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Chapter 1385: Snatching the Person
Many people lowered their heads, not daring to look any longer at the woman in snow-white robes.
Beauty draws people in, but if that beauty is excessive, so overwhelming that it disrupts one’s Divine-Sense and even makes one’s blood boil uncontrollably, then it becomes something terrifying.
Moreover, at this moment, everyone present had already guessed the identity of this peerless beauty.
The Sixth-Rank Ancestral Dragon Bai Clan of Qian Province, this name alone carried immense prestige.
This girl, whose beauty seemed almost unreal, held an extraordinary status even within the Bai Clan.
Regardless of whether they knew the inside details, no one present—even the Sect Masters and Elders—dared harbor the slightest disrespect.
They respectfully inclined their heads toward Bai Zixi in greeting, yet did not dare say a word, lest they breach proper etiquette.
Bai Zixi returned the gesture with a slight nod. Then, graceful as a clear moon, composed and dignified, she followed True Person Rong to take her seat.
Her movement was like the blooming of an epiphyllum, stunning all present. When seated, she was like frost and snow congealing, an indescribable beauty.
All the sect leaders and high-level figures in the hall suppressed the shock in their hearts, reined in their aura, and did not dare glance sideways.
Only some female elders and disciples, unable to suppress their instincts, secretly looked toward that white figure, their emotions surging uncontrollably.
The hall remained silent for a long while, though hearts stirred beneath the calm.
Only after the atmosphere settled did everyone remember the young man and return to discussing serious matters.
The Patriarch of the Lu Clan looked at the Right Sect Master and asked,
“How severe are that boy’s injuries? It’s been nearly a month, yet he still hasn’t awakened?”
The Earth Sect’s Right Sect Master replied,
“His flesh has been eroded by sinister power, his meridians contaminated by unknown foul qi, and his blood vitality is utterly decayed. He’s gravely injured and on the brink of death. Merely repairing his body and maintaining his life is already extremely difficult…”
The Lu Patriarch frowned.
“Can he even survive?”
“We of the Earth Sect paid a great price just to keep him alive.”
The Lu Patriarch pondered, brows tightly knit.
“What kind of foul and defiled place could exist under heaven, to corrupt a youth’s flesh to such an extent?”
The Jin Patriarch murmured,
“The Great Wilderness… speaking of it, that would be the Endless Abyss.”
“But the Endless Abyss is a forbidden land of life, no birds cross it, no living beings survive… Don’t tell me this boy soaked in the Endless Abyss and then crawled out alive?”
The Right Sect Master’s eyelids twitched slightly.
“That… we do not know.”
After thinking for a moment, the Lu Patriarch suddenly shook his head.
“No, that’s still not right. By your account, this boy shouldn’t have survived at all.”
“At the very least, with the Earth Sect’s methods, you shouldn’t have been able to keep him alive. If he’s still alive, then there must be something special about him.”
The Right Sect Master remained silent.
Seeing this, the Lu Patriarch asked,
“What exactly is this boy’s background? What’s his name? Which clan cultivator is he?”
“Still unknown,” the Right Sect Master replied.
“What about his cultivation realm?”
“Initial stage of Golden Core.”
“And the quality of his Golden Core?”
“Inferior-grade.”
“How is his physical foundation?”
“Very weak.”
“And his Qi Sea? How many circulation cycles?”
“Very few. How many cycles can a Inferior-grade core have?”
“How many years has he cultivated?”
“He looks quite young, at most just over thirty years.”
“What path does he cultivate? What kind of Dao foundation has he forged?”
The Right Sect Master slowly said,
“His flesh is too weak, likely not a body cultivator. His meridians, however, are smooth. His spiritual power is weak, but flows quickly… he should be a spiritual cultivator focused on spells.”
The Lu Patriarch frowned deeply, his expression turning unpleasant.
“Then isn’t this… just a complete waste?”
“A spiritual cultivator with weak spiritual power and low circulation cycles, he probably can’t even cast high-tier spells. What kind of spiritual cultivator is that?”
“His body is weak too... far too many flaws.”
“Only a little over thirty, at the Initial Golden Core stage, this cultivation speed is acceptable. But his core is merely Inferior-grade. With such a poor core, in battle he’d exhaust himself after just a few exchanges. Even if he formed a core, what use is it?”
“Cultivation isn’t just about speed, you must also consider foundation. Aiming too high and rushing recklessly, even if you reach Golden Core at the end, you’ll just drag others down and lose to everyone.”
“You Earth Sect…” The Lu Patriarch looked sharply at the Right Sect Master. “Are you deceiving us?”
Several other clan heads nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. How could such an ordinary boy be guarded like a treasure by your Earth Sect?”
Someone else objected,
“Don’t insult the term ‘ordinary.’”
“A Inferior-grade Golden Core counts as ordinary?”
“These days, in great clans, at least a Intermediate-grade Golden Core is required to be considered a person.”
A group of people sneered, the Earth Sect was lying, and not even convincingly.
The Right Sect Master frowned.
“This boy’s aptitude is indeed this low. It has nothing to do with our Earth Sect.”
It wasn’t as if the Earth Sect had chosen him. He had simply “fallen from the sky” into their sect.
Whatever he was like when he fell, that’s what he was.
Moreover, what they wanted was merely the secrets he might carry, whether in his words or even within his bones. Whether his aptitude was good or bad had nothing to do with the Earth Sect.
In fact, even within the Earth Sect, there was deep confusion.
The Ancient Steller Formation, Dao Province Ancestors, the war in the Great Wilderness, stars guiding the path, spatial transference…
How could someone tied to such immense karma and grand events possibly be such a lowly, mediocre Golden Core youth…?
The Lu Patriarch’s gaze sharpened with suspicion.
“Right Sect Master, you truly haven’t deceived us?”
“Every word is the truth,” the Right Sect Master replied calmly.
The clan heads and elders of Kun Province exchanged glances, their expressions strange.
This was odd… Who would go out of their way to throw such a Inferior-grade Golden Core youth into Kun Province?
The Lu Patriarch’s eyes flickered as he sighed,
“Forget it. Though this child’s talent is poor, since he has arrived in Kun Province, he must have some fortune. We can’t simply watch him die.”
“However, his injuries are too severe. It wouldn’t be fair to leave all treatment to your Earth Sect.”
The Lu Patriarch patted his chest, wearing an expression of magnanimity, as if willing to take a loss:
“Our Lu Clan has some modest resources. Why not let our Lu Clan provide the manpower and medicinal pills to treat this boy? What do you all think?”
The Right Sect Master’s expression turned one of disgust.
The Jin Clan Patriarch said lightly, “My Jin Clan may not be wealthy, but we can still afford this bit of spirit stones.”
The Right Sect Master replied, “It’s not a matter of spirit stones. Some pills cannot be bought with spirit stones alone.”
“There’s nothing in this world that spirit stones can’t buy. If there is, then it’s simply that you don’t have enough of them.”
Seeing this, others began scrambling to claim him:
“My Wu Clan doesn’t lack this much either…”
“My Kun Province Zhu Clan has the finest pills…”
Within the great hall, nearly all factions began competing for Mo Hua’s “right to treatment.”
The Right Sect Master of the Earth Sect could only grit his teeth and refuse to yield, determined to keep Mo Hua within the sect. Even if the boy were to die, he could only die in the Earth Sect.
Thus, the crowd argued for quite some time without reaching any result.
The Lu Clan Patriarch then took a step back. “In that case, let us first see the boy, and then make a decision.”
At these words, everyone turned to look at the Right Sect Master.
“The boy’s injuries are severe. He cannot be moved lightly,” the Right Sect Master said.
“We can go to see him,” the Lu Patriarch replied.
“It’s also inconvenient to allow a visit.”
The Lu Patriarch’s expression turned cold. “Sect Master, not allowing us to save him is one thing, but not even letting us take a look, that’s going too far.”
The other clan heads also showed displeased expressions.
If the Lu Clan wanted to save him, it was essentially an attempt to monopolize the boy, something the others would never agree to.
But now it wasn’t just the Lu Clan; they all wanted to see what this boy who fell from the heavens actually looked like.
Just a single glance, if the Earth Sect still refused, it would be a clear insult to all the great clans.
The Right Sect Master understood this well. After a long moment of thought, he knew he could no longer stop them.
If he didn’t at least let them “sip the soup” or “smell the aroma,” these Kun Province clans would never let the matter rest.
Among the three Sect Masters of the Earth Sect, the Grand Sect Master held supreme status, the Left Sect Master acted in secrecy, and only he—the Right Sect Master—was merely at the early stage of Feathered Ascension, burdened with dealing with such tedious affairs.
Cornered with no other choice, he sighed. “You may only take a single look.”
The assembled patriarchs nodded. “Of course.”
The Right Sect Master then ordered, “Bring him here.”
“Yes, Sect Master.” The Earth Sect disciples accepted the command and withdrew.
The Kun Province patriarchs sat and sipped tea, outwardly calm, though each harbored their own thoughts.
Before long, the Earth Sect disciples carried a youth into the center of the hall.
All eyes converged upon him.
The boy was covered with a white cloth, his face pale as paper, his breath faint. His limbs were covered in blade wounds. He lay upon a formation bed made of gold and jade, nourished by the energies of earth and wood. Around him, transparent ice stone sealed him tightly, not a single trace of aura leaking out.
With just one glance, everyone was startled, inwardly sighing, this was a youth as handsome as a celestial being. His temperament was so clear and cold that it even carried a kind of androgynous, ethereal beauty.
Now lying within the ice stone, his pale and haggard face added a fragile, shattered beauty, making it hard to tell whether he was truly human.
But after a few more looks, they could only sigh again.
As the Right Sect Master had said, the boy was indeed frail. His Golden Core was only of the Inferior-grade. Aside from his extraordinary appearance, his cultivation aptitude was truly poor.
All form, no substance... truly regrettable.
Yet despite that, nearly every high-ranking member of the great clans present was secretly scheming how to get their hands on him.
If there were no secrets on this boy, the Earth Sect would never have sealed him away like this, nor expended such effort to save him, even going so far as to use the Earth Vein Great Restoration Pill.
Moreover, it wasn’t as though no one harbored other, unspoken intentions.
The Lu Clan Patriarch wasted no time and said directly, “My Lu Clan can heal this boy. Send him to us.”
“No need,” the Right Sect Master replied coldly.
The Jin Clan Patriarch said, “I’ve already said, my Jin Clan does not lack spirit stones. If he comes to us, he will be cured immediately.”
“My Wu Clan doesn’t lack spirit stones either—we can treat him.”
“My Zhu Clan has the finest pills…”
In an instant, the entire hall grew noisy. Some even revealed greedy looks, nearly unable to restrain themselves from taking action.
The Right Sect Master was both angered and troubled, just as he was thinking how to dismiss these “bloodthirsty” clans, when he suddenly froze and turned to the side.
Not only him, but the patriarchs and elders of the Lu, Jin, and Zhu clans all turned in the same direction, their expressions stunned.
The breathtakingly beautiful woman from the Bai Clan, who had remained silent ever since taking her seat, slowly stood up.
Previously, she had sat quietly, serene as the moon. Now, as she rose, she was like a blooming narcissus, radiating an aura that could not be ignored.
Bai Zixi extended a slender, jade-like finger and pointed toward the boy lying within the ice stone at the center of the hall.
“This person...”
“I want him.”
Her voice was as clear as ice, as pure as snow-jade, ethereal and distant, yet carrying a faint magnetism.
It was the first time anyone had heard her speak, and many were momentarily dazed.
The entire hall fell into instant silence.
After a moment, when everyone realized what she had said, their pupils trembled and their faces filled with shock.
This person... I want him?!
No one had expected that this lofty, untouchable young lady of the Bai Clan, so detached from worldly affairs, would actually speak up to claim someone.
Even True Person Rong, standing before Bai Zixi, was startled. Clearly, this development was beyond her expectations.
Yet Bai Zixi remained calm, silently gazing at Mo Hua, who lay within the icy stone, eyes closed, barely clinging to life.
Only after a long while did the crowd recover from their shock.
Countless gazes once again converged on Mo Hua in the center of the hall, filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Hidden among them were also many looks of jealousy and resentment. Some even wishing, from this single sentence alone, to kill him and eliminate future trouble.
But the unconscious Mo Hua knew nothing of this killing intent.
Seeing the deathly silence in the hall, the Right Sect Master frowned and, after a pause, cautiously asked: “Miss Bai… what relation does this youth have to you?”
As soon as the question was spoken, countless hearts trembled, and many held their breath.
Bai Zixi remained silent. After a long while, she finally said slowly:
“He is a member of my Bai Clan.”
A member of the Bai Clan?
Everyone was shaken, but soon after, their brows furrowed, doubts rising.
How could this boy be from the Bai Clan?
The Bai Clan was a great clan of the Sixth-Grade Ancestral Dragon lineage, would such a Clan truly have a member with an Inferior-grade Golden Core?
If he truly belonged to the Bai Clan, then what status did he hold?
And if he did not... why would this Bai Clan young lady protect him?
Could it be… this boy carried even greater secrets?
The Right Sect Master felt his scalp tingle as he asked, “This boy… is truly from the Bai Clan?”
“Yes,” Bai Zixi insisted.
Her temperament was cold and distant, she never spoke to irrelevant people. The fact that she had answered this much was already an exception.
Yet, given the unusual situation, she calmly emphasized once more:
“This person, I will have him.”
Everyone’s expressions tightened, their faces shifting.
True Person Rong also frowned. “Zixi…” she began, but as she looked up, she caught sight of Zixi’s eyes.
Those eyes were clear and beautiful, like ice and snow, firm and crystalline.
True Person Rong’s heart trembled.
Zixi’s nature was taciturn and aloof, wholly devoted to cultivation. She rarely spoke and cared little for worldly matters, but whenever she spoke, whatever she wanted, she would obtain.
The Right Sect Master’s expression turned extremely grim.
True Person Rong, however, did not make things difficult for him. “I will save this boy. Once he can speak, you may question him yourselves. Whatever secrets he has, you will naturally learn.”
The Right Sect Master gritted his teeth, then finally sighed. “It seems we have no choice.”
True Person Rong turned back to glance at Bai Zixi, her gaze shifting slightly, as if asking, satisfied now?
Bai Zixi gave a faint nod.
True Person Rong shook her head, then pointed at Mo Hua and instructed several Earth Sect elders, “Send him, exactly as he is, to my blessed land.”
The elders dared not disobey. “Yes, we obey True Person’s command.”
True Person Rong then said to Bai Zixi, “Let’s go.”
Bai Zixi’s cool gaze swept once more over Mo Hua, her eyes flickering faintly, before she gave a slight nod.
Then she stepped forward, her figure light and graceful, like a breeze beneath moonlit snow, as she left the Earth Sect’s grand hall with True Person Rong, returning to a secluded and tranquil hidden blessed land south of the Fifth-Grade Houtu Prefecture boundary.
Not long after, the unconscious Mo Hua was also delivered to True Person Rong’s small blessed land.
(End of Chapter)