Chapter 143 - 142: Lord of Shenxiao Gate
Yu Zhenzi, after leaving Shenxiao Mountain, did not immediately return, instead, he chose to hide in a certain place.
He knew that this mission had failed and he had exposed many secrets of the Shenxiao Sect. Not to mention, he still had a sense of Pei Xuanjing’s sword intention in him. It was an absolute failure.
Back on Shenxiao Mountain, he was constrained and helpless. With the odds against him, he had to bow down and yield to Pei Xuanjing, agreeing to be his inside connection.
However, in Yu Zhenzi’s eyes, this was all done out of desperation. He was only trying to save himself, stooping low and bearing heavy burdens. His loyalty was still with Shenxiao Sect, with whom he’d spent many years.
Therefore, he wanted to find a place for self-cultivation first and try to drive out Pei Xuanjing’s residual sword intention in him, thus freeing himself of the other’s control before returning.
Regrettably, despite Yu Zhenzi’s many efforts, Pei Xuanjing’s residual sword intention appeared to be a bone-deep affliction, almost impossible to eradicate. Moreover, every time he tried to eliminate it, the normally stable sword intention would counterattack, making Yu Zhenzi miserable.
After more than a month’s struggle, Yu Zhenzi reluctantly discovered that because of his insufficient strength he was helpless against Pei Xuanjing’s sword intention and had to confront reality.
On his way back to the master , he often thought about whether to confess everything that happened on Shenxiao Mountain to the master.
However, in the end, when he arrived, the fear of death suppressed his apprehension of the master.
“He refused and wounded me. I was lucky to escape with my life or I would have died in his custody.” Yu Zhenzi, with a face full of grief and indignation, complained to the Lord of Shenxiao Gate about his experience on Shenxiao Mountain.
Of course, he omitted a lot of things and instead claimed that he was severely injured because of a direct confrontation with Pei Xuanjing due to Pei’s rudeness.
This explained why there had been no news from him for the past month – he was healing.
The two were in a dim secret room, illuminated by a faint flickering candlelight.
Yu Zhenzi respectfully stood about thirty feet away from the Lord of Shenxiao Gate. The lord was wrapped in a black robe and wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered his face with a thin mesh.
“So, this guy is adamant about opposing me?” The voice of the Lord of Shenxiao Gate was low-pitched and hoarse.
Yu Zhenzi nodded repeatedly: “Yes!”
“If that’s the case, he is an enemy.” The Lord of Shenxiao Gate’s aura flared up, destabilizing the already weak candlelight.
Witnessing the master’s anger, Yuzhenzi bent even lower, his back drenched with cold sweat.
“Yu Zhenzi.”
“For your failure on this mission, you deserve to be punished,” the Lord of Shenxiao Gate stated.
“Master,” Yu Zhenzi’s countenance drastically changed.
“However, considering your past merits, I will let this slide for now. Hereafter, I will entrust you with a task. If you fail this time, you should find a place to commit suicide out of guilt!” The Lord of Shenxiao Gate raised his voice slightly, warning Yu Zhenzi before assigning him a new task.
A look of joy crossed Yu Zhenzi’s face: “Thank you master. I vow to walk through fire and water, and not retreat even faced with death.”
He immediately pledged his loyalty.
His face was not visible behind the wide-brimmed hat, but he didn’t soften his tone: “Take this token and go to the capital city of the Northwest Dao. Once you are there, someone will contact you.” Whoosh!
In the midst of talking, he swung his hand, a Dark Iron Thunder Pattern Token flew out.
With a claw-like grip, Yu Zhenzi caught the token and said, “Your will be done.”
Only after Yu Zhenzi had left, in the empty secret room, did the low voice of the Lord of Shenxiao Gate slowly murmur:
“Pei Xuanjing…”
“Yu Zhenzi? Claiming to be a senior member of the Shenxiao Sect?” Upon hearing Pei Xuanjing’s inquiry, Bai Xiaosheng mused.
Pei Xuanjing nodded: “Correct!”
Even though he had already received some answers from Yu Zhenzi and had already made his judgement based on what he knew.
However, Pei Xuanjing still wanted to see their reactions and hear their responses.
Bai Xiaosheng and Taoist Qingxu exchanged glances and could roughly guess Pei Xuanjing’s intentions.
‘You should speak, as you are most knowledgeable about this matter,” Taoist Qingxu suggested to Bai Xiaosheng.
Bai Xiaosheng didn’t refuse. He was heavily involved in these matters and he would have to speak about it at some point anyway.
Since Pei Xuanjing asked him now, he didn’t withhold any information and told him everything in detail.
After a long time, Bai Xiaosheng finished talking: “That’s basically everything. Does Grandmaster Pei have any doubts?”
Actually, what Bai Xiaosheng narrated was similar to what Yu Zhenzi had said, Bai Xiaosheng only had more detailed information.
As Pei Xuanjing had deduced, this ‘Shenxiao Sect’ was the fallback that the original Shenxiao Sect had left behind.
However, the fact that they grew so smoothly to the level they are at now was due to the implicit support and tolerance of Bai Xiaosheng and the True Martial Sect.
When Bai Xiaosheng and the others later discovered that the new Shenxiao Sect had grown too powerful to suppress, they wanted to eliminate this trouble. This was why the new Shenxiao Sect was attacked by the imperial court as Yu Zhenzi said. It resulted in a heavy blow to the new Shenxiao Sect.
However, there are always unexpected developments.
Even when Bai Xiaosheng and the others had decided to handle these troubles, it was too late.
During that incident, although they used the imperial court to deal a heavy blow to the new Shenxiao Sect, they still could not fully succeed.
The Lord of Shenxiao Gate was indeed a hero. Not only did he take this opportunity to eliminate dissent and pit his equals to death, taking full control of the new Shenxiao Sect.
But he also managed to evade Bai Xiaosheng and the True Martial Sect’s influence, gaining independence, and no longer being ruled by others.
After understanding these, Pei Xuanjing asked Bai Xiaosheng: “How strong is the Lord of Shenxiao
Gate?”
Based on the information he now knew, this hidden lord of Shenxiao Gate was indeed powerful. So naturally, he had to be cautious and it was only right to understand the other’s strength.
“That person is very powerful. Even if I take the initiative to attack, I can’t be absolutely sure of killing him,” Taoist Priest Qingxu slowly said.
If these words were uttered by someone else, Pei Xuanjing might not pay attention.
But when the current Taoist Priest Qingxu says it, Pei Xuanjing has no choice but to take it seriously.
You must know, the headmaster of the True Martial Sect, Qingxu Zi, is a peak figure in the martial arts world of Great Ming. There are fewer than ten people who can make him tread carefully.
His words are sufficient to prove the might of the Lord of Shenxiao Gate..