Chapter 93: Who is the Enemy, Who is the Friend? A Person Who Left No Impression…

Chapter 93: Who is the Enemy, Who is the Friend? A Person Who Left No Impression...

Fu Yu certainly did not believe the deaths of the entire city's populace had anything to do with Jun Bu Du.

At this point in time, he had long been dead.

What kind of cataclysm that engulfed the world could be pinned on a dead man? It was truly beyond belief.

This Ancestral Daoist Temple wasn't even built by him!

A chill settled deep in Fu Yu's heart, yet a smile appeared on her face instead.

Li Xueke trembled, nudging Yu Xiao beside him with his elbow. "Her smile... it's more chilling than a ghost's."

Yu Xiao heaved a long sigh. "Ah..."

Originally, the goal was to find the true culprit to clear her late husband's name, but instead, it ended up broadcasting to the world that her late husband was the true culprit?

Her resentment, no wonder it's heavier than any ghost's?

The other cultivators present, however, weren't surprised in the least.

Lord Mei shook his head slightly. "The world knows that 'that person' was the master of the Evil Path, his atrocities too numerous to record—today we have witnessed one with our own eyes."

The Elder Cultivator stroked his beard, sighing with emotion. "What else could it be? Could the entire world wrong a single person?"

The remaining cultivators also sighed and nodded in agreement. "The case was closed long ago, and the facts speak for themselves."

"I've said it all along, how could there be so many conspiracies in worldly affairs! If everyone says he is an evil man, then he must be an evil man!"

"The Evil Path, in the end, is the Evil Path."

The buzzing voices were deeply irritating.

The statue slowly turned and, stepping over the surging black lines covering the ground, walked back, step by step, to the main hall.

Fu Yu sat on his shoulder.

One large, one small, their silhouettes looked lonely.

When Fu Yu didn't want to speak, Jun Bu Du would always keep her silent company—though, of course, when she was with him, there were rarely times she didn't want to talk.

He returned to the shrine. Fu Yu braced her hands on his shoulders and jumped down, sitting cross-legged in front of him, lowering her head to study the dense web of karma threads.

As a Diviner, she had dealt with karma for two lifetimes.

This was the first time she felt it was so unfamiliar.

Some time later, the yin energy left by the two ghosts within the Divination Array was finally used up. The black threads entwined around the statue left it one by one, seeping down from the shrine like a receding black tide.

Upon reaching the ground, the black qi gradually dissipated like steam, leaving behind a ground covered in a sugary frost—it was the moonlight shining in from outside.

As the surrounding light brightened, Fu Yu suddenly realized something was amiss.

She was actually nestled entirely within his embrace.

His statue form was encircling her from behind, as if to hold her fast.

Fu Yu remained calm. She tilted her head and, as if nothing were amiss, reassured him. "There's an old saying that goes something like, 'What is the lord of the altars of soil and grain, what is the king under heaven.'*"

The statue nodded.

He said, "Having received incense offerings, one must also bear the karma."

Fu Yu nodded slowly.

She said, "You're right. One cannot only blame the common folk for their superstitions when karma entangles them."

She calmly climbed out from the statue's embrace.

Standing under the moonlight, she announced, her spirits rallying, "You wait. I'll get to the bottom of this, clear as day."

Before her ears could turn completely red, Fu Yu bolted from the main hall.

The cultivators were all guarding the main gate in the front courtyard.

When Fu Yu arrived, they were in the midst of a heated discussion.

Most were denouncing Jun Bu Du—from the evil sacrificial calamity that swept the world at the Ancestral Daoist Temple thousands of years ago, to the bizarre manner of death of the people in Tiannan City thousands of years later.

Fu Yu swept a cold glance over them.

Seeing her arrival, everyone instantly fell silent.

Fu Yu moved her fingers, climbed onto the highest rockery stone in the courtyard, sat down, and looked down at the crowd from her elevated position.

"If anyone thinks the truth is this simple, by all means, summon a Paper Effigy Boy, tell it your judgment, and pass the trial."

As soon as these words were spoken, some cultivators below looked tempted.

Fu Yu lowered her gaze and smiled. "Don't say I didn't warn you. If you answer wrong, your death will definitely not be any prettier than those three."

During the day, one died after being discovered as a "fake person" by the farmer.

At night on the long street, two were killed by the "little girl" turned ghost.

Their deaths grew increasingly gruesome.

"Uh..." someone cautiously asked, "Fellow Daoist, are you suggesting the answer isn't that simple?"

Fu Yu smiled without answering.

"Of course!" Li Xueke exclaimed. "Something this simple is worthy of being called a Rule Secret Realm? You probably don't know how many people died in the Human Emperor's Mausoleum Secret Realm back then! It was almost a complete wipeout! Hah, how could it be this simple!"

"Ah, anyone who wants to tempt fate themselves, go far away. Don't implicate others, ah!"

Everyone looked at each other, their expressions grim.

The Elder Cultivator stroked his brow and shook his head. "That makes sense too. If it's something everyone knows, what's the point of investigating?"

"That's true, that's right."

Fu Yu scanned the entire assembly. Seeing that everyone had calmed down, with no more eager beavers shouting that Jun Bu Du was the true culprit, she felt somewhat satisfied and raised a finger.

"What situations did you inquire about during the day? Come on, let's hear them all."

After a moment of contemplation, a middle-aged Male Cultivator stepped forward first. He cupped his hands in salute to all sides and said in a deep voice, "This humble one discovered a very strange matter."

"Oh?"

The middle-aged male cultivator frowned. "There's no Hall of Benevolent Longevity here. I asked several commoners, and not only did they not know about it, but they were also completely unaware that lifespan could be bought and sold! Strange! Truly strange!"

He shook his head, incredulous. "If they don't sell lifespan, how do they support their families?"

Another cultivator laughed. "You forget these people are ghosts. Ghosts don't need to eat!"

"No, no, no," the middle-aged male cultivator raised a finger and wagged it. "You've got it wrong, Fellow Daoist. It's not simply that there's no lifespan trade here and now. It's that—the people living in this era have no idea lifespan can be traded at all. Can you imagine how bizarre that is?"

"This..."

The middle-aged male cultivator stated firmly, "Think about it, everyone. Here, mortal kings, lords, generals, and ministers have no Longevity Elixirs to extend their lives. Their lifespans are actually comparable to the common folk at the bottom! We cultivators have no Longevity Elixirs to aid us either. How difficult would cultivation be! Consider, everyone, how terrifying a situation this is!"

Someone muttered in a daze, "Fellow Daoist, your observation is keen—I hadn't even noticed that point."

"Evil cultists don't use Longevity Elixirs... so doesn't that mean everyone here is on the Evil Path?"

A young cultivator slapped his thigh. "Right, right! And right now, this place is under the rule of 'that person's' Daoist Sect. I happened to catch some news in a teahouse, related to the Dao Ancestor's Shrine and the Daoist Sect."

Fu Yu immediately perked up, giving a kindly look at this person. "Come, tell us."

The named young cultivator, flattered, cupped his hands and stepped forward. "Sect Master Yun of the Daoist Sect has dispatched a female Sword Immortal under her command. She is out strictly investigating crimes of disrespect against the Dao Ancestor everywhere."

Fu Yu frowned. "Since when does Yun Duo'er bother with such matters?"

Aren't there enough matters within the sect to keep Yun Duo'er busy?

And what exactly is the crime of disrespecting the Dao Ancestor?

There's such a crime?

When Jun Bu Du was alive, he didn't even care if people respected him.

"Female Sword Immortal?" The well-informed elder cultivator stroked his long beard and asked, "Is her surname Helan?"

The young cultivator nodded. "Yes, a female Sword Immortal who uses the Yunyi Sword. I heard many people are hoping she comes here, to catch a glimpse of her peerless beauty."

"Helan Yunyi?" Yu Xiao's cheek gave a violent twitch. "Isn't that the Divine Court's Saintess?"

Fu Yu arched an eyebrow.

The name sounded somewhat familiar.

Saintess, Helan Yunyi?

"Ah." Fu Yu remembered. If memory serves, this person should be a distant relative of Jun Bu Du.

Someone she barely remembered.

"Ah?!" The young cultivator was shocked. "Saintess?! The Saintess is an evil cultist?!"

Lord Mei sighed. "Naturally, the Saintess saw the light and turned against the Daoist Sect."

"Alright, I understand." Without another word, Fu Yu pinned a huge blame on her. "Both cases, separated by a thousand years—she did them."

Everyone: "..."

The elder cultivator forced a smile. "Surely we can't pin the guilt on someone so rashly, hahaha!"

As he spoke, the two ghosts who had gone out to set up the formation returned.

Seeing everyone chatting animatedly, the two ghosts joined in with great enthusiasm.

The female ghost said, "That friendly little girl mistook me for Sword Immortal Yunyi! Oh my, I just had my senior brother make me a wooden sword. How could I possibly have the bearing of a Sword Immortal!"

Fu Yu waved her hand. "You did a great job. Keep it up, you have a brighter future than her."

Praised, the female ghost's face slowly seeped blood.

Li Xueke, who was standing not far from her, nearly fainted from fright. "H-help... help..."

Seeing him teetering, the male ghost kindly reached out to steady him.

Li Xueke fainted dead away.

The male ghost said with disdain. "This pretty boy is too frail! By the way, didn't any of you see what was written on the stele outside the gate? Are you all illiterate?"

Everyone: "..."

Besides you ghosts, who would dare to wander outside the gate in the middle of the night? Do they have a death wish?

The female ghost slapped him. "Senior Brother! Change your bad habits! You speak so rudely! Couldn't they just be blind and not have seen it?"

Everyone: "..."

You're not much better either!

The female ghost nudged the male ghost, signaling him to speak properly. The male ghost spoke reluctantly. "The stele says that the Heavenly Dao was mended by Jun Bu Du. He has the merit of saving the world."

"Ah?" Everyone was stunned. "Mending the heavens was naturally the merit of the Seven Sages! How could it be that person!"

"He actually stole the merit of the Seven Sages?!"

"Tsk! So shameless!"

Fu Yu's face showed disdain.

These outsiders really are unreliable. Hopeless, utterly hopeless.

She raised an eyebrow and looked at the elder cultivator. "Weren't you around then? You tell us."

The elder cultivator looked embarrassed. "A grand event like mending the Heavenly Dao... I wasn't in a position to be involved. I don't know the details, so I won't comment."

"You're all a bunch of fools!"

Displeased, everyone looked up to glare, but seeing it was the male ghost who spoke, they tightly shut their mouths.

The male ghost sneered. "Just think about it. At this time, Helan Yunyi is just a Sword Immortal under the Daoist Sect, the kind sent out to run errands. What could she possibly use to mend the Heavenly Dao! As for the other Sages, can you even hear their names mentioned here? They're complete nobodies!"

"I've observed it. There are already cracks in the sky," the female ghost said earnestly and seriously. "If this is a real historical scene, then the ones lying should be the Divine Court!"

Fu Yu looked up at the sky.

So many living people, yet they can't even match the brains of a pair of ghosts.

"Absurd! Absurd!" Someone couldn't listen anymore, angrily flicking his sleeve. "This secret realm is an illusion! How can it be taken as real!"

Even Lord Mei, who saw through the Divine Court's hypocrisy, shook his head slightly. "You can't wrap fire in paper. If the facts were truly like this, how could the Divine Court possibly silence the voices of the entire world?"

Fu Yu smiled, "Have you forgotten why we came here in the first place?"

Lord Mei opened his mouth but said nothing.

A catastrophe that swept across the world left countless dead, with nine houses out of ten standing empty. The entire world was steeped in deep resentment, which could only be suppressed by the Ten Thousand Buddhas and Thousand Caves.

Lord Mei's eyes widened. "Are you saying those who knew the truth... are all gone?"

Everyone exchanged glances, their scalps crawling.

If that were truly the case, it would be just too, too, too horrifying.

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