Chapter 3121 — Xuanchen's Reproach

With that, Dongfang Ying recounted the whole sequence of events to Dongfang Jinxing, who flew into a rage upon hearing it. "The Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect again? You are certain it was them?"

"Young Master, do not forget that Young Master Bushu died by the hands of Zhang Naipao of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect, by his ultimate technique the Infernal Yin Demon Fist. And today I fell victim to it as well—that uncanny, phantasmal sensation cannot be feigned. At the very least, apart from the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect's Infernal Yin Demon Fist, I truly know of no other school whose martial arts produce such an illusory effect!" Dongfang Ying declared with certainty.

"Mm, you make sense! The Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect—we shall remember this grudge. For now, set aside your feud with Dongfang Jian. I dare not seek revenge for Dongfang Bushu either, not yet. Do not act rashly!" Dongfang Jinxing urged. He feared Dongfang Ying might do something foolish and charge headlong into a fight with the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect.

"I understand that, Young Master. Rest assured, I know I am no match for them. Those people are lunatics—they can even fight above their own level!" Dongfang Ying nodded. "Revenge must be planned with patience. Now that we know who our enemy is, matters become simpler!"

"It is good that you understand! Also, the Cultivators' Guild—do not provoke them if you can avoid it. As you said, that vice chairman may have been coerced by the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect; in truth, this affair had nothing to do with him. Let it go from now on. Our Dongfang Family is in no position to make too many enemies at present!" Dongfang Jinxing cautioned.

"I understand. I will not." Dongfang Ying said hastily. In truth, he bore Vice Chairman Ouyang no grudge. The man had struck him with a blade, yes, but only to save his own life. Dongfang Ying laid every ounce of blame at the feet of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect.

In his view, if not for the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect's coercion, would an entity as mighty as the Cultivators' Guild ever stoop to give false testimony on their behalf? The only explanation was that the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect was too powerful, and even the Cultivators' Guild dared not offend them lightly, and so helped them cover things up.

After all, though the Dongfang Family was also a top-tier ancient sect, it was still far removed from a colossus like the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect.

"For now, what you must do is cooperate with Dongfang Buruo as quickly as possible, capture Xu Shilan, and return to the Dongfang Family at once. Do nothing else," Dongfang Jinxing instructed.

"Yes!" Dongfang Ying, wounded as he was, could just about handle Xu Shilan and the people around her. To go seeking trouble with the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect's disciples—he had neither the ability nor the courage. That would be walking straight to his death.

"Ah, if only those two old ancestors were still here, it would be simple enough if they took action..." Dongfang Jinxing hung up the phone and heaved a sigh. Yet it was only a passing thought. Those two ancestors had vanished more than ten years ago, leaving not a trace. On paper, the Dongfang Family still had two consummate masters at the peak of the late Heaven Rank, but theirs was an empty title—and this was precisely why Dongfang Jinxing had endured in silence all this while. There was no help for it. The other side's consummate masters had also gone, yes, but new ones had risen in their wake, whereas the Dongfang Family had no successors; Dongfang Badao and Dongfang Yinxing had yet to break through. Dongfang Jinxing could only swallow his fury and write this debt down in his ledger.

After resting a moment, Dongfang Ying hurried to the hotel where Dongfang Buruo was staying. Yet the moment Dongfang Buruo opened the door, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"You... what happened to your head?" Dongfang Buruo was baffled. Why would his father send him a wounded man? The previous two, who had been whole and uninjured, were both dead. What use could an invalid possibly be?

"I ran into an enemy. It is nothing. Tonight I will go with you to find Xu Shilan!" Dongfang Ying shook his head, signaling that he was fine.

"But... in your condition, can you really be a match for them?" Dongfang Buruo asked, a little worried.

"It does not matter. The Dark Night Palace's grand elder has already left with Gu Mengyao. There is no threat at the villa now." Dongfang Ying waved a hand. He had investigated these matters beforehand; that was why he dared go with injuries to help Dongfang Buruo deal with Xu Shilan. Had the grand elder not yet departed, he would have fled long ago.

"Good! Then we go as soon as it gets dark!" Dongfang Buruo nodded and asked no more. If Dongfang Ying would not talk, what business was it of his how the man's head had been battered?

Within the Five Luminaries Sect.

"Second Senior Brother Xuanchen, you wished to see me? Is something the matter?" Ancestor Xuanchen asked with a smile.

"Xuanchen, I hear you have set the elders and disciples of our Five Luminaries Sect and the Xuandan Sect to refining first- and second-grade pills?" Ancestor Xuanchen frowned. "Is this not a waste of time? Do we have any need to refine such things?"

"It is like this, Second Senior Brother. I am doing this for our Five Luminaries Sect. Yes, our sect came down from the Supremacy plane, but this is a world of money. Without money, we cannot even afford the raw materials for pill refining—so I thought to earn a little more." Ancestor Xuanchen smiled bitterly. "Second Senior Brother, you do not manage the household, so you do not know how dear firewood and rice have become! The pills you refine for everyone to take when the Cloud-Tier Island opens, the suppression and resistance pills—they require not only vast quantities of trial spirit herbs but also many supplementary medicinal ingredients. Do those not all cost money to buy? The Five Luminaries Sect's reserves are not so great, so we can only earn money by selling these first- and second-grade pills."

"Is that so?" Ancestor Xuanchen was slightly taken aback. He truly had not known any of this; he did not manage the household, and so had no idea how much the Five Luminaries Sect had in reserve. Hearing Xuanchen's words, it all seemed quite reasonable, and he said no more. "In that case, carry on."

"Very well, Second Senior Brother. You need not trouble yourself over these matters—just focus on refining the pills for Cloud-Tier Island. Leave these trifles to me." Ancestor Xuanchen spoke with high-minded propriety; the sordid truth behind it was known only to him, Kang Jingming, and a few others.

"By the way, there is another reason I called you here. Assign Kang Jingming to assist me. Refining the Cloud-Tier Island pills, I find my hands are not quite enough—I need a trustworthy disciple of real ability to help," Ancestor Xuanchen said.

"Kang Jingming, ah..." Ancestor Xuanchen hesitated. "He is about to marry my daughter. Even if he helped you now, he would have little time. How about letting Tianchan assist you instead?" (To be continued.