txolops Chapter 124 Decision
Chapter 124 Decision
Inside Li Ping's cave.
Inside the pavilion, Li Ping, Wu Feng, and a cultivator dressed in a snow-white robe, who looked like a vigorous old man, sat together.
The three chatted idly, and before they knew it, they were talking about the Meng family opening the Hu Feng Cave.
Wu Feng's expression was strange as he sighed, "I wonder what exactly was written in the jade slip left by Fellow Daoist Hu Feng that caused Fellow Daoist Meng to lose his composure like this."
Just now, right under the watchful eyes of all the artisans.
The Meng family patriarch examined the jade slip left behind by Hu Feng, but in an instant, his expression changed drastically. After putting away the jade slip and apologizing to the craftsmen, he hurriedly left.
The artisans were left standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Gossiping is human nature, and even cultivators are no exception.
Given the strange behavior of the Meng family patriarch, it's understandable that Wu Feng was puzzled.
"Fellow Daoist Li, you and Hu Feng are neighbors and have always been quite close. Do you know the inside story?" The speaker was the vigorous old man.
The vigorous old man was named Ning Wuxu. His cultivation had reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and he was a second-tier low-grade array master.
Li Ping certainly knew what was written on the jade slip left by Hu Feng; in fact, he had personally added some of the content to it.
But how could he possibly tell the rest of the people involved, given that it involved Dai Sangyu, the acting leader of the Immortal City?
If Dai Sangyu found out that he was the one who did the bad thing, given her temper, she might just chop him up.
This is not what he wants to see; he doesn't want to get involved himself.
He only wished to remain behind the scenes, keeping his achievements and fame hidden.
Thinking of this, Li Ping glanced at the two curious people and shook his head helplessly: "I don't know. In fact, I'm just as curious about the contents of that jade slip as you two are."
Both of them nodded in response to Li Ping's words, without saying anything more.
Actually, they were just asking casually. When the Meng family opened Hu Feng's cave, they clearly saw the transmission talismans from Li Ping.
They knew perfectly well that Li Ping was unaware of Hu Feng's affairs.
"I thought they were very close, but it turns out they're just friends on the surface." Both of them thought to themselves.
After chatting for a while, Wu Feng and Ning Wuxu took their leave, leaving Li Ping alone in the pavilion.
He looked calmly toward Qinglong Mountain, seemingly able to see the gray-robed swordsman sitting cross-legged there. Then, his gaze shifted toward the Meng family's ancestral land: "Meng family, I have offered up the sword. What will you choose now?"
If the Meng family, intimidated by Dai Sangyu's power and status, dares not make the matter of the jade slip public...
He would not hesitate to disguise himself as a cultivator surnamed Li and sell the copied jade slips to Jade Cliff Palace and Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
As an agency of the Ziyun Sect, the Sword Washing Pool, and other Core Formation sects, they should not mind watching the infighting within the Immortal City become a laughing stock.
……
Just as Li Ping was pondering.
In the council hall of the Meng family's ancestral home, the Meng family patriarch sat at the head of the table, his expression constantly shifting.
The entire hall was silent, except for the rhythmic tapping of his fingers on the table from time to time.
The jade slip that had thrown him into such turmoil lay quietly on the table.
Before long, a Foundation Establishment cultivator dressed in black robes walked in. He asked in confusion, "Ancestor, why did you summon us so urgently? What happened?"
According to the rules of the cultivation world, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he should address the Meng family patriarch, who is also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, as a fellow Daoist.
However, among the cultivators of the clan, blood is thicker than water, and they address each other according to their seniority.
As the oldest member of the Meng family, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators all treated the ancestor with utmost respect.
"Sit down first and wait for Qingyi and the others to come over." The Meng family patriarch did not explain anything, but instead asked him to sit down.
Although he was full of doubts, the patriarch was always a man of his word in the family, so the black-robed cultivator did not refute his idea. Instead, he found a seat near the patriarch of the Meng family and sat down.
Before long, two more Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived, one of whom was Meng Qingyi, whom Li Ping was familiar with.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the Meng family patriarch didn't waste any words. He used his magic to make the jade slips on the table float in front of them, allowing them to check them one by one.
At the same time, he also briefly described the origin of this jade slip.
Soon, the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Meng family finished reading the contents of the jade slip. They were all shocked, but their reactions were completely different.
Meng Qing also looked solemn, while the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators were quite excited.
One of the Foundation Establishment cultivators asked excitedly, "Ancestor, is the content of this jade slip true?"
Upon hearing the question, the Meng family patriarch shook his head: "Fellow Daoist Hu Feng may have already left the Immortal City, and I am not sure whether what is recorded in this jade slip he left behind is true or false."
"Tampering with the pills refined by Wang Li, stealing the third-tier inheritance from the Secret Technique Pavilion and giving it to outsiders..." The black-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator was delighted: "Tsk tsk... Ye Chen's mistakes are far more serious than the Wang family's swindling of spirit stones from rogue cultivators."
Meng Qingyi spoke up at this moment, her eyes filled with worry: "Ancestor, the Immortal City has only recently survived the beast tide, and now the Wang Li incident has occurred. It was only with great difficulty that things have stabilized. If this matter is limited to Ye Chen, it's fine, but if it involves Senior Brother Xiong Pohai and Senior Sister Dai Sangyu... I'm afraid it will cause turmoil in the Immortal City, which is not good for my Meng family either."
"Sister Qingyi, you're overthinking it," the black-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator retorted. "So what if it's involved? As for the Immortal City, as long as a True Person is in charge, how much turmoil can it cause?"
Meng Qing also shook his head: "Given Senior Sister Dai's personality, I don't believe she would do such a sinister thing."
"As the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not their heart..." the black-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator immediately spoke up.
But before he could finish speaking, the Meng family patriarch interrupted him, saying, "Stop arguing. The most important thing right now is to determine the authenticity of this jade slip."
The black-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator nodded and analyzed, "Since Hu Feng has already left the Immortal City, the only way to confirm the truth of the matter is to ask Wang Li and the Wang family member who failed to establish his foundation using two Foundation Establishment Pills."
The Meng family patriarch nodded: "Yes, Qingyun, you'll be in charge of this matter! Go find that kid and find out about the Foundation Establishment Pill."
Meng Qingyi was about to speak when she met the patriarch's piercing gaze: "Qingyi, if it is found that the contents of this jade slip are true and Dai Sangyu is also involved, then I will definitely join forces with other families to report to the True Person and seize her position as acting sect leader. Then we will work together to push you to the top!"
"I... sigh, I will obey the ancestor's orders." Meng Qing sighed, but ultimately said nothing.
She didn't want the situation in the Immortal City to become turbulent, but if the Ancestor and the others had made their decisions, and she couldn't change them, she also couldn't hold them back.
After all, it was her family that raised her.
"I hope the contents of the jade slip are fake," she thought to herself.
……
The trials conducted by cultivators are naturally not as complicated as those conducted by mortals. Soul searching, mind control, and many other methods can be used to make cultivators reveal the truth.
However, the Meng family patriarch dared not present the jade slip to True Person Fenglan so easily.
After all, the three people mentioned in the jade slip—Dai Sangyu, Xiong Pohai, and Ye Chen—are all disciples of True Persons and Foundation Establishment cultivators!
Among them, Dai Sangyu has already reached the threshold of Core Formation, making him the second most powerful cultivator in the Immortal City.
If he presents the jade slip, the true man, after becoming infatuated with them, will discover that the contents of the jade slip are fake.
When the time comes, he will be the one to bear the brunt of the real person's wrath.
False accusation, especially when the targets are the three disciples of the True Man, could very well lead to the True Man crippling his cultivation.
We must first verify the authenticity of the jade slip's contents before taking any further action!
At this moment, faced with the opportunity to bring down Dai Sangyu, the Meng family patriarch did not lose his head; on the contrary, he remained remarkably calm.
……
After accepting the patriarch's orders, Meng Qingyun happily went to the Wang family to explain his purpose.
But soon, he received a message that infuriated him: "What? You don't know where Wang Xingwei is?"
Seeing his anger, the old man Wang Quyan quickly explained, "After he failed to establish his foundation, I arranged for him to be the manager of the Fishing Village's Spirit Herb Garden. Later, because of the incident involving our ancestor, all the cultivators of my Wang family were dismissed from their positions in the Immortal City. He has not returned home, and I don't know where he went."
Meng Qingyun stared at him with exasperation: "What kind of clan leader are you? You don't even know how to look for your clansmen when they go missing!"
Wang Quyan remained silent. Although he didn't say anything on the surface, he was quite resentful about Wang Xingwei wasting two Foundation Establishment Pills.
Therefore, he has intentionally or unintentionally ignored Wang Xingwei's existence over the years.
……
"Fishing Village Herb Garden!"
After receiving the clue, Meng Qingyun rushed to the Spirit Herb Garden to inquire about the information.
After some questioning, he finally found Cheng Yao.
Cheng Yao thought he had come to take Wang Xingwei home, so she quickly took him to her rented courtyard, hoping he could take Wang Xingwei away.
When Meng Qingyun learned from Cheng Yao that Wang Xingwei had suddenly fainted during the beast tide and had never woken up since, and that neither the physicians nor the musicians knew the reason, he couldn't help but frown.
"Let me check him out."
After saying that, he walked to the bedside, grabbed Wang Xingwei's arm with one hand, and used his Foundation Establishment stage magic power to probe into his body to examine him carefully.
Half an hour later, he stood up, his face looking quite grim.
Because Wang Xingwei was perfectly healthy and had no problems whatsoever, it looked as if he was faking fainting.
"Slap!" "Slap!"
Meng Qingyun stretched out one hand and slapped Wang Xingwei twice.
Two visible handprints appeared on Wang Xingwei's cheeks, but he showed no signs of waking up.
"I'm not faking it." Meng Qingyun sensed something was wrong.
In the following days, through his connections with the Meng family, he invited several high-ranking doctors, pharmacists, and musicians to treat Wang Xingwei, but all of them returned empty-handed.
Left with no other choice, he had to give up and go home to tell his ancestor about it.
……
After the commotion subsided, the room returned to calm, and the young man lay on the bed.