Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 159

Chapter 159: Wenxin Xia

Tianji Tan was located on the main peak of Xuantian Zong. It was a massive, circular altar-like structure. A black plaque hung right in the center, bearing the three large words “Tianji Tan” inscribed in dark gold.

Rong Xie had seen the exterior of this building in books and knew the weight it carried. Just as Lingjing Zong had the Immortal Worship Terrace, Tianji Tan was the ultimate symbol of supreme authority within Xuantian Zong. It was not merely a venue for important ceremonies; beneath it lay the Penal Valley, connected through the center by Wenxin Xia. One thought ascends to the heavens, one thought falls to hell—the ultimate judgment function made Xuantian Zong disciples deeply fear this sacred altar, while simultaneously fiercely aspiring to it…

Elder Bai dragged Rong Xie all the way from Zhilan Ling, flying straight to the front of Tianji Tan. Suspended in the air, Rong Xie was shivering violently, too terrified to even open his eyes. Fortunately, Elder Bai flew fast enough that the terror didn’t last long before Rong Xie was tossed onto the ground.

Rong Xie was, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He quickly steadied his footing and silently circulated his spiritual energy, gradually bringing his body temperature back to normal.

At the same time, he observed his surroundings: flanking the wide stone steps leading up to Tianji Tan stood dozens of Xuantian Zong cultivators. All of them were utterly expressionless, acting as if they hadn’t seen anyone fly over at all.

However, the moment Elder Bai hauled Rong Xie toward the steps, they were immediately blocked.

“Tianji Tan is the most restricted area of our Sect. Idle personnel are forbidden from entering!” Several flying swords materialized before Elder Bai and Rong Xie in a flash, their gleaming blades crisscrossing to leave no room for the two to pass.

“What! You’re allowed to interrogate people from my Wuqing Dao Gong, but I’m not allowed to bring someone inside?! You juniors simply have no respect for me, Elder Bai!”

Elder Bai bellowed furiously, yet the cultivators on both sides remained completely unmoving. In fact, their snow-white swords edged even closer to him.

“Elder Bai, these are the rules. As an Elder, you should be the last person to break them!” said the leading middle-aged cultivator standing at the top of the stairs, his voice chillingly cold.

Elder Bai was seething with rage. “Fine, fine…”

He released Rong Xie’s hand and flicked his sleeve. “I’ll go in alone! You can step aside now, right?”

The cultivators kept their eyes glued to Elder Bai, absolutely motionless.

Left with no choice, Elder Bai turned his head and hissed to Rong Xie, “You wait here first. Do not wander off. Once I go in and inform the Sect Master, I’ll summon you inside.”

“…” Rong Xie thought to himself that he didn’t really have any desire to enter Xuantian Zong’s restricted area anyway. “Alright.”

Elder Bai’s figure vanished at the top of the stairs.

Rong Xie turned around. Wondering how Shen Bingsi was doing right now, he hastily took out his sound transmission jade pendant.

As if by telepathy, the jade pendant erupted with a burst of golden light and began vibrating intensely. The sudden commotion even startled the stone-faced cultivators on the steps, prompting all of them to look towards Rong Xie in unison.

Feeling dozens of gazes piercing into his back, Rong Xie decided he couldn’t care less. He cleared his throat and walked down to the flat landing below the steps, jade pendant in hand.

“Rong’er, what’s going on?” Shen Bingsi’s anxious voice rang out from the jade pendant. “What did Elder Bai drag you away to do?”

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“Uh, Elder Bai brought me to Tianji Tan. Don’t worry, he probably just needs my help…” Rong Xie hesitated, debating whether to tell Shen Bingsi the absolute truth of what Elder Bai had said.

Before dragging him over, Elder Bai’s words—Didn’t you want to see whether the closely guarded secret of our Dao Gong actually works?—clearly meant he was going to demonstrate the process of killing one’s wife to prove the Dao. And at this crucial juncture, the only people available to demonstrate this process were Lu Yingqi and Xiao Zhi.

A shiver ran down Rong Xie’s spine. He hadn’t expected the situation to be pushed to such a critical breaking point so quickly.

“Rong’er? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you speaking?” Shen Bingsi’s voice echoed near his ear, snapping him back to reality.

“Uh, I’m still outside Tianji Tan waiting for news from Elder Bai. I don’t know what’s happening inside either. It’s possible the trouble Senior Brother Lu is in is much worse than we imagined…” Rong Xie still decided not to explicitly mention the “killing one’s wife to prove the Dao” aspect. For one, there might still be room to salvage the situation. Secondly, although Shen Bingsi had guessed what Elder Bai’s Dao-proving method was, Rong Xie couldn’t just spell it out. In the future, if this method truly had to be used on Shen Bingsi, it was better for him to know as little as possible.

“Is it really that serious? Elder Bai isn’t nearly as powerful as he boasts.” Hearing that Rong Xie wasn’t in danger, Shen Bingsi’s tone became much more relaxed.

“What about things on your end? No one broke in, right?” Rong Xie hurriedly asked.

“No, don’t worry. Even though I can’t fly on my sword yet, getting rid of a few measly watchdogs is a breeze,” Shen Bingsi’s voice was as arrogant as ever.

“That wouldn’t be ‘a few’,” Rong Xie reminded him. “There should still be some barrier talismans in your golden-light fish-patterned pouch, right?”

“Hm? There probably are,” Shen Bingsi wasn’t too sure.

“Then there are.” Rong Xie could tell that Shen Bingsi hadn’t organized his golden-light fish-patterned pouch even once since he left. “I left some extra talismans in there previously. Take them out now and stick them on the study walls.”

“Is that really necessary—”

Shen Bingsi wanted to be lazy, but Rong Xie nagged him via the transmission until he dug out the barrier talismans and pasted them up one by one. The moment the barrier formed, a faint, distinct hum traveled across the distance between the two jade pendants and reached Rong Xie’s ear.

Hearing that sound finally set Rong Xie’s mind at ease.

A shout came from the top of the stairs: “Who is Rong Xie? Are you at the bottom of the steps?”

Rong Xie jolted to attention, hurriedly whispered, “Elder Bai is calling me, we’ll talk later,” ended the transmission, and walked up the steps. “I am here!”

The person at the top waved him over. “Hurry up and follow me inside.”

Rong Xie bounded up the stairs and followed the man. The person glanced at Rong Xie and asked, “Are you at the Foundation Establishment stage?”

“Yes,” Rong Xie nodded.

“Good,” the man explained. “The spiritual pressure in Wenxin Xia is quite high. If you hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, it would likely be very difficult for you to hold up.”

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Rong Xie knew that the closer one got to the core of authority within major sects, the higher the required cultivation level was, so he wasn’t particularly surprised. However, the fact that this person was actually willing to explain things properly suggested he was quite different from those stone-faced cultivators outside.

The guide led Rong Xie into Tianji Tan, passing through a vast, open square. The situation inside the square was similar to the outside, with many cultivators standing guard in silence on both sides. The chilling discipline of Xuantian Zong was far stricter than that of Lingjing Zong. Rong Xie had never seen such a formidable display before; a stifling feeling clung to him like a shadow.

“Rong Xie, once we go inside, you don’t need to say a single word. Just stand to the side, watch, and listen,” the guide cautioned carefully after leading Rong Xie across the square, through the great hall, and arriving at a silent, deserted narrow path. Only then did he turn back to speak. “I’ve heard you have a very good relationship with Senior Brother Lu, and are also quite close with his attendant. I don’t know if that’s true, but ultimately, their fate is not something ordinary disciples like us can decide…”

Rong Xie realized that this guide was likely one of Elder Bai’s people. Considering Elder Bai’s notoriously fiery temper, it was rare for him to have such emotionally stable confidants. Along the way to pick Rong Xie up, this guide was also relaying the necessary precautions.

Rong Xie agreed. “Please rest assured, Senior Brother. I won’t speak out of turn. This is, after all, your Sect’s internal affair, and I have no right to comment. However, could you give me a brief overview of what’s going on inside? Just so I can mentally prepare myself.”

“Just now, the Sect Master and the Elders interrogated Senior Brother Lu. With the evidence provided by Shang Qian, it is true that Senior Brother Lu violated a taboo during his cultivation, and his attendant Xiao Zhi has indeed been confirmed to possess a furnace physique,” the guide explained. “However, Elder Bai also argued in his defense. He stated that Senior Brother Lu was unaware of this, and those who are ignorant are innocent. Had he known, he wouldn’t have reported his own family to the Mirror Palace. Since the Mirror Palace uncovered such a massive case that disturbed the balance between the cultivation world and the mortal realm, Senior Brother Lu’s contributions were substantial. Therefore, no matter what, Senior Brother Lu should not be harshly punished for this, as it would severely impact the sect’s reputation if word got out.”

“Mm, and how did the Sect Master and the Elders react?” Rong Xie asked.

“At first, they felt Elder Bai’s words held merit. But then Shang Qian argued that while Senior Brother Lu might have been unaware of this specific matter, it didn’t change the fact that he should be expelled from the sect. The primary reason for expulsion is to protect the purity of the Wuqing Dao Gong. Senior Brother Lu’s cultivation method is no longer orthodox, and his relationship with the attendant is so intimate that it’s hard to guarantee no scandals will erupt in the future. Keeping him would only leave a hidden danger for the Dao Gong. Thus, Senior Brother Lu should be expelled, just like Elder Hong was all those years ago.”

“…” Rong Xie thought to himself, Shang Qian really is ruthless towards Lu Yingqi, intent on wiping him out completely. “What did Elder Bai say to that?”

“Elder Bai was so furious he could barely breathe, so he sent me out to fetch you,” the guide said.

“I see…” Rong Xie realized that Elder Bai probably knew it would be extremely difficult to win the debate against Shang Qian this time. With no way to retreat, he had already prepared for the worst. Calling Rong Xie over was specifically to help set up the formation for Lu Yingqi and Xiao Zhi—it truly was a last resort.

As they spoke, the two had reached the end of the narrow path. A biting astral wind blew up from below. Before them lay an enormous gorge, its walls plunging straight down like a vertical drop, as if carved by a blade. The rock walls were iron-cyan in color, making it look like a gigantic fortress forged from steel.

The immense spiritual pressure weighed heavily on Rong Xie, rendering him speechless. He was stunned by the magnificent sight before him, momentarily unsure where to look. Gradually, he noticed that there were outward-jutting platforms on both cliffs, each occupied by cultivators in dark robes who exuded an imposing aura. The left cliff had more people, while the right cliff had fewer.

Elder Bai was standing on the right side. His voice, amplified by spiritual energy, rang out with absolute clarity into Rong Xie’s ears:

“So using a furnace for dual cultivation makes someone impure?! Then this old man should be the first one expelled from the sect! Back in the day, this old man knew plenty of old flames at the Hehuan Pavilion!”

Rong Xie froze in awkwardness. He never expected to hear such… blunt words in such a formal debate setting.

The guide also covered his forehead. “What is Elder Bai doing… Why aren’t the martial uncles and seniors trying to stop him…”

Rong Xie figured that if Elder Bai could be stopped, he wouldn’t be Elder Bai. While he was pondering this, he heard Elder Bai shout again: “Shang Qian, you little brat, you should be expelled from the sect too! All of you took my mental cultivation classes; you were all taught by me! If what I’ve learned is impure, then all of you are the same! The Wuqing Dao Gong is entirely filled with dirty, filthy scoundrels—it should have been cleaned out fifty years ago! Junior Brother Hong, you were the smart one. You saw through these people early on—”

Elder Bai’s voice was abruptly cut off. On the left cliff, the Sect Master of Xuantian Zong, surrounded by his subordinates like stars around the moon, could finally endure it no longer and cast a spell to seal Elder Bai’s mouth.

Author’s Note: Returned [Pitiful]