The contents of the bag were all Xia Fuli's private belongings; Shi Chun wasn't sure if the misuse of some of the items would cause trouble, so he told Wu Jinliang to weigh the decision himself.

After preparing, the two men carried Xia Fuli's corpse and left.

After a hefty search, they finally found a giant hole in the forest from above.

Upon landing at the bottom of the hole on Wind Scales, the lighting was dim, and just as Shi Chun was about to activate his superpower in his right eye, he heard Feng Chi's voice calling, "Over here."

The two men turned their heads and saw Feng Chi waving at them from a dark corner, and they hopped over.

After meeting up, Feng Chi whispered, "Don't be afraid; whatever the situation is, it's just the situation, you won't be easily harmed."

The brothers were startled. What did this mean?

At the least, they were aware that there were others present.

Shi Chun quickly asked quietly, "How's Bian Que?"

Feng Chi said, "Bian Que, Bian Jixiong, and Bian Weikang have all been taken care of." Then she waved her hand, signaling them to speak no further, and follow her.

Shi Chun secretly breathed a sigh of relief; this would make things a lot easier.

He also couldn't help but exchange a glance with Wu Jinliang, both feeling a sense of lament; they hadn't expected the Demon Path to move so fast and to have already accomplished their goal.

Feng Chi led them into a cave, where the light of Sandalwood Gold illuminated the interior, and both Xiang Laner and the person in green were there.

Regarding this person in green, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were inwardly apprehensive; they had witnessed his strength firsthand. His presence here meant that Bian Que was indeed finished.

Shi Chun already knew the identity of the man in green—within the hurried information Xia Fuli gave before his death, there was mention of this person, a famous figure in the Cultivation World.

The man in green ignored Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, pointed directly at Xia Fuli's corpse, signaling for them to put it down.

Wu Jinliang hurriedly complied, setting it down on the uneven and slightly damp ground.

After examining the body and ensuring that Xia Fuli was beyond saving, the man in green stood up slowly with an ugly expression and muttered to himself, "Why is he dead; this is a big problem…"

This statement made everyone present look at him with some surprise—this reaction suggested that Xia Fuli was not so simple, for such words to come from a master of the Earth Immortal Realm.

Shi Chun said, "I really did my best; his injuries were simply too severe. If I had known that elder could overcome, I shouldn't have taken extra measures at that time, and left it to elder to save him, perhaps there would still be hope for revival."

The man in green didn't care for the flattery; he had already examined the body, and it was more than just seriously injured—the heart was damaged. Without the Spiritual Medicine that could revive the dead, he was certainly doomed. Even if the man in green were to try saving him, the outcome would be the same. He retorted, "When they contacted you, why didn't you respond in time?"

Shi Chun glanced at Feng Chi, "I didn't dare to reply. When I was fleeing, even elder, you were immobilized and getting hit. Afterwards, I didn't know your condition, and if you fell into Bian Que's hands, how could I dare to respond to your message lightly? If it were you, you'd also be cautious."

To this, both Feng Chi and Xiang Laner could understand—this guy was indeed very cautious. If not for his caution, both of them might have not survived this time.

The man in green had some understanding of this, for he had already heard from the two about the situation. Just because "Nightingale" had asked where they were, he deemed it unsafe and decided to lay low; indeed, he was quite cautious.

But facts proved that his caution was indeed not misplaced; otherwise, the few people present might have been wiped out in one go.

Yet there was still a degree of suspicion; he asked Shi Chun, "How do you think Bian Que managed to find the meeting place you guys set?"

"How would I know?" said Shi Chun, pausing in surprise and then adding skeptically, "Elder, you don't think I informed Bian Que, do you? I've never seen him, nor had the chance to even get close. How Bian Que found the place, I really have no idea."

The Demon Path didn't know that the unkempt old man was Bian Que, so he had nothing to fear in denying it.

The man in green rephrased his question, "I'm just asking you to help analyze why Bian Que could find that place?"

Shi Chun said, "Elder, do you even need to analyze it? Isn't it obvious?"

The man in green's spirits lifted; a problem he couldn't solve seemed to have an answer from another, and he quickly asked, "How so?"

Shi Chun looked towards Feng Chi and Xiang Laner, "You didn't tell elder?"

Both shook their heads slightly, and Feng Chi self-critically said, "We really couldn't figure it out and would like to hear your insight."

Shi Chun said in disbelief, "What insight? It's clear to the naked eye that it was someone following Elder Xia; why would we need any more insights? Are you kidding me?"

"…" Feng Chi and Xiang Laner were speechless on the spot; upon reflection, it seemed that was exactly the case.

Seeing their reaction, the man in green also realized; a simple matter seemed to have been complicated by their conspiracy theories.

Previously, they hadn't dared to confirm if Shi Chun was involved, but the reason was also easily explained—if Shi Chun really had a hand in it, he must have had some motivation, some desired outcome, right?

The cause, consequences, and process were none of Shi Chun's necessity to undertake.

And eliminating the Bian family's three generations was originally Shi Chun's plan, suspecting him would seem quite unreasonable.

Now, it indeed proved that they were overthinking it.

Shi Chun continued, "As for why I followed Elder Xia here, to put it unpleasantly, we were utterly clueless about anything and had to ask you whether there was any oversight in the process. At the time, we were nearly scared to death."

The man in green's gaze returned to Xia Fuli, frowning slightly he asked, "What about the things on him?" His eyes lifted toward Shi Chun.

Shi Chun, "What things?"

The man in green, "Things like his Qiankun Bag."

Shi Chun, "Senior, don't wrongly accuse me. When I rescued him from the top of Gure Mountain, he was already in this disheveled state, under the watch of so many eyes."

Feng Chi spoke out in affirmation, "That's right. When Shi Chun rescued him, I saw it with my own eyes. Xia Fuli indeed had nothing extra on him." She pointed to Xia Fuli's disheveled and torn clothes, "Could it be that those were knocked off by Bian Que during the fight?"

Xiang Laner looked at her somewhat surprised, not expecting her to be so attentive to such details—from quite a distance and amidst the chaos nonetheless.

Little did they know, Feng Chi had not actually noticed such details and was purely speaking in support of Shi Chun.

Shi Chun was also somewhat surprised; judging by her words alone, he could confirm that this woman was speaking on his behalf. If she had truly seen it, she would have known that Xia Fuli did have belongings on him when he was taken away.

Considering the woman's repeated helpful actions, he began to grow alert internally. Could it be that this woman had actually taken a liking to me?

Not just him, Wu Jinliang had also come to the same realization.

The man in green fell silent, recalling the moment he had ascended Gure Mountain's peak. He had glanced at Xia Fuli then, but it was only a quick look, and now he couldn't remember the specifics of Xia Fuli's attire. He only knew that Xia Fuli had items on him when they had parted ways.

Looking again at Xia Fuli's torn clothes, it was indeed possible as Feng Chi had said.

The main thing was, it no longer mattered. Whether Shi Chun took advantage or not, by this point in time, Shi Chun's value surpassed that of the bag.

Regardless of whether Shi Chun took anything, the Demon Path would still want to use Shi Chun.

And this was also why Feng Chi, upon their arrival, had subtly reassured Shi Chun to not be afraid—that was where her confidence stemmed from. She knew that with the death of the Bian grandfather and grandchildren, Shi Chun's value was restored.

The man in green shifted his gaze from the torn clothes back to Xia Fuli's face, letting out a light sigh, "He's dead, it's going to be difficult to explain..."

Seeing him repeatedly troubled by this one point, and it not seeming like his level or style of conduct, at least not a match for Xia Fuli, Xiang Laner tentatively asked, "The incident was unexpected. Nobody saw it coming. Do you need me to explain it to the Sect Master?"

The man in green shook his head slightly and also waved his hand lightly, no need, because the few people present didn't understand the complications Xia Fuli's death brought.

Xia Fuli was a key witness in an affair with Yin Huixin, with some matters best known to him. Without this evidence, to blackmail Yin Huixin and her daughter, to drag them down, they would only be left with verbal threats.

To randomly accuse anyone of an affair without proof, how could anyone believe it?

In a nutshell, without evidence, the threat lost its force and became prone to accidents.

The situation required Xia Fuli himself to act as a threat to be more intimidating.

"You've been close to Bian Weiyin. You said earlier that you were going to try to persuade her to join our side. Do you still have confidence in doing so?" the man in green suddenly asked Shi Chun. He wanted another way to fix any leaks.

Shi Chun was taken aback, the other party's sudden reversal of stance allowing him to realize that Xia Fuli's death was related to pulling Bian Weiyin into the fray, combined with the private matters confided by Xia Fuli before his death. He instantly understood what the Demon Path was planning, why they had pushed him away before—turns out they had a better method—and also why Mr. Qing was sighing at Xia Fuli's demise.

But he had never considered pulling Bian Weiyin into the situation. Having Bian Weiyin, controlled by the Demon Path, along with Wukang Mountain, was against his interests, and his previous statement was just to fool the Demon Path.

Therefore, he retorted, "Bian Que, the grandfather, and the grandchildren, are they all gone?"

The man in green nodded slightly, "Yes, the plan went fairly smoothly, and they were all successfully dealt with."

Shi Chun shook his head, "Sigh, she's naturally taking power now and doesn't need anyone's help. Do you think it's still useful to try to persuade her now?"

The man in green thought for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone as he said, "About Xia Fuli's death, don't reveal even the slightest bit to anyone. If a single word leaks out, it must be one of you few who did it, and you will be severely punished!"

"Yes," Shi Chun joined the others in agreement, understanding internally that the intention was to deceive Yin Huixin and her daughter and continue to use Xia Fuli as a bargaining chip.

The man in green then said, "It's getting late; the three of you should return to Wukang Mountain now."

Wu Jinliang was startled, "How can we go back? Wouldn't that be courting death?"

The man in green replied, "Don't worry. With the death of Bian Que and his son, the higher-ups have already taken action and cleared all those in the know. No one knows you are people from the Demon Path. We will ensure your safety. The worst you'll suffer is some humiliation when you return, but there won't be any major problems. Being expelled from the sect is certain."

As these words came out, they shocked everyone present––even Feng Chi and Xiang Laner, who knew what to expect, did not foresee the higher-ups acting so swiftly to resolve the issue.

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