ETR | Chapter 42

But even so, Xiao Xueman still wouldn’t agree.

Qin Lou knew this clearly. For now, Xiao Xueman’s refusal was only verbal—his words were sharp, but he hadn’t actually made a move.

That was, firstly, because Qin Lou had been doing what he was told—he was behaving, so there was no need for action. Secondly, Xiao Xueman was staying for Nan An’s sake. Her treatment wasn’t complete, so he couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. Lashing out at Qin Lou would be pointless right now.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t strike in the future. If Qin Lou tried to stop him from leaving Wangtian Immortal Sect—or if he went after him again once Xiao Xueman left—what happened back at the Fifteenth Heaven would definitely happen again.

Xiao Xueman had always been ruthless when he needed to be. Qin Lou had witnessed it countless times. And now, he realized—he’d become the target of that ruthlessness too.

In the Lower and Middle Realms, Qin Lou had to use that special cloak to suppress his strength just to be there. But Xiao Xueman was different. His sealing was entirely under his own control. And unlike Shen Guan, who also used self-imposed seals, Xiao Xueman’s situation was unique. Qin Lou had long known that Xiao Xueman was a spirit plant turned demon. His original form was practically nature’s favorite—so the suppression laws didn’t affect him much. Which meant…

In the Lower and Middle Realms, Xiao Xueman was invincible.

Honestly, that went for the Upper Realm too. Qin Lou had never actually fought him seriously—he couldn’t bring himself to. But if they did go all out, the two were probably evenly matched. The only difference? Qin Lou wouldn’t use full force.

Xiao Xueman would.

Which meant, in the current Spirit Realm—no one could beat Xiao Xueman.

So no matter what, brute force was no longer an option. And even if it were, Qin Lou wouldn’t dare use it again. Even if he wanted to—it wouldn’t work now.

He returned with the necklace in hand, fell into yet another bout of silent gloom, and drowned in the helpless realization that nothing he did seemed to matter anymore.

Just then, as if Qin Lou wasn’t already miserable enough, Yin Ying came over to dump another bomb on him.

Thanks to the Ning Ling incident, the recent sect-wide cleanup had actually produced some real results.

Even if certain people hadn’t been openly arrogant, there had always been undercurrents of internal scheming. These things had been managed before—but without the sect master stepping in, it had no weight. One batch got suppressed, and another popped up.

Now that Qin Lou had personally punished the ringleaders, shady stuff had decreased dramatically. More disciples were focusing on cultivation. The number of people volunteering to train in the trial and battle arenas had more than doubled. Even the backstabbing political drama had lessened.

Wangtian Immortal Sect was in noticeably better shape now.

Although Qin Lou’s wrath had terrified plenty, no one said he was being unfair. Everything had a reason—no one was punished without cause. Most people in the sect genuinely wanted to cultivate. With the rules finally clear and firm, many were clapping their hands in support.

The cleanup was basically done. Even though Qin Lou had been absent and disengaged for a long time, the people under him were diligent. The sect hadn’t strayed from its main direction. But these things couldn’t be dragged out too long.

Justice had been served, and it was time to let the dust settle.

Yin Ying had come this time with some newly uncovered problems.

The Haichen and Chenchuan Pavilions—representing the newer factions in the sect—had both changed pavilion masters recently. They were also the ones who first sent people down to the Lower Realm.

Those young ones hadn’t caused any disasters like Ning Ling, but following the thread led to a lot of dirt. One piece worse than the last.

“That pavilion master’s already been dealt with—he’s still sitting in the Criminal Division,” Yin Ying said. “But the new one found something. He brought it forward on his own.”

“I think this could be… big or small.”

Qin Lou glanced at the item—it was the communication talisman most frequently used by the former Chenchuan Pavilion master. Along with it were some very old-school letters.

Because the guy had been imprisoned, these letters were found stashed in a deep hiding place.

There was no spiritual energy in them, which made them extremely primitive. Without energy, they couldn’t be traced. Harder to use, sure—but also safer. You could destroy them at any time, and they left no trace.

If the guy hadn’t been completely dug up this time, no one would’ve found them.

And the person he’d been writing to?

The current Fox Clan patriarch.

The previous patriarch had been Shen Guan. But after he was hunted down, he stopped caring whether the Fox Clan lived or died. These days, he was fully devoted to watching over Xiao Xueman and their kid.

To this day, many people still thought Shen Guan was dead. Qin Lou had stepped in once, as Xiao Xueman’s friend, to clear his name. It wasn’t until later, when he met Xueman again, that he found out Shen Guan was actually alive.

The current Fox Clan patriarch’s ruthless efforts to erase Shen Guan had always seemed… suspicious.

Even if they’d disagreed on decisions, Shen Guan had already stepped down. He couldn’t really interfere anymore.

There was no need to go to such extremes—especially considering Shen Guan had once brought great honor to the Fox Clan.

The new patriarch didn’t even leave himself an out. That wasn’t how a qualified leader should act.

But if someone was just brain-dead… Qin Lou couldn’t help that. The Fox Clan resided in the Second Heaven and were of the demon race. Wangtian Immortal Sect was Qin Lou’s territory, but other clans weren’t his to control. So he hadn’t looked too deeply at the time.

Now, finding that someone from his own sect had been in contact with the Fox Clan patriarch—yeah, that was shocking.

So what had they been talking about?

The letters weren’t complete—some had clearly been destroyed. These were just the ones left behind, probably forgotten.

The content seemed innocuous. Just flattery and small talk. A few references to resource exchanges. Nothing crazy.

But Yin Ying had said “big or small” because of one phrase buried in a letter.

“…It’s said that the former Tian Shu Institute sect master, Yuan Shu, once used this method to advance rapidly. I tried it myself—the results weren’t false.”

Yuan Shu.

That name alone made Qin Lou’s blood boil.

Especially when the letter also contained the phrase: “cultivation method.” That put him on high alert.

Qin Lou didn’t blame others for what happened between him and Xiao Xueman—but Yuan Shu? He deserved to be called the true culprit.

Because the cultivation method Yuan Shu used… was connected to a secret Xiao Xueman had never revealed.

Yin Ying didn’t need to be told—he was already investigating.

The former pavilion master had originally just been demoted. But now, with these letters, the nature of the crime had changed completely.

If you asked Qin Lou who Xiao Xueman hated most—it was Yuan Shu. No question.

And Yuan Shu’s method… touched on a secret Xiao Xueman had never spoken of.

Yin Ying was good at his job. It didn’t take long before the former pavilion master broke.

“I swear, I hadn’t done anything yet!” he confessed in a panic. “I met the Fox Clan patriarch a few years ago. The clan’s been expanding fast—they had tons of resources. I did a few trades, got closer… Then, then I noticed…”

“Noticed what?”

“His cultivation speed. It was crazy. A few years ago, he was just Spirit God Tier 2. Now he’s already pushing Tier 4,” he swallowed hard. “I-I was tempted. He said he used a special cultivation method. But I swear, I hadn’t done anything yet! Really!”

Just hearing that the patriarch had advanced so fast was enough to make Qin Lou’s face darken.

“Yin Ying, go find Shen Guan,” he ordered. “Tell him it’s about the Fox Clan. And don’t let him… don’t let him tell Xueman yet.”

When Shen Guan got the message about a meeting regarding the Fox Clan, he hesitated… but still came.

Maybe the Fox Clan was up to something again.

He slipped out while Xiao Xueman was treating Nan An and found, to his surprise—Qin Lou waiting for him.

“What do you want?” Shen Guan’s face was full of wariness. “If it’s about Xueman, I’m not telling you anything. Same for Xiao Wan.”

Qin Lou’s expression was stormy—like he was holding something back.

“It’s not about Xueman,” he said. “I want to ask about the Fox Clan.”

“…The Fox Clan?” Shen Guan frowned. “I’ve got nothing to do with them anymore.”

“Don’t be emotional, Shen Guan. This is important.” Qin Lou stepped closer. “Think carefully. Back when you ran—did they want to kill you? Or just catch you?”

That made Shen Guan pause. The more he thought about it, the more he realized something had been weird.

He’d been badly injured from the suppression in the Lower Realms, but the Fox Clan never struck to kill. Even in the end, it was just a bounty—not a kill order. It was like they wanted him alive.

They’d searched for a month in the Seventeenth Heaven before giving up. Probably assumed he’d died. Qin Lou had gotten involved by then and the bounty was rescinded.

Yeah… they really had acted like they wanted a live capture.

Back then, Shen Guan had sensed something off, but didn’t think deeply about it. And after Xiao Xueman came back into his life, he’d stopped caring.

Now that Qin Lou brought it up—it was weird.

“What are you getting at?” Shen Guan looked at him. “What did the Fox Clan do? Why are you bringing up old stuff now?”

Qin Lou told him what they’d found in the sect. Then he asked, “Is it true? That the Fox Clan patriarch is advancing super fast?”

Before Shen Guan left, he’d been the top talent in the clan—Spirit God Tier and next in line for patriarch. When he left, the current guy had only been Tier 2.

Now he was Tier 3, about to break through Tier 4?

In the Spirit God tier, every level was like climbing the heavens. Gaining two levels in seven years—unless you were the next Qin Lou, it was insane.

And Shen Guan had watched him grow up. The guy had decent talent, but nowhere near Qin Lou’s level. Not even as strong as Shen Guan himself.

So what had he done?

What was he doing now?

Shen Guan looked at the letters, and his gaze locked on one word.

Yuan Shu.

The man Xiao Xueman hated most.

Shen Guan didn’t know exactly what had happened between Xueman and Tian Shu Institute. But Xueman had said many times that the fall of Tian Shu was “revenge finally fulfilled.” That said enough.

That was probably why Qin Lou was so serious about this. Otherwise, he wouldn’t care what happened to the Fox Clan.

Yuan Shu’s cultivation method…

Shen Guan’s thoughts started racing. He’d only recently learned about Xiao Xueman’s real identity. So it was natural for his mind to go there now.

Xiao Xueman was invincible—everyone could see that. But what he’d gone through before… Shen Guan still didn’t fully understand.

Xueman didn’t like talking about the past. He was the kind of person who only reported good news, never bad. If something could be handled on his own, he’d never bother anyone else with it.

If only he didn’t have to bear everything alone…

Shen Guan understood now, at least partly, why Qin Lou had only come to him and didn’t want Xueman to know yet.

“…Yuan Shu’s cultivation method,” Shen Guan exhaled, “it’s related to Xueman, isn’t it? And also… to his identity as a spirit plant turned demon?”