Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way

Chapter 86: Honest Conversation

I could always quit the Seven Kill Sect, then wait until the fight between the sects is over and join the winning sect under a different identity. Gu Suihan looked mockingly at Xiexin zhenren. His words made it clear that he had never viewed himself as a disciple of the Seven Kill Sect, so he also did not intend to stick with this sect all the way either.

Xiexin zhenren cursed inwardly. He knew this sort of logic that wandering cultivators had. These wandering cultivators would not work for nothing. In fact, he figured that Gu Suihan was already like this a long time ago. He believed that was why Gu Suihan had suddenly decided to lose in such a terrible fashion and back out of the internal disciple selection three years ago and run as far as he could from the sect.

And what if the Seven Kill Sect ends up being the winner? There wont be anywhere in this world who will take you in then. And I dont think its so easy to find a body that has this much aptitude, right? said Xiexin zhenren calmly.

Xiexin zhenren spoke in a flippant manner, but that was Gu Suihans biggest problem. It was true that finding a body of this caliber was extremely difficult. Gu Suihan had used his spiritual sense to scan more than a hundred households before finally finding this one. Therefore, if the Seven Kill Sect ended up becoming the winner, it was true that he wouldnt be able to sneak back into the sect.

What are your plans? Gu Suihan paused to think for a moment before finally giving up on the idea of finding a second body to take over. There was only one reason for that. His soul was already in shambles, and it really couldnt take any more damage.

Youve made the right decision, my fellow cultivator. Xiexin zhenren smiled faintly when he realized that he had managed to convince Gu Suihan. We plan to get three of the Peak Leaders to split their soul, plant one part into the body of a disciple who will be going for the competition, then wipe out all the disciples belonging to the Ethereal Court alliance inside the secret realm. That way, the alliance would not be left with enough people to fight us, and it will fall apart by itself, thereby ending our crisis.

Split their souls? Gu Suihans eyes widened as he looked in shock at the unfazed Xiexin zhenren.

Xiexin zhenren knew why Gu Suihan was so shocked. His reaction was honest as he sighed deeply and said, I dont suppose you know, but some of the Peak Leaders dont have much longer to live. The sect is in trouble now, and we owe our level of cultivation to the sect, so we ought to repay the sect and do our best for it. Its the natural cycle of things. We cant avoid it at all.

Gu Suihan thought about what happened in the past and was suddenly enlightened. In other words, the last internal disciple selection was done so messily because you needed the disciples you wanted to get in?

Xiexin zhenren looked at Gu Suihan with a conflicted look in his eye. Thats right. Thats exactly what happened. Ill be honest with you you were one of my choices. But soul splitting comes with its own problems. It would certainly be a little too difficult to take control of your body forcibly. So, all of us had a discussion and decided to get through this crisis with your help instead.

So, whos your current choice? Gu Suihan narrowed his eyes, but he wasnt angry about being initially selected for this purpose. Things had turned out to be quite different from his initial guess, but the ending was going to be the same. Whoever had to allow a split soul to take over their body would definitely end up suffering so badly that theyd rather die.

Li Rong, said Xiexin zhenren with an indifferent smile.

Gu Suihan scoffed quietly. That makes sense. It is indeed best to do this to someone related to you.

He did not ask Xiexin zhenren superficial questions like why he had chosen to do such a thing and whether he felt guilty for doing this to his own son.

Cultivators were selfish people, after all, and they had a very poor concept of emotions. It was too hard to decipher the Way and its rules if one were too emotional.

Who are the rest? asked Gu Suihan curiously.

Xiexin zhenren fell silent for a few moments, then said, Besides myself, theres Wan Fentian and Yun Lianyi, the Peak Leaders of Peak Two and Peak Three, respectively. The three of us will be doing this.

How do you select who goes for the competition thats happening soon? Will the sect be holding another competition for that? Gu Suihan frowned and asked for more details about the upcoming competition.

Xiexin zhenren refilled his tea, then smiled sinisterly as he said, Not long after you left the sect for the mine, the oldest elder of Wonderful Sound Sect, Qingyin, passed away. And because that old hag died, the sect used it as an excuse to postpone the inter-sect competition that was supposed to happen. We thought that these other sects were going to swallow us up bit by bit. I didnt expect them to do it in such a big way.

What do you mean?

The older man snorted as if he had thought of something hilarious. His gaze was filled with disdain as he said, They decided that we should choose a hundred disciples from the Beginner, Mid, and Advanced Foundation Establishment stages to enter a secret realm at the same time. Inside there, they will be allowed to take any treasures they want and kill each other. The winner would be the one with the most number of survivors at the end of it, and those disciples will get to head to the Upper World.

In other words, the competition this time will affect the power dynamics of the entire world of cultivation?

That is correct, said Xiexin zhenren with a nod.

Gu Suihan closed his eyes and thought about these things for a long time before finally saying, In that case, I need something to increase my capabilities.

Xiexin zhenren looked like he was already expecting this. He glanced at Gu Suihans sword and asked, I see that you have already switched to sword cultivation, and this sword should be a spirit weapon too. I cant think of what else you might need. Even if I give you another spirit weapon or some other magic item, I dont think itll be of much use to you.

Pills. I want pills that can heal injuries to the soul. You know very well why I want them. Gu Suihan tapped his fingers on the table and stared straight at Xiexin zhenren, determined to get those pills out of him.

Xiexin zhenrens expression fell. If this hadnt happened, he would be willing to give Gu Suihan these pills. But now, the Peak Leaders undergoing the soul-splitting process would need to take large amounts of these pills in order to heal the damage done to their souls. By asking for these pills now, Gu Suihan was clearly insisting on getting some first if the sect wanted his help, so they had to give him the pills.

Fine, Ill give you three bottles of soul healing pills. No more than that, said Xiexin zhenren in a low and steady voice even though he was seething inside.

Before Gu Suihan could say anything, Xiexin zhenren waved his sleeve over the table, and three white jade bottles appeared. He then finished the rest of his tea and did not speak anymore, clearly giving the signal that the meeting was over and he was ready to see Gu Suihan out.

I see. Thanks for the pills then, said Gu Suihan with a smug smile. He kept the pills away and flew off right away. He didnt want to stay either.

His smile slowly faded as he flew out of Peak Four. He narrowed his eyes as he turned to look at the majestic mountain he had just left and scoffed inwardly.

How could these people possibly think they could get him to do them a favor without offering him anything in return? The Peak Leaders had been too optimistic. These three bottles were only the beginning. Since he had agreed to become part of this, he was going to get as much as he could.

As for that upcoming competition, he had other plans. Agreeing to help them in the way they wanted him to was just for show. To him, it didnt matter whether he was part of the Ethereal Courts alliance or on the Seven Kill Sects side. He would go wherever he felt would benefit him the most.

Now that he had let Taohua go, he didnt have a maid to get things done for him, which annoyed him slightly. Even though he now carried an internal disciples token, he was too lazy to find a new place. He took his share of Spiritual Stones and other items from the Fortune Court before swiftly returning to the residence where he used to live. He put up the sign to indicate that he was going into seclusion, then walked into his meditation room. He was going to try getting the last part of the Geng Gold Sword Mantra cultivation technique.

To his surprise, when he was about to start, he suddenly received a message via telepathy. The weapon spirit inside that broken knife was trying to contact him.

Gu Suihan! What is this cultivation technique you made Liu Ming practice? Why is it so strange, and why did he turn out so differently from you? A demanding voice rang in his head, which made Gu Suihan frown immediately. He didnt even know what was going on with Liu Ming. He could sense the urgency in the weapon spirits voice, so he got up again and headed for where the weapon spirit was.