Volume 1 Volume 5 Chapter 152

Volume 5 Chapter 152: Changes and Responses (Part 2)

"First," Mr. Liu pointed at Little Gold rolling on the ground, his voice serious, "is the issue of Little Gold."

After hearing Mr. Liu’s words, Xu Qingfan was slightly taken aback and then fell into silence. In fact, he had been thinking about the issue of Little Gold for days.

At the same time, as Mr. Liu’s voice fell, the three people on the scene—Zhang Hualing, Mr. Liu, and Xu Qingfan—quickly noticed that Little Gold seemed to understand the meaning of Mr. Liu’s words. While rolling on the ground, its movements suddenly paused for a moment, but just an instant later, it began to roll around again, looking innocent and carefree.

Mr. Liu gazed deeply at Little Gold beneath his feet, smiled slightly, but said nothing more.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Qingfan looked at Zhang Hualing, who nodded slightly, indicating that he had already told Mr. Liu everything about Little Gold’s unusual behavior.

Xu Qingfan turned his gaze to Mr. Liu and slowly said, "From my observation, this Little Gold seems to have a strange aura that drives all demon beasts in the world to madness, wanting to consume its flesh and blood. In fact, before I got it, Little Black had eaten some of its blood and flesh, resulting in some kind of mutation. Although its strength did not increase, its form and demeanor changed greatly, as if it had become the king of birds. If it weren’t for Sect Master putting the ‘Sealing Ring’ on it, perhaps all the demon beasts of ‘Ronghua Mountain’ would still be restless now."

As he spoke, Xu Qingfan glanced at Little Gold, who was playing by itself, and then looked up and said, "This Little Gold is so strange, but I have looked through many books and found no mention of its name or type, as if it had never appeared in the entire cultivation world before. I wonder if Mr. Liu, with your wide knowledge, knows the origin of this Little Gold? During this time, I have been thinking, the Southern Wasteland demon beasts have always kept to themselves in hidden places, avoiding the bustling Middle-earth. This sudden attack on various areas of Shenzhou Continent—could it be related to this Little Gold? If so, what should we do?"

Mr. Liu and Zhang Hualing listened quietly to Xu Qingfan’s story. After Xu Qingfan finished, Mr. Liu shook his head and said, "I do not know about the arrival of this little beast. It resembles both good fortune and doom, yet most of its characteristics do not match either. But you are right about one thing; it is indeed unseen in the cultivation world. In fact, until Sect Master Zhang told me about the peculiarities of this Little Gold, I had not realized how unusual it was. Based on its characteristics, it is very likely that the Southern Wasteland demon beasts came this time because of it."

After a pause, Mr. Liu smiled and said, "What interests me more is judging by the reactions of the Southern Wasteland demon beasts: this little beast should originally belong to the Southern Wasteland. How did it end up near ‘Ronghua Mountain’? And why did that Mahayana cultivator give it to you?"

Upon hearing Mr. Liu’s words, both Zhang Hualing and Xu Qingfan fell into deep thought.

People call the mythical beast with the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, the hooves of a horse, and scales of fish, crowned with golden horns, a kylin. Little do they know that at the beginning of creation, the world gave birth to two kylins. Although they looked exactly alike with only slight differences, their natures were completely opposite-one named "Auspicious," which brought good weather and peace wherever it roamed, and the other named "Ominous," which brought drought, floods, and war upon its appearance. Though they were twins, meeting each other would lead to a fight to the death.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan felt a slight stir in his heart and thought of a possibility. He was about to ask if this Little Gold could be a hybrid of "Auspicious" and "Ominous," but then he quickly dismissed the idea. When Bad Omen and Auspicious meet, it leads to a situation of endless conflict; how could they come together and have offspring?

On the other side, after speaking, Mr. Liu stared at Xu Qingfan for a moment and then asked with a smile, "But to understand the matters behind the scenes will take a long time. Our urgent task now is to drive those demon beasts back to the Southern Wasteland. So, let me ask you, if this demon beast problem is truly caused by this little creature, what will you do?"

Xu Qingfan hesitated for a moment and then said, "Return this Little Gold to the Southern Wasteland demon beasts? After all, continuing to fight like this is not good for any of us."

As soon as Xu Qingfan’s voice fell, before Mr. Liu could say anything, Zhang Hualing firmly denied, "No!"

Xu Qingfan was slightly stunned and turned to look at Zhang Hualing, only to find that after coughing a couple of times, Zhang Hualing had closed his eyes to rest, as if he were deep in thought.

Mr. Liu explained with a smile, "Have you thought about what the consequences would be if you returned Little Gold to those Southern Wasteland demon beasts?"

Xu Qingfan was slightly taken aback and fell silent.

Only Xu Qingfan, Mr. Liu, and Zhang Hualing could return Little Gold to those Southern Wasteland demon beasts. Setting aside the danger of facing countless demon beasts, the identities of the three meant that every move they made would draw attention. If someone discovered that the Southern Wasteland demon beasts attacked the Righteous Alliance because of Xu Qingfan’s Little Gold, it would surely shock everyone. What would happen just after Xu Qingfan had been hailed as a hero of the Righteous Alliance?

The saying goes, "the higher you stand, the harder you fall." In the face of such a huge contrast, the Righteous Alliance cultivators who felt deceived would consider it light to strip Xu Qingfan of his powers. Even the entire Jiuhua lineage would be greatly affected.

Xu Qingfan fell silent. After thinking about the pros and cons, he already knew that Mr. Liu and Zhang Hualing would not accept his suggestion. He even thought about the consequences—he himself would not accept it either, even though it was the best way to resolve the dispute.

When a person reaches a certain position, they can become hypocritical. They continue to act in this way, claiming to protect the interests of those around them, but in reality, they sacrifice the interests of most people. After reaching this point, Xu Qingfan could not escape this either.

"So, can we take the chance during the mission to secretly send Little Gold to the Southern Wasteland?"

Xu Qingfan suddenly thought of a plan and frowned as he asked.

Even if it is hypocritical, he still hoped to reduce some harm to others. In a way, this could be called "hypocritical kindness."

Mr. Liu nodded slightly but then shook his head again, smiling as he said, "Your status is different now. The Righteous Alliance will no longer send you on missions. Moreover, the demon beasts have become fierce during this time. Even if we return Little Gold, they won’t give up easily. They will continue to wreak havoc all over the Shenzhou Continent for a while. Besides, how can we let those Southern Wasteland demon beasts know that Little Gold is already in the Southern Wasteland? If we remove Little Gold’s ‘Sealing Ring’ and its aura leaks out, Little Gold has such a strong attraction for the demon beasts. If you just send Little Gold to the Southern Wasteland, before those heavenly level demon beasts come back, what if Little Gold gets eaten by other demon beasts in the Southern Wasteland?"

"But if these demon beasts are causing chaos in the Shenzhou Continent because of Little Gold, then returning Little Gold would be the fundamental solution. Otherwise, we will be in a situation where we can never escape from the demon beasts…" Xu Qingfan felt a bit down but suddenly saw Mr. Liu still smiling, as if he had a plan. His heart stirred, and he asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

Mr. Liu smiled and said, "The other eleven masters and I have already given orders for the Righteous Alliance cultivators to rest and regain their strength during this time. After ten days, they will take the initiative to attack and defeat the Southern Wasteland demon beasts that are gathering from various places. Although Little Gold is the root cause of the demon beast attacks, the fighting has already stirred up a fierce spirit among the demon beasts. Even if we return Little Gold to them, we must first strike them hard to make them retreat. However, considering that you have not rested for two years, you and your team are allowed to take a break during this time. You don’t have to participate in this battle, and the other sects won’t pay as much attention to you as usual during this time."

When Xu Qingfan heard Mr. Liu say this, he frowned slightly, not understanding why he suddenly brought this up.

Mr. Liu ignored Xu Qingfan’s confusion and suddenly asked, "How many members of your team can you fully trust?"

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qingfan said, "Five people, all from Jiuhua Gate."

"Okay, those five people will rest with you. During the rest period, they will still be under your control," Mr. Liu said, pausing for a moment before adding, "Five people are still too few. Are there any others you think you can trust or who won’t think too much? Take some time to find them, and I will let them rest with you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfan finally understood Mr. Liu’s plan, which was similar to his previous suggestion: to send Little Gold back to the Southern Wasteland directly, but the premise was to first hurt the Southern Wasteland. This was Mr. Liu’s responsibility, while Xu Qingfan would secretly send Little Gold back to the Southern Wasteland under the name of resting with some people.

However, this meant that Xu Qingfan would face great danger when bringing people deep into the Southern Wasteland. There were also two very clear downsides: first, they still had to fight the Southern Wasteland demon beasts, and who knows how many would die in the process; second, if they hurt the Southern Wasteland demon beasts, it would force them back, but it would also bring endless hatred between humans and demon beasts, leaving endless troubles for future generations.

Still, this was the best plan for now. Moreover, as Mr. Liu said, this battle was already unavoidable.

Putting aside his hypocritical thoughts, Xu Qingfan nodded at Mr. Liu in understanding.

Mr. Liu saw that Xu Qingfan understood and smiled slightly as he handed twenty talismans radiating strong Spirit Qi to Xu Qingfan, explaining, "These talismans are called ‘Sky Escaping Talismans.’ I obtained them from an ancient cultivator’s ruins; they are one of my most treasured possessions. When used, they can randomly transport the user to another place, from a hundred miles to thousands of miles away. I am giving them to you."

Xu Qingfan carefully received them and bowed to Mr. Liu.

After he returned Little Gold deep into the Southern Wasteland, he needed to remove Little Gold’s Sealing Ring to let Little Gold’s aura out, to inform those heavenly level demon beasts of Little Gold’s location. However, before those heavenly level demon beasts arrived, he still had to deal with the remaining demon beasts in the Southern Wasteland, attracted by Little Gold’s aura, but that was not the most dangerous part.

The most dangerous part was when Xu Qingfan and the others blocked the attacks from the Southern Wasteland demon beasts. When the heavenly level demon beasts returned, how would they protect themselves against those incredibly fierce heavenly level demon beasts?

The "Sky Escaping Talisman" was the solution.

Seeing that Xu Qingfan understood, Mr. Liu nodded in relief and said, "To completely drive away the fierce Southern Wasteland demon beasts, it will likely take many big battles, at least one or two years. During this time, you need to practice hard and try to grow stronger."

Xu Qingfan bowed in agreement.

At some point, Little Gold had stopped playing and was lying quietly on the ground, watching the three people in front of him.

Mr. Liu glanced at Little Gold, a fleeting, unreadable expression in his eyes, then turned to Xu Qingfan and said, "Now for the second matter. In fact, during this time, the leaders and masters of the Righteous Alliance have been discussing letting you join the decision-making body of the Righteous Alliance. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this."