Chapter 42: Demonic Sect
The next day.
Ning Qi went to pay respects to Dragon Mountain Daoist early in the morning.
“Little Nine, what is it?”
Dragon Mountain Daoist felt an inexplicable tightness in his heart. Ning Qi rarely chose to come at this time.
Ning Qi said softly:
“About Eighth Senior Brother.”
He slowly recounted the events of last night, including Qin Yun’s various abnormalities and his own guesses.
Originally, he wanted to come find Dragon Mountain Daoist last night, but on second thought, confronting Qin Yun immediately might be awkward.
That was why he waited until the second day.
Dragon Mountain Daoist’s expression grew increasingly grave as he listened.
“He actually sneaked to your residence last night? No, we must go see now. I originally thought Little Eight had just begun to have an obsession, but I didn’t expect his inner demon to be so deep, and it might even be influenced by some external force.”
Ning Qi was also startled.
The two activated their movement techniques and hurried to Qin Yun’s residence.
They happened to run into Song Cheng rushing out of Qin Yun’s residence in a panic. Upon seeing Dragon Mountain Daoist, he immediately shouted:
“Master, something’s wrong!”
“I came this morning to chat with Eighth Junior Brother, but I found Eighth Junior Brother missing. On his table, I discovered two letters.”
Dragon Mountain Daoist’s spirit shook.
He took the letter handed over by Song Cheng.
One of them clearly read:
To be personally opened by my master.
Dragon Mountain Daoist quickly opened it and read it at a glance. He didn’t know what Qin Yun had written, but Dragon Mountain Daoist’s expression fluctuated, and he couldn’t help but sigh.
Ning Qi watched from the side.
He saw Song Cheng hand over the other letter:
“Little Nine, there’s another letter for you.”
Ning Qi was stunned.
He took the letter, which read: To be personally opened by Little Nine.
He opened it.
There were numerous scribbles and corrections on the letter paper, revealing the chaotic emotions of the writer.
In the end, only a few sparse lines remained.
“Little Nine, I know you like reading books. I’ve collected a batch of classics in my room over the past few years. If you don’t mind, take them.”
Ning Qi’s gaze was complex.
He seemed to see a few years ago, when he had just ascended True Martial Mountain, that sunny youth proudly declaring that the True Martial Nine Sons were finally gathered.
Just from his own letter, he could roughly guess what was written in the letter Dragon Mountain Daoist held.
I’m afraid.
Eighth Senior Brother would not return.
He could feel the conflict and complexity in Qin Yun’s heart. Perhaps even he himself could not control the evil thoughts within, so he chose to leave.
At this moment.
The other true disciples also hurried over upon hearing the news.
“Master, what exactly happened to Little Eight?”
Luo Wentian voiced everyone’s thoughts.
Dragon Mountain Daoist put down the letter and remained silent, offering no explanation.
Finally, he said slowly:
“Wentian, pay more attention to sect matters for this period. For Master will go down the mountain.”
With that, he patted Ning Qi’s head, didn’t even pack anything, and went straight down the mountain.
The congregation all sensed something was wrong and felt somewhat uneasy.
“Little Nine, do you know the reason?”
One gaze after another turned to Ning Qi.
Ning Qi pondered for a moment before saying:
“Perhaps it’s related to Eighth Senior Brother’s inner demon.”
He didn’t explain too clearly, but the others had already guessed a bit, their expressions dimming. They looked in the direction Dragon Mountain Daoist left, only hoping everything would go smoothly.
…
In the Seeker’s Courtyard.
Ning Qi let out a long breath.
A pile of precious classics was placed before him.
Among them were medical scriptures and miscellaneous studies, but most were martial arts secret manuals, several of which were inner strength cultivation methods of no low grade, none of which were in the Scripture Depository.
“Eighth Senior Brother really had a fortuitous encounter. Could it be that he obtained some inheritance?”
Ning Qi guessed.
To be honest, these classics were quite useful to him.
Then he sighed a bit.
Although Eighth Senior Brother developed an inner demon because of him, over these years he had never harmed him and had even been quite good to him.
“It’s his nature, perhaps sometimes even he himself cannot control it. Ya Zi Stance is merely a stance technique martial art; it shouldn’t be like this. It can only be said that when Eighth Senior Brother chose this stance technique back then, there was some Heaven’s Will at work. However, perhaps when I was learning the stance technique back then, the root of this inner demon had already been planted.”
“I only hope Master can bring Eighth Senior Brother back. In the future, when my cultivation is more profound, I can try to remove his inner demon for him.”
He shook his head.
Ning Qi didn’t think too much.
Even if he had gone to find Qin Yun last night, the result might not have been any different.
The key lay with Qin Yun himself.
If Qin Yun wanted to return, he naturally would. If he didn’t want to, he would always find a chance to go down the mountain, unless they locked him up like a criminal.
Adjusting his emotions, gradually casting aside stray thoughts.
Ning Qi entered a cultivation state.
His comprehension of strength transformation had reached the most critical moment, and this batch of martial arts classics from Qin Yun was quite helpful to him.
Time passed leisurely.
Half a month later.
Dragon Mountain Daoist returned to the mountain alone.
The disciples gathered in Mingwu Pavilion.
“Master, where is Eighth Junior Brother?”
Dragon Mountain Daoist spoke slowly, his voice somewhat hoarse.
“Qin Yun… he joined the Demonic Sect.”
His gaze was somewhat complex.
In the letter, Qin Yun had spoken of many things. Only then did Dragon Mountain Daoist learn about the inner state of this eighth disciple over these years.
Not long after going down the mountain, he had already found traces of Qin Yun.
But Qin Yun refused to return to the mountain.
He even knelt under Dragon Mountain Daoist’s palm, willing to face death.
He felt he had let down Dragon Mountain Daoist and his fellow disciples.
That night.
Master and disciple stood still like sculptures.
In the end, Dragon Mountain Daoist wearily waved his hand, letting Qin Yun go.
Afterward, he heard news that Qin Yun had seemingly caught the eye of a Heavenly Human Expert in the Demonic Sect and joined it. Now filled with regret, after clashing with Demonic Sect members, he could only return to the mountain helplessly.
“Demonic Sect?”
The disciples all found it unbelievable. That sunny youth from before had actually joined the Demonic Sect, which was suspected to be connected to the previous dynasty. Its activities had grown more frequent in recent years, and associating with the Demonic Sect was no good thing.
“Master, you…”
Dragon Mountain Daoist waved his hand and said:
“You all go. From now on, True Martial Sect has no such person as Qin Yun. You are not to involve yourselves in this matter anymore. For Master is tired and needs rest.”
The disciples silently took their leave.
Upon exiting Mingwu Pavilion, they all sighed. Fifth Disciple Jiang Baishan snorted coldly:
“One day, if I encounter this traitor, I will definitely demand the reason and give him a hard slap. Has Master’s years of nurturing grace all been fed to the dogs?”
He strode away.
The others could only smile bitterly.
Luo Wentian quietly said to Ning Qi:
“Little Nine, this matter has nothing to do with you. Don’t overthink it.”
Ning Qi nodded silently.
That Eighth Senior Brother Qin Yun had ultimately joined the Demonic Sect was something he hadn’t expected.
Worldly affairs do not bend to human will.
Even an invincible Martial Saint of the world has powerless moments, but he thought that if there was a chance in the future, he would still try to pull Qin Yun back.
Late at night.
Dragon Mountain Daoist quietly arrived at the Seeker’s Courtyard.
He saw Ning Qi standing still under the moonlight.
“Little Nine, Qin Yun’s matter was his own choice. It’s his nature, and has nothing to do with you.”
Ning Qi turned to look at Dragon Mountain Daoist and could sense that he seemed somewhat dejected. The one hit hardest by Qin Yun’s matter was Dragon Mountain Daoist.
“Master, I’ve never blamed Eighth Senior Brother. If one day I can create a secret technique to remove inner demons, you can pass it to him then.”
Dragon Mountain Daoist’s body stiffened, a flash of relief in his eyes.
Then he shook his head and said:
“We’ll talk about this later.”
“Little Nine, from now on, you don’t even need to tell me about your cultivation progress. This is the key to True Martial Sect’s treasury. If you need anything, just go take it yourself.”
Tossing down the treasury key, Dragon Mountain Daoist’s figure drifted away.
This time down the mountain searching for Qin Yun, he had heard him mention the ‘True Martial Sect’s foundation,’ but how could he not know what foundation True Martial Sect had.
He knew.
His little disciple’s strength had likely reached an extremely powerful realm.
The fewer people who knew, the better—even he himself shouldn’t know.
Ning Qi merely sighed faintly.
