Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 716 - 716 715 A Complete Mess Additional for Alliance Hierarch Zhi Beiyu You

716: Chapter 715: A Complete Mess [Additional Chapter for Alliance Hierarch Zhi Beiyu You] 716: Chapter 715: A Complete Mess [Additional Chapter for Alliance Hierarch Zhi Beiyu You] Hou Niao possessed a unique potential, the ability to always pick out from numerous complicated issues the thread that was most beneficial and realistically meaningful to him, then hold on to it without letting go.

He wouldn’t think about those lofty and tempting but intangible things.

This was a kind of self-awareness for self-protection, also the core of a Sword Cultivator’s cultivation: to maintain focus, to keep the heart free of distractions, not to be influenced by the bizarre sights of the outside world.

Even if an enormous pie fell before you, you’d still have to consider whether your current stomach could fit it in; cultivation must have long-term goals, but forgetting the present for the future was the greatest folly.

A realistic and immediate direction was to comprehend the Wood Element Power through a very special process that existed in the miraculous Stone Orchids, a process of struggling against the Five Elements Power and reincarnation, to deepen and hasten his understanding of the Wood Element.

Just as the blind old man had said, he needed to develop the Five Elements in balance, not sit here resigned to fate waiting for the other three beads to fall.

If they fell in deep mountains and great marshes where no one knew, would you just stop cultivating?

With the miraculous Stone Orchids as a reference, his understanding of the Wood Element Life Power was advancing rapidly and effectively; as for other doubts, such as why the yard was so strange?

Why must it be the Stone Orchids?

He put all those thoughts to the back of his mind.

Half a month later, Daoist Qiu Shi’s letter finally arrived.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, it could be several days, a dozen days, or perhaps I could return daily?

But as you’ve seen, standing on the highest building in Horse Hoof Town, you can see the Heavenly Heart Pavilion, where I will be, not far from you at all,” he said.

Bai Qingqian nodded and reached out to straighten his attire, “Since you must demonstrate skills and fight, it’s inevitable to take action, but if the other side isn’t too excessive, perhaps avoid needless casualties, right?”

Hou Niao looked at her, thinking to himself that after these few days, he had tried seducing with the guise of a fox spirit, a snake spirit, a cat spirit, and now he could move on to the next step,

“Alright, I promise you, but you also must promise me that after I return, you’ll let me play the roles of a bear spirit, a tiger spirit, a donkey spirit…”

Bai Qingqian pushed him away annoyed, “What kind of person are you, thinking about these frivolous things at a time like this?

No way, the bear spirit is too hairy, the tiger has backward-facing quills, the donkey is too…”

Hou Niao laughed heartily, “Just a joke, in reality, your worries are unnecessary; now that my identity is a cultivator of the Heavenly Heart Pavilion, I will certainly act according to their methods—how could I kill without reason?

And they, too, will treat me as someone from the Daoist Sect, not a Demon Sect Sword Cultivator, which reduces a lot of hostility, so there will be no trouble.”

Upon leaving the house and striding forth, he transformed himself into the thin, hunchbacked figure of Hao Ren as he walked through the flower market.

He was quite pleased with this name, for had he not been doing good deeds and bringing joy to others as of late?

He thought about the reason the Heavenly Heart Pavilion sought him out, and it seemed there was some connection in destiny—for if he hadn’t been doing so much good, the Continent’s Constellation True Inheritors wouldn’t have conveniently had two spots open up.

Every drink and morsel are preordained; causality was at play.

Now that he was exerting himself on others’ behalf, it was no injustice to him, but he wondered if the old blind man had this in mind too?

The old man was truly inscrutable, even more mysterious than those Nascent Transformation Masters.

As he strolled along, the Heavenly Heart Pavilion’s sea of flowers evidently had many unfamiliar cultivators, each of them polite and courteous, seemingly absorbed in appreciating the flowers and nature, yet their minds were elsewhere, their wandering gazes betraying their real intentions.

There were probably about two hundred people, and such a scale even surpassed that of the Heavenly Heart Pavilion’s own cultivators, somewhat overshadowing the hosts.

It was still in that suspended building where Daoist Qiu Shi stood with his hands behind his back, only speaking warmly to Hou Niao as he entered:

“Have you arrived, young friend?

I haven’t seen you reading or studying the paintings recently.

Could it be that you have forgotten?”

Hou Niao offered a bow, “I had some private affairs to attend to.

I do not plan to come often until the end of the year when I intend to stay for a long duration, so I’m not concerned about missing a day or two.”

The Daoist Qiu Shi nodded his head and got back to the point, “Good, it’s better to stay longer.

Once you spend enough time here, you will naturally come to appreciate the charm of the flower city at year’s end.”

“Are you saying that it’s about to begin?” Hou Niao didn’t want to engage in awkward small talk.

Without a fundamental trust or understanding of each other’s true identities and intentions, conversation would inevitably be uncomfortable, restricted to banal topics like the weather or flowers—uninteresting.

“It has already started.

The earlier stages didn’t require your presence; it was just them competing against each other, a comprehensive comparison.

Fortunately, there have been no mishaps, but the nineteen remaining True Disciples refuse to go on no matter what.

They’ve banded together demanding the Heavenly Heart Pavilion create a satisfactory set of rules or thresholds to judge their qualifications.”

Hou Niao’s expression remained unchanged; this was all within expectations, “So, you’re saying that among the three people the Heavenly Heart Pavilion is willing to field, one must face six rounds of challenges?

Please proceed with the arrangements.

I have no objections.”

Daoist Qiu Shi looked at him with slight embarrassment, “It’s not three people, just you alone.”

“…”

“It’s like this, during the past few days’ competition among them, we also observed and evaluated…

The cultivators’ strengths are indeed formidable, befitting their origin from the Great Dao.

As such, our two disciples from the Heavenly Heart Pavilion don’t have much confidence…”

His words were evasive, but Hou Niao understood the implication: they had thought they were up to the challenge, but when put to the test, they realized they actually weren’t, which was quite awkward.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Heart Pavilion was unconcerned with face-saving; they didn’t value these things highly.

Thus, they simply gave up the task of intercepting them altogether and laid it on him, an outsider.

This made Hou Niao even more curious about the strange inheritance methods of the Heavenly Heart Pavilion.

How exactly were they maintaining the continuity of their power?

It seemed somewhat contrary to the laws of cultivation, like many such minor Daoist sects on the Continent would have been long since devoured to extinction, yet how are they still surviving now?

The Ancient Langzhong Sect was one such example, and they even had the impressive skill of Mysterious Light.

“Please arrange as you see fit.

I don’t mind.”

Hou Niao’s composure eased Daoist Qiu Shi’s nerves.

Up to this point, the person that the elder had entrusted seemed very reliable.

He began to wonder if this individual might be a Constellation True Inheritor in disguise?

“In that case, shall I make the arrangements?

The Heavenly Heart Pavilion possesses a Pocket World known as the Fragrance of Orchid Grass, which, like all other Pocket Worlds on the Continent, is in decline, although the Fragrance of Orchid Grass is deteriorating very slowly.

The competition of fighting skills will take place within this Pocket World, as is the rule of the Heavenly Heart Pavilion.

We don’t have much territory, so we couldn’t find a suitable site outside.

You will be the master of this Pocket World, tasked with assessing the strength of these True Disciples; the process will be observable from the outside by us—merits and faults will become apparent, leaving no room for deceit.”

“Understood.”

“We must still try to avoid casualties.

The Pocket World has controlling mechanisms, but we can never be too cautious; the key lies with the opponents facing each other.”

Hou Niao replied earnestly, “These words, you should speak to those True Disciples.

If they abide by the rules of demonstration, I’ll demonstrate; if they treat this as a matter of life and death, I will resolve life and death.

There can be no unilateral concessions.

You should be very clear about this.”