Chapter 133: Compromise

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Compromise

Back when he had just broken through to Foundation Establishment, Li Ping would have had to tread carefully when facing a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Xiong Pohai.

But now, even though he was still a Loose Cultivator...

However, Zhang Tie had already become a disciple of Fenglan Master. He was no longer without backing in the Immortal City.

Furthermore, after the incident with Ye Chen, Dai Sangyu had been ordered to step down as Vice Sect Leader and reflect in seclusion. The new Vice Sect Leader of the Immortal City was now Meng Qingyi.

Since settling on Immortal Peach Mountain, Li Ping had maintained a good relationship and cooperated pleasantly with the Meng family. His personal rapport with Meng Qingyi was also quite good.

On the other hand, Xiong Pohai, being part of that master-disciple faction, was now on the side being suppressed after the Ye Chen incident.

The tables had turned. How could he possibly let Xiong Pohai simply drag Gumu Sheng away?

’And what if he offended a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator over this?’

Li Ping wasn’t worried about that in the slightest. If Xiong Pohai dared to secretly tail him out of the city for revenge, he would welcome it with open arms.

With the numerous Dharma Artifacts and Treasures in his possession, he could easily eliminate him.

...

"The Immortal City is conducting official business, and you dare to interfere!" Xiong Pohai’s voice boomed with rage upon hearing Li Ping. "Get out of my way!"

But Li Ping didn’t budge, his gaze cold. "And you can represent the Immortal City?"

Seeing that Li Ping was unfazed, Xiong Pohai looked up and gave him a long, hard look.

A man who could build the largest gang in the mortal realm and then, after stepping onto the Immortal Dao, successfully achieve Foundation Establishment as a Loose Cultivator, was no reckless fool.

He knew very well that this world wasn’t just about fighting and killing—it was about connections and understanding people.

That was why, after reaching Foundation Establishment, he had deliberately adopted a boorish persona and a careless attitude. It was all an act, designed to make others see him as a simple-minded brute with no ambition.

That way, he wouldn’t draw too much attention to himself.

That was why, after the incident with Ye Chen, he had emerged completely unscathed, despite having been close to him.

Even the Meng family and the other Heroic Clans hadn’t deliberately targeted him. He remained a Law Enforcement Steward, just as before.

But beneath this facade, he understood things with perfect clarity.

’He knew exactly who he could afford to offend, and who he couldn’t.’

Take Li Ping, for example. He knew the man was close to the Meng family, which was why he had deliberately brought the Meng family’s Old Ancestor with him before coming to Li Ping’s abode.

If Li Ping’s relationship with the Meng family was truly as close as rumored, the Old Ancestor would step in to mediate any conflict.

That way, he could give face to the Meng family while also fulfilling his duty to the Immortal City.

If their relationship was merely average and the Old Ancestor stayed on the sidelines, he would act without hesitation to suppress Li Ping and arrest Gumu Sheng.

The actual task of arresting a Demon Cultivator, on the other hand, was of little importance to him.

’After all, what did Demon Cultivators have to do with him?’

’He’d struggled as a Loose Cultivator for decades, painstakingly accumulating Spirit Stones to finally reach Foundation Establishment. He had no intention of actually laying down his life for the Immortal City.’

’Just because I call him Master, does he really think I’m some obedient disciple?’

...

Just as the two were locked in a standoff, the Meng family’s Old Ancestor broke the tense silence with a chuckle. "Why the anger, you two? Fellow Daoist Xiong, Fellow Daoist Li has been dedicated to his cultivation on my Meng family’s Immortal Peach Mountain. He would never be involved in anything that could harm the Immortal City. This must be some sort of misunderstanding. Let’s just talk it through."

Though the Old Ancestor’s words seemed aimed at making peace, every sentence served to exonerate Li Ping. It was obvious whose side he was on.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, it’s not that I won’t give your family face," Xiong Pohai said, understanding the Old Ancestor’s intent but maintaining his boorish tone. "This Gumu Sheng is implicated in a massacre committed by a Demon Cultivator. That’s why I have to take him in for questioning."

The Meng family’s Old Ancestor continued to smile amiably. He looked at Xiong Pohai and explained, "Your junior brother, Zhang Tie, is Gumu Sheng’s second older brother. With a connection like that, how could Gumu Sheng possibly do anything to harm the Immortal City?"

Having pointed out that Gumu Sheng had powerful connections, the Old Ancestor then turned to Li Ping. "Fellow Daoist Li, since Fellow Daoist Xiong claims Gumu Sheng is connected to a massacre by a Demon Cultivator, perhaps we could have him answer a few questions right here? Under the witness of yourself, this old man, and Fellow Daoist Xiong, of course. It would be a good way to clear his name."

"Questioning?" Li Ping was still considering.

But Xiong Pohai had already waved his hand dismissively, readily agreeing. "Since the kid is connected to Junior Brother Zhang, I’ll give face to both him and the Meng family. We can question him here. If there are no issues, I won’t take him back with me."

With both men looking at him, Li Ping finally nodded. "Very well. You can question him here."

’He had it all thought out. Even though Gumu Sheng had been the one to bring He Yunyi to the Immortal City, he truly hadn’t known that the man had been a victim of Possession by a Demon Cultivator.’

’His involvement was purely coincidental; questioning wouldn’t uncover anything significant.’

’The only thing that needed to be kept secret was the Demon Cultivator’s Storage Bag. But logically, someone who had committed Possession wouldn’t have left their own Storage Bag behind.’

’The chances of that question being asked were slim. The inquiry was fine; it would be a good chance to clear Gumu Sheng’s name.’

...

Under the watchful eyes of three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Gumu Sheng was a little tense, but he quickly composed himself and waited for Xiong Pohai’s questioning.

Xiong Pohai stared at him and asked casually, "Do you know He Yunyi?"

"I do." Gumu Sheng nodded and began to explain in detail. "My sixth younger brother was from that village. After he perished in a beast tide, we took it upon ourselves to look after the villagers in his stead... I discovered He Yunyi in my sixth brother’s village and brought him back to the Immortal City to cultivate."

While using his Divine Sense to record Gumu Sheng’s words onto a Jade Scroll, Xiong Pohai continued his questioning. "And did you know he had been a victim of Possession by a Demon Cultivator?"

Gumu Sheng knew there was no point in hiding the truth. "I didn’t know when I brought him to the Immortal City," he said immediately. "But after he committed the murder and fled, I suspected what had happened. That’s why I came to report to my big brother."

Nodding, Xiong Pohai continued, "And where is this village located?"

Gumu Sheng replied, "It’s at..."

...

They went back and forth, with Xiong Pohai asking a dozen or so questions in succession, all of which Gumu Sheng answered honestly.

Once the questioning was complete, Xiong Pohai put away the Jade Scroll with a satisfied look and demanded that Gumu Sheng swear a Heavenly Dao Oath to guarantee the truthfulness of his testimony.

Since Gumu Sheng had been telling the truth, he had no reason to refuse. He swore the Heavenly Dao Oath without a moment’s hesitation.

Only then did Xiong Pohai depart with his men, satisfied. The Meng family’s Old Ancestor, however, remained.

Li Ping then smiled, invited him to sit, and began to ask him about the matter of the Demon Cultivator’s Possession.

The Old Ancestor had no intention of holding back and told Li Ping everything he knew.

...

Less than an hour later, Li Ping watched the departing figure of the Meng family’s Old Ancestor.

"Big Brother, I..." Gumu Sheng, standing to the side, started to speak but then hesitated.

Li Ping said calmly, "Don’t worry. With Fellow Daoist Meng vouching for you and the Immortal City having gotten the information it wanted, no one will give you any more trouble."

"I understand, Big Brother." Gumu Sheng nodded, an expression of relief finally appearing on his face.

He then bid farewell to Li Ping and departed from Immortal Peach Mountain.

Li Ping, however, remained in the pavilion, lost in thought. After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.

According to the Old Ancestor, the Immortal City had learned of the Demon Cultivator’s Possession not long after he himself had.

A Demon Dao Cultivator, one who had turned from darkness to light, had secretly informed the Immortal City about the Possession. The Immortal City had immediately dispatched a large number of Cultivators to search for the culprit’s trail.

To prevent the Demon Cultivator from escaping back to his Sect, the Immortal City had focused its search on the area between the city and the Western Wilderness.

But after several days of searching yielded nothing, they had resorted to having Xiong Pohai come to arrest Gumu Sheng.

’If they had actually caught the Demon Cultivator, all this trouble would have been unnecessary.’

And from the Old Ancestor, Li Ping had finally learned the identity of the Demon Cultivator responsible for the Possession.

Yan Liming, a Core Formation Cultivator from the Blood Shadow Sect.

The reason for his sigh was that if even the Immortal City’s large-scale manhunt had failed to capture Yan Liming, the chances of him finding the man on his own were practically zero.

Whether it was rescuing Yan Hengchuan alive or killing Yan Liming to avenge him, both tasks now seemed incredibly difficult, if not impossible.

He had asked his third senior brother to send Yan Hengchuan to the Immortal City so he could personally guide the young man’s cultivation, giving him a chance to go further on the path of the Immortal Dao.

But now, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, Yan Hengchuan had been abducted by Yan Liming, his fate unknown.

’How could he ever face his third senior brother now?’

SIGH!

...

After composing himself, Li Ping returned to his Artifact Refining room and took out the Blood Banner.

This Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact had been instrumental in his battle against Miaorou and Liu Wusheng.

Thanks to the Blood-Corroding Poison it released, Miaorou had been neutralized before the fight even began, and Liu Wusheng had also been significantly weakened.

Without it, even with the Talisman Treasure, he probably couldn’t have killed Liu Wusheng so easily.

However, the Blood-Corroding Poison’s current potency wasn’t as effective against Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators. He needed to refine more toxins into it.

With a wave of his hand, the Blood Banner floated into the air.

Then, Li Ping slapped the Storage Bag at his waist. A large mass of green insect corpses floated out and was drawn toward the Blood Banner, which began to greedily refine them.

These were the corpses of the green insects he had collected from the battlefield after killing Liu Wusheng.

The insects themselves possessed a potent venom, perfect for refining into the Blood Banner to enhance the power of its Blood-Corroding Poison.

Leaving the Blood Banner in the Artifact Refining room to process the toxins, Li Ping returned to his training room and immersed himself in cultivation.

...

Xiong Pohai led the Immortal City Cultivators to the village where Teng Feng was born.

While inspecting the surroundings, he also called over some villagers to ask about what had happened.

Under his questioning, the villagers recounted the events of that day in detail.

But as he listened, the color drained from Xiong Pohai’s face. "Green flying insects? One bite and the whole body dissolves into pus?"

Before arriving, he had gathered intelligence on Yan Liming through the Immortal City’s channels. Among Yan Liming’s known associates, only one person matched that description.

...Yan Liming’s disciple, the Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Liu Wusheng, the ’Insect Devil’!

"Go! Go! We’re leaving, now!" Xiong Pohai couldn’t be bothered to investigate any further. He hastily ordered his men to retreat.

He might dare to push around an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Li Ping, but when faced with a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Liu Wusheng, all he wanted was to be as far away as possible!

He knew perfectly well which was more important: his life or the mission.