Chapter 446
Zheng Fa wore a cold expression, his mind sharpening into a blade as he lightly traced a line across the surface of a black jade ring on his right hand. The cut was barely there, yet Jiao Wuji, clutching his head, knelt on the ground, letting out a heart-wrenching wail, rolling in agony.
Where was the demeanor of a transformed deity now?
The Blood River Ancestor flinched, his flying sword tilting slightly, as if afraid of being tainted by this muddled fool.
Jiao Wuji rolled on the ground for about ten circles before finally collapsing, supporting his limp upper body with his forehead, his voice hoarse and weak: "I... I won't dare again... I won't dare again..."
It seemed he had only enough strength and will to repeat those words, saying "I won't dare again" seven or eight times before gradually regaining clarity.
Zheng Fa looked at the kneeling Jiao Wuji, feeling indifferent towards this demon. Jiao Wuji was from a rival sect, the Jiu Shan Sect, and surrendering was merely a means of survival.
Zheng Fa had no expectations of his loyalty.
He could even forgive the man's earlier deceit; after all, Jiao Wuji's loyalty or fear towards the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was something Zheng Fa could tolerate.
But... when Zheng Fa had questioned him, the man had still put on an act, and that changed the nature of things.
Though both Jiao Wuji and the Blood River Ancestor hailed from the Great Freedom Demon Sect, Zheng Fa's trust in them was worlds apart:
The Blood River Ancestor likely feared the resurrection of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor even more than Zheng Fa did.
But Jiao Wuji... from what he had just seen, still harbored some cautious thoughts about summoning the Demon Ancestor.
Zheng Fa looked at the soft figure of Jiao Wuji on the ground and simply asked, "Where?"
"We... hid the Blood Slaughter Flag on an island," Jiao Wuji replied.
"An island?" The Elder was even more puzzled. "Why hide it? Why not bring it along?"
Indeed, that was a bit inconvenient.
To set up a formation, they would have to go back and retrieve it.
"Qin Mu... Qin Mu warned us that carrying the Blood Slaughter Flag makes it easy to be stolen, so we had to hide it well..."
Jiao Wuji spoke in a stammering manner.
"He even specifically chose an unknown island; apart from us few transformed deities, no one else knows about it!"
As soon as he said this, the others in the hall turned to look at Zheng Fa.
The only thief who could leave such a deep shadow on the Yuming Immortal was none other than this one.
...
This was an inconspicuous island, small, only about three or four kilometers long and wide, with no fluctuations of spiritual energy.
Surrounding it were dozens of similarly sized islands; anyone unfamiliar would likely struggle to tell one from another.
"Is this the island?" Zheng Fa asked, looking at Jiao Wuji.
Jiao Wuji stood beside him, gazing at the shape of the island in the light screen, seemingly unable to recognize it. After a long pause, he finally nodded.
Zheng Fa nodded to Sister Zhang, who held the Mountain River Seal, and she flew out of the Jiu Shan Realm.
Moments later, she returned, shaking her head at the crowd: "There are no large caves on this island, and it lacks spiritual energy. It doesn't seem like a place to hide treasures."
"…"
Everyone turned to Jiao Wuji.
"The seabed! The seabed!" Jiao Wuji's face was anxious, as if trying to explain but fearing Zheng Fa wouldn't believe him. "There's a hidden cave beneath the sea, only accessible to the disciples of the Holy Ancestor, and our strength is greater in the water... If anyone comes to steal the treasure, we won't be afraid..."
"You mean, only you can go out?" Zheng Fa asked.
Jiao Wuji nodded, looking at Zheng Fa with a bitter smile on his face: "I didn't dare to say this before, fearing you wouldn't believe me, Sect Leader..."
Zheng Fa thought for a moment and replied, "Half an hour."
"Huh?"
"Half an hour from now, if you don't return, I'll destroy the soul imprint... Of course, you transformed deities of the Great Freedom Demon Sect might not fear that..."
Jiao Wuji's face turned pale, stammering, "I’m afraid! I’m afraid!"
Zheng Fa glanced at the Blood River Ancestor and realized that, for those of the Great Freedom Demon Sect, returning to the Blood Sea was certainly not a good thing...
Jiao Wuji shot out from the Jiu Shan Realm, transforming into a strange dragon and diving into the sea.
Time ticked by, and Jiao Wuji still hadn't returned.
As half an hour approached, Zheng Fa wondered, "Did I misjudge him? Is this demon really so loyal?"
The Blood River Ancestor muttered to himself, a rare hint of guilt in his tone, as if reflecting on his own coercive actions.
Zheng Fa furrowed his brow, pondering whether there was indeed a hidden door in the sea. Had Jiao Wuji truly fled?
He glanced at the soul imprint in his hand, feeling both surprised and somewhat admiring—this demon truly wasn't afraid of death!
As the others exchanged glances in silence, trying to piece together the situation, suddenly, there was a commotion in the sea!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Three thunderous impacts echoed from the seabed, sending towering waves crashing into the sky.
Then, the island shook slightly, and in the light screen, it slowly began to rise into the air.
Zheng Fa's heart raced with caution; he pointed at the Sun and Moon Bell, ready to flee, when he saw a strange dragon surfacing, pushing a small mountain above the water.
"Sect Leader! I’ve emptied the cave! I didn’t find the Blood Slaughter Flag!" His tone was urgent, and fearing Zheng Fa wouldn’t believe him, he shouted towards the direction of the Jiu Shan Realm, "If you don’t believe me, I’ll bring the entire cave to you!"
Zheng Fa was momentarily taken aback by this.
He heard the Blood River Ancestor let out a sigh of relief: "That’s right, this guy is really afraid of dying!"
The Elder and the others watched Jiao Wuji, who was still explaining in the light screen, and nodded in agreement—it's rare to see someone so desperate to survive...
"It’s really gone..."
Jiao Wuji hadn’t just dug a few feet; he had practically dismantled the poor island piece by piece, yet he still hadn’t found the Blood Slaughter Flag.
To prove his sincerity, he even emptied his storage treasures to show his innocence.
In Zheng Fa's eyes, this performance made Jiao Wuji seem seven or eight parts credible.
As for the remaining doubts, keeping him confined within the Jiu Shan Realm didn’t seem too pressing.
What mattered was—if it wasn’t Jiao Wuji, then who had taken the Blood Slaughter Flag?
"Only you few transformed deities knew about this?" Zheng Fa confirmed once more.
"Yes! This island was a temporary hideout, and we set up the restrictions together," Jiao Wuji affirmed.
"Then who could it be?" The Elder's expression darkened, as if he had realized the gravity of the situation.
"There are two possibilities," Sister Zhang frowned and analyzed. "One is the Seven Great Saints; the last demon was killed by them, and we saw the corpse, but if they soul searched or simply abandoned the weak to protect the strong..."
Zheng Fa and the others nodded, as this was their first thought.
"The second possibility is... a backup plan from the Yuming Immortal!"
"A backup plan? Isn’t he dead?"
"This person is extremely cunning; he might have made arrangements for his aftermath. Moreover, whether he’s truly dead is uncertain; he has resurrected once before," Sister Zhang shook her head and said, "The Yaochi transformed deity said that the Seven Dragon Han Sea Formation cannot be broken without death, but..."
Zheng Fa understood Sister Zhang's implication.
They certainly believed the words of the Yaochi transformed deity; the understanding of various secret methods by the Xuanwei Five Sects was not something they could easily question.
But the problem was, the Blood Slaughter Flag was now missing!
There had to be some mistake somewhere, and this mistake... could very well lead to the resurrection of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor!
With so little information, the situation was even more precarious than before!
"We have no way to resolve this; the only path forward is to focus on strengthening ourselves," Zheng Fa encouraged as he noticed the crowd's silence. "Perhaps with the Fusang wood, the Jiu Shan Realm can become even stronger?"
"Even without the Fusang wood, isn’t the Tianghe Sword Path still powerful?" The Elder remarked, his expression shifting before gradually settling into calmness, as if he had made a firm decision.
...
Just as Zheng Fa returned from the sea, he received a message from Cheng Kong, saying they had already returned to Tongming Mountain.
Zheng Fa thought it over and decided it was best to discuss the matter of the Blood Slaughter Flag face-to-face to avoid leaks.
He brought the Jiu Shan Realm to Tongming Mountain, only to find that it was not a good time to speak—having thoroughly defeated the Great Freedom Demon Sect, the immortal sects were already eagerly starting a celebration.
As Zheng Fa stepped into the grand hall of Tongming Mountain, he was met with a sight that was quite shocking.
Over a hundred Yuanying cultivators had gathered, and at this moment, their true natures were beginning to show:
After living so long, one either became stubborn or perverse.
The stubborn ones were still somewhat proper.
The perverse ones were truly bizarre.
Zheng Fa even saw a Yuanying cultivator with his robe wide open, one leg propped on a low table, unabashedly displaying himself, clearly drunk—this was probably a stubborn pervert...
What surprised Zheng Fa was that the leaders of the Mingde Sect and the other five sects, while not as unruly, also did not intervene.
Only the head of the Mingde Sect had a dark expression, seemingly unable to sit still, and left the gathering after a while.
It was clear he disapproved but didn’t want to spoil the mood of the others.
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