HAGLTP Chapter 44

Faced with such arrogant remarks, the faces of the big shots present turned green.

Do you Snow Wheel Sect even realize that the focus of this martial arts conference’s crusade is you?

Someone said, “A bunch of evil cultists, do you dare to shout here, thinking there’s no one in Central Plains to challenge you?”

Xiao Lu raised his eyelids and glanced at him: “What is there to be afraid of? My Snow Wheel Sect stands upright and fears no shadows. With just a bit of hearsay, you want to make us into criminals? It’s not that easy.”

“Hearsay? The numerous crimes committed by your Snow Wheel Sect are far more than mere hearsay!”

“Exactly, one of our disciples went to your Snow Wheel Sect for treatment and died suddenly!”

“You came at just the right time today; blood debts should be repaid with blood!”

In the face of the agitated crowd, Xiao Lu remained calm: “You say my Snow Wheel Sect kills people, and the only evidence you have is that the deceased all visited my Snow Wheel Sect, right?”

“Isn’t that solid evidence enough?”

“I would like to ask you all, did these deceased not visit other places besides my Snow Wheel Sect? We are all people of the martial world; who stays indoors all day? As far as I know, they have visited quite a few places besides my Snow Wheel Sect.”

“What places? Don’t speak carelessly.”

“Inn, teahouse, tavern, restaurant… there are plenty of similar places. Who can guarantee that the incidents happened at my Snow Wheel Sect?”

“Of course, you can say I am quibbling. But I want to ask you, how many of your disciples have been to my Snow Wheel Sect, and how many have died suddenly?”

“If my Snow Wheel Sect really wanted to assist the evil cult, why not eliminate them all at once? Instead, we only killed a number sufficient to provoke the central sects, but not enough to cause serious harm, bringing disaster upon ourselves?”

Xiao Lu put down his lazy hand supporting his chin and scanned the crowd with burning eyes: “Even the ducks on my Great Snow Mountain are not this foolish.”

“This…”

Some felt something was off and began to recover from their anger over their disciples’ deaths.

If the Snow Wheel Sect really wanted to kill their disciples, surely more than just a few would have died. Why didn’t they continue?

Were they waiting for an opportunity? But if they waited any longer, the entire martial world would gather to attack the northwest desert; what opportunity would there be then?

Yet some still insisted on their suspicions: “Your Snow Wheel Sect colludes with the evil cult to commit such heinous acts; there must be other considerations. Don’t think you can get away with it.”

“Colluding with the evil cult, what a big hat to wear.” Xiao Lu laughed, “Where’s the evidence? When has the martial arts conference ever convicted someone based solely on conjecture without evidence? If I say you are the leader of the evil cult, as long as I speak convincingly, can everyone rush forward and kill you?”

“You… you are quibbling!” But he indeed could not produce evidence.

At this moment, the calm and dignified Feng Yazheng finally spoke: “Sect Master Bo.”

Xiao Lu turned his gaze toward him.

Feng Yazheng continued, “It is inevitable that everyone has such doubts. After all, the evil cult is launching a large-scale attack on the Central Plains, and the disciples who visited your Snow Wheel Sect have all died suddenly around the same time. The major sects are all victims; the Snow Wheel Sect should give them an explanation.”

“Master Feng, have you heard a saying? Those who suspect must provide evidence.” Facing this elder known as the Medical Immortal, Xiao Lu showed no reverence like the others:

“Everyone in the martial world suspects my Snow Wheel Sect, yet no one presents evidence, instead demanding I prove my innocence. Is this the principle upheld by the major sects? It seems a bit skewed.”

“We do not use poison; what evidence can we provide to prove it was you?”

“This kind of bizarre death, besides your Snow Wheel Sect, who else could it be?”

Seeing the current situation where everyone held different opinions, Feng Yazheng stroked his white beard: “Indeed, if we convict the Snow Wheel Sect without evidence, it would be unreasonable and damage the reputation of our Central Plains martial world.”

“How about this? I am willing to publicly open the coffin and examine the corpses to investigate how your disciples died.”

“Master Feng holds a high position; how can you do such a thing? Just leave it to ordinary coroner.”

Feng Yazheng shook his head: “A coroner can only distinguish common poisons and causes of death, and most are not skilled in martial arts, making it difficult to be of use at this moment. Since I have been called an elder by you all, I should step forward and help you uncover the truth.”

Everyone felt admiration for Master Feng’s integrity.

Feng Yazheng asked Xiao Lu: “What does Sect Master Bo think?”

Xiao Lu nodded: “That would be fine.”

Before long, a nearby sect agreed to send the recently deceased disciples’ bodies for examination.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Feng Yazheng calmly walked down from the high platform, picking up a silver needle to begin examining the disciple’s body.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes following his hand as the needle pricked.

At first, the silver needle showed no change.

Feng Yazheng continued to calmly prick the key points on the deceased’s body, and when he reached the back, there was finally a difference.

After this needle was inserted, the tip turned a strange red. As this red appeared in everyone’s eyes, the deceased’s body also underwent a bizarre transformation, with red starting to surface along the veins, as if it were a living creature.

“What is this? It looks quite frightening.”

“Is it poison?”

“The person is already dead; how can the poison still take effect?”

Everyone was puzzled.

Feng Yazheng observed the red at the needle tip for a long time, then brought the silver needle to his nose and sniffed it lightly, frowning: “This poison must be buried within the blood vessels, usually harmless, but will erupt upon contact with a drug catalyst.”

“Strange, I have studied medicine for many years and have never seen such a drug.”

Everyone’s gaze fell on Xiao Lu; a drug that even Master Feng had never seen before likely did not originate from the Central Plains, and currently, the most unknown herbs were indeed from the Snow Wheel Sect.

At this moment, the head of Floating Cloud Temple turned pale: “If I am not mistaken, this should be your Snow Wheel Sect’s unique herb, Wind Corruption Grass!”

“When my eldest disciple came to seek treatment, you used this kind of herb, and at that time, there were signs of the blood vessels turning red. You said it was to promote circulation, and we believed it.”

“He died just after reaching adulthood, a pillar of the sect. You… you are leaving me without successors…”

This remark stirred the painful memories of many martial arts elders, and the anger in the crowd intensified.

At this moment, an emaciated old man in black stood up from the crowd: “Everyone, I caught a disciple of the Snow Wheel Sect a few days ago. Whether this drug is theirs, let him take a look and you’ll know.”

The old man had a sinister expression, and just by looking at his face, one could tell he was an extremist.

This man was named He Old Man, who acted in a morally ambiguous manner. He participated in the martial arts conference to avenge his only disciple who had died.

As he spoke, He Old Man opened a huge black box beside him, revealing a blood-soaked young man locked inside. The boy was wearing the disciple’s uniform of the Snow Wheel Sect, stained with blood, making it almost unrecognizable.

He Old Man yanked the boy out of the box.

The boy weakly fell to the ground, his limbs sprawled unnaturally, as if broken.

“Junior brother…” Lin Fanshi showed a shocked expression.

This was his master’s newly accepted disciple over the past few years. He was clever, diligent, always calling him senior brother. If there was something good to eat, he would share it, and he would be the first to tell him about new happenings.

Even though he knew he was just a passerby, during these years of interaction, Lin Fanshi inevitably developed some brotherly feelings for his junior brother.

This time he came to the martial arts conference with his master, while his junior brother returned to the sect alone, only to meet with a deadly fate. Seeing someone he was familiar with tortured to such a state, Lin Fanshi felt an unnamed rage burning within him.

A hand like an eagle’s claw gripped the boy’s chin, forcing him to lift his head: “Tell me, is this poison raised by the Snow Wheel Sect?”

The boy’s eyes were hollow and numb, and he remained silent.

He Old Man was furious and slapped the boy hard across the face.

“Cough—” The boy coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“I’ll ask you again, is it?” He Old Man’s tone was sinister.

The boy seemed not to have heard clearly, only speaking like a puppet: “Yes…”

“Did you hear that? Hahahahahaha—” He Old Man laughed as he threw the boy to the ground.

The boy’s head hit the hard floor with a heavy thud. Blood from his forehead stained the floor, leaving a glaring red mark.

That old bastard!

Lin Fanshi was furious, his fingers clenched into a fist, trembling uncontrollably, struggling to suppress the impulse to rush up and smash the other’s head.

At this moment, he no longer wanted to think about his mission. What assisting the Central Plains martial world against the evil cult? These fools who couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, why help them? He only wanted to wipe out the Central Plains martial world first, then think about the evil cult later.

Wei Di’s face was grim, but he still reached out to press down on Lin Fanshi’s shoulder.

“Master!” Lin Fanshi gritted his teeth.

“The time is not right.” Wei Di only said this one sentence.

“I see how your Snow Wheel Sect will quibble further! Come and pay with your lives! Hahahahahahahaha—” He Old Man’s laughter carried a hint of madness.

“My carefully nurtured disciple of over twenty years is dead, and I myself have little time left.”

“This Snow Wheel Sect must be buried with him! Hahahaha—”

His wild laughter echoed throughout the venue.

Some righteous sect members found his extreme methods intolerable, but at this moment, they all chose to remain silent. They needed a reason to attack the Snow Wheel Sect, and He Old Man just happened to take the lead.

As for his methods, they could generously choose to overlook them.

“Shut up.”

A voice tinged with impatience interrupted He Old Man’s laughter.

This voice was not loud, even lower than normal speech, yet it seemed to resonate in everyone’s ears at the same time, startling everyone present.

He Old Man, who had just been laughing wildly, opened his mouth, his eyes still filled with anger, but he could no longer make a sound. He glared at Xiao Lu, as if he wanted to bite off a piece of flesh from him with his gaze.

Wei Di took the opportunity to sweep his sleeve and used his internal energy to retrieve his little disciple.

Xiao Lu, who had just been subjected to He Old Man’s furious gaze, retracted his fingertips that had just released energy: “I say, you lot, besides letting a mad old man come out to bully a child and using the three men create a tiger tactic, can you not produce any truly useful evidence?”

“After the major sects of the martial world were decimated in the battle against the evil cult, has the Central Plains martial world not been in reverse development for decades?”

Feng Yazheng: “Sect Master Bo, be cautious with your words.”

Xiao Lu finally stood up, leisurely adjusting his sleeves: “Aren’t you all curious if this Wind Corruption Grass belongs to my Snow Wheel Sect?”

He looked at the crowd with murderous intent: “I can tell you here, yes, but it’s not entirely so.”

“You demon, what else do you want to say to confuse the crowd?”

“Raising such a poisonous herb is indeed ill-intentioned.” Someone in the crowd shouted angrily.

“All medicines have some poison; Wind Corruption Grass is indeed poisonous, but if used properly, it can still be a good medicine to cure diseases. However… it is not unique.” Xiao Lu said.

He cast a somewhat smiling gaze at Feng Yazheng: “As for Wind Corruption Grass, how can you say you have never seen it? Feng Si.”

An unfamiliar name emerged.

The people of the martial world looked at Feng Yazheng with some confusion.

Feng Yazheng had been famous for many years, almost a generation older than them; they grew up hearing stories about him and had never heard of anyone named Feng Si in those tales.

Same surname Feng, could it be a child? But they had never heard of Master Feng having offspring.

Feng Yazheng’s expression turned a bit colder at the mention of this name.

Xiao Lu’s gaze was piercing as he stared at him: “Wasn’t it you who killed the entire Wei family and stole the secret medicine and texts from the sect?”

“The cultivation method for Wind Corruption Grass is among them.”

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a thunderclap on a clear day, leaving the venue in stunned silence.

“If Master Feng is getting old and cannot remember the old events, I can help you recall…”

A year ago.

As the Snow Wheel Sect gradually grew stronger and thrived in the martial world, Xiao Lu’s identity as the sect master gained recognition and respect from the disciples.

One day, he received news that the mysterious ancestor wanted to see him.

This ancestor had lived deep in the snowy mountains, and even though the sect had expanded outward, he had not chosen to leave.

For four years, the ancestor had never interfered in any matters of the valley and had not seen anyone, like a transparent person.

Xiao Lu stepped into the ancestor’s residence for the first time.

Everything here was simple; even the tables and chairs had no carvings, only a nameless ancient tree in the courtyard blooming with white flowers, dazzlingly beautiful.

The ancestor was very old, dressed in plain clothes, with all-white hair tied up with a plain hairpin. Her face and hands were covered with burn marks, and her eyelids drooped, making it hard to tell if she was awake or asleep.

She sat in a wheelchair, with nothing below her knees, yet her every gesture exuded an extraordinary grace and elegance.

“You are very good.” This was the first thing the ancestor said to Xiao Lu.

“The old matters of the Snow Wheel Sect should be told to you…”

The origin of the Snow Wheel Sect was no different from what Wei Di had said, but the subsequent development was something Wei Di had not mentioned.

The Snow Wheel Sect had always hidden in the depths of the desert’s Great Snow Mountain Valley. As the spiritual energy between heaven and earth gradually thinned, the hope of cultivating immortality became unattainable.

Their location was inconvenient for entry and exit, and for mortals with emotions and desires, it gradually became a burden, making it difficult to recruit disciples.

The Snow Wheel Sect also gradually declined.

Later, it split into several branches, each taking part of the inheritance to seek their desired residence.

The Wei family, where the ancestor resided, was one of those branches.

As hundreds of years passed, many branches declined, and the Hundred Mistake Manuscript that Xiao Lu obtained belonged to one of those lines, lost to the outside world and regarded as a joke.

The Wei family still existed, but it was no longer as prosperous as it once was.

They continued to live in seclusion, considering themselves an ordinary martial arts family.

The ancestor’s name was Wei An. When she was sixteen, she accidentally encountered the severely injured Feng Si. Possessing the family’s medical skills and a compassionate heart, the young girl took pity on him and brought him home to care for him.

Feng Si was eighteen that year, handsome and exuding a scholarly and steady demeanor, a young talent the secluded girl had never seen before.

During the healing process, the two, in their prime, developed feelings for each other.

At this time, Wei An’s father also took a liking to Feng Si.

As the head of the family, he understood the burden of the family’s inheritance and had long been troubled by the lack of talented disciples to inherit it. During the process of treating Feng Si, he discovered that this young man had exceptional talent, making him the best candidate to inherit the Wei family’s legacy.

Coincidentally, this young man was also in love with his daughter; if they married, Feng Si would no longer be an outsider.

Thus, Wei’s father taught Feng Si the family’s medical skills while testing his knowledge. Seeing Feng Si progress rapidly and remain humble, he became increasingly satisfied.

Once the two were engaged, if Feng Si passed the trial of the Path of Asking Immortals, the inheritance could be passed to him.

If he failed, it would be fine; letting his daughter be with her beloved and live a peaceful and happy life was also good.

But a change occurred on the day of the engagement banquet.

Feng Si poisoned the wine and food used at the banquet in advance. He had learned medical skills from Wei’s father, even surpassing him, and since the Wei family had no defenses against him, they all fell victim to the poison that night.

At this moment, Feng Si revealed his sinister side.

He brutally tortured Wei’s father, forcing him to reveal the location of the Wei family’s secret medicine. After obtaining the secret medicine, he slaughtered the entire Wei family.

Feng Si did not spare his fiancée either; he brutally severed Wei An’s legs just to force her father to speak.

In the end, Feng Si left with the ancestral Three Yuan Pill and texts, then set fire to the Wei family and the barely breathing Wei An.

Perhaps heaven took pity on this unfortunate girl; at that moment, the mysterious pearl she had worn since childhood emitted a shimmering blue light, and a hint of medicinal energy entered Wei An’s body, allowing her to escape from the flames with a single breath.

Afterward, she fled to the northwest desert, entering the ruins of the Snow Wheel Sect without passing the trial of the Path of Asking Immortals, and stayed there for a hundred years.

She had thought of revenge, but the Wei family was not skilled in martial arts, and she herself had poor talent, being mediocre in both medicine and poison, and with her legs broken, it was hopeless to seek revenge on her own.

Listening to every person she saved speak of Feng Si’s current glory, she felt hatred and resentment but was powerless.

Until she found a gifted disciple in the underground river, Wei Si Nian.

This child carried her hope for revenge.

Wei Si Nian diligently studied the profound ancient inheritance in the sect’s ruins, later successfully passing the Path of Asking Immortals trial, becoming the new sect master of the Snow Wheel Sect.

But this good child, smiling as he said he would go out to avenge his master, ultimately never returned, and she did not even know where his bones lay.

After that, Wei An no longer wished to go out and did not mention revenge again.

Later, when Xiao Lu appeared and the Snow Wheel Sect stepped into the martial world, she watched closely but never intervened.

Until the Snow Wheel Sect grew stronger and had the momentum to compete with the Liuli Medicine King Valley, she finally revealed the buried matter in her heart.

“Be careful of Feng Si; he is definitely not a good person…”

Xiao Lu recounted Feng Si’s actions from a hundred years ago, omitting other details related to the secrets of the Snow Wheel Sect.

“This… how is this possible… Master Feng is highly respected; this must be slander.”

Even after hearing this bloody past, Feng Yazheng had been famous in the martial world for nearly a hundred years, and his upright image had long been ingrained in people’s hearts.

Everyone still refused to believe he could be the despicable person in the story who severed his fiancée’s legs and killed the entire Wei family for treasure.

Although Feng Yazheng was surprised that the other party knew about his past, he had been in the martial world for nearly a hundred years and was already a seasoned character; the old events from a hundred years ago could not be verified and were merely hearsay.

He still maintained the demeanor of a stable master: “Sect Master Bo, this story you’ve woven is quite good, but currently, the major sects are discussing your Snow Wheel Sect’s collusion with the evil cult. No matter how you arrange it, without evidence, you cannot clear your own suspicions.”

“Yes, without evidence, the words of this evil cult demon cannot be trusted.” People around echoed.

“Who said I have no evidence? I have always respected my elders; since Master Feng said he wanted to see, I will naturally prepare the evidence.”

In front of everyone, Xiao Lu raised his hand, revealing the green Xuantian Pearl: “The Wind Valley Master left in a hurry back then, but he didn’t know that the Wei family’s secrets are not just what you see on the surface.”

Feng Yazheng: “…”

The crowd stared at the green pearl in Xiao Lu’s hand for a while, not noticing any changes in it. Just as a feeling of being fooled began to rise, they suddenly caught a whiff of a faint fragrance.

“How fragrant! What is that smell?”

“Who lit the incense?”

“Impossible, I’ve never smelled incense like this before.”

“Don’t you think there’s a medicinal scent in this fragrance?”

“It seems like… it’s coming from over there.”

In the direction they pointed, stood Feng Yazheng with his hands behind his back.

Feng Yazheng, an old man over a hundred years old, had no habit of burning incense on himself. Moreover, he had been standing in front of everyone, unable to light incense at all.

Yet at this moment, the fragrance emanating from him grew stronger, even more exaggerated than that of the palace’s favored concubines.

Feng Yazheng frowned; he too could smell the medicinal aroma wafting from his own body, but he had no idea why.

He cast a glance at Xiao Lu, certain that the other party had done something.

Xiao Lu smiled and said, “It seems that the three-yuan pill that the Wind Valley Master took was actually consumed by you. After taking my Snow Wheel Sect’s secret medicine, your aura naturally gets influenced by the Xuantian Pearl.”

The three-yuan pill was actually a foundation-building pill.

However, in this world where spiritual energy had been severed, there was no path for cultivation. The medicinal power from the pill that Feng Yazheng consumed had been accumulating in his body, helping him prolong his life, but it could not be fully absorbed. When influenced by the Xuantian Pearl, it began to emit a medicinal fragrance.

Such a miraculous method left the people of the Jianghu dumbfounded. Just what kind of entity was this Snow Wheel Sect?

“Could it be that the Wind Valley Master really…”

“That’s too ruthless, isn’t it?”

“Wait, Sect Master Bo said he also stole the cultivation method of the Wind Corruption Grass. Could it be that this poison was actually… done by the Medicine King Valley? Compared to the Snow Wheel Sect, more disciples go to the Medicine King Valley, right?”

“This… what are they after? Didn’t the Medicine King Valley put in a lot of effort back then to resist the Demon Sect?”

The crowd whispered among themselves, their gazes constantly shifting between Xiao Lu and Feng Yazheng, but the previous certainty was gone.

Xiao Lu lightly parted his thin lips: “Perhaps I should address you this way— the true master of the Demon Sect.”

The crowd: ?!!!