Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Wu Family’s Investigation

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Lu Xuanji was breathing slightly.

The formidable enemy had been slain. Only now did he heave a sigh of relief, letting go of the tension and unease in his heart.

At this moment, as the pressure vanished, he felt utterly exhausted.

It wasn’t just exhaustion; his True Qi was less than two-tenths of his peak level.

But there was no time to rest. Lu Xuanji waved his hand to retrieve the storage bag and meticulously checked its contents: ten volumes of Daoist books, five thousand Spirit Stones, three thousand pounds of Spirit Rice, and various other clothes and materials.

He immediately took the ten volumes of Daoist books and the five thousand Spirit Stones and placed them in his pocket, kept the three thousand pounds of Spirit Rice safe, and left the rest behind.

Then he wielded the Spirit Fire Technique, as flames burned, consuming Wu Quanwen’s body, clothes, storage bag, and more.

After ten breaths, Wu Quanwen’s body had vanished, leaving a pile of ashes on the ground.

Another gust of wind blew, scattering the ashes into the world, disappearing without a trace.

Thus he eliminated all evidence, leaving no trace behind.

With a flicker of his figure, Lu Xuanji disappeared.

…

Three days later, a young man and a middle-aged man appeared here, with the young man leading and the middle-aged man following.

This young man was the clan leader of the Wu Family.

“Clan Leader, two days ago, the guarding elder at the Elder Hall noticed that Wu Quanwen’s soul lamp was extinguished, seemingly encountering a formidable enemy. At that time, Elder Wu Quanwen was supposedly in retreat at the Bei Yan Marketplace, attempting to break through a minor realm. But when we forcibly opened the cave mansion, it was empty.”

“Then, using a search compass, we tracked his aura to this location and detected signs of a battle, traces of a Purple Thunder Talisman explosion, and evidence of Elder Wu Quanwen being burned to ashes, with metallic remnants left from the burnt storage bag.”

The middle-aged man reported, revealing the findings of their investigation.

After three days, most of the traces here had faded away.

The remaining vestiges were blurry and unclear.

Much of the evidence was evidently insufficient.

Yet the middle-aged man was able to deduce a lot of information, perfectly reconstructing the scene of the battle.

The middle-aged man continued, “There are traces of the Celestial Fire Technique and the Spring Wind Wood Spirit Technique here… Based on deductions, the Lu Family cultivators practice these two great divine techniques. According to my hypothesis, a Lu Family cultivator may be the culprit.”

The Wu Family clan leader said, “But I recall, even within the Dan Yang Sect, there are true disciples who practice the Celestial Fire Technique and the Spring Wind Wood Spirit Technique. Even some loose cultivators have practiced one or two.”

“We don’t have concrete evidence.”

“We don’t have evidence, but when has the Wu Family needed evidence to act?” the middle-aged man said domineeringly. “The suspicion on the Lu Family is the greatest.”

He’s not a constable; he doesn’t need evidence.

Just a reason for suspicion is needed to kill.

“Cultivators don’t need reasons to kill, but they do need excuses, and they need to weigh the pros and cons. If it gets messy, it won’t be good for our Wu Family.”

The Wu Family clan leader sighed.

The Wu Family had eighteen Foundation Establishment cultivators and an ancestor in the Purple Mansion realm. Their clan’s influence was vast, far surpassing that of the Lu Family.

If things got messy, threatening Changyuan Mountain, they could indeed suppress the Lu Family.

But if the issue became huge, it wouldn’t be good for the Wu Family either.

How would the world view the Wu Family? Killing and seizing treasures is one thing, but to bully their former allies would surely leave a tyrannical reputation.

A reputation of tyranny would be extremely detrimental to the Wu Family.

The Wu Family had only one ancestor in the Purple Mansion realm, and among the aristocratic families in Chu Country, they weren’t considered particularly powerful or tyrannical.

To act tyrannically without the strength to back it up is a path to disaster.

“Why did Wu Quanwen leave the market and come here? Wasn’t it just to kill and seize treasures? Seeing that someone’s treasures and Spirit Stones were abundant, he aimed to kill a fat sheep and ended up meeting a formidable opponent who killed him halfway through,” the clan leader remarked coldly. “If this escalates, it could implicate the Wu Family cultivators in ambushing guests and damaging the reputation of the marketplace.”

“Forget it. Let’s say he encountered the Red Dust Demoness ranked tenth and was extracted to his death… Add a bounty of three thousand Spirit Stones for her capture. As for consolation for Wu Quanwen’s descendants, there will be none… If they ask for reasons, just tell them the truth.”

The clan leader flickered with a trace of anger.

Turned and left.

Killing and seizing treasure are the unspoken rules of the Cultivation Realm.

As the saying goes, “A horse grows fat from nighttime forage, a person gains wealth from a windfall.”

“The gold belt is won by killing and arson; toiling over bridge repairs leaves no bones.”

Many cultivators have gray income;

even the clan has some shady dealings.

But ambushing guests is strictly forbidden. After all, if someone just bought something from your house and was ambushed upon leaving, not even Demonic Cultivators would stoop that low. Such behavior is shameless. All significant clans strictly punish those who ambush guests, with some banishing the offender and others executing them directly.

Now that Wu Quanwen failed to kill and seize treasures and was instead killed himself.

The so-called severe punishment is no longer necessary.

And no consolation will be provided because it is unnecessary.

As for his cause of death, it will be covered up, saying he died at the hands of a certain demon. Anyway, that demon is already a wanted criminal with many wrongdoings. Adding another crime doesn’t matter.

…

Swish swish!

His figure flickered, and Lu Xuanji had already left.

After traveling a thousand miles, he reached a small town and settled in.

Upon entering the inn, he paid the silver to stay, only then letting out a sigh of relief.

Killing a Wu Family cultivator, no matter the reason, would inevitably bring trouble.

Fortunately, it was Ye Fan who did the killing; what does it have to do with Lu Xuanji?

Suppressing distracting thoughts, Lu Xuanji opened the storage bag and took out ten volumes of Daoist books, flipping through them briefly. Inside, there were insights on alchemy, Daoist techniques, and some secret techniques. He only glanced over them casually, with no intention of practicing them.

First, he lacked time.

Second, mastering one technique is better than knowing a hundred.

At the Foundation Establishment Stage, many cultivators only practiced one or two divine techniques. They neither had the time nor the need to practice too many.

“Oh, White Bone Dao Scripture, White Bone Relic, White Bone Needle, these are Demonic Cultivation Techniques.”

Suddenly, Lu Xuanji’s pupils constricted, a hint of shock in his eyes.

The Daoist book was called “White Bone Dao Scripture,” and the first volume detailed secret Demonic Cultivation Techniques, while the second volume was about Artifact Refining Techniques.

In the Cultivation Realm, there were Immortal Dao cultivators and Demonic cultivators.

The general attitude towards Demonic cultivators was one of relentless pursuit and annihilation.

Even the villains among orthodox cultivators had to maintain appearances, respect clan rules, and wouldn’t dare to wipe out entire towns or use blood sacrifices for treasures; they couldn’t bring themselves to desecrate ancient graves for puppets because they respected ancestors;

Even for killing and seizing treasures, they had to do it in desolate places and observe sect rules.

But the Demon Dao was different, indulging in killing for treasures, devouring souls, refining corpses, desecrating graves, and all manners of evildoing.

The evildoers of the orthodox path at most challenge moral limits; but Demonic cultivators challenge the very limits of humanity.

The cultivation of Demonic techniques is forbidden, and once a cultivator is caught practicing them, they’re killed without mercy.

Whoo.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Xuanji opened the “White Bone Dao Scripture.”

The opening did not outline the technique of cultivation but described the origins of the Demon Dao.

The Demonic Cultivation Technique originated from the Celestial Demons in the outer space beyond the stars.