Chapter 850: I Stand Corrected

Chapter 850: Chapter 850: I Stand Corrected

Eastern Divine Continent. Northern Cang Country.

The country lay north of Cangxi Country, the two nations separated by the Cang River.

Zhao Xuan was currently in Northern Cang Country, maintaining a hidden outpost near the Cang River. From his vantage point, he could see Cangxi Country across the water.

The outpost was concealed, known to no one but Zhao Xuan.

As the infamous Black Crow Runner, Zhao Xuan’s sharpest instinct was sensing danger — and finding every possible means to evade it.

His most effective method, naturally, was: *Forget this noise — run.*

The Evil Spirit Sect’s recent operations in Cangxi Country had grown brazen, stirring not only the country but driving those incense gods to the brink of madness.

The scale was so outrageous that Zhao Xuan had to wonder whether they fancied themselves righteous heavenly soldiers, liberating Northern Julu Continent with the hearts of the people behind them.

Zhao Xuan understood perfectly well that the Evil Spirit Sect was a genuine evil cult — the kind that, if spotted walking down the street, would get beaten half to death by the crowd.

Such flagrant operations could only be conducted in the shadows. Once exposed, the welcome would not be kind favors but fists the size of iron pillars.

The recent events had grown far too insane, and Zhao Xuan was powerless to stop them.

The Evil Spirit Sect’s deputy leader, Evil Spirit, clearly wielded far more authority now.

On many matters, Evil Spirit had completely bypassed Zhao Xuan, orchestrating every operation independently.

Zhao Xuan’s only remaining power as Sect Leader was presumably the ability to receive reports — if those reports hadn’t been altered.

Evil Spirit was no foolhardy risk-taker. This manner of operation was certainly not his original intention.

The one truly pulling the strings behind Evil Spirit had to be the Heavenly Demon.

Things had progressed to this point — any sane person would sense something was wrong.

Between the background Chu Xingchen had revealed and Evil Spirit’s reckless advance, Zhao Xuan felt certain they were steering the entire Evil Spirit Sect toward its end.

Since his last encounter with Chu Xingchen, after prolonged deliberation, fear had ultimately triumphed over greed.

Zhao Xuan had now completely abandoned any hope of success. He no longer dared covet the so-called secret of ultimate breakthrough for blood-qi cultivators in Chu Xingchen’s possession.

But as the founding figure, with things pushed this far and losses this catastrophic, simply walking away and declaring he was done was impossible.

Whoever controlled such a vast organization would, in turn, be controlled by it.

His only option now was to watch from across the river and see how things played out.

Zhao Xuan harbored his own calculations: if the Evil Spirit Sect truly fell here, it might not be such a bad thing.

He could finally sever the Evil Sect’s hold on him entirely and retire peacefully as Valley Master.

The path of cultivation — how many heaven-blessed prodigies never reached its end?

A timid evil cultivator like himself, who had made it this far, ought to be content.

Under the deputy leader Evil Spirit’s push and Zhao Xuan’s tacit permission, the Evil Spirit Sect’s operations had gone mad.

Zhao Xuan was waiting for the Evil Spirit Sect to die.

As for the Heavenly Demon’s bizarre maneuvers, Zhao Xuan could no longer comprehend them.

After all, the Evil Spirit Sect’s destruction should offer no benefit to the Heavenly Demon.

All he could say was: when the heavens play chess, mortals cannot fathom the moves.

Zhao Xuan sighed softly, standing before the surging Cang River in his black robes, gazing toward Cangxi Country.

Across the river, for reasons he couldn’t explain, Zhao Xuan had already envisioned the Evil Spirit Sect’s demise.

The upper echelons destroyed, the evil cultivators who had followed them slaughtered to the last, pursued without mercy...

"Sigh..." Zhao Xuan withdrew his gaze, preparing to slink back to his hidden outpost.

"Why does Fellow Daoist sigh?"

An unexpected voice came from behind him.

Zhao Xuan’s body went numb. His divine sense shot backward even as his protective treasure and his top-grade teleportation talisman were already clutched in his hands.

His divine sense probed outward but struck what felt like an iron wall, blocked entirely. No information came through.

Zhao Xuan didn’t dare turn around. He simply activated the teleportation talisman in his hand.

As an Integration pinnacle cultivator, a standard teleportation talisman could no longer bear the weight of such massive cultivation. He had to compress vast amounts of spiritual energy into it, then use the finest materials to engrave a small-scale teleportation formation upon it.

Like the talismans it resembled, this was a single-use item — destroyed after activation — and its range was not particularly far.

The reason it was still called a treasure was probably this: it was absurdly expensive.

So expensive that even Zhao Xuan, the notorious Black Crow Runner, possessed only one as his ultimate escape card.

Zhao Xuan triggered the teleportation treasure. His form rippled — and reappeared.

But the sound of the Cang River was unchanged, and behind him, the slightly aged, gentle voice of the old man continued.

"Fellow Daoist leaves without even answering a word? That seems rather rude."

Zhao Xuan’s breathing quickened.

He didn’t know what method the old man behind him had used to neutralize his treasure, but he understood that the old man’s cultivation had likely reached a level beyond his comprehension.

Zhao Xuan quickly assessed the situation. He turned, bowed low, and dared not raise his eyes:

"How could I possibly be addressed as ’Fellow Daoist’ by a senior? Your arrival was sudden, and this junior is timid by nature — a mere instinctive reaction. I beg your pardon."

"An Integration pinnacle cultivator should have more courage than this." The old man chuckled. "Come, raise your head and have a look."

Zhao Xuan’s body stiffied slightly at the words, but he was fish on the cutting board now. He cautiously lifted his gaze.

Before him, an old man hovered in midair — dressed in auspicious-cloud robes edged with gold, in a style resembling that of Yunmeng Pavilion’s Supreme Elders. His aura was seamlessly contained, indistinguishable from that of an ordinary mortal. He regarded Zhao Xuan with evident amusement.

Zhao Xuan’s heart hammered violently. His divine sense shattered outward in panic.

This time, he was truly finished.

All he could hope for was that this Supreme Elder didn’t know his true identity — and would let him go like a passing fart.

The Supreme Elder’s expression remained mild, his gaze still curiously appraising Zhao Xuan, before he spoke:

"Zhao Xuan. Leader of the Evil Spirit Sect. Codename Black Crow — correct?"

The words landed, and Zhao Xuan’s face turned deathly pale.

Seeing his expression, the Supreme Elder took a single step forward, appearing before Zhao Xuan:

"No need for such a look. As a cultivator, one must never give up until the final moment."

Zhao Xuan smiled bitterly: "This junior has some self-awareness... I only wish to die understanding. How did the senior find this place? And how did you learn my identity?"

The Supreme Elder shook his head with a smile:

"There are things that knowing will get you killed for. Not knowing, however, does not necessarily save you."

"Your capture is merely the beginning, not the end. After all, the mess in Cangxi Country still needs tidying."

Zhao Xuan’s expression warmed slightly at these words. He drew a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the Cang River:

"So it was a setup from the start — beginning with the Patrol Heaven Department. The target was the Evil Spirit Sect and me."

"The Heavenly Demon acted in full knowledge, yet willingly — even eagerly — sent the Evil Spirit Sect to its doom."

"What you’re after is far too large. The Evil Spirit Sect is merely bait. And my vision is too narrow to see the threads descending from above."

The Supreme Elder continued smiling:

"Youth, youth. The world cannot be spoken of so simply."

"Life is like weaving, actions are like threads. When you weave wrongly, the thread tangles around yourself."

"You’ve done too much and too wrong — the room for maneuver you have left is minuscule. This is called spinning a cocoon around oneself."

"Today you did not lose because you chose to act. You lost because you chose wrongly."

"Moreover, you understand this truth: in all the world, there is no case where we are too lazy to catch you — only cases where we haven’t gotten around to it yet."

Zhao Xuan was silent for a long moment, then slowly nodded:

"I stand corrected."