585: Chapter 585 Nonsense

As soon as Lady Yaoguang spoke, the atmosphere in the hall shifted from oppressive to 'frozen,' and the temperature continued to drop.

True Lord Guanxin and True Monarch Gao Qian's hearts trembled; this was not a situation they should be involved in. They desperately wanted to flee but dared not move a muscle.

Liu Xuan, however, remained unaffected. He pondered for a moment before shaking his head slightly, then nodding.

"It has a bit to do with me, but the primary actors were Demon Saint Xuanyu and Ghost King Lianyue."

Lady Yaoguang was not easily fooled. At this stage, she would never believe a flat-out denial, so Liu Xuan began to recount the events with a mixture of truth and lies.

"The death of my Revered Master, Daoist Lord Lihuo, must be traced back to the Biyou Pool Formation years ago. Demon Saint Xuanyu is extremely vengeful and paid a great price to enlist Ghost King Lianyue's help to set a trap at Biyou Pool..."

"During the battle at Biyou Pool, Revered Master was severely injured. I don't know what means he used to escape back to Star Academy, but he went directly into the blood fiend tree heart to recover."

Fearing Lady Yaoguang might not be familiar with the blood fiend tree heart, Liu Xuan explained, "The blood fiend tree heart was originally a special treasure Peach Blossom refined using the flesh, blood, and remnant souls of war, along with a portion of her main body and the power of a Formation. It was later seized by Daoist Lord Lihuo."

Saying it was 'seized' wasn't strictly accurate; back then, Peach Blossom had offered the blood fiend tree heart as a gift to join the Beast Taming Sect. However, since she had no other choice at the time, saying it was seized held some truth.

Seeing that Lady Yaoguang didn't mind the detail, Liu Xuan continued his story.

"Daoist Lord Lihuo gave the blood fiend tree heart to Peach Blossom to nurture and refine, but he left a hidden hand on it so he could use the blood fiend within to heal his wounds."

"He also Cultivated a secret technique that allowed him to rapidly recover and even increase his cultivation by burning Peach Blossom's wood-attribute main body."

At this point, Liu Xuan's Face showed grief as he bowed deeply. "It was a matter of life and death for Peach Blossom, and also for me. I had no other choice!!"

Everything Liu Xuan said was true. If Daoist Lord Lihuo hadn't fled to Liu Xuan's home base at Star Academy to heal, he might not have died.

Omitting the fact that he had known about the Biyou Pool conspiracy beforehand and his alliance with Ghost King Lianyue, he and Peach Blossom were the victims in the whole affair, and killing Daoist Lord Lihuo was entirely forced by necessity.

Liu Xuan's words were logical and consistent with the intelligence the Beast Taming Sect had received, and they explained many previously inexplicable points.

But Lady Yaoguang was not that easy to deceive. She stared into Liu Xuan's eyes and asked, "At that time, the Peach Blossom Demon had not yet promoted to a Hua Shen Demon Saint, right? Even if Daoist Lord Lihuo was heavily injured, could you two really have killed him?"

"This..." Liu Xuan glanced at Peach Blossom. "It is indeed as your Ladyship says. Even heavily injured, Daoist Lord Lihuo was not someone the Peach Blossom of that time and I could handle."

"But the secret technique Revered Master used for healing was very special—using wood to fuel fire for a Nirvana Rebirth. Revered Master was too greedy; he didn't just want to heal, he wanted to use Peach Blossom's tree body to go a step further. In the end, Peach Blossom found an opportunity to use the momentum of Nirvana to achieve a Breakthrough. The result was the death of Daoist Lord Lihuo and Peach Blossom's promotion to a Hua Shen Demon Saint."

The Nirvana Rebirth secret technique Daoist Lord Lihuo practiced was extremely obscure and mysterious; no one else had ever practiced it.

Liu Xuan used this as an excuse to explain both how Daoist Lord Lihuo died and why Peach Blossom was able to advance.

"According to you, everything was a coincidence, and Daoist Lord Lihuo brought it upon himself?" Lady Yaoguang's tone carried a hint of mockery.

Liu Xuan pretended not to notice the mockery and shouted with an air of righteousness, "Revered Master's kindness to me was as heavy as a mountain! If he had used me to heal, I would have naturally sacrificed myself to repay him. But Peach Blossom is innocent; she could not be allowed to die!"

"As they say, the dead cannot be brought back to life. The only way I can make amends is to carry forward the legacy of the Lihuo Lineage to comfort Revered Master's spirit in heaven."

Spirit in heaven? Lady Yaoguang almost couldn't hold it in. She took a deep breath and scolded, "Enough! Stop talking."

Liu Xuan had said so much, but his meaning was simple: he had no intention of opposing the Beast Taming Sect, much less Gentlemans Academy. As long as she nodded, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect would still follow her orders; everything would remain the same, except Daoist Lord Lihuo would be replaced by Liu Xuan and Peach Blossom.

Thinking of this, Lady Yaoguang fell silent, weighing the pros and cons.

If she accepted Liu Xuan, her interests in the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect would likely remain unaffected. Peach Blossom was of the Yao Race and had no need to develop a lineage, which might be even more beneficial than when Daoist Lord Lihuo was alive.

If she didn't accept him... she looked around at the Formation and carefully sensed Peach Blossom's aura. With only a single Dharma Idol, it would be difficult for her to pose a threat to the two of them.

Once the situation collapsed and Liu Xuan and Peach Blossom allied with Southern Border forces like Demon Saint Xuanyu and Ghost King Lianyue, all her previous investments would go down the drain.

After giving Liu Xuan a long look, Lady Yaoguang ordered, "Establish an academy for this seat here at Biyou Pool. All expenses will be deducted from the tax revenue. Once completed, this seat will teach in person. Can you do it?"

"I can! Absolutely!" Liu Xuan clapped his hands happily and smiled. "Revered Master, your Ladyship and I think alike. From the first day the Liu Clan moved here, the academy has been in preparation. It can be completed in a month at most."

"Establishing Gentlemans Academy is for the purpose of civilizing the wilderness. I am willing to do my utmost to help you achieve this great undertaking!"

Lady Yaoguang glanced at Liu Xuan and said coolly, "No matter how many pretty words you say, what this seat wants is actual action."

Her tone turned slightly cold. "If this seat finds that you are saying one thing and doing another, playing little tricks behind my back, you had better consider the consequences in advance!"

Without waiting for Liu Xuan's reply, Lady Yaoguang spun around and turned back into a streak of gray light, diving into True Monarch Gao Qian's chest.

"Respectfully seeing off Revered Master!"

Liu Xuan bowed toward True Monarch Gao Qian, his attitude as perfect as could be.

"True Lord Guanxin, Senior Sister Gao, please put some effort into the academy's affairs. Later, I will have Yun Miao coordinate with you to ensure Revered Master's orders are carried out."

True Lord Guanxin hurried to return the gesture. Peach Blossom Demon Saint was Liu Xuan's natal spirit beast, and Lady Yaoguang had accepted them. Liu Xuan was now effectively half a Daoist Lord; he didn't dare let Liu Xuan feel even a hint of disrespect.

True Monarch Gao Qian was much more composed. She was Lady Yaoguang's Personal Disciple and carried her Revered Master's Dharma Idol token; she wasn't exactly afraid of Liu Xuan.

However, Peach Blossom was, after all, a Hua Shen Demon Saint, and since Lady Yaoguang hadn't said much, she naturally wouldn't refuse to give Face.

According to Liu Xuan's arrangements, True Monarch Gao Qian was led by a maid to stay in the City Lord's Mansion, with the message that someone would come later to explain the specifics of the academy's construction.

Inside a dedicated guest building in the City Lord's Mansion, True Monarch Gao Qian stood at the edge of a terrace, looking down at the massive city undergoing rapid expansion. She sent a Divine Soul transmission to a small gray mirror within her Dantian:

"Revered Master, that fellow Liu Xuan is clearly dishonest. Why do you still believe his nonsense?"

"Oh?" Lady Yaoguang's voice rang directly in True Monarch Gao Qian's Divine Soul. "Which part of his words do you think is nonsense?"

"Um..." True Monarch Gao Qian frowned slightly, then shook her head. "I don't know!"

"But I just feel he's dishonest, exactly like those sycophants who play up to those in power!"

"Hehe~" Lady Yaoguang chuckled, then her tone gradually turned serious. "Whether he is honest or not isn't important. What matters is that your teacher has no choice!"