Immortals, don't watch dramas

Chapter 2690 Life experience
Perhaps because an unknown enemy was lurking in the shadows, and the day of Ningxia's death was approaching, a moment that would determine her fate was about to arrive, Qu Shanchang could only reveal his concerns at this moment.

There's really no conspiracy to hide; after all, the efforts that Fuyun Mountain has made for Ningxia over the years are undeniable. Qu Linfen treats her like his own daughter, and when she was initially diagnosed with an incurable disease, he exhausted all available resources to save her life.

The reason why Master Qu concealed the truth and remained silent to Ningxia was because he was worried that she would feel burdened and unable to concentrate on her cultivation.

It turns out that when Qu Linfen went to a blessed land by mistake, he stumbled upon a massacre of an unknown, reclusive sect—a case that had already been settled. Otherwise, even with Qu Shanzhang's considerable cultivation at the time, he probably wouldn't have been able to return alive.

Even today, many years later, recalling the horrific scene still sends chills down Qu Linfen's spine. Although his cultivation was not low, he dared not be careless and immediately wanted to leave this dangerous place, not even daring to think of going in to take a look.

However.
A faint sound suddenly came from the edge of the desolate ruins, making the situation immediately seem delicate in the current context.

Logically, regardless of the considerations, Qu Linfen should not have taken this risk to investigate.

According to the rules of the cultivation world, "anything out of the ordinary must be a sign of evil, and any unusual behavior must be part of a scheme." Whether this situation involves evil or a scheme, it is still troublesome, and there may be hidden pitfalls in the future.

But for some reason, Qu Linfen ultimately decided to investigate.

He explored this silent, dead land with apparent caution but actually with daring audacity, following the faint, almost imperceptible sounds to find a small mound at the edge of the blood-stained ruins.

When he found it, the sound had long since vanished without a trace, as if what he had just heard was just an illusion.

Qu Linfen had come on a perilous journey, but now, wanting to avoid danger, he seemed timid and hesitant. So, after a moment's hesitation, he boldly began to search the area. After searching for quite some time, he found nothing but a pool of blood.

The mound seemed to be just part of the piled-up ruins. Even now, a voice kept urging Qu Linfen to persevere and not give up. So he dug down another two feet of sand and found a wooden coffin.

Inside lay Ningxia, sleeping peacefully as if she were dead.

This sounds like an ordinary revenge case involving the annihilation of a family in the cultivation world. Ningxia's identity should be that of the orphan whom the victims of this massacre painstakingly hid.

So why would Qu Linfen want to hide such a simple past event? Because along with Ningxia, a strange object was placed in the coffin—

A crimson flame resembling a red lotus.

The appearance of this object subtly stirred up strange phenomena in the heavens and earth, startling Qu Linfen, whose face changed drastically. He wanted to grab the child in his arms and flee.

Fortunately, this object seemed to have a connection with Ningxia. The celestial treasure, which should have caused a disturbance in the heavens and earth in the next moment, abruptly stopped with a murmur in Ningxia's dream. Subsequently, Qu Linfen actually brought this girl with such an unbelievable origin back to Fuyun Mountain. In the following ten years, the child grew up peacefully and without any trouble. The explosive revelation buried in her background and bloodline did not ignite, and no one with ulterior motives related to her past came to her door.

If it weren't for that illness a few years ago, Qu Linfen would have almost forgotten her special experience in Ningxia, and would have wanted to let her grow up peacefully and unknowingly. What a pity.
"What about that fire lotus?" Mingmo was getting into the story when Master Qu's narration suddenly stopped, as if he had forgotten the object that had suddenly disappeared from the story.

Upon hearing this, Qu Shanchang shrugged: "It's gone."

Seeing the two of them looking at him with questioning expressions, especially Mingmo who seemed somewhat incredulous, Qu Linfen waved his hand and said, "If we could really produce that thing, we would have tried it back when Xia Chu was undergoing her first transformation."

Even though he didn't know the special nature of Ningxia's bloodline at that time, such a clearly spiritual treasure associated with Ningxia would definitely be regarded as a "lifeline" by Master Qu at that time if it really existed.

Throughout Ningxia's "serious illness," Qu Linfen never mentioned this item, suggesting that it was not actually in his possession.

As for the possibility that Qu Linfen coveted the item and wanted to conceal it for himself, that's completely unnecessary to consider—it's utterly impossible. Everyone on Fuyun Mountain, including Ningxia himself, wholeheartedly approves of and respects Qu Linfen as the head of the mountain gate.

Since assuming the position of Abbot of Fuyun Mountain, the other party has shown respect to elders, shown great care and nurtured disciples, and diligently protected the territory and people under his jurisdiction. He has been conscientious and diligent in his cultivation, without the slightest slackening, and is universally recognized by the entire sect as a gentleman of integrity. He would never harbor selfish desires for the treasures of others and would never conceal them from them.

Besides, if he really wanted to keep this a secret, he wouldn't have needed to tell Ningxia, the person involved, today. Since he could keep it a secret forever, it wouldn't really be considered a lie.

Therefore, something else must have happened on the day he found Ningxia.

"When I found you in the coffin, you were neatly dressed, warmly draped, and peacefully asleep within the protective array, without a trace of haste. Such meticulous care speaks volumes about the thoughtfulness of those who placed you there. The fire lotus was placed with you in the coffin, presumably a legacy your elders intended for you. I intended to preserve it properly for you." Speaking of this, Qu Linfen couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy, for it was likely the only thing her elders in Ningxia had left her.

As soon as the thing calmed down, it seemed to gain its own intelligence and suddenly exploded, scattering like sparks into the ruins, disappearing instantly without a trace.

Good heavens! He'd just picked up a baby, and the baby was sleeping, accompanied by a magical treasure. Before he could even figure out what was going on, the treasure vanished before his eyes like it had jumped into water, disappearing without a trace. Everything happened so fast that Qu Linfen's mind went completely blank for a moment, unable to process this complex situation.

Although he was very concerned about the mysteriously vanished Crimson Lotus, he couldn't just leave such a big child unattended. Considering what had happened in this land not long ago, after the search yielded no results, Qu Linfen ultimately decided to take Ningxia away from this troublesome place.

And everyone knows what happened next.

However, this was the first time the person involved from Ningxia had learned about the entire process of being taken back to Fuyun Mountain.

So that's how it is, Crimson Fire Lotus.