Chapter 47: Dan Room's Suspicion (Part 1) Reversal V

  The so-called grotto heavens and blessed lands refer to those places where the spiritual energy is abundant and the scenery is beautiful. They are often famous mountains, great rivers, or overseas strange islands, and are also the favorite practice places for Taoist practitioners. The ancient saying "the immortal family has its own sun and moon" means that these grotto heavens and blessed lands have a different atmosphere from the mundane world where ordinary people live. Although they belong to the same human realm, they seem to be separate and not intersecting. External phenomena such as spring rain, summer wind, autumn frost, and winter thunder have no effect on the inside of the grotto heavens.

  The Qingyu Hall is just such a place.

  Xuan Zhen and his two junior sisters passed through the clouds on the Hui Xian Bridge, and suddenly a bright light appeared before their eyes. A warm feeling also rushed towards them, which was quite different from the cold wind at the other end of the bridge on Mount Heng. The warmth contained a faint scent of medicine, and as soon as Xuan Zhen and his companions smelled it, they secretly thought: It's true that Qing Yu Tan is skilled in alchemy and medicine refining techniques, its reputation is well-deserved.

  But all the famous immortal sects, at the entrance, there are often many law gates and restrictions, so that the disciples inside the gate will not find out until they have reached the enemy's door. Therefore, Xuán Zhèn and others had just entered the Qing Yu Tán for a short while when they saw several rays of light of various colors flashing in front of the mountain peaks, falling in front of them.

  The light dissipated, and several young men and women walked out from within, all wearing yellow-brown Taoist robes. The leading youth sized up Xuan Zhen and the other two one by one, his gaze falling on Xuan Zhen's body, and he cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Dan Shu, a disciple of the Qing Yu Tan's executive deacon. I don't know which esteemed sect you three are from, or what brings you to our Qing Yu Tan?"

  Xuan Zhen calmly and unhurriedly cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Xuan Zhen, a disciple under the True Person of Qinghua Sect. These two are my junior sisters Su Yao and Su Shen."

  Qionghua Sect is a well-known sect in the cultivation world, and those few Qingyu Tan disciples immediately showed respect upon hearing the name. Dan Shu's expression also eased up a lot, and he smiled: "So you're fellow cultivators, I wonder if Master Xuanzhen and these two sisters have come to Hengshan for some important matter regarding Qionghua Sect?" He asked this twice, but his tone was completely different each time, now much more friendly.

  Xuan Zhen smiled slightly and said, "This matter has nothing to do with my sect, it's just that I and two of my fellow female disciples happened to pass by Mount Heng during our travels and saw something, but thinking about it again and again didn't make sense, so reporting it to Qing Yu Tan is actually what makes me feel uneasy."

  "Oh, you're so pedantic! What's the point of being so wordy!" Xu Shen said impatiently from the side, pouting and complaining, "Let's just get to the point already, or else how many more people will die at the foot of the mountain?!"

  As soon as she said this, everyone's face changed. Xuan Zhen shook his head helplessly, Su Yao glared at her fiercely, and Su Xiang puffed up her cheeks in discontent.

  Those few Qingyu disciples didn't know what big deal they were talking about, but suddenly hearing that it involved human lives, they looked at each other in dismay, all somewhat at a loss. Dan Shu glanced at Su Xiang several times, his face slightly shocked, and after a pause, he still turned to Xuan Zhen and hesitantly asked: "Xuan Zhen Shixiong, this... what this Shijie said about 'many people will die', is it really..."

  Xuan Zhen glanced at Su Yao. Su Yao understood, deliberately looked around and said coldly: "Dan Shu shixiong, this place may not be suitable for discussing important matters?"

  Dan Shu turned his head to look back, and was taken aback by her icy demeanor. His face couldn't help but flush slightly as he hastily said, "It's my fault for being presumptuous, please don't mind me, Master Sister." As he spoke, he pointed to the corner of a flying eave that had appeared behind the mountain range in front of them, "That is the main hall of our sect. Please follow me."

  The green jade platform was lush with grass and trees, among which were dozens of stone houses of varying heights. According to Dan Shu, they were all disciples' quarters and dan rooms. As several people walked and looked around, they arrived in front of the main hall. The main hall was also built from green rock, towering high into the air. Several people stood in front of the hall door, and before Xuan Zhen and his companions could approach, a young man had already come forward to greet them. Before Xuan Zhen could clearly see his face, he heard a long laugh.

  "Honorable guests have arrived, I'm afraid we didn't welcome you from afar. Please forgive me, fellow brothers and sisters!" The young man who spoke was no more than twenty years old, with a refined appearance, slender build, and a warm and friendly demeanor. His yellow-brown Taoist robe differed slightly in style from those of the surrounding disciples, and at a glance, it was clear that his status was not ordinary.

  Xuan Zhen nodded his hands, just about to say a few humble words when the young man laughed and said: "My surname is Shangguan, my name is Shanglai Xiaguo Hua, I am a disciple of Qingyu Tan. Now my master is in seclusion in the quiet room, cannot meet with you, so I will temporarily take his place to entertain you, please bear with me for a while."

  At the time of entering Qinghua Sect, he was still young and hadn't read many books. He gently pulled on Xuan Zhen's sleeve and asked in a daze, "Senior brother, what kind of name distinguishes between high and low? This person is really strange..."

  Xuan Zhen coughed lightly and replied in a low voice, "He said his name is Shangguan Xianhua." As he spoke, his gaze returned to the man's face, and he smiled, saying, "In that case, it's all right. Brother Shangguan is a disciple of the sect leader, so telling you about this matter would be the same as well."

  Shangguan Yan was taken aback, looking at Dan Shu with a puzzled expression. Dan Shu hastily walked up and whispered a few words in his ear, only then did he nod suddenly, smiling as he pointed inside the hall: "Let's go in and talk about it."

  Xuan Zhen and the other two followed him into the main hall and took their seats. Shangguan Xianhua waved his hand, ordering the remaining disciples to withdraw, leaving only Dan Shu by his side. He had already heard Dan Shu mention the names of Xuan Zhen and the others, so he didn't ask again. Instead, he spoke slowly and calmly: "Just now, Master Xuan said there was something important to tell me, but I don't know what kind of important matter it is that would require the presence of several masters from the Qionghua Sect?"

  "Brother Shangguan, we are just small disciples of the Qionghua sect. We happened to pass through Hengshan and encountered someone doing evil deeds. We couldn't just ignore it. Moreover, that person's methods were extremely ruthless and cunning, seemingly a cultivator. I'm afraid ordinary people would find it difficult to subdue them. This is the territory of the Qingyu Altar, we don't dare overstep our bounds. That's why we came specifically to report to you. As for how to handle this matter, we'd like to ask Brother Shangguan to instruct us." Xuan Zhen said humbly.

  Shangguan Yan nodded thoughtfully and said: "Please tell me more about this matter, Elder Brother. What exactly did that wicked person do?"

  Xuan Zhen glanced at Su Yao and said, "I'll let these two junior sisters tell you what they saw with their own eyes."

  At this point, Su Yao immediately recounted what she and Su Xiang had seen and heard to everyone else. Finally, still with a hint of anger, she said: "This person is ruthless and cruel, treating human life as if it were worthless grass. No matter what, we can't let him continue like this!" Su Xiang nodded repeatedly in agreement beside her.

  Shangguan Yanhua's eyes flashed with a strange expression, but her face was full of anger as she slammed the table and exclaimed: "How could this be?! I didn't expect... As a disciple of Qingyu Hall, I'm actually not as perceptive as some of my senior brothers and sisters, allowing evil demons to do such things at the foot of Hengshan..."

  His face was visibly angry, but Xuan Zhen felt a little unusual. So when the next few people discussed this matter, they paid extra attention to Shangguan Yanhua's expression and found something wrong. Logically speaking, as soon as someone heard that someone had killed and taken the soul near the gate of the sect, anyone should be shocked and angry, just like Dan Shu, but Shangguan Yanhua only showed anger from beginning to end, without any surprise, as if he didn't think this tragic thing was strange at all. If he put on a calm and composed expression, it could be said that he was born with a stable temperament and his emotions were not externalized, but doing so would make him seem to have an ulterior motive.

  Xuan Zhen thought for a moment, and couldn't help but feel suspicious in his heart, but on the surface he still maintained an air of nonchalance.

  In the conversation, Shangguan Hua said that everything was fine, but he never agreed to thoroughly investigate the matter. Xuanshen's suspicion grew bigger and bigger. He only heard him say: "This matter is not trivial, we have to wait until Master returns from his trip before discussing it again. I think he won't ignore it."

  Su Yao originally intended to listen to the case with Qing Yu, but upon hearing this, she immediately sent someone to capture the demon together. Unexpectedly, Shang Guan Xianhua pushed it away like this. With a cold hum, she said: "If your master doesn't come out of the mountain for a hundred years, are we going to let the evil person roam free for another hundred years?"

  This remark was not very polite, and Xuān Zhèn hastily raised his hand to stop him. He glanced sideways at Shàngguān Yǎnhuá's expression, and indeed saw that there was a faint glint in his eyes as he looked at Sùyáo, and his gaze seemed somewhat unkind. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.

  But that fierce light flashed and disappeared, Shangguan Yanhua still smiled faintly with a gentle and elegant appearance: "Sister is joking." Before the few people could speak again, she hurriedly said: "It's not early, why don't you all stay in Qingyu Hall for one night and discuss this matter tomorrow?"

  He was taken aback for a moment, turned his head and looked outside the door, and said in surprise: "Isn't it early? But the sun is just right outside!"

  Shangguan Yanhua burst out laughing and said, "Sister doesn't know that the day and night cycles inside the Qingyu Altar are different from the outside world. You can't determine morning or evening just by sunrise and sunset."

  "What's different?" Xiangxiang asked curiously.

  Shangguan Yanhua smiled and said: "The Qingyu altar is divided into two layers, the lower layer is always daytime, the upper layer is always night, and when combined, it forms a Taiji, symbolizing the separation of yin and yang, giving birth to all things. We are currently in the lower layer, outside it's naturally broad daylight, but actually, I'm afraid it's already time for dinner." After finishing speaking, he glanced at Dan Shu, the young man slightly nodded his head, and immediately turned around and left.

  Su Xuan let out a soft sigh. Su Yao's expression, gazing out of the house, also carried a hint of surprise. Xuan Zhen secretly sighed in his heart, this Shang Guan Xianhua was extremely skilled at talking, and with just a few words, he had subtly diverted Su Yao's doubts away, however... He lowered his eyelids, coldly thinking to himself: This kind of evasive talk only made things seem even stranger.

  Before long, Dan Shu returned to the hall, saying that he had prepared another table of good food and dishes. The three people could only follow along with his enthusiasm, and after dinner, Officer Xuan Hua invited them to stroll together in the Qing Yu Hall, occasionally telling some interesting stories along the way, which made Suo Jing laugh continuously, and even Suo Yao's icy face softened a lot. This person was good at flattering and had a broad perspective, and even though Xuan Zhen was suspicious of him, he felt that interacting with this person was like a refreshing spring breeze.

  The spiritual energy in the Qingyu Hall is very strong, especially where the grass and trees are lush. Shangguan Xianhua explained that it was because of the various medicinal herbs planted everywhere within the sect. Xuanshen only then realized that the plants and trees in the Qingyu Hall were all rare flowers and strange grasses, even a small flower by the stone path seemed to have various medicinal uses. Shangguan Xianhua was indeed a worthy disciple of the sect leader, he knew a lot about the Golden Elixir method. He pointed out the origins and uses of the flowers and plants they saw along the way, telling them in detail, Xuanshen and the others listened with great interest.

  All the way through the flowers and willows, unknowingly arrived at another extremely high stone hall. The plaque above the gate reads "Yi You Dan Ge" in four large characters, with nine bronze medicine cauldrons lined up in front of the steps, smoke curling up from the cauldrons, filling the surroundings with a refreshing fragrance that never ends, only the main gate behind the cauldrons is tightly closed, and only a small side door is open.

  Just then, a young disciple of the Qingyu Hall came walking over from the other end of the road, carrying a medicine jar in his arms. When he saw Shangguan Jianhua and the others, he was startled.

  The author has something to say: Thank you for the comments from Philog, Yīsè Cāng, Lùlù, Jǐn Kuí, Jiè Mò, (self-provided punctuation ==), Cāng Yuè Lún, Yǐ Shuǐ Hán, Yún Hǎi Fú Píng, Fú Chén Xī Kè, lll, Apr_ThreeAutumn, and OneDrunkNanHui ~~mUA everyone at once~ Special thanks to Jiè Mò for the thunder, hug and mUA again ~!

  P.S. Today, I was called out by an old friend I haven't seen in a long time to chat and got too high... so... I apologize to everyone oRZ It's been too long since the last update, but I will continue to work hard to update, please keep pushing me!

  It's been a long time since I came here and found that there were many more messages, cough, could it be that the slower updates are actually... uh, never mind, I didn't say anything.