Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 203 The innocent will clear themselves

People around you?

Who could be the mole?

Han Wei?

impossible.

He was a member of the Demon Suppression Division and was always loyal.

Ashu?

Although he was a suspect, he had confessed his identity and had always acted very sincerely.

Or... is it someone else?

He shook his head, suppressing these distracting thoughts.

The most important thing now is to find out the truth behind the strange changes in the Northern Lands seal, not to be suspicious.

The next morning, Zhou Ning got up early and went to the sealing site in the north of the city.

He used his divine sense to explore the underground area again and discovered that the source of the demonic energy seemed to be in a deeper place, at least a thousand feet below the surface.

"We have to go down and take a look," Zhou Ning decided.

He had Ashu guard the cave entrance while he dug a downward passage.

His cultivation at the Dao Integration stage gave him physical strength far exceeding that of ordinary people. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he dug a vertical well that was a hundred feet deep.

At the bottom of the shaft is a narrow cave.

Inside the cave, a black orb of light floated in mid-air, slowly rotating.

Within the sphere of light, a wisp of black mist could be vaguely seen writhing and emitting a low growl.

Scattered around the sphere of light were some black fragments, exactly the same as the fragments left behind after the Heavenly Demon was purified.

"As expected, they are remnants of the Heavenly Demon."

Zhou Ning frowned.

He drew the Heavenly Fox Sword, infused it with the power of Dao Integration, and unleashed a slash.

Blue-gold sword energy shot out from the tip of the sword, heading straight for the black sphere of light.

"boom!"

The sword energy struck the ball of light, producing a deafening explosion.

The sphere of light trembled violently, and the black mist began to dissipate.

The dark shadow inside the sphere of light emitted a sharp hiss, seemingly struggling, but was quickly swallowed up by the blue-gold light.

The sphere of light disappeared.

Silence returned to the cave.

Zhou Ning sheathed his sword and exhaled a long breath.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Nearly 20% of his Dao-merging power had been consumed, but it was not a serious problem.

"It's a success."

He returned to the ground, where Ashu and Hanwei were anxiously waiting at the cave entrance. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him come out.

"Young Master Zhou, what's down there?" Han Wei asked.

Zhou Ning said, "A remnant of a Heavenly Demon has already been purified by me. The seal will no longer be a problem."

Han Wei was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Zhou Ning shook his head: "Lord Han, you're too kind. I'll head back to Lanruo Temple now. Please contact me anytime if you need anything."

He bid farewell to Han Wei and, with A Shu in tow, returned to Lanruo Temple.

After the seal anomaly in the North was resolved, Zhou Ning returned to Lanruo Temple with Ashu.

Jingchen was still in seclusion. The seven-colored light of the phoenix feather shone through the window of her room, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, like the rhythm of her breathing.

Yan Chixia would check on it once a day to make sure the restriction was intact, and then leave silently.

He rarely spoke, but Zhou Ning could sense that his master's wariness of Jingchen had not been completely eliminated.

On the third day after returning to the temple, Zhou Ning was meditating on the back mountain when A-Shu rushed over.

"Young Master Zhou, someone is looking for you down the mountain. It's Miss Xuanjing from Qingfeng Temple."

Zhou Ning opened his eyes and quickly walked down the mountain.

At the mountain gate, Xuan Jing stood there, dressed in white as snow, his whisk swaying gently, but his expression was somewhat solemn.

"Miss Xuanjing, what happened?"

Xuan Jing took out a jade slip from her sleeve and handed it to Zhou Ning.

"My senior brother asked me to tell you that there has been a disagreement within the Righteous Path Alliance."

Yu Zhenzi, in alliance with several sects, proposed to investigate you, suspecting you of colluding with the Wine and Meat Bodhisattva.

Although my senior brother strongly opposed it, Yu Zhenzi insisted on going his own way. He warned you to be careful.

Zhou Ning took the jade slip and used his divine sense to read it.

The contents of the letter were consistent with what Hyun-jung had said, and a reminder was added at the end.

"Young Master Zhou, the innocent are innocent, but one must also guard against the hearts of petty people."

Zhou Ning carefully put away the jade slip and said, "Thank you for sending the message, Miss Xuanjing. Please tell Daoist Xuanzhenzi that I will be careful."

Xuan Jing nodded and turned to go down the mountain.

Ashu walked to Zhou Ning's side and whispered, "Young Master Zhou, I've said it before, the Righteous Alliance is unreliable."

"That Yu Zhenzi is clearly no good. He's targeting you at every turn; there's definitely something fishy going on."

Zhou Ning was silent for a moment, then said, "His targeting of me isn't necessarily because he's a bad person; it could also be because he genuinely believes I'm colluding with the 'wine-and-meat bodhisattva.' People tend to believe what they want to believe."

Ashu asked, "So what do you plan to do? Let him investigate?"

Zhou Ning shook his head.

"Of course not. But I won't offer any explanations either. Explaining is just covering up, and it only makes things worse. I will prove myself through my actions."

Ashu sighed.

"You're too kind. There are some unreasonable people in this world. The more you give in, the more they'll take advantage of you."

Zhou Ning glanced at him and said, "A-Shu, you seem to have a lot of prejudice against the Righteous Alliance."

Ashu lowered his head, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Because I have seen too many so-called 'righteous people' who, under the guise of justice, do despicable things."

"They are more terrifying than demons. At least demons don't disguise themselves, but they are wolves in sheep's clothing."

Zhou Ning did not respond.

He knew that what Ashu said was true, but he also believed that there were upright people like Xuanzhenzi and Hanwei in the righteous path.

We cannot deny the goodness of all people because of the evil of a few.

"Let's go back first. Jingchen is still in seclusion; we can't leave for too long."

The two returned to the temple.

In the days that followed, Zhou Ning cultivated in the back mountain every day, waiting for Jingchen to emerge from seclusion.

He practiced the "Heavenly Fox Demon-Slaying Technique" repeatedly, further solidifying his mid-stage Dao Integration cultivation.

The tacit understanding between him and the Heavenly Fox Sword deepened, and the Heavenly Fox Soul within the sword almost merged with him. With a thought, the sword intent would arrive.

On this day, Zhou Ning was practicing his sword when A-Zhu suddenly ran over, his face pale.

"Young Master Zhou! Something terrible has happened! A large group of people have gathered at the foot of the mountain, claiming to be from the Righteous Path Alliance, and they're here to capture you!"

Zhou Ning frowned, sheathed his sword, and walked to the mountain gate to look down.

Sure enough, a large group of people, numbering over a hundred, stood on the mountain path, dressed in various colored Taoist robes and holding weapons.

The leader was a middle-aged man wearing a blue Taoist robe, who was none other than Yu Zhenzi.

Behind him followed Zhang Tianshi of Longhu Mountain, Liu Zhenren of Maoshan, and representatives from several other sects.

"Zhou Ning, the evidence of your collusion with the 'Feast-and-Meat Bodhisattva' is irrefutable. Today, on behalf of the Righteous Path Alliance, we request that you come with us."

Yu Zhenzi's voice came from down the mountain, carrying an unquestionable authority.

Zhou Ning stood at the mountain gate and said calmly, "Sect Leader Yu Zhenzi, what evidence do you have that I'm colluding with the 'Feast-and-Meat Bodhisattva'?"

Yu Zhenzi took out a jade slip from his sleeve and held it high above his head.

"This is the jade slip we found at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Jinling. It records your secret conversation with the Wine and Meat Bodhisattva. Do you still dare to deny it?"

Zhou Ning said, "That was me trying to persuade her to turn over a new leaf. If you listen carefully, you can hear it."

Yu Zhenzi sneered.

"Persuade her to repent and reform? What right do you, a cultivator at the Dao Integration stage, have to persuade a thousand-year-old demon? Clearly, you are plotting to overthrow the Three Realms."

The monks behind him echoed his sentiments, their voices clamoring like those of a bustling marketplace.

Ashu whispered to Zhou Ning, "Young Master Zhou, they outnumber us and have the upper hand. We're not afraid to fight them head-on, but once we start, even if we're innocent, it will naturally turn into innocence. It's better to go with them first and then find a way to prove our innocence."

Zhou Ning thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright. I have nothing to fear if I'm upright."

He walked down the mountain gate and came to Yu Zhenzi.

"I'll go with you. But please don't disturb Lanruo Temple. My master and Jingchen are still inside."

Yu Zhenzi snorted coldly: "Don't worry, we're only looking for you."

With a wave of his hand, two disciples from Qingcheng Mountain stepped forward and put a pair of black shackles on Zhou Ning's wrists.

The shackles were engraved with runes that could seal one's cultivation.

Zhou Ning did not resist and let them do as they pleased.

Ashu tried to follow, but was stopped by a disciple from Longhu Mountain.

"You little demon, don't cause trouble."

A-Shu looked at Zhou Ning anxiously, and Zhou Ning shook his head at him, signaling him not to act rashly.

The group escorted Zhou Ning away from Qingyun Mountain.