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Chapter 72 Fellow Disciples
How could this be?! Liu Shuyue was stunned.

She had maintained her mental awareness the entire way here; if anyone were present, she should have sensed them long ago.

No matter how you look at it, the mummified corpse in front of you could never come back to life!

But Liu Shuyue soon realized that something was wrong, because she could see that the mummified corpse was still sitting on the lotus platform and did not suddenly reach out; she herself was standing in front of the stone platform, leaning forward slightly, with her right hand on the jade tablet.

Yes... I saw it.

Her perspective at this moment seemed to be from behind her body, rather than from her own eyes. The "Liu Shuyue" and the "mummified corpse" in her eyes were completely still, remaining in the same position they had been in contact with just a few breaths ago.

This feeling... is like having your soul forcibly ripped from your body!
She couldn't move or return to her body; apart from the lotus platform illuminated by the light, everything around her was pitch black.

"Don't be nervous, this is just a spell that will allow me to talk to you undisturbed." A voice suddenly came from the darkness.

It is profound, gentle, and not offensive.

"Who are you?" Liu Shuyue asked.

“Liu Zhidong, a disciple of the Lianyun Sect,” the other party said calmly. “And you are called Liu Shuyue, just like me… from the same sect.”

Liu Shuyue was genuinely surprised.

She had considered this possibility, but when the other party actually said it, she still felt a slight dizziness! Her former disciple, whom she had searched for so long without finding any clues, actually still existed in the world!?

Even so, she tried her best to keep her voice steady, "How can you prove it?"

"Is proof really necessary? You followed the clues here because you wanted to find some truth. For example, why my great achievements are not recorded in the world, and why I am hiding in such a remote place. Some... are due to my personal experiences, while others... are probably questions that every disciple would have." The man even smiled as he said this, "Of course... I would also like to meet you in my physical body and have a more normal conversation, but unfortunately, the person on the lotus platform is indeed my physical body. As you can see, I am already dead, so this is the only way."

A spell that transcends life and death?
Is this really a level that disciples of a sect can reach?

But every word he said struck Liu Shuyue deeply. That's right... if he wasn't a disciple of the Lotus Cloud Sect, he could never have said the exact same thing as her!

"I'm all ears."

"Hahaha……"

"Why are you laughing, senior?" Liu Shuyue asked.

“I thought you’d be more eager…or more enthusiastic,” the man joked. “After all, the journey down the mountain is so lonely. No one can understand your thoughts, and no one can offer you help. Sometimes you might even ask yourself, is all this worth it? Now that you’ve finally met a fellow traveler, isn’t this a wonderful thing?”

Unexpectedly, he was quite talkative. Was it because he hadn't interacted with anyone in a long time? Liu Shuyue smiled, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case for her. Not long after coming down the mountain, she met someone she could confide in and who could help her. "I've only been down the mountain for five years, so my understanding of loneliness and helplessness may not be as profound as yours, senior."

“That’s true. Then let me tell you my story.” Liu Zhidong sighed deeply. “At the beginning, I came to this kingdom with the same ideals as you, to save the world and bring peace to the people…”

The King of Qi valued him highly and treated him with the respect due to a national advisor. He also entered the court and used all his knowledge to build up the Great Qi.

In less than five years, agriculture flourished, commerce prospered, people lived in peace and contentment, and the nation's military became strong and powerful.

While exorcising demons in various places, he also fell in love with a woman from the common people. The two married and had children.

Aside from the need to travel around and the difficulty of staying in one place for a long time, he had no complaints about this kind of life and believed that the sect's vision would soon be realized.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. The old King Qi suddenly fell ill and unexpectedly passed away during a court meeting.

According to custom, the eldest son would inherit the throne. However, the eldest son was incompetent, leading to a power struggle involving multiple parties. Liu Zhidong chose not to intervene, but instead waited patiently for the outcome. This was because the immortal master was assisting the kingdom, not some person with royal blood. In his view, the bloodlines of these kings were not significantly more noble than those of ordinary people.

"However, it turns out that this was a mistake I made." Liu Zhidong's voice was slightly lower. "In the end, the one who came to power was the original fourth prince. And he was able to stand out from his many brothers not because of his intelligence, but simply because he was more ruthless and his methods were more despicable. The first thing the new King of Qi did after taking the throne was to purge all forces that did not belong to him, including those ministers and local officials who did not accept the usurpation."

Liu Shuyue immediately realized what was about to happen: "Has the old King Qi's decrees been neglected?"

"That's right. Not only was the court in chaos, but the previously suppressed local forces also began to retaliate... In just over two years, the glory of Qi was gone." The loss of its former glory wasn't a major issue; the common people weren't yet in dire straits. They could simply start over. Liu Zhidong could wait, as he still had seventy or eighty years to live, until the next change of throne. During this period, he stopped going to the capital and spent most of his time with his wife, living far from the crowds.

Until one day, he received a message talisman, informing him that the new King of Qi wanted him to go to the capital.

“I never expected that it was a trap set for me.” Liu Zhidong paused for a moment, “...King Qi wanted to kill me.”

Thinking of her own situation, Liu Shuyue's heart tightened slightly. "Why?"

“Because of my estrangement and indifference. The farther I am from the capital, the more uneasy he becomes. After all, my harmonious relationship with the old King Qi makes me seem like a remnant of the previous dynasty. What if one day I turn around and support another usurper? Once suspicion takes hold, it will never end.” Liu Zhidong laughed self-deprecatingly. “He made ample preparations for this. Nearly a hundred rogue cultivators gathered in the capital and set up an array to disrupt the spiritual energy, preventing me from escaping using the Wind Riding Talisman or other spells. The ones who actually came to kill me, besides the Imperial Guard, a few arrogant evil cultivators, and someone I never expected.”

"Who?" Liu Shuyue asked subconsciously.

“Another disciple of the Lotus Cloud Sect,” he said casually.

It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in Liu Shuyue's heart!

A cultivator from the Lotus Cloud Sect attacking a fellow disciple? And in collusion with an evil cultivator?! Either way, it sounds like a fantasy!

"I didn't know his name until later. He was a celestial master from Ning Kingdom."

"Ning Kingdom?" Liu Shuyue couldn't find any information about this kingdom in her memory. "Why did he want to kill you?"

"Actually, it's not hard to guess. Ning is a small country, sandwiched between Qi and Luo. The stronger Qi becomes, the greater the pressure they face. If they don't find a way to weaken Qi, they'll be finished sooner or later." At this point, Liu Zhidong let out a series of cold laughs, "Hehehe... Now you've figured out the problem?"

Liu Shuyue suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

Each kingdom has a different national strength and situation, yet they are all assigned a Celestial Master. The Celestial Master's task is to assist the kingdom, naturally avoiding the risk of its destruction... In other words, the moment a sect disciple leaves the mountain, they have already transformed from fellow cultivators into incompatible rivals!

Why join forces with heretical cultivators? Because this is the way to support a weak nation.

She can't even say the other person is wrong!
Thinking a little deeper, it's possible that the Ning Kingdom Immortal Master's encouragement played a part in making the new King of Qi determined to kill his own immortal master.

Liu Shuyue suddenly felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, but she couldn't reach out to cover her mouth.

"Unfortunately, my strength and luck were both good. As fellow disciples of the sect, I was still slightly superior. He died, the evil cultivator died, the new King Qi died, and I am still alive—even though I am severely injured and barely clinging to life." Liu Zhidong said sarcastically, "The person who saved me also surprised me. He was the old King Qi's servant, who escaped the purge because of his old age and frailty. But none of the princes knew that this servant knew every secret passage in the palace. He smuggled me out of the city and saved me from certain death."

"By the way, Ning Kingdom quickly declined after losing its immortal master and was divided up by Qi Kingdom and Luo Kingdom. This is quite surprising... after all, in the eyes of outsiders, Qi Kingdom's immortal master also suddenly died of illness that day."

So the person who was actually buried in the forbidden area of ​​the royal city was actually the Immortal Master Ningguo?
Liu Shuyue remained silent. She never imagined that so many changes had occurred in the past century.

Many of her questions gradually found their answers.

After the death of the newly enthroned King Qi, it's likely that an even fiercer power struggle will erupt in the capital. But whoever ascends to the throne will certainly not want such a disgraceful history to be recorded. No… it can't be simply described as disgraceful. Colluding with evil cultivators and murdering immortal masters undoubtedly crossed the bottom line of the Lotus Cloud Sect. The new king must completely erase this history to ensure his own safety.

The turmoil and strife brought about by years of internal strife have greatly weakened the Qi Kingdom, which is why this generation of Qi King is so eager for sectarian magic. However, she has chosen to stay away from the court and focus on slaying demons and pacifying the people, which is completely opposite to Liu Zhidong's enthusiastic intervention in politics. This also means that the conflict between the two will one day become irreconcilable.

What about Senior Sister Lanqin of Luo Kingdom? Did she also understand this principle, which is why she made expanding the army her top priority?

When she led her troops to attack the Great Qi, did she also regard herself as an enemy that must be eradicated?

"You think that's all?" Liu Zhidong suddenly said with amusement, "What truly shook me wasn't the death battle with my fellow disciple, but the moment he died. Do you know what I saw?"

At this point, a hint of barely suppressed anger crept into his previously gentle tone, as if he still harbored resentment about it even after all these years.

"What did you see?" Liu Shuyue asked.

“His soul has vanished,” the other person said, enunciating each word clearly. “His body has become an empty shell.”

(End of this chapter)