"Let's head to Prison Peak and see if we can interrogate them for the location of the Immortal Cult's headquarters." Yun Zhi crooked a finger, and the bodies of several Immortal Cult members floated into the air beyond their control, trailing behind her.
After a moment's thought, Yun Zhi called Lu Yang over as well. "You come along too. We might have use for you."
Only a few days had passed since his last visit, yet Lu Yang found himself visiting Prison Peak once again.
Prison Peak remained just as it had always been: dull and oppressive.
Inside the cells, Lu Yang saw the ancient Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator from Sanli Grotto-Heaven—Blood Demon Venerable.
Now reduced to nothing more than a soul, Blood Demon Venerable possessed none of the unruliness he had displayed during their first meeting. Hearing Eldest Senior Sister's footsteps, he curled into a corner of his cell, shivering in terror.
Eldest Senior Sister walked straight past without sparing him so much as a glance.
The white-haired child, putting on airs of an elder, welcomed Yun Zhi and Lu Yang's arrival. "Xiaoyun is here again. Who did you bring this time?"
By now, Lu Yang had learned that the previous Sect Master—the white-haired child—was named Tang Shengyi.
"Two vice cult masters of the Immortal Cult, and five Immortal Cult higher-ups."
"Good heavens, every single one of them is a heavyweight! Did you go and uproot the Immortal Cult's old nest?" Tang Shengyi was genuinely shocked. His granddisciple truly possessed astonishing capability.
"They all walked right into the trap themselves."
At this moment, both Vice Cult Master Liu and Vice Cult Master Gao woke up. Hearing Yun Zhi's words, they broke into furious curses.
"Despicable Dao Seeking Sect! You clearly tricked us into coming here!"
"What grand methods you have, using a Tribulation Transcendence stage Tofu Heavenly Venerable as an undercover spy planted inside our Immortal Cult just to win our trust!"
Evidently, Vice Cult Master Liu had not yet fully awakened.
Vice Cult Master Gao gave him a quiet nudge. "Wake up! Where did this Tofu Heavenly Venerable come from?!"
Vice Cult Master Liu blinked, somewhat bewildered. "Isn't that Lu Yang?"
Yun Zhi looked at Lu Yang in silence, curious as to what kind of dream Lu Yang had spun for Vice Cult Master Liu.
Lu Yang cleared his throat, too embarrassed to explain the dream, and promptly changed the subject. "Hurry up and interrogate them. What props do we need? Chili water, a tiger bench, or a leather whip soaked in brine?"
Having knocked about demonic cults for hundreds or even thousands of years, both vice cult masters were thoroughly ruthless men; they would not so much as flinch at ordinary methods of torture.
"Heh, young brat, do you honestly believe such methods can make us divulge the sacred secrets of our cult? Utterly impossible!"
"The righteous path is foolish and ignorant, daring to obstruct us from reviving the Immortal Celestial! Now that the ancient Golden Age has returned, if we do not revive the Immortal Celestial, who will protect us?!"
"Subduing demons and slaying evil—you speak so grandly, never realizing that it is precisely your actions that have doomed the future of the human race!"
The two vice cult masters chimed in one after another, mocking the ignorance of the righteous path.
"There is no need for such trouble just yet." Yun Zhi stopped Lu Yang.
After asking the white-haired child to step outside, she said to Lu Yang, "Fairy, come out and meet your believers."
Behind Lu Yang, an ethereal fairy who looked straight out of an illusion manifested. With bare jade feet, bright eyes, and white teeth, the hem of her skirt drifted softly in the air. Her immortal grace was effortless, her bearing completely detached from the mortal dust.
"Are you two my believers?"
The Immortal Fairy wore a cold expression, her gaze as tranquil and unrippled as an ancient well, looking upon the two vice cult masters as though they were mere vermin.
A Body Integration stage cultivator was a pivotal, eminent figure on the Central Continent—a founding forefather in a sect, a grand minister in a dynasty, a mysterious legend across the mortal realm—yet before an immortal, a Body Integration stage cultivator was not even worth a second glance.
"Who are you?!"
The two vice cult masters shouted their demand, hoping to conceal their inner panic with raised voices.
For some inexplicable reason, the moment they laid eyes upon this fairy, an irresistible impulse to prostrate themselves in worship welled up within them.
The Immortal Fairy gave a casual, airy chuckle and said, "This seat is the Immortal Fairy."
"The Immortal Fairy?" Hearing how she addressed herself, drums began beating anxiously in their hearts.
Why was this exalted title so strikingly similar to the Immortal Celestial? Could it really be a coincidence?
The Immortal Fairy continued, "You have been deceived. There has never been any Immortal Celestial—there is only this seat, the Immortal Fairy.
"Certain individuals feared this immortal's revival, and thus sought to obscure my existence with that laughable appellation of 'Immortal Celestial.' How utterly ignorant, how downright laughable.
"The mortal world never lacks fools who blindly believe the rumors spread by the schemers behind the scenes.
"Fortunately, the Dao Seeking Sect bears heaven's mandate. A person of immense providence took upon themselves the karma of reviving this immortal, called out my true name, and brought me back to life."
A chill crept up from the depths of both vice cult masters' hearts. This brief speech revealed far too much information.
What did she mean there was never an Immortal Celestial? What did she mean about fearing the Immortal Fairy? And what about the Dao Seeking Sect bearing heaven's mandate and an individual of immense providence...? The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
"So... the one we truly worshipped was not the Immortal Celestial, but you?" Vice Cult Master Liu lifted his head, gazing upon the sacred Immortal Fairy, his heart gripped by dread and apprehension.
"Correct. You were misled by others. This immortal is no bloodthirsty slaughterer; claims that I take pleasure in killing are entirely baseless fabrications, utter nonsense."
The Immortal Fairy instructed them, "It is never too late to mend one's ways. If you disclose the location of the Immortal Cult's headquarters to this cultivator named Yun Zhi right now, there will still be room to redeem all of your mistakes."
Vice Cult Master Gao suddenly asked, "Fairy, could you tell us your true immortal name?"
The Immortal Fairy nodded. In a calm and steady voice, she pronounced her true name: "This immortal's name is Huang Doudou."
The two vice cult masters instantly grew agitated. "I knew you were a fraud sent by the Dao Seeking Sect! How could an exalted fairy have a name like that? Anyone can tell you made it up on the spot!"
"Caught you red-handed, didn't I?! Huang Doudou? Does your family run a tofu shop or something?!"
The Immortal Fairy released a bone-chilling aura.
Had a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator been present, they would have recognized at once that this aura surpassed the Tribulation Transcendence stage and understood the Immortal Fairy's true identity.
Unfortunately, the two vice cult masters were only at the Body Integration stage. Having eyes yet failing to recognize Mount Tai, they merely sensed that this aura surpassed their own level, entirely ignorant of the fact that it was unique to immortals.
Yun Zhi spoke in a gentle, soothing tone, coaxing the Immortal Fairy not to lose her temper. "Senior Fairy, there is no need to be angered. Having you step forward was merely an attempt to take a chance. Since they refuse to acknowledge you, I will simply have to employ a few of my own methods to make them divulge the Immortal Cult's location."
Only then did the Immortal Fairy's expression soften, and she retreated back into Lu Yang's body.
Yun Zhi then said to Lu Yang, "My methods this time will be somewhat more cruel than the last. You are still young, so you had best not watch."
Hearing Eldest Senior Sister's warning, Lu Yang shuddered and obediently took his leave from Prison Peak.
On the way back, Lu Yang kindly comforted the sulking Immortal Fairy, praising her name as actually very lovely and quite cute.
"Really?" The Immortal Fairy brightened up a little; it was truly rare for anyone to praise her name.
"Really, really!" Lu Yang nodded repeatedly.
Looking up at the moon in the sky, Lu Yang suddenly recalled something. "Come to think of it, I wonder what hour it is now. Has tomorrow arrived yet?"
Just as Lu Yang was wondering, hearty laughter echoed from not far away.
"Junior Brother Lu asks an excellent question! What a coincidence—midnight has just passed, so it's already the next day!"
In other words, the Immortal Fairy was no longer the Acting Sect Master.
Senior Brother Ma Tianyang grinned savagely. "Junior Brother Lu, did you enjoy your three days as Acting Sect Master? I've heard that you possess extraordinary, heavenly talent and can fight across cultivation stages. I'd very much like to seek some guidance from you!"
Like hauling a little chick, Senior Brother Ma Tianyang hoisted Lu Yang up and dumped him onto the arena stage.
Word that Lu Yang was here spread fast, and more and more senior brothers and sisters came sprinting toward the arena, until the sight made Lu Yang's calves tremble.
"Fairy, you have to take responsibility for this!" Inside the spiritual space, Lu Yang glared fiercely at the Immortal Fairy.
He had actually comforted her just now—comfort her, my foot! She should be the one comforting him!
The Immortal Fairy guiltily averted her gaze.
"Th-this is also part of your trial!"
Chapter 178