Chapter 29: Fuyu has Crow (7)
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Several Foundation Establishment cultivators were visibly angered, their faces flushed red. They were all at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, standing out among the scattered cultivators, often dealing with flatterers of lower cultivation levels.
Normally, they despised the hypocritical and pretentious manners of the righteous path. Now, they mistakenly believed that the orthodox sects truly adhered to the principles they preached. They thought that with so many people present, Xu Suifeng might at most vent his anger by scolding them, without daring to take further action.
Fang Tao continued angrily, “Even if you’re a Golden Core cultivator, you can’t threaten people like this.”
Han Congzhuo added, “What are you implying? If you want to kill someone just to meet a quota, go ahead. Is the Yusheng Sect so great that it can casually bully others?!”
Xu Suifeng seemed to be suppressing his emotions. Bai Chunsheng noticed his hand gripping the hilt of his sword, then relaxing it. Perhaps if these people said anything more to provoke this senior brother of the Yusheng Sect, he might lash out and kill someone on the spot.
Given these cultivators’ cultivation levels, they were no match for Xu Suifeng. They mistakenly believed that Xu Suifeng could be intimidated by the reputation of the Yusheng Sect, but that was wishful thinking. The reason the Yusheng Sect attached such importance to the death of Hong Chunfeng in Fuyu Mountain was precisely because they suspected foul play, possibly involving demonic influences.
From Xu Suifeng’s earlier remarks, it seemed he also doubted that the deaths were caused by demons after examining Hong Chunfeng and the others’ bodies.
Xu Suifeng forced himself to calm down. This wasn’t the time for emotions. Getting things done was what mattered now.
Furthermore, with so many people watching, Gong Yuanzhi had long been eyeing his position. He couldn’t afford to leave any room for criticism, especially with Junior Brother Su watching from behind. How could he afford to show such an undignified stance?
He reassured himself that as long as it was confirmed this wasn’t the work of demons…
The deaths of a few Foundation Establishment cultivators, excluding the nearby gathering points of scattered cultivators, were like tossing a small pebble into the vast ocean of the mortal realm, causing no ripples at all.
Thinking of this, Xu Suifeng discreetly moved his hand away from the sword hilt behind his back, without leaving a trace.
Bai Chunsheng saw through the inner struggle and hesitation in Xu Suifeng’s eyes.
This person wasn’t kind enough, yet not ruthless enough either.
He hesitated too much, was indecisive, and lacked fortitude. Even if he managed to break through the limitations of single spiritualual roots in the future and ascend by chance, he wouldn’t achieve anything significant.
Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, Su Xiaojing intervened with a few words to pacify these five Foundation Establishment cultivators. “Senior Brother Xu doesn’t mean that.”
He was also anxious, “We certainly aren’t coveting your belongings. We just need to see if anyone has this Lingyu Mountain puppet. If we can clear everyone’s grievances, it would be a good thing for everyone, wouldn’t it?”
The female cultivator named Guo Lihua sneered, “Then what does he mean?”
Xu Suifeng, full of youthful arrogance and pride, felt somewhat ominous about gathering with these scattered cultivators who were all at the Foundation Establishment stage and only around the same age. Guo Lihua’s sarcasm made him even more irritable, and Xu Suifeng snorted coldly, “Whatever you think my meaning is, that’s exactly my meaning.”
A stone thrown causes thousand-layered waves, and these few people resumed their endless bickering.
Xu Suifeng had been waiting for an opportunity, and now no one was letting him step down. His anger was reaching its peak.
Xu Suifeng shouted, “Enough!”
The hall, just moments ago filled with endless arguments, fell silent instantly. Xu Suifeng spoke slowly and deliberately, “I told you to bring them out, so bring them out!”
The pressure from the Golden Core stage cultivator made it hard for people to breathe.
These five individuals suddenly realized they were deep within Fuyu Mountain, surrounded by disciples of the Yusheng Sect. If Xu Suifeng decided to act, no one could stop him. Compared to the risks ahead, ensuring their survival now seemed more important.
Bai Chunsheng casually used illusion techniques. Although not skilled in such esoteric spells, with his expertise, deceiving these people was effortless.
He and Yan Yi stood their ground. Wang Yu walked straight past them, and no one suspected a thing.
None at all.
After inspecting them, Xu Suifeng squeezed several storage bags in his hand, his expression alternating between anger and frustration. He pondered, could it be true as those brothers claimed, that the culprit had long since fled?
Impossible.
The Lingyu Mountain puppet required a constant supply of spiritual power. If the culprit had left, the Fuyu Market would have ceased functioning long ago. How could the body of the person who died on the fifth only be discovered on the seventh?
Could it really be a demon?
He was reluctant to believe this news. Capturing a demon might lead to ascension guided by the higher sects, but it was also a dangerous endeavor. Xu Suifeng believed he could win the sect’s major competition in a year, so why bother with this muddy business?
It was all because Su Xiaojing, upon seeing this task, had tearfully expressed concern that Mu Tingting might meet with an accident and wanted to take care of her. His boy was so kind-hearted; how could Xu Suifeng bear to see him upset?
However, if it’s not a demon, then the murderer must be among these people.
Xu Suifeng pondered with frustration. There were still many mid-Foundation stage independent cultivators detained in the Fuyu Mansion; perhaps some of them were also suspects.
None of this concerned Bai Chunsheng anymore; he found this whole drama incredibly boring.
Glancing out the window, Bai Chunsheng casually remarked, “It’s almost dinner time. When will the food be served?” He was hungry.
Wang Yu, standing nearby, quickly intervened, “The kitchen staff said it’s already been delivered to your rooms. How about we go to the bamboo grove this afternoon to see Hong Chunfeng’s body?”
This conversation calmed Xu Suifeng considerably. He tossed the storage bags back to their owners. Responding to his summons, the bags swiftly returned to their respective owners.
Xu Suifeng said, “For now, you’re no longer under suspicion. But until we catch the murderer, you’re not allowed to leave the Fuyu Mansion.”
After being reprimanded, no one dared to complain about how much this groundless accusation would delay their plans.
The others nodded silently and sneaked away like mice that had stolen oil.
Yan Yi and Bai Chunsheng returned to their room.
Bai Chunsheng closed the door and set up a barrier. “Tell me, who is the murderer?”
Yan Yi removed his mask and said, “Bring out the Crow Puppets—the Lingyu Mountain puppet.”
“Why?” Bai Chunsheng complied, taking out the Crow Puppets from the storage bag. Most of their recent communications had been through this Lingyu Mountain puppet. The Crow Puppets wasn’t intricately crafted but was cleverly designed.
Up until now, Bai Chunsheng couldn’t figure out the principle behind it, only thinking it was a technique for Mahayana Stage cultivators.
Yan Yi also took out his Lingyu Mountain puppet. Gripping the head of the raven in his hand, he said expressionlessly, “Initially, I thought the murderer used this Lingyu Mountain puppet to escape while I was tracking in reverse.”
“But since you said the murderer also communicated with you through this, I began to feel something was amiss.”
Listening, Bai Chunsheng’s initially amused expression gradually hardened into seriousness.
“Considering the time you arrived at Fuyu Market, the time he communicated with you, and the time I jumped over there, our intervals were minimal. It’s equivalent to the moment I arrived at Hong Chunfeng’s body, the murderer was still using this Lingyu Mountain puppet to communicate with you. How is that possible?”
Yan Yi replied, “I didn’t think much of it before. I didn’t expect both of you to deceive me. Puppet, puppet, not a puppet, but a genius.”
Pinching the neck of the Lingyu Mountain puppet in his hand, Yan Yi calmly asked, “How did you do it?”
He didn’t care at all about the mess in Fuyu Mountain; he only cared about how this small puppet managed to deceive him and Bai Chunsheng.
The wooden puppet’s neck emitted a series of clicking sounds. Bai Chunsheng saw its eyes, the size of green peas, seem to twitch. Then came the same dull voice Bai Chunsheng had heard before, “Time’s up. He deserved to die, so he died.”
Yan Yi said, “I didn’t ask why Hong Chunfeng died.”
The Lingyu Mountain puppet continued in unison, “Time’s up. He deserved to die, so he died.”
“Time’s up, he should…”
Yan Yi remained unfazed, annoyed by the chatter. “Keep babbling and I’ll squeeze you to death.”
The Lingyu Mountain puppet, intimidated, closed its mouth.
Bai Chunsheng finally understood why these two low-level Crow Puppets could block transmissions that even Mahayana Stage cultivators couldn’t peer into. Essentially, there was only one crow soul, divided artificially into two halves and fashioned into puppet forms.
Naturally, one half of the soul could sense its other half.
That was the reason.
It was astonishing that this soul, once separated and made into two puppets, could still retain some consciousness to this day.
This involved soul-related Dao techniques…
Truly a heritage at least of the Mahayana Stage realm.
Although the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm was not remarkable among many realms, it boasted a long history. Due to dealings with the Demon Realm in recent millennia, aside from measures to prevent demons from resurging through soul-searching and soul-annihilation, no one dared openly study souls.
If an ancient powerhouse nearing the end of their life span returned to their homeland, leaving behind their heritage, who knew what might happen?
It wasn’t surprising why he and Yan Yi initially didn’t recognize that these Crow Puppets were actually halves of a raven soul split in two.
This was likely a clue to an inheritance. The crow’s mention of “time’s up” should refer to the end of the “trial period” set.
Inheritances naturally wouldn’t remain solely in one person’s possession forever but would be passed down as family treasures through generations.
This is the crucial key used by the powerhouse to screen those who could inherit their lifelong legacy.
Presumably, this Lingyu Mountain puppet imposed restrictions. If the person possessing this key couldn’t decipher the puppet’s secrets within the specified time limit, the puppet would backlash and kill them.
Author’s note: Although not apparent, currently Yan Jingqiu and Bai Chunsheng are limited to Nascent Soul cultivation due to various reasons and constraints. Also, because Yan Jingqiu has amnesia and Bai Chunsheng dislikes reading these verbose and seemingly useless records, the cultivation world in their era has very few records about souls. Therefore, initially, they didn’t consider the direction of the soul.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
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