Chapter 273: Chapter 7: Calm Handling
At the Mountain Peak Dojo, Yu Cheng Taoist stood at the edge of a cliff in the garden. He gazed down at the town, which had now stabilized, and at the disciples busy with disaster relief. A flash of pity crossed his face before he let out a long breath and turned away.
He turned his head to look at the surrounding mountain peaks. Atop each one sat a Second Realm Cultivator whose power was no less than his own. Far away on the horizon, the barrier and monitoring light screen that covered all of Nanlin Road were faintly visible.
This scene reminded Yu Cheng Taoist of a particular phrase...
Overwhelming power!
And the one who had brought all this about was his own Direct Disciple, Changqing. This gratified him, but it also felt somewhat surreal, for it had all happened too quickly.
It also made him recall what Qianmu Temple was like when his master and senior brother were still alive.
Yu Cheng Taoist quickly suppressed these unnecessary thoughts, composed himself, and withdrew his gaze. He looked toward a small courtyard deep within the garden where Wang Ping and Zi Luan were now sitting and speaking in low voices. He had been in the courtyard himself but had offered to go for a walk after hearing only a few words.
He felt that the best way he could help Wang Ping right now was not by helping him make a decision, but by advising him on the specific details after a decision had been made.
「In the small courtyard.」
Zuo Xuan stood respectfully beside the Stone Table, listening. Shen Xiaozhu stood by Wang Ping’s side, ready to pour tea for him and Zi Luan at any moment. Beside her, a black Spirit Cat was playing carefreely with Zuo Xuan’s Calico Cat, and Yu Lian would occasionally tease the black cat with her tail.
Wang Ping had already calmed down after seeing that his master, Yu Cheng Taoist, and his Direct Disciples were unharmed. But he had to maintain the proper attitude, and what needed to be done had to be done.
"If we bring this matter out into the open, our position will be a bit weak."
Zi Luan offered his suggestion. "After the reconnaissance team finishes reading all of the attacker’s memories, whether the truth points to Wulang or not, we must pin this on ’First Day’."
Wang Ping picked up his teacup, his gaze fixed on the faint streams of light in the sky emitted by the monitoring array. ’Zi Luan means we should treat Wulang and his followers across the land as ’First Day’ Evil Cultivators and purge them.’
’It’s a vicious move. The Daoist Scripture Hall has information on most of Wulang’s followers. If we cast the net, we’d be taking down at least three Second Realm Cultivators and a double-digit number of Entering Cultivators. Add to that the prominent families and local Qi Cultivators who depend on them... the number of people executed would be in the tens of thousands!’
Seeing Wang Ping considering the matter, Zi Luan added, "Some of Wulang’s disciples have already cultivated a Spirit Body. Their physical bodies are the best materials for crafting puppets."
At these words, Zuo Xuan’s hands began to tremble slightly where she stood, and Shen Xiaozhu lowered her head even further.
Noticing Wang Ping’s astonished expression, Zi Luan continued, "If your conscience can’t accept this, you can always sell them. A single Spiritual Body goes for at least three million taels of silver. There are plenty of Cultivators in the Taiyin Sect willing to pay a high price."
Wang Ping picked up his teacup, glanced at Zi Luan, and then took a sip of tea. Holding the cup, he issued his command to Zuo Xuan. "All Cultivators at the Entering Realm and above are to undergo memory-splitting. Exile the Qi Cultivators to the north. As for the ordinary mortals involved... demote all the men to serfs and sell them to the landlords of the Three Shangjing Roads. The women... you can deal with them as you see fit."
"Yes!"
Zuo Xuan agreed without hesitation. She saw nothing wrong with these orders.
"Go and see to it. Also, tell the nearby Fellow Daoists they can disperse," Wang Ping said with a wave of his hand.
"Yes!"
Zuo Xuan bowed respectfully, then turned into a streak of light and departed with her Calico Cat.
Having lost its playmate, the black cat let out a "MEOW," looked around, and then leaped onto Shen Xiaozhu. It immediately burrowed into her clothes. All by itself, the cat didn’t dare play with Yu Lian.
After hearing Wang Ping’s plan, Zi Luan picked up his teacup and advised, "This place of yours is all well and good, but it’s too close to mortals. That’s fine in times of peace, but once the world descends into chaos and Cultivators everywhere are running rampant, incidents like today’s might become a common occurrence. You should take this opportunity to create some separation between your sect and the mortal world."
"That was an oversight on my part."
"You have some connection to the Earth Cave Sect, don’t you? Ask them to help reshape the surrounding mountains and rivers. It would take them no more than half a month."
"Mm."
This time, Qianmu Temple’s front halls were almost completely destroyed, and barely one in ten of the outer sect disciples survived. However, the temple’s foundation was not harmed. The courtyards of the Inner Sect were almost entirely unscathed, which was a blessing amidst the misfortune.
"Junior Brother Xiu Yu will likely offer shelter to Wulang’s followers. And his senior sister, Qingjiang, won’t sit by and do nothing, either. She’s trouble—very influential over on Mozhou Road. And to top it all off, Mozhou Road is currently in Ren Kong’s hands..."
"Wait a minute... we could actually use this. If it comes to it, we can have a go at Ren Kong. It’ll be a good chance to see how the True Yang Sect responds."
In this regard, Zi Luan’s thinking was far more astute than Wang Ping’s. As he spoke these words, his human-like thought processes were exceptionally vivid—this was likely a method he used to preserve his human memories.
He then looked at Wang Ping. "Of course, it all depends on what you want to do."
Wang Ping met his gaze, deliberately remaining silent for a few breaths before speaking. "Let’s wait for the report from Fellow Daoist Zuo Xuan first."
"Very well."
"Then I’ll take my leave. By the way, don’t miss the Third Seat’s meeting later. Once those two old geezers, Wu Quan and Ganxing, get wind of what happened here, they’ll definitely try to make an issue out of it before the meeting officially begins."
"Mm."
...
After Zi Luan left, Yu Cheng Taoist reentered the small courtyard. Master and disciple spoke for a short while, after which Wang Ping called in Zhao Wan, who had been waiting for a long time.
