novelraw Chapter 230 : All Evil Shuns
Chapter 230 : All Evil Shuns
Chapter 230: All Evil Shuns
Among the Four Great Sects of the Eastern Continent, excluding the Dao Gate, each of the other three had no fewer than three Ninth Realm experts.
And that was merely their visible combat strength.
Take the Sword Sect as an example. Although its current publicly known strongest figure was the Sword Sovereign, in truth, the previous generation’s Sword Sovereign had merely retired from public view, not passed away.
In fact, if it weren’t for the requirement of Fragment of Xuanhuang Origin to break through to the Ninth Realm, the number of Ninth Realm cultivators among those three sects would be even greater!
The reason the Dao Gate had fallen into its current situation was entirely due to some unforeseen incident in the fifth level of the last Origin Spirit Realm cycle. That generation of outstanding disciples from the Gentleman Temple—only the madman Zhong Ming came out.
No one knew what exactly happened that day.
But the Dao Gate's high-level strength was nearly all buried in there.
Since that catastrophe, the Dao Gate had been barely supported by Jiang Zhi, who had advanced to the Ninth Realm, and one Ninth Realm master who had not yet reached the end of his lifespan.
Once that master exhausted his life, and Jiang Zhi regressed in realm due to cultivating a secret art, on the surface, the Dao Gate indeed appeared the weakest among the Four Great Sects.
If Zhong Ming hadn’t gone mad, the situation would have improved significantly.
He was exceptionally talented, universally acknowledged as the next Temple Master.
Even the proud and aloof Jiang Zhi held him in the highest esteem.
Strangely, despite having gone mad, and being locked in that small courtyard for all these years, his cultivation had not declined in the slightest—in fact, it had even improved!
When Zhong Ming entered the fifth level of the Origin Spirit Realm, he had been at the Ninth Realm, Fourth Heaven.
After going mad, he hadn’t cultivated, spending his days either staring blankly, endlessly making Ding-sheng Pastries, or lost in bouts of madness.
And yet, under those conditions, he forcibly broke through to the Ninth Realm, Fifth Heaven!
Even people from the Dao Gate couldn’t understand how.
To Xiang Yan and the others, if Zhong Ming could truly be cured, it would be a tremendous blessing.
Moreover, they could finally uncover the truth of what happened in the Origin Spirit Realm that year.
After all, their masters had all died in there!
Before long, Chu Huaixu was brought to that small courtyard inside the Gentleman Temple.
“Shuangjiang, wait outside with us,” Xiang Yan said.
“Fifth Martial Uncle doesn’t like crowds,” he explained.
Even during major holidays like the Mid-Autumn Festival or New Year’s Eve, they only visited him individually, never all at once.
If too many people entered, Zhong Ming would descend into madness.
In fact, when alone, he was often far calmer.
Thus, Chu Huaixu followed Jiang Zhi into the house.
As he entered, a fragrant aroma greeted him.
It was the scent of pastries.
An old man was making Ding-sheng Pastries.
However, his limbs were all shackled by black iron rings inscribed with obscure runes.
But these iron rings were not meant to imprison him—instead, they were meant to protect him, preventing him from harming himself during his episodes.
“Fifth Senior Brother, Little Junior Brother has come to see you,” Jiang Zhi said gently upon entering.
Chu Huaixu followed behind and looked at the old man.
Then, he bowed respectfully, regardless of whether the old man could comprehend—ritual courtesy must be observed.
“Disciple Chu Huaixu pays respects to Fifth Martial Ancestor.”
The old man glanced at them before burying his head back into his work.
Chu Huaixu softly asked, “Little Martial Uncle Ancestor, should we begin now?”
Jiang Zhi raised his hand to stop him and said, “Don’t disturb your Fifth Martial Ancestor just yet. He must finish making his Ding-sheng Pastries first.”
“Although there’s a Restriction in place here, once he enters a mad state, even a slight disturbance in spiritual energy could injure you.”
“Besides, he can’t handle any more agitation.”
Chu Huaixu nodded in understanding.
“Let’s sit and wait.”
“Once he finishes, we must eat everything.”
After quite some time, the Ding-sheng Pastries were finally ready.
The old man brought them over and placed them in front of Jiang Zhi and Chu Huaixu.
They looked appealing and smelled delightful.
The old man looked at them, seemingly waiting for them to taste.
Jiang Zhi picked one up skillfully and took a big bite, then began swallowing laboriously.
Chu Huaixu also picked up a piece, maintaining his manners, “Thank you, Fifth Martial Ancestor.”
Then, he took a small bite.
—It tasted absolutely horrible!
He had never eaten anything this disgusting!
Only then did Chu Huaixu understand why Jiang Zhi ate the way he did.
So, he followed suit and began devouring it quickly.
Just then, Little Martial Uncle Ancestor suddenly smiled.
He looked at Chu Huaixu with amusement and said, “You body trainers eat a lot, don’t you?”
“Little Martial Uncle Ancestor, don’t tell me—!” Chu Huaixu instantly guessed his intention.
Yet, for some reason, it seemed Jiang Zhi changed once inside this room.
He was no longer the peerless killer or the one pretending to hold all the cards—instead, he resembled a mischievous old man.
“How many servings did this batch of Ding-sheng Pastries make?” Chu Huaixu felt helpless.
Sure, body trainers ate a lot, but not just anything!
So, the elder and the youth kept eating with great effort, internally grumbling the whole time.
As Chu Huaixu neared the end, the pastries tasted so bad he almost threw up. He began to suggest:
“Little Martial Uncle Ancestor, although Fifth Martial Ancestor doesn’t like crowds, couldn’t the Sect Master and others come in two at a time? We could take turns eating.”
“With so many of us and so few pastries, we’d each only get a couple!”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi’s eyes lit up, and he looked Chu Huaixu up and down.
For some reason, today this extraordinarily handsome young man looked particularly pleasing—he had won his heart!
Little did he know Chu Huaixu was thinking: “Clearly, Jiang Zhi’s admiration for Zhong Ming is nothing compared to Little Xu’s for me.”
“If one day I went mad, Little Xu would definitely cry while eating all the Ding-sheng Pastries I made—no matter how bad they tasted, he’d never let anyone else have a bite!”
At this moment, Little Martial Uncle Ancestor glanced at the youth beside him, who wore a look of tragic suffering, and smiled, “Save your idea for next time. Today, eat more—perhaps Fifth Senior Brother will grow more fond of you.”
“Later, when you cast your spell, he may be more cooperative.”
Chu Huaixu: “…”
Resigned, he unleashed the full power of his Big Eater nature.
In a whirlwind of devouring, he finished all the Ding-sheng Pastries, looking like someone with a bizarre appetite.
Afterward, regardless of whether the mad Zhong Ming understood or not, he tried to draw closer, suppressing his urge to vomit, and praised, “Fifth Martial Ancestor’s pastries are truly delicious!”
Unexpectedly, Zhong Ming seemed to take a good first impression of Chu Huaixu, and was actually willing to respond.
Just like before, he only repeated the last few words of others, muttering over and over again: “Truly delicious… truly delicious…”
Chu Huaixu: “…”
Was this real madness or a prank?
Jiang Zhi then smiled and said, “Fifth Senior Brother, today, Chu Huaixu is here to check your condition. Please remain calm and don’t harm him.”
With that, he gave Chu Huaixu a signal.
Chu Huaixu nodded and raised his left hand.
In his palm, golden runes began to appear, and within those runes, the characters 【Southward Sunlight】 gleamed.
A scorching, blazing power surged toward Zhong Ming.
—All Evil Shuns!
Far away, at Clearbright Mountain.
Cheng Yuyan and Ming Xuanji were still seated, sipping tea.
He poured another cup of premium Spirit Tea for the old man in front of him, watching him continuously divine and calculate.
Scholar Cheng didn’t understand what meaning there was in living like this.
Of course, Ming Xuanji didn’t understand Cheng Yuyan either. What was so interesting about human hearts, or the act of toying with them?
But soon, the old man suddenly raised his head, a flash of urgency appearing in those empty eyes.
“Not good!”
“They’re trying to save that madman Zhong!”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yuyan’s expression changed dramatically.
“Zhong Ming?”
“There’s a way to save Zhong Ming now?”
But Ming Xuanji immediately pulled something from his Storage Ring, his face growing solemn.
“No! The madman Zhong must not be saved!”