200: Chapter 200 Revealing the Truth

The people of the Blood Fiend Sect were settled in a remote corner on the western side of the valley.

Su Qinghan dispatched twenty Disciples to monitor their movements day and night.

Li Changsheng also secretly instructed Su Qianxue and Qin Hao to be extra vigilant and not let their guard down.

"Do you really believe them?" Su Qianxue asked.

Li Changsheng shook his head and said.

"Not entirely. But what they said matches the truth I know."

He looked at those blood-red figures in the distance, his gaze profound.

"Moreover, we need them."

"The Alliance has just been established; its strength is too weak. Every additional bit of power increases our chances of success."

Su Qianxue fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I understand."

She turned and left.

Li Changsheng remained standing in place, staring at the people of the Blood Fiend Sect for a long time without moving.

Yang Liu seemed to sense his gaze and glanced back at him.

The two looked at each other, neither speaking.

Li Changsheng withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked back to his Immortal Cave.

Regardless, what he needed now was strength.

He sat down cross-legged and began to Cultivate.

The Golden Core Initial Stage was not enough.

He wanted to charge towards the Middle Golden Core stage.

Meanwhile, in Ling Cang's palace on the Main Peak of the Qinglan Sword Sect...

Ling Cang sat in the main seat, his expression terrifyingly grim.

Before him knelt a man in black, reporting.

"Sect Master, the remnants of the Blood Fiend Sect have pledged allegiance to the New Righteous Alliance."

Ling Cang's pupils contracted slightly.

"The Blood Fiend Sect... remnants?"

The man in black said.

"Yes."

"Their leader is Yang Liu, at the Middle Golden Core stage. They brought over thirty Disciples and pledged allegiance to the Qingxin Pavilion."

Ling Cang was silent for a long time.

Then, he let out a cold laugh.

"Good, very good."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked outside.

"Since they wish to die, this Sovereign will grant their wish."

He turned and looked at the man in black.

"Pass down the order: this Sovereign will be in seclusion for a period. All offensive actions are to be suspended until I emerge."

The man in black was stunned.

"Sect Master, you..."

Ling Cang waved his hand and said.

"Do as I say."

The man in black dared not ask further and bowed before retreating.

Ling Cang stood in place, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

He raised his hand, and a mass of blood-red mist materialized in his palm.

The mist was dense and bizarre, emanating a heart-palpitating Evil Qi.

"Origin Power..." he murmured, "just a little more."

He turned and walked into a secret chamber.

The door to the secret chamber slowly closed.

In the darkness, faint, low roars could be heard, like a trapped beast.

It was Ling Cang, Cultivating a sinister technique.

To obtain greater power, he would spare no cost.

On the tenth day after the Blood Fiend Sect members joined the Alliance, Yang Liu proactively sought out Li Changsheng.

That evening, while Li Changsheng was Cultivating in his Immortal Cave, he suddenly heard faint footsteps outside the door.

He opened his eyes and saw Yang Liu standing at the entrance, his expression grave.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I have something to say."

Li Changsheng looked at him, remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Come in."

Yang Liu entered the Immortal Cave and sat down opposite him.

He took out an ancient-looking Jade Slip from his robe and placed it on the stone table between them.

"This is the final testament left by the former Sect Master of the Blood Cloud Gate."

He said slowly.

"It records the entire truth."

Li Changsheng picked up the Jade Slip and infused it with spiritual power.

From the Jade Slip, a voice, aged and sorrowful, emerged:

"I am Xue Yunzi, the 37th generation Sect Master of the Blood Cloud Gate. Today, I leave this record to inform future generations."

"In the year 3700 of the tianwu calendar, I, along with Ling Yuan, the Grand Elder of the Qinglan Sword Sect, discovered an ancient ruin in the northwestern desert of Yunzhou."

"The ruin contained a 'Blood Soul Jade' that could help a Cultivator Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage and strive for the Soul Transformation Stage."

"Ling Yuan and I agreed to explore the ruin together and share the findings equally. However, Ling Yuan harbored sinister intentions. He took advantage of my unpreparedness and secretly poisoned me. The poison was colorless and odorless, capable of eroding one's mind, gradually driving a person to madness."

"After being poisoned, my mind gradually deteriorated, and I began to slaughter my own Disciples."

"By the time I regained clarity, over thirty Disciples had died by my hand."

"I was in unbearable agony and wished to end my own life to atone, but Ling Yuan stopped me."

"He told me that if I handed over the Blood Soul Jade to him, he would spare the Blood Cloud Gate."

"I believed him."

"However, after obtaining it, Ling Yuan sent people everywhere to spread rumors, claiming the Blood Cloud Gate practiced sinister techniques and slaughtered the innocent."

"The various Sects were outraged and joined forces to besiege us. Three hundred Disciples resisted desperately, but were completely annihilated."

"I was imprisoned in the dungeons of the Qinglan Sword Sect, suffering endless torment."

"Before death, with the last shred of my clarity, I left this Jade Slip to record the truth."

"If future generations see this Slip, remember: Ling Yuan is not dead. His descendants are still in the Qinglan Sword Sect."

"The Blood Soul Jade is still in their possession."

The voice faded, and the Jade Slip dissolved into specks of starlight.

Li Changsheng held the Jade Slip, unmoving for a long time.

Blood Soul Jade.

So, Ling Cang's ultimate goal was to Breakthrough to Soul Transformation.

He recalled everything Ling Cang had done over the years.

Absorbing smaller Sects, suppressing the Jinyang Sect, attacking the Qingxin Pavilion, hunting him down.

Each step was to amass power, seize more resources, and ultimately realize his ambition.

Soul Transformation.

That is the Realm above Nascent Soul.

For a thousand years, no one in the entire Eastern Region has set foot in that Realm.

If Ling Cang truly succeeded...

Li Changsheng dared not think further.

Yang Liu looked at him and said slowly,

"Fellow Daoist Li, do you understand now?"

Li Changsheng looked up at him.

Yang Liu continued.

"Ling Cang's ambition is not limited to unifying Yunzhou. He wants the entire Eastern Region, and even more."

"He needs to gather the Origin Power of the five great Sects to Breakthrough to Soul Transformation."

"The Qinglan Sword Sect has it, the Jinyang Sect has it, the Qingxin Pavilion has it, the Medicine King Valley has it, and our Blood Cloud Gate... had it too."

He paused, enunciating each word clearly.

"Back then, he annihilated my Blood Cloud Gate to seize the Blood Soul Jade."

"Now, he attacks the Jinyang Sect and the Qingxin Pavilion to seize their Origin Power as well."

Li Changsheng's heart sank to the depths.

He remembered the fall of the Jinyang Sect, the fierce battles at the Qingxin Pavilion, and those innocents who fell in pools of blood.

So, they were all sacrifices to Ling Cang's ambition.

"Senior Yang,"

He spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Why did you only tell me this now?"

Yang Liu looked at him, his gaze complex.

"Because before, you were not worthy of trust."

He paused, then added.

"But now it's different."

"You publicly defected from Qinglan, formed an Alliance to oppose Ling Cang, and even accepted us, these so-called 'Blood Fiend remnants'."

"You are someone worthy of entrusting this to."

Li Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said,

"Thank you for your trust, Senior."

Yang Liu shook his head and said,

"No need to thank me. If you must thank someone, thank True Lord Three Swords."

Li Changsheng was stunned.

Yang Liu looked at him and said slowly,

"True Lord Three Swords was a good friend of the Blood Cloud Gate Sect Master back in the day."

"When the Blood Cloud Gate was destroyed, he tried to intervene, but his strength was insufficient. He could only watch helplessly."

"Later, he remained in the Qinglan Sword Sect. On the surface, he was a Grand Elder, but in reality, he was secretly searching for evidence to expose Ling Cang's conspiracy."

Li Changsheng's heart jolted violently.

True Lord Three Swords...

He remembered that white-haired old man, the words he had spoken, the Protective Talisman he had given him.

So, he had been there all along.

Waiting all along.

Waiting for the right moment.

Waiting for someone capable of bearing all this.

Yang Liu looked at him earnestly and said,

"Fellow Daoist Li, True Lord Three Swords said you are a good child. He hopes you can take his place and complete the task he could not finish."

Li Changsheng took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.

"I will."

That night, Li Changsheng sat alone in his Immortal Cave, unmoving for a long time.

Yang Liu's words replayed repeatedly in his mind.

Ling Cang's ambition, the secret of the Blood Soul Jade, True Lord Three Swords' entrustment.

He suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders had grown heavier.

But he did not retreat.

He turned, walked back to the stone bed, and sat down cross-legged.

Cultivation could not stop.

He needed to become stronger.

Strong enough to have the power to stop Ling Cang.