I Am the True Lord of Running Away

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Let Me Ask You a Question

Gongsun Ping’s words left everyone in the reinforcement squad speechless.

Although they were adults, their minds were still immature.

Most Immortal Cultivators spent their days in meditation and Cultivation. They lived as recluses with little experience in the mortal world, and thus hadn’t had the chance to form their own worldviews, philosophies, or values.

In their minds, Demon Cultivators were evil and the Profound Origin Sect was good. The two were as distinct as black and white and could never be confused.

But after hearing what Gongsun Ping had to say, they were shaken.

If what Gongsun Ping said was true, then weren’t all his actions just for self-preservation?

Was he wrong?

If Gongsun Ping wasn’t wrong, then who was truly to blame for the current situation?

While the members of the reinforcement squad were deep in thought, Jiang Xu had no reaction to his words.

To Jiang Xu, the "facts" Gongsun Ping presented were perfectly logical.

Gongsun Ping held a high position and had reached Qi Cultivation Great Perfection. While the Foundation Establishment Realm Clan Leader was still alive, Gongsun Ping’s presence was of no great consequence; he even had a good relationship with the Clan Leader.

But as the old Clan Leader’s lifespan neared its end, he had to pave the way for the Young Clan Leader’s successful succession, clearing away all thorns.

Even if those thorns were merely phantoms of his imagination.

But as long as there was any risk, it had to be eliminated.

Gongsun Ping’s status was already so high it overshadowed his master. On top of that, he still had a chance at Foundation Establishment. If he succeeded, the so-called Young Clan Leader wouldn’t even qualify to be a puppet—he’d be totally screwed.

As for the matter with the Profound Origin Sect, that was even more absurd.

How could there be such a good thing as getting benefits for free?

You offer up resources, and the Profound Origin Sect provides you with protection. They let you operate under their name, and the surrounding Loose Cultivators and disciples from other Sects will give you face, saving you from a lot of trouble.

And if you get into trouble, the Profound Origin Sect will even send disciples to investigate and offer aid.

This was all a clear and equal exchange.

If you’re not happy with it, you can just choose not to pay. It’s not like the Profound Origin Sect forced you, did they?

You want all the benefits without paying any of the price.

Where in the world does such a sweet deal exist?

So, Jiang Xu completely ignored Gongsun Ping’s bullshit and secretly began studying how to break free from the thick smoke.

The dense smoke was like chains, binding them all and making it impossible to struggle free. Jiang Xu was also trapped within it.

Although he had been on guard from the start, he was unfortunately being watched by Qian Jianjun. He couldn’t just pull a disappearing act, or Qian Jianjun would surely notice something was amiss. If that happened, escape would become much more difficult.

Jiang Xu activated his Spiritual Eye Technique and discovered that the smoke was actually formed from Demonic Qi. It seemed to be the product of some combination of Magic and a Magical Artifact.

He pondered for a moment. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He used the Concealing Breath Spell, then caused a faint golden light to appear at his fingertip.

’It works!’

As soon as the smoke encountered the golden light, some of it immediately dissolved.

Jiang Xu didn’t continue.

He knew that Qian Jianjun was still watching them from the side.

This small movement wouldn’t be noticed, but if he did anything more significant, Qian Jianjun would likely sense it.

’As expected, the Golden Light Spell can suppress Demonic Qi, so naturally, it can also counter products formed from it.’

Knowing he could escape the smoke’s blockade at any time, Jiang Xu finally relaxed. He calmly watched to see how the situation would unfold.

After that, Gongsun Ping began what Jiang Xu considered a rather childish debate with the members of the reinforcement squad.

The gist of it was that neither the Profound Origin Sect nor the Gongsun Clan were any good; both exploited the common people.

So why couldn’t Demon Cultivators, who also exploited people, be accepted?

The disciples of the reinforcement squad naturally refuted his claims.

They argued that Demon Cultivators killed too many people, while the Profound Origin Sect provided a great deal of help to other Cultivators, and so on.

Then Gongsun Ping began his sophistry. He claimed that the Demon Cultivators were only slaughtering people now because they had no other choice. It was because the Righteous Cultivators were resisting. If they didn’t resist and just obediently moved away, the Demon Cultivators wouldn’t have to keep killing people—because if they did, they would die too.

Therefore, the blame for everything lay with them for not moving away quietly. They were the ones who had started all the trouble.

He also claimed that long ago, the Demon Dao and the Righteous Dao lived together in Dinghai State. It was the Righteous Dao that had expelled them, so their current predicament was entirely their own fault, and so on.

Of course, Gongsun Ping didn’t state it so bluntly. Everything he said was mixed with extremely clever rhetoric, and without careful discernment, it was impossible to see through his logic.

This left the disciples of the reinforcement squad utterly confused. Some even began to question their entire existence, thinking that perhaps their side really had caused this whole affair from the very beginning.

After this brief brainwashing session, Gongsun Ping seemed to think he was making progress. He ordered his subordinates to take Jiang Xu and the others away, apparently intending to brainwash a few more turncoats.

It was only then that Qian Jianjun could no longer hold back. He slowly emerged from his hiding place.

"You! Who are you!" Gongsun Ping was horrified. He never imagined someone else was here, someone he hadn’t detected. "Get him! Use the Five Demons Lock Spirit Technique!"

From the bodies of the dozen or so Demon Cultivators, hundreds of streams of demonic smoke instantly erupted, shooting straight toward Qian Jianjun.

"Hmph. Petty tricks."

Qian Jianjun stood his ground without moving. A long staff simply materialized around him.

The staff swung through the air, scattering all the demonic smoke on the spot.

"A... a Foundation Establishment Elder!"

Gongsun Ping’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Didn’t you say no Foundation Establishment Elders were coming?! And you call yourselves a renowned Righteous Sect! To think you’d lie so shamelessly!"

Qian Jianjun’s expression didn’t change.

"Weren’t you just going on about how the Profound Origin Sect is so sanctimonious, unpardonably evil, and guilty of crimes that death cannot absolve? How is telling a little lie now suddenly out of character for the Profound Origin Sect? So, should we be good or bad? Which is it?"

"This..." Cold sweat dripped down Gongsun Ping’s back. Answering such a question was the last thing on his mind.

Faced with a Foundation Establishment Elder, how to escape—that was the urgent question he now needed to answer.

"I’m going to ask you a question, and you must answer truthfully. If you tell the truth, I might consider letting you go. But if you lie, don’t blame me for being merciless," Qian Jianjun said coolly.

"You... you may ask," Gongsun Ping could only brace himself and agree.

"You said earlier that you had no intention of seizing power. I want to ask you, is that really true? If not, how did you know the Clan Leader was planning to move against you?"

"..."

Gongsun Ping was speechless. He stammered for a long time before finally steeling himself and telling the truth.

"How could I not? For this day, I endured serving under that old bastard for who knows how many years! But that old bastard still refused to pass the position of Clan Leader to me!"

"If he had just passed the position to me, I would have had enough power to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill and advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm! Then I could have brought the Gongsun Clan to new heights! For that, what’s a little bit of the clan’s assets? As long as I could get a Foundation Establishment Pill, I would’ve sold it all without a second thought..."