Chapter 1728: Chapter 1730: Was There a Hint?
Feng Jun didn’t want to steal the spotlight, which Master Dameng was well aware of—when he was deducing at White Pebble Beach, he did it behind closed doors for his own amusement; of course, he didn’t want everyone to witness this scene.
As for revealing Zou Bufan just now, it could only be said to be an unintentional act of filling in the gaps, and indeed, Bufan’s background was somewhat sensitive. According to Feng Jun’s logic, it was necessary to clarify this person’s identity.
Master Dameng understood Feng Jun’s concerns and did not want Mountain Master Feng to think that he intended to praise him to death, so he arranged for two cultivators from the Ten Directions Platform to join in the deduction behind Elder Lü—it’s not only Feng Jun who can deduce; the Ten Directions Platform also has people!
To prevent any accidents, he specifically placed a Golden Core Level Defense Array Disk there to protect the three of them from any unexpected situations.
However, one of the cultivators from Ten Directions Platform refused, saying, "In front is Elder Lü, and on both sides are real masters from the Tianxin Platform and Pine Cypress Peak. If we still need a Golden Core Defense Array, then our courage is indeed too small, isn’t it?"
He was actually trying to curry favor with Elder Lü—when a disciple of this platform stands behind a Golden Core member of the sect, and still needs a defensive formation, what does that say? You can’t just look down on people like that.
Elder Lü was also quite satisfied in his heart, but he had to reprimand him, "Just speak for yourself, why offend Mountain Master Feng?"
The cultivator also felt that his words were somewhat inappropriate, hurriedly apologized, and even offered a Spirit Fruit as compensation, "A fruit that can help focus the mind during the Qi Refinement Realm, just a little token... If Mountain Master Feng has any juniors he favors, he can give it to them."
Being so quick to gift when words are at odds, the disciples of Ten Directions Platform are indeed wealthy.
Feng Jun accepted it without hesitation, smiling happily, "No worries, I also trust Elder Lü very much."
No way around it, with a family to support, the need for resources is immense.
Although Feng Jun occasionally fiddled with his mobile phone, he didn’t speak up; some people’s backgrounds reported weren’t so straightforward, but he let it slide with general accuracy—it’s fine if Ten Directions Platform’s registration is inaccurate; knowing the truth himself is what matters.
However, he was a bit curious about Master Lan He; the origin of this person might only be known to Master Banshan; others were unclear, even Tiantong couldn’t explain his background.
When Master Lan He came over to explain, he wore a depressed expression, clearly very unhappy, but no one took it seriously—being the second in command of the Hunting Alliance, encountering such matters and still being happy would be strange!
He explained his origin as a small village under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Star Marketplace. The village was once attacked by sea beasts, and while playing outside the village, he fortunately escaped the disaster, becoming the only survivor in the village.
As for who he studied under and what Cultivation Technique he learned, he found it inconvenient to say—for a cultivator, this is indeed taboo, and others shouldn’t inquire casually.
But this result really couldn’t satisfy Elder Lü, "With your whole village destroyed, how can that count as a background? In this situation, even if we don’t inquire about the Cultivation Technique you practice, you should at least clarify where your inheritance comes from, right?"
At this moment, a cultivator from Pine Cypress Peak behind Jin Dadao spoke up, "Elder Lü, I’ve heard about the Ebony Cliff Village being attacked by sea beasts before, and have even been to the site as well; it seems to have been caused by a Sub-Dragon Beast."
"I’m not saying the matter is false," Elder Lü replied casually, then asked, "What do you think, Mountain Master Feng?"
Feng Jun lifted his eyes from his mobile phone, speaking expressionlessly, "Oh, indeed from Ebony Cliff Village."
Elder Lü waited for a moment, then asked curiously, "And then?"
Feng Jun’s lips moved slightly, then he uttered two more words, "That’s all."
That’s all... that’s all? Elder Lü instinctively felt something was wrong, and his expression immediately changed slightly. Almost at the same moment, Master Lan He’s hand reached for the Storage Bag— no restriction was placed on him.
However, due to that previous incident with the Hou surname Sword Cultivator escaping, for real masters without restrictions, everyone was outwardly calm but inwardly tense. The Golden Core Master next to Elder Lü didn’t even think, and directly launched a Divine Sense Attack, incredibly fast!
Almost at the same moment, a black light flashed by with incredible speed, making a huge hole in Master Lan He’s chest.
Strangely, the black light flashed, and Feng Jun took out a head-sized stone, slightly shaking it towards Master Lan He.
Master Lan He wore an extremely strange expression, with confusion, bewilderment, disbelief, and also included unwillingness, anger, surprise, fear... and even a hint of relief.
With another flash of white light, Master Lan He’s head fell to the ground. Elder Lü raised his hand and captured it, putting it into the Storage Bag, letting out a sigh of relief, "Finally managed to snatch one..."
"Lan He!" came a shout from afar, as Master Banshan finally realized what had happened. It wasn’t his fault; everything happened so quickly that by the time Feng Jun’s "that’s all" took less than two seconds, Lan He’s head was already collected.
The three real masters took action with unanticipated deftness, leaving anyone to have to kneel.
When Master Banshan came to his senses, he was immediately enraged, drawing out his heavy mace directly, "I’ll deal with you..."
The Da Meng Executor, with his honorable identity, was not at the review scene, but wasn’t too far away either. He reacted quickly, pulling out the Yin Yang Banner and shaking it towards Master Banshan with full force, "Fellow Daoist, calm down!"
Master Banshan’s qi and blood were vigorous; he had previously taken a hit from the Yin Yang Banner without any effect. However, that time it was a hasty group attack, and this time it was a solo strike with enhanced power.
Of course, this attack didn’t cause any damage to Master Banshan, but the qi and blood above his head were somewhat restrained, making him a bit calmer— the Yin Yang Banner was really not an offensive treasure, merely a utility one.
He was stunned for a moment, staring fiercely at Master Wenji, his eyes nearly bursting, and he gritted his teeth to spit out three words, "Why?"
That black beam was the Slaughter-Heart Sword sent out by Master Wenji, so domineering that it directly penetrated the heart.
Master Wenji glanced at him, raised his hand to summon back the small black sword, wiped it across his brow, and faintly said two words, "Demon cultivation."
Originally, Master Banshan was furious, barely holding onto a shred of rationality. After hearing this, his whole body shook violently, as if doused with a bucket of cold water on a hot day, and he instantly sobered up.
He shivered again, the muscles on his face involuntarily twitching a couple of times, before he struggled to speak, "This... how could it be?"
"Alas," Master Wenji sighed softly, speaking leisurely, "I’ve been watching him for twenty years; there’s no mistake."
Master Dameng also coughed lightly, "Fellow Daoist Banshan, the ’Burning Blood Needle’ you cultivated, didn’t it originate from the same place as Master Lan He?"
Master Banshan was momentarily stunned, before finally responding after a while, "Burning Blood Needle... it’s not a demon cultivation technique, is it?"
"The Burning Blood Needle isn’t a demon cultivation technique," replied Yan Yufeng of Pine Cypress Peak, "but this technique did originate from demon cultivations. They used other people’s blood essence for cultivation, which was quite cost-effective... Later, it was adapted so that ordinary cultivators could use it."
Master Banshan was stunned once again, before sighing, "Indeed, it was he who found this technique and gave it to me because he said he couldn’t practice it himself... I am not a demon cultivator!"
It was at this moment that Master Chang spoke up, expressing with sorrow, "I couldn’t testify against him either, because... alas, I could only engage him in a deadly battle."
At this moment, everyone else understood that Master Chang definitely had a close relative who suffered unspeakable harm, but just thinking about it made it clear that accusing the Deputy Leader of the Hunting Alliance as a demon cultivator without evidence—anyone with a bit of intelligence wouldn’t be able to testify against him, right?
Indeed, demon cultivators are universally condemned, but if you want to accuse someone, you need evidence. Otherwise, how can others help you?
Master Banshan thoroughly understood this matter; though he still felt a bit uncomfortable inside, a cultivator’s nerves are significantly tougher than ordinary people’s, and his will is strong enough.
So he turned to Master Wenji again, speaking solemnly, "Since there’s evidence, why not inform me earlier?"
I, Taiqing, have my own considerations! Master Wenji knew very well in his heart that Master Lan He was definitely a demon cultivator, but the timing of making it public, the process of making it public, and how much benefit Taiqing could gain from it—those were the key.
In his mind, Taiqing’s interests were paramount, everything else had to take a back seat. Ideally, Taiqing could use this to seize the entire Hunting Alliance—your alliance contains a demon cultivator; purging them as a whole isn’t excessive, is it?
Of course, timing was crucial, which is why he had been holding back. As for those harmed by the demon cultivators—after all, it wasn’t Taiqing’s people who died, so whoever died was just unlucky.
It wasn’t until just now that he felt Feng Jun had already seen through the opponent before decisively taking lethal action.
In this way, the credit for the purge naturally went to Taiqing, and it also avoided others making fun of him—being undercover for decades and still not spotting a demon cultivator? Phew, is this even a Golden Core of Taiqing?
Actually, there was more than one person who thought like this. Master Jin could not help but sigh, "Mountain Master Feng’s deduction is truly formidable, not only deducing the presence of a demon cultivator but also timely making hints, indeed extraordinary."
Sitting on the other side of Elder Lu, Master Ling Yun was dumbfounded, "Huh? Hints... were there hints?"
"Of course, there were," Elder Lu replied proudly, "didn’t he mention at the end ’nothing more’? How could there be nothing more? What he could deduce can’t just be the news about Ebony Cliff Village—things like lineage should have been mentioned, otherwise, isn’t there an issue?"
Feng Jun could only respond with a wry smile. I indeed deduced he was a demon cultivator, but things like lineage, I really couldn’t deduce. I was just afraid he’d suddenly lash out, and the two masters beside me weren’t prepared, and who would take responsibility if they got hurt?
Indeed, the key was that the two nobles beside him might be dragged down, otherwise, he could have pointed out the demon cultivator’s identity.
He expressed helplessly, "I really didn’t deduce that much, I just felt this person was a bit dangerous... Please don’t overinterpret."
Elder Lu turned his head to look at him deeply, then nodded, "Understood, I get it."
"See, I knew you were guessing," Master Ling Yun commented on the side, "acting like you understand everything, but actually understanding nothing, realizing things only after the fact... others had already acted, you just wanted to claim the final blow on a Golden Core, seizing an opportunity for deduction."
(It’s late in the month; has anyone noticed the new monthly ticket?)
