First Immortal of the Sword-Chapter 2196 - Casting Blame

A sudden silence followed Su Yi’s words.

The crowd was startled. None of them had anticipated that Xiao Jian would be so ruthless at a time like this. He was actually trying to get even with Third Elder Ku Zhen!

Tie Wenjing couldn’t help but sweat on his behalf. He transmitted, “Xiao Jian, you’re now a deacon of Wandering Night Palace. Opposing your superior like this is extremely unwise!”

Su Yi disregarded him. He just gazed calmly at Ku Zhen, making no effort to disguise his domineeringness or determination.

Ku Zhen glowered, and his brow furrowed. He wouldn’t have guessed that this young man of the Torch Dragon Race would be so troublesome.

Sect Leader Liang Lingxu laughed. “See that, Third Elder? Deacon Xiao feels aggrieved. Don’t forget your comportment any further. Quick, apologize to him.”

After a moment’s silence, Ku Zhen slowly nodded. “Earlier, my questioning was indeed a bit overly stringent. Don’t take it to heart.”

Only then did Su Yi let up.

He could suppress his usual personality and temper for the sake of infiltrating Qingwu Divine Court, but there were times when he couldn’t back down. If he did, others would think of him as a soft persimmon they could abuse as they pleased.

That would only invite even more trouble.

And Su Yi had never liked trouble.

He was confident that after seeing his attitude, the old-timers of Qingwu Divine Court would know how they should treat him. That was why Su Yi was so stubborn about making Ku Zhen apologize.

As for whether Ku Zhen bore a grudge or tried to make trouble for him down the line? Su Yi didn’t care in the slightest.

Competition within the sect was fierce, and the sect’s higher-ups were divided into various camps. Infighting was frequent and commonplace. This infighting was allowed, on the precondition that everyone acted within the bounds of the sect’s rules!

Su Yi naturally wouldn’t let himself make any mistakes there, nor would he give Ku Zhen any opportunity to find fault with him!

“Elder Tie, tell me about how Niu Kui, Wang Teng, and the others tried to intercept you after you left Spring and Autumn City.” Sect Elder Liang Lingxu changed the subject. “Their deaths have enraged the Severed Heavens Demon Court, Red Dust Demon Lands, and Donghua Sword Pavilion. All of them are putting pressure on us. They say that you killed Niu Kui.”

Su Yi had a bit of a strange look in his eyes. So, that’s how they’re trying to shift the blame?

Tie Wenjing was instantly furious. “They’re the ones who intercepted me and Xiao Jian. Now they’re trying to frame me? How could they be so unreasonable!?”

He then laid the whole tale out in the open, not overlooking even the slightest detail.

“What did that rain of flaming stars that descended out of nowhere look like? Might you show us?” asked Grand Elder Wei Zhong.

Tie Wenjing nodded, then waved his sleeve through the air. A curtain of light appeared, a scene reflected upon it.

It depicted one hundred million burning stars falling from the heavens, tearing through the sky and melting the mountains and rivers with terrifying destructive force.

The crowd couldn’t help but be startled. This Daoist magic was undoubtedly the work of an utterly terrifying Greater God. It was mighty enough to threaten the lives of even fellow Greater Gods.

Whap!

Grand Elder Wei Zhong suddenly slapped the table, his eyes flashing with divine radiance. “I know who killed Niu Kui and the others!”

“Who?” The others couldn’t help but be curious.

“Someone from the Three Purities Daoist Court!” said Wei Zhong, speaking slowly and clearly. “This ability is called Burning Stars Melt the Firmament. It’s one of the nine supreme legacies of the Three Purities Daoist Court!”

A round of uproar ensued. Someone from the Three Purities Daoist Court!?

This answer was entirely unexpected.

Sect Leader Liang Lingxu said solemnly, “That is indeed the Three Purities Daoist Court’s Burning Stars Melt the Firmament. Of everyone in the sect, Elder Ren Beiyou is the most skilled at it.”

He paused, then furrowed his brow. “But I can’t for the life of me guess why someone from the Three Purities Daoist Court would want to kill Niu Kui and the others.”

The others found it baffling, too.

The Three Purities Daoist Court was the greatest orthodoxy in the Spirit Firmament Divine Continent, and the world’s leading Daoist faction. Their strength and foundations were far beyond most “peak” top factions of the present day!

Why would a ruling faction like them kill the Greater Gods of three top factions of the Southern Flame Divine Continent? It just didn’t make sense.

“A lot about this incident still seems suspicious, but no matter what, I can say for certain that the Three Purities Daoist Court was involved!” said Grand Elder Wei Zhong. “Elder Tie, carve everything you saw into a jade slip. I’ll share this information with the three factions involved and restore your good name!”

Tie Wenjing nodded his agreement.

Su Yi took all of this in. He felt rather strange about it.

Naturally, this misunderstanding was his work. He’d done this to foist the blame onto the Three Purities Daoist Court. No one who saw this would doubt their involvement, no matter who they were.

This was because the “Burning Stars Melt the Firmament” ability he’d used earlier really did come from the Three Purities Daoist Court, and it was incomparably authentic! Not even members of the Three Purities Daoist Court would be able to find fault with it.

This was thanks to the power of one of the numerous Godheads Su Yi had refined.

Su Yi slew numerous enemies in the Path of the Ancient Gods’ Deification Star Sea, including Greater God Ren Beiyou of the Three Purities Daoist Court!

Su Yi had long since refined Ren Beiyou’s Godhead. He’d naturally grasped the Laws of the Grand Dao therein, too. It was for this reason that Su Yi could display the most authentic possible Burning Stars Melt the Firmament; it was no mere facsimile.

There was no doubt about it. He’d achieved his goal. When this false truth spread, it would inevitably create a wave of uproar throughout the Southern Flame Divine Continent.

The Severed Heavens Demon Court, Red Dust Demon Lands, and Donghua Sword Pavilion would all point their fingers at the Three Purities Daoist Court.

What kind of fallout would this bring? Su Yi didn’t know, but it had nothing to do with him.

Still, even though the technique was authentic, a lot about these false accusations didn’t add up. Someone would figure it out eventually, but that was a problem for later.

Now that he’d successfully entered Qingwu Divine Court, they’d be there to back him up no matter what happened!

He could even go out, stir up trouble, and kill enemies of his own volition, then pin the blame on Qingwu Divine Court.

...

When the conversation ended, Tie Wenjing led Su Yi away.

But then, Grand Elder Wei Zhong said suddenly, “Deacon Xiao, there’s something I’d like you to help me with.”

Su Yi hadn’t expected that. “Please, go right ahead and speak directly, Grand Elder.”

“I heard that you acquired Yi Daoxuan’s sword, Unfettered Wanderer,” said Grand Elder Wei Zhong.”Might you lend it to me?”

All eyes were instantly on Su Yi.

Su Yi furrowed his brow. He could already predict that if he “lent” the sword to the grand elder, he wouldn’t get it back!

The part that displeased him the most was that he’d only just joined Qingwu Divine Sect, but this old bastard was already coveting Unfettered Wanderer. He’d obviously planned this in advance!

Even Tie Wenjing thought the Grand Elder’s request was overly abrupt. He said hurriedly, “Grand Elder, isn’t that a bit...”

But Wei Zhong interrupted him before he could finish his question. “I heard that Deacon Xiao paid three hundred Undying Divine Crystals to acquire this treasure. How about this? I’ll give Deacon Xiao half that in exchange for borrowing the sword. Take it as a token of my appreciation.”

Su Yi suddenly smiled. “Since you asked for it, Grand Elder, I naturally have no reason to refuse.”

With that, he took out Unfettered Wanderer, placed it into a bronze box, and passed it to Wei Zhong.

“As for the Undying Divine Crystals? Hold onto them, Grand Elder. I’m now a member of Qingwu Divine Court, so consider this my contribution to the sect. How could I possibly try to profit off of you, Grand Elder?” Su Yi said solemnly.

When the crowd saw this, they couldn’t help but smile. This Xiao Jian isn’t an overbearing, overconfident sort after all. At the very least, he handled this quite neatly.

Wei Zhong smiled too. “Even if you refuse the Undying Divine Crystals, I still have to give them to you. If word gets out that I took the sword without offering you anything in exchange, people are sure to criticize me.”

With that, he took out a bag of holding and passed it to Su Yi.

“You only just joined the sect, and I don’t have anything special to give you. This contains one hundred Undying Divine Crystals and three types of rare divine medicine suitable for Fortune Realm cultivators. Take it as a token of my appreciation; don’t refuse them.”

Su Yi hadn’t expected this, but he didn’t refuse. He put away the bag of holding and clasped his fist. “Many thanks, Grand Elder.”

Sect Leader Liang Lingxu laughed. “The Grand Elder is right. Qingwu Divine Court is fortunate to have recruited a peerless figure like Deacon Xiao. This is absolutely cause for celebration. We old-timers naturally ought to welcome him.”

He took out a command token and passed it to Tie Wenjing. “This is the command token used to control the formations of Spirit Bamboo Peak. Deacon Xiao will live there going forward. Bring him there and get him settled in.”

Tie Wenjing was instantly startled, and his eyes widened in disbelief. “Sect Leader... that... isn’t that too...”

Liang Lingxiao laughed. “Deacon Xiao is a descendant of the Torch Dragon Race. He’s extraordinarily talented and powerful, and his potential is limitless! We’re fortunate to have had him join our sect, and we naturally ought to treat him accordingly. It’s just a blessed ground for cultivation. Why think anything of it?” freewebnøvel.coɱ

When the other higher-ups saw these, they each offered Su Yi a greeting gift in turn.

Su Yi suddenly gained more than ten varieties of divine medicines, divine materials, Undying Divine Gold, and other such treasures at once.

Even Tie Wenjing felt his horizons broadening. He was deeply astonished.

He would never have guessed that the sect leader and the others would willingly part with so much wealth. No small number of gods had joined Qingwu Divine Court over the years, but Xiao Jian was the first to have received such special treatment!

Su Yi, meanwhile, thanked each of the sect higher-ups in turn, and he accepted all of their gifts.

When they left Clear Sky Palace, Tie Wenjing couldn’t hide his delight. “See that, Xiao Jian? The sect values you deeply! Spirit Bamboo Peak is one of the sect’s one hundred and nine mountains. Typically, only elders are allowed to live there, yet now, the sect leader has broken precedent and arranged for you to take up residence there!”

Delight appeared on Tie Wenjing’s face. “You’ve got to work hard on your cultivation going forward. Don’t let the sect leader and the elders’ generosity go to waste!”

Su Yi smiled and said nothing. How could he possibly have missed what the sect higher-ups were up to?

First, they had Ku Zhen play the villain. Then, they showered him with benefits. It was like they’d slapped him across the face, only to give him a delicious jujube to eat. They’d combined rewards and intimidation to make him feel indebted to them and encourage him to do as they told him later.

But Su Yi could tell that Tie Wenjing was sincerely happy for him.

He’s actually a rather decent guy, thought Su Yi.

“Come on, I’ll take you to get your identity marker and resources. While I’m at it, I’ll show you around the sect,” said Tie Wenjing, clearly eager to serve as Su Yi’s guide.

Su Yi smiled and agreed.