Chapter 110: The Dust-Laden Truth

Three nights ago, although Wang Qiyi had been left in a wretched state by Xiao Cheng—his internal injuries still showing no signs of improvement—the fact that Xiao Cheng’s cultivation had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment was, to him, undoubtedly a good thing.

His fundamental mission in coming to the Xiao family was to obtain the Songyang Heart Sutra and to monitor the direct descendants of the Xiao line. Once these descendants became suitable "cauldrons," he was to notify the emissary of the Fangtian Sect to come and harvest these "fruits of the Dao."

The direct descendants of the Xiao family had already been harvested, leaving only Xiao Cheng, the master of dispersing energy.

He had not expected Xiao Cheng to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment in a mere two months, becoming a qualified cauldron. Coincidentally, he had obtained the Songyang Heart Sutra at this very moment. This meant his mission within the Xiao family was effectively complete; he only had to wait for the emissary to harvest the fruit, after which he could leave the Xiao family and stop playing the subservient fool.

Yet, Leng Yuchan’s words now struck him like a bolt from the blue: leaving the Xiao family, she suggested, would likely not be so easy.

"Why? And what does 'notification' mean?" Wang Qiyi stared intently at Leng Yuchan, waiting for her to continue.

"Ever since the emissary was severely injured by a mysterious figure the year before last, she has been in seclusion to heal. Recently, her cultivation has shown signs of progress, so she will continue her seclusion. The emissary ordered me to relay a command: you are to remain undercover and wait for her to emerge. As for the matter of the cauldron, I will report it; the emissary should be pleased, but she certainly will not end her seclusion for the sake of one minor cauldron."

Leng Yuchan withdrew her seductive smile. She knew this order would be difficult for Wang Qiyi to accept, but such was the emissary’s command. If not for the emissary’s intervention after Wang Qiyi committed a grave error ten years ago, he would have already been utterly annihilated, body and soul.

"How can this be? The cauldron is already mature. If we wait any longer, I fear something will go wrong!"

After hearing Leng Yuchan, Wang Qiyi’s expression turned grim. After ten years of waiting, to face such an outcome—who knew how many years the emissary would remain in seclusion? For a grand cultivator like her, ten or even several decades of seclusion were common. Was he expected to wait indefinitely?

"Hmph!" Leng Yuchan scoffed. "It is merely a small cauldron. What could possibly go wrong? Surely he cannot slip through the emissary’s fingers. Besides, this cauldron is different from the others; the higher his cultivation, the greater his value. What are you worried about? This sounds like a mere excuse!"

Her words left Wang Qiyi stifled. A mere cauldron?

He refused to believe Xiao Cheng was just a minor cauldron. Xiao Cheng’s ability to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment in just two months was a terrifying speed of cultivation. Given time, there was no telling how far Xiao Cheng would develop, and by then, he would be far beyond Wang Qiyi’s control.

"But my mission is complete. There is no reason for me to remain with the Xiao family."

"This is the emissary’s order, not a negotiation. Do not forget, if the emissary hadn't spared your life over a decade ago, would you even be standing here talking now?" Leng Yuchan ruthlessly extinguished any hope in Wang Qiyi’s heart.

Wang Qiyi sighed, knowing there was no room for maneuver. He would have to stay with the Xiao family and continue playing the fool. For a dignified protector of the Fangtian Sect to be reduced to this state—he could only blame his own rashness and the grave mistake he had made ten years ago.

However, the silver lining was that no one in the Xiao family knew his true identity. Staying should not pose any major problems.

"I hope the emissary emerges soon! Very well, I am leaving," Wang Qiyi said with a cupped-hand salute, preparing to turn away.

"Protector Wang, are you leaving already? This little sister has waited so long for you. Won't you leave something behind? Is my beauty not enough to catch your eye?" Leng Yuchan flicked her tongue across her lips, then shed her light gauze, coiling around Wang Qiyi like a spirit snake.

***

Standing in the next room, Xiao Cheng’s face was dark as water. His brows were furrowed, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

"So that is how it is!"

Though he had speculated as much in his previous life, hearing it confirmed was entirely different. As he listened to their conversation, Xiao Cheng felt as if his heart were being torn apart. His eyes burned crimson, and a torrent of rage roared within him, threatening to reduce everything to ashes.

Piecing together their words with his own deductions, the truth was clear: for the past decade, his uncles and brothers had died one after another because of the Fangtian Sect. The emissary of the Fangtian Sect treated the direct descendants of the Xiao family as cauldrons, harvesting them as fruit once they reached a certain level of cultivation.

The fate of a cauldron was the same as the corpses he had seen in the small building: drained of all vital essence until they died in a state of extreme agony.

The familiar faces and smiles of his uncles and brothers flashed through his mind like a lightning strike. These relatives had been sucked dry in the midst of unimaginable suffering. Thinking of their tragic ends, Xiao Cheng felt a desperate urge to howl at the heavens.

A single tear of blood slid down his resolute face, falling to the ground and shattering into a mottled stain.

A man does not shed tears lightly, only when he has reached the depths of sorrow. What he shed was not tears, but blood, leaving two eerie, crimson streaks across his otherwise ordinary face.

Although these events were long in the past and could no longer be changed, knowing the truth still brought him unbearable grief. He was not a saint; how could he be without emotion?

Xiao Cheng’s hatred for the Fangtian Sect had reached its zenith. Not only did they treat the Xiao family like livestock to be herded, but in his past life, his sisters-in-law had also been killed by them. Had he not spent the last decade dispersing his cultivation, he might have long since been treated as a cauldron and drained to death.

"I will have my revenge. And as for the future annihilation of my clan, I will not let it happen. Is the Fangtian Sect really so formidable?" Xiao Cheng gritted his teeth.

He had heard of the Fangtian Sect. It was a coalition of various evil cultivation sects, a massive force that could shake the entire cultivation world with a mere stomp. If Wang Qiyi, a protector ranked forty-seventh, was already an innate expert, the strength of the sect was evident.

But so what if they were strong? He had never been one to sit and wait for death, nor would he retreat because his opponent was powerful.

He was no longer the person he once was. Now, he possessed the Three Lives Jade Slip and the Immortal Sutra. All he needed was time. Three years from now, who would destroy whom was yet to be seen. He had this confidence, and he had to.

It took Xiao Cheng a long while to calm down and consider the immediate situation.

Since he had learned everything from Wang Qiyi, there was no need for the man to live. But matters had their priorities; Wang Qiyi was merely a mole in the grand scheme of things and would not act recklessly upon returning to the Xiao family, so he could be spared for a few more days.

The crucial point now was to prevent this woman from taking news of the Songyang Heart Sutra and his true cultivation level back to the Fangtian Sect. While the Sutra meant little to him, it was the foundation of the Xiao family’s existence, and his true cultivation was something the Fangtian Sect must not discover too soon.

Therefore, this wicked woman, Leng Yuchan, must die.

While Xiao Cheng contemplated, over ten minutes passed. Wang Qiyi had already left the small building, his destination unknown.

Having decided not to let the woman go, Xiao Cheng did not hesitate. He released his divine sense and discovered that she was meditating in the next room, clearly refining the "benefits" she had just obtained from Wang Qiyi.

Xiao Cheng’s expression turned icy. He took a few steps back, drew his three-foot-long blue-bladed sword, and began to move with the Lingxu Steps, his body becoming ethereal. He dashed rapidly toward the wall, formed a seal with his left hand, and passed through the partition like a ghost, thrusting his sword toward the woman’s face in mid-air.