuan just smiled and steered the topic off course. “Eh? If it weren’t for you clutching your stomach and crying about being hungry, I would have bypassed Yueqing City ages ago. Why would I invite such a heap of trouble?”

Having just experienced the restaurant incident, this familiar smiling expression really made Xu Rong’s back turn cold.

He tactfully changed the subject. “Shizun, where are we heading now?”

He had expected Shen Muxuan to give his usual “we’ll see as we go” response, but unexpectedly he answered, “There’s a secret realm opening nearby recently. I’m taking you to find good stuff!”

Eh?!

His surprised expression clearly pleased Shen Muxuan, who picked up a tree branch and idly poked at the campfire, earnestly educating him, “My disciple, when traveling and adventuring outside, you must always pay attention to the information around you. The Feng clan is so domineering, yet the restaurants in Yueqing City still have so many travel-worn visitors—what other possibility could there be except that heavenly treasures are about to appear?”

Xu Rong—Xu Rong had been busy beating up the dandy who dared to take liberties with his master at the restaurant, where would he have the mental energy to notice anything else?

While Shen Muxuan could travel day and night without rest, Xu Rong, who had yet to achieve inedia, couldn’t withstand such a pace with his mortal body. The master-disciple pair toured mountains and rivers while traveling during the day. At night, if they encountered towns that was best; if not, they would light a campfire in the wilderness for a brief rest. If they happened to attract any demons or monsters, those were conveniently thrown to Xu Rong for practice.

Hmm, perfect.

After more than ten days of travel, for the first time Xu Rong felt genuine envy toward Shen Muxuan from the bottom of his heart. 

High-level cultivators traveling outside were really too convenient! Spiritual qi to squander lavishly, Water Condensation and Dust Removal low-level spell techniques at the lift of a hand—living in the wilderness while still maintaining the refinement of a pampered young lord. Unlike himself, who had to conserve spiritual qi while constantly preparing to jump up and face enemies, covered in dust from head to toe, such that no one would believe he was Shen Muxuan’s attendant if he claimed to be…

As for why Shen Muxuan didn’t casually give him a set? His excuse: accumulating experience for when he goes out adventuring alone in the future.

After more than ten days of rushing about, the city closest to the secret realm was finally visible in the distance. Xu Rong was so moved he nearly cried, wishing Shen Muxuan would walk even faster.

Hurrying forward two steps, he suddenly crashed into the back of the person in front of him. Xu Rong looked up in surprise, about to speak, when a hand suddenly pressed on his head and rubbed it twice, also blocking his upward gaze.

“…Shizun?”

Shen Muxuan glanced at him sideways, his long brows slightly raised, and suddenly said, “Did you drop something?”

Ah?

Xu Rong felt around himself up and down, thinking, then heard Shen Muxuan ask, “Where’s the jade pendant you took from me? How come I don’t see it?”

Xu Rong instinctively raised his hand to his neck. Ever since obtaining that jade pendant in the underground palace, he carried it close to his body every day, never apart from it. How could it possibly…

Empty.

He suddenly lowered his head and pulled open his collar, revealing his lean chest.

Nothing there.

He really had lost it!

“Shizun!” Xu Rong looked up in panic. Shen Muxuan was leaning against a tree trunk with the appearance of having mentioned it casually. Seeing his panicked state, he waved his hand dismissively. “Oh come on, it’s just a jade pendant. I don’t lack such things. If you like it, I’ll give you another one. Look at you, about to cry…”

“No!” Xu Rong shouted, feeling extremely wronged. “That was the first thing Shizun ever gave me. It has such commemorative significance—how can I lose it?”

“…Then why don’t you go back and look for it? I’ll wait here for you?” Shen Muxuan seemingly compromised helplessly, muttering something in a low voice that Xu Rong couldn’t hear clearly.

Xu Rong’s figure gradually disappeared in the distance. Yin Lang’s expression slowly turned cold. He still wore his usual smiling appearance, arms crossed, waiting at his leisure, the corners of his lips slightly upturned, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

He reached into his sleeve and pulled something out. The ‘lost’ jade pendant was tightly and carefully wrapped several times with a sturdy red cord. Now the red cord was broken, scattered messily in his pale palm, inexplicably desolate.

“What I hate most in this life is people taking a fancy to this face.” He repeated it to himself once, then slowly smiled.

“The ‘protagonist’ can’t be killed for now, so I’ll just have to use you all to wash away this lord’s bad mood. Come out!”

The last five words were shouted into the seemingly empty dense forest. At the same time, with a sweep of his wide sleeve, overwhelming violent spiritual qi surged forth, churning the entire area into chaos!

Shadowy gray-clothed figures suddenly appeared in the dense forest. The leader, seeing they were exposed, actually didn’t flee but instead rushed forward without hesitation, poisoned dagger in hand! The assassins behind also followed suit!

“Almost half less than I sensed.” He still had the presence of mind to roughly count the numbers, smiling as he said, “I hope my unfortunate disciple can survive long enough to wait for rescue. Now then…”

Pale fingertips lightly touching his lips ignited wisps of cold black flames, making his lips appear blood red. “Gentlemen, do you know where the most famous assassins in the Lantian Realm come from?”