Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-386-30041322

In a shrub at the base of Stone Gate Peak, Tang Jie lay on his back, his hands pillowed behind him, his eyes narrowed in thought.

Interestingly, next to him were Wei Tianchong, Peng Yaolong, and Qi Shaoming. Just like him, they were boredly sitting around, though the other Basking Moon disciples had gone elsewhere. Nearby, Shi Jingzhai was dumbly sitting.

After some time, a streak of fire flew out of the distance, flying toward Tang Jie and the others, where it burst apart into a message. After reading the words, both Wei Tianchong and Qi Shaoming smiled. "Success."

Tang Jie was unmoved. Standing up, he said, "Since that's all settled, it's our turn now. Old Shi, you stay there and don't move."

"Oh," Shi Jingzhai replied, his gaze slack.

Tang Jie made his way up Stone Gate Peak, the other three following close behind.

A disciple received them at the base and led them up the mountain. When they reached the summit, another disciple welcomed them. "So it is Junior Brother Tang of the Basking Moon Sect! Junior Brother Tang, did you not already finish surveying the mine and headed back to report on your mission? To what do we owe your visit?"

Tang Jie replied, "I have something I need to meet with Sect Master Qiu about."

"Allow me to report this," the disciple said, withdrawing.

Peng Yaolong grunted, "Putting on an act! With his strength, he should have already known that we were coming, but he pretends to not know. It's probably as you say, and he really does have a guilty conscience."

Tang Jie chuckled. "Guilty conscience or not, everything's fine so long as he's willing to meet us."

"And if he's not?" Wei Tianchong asked.

Without the official mission of the Basking Moon Sect to back them up, Qiu Shuyu was completely in his rights to refuse them.

Tang Jie's expression sank. "He's still a Celestial Heart cultivator. If he doesn't even have the courage to meet someone, what sort of Dao is he cultivating, and what is he striving for?"

A few moments later.

The disciple hastened back and gave Tang Jie a deep bow. "The sect master invites Young Master Tang to see him."

Tang Jie noticed that this disciple had changed his form of address.

He smiled. "Only me?"

The disciple trembled. "Young Master, please forgive me. The sect master did not mention your martial brothers."

Tang Jie nodded and turned his head. "Then you guys wait for me here."

Peng Yaolong grabbed him and said, "No, it's too dangerous for you to go alone."

Tang Jie smiled. "Senior Brother, relax. Stone Gate Peak is a beautiful place, and Sect Master Qiu's title as the Mountain Water True Person is no empty one. He would never allow blood to drench this land red."

He patted Yiyi, who understood and jumped from his shoulder to Wei Tianchong's.

Tang Jie said, "Yiyi and I are mentally linked. Use her if you need to send me a message."

Peng Yaolong let his hand go and took several steps back.

Tang Jie followed that disciple.

Once they were in the main hall, the disciple led him turning through several corridors until they stopped in front of a meditation chamber.

The disciple said, "The sect master is waiting for you inside."

Pushing open the door, Tang Jie saw that the meditation chamber was bare, Qiu Shuyu seated on a prayer mat, a hand holding a horsetail whisk and a kindly expression on his face.

There was another prayer mat placed not far from him.

Qiu Shuyu used the horsetail whisk to point at the prayer mat. "Young Master, please sit."

Tang Jie strode in, and the door automatically closed.

Coming up to Qiu Shuyu, Tang Jie bowed and said, "Tang Jie pays respects to Sect Master Qiu."

He then sat on the prayer mat.

He then said, "I am sure that Sect Master knows the reason for my visit. Sect Master Qiu, please hand over the other half of the goods."

Qiu Shuyu's body slightly trembled, his white eyebrows tensing and then relaxing.

He looked Tang Jie in the eyes and said, "Forgive this old man for his foolishness, but I do not know what Young Master Tang is talking about."

Tang Jie chuckled. "Sect Master naturally knows. Wasn't this all part of your plan?"

Qiu Shuyu gazed at Tang Jie. "Since Young Master is certain that this old man was plotting something, I do not mind hearing you out."

Tang Jie nodded. "Of course. I was going to tell you regardless. I might as well explain my analysis to Sect Master so that you can see if I was right or not. So, this is how I surmise things went."

Tang Jie cleared his throat.

"For this matter, I have to start from the initial incident two years ago. Because of the venomoth incident, the Stone Gate Sect went to investigate and explore the mine, inadvertently discovering that there was another world down below. Due to the power of the venomoths, your sect had no choice but to send Liang Xingbang, Shi Jingzhai, and Yu Wanniang to personally investigate, and it was at that time that they found that there was another ore vein down below, with a total value of more than one hundred million… right, True Person Qiu, this is where you show a shocked expression."

Qiu Shuyu's face twitched.

Tang Jie smiled and continued, "After this ore vein was discovered, your three junior disciples decided to mine this vein without your knowledge. But despite their caution, there was no way of hiding this matter from you… but you had no plans to show your hand, instead pretending to not know while looking for an opportunity. In order to go back on the deal and take everything, the Seven Absolutions Sect was seeking an opportunity for all the goods to be gathered in one place, and you probably helped them in this. With people helping along the matter in secret from both ends, this created many illogical points in this deal.

"You also might have played a role in pushing for my arrival. Through my pressure and with the additional help of Yu Wanniang and the Seven Absolutions Sect, you forced Shi Jingzhai's group to rush to sell the goods. And then, while they were distracting the Seven Absolutions Sect, you secretly switched out the goods. You didn't do anything and took no risks, but you ended up getting more than half of the goods. It was truly a job well done."

Qiu Shuyu laughed. "This old man really has no idea what you're talking about. But doesn't Young Master feel that this doesn't make too much sense? If everything is as Young Master says, then those resources should have been in the sect for two years now. In these two years, if I wanted to take them, I would have had countless chances. Why would I wait until now?"

This was an excellent question. Yes, Qiu Shuyu was not the Seven Absolutions Sect. If he wanted to make his move, he would have had many more chances than the Seven Absolutions Sect.

To this, Tang Jie chuckled. "Because you also wanted to sell the goods! That's exactly why you had to endure until now. While the ore vein is nice, it has to be converted into spirit coins so that you can buy the resources you need, and there was so much that no matter who the goods ended up with, they would have to think of a way to sell them, and this was the part where one was most liable to be exposed. That's why you couldn't touch it. You wanted your juniors to sell the goods for you, and only when the deal was done could you make your move."

Qiu Shuyu's face sank. "But you just said that half of the goods were switched out."

"Yes, you originally wanted to wait until the deal was done to strike. But recent events had made you wary. You felt something wrong and knew that there would probably be a mishap. In truth, even Shi Jingzhai and the others had felt it, which was why they had sent out real and fake caravans. In order to prevent the matter from being exposed and the Basking Moon Sect hunting you down, you decided to move early. According to your plan, when Shi Jingzhai's group began trading with Wang Juemie, whether they succeeded or not, you would manipulate the situation so that they would have to immediately flee. With half of the goods still in their possession, even if they realized that something was wrong, they wouldn't come back to make trouble for you. In this way, the three of them would bear all the sin while you would remain the sect master of the Stone Gate Sect. At worst, you would be charged with the crime of failing to control your subordinates."

Qiu Shuyu snorted, "If it's as Young Master says, then that Yu Wanniang would also have taken on the blame. Does Young Master really think that she would be so foolish?"

Tang Jie sighed. "She really was that foolish, willing to sacrifice everything for you, only to be callously abandoned."

Qiu Shuyu paled.

Tang Jie looked at him and said, "You were there the whole time, weren't you? Following the convoy. You must have made a promise to Yu Wanniang that you wouldn't abandon her. Of course, what's more likely is that you actually wanted to see if there was a chance to steal the remaining half of the goods. Our appearance caused you to be disappointed, so to protect yourself, you gave up on her. You just watched as she died at the hands of Shi Jingzhai, refusing to come out no matter how much she called for her senior brother… and even in that situation, she was still thinking of you, refusing to say your name."

Qiu Shuyu's face twitched.

Tang Jie sighed. "Actually, you knew that you couldn't hide it from me, right? You weren't shocked when you heard about the underground ore vein, weren't shocked when you heard that your three junior disciples had betrayed you, and now, you're not shocked after you've heard about Yu Wanniang's death. In truth, your expression has long ago sold you out as the true mastermind. There's nothing strange about that. You're a sect master, not an actor. You can coldly deny, but you can't perfectly play the part of an innocent… Of course, it also might be that you disdain to play such a role in front of a minor character like me. This is why, while your mouth denies, your actions have confessed to everything."

Is that so?

Qiu Shuyu's face suddenly relaxed.

He nodded. "You're right. In truth, from the moment you walked in, I knew what you wanted to say, and I knew that there was no need to keep hiding it… I just wanted to hear how much you actually knew."

He seriously said to Tang Jie, "I took away half of the goods, and I did plan out this entire scheme. Most of what you said was correct, all except one thing."

"What was it?"

"My junior disciples never planned to betray me. The day they discovered that ore vein, Wanniang excitedly ran over to tell me. I told Wanniang to do everything she could to stop them from telling me!"

Tang Jie nodded. "I understand. Because you're the sect master, right? Other people can do that sort of thing, because that's an individual matter and has nothing to do with the sect. But you cannot, because as the sect master, your actions are directly connected to the sect. Seizing an ore vein for oneself is a serious crime. If the news leaked and the Basking Moon Sect found out, the entire Stone Gate Sect would be doomed."

Qiu Shuyu trembled. "You know?"

Tang Jie sighed. "How could I not know? If I didn't know, you really think I would have had the guts to come in here alone?"

He looked at Qiu Shuyu with a face brimming with ridicule.

Qiu Shuyu understood and angrily roared, "You dare to use the Stone Gate Sect to threaten me?"

Tang Jie looked at him sympathetically. "That all depends on you, not me. Sect Master Qiu, if you hand over the goods, while you might not be able to save yourself, you can at least save your sect and your loved ones… I recall that you have a son."

"'Hand it over'?" Qiu Shuyu laughed. "Hahahaha, absurd! You think I don't know what you want? If I hand over the goods, then I'll be confessing the crime. What does it matter if I confess now? If you report to the Basking Moon Sect, I'll just say that you hated me and fabricated this crime against me. I've already preserved evidence of you arguing with Shi Jingzhai. I can even bite back against you and say that you killed Xingbang and the others!"

Tang Jie sighed. "Evidence… evidence again. Sect Master Qiu, is this really the last hope you've tied your life to? Unfortunately, I'm afraid that your hopes won't be rewarded."

Qiu Shuyu jeered, "You want to say that you have evidence?"

"Of course," Tang Jie firmly replied. "While you might have switched out the goods on the wagons, those goods must have been there when they were initially loaded. After all, Shi Jingzhai and the others were watching them being loaded and wouldn't overlook any losses. It was only after Shi Jingzhai's group left that you switched out the goods. But the problem is that there were forty-some wagons' worth of goods, and taking all that away isn't easy. If it were that easy, Shi Jingzhai wouldn't have needed to resort to wagons. You're just one person, so you're not that lucky. Thus, your best option is to find a place nearby to hide them."

Qiu Shuyu paled.

Tang Jie continued, "The place where you hid the goods can't be frequented by people, and you have to fool Liang Jun and make sure the escorts don't notice. While there are quite a few places like this, there also aren't too many. So long as one is diligent and slowly checks every possible location on the route, something will turn up. But it's tiresome work that could take as many as fifty days… but one will find something eventually."

Qiu Shuyu shuddered.

Tang Jie went on, "You should know that I invited twenty-some seniors to help me out, but I only brought three with me to Stone Gate Peak. What do you think the rest of them are doing? They've been digging for your hidden treasure near the road. That's not all. We also have Canglong Prefecture's Wei Clan helping out. Even if we have to dig up every inch of soil… finding it is only a matter of time."

Qiu Shuyu glared at Tang Jie. "What sort of grudge do you have against me, that you must treat me this way?"

His tone had become much softer.

"'Grudge'?" Tang Jie looked at him. "Really, I'm not someone that likes to coerce others, but I had no choice except to make trouble for you. You also know how valuable these goods are. 110 million! If we round down to 100 million, if I hand it over, according to the rules of the Basking Moon Sect, I can get 20%, which is 20 million. True Person Qiu, by stealing more than half of it, you robbed me of 10 million! How could I not come and demand it from you?"

Qiu Shuyu was stunned.

Yes, if he took half of the goods, wouldn't that mean that Tang Jie would get less?

If Tang Jie hadn't already invested so much, then perhaps he could have looked the other way, but since money was on the line, this was serious business.

"I see now!" Qiu Shuyu's face suddenly turned ruthless.

He erupted in laughter. "So Tang Jie is also someone who sells himself for money. Since that's the case, I can return the ten million to you, and in return, you can let me go. What do you think?"

Tang Jie sadly said, "It's too late. Once things are done, there's no going back, just like with you. Moreover, if I can legally get ten million, why would I illegally get it instead?"

"I'll give you double!" Qiu Shuyu shouted.

Tang Jie shook his head.

"Let me go and I'll spit it with you evenly!"

Tang Jie sighed. "Even if you gave it all to me, it would be no good. While money is nice, there's no point if you can't take it. You should understand this even more than me."

Qiu Shuyu angrily glared at Tang Jie. As the fire burned in his belly, the entire meditation chamber filled with his frightening pressure.

Qiu Shuyu's voice thundered, "Tang Jie, do you realize that I can kill you right here with a single chop of my palm!?"

"I know, but after that, the Stone Gate Sect will suffer a calamity," Tang Jie calmly said.

"'After that'?" Qiu Shuyu laughed. "Once I kill you, I'll kill all the Basking Moon disciples and take the Stone Gate disciples away from here…"

"I'm afraid you won't get the chance to leave." Tang Jie gave him a pitying look.

"What did you say?" Qiu Shuyu was startled.

Tang Jie simply closed his eyes.

A moment later, a voice resounded over Stone Gate Peak. "Daoist Friend Qiu, have you been doing well? Han Tianji has come to pay a visit."

"Han Tianji?" Qiu Shuyu shuddered upon hearing this name. He glared at Tang Jie. "You called over the Jade Radiance Sect?"

Tang Jie opened his eyes. "To be more precise, I requested Zhang Taixu to ask over the Jade Radiance Sect. As you are both cultivator sects of Mount Eternal, I am sure that you bullied them around quite a lot over these last few years, yes? Now that the four elders of the Stone Gate Sect have become one, and the Basking Moon Sect is supporting them, the Jade Radiance Sect would lose face if it didn't come back to regain some of its lost power."

He scooted close to Qiu Shuyu and said, "All three of their Celestial Hearts came, and there's no need to place your hopes on your Jade Gate Heaven Seal Formation. I wasn't just fooling around when I was spending all those days at the Stone Gate Sect. Peng Yaolong, Wei Tianchong, and Qi Shaoming have already occupied the central axis, and they each have a Heavenbane Lightning Pearl. The formation will do you no good."

"Tang Jie, you…" Qiu Shuyu's body seethed with killing intent.

Tang Jie remained composed. "If you think that this still isn't enough, I might as well tell you something else. When you came back, you knew that the situation boded ill, so you had your son and family leave first to go into hiding. There was nothing wrong with this, but you wanted to protect too many people, and when you protect too many people, they become more easily exposed. Senior Brother Bei and Senior Brother Wu have already found them, so they're in our hands now."

"You!" These words were a lethal strike that struck directly at his heart. His killing intent faded, and he simply looked blankly at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie sighed. "Tell me where the goods are, give me all the sect's texts and information concerning the Jade Gate Heaven Seal Formation, and then commit suicide, and I can promise you that the Stone Gate Sect and your family will be unharmed."

Qiu Shuyu stared at him for a long while before finally saying, "Tang Jie… you're ruthless!"

"Thank you for the praise, Sect Master."

Several dozen more cultivators had appeared on the main square of Stone Gate Peak. Their leader was an imposing man with a broad face and large ears, his body exuding a powerful aura. In the distance, a large number of Stone Gate disciples were trembling in fear as they looked at this group.

When Tang Jie emerged from the main hall, the big-eared man came forward and said in a booming voice, "Is this my little friend Tang Jie?"

Tang Jie placed a hand in his fist and bowed. "That I am. I pay respects to Sect Master Han. Sect Master Han, thank you for coming from afar to offer your aid. This one will never forget this gift of coal in the middle of winter."

The man laughed. "Young friend Tang is too polite. My Jade Radiance Sect has been repressed by the Stone Gate Sect for thirty years. This chance to avenge this resentment is all thanks to you."

He bowed to Tang Jie.

It appeared that they truly held a deep resentment toward the Stone Gate Sect.

Tang Jie hastily had Han Tianji stand back up. "This one does not deserve such a deep bow from a True Person."

Han Tianji used this moment when Tang Jie was helping him up to whisper, "What about Qiu Shuyu?"

Tang Jie was just about to reply when a thunderous boom came from the hall.

Everyone looked over, but there was nothing different about the hall.

A few moments later, a wave of spiritual energy rippled outward.

Tang Jie muttered, "Dead."

In the meditation chamber, Qiu Shuyu's body was collapsed on the ground. His head had burst open, blood mixed with brain matter trickling out…