“I was only seven or eight years old at the time, quite mischievous. That day, I had secretly slipped out to play. By the time I returned to the city, it was already the next day. From a distance, I saw the Qin family ablaze, flames reaching the sky, and the city was filled with the heavy stench of blood.”
“On the road, I heard people discussing that the Baili family was hunting down the remnants of the Qin family. I was terrified beyond measure and immediately chose to hide. With the help of kind-hearted people, I evaded the Baili family’s search and eventually fled to Haoling Prefecture.”
“Later, I secretly inquired around and learned that the Baili family had not found Lady Miaoyin that night either. From then on, Lady Miaoyin’s whereabouts became unknown.”
Qin Haoyan finished recounting everything with a blank expression.
Mo Jinghong’s gaze turned slightly sharp as he continued asking, “You mean Lady Miaoyin was still pregnant with a child?”
“Yes, she was at least three months pregnant before she disappeared. Actually, I have a rough idea whose child it was.” Qin Haoyan’s pale eyes were vacant.
“Were the Qin family the only ones who harmed Lady Miaoyin?” Feng Qingran asked in a clear voice.
Qin Haoyan shook his head. “No. The old ancestor called many people to dual cultivate with Lady Miaoyin. Before those people dual cultivated with her, the old ancestor would give them a pill. After taking the pill, those people would hazily complete dual cultivation with Lady Miaoyin.”
“Afterward, those people advanced in cultivation and thought it was the pill the old ancestor gave them that worked. So many people came to the Qin family to buy pills. Of course, some also discovered the secret within.”
“These people sought out the old ancestor and actively requested to dual cultivate with Lady Miaoyin. Some of them would even abuse Lady Miaoyin with extremely cruel methods…”
After hearing Qin Haoyan’s words, Feng Qingran’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, and a surge of anger rose from the bottom of her heart. These people were simply beasts!
“Do you know the names of these people?” Feng Qingran thought of the purpose behind Li Niang’s visit to Huoling Prefecture this time.
Qin Haoyan confessed truthfully, “I do not know. Only the old ancestor knew about those people. However, it is said that the old ancestor had a list in his possession. But after the old ancestor died, no one knew where the list went. Perhaps it fell into the hands of the Baili family.”
A cold light flashed through Feng Qingran’s apricot eyes. So there really was a list…
If the list fell into the hands of the Baili family, that would be bad news for Li Niang!
The Baili family would absolutely not let Li Niang off easily.
Perhaps the Baili family would use the list to lure Li Niang out of hiding.
After all, just with qin music and singing, one could bring people sudden enlightenment. That alone was enough to drive many people crazy.
Enlightenment is a state in which a cultivator, during the process of cultivation, suddenly enters a state of comprehending the Great Dao. In this state, the cultivator has an extremely high chance of gaining an opportunity to communicate with heaven and earth.
Enlightenment is a mysterious and profound matter.
Even a monstrous genius cultivator might never have the chance in their entire life to enter a state of enlightenment even once.
Yet Li Niang’s qin music and singing could bring people into enlightenment. This heaven-defying ability naturally aroused the greed of countless powerful individuals.
Perhaps the Baili family had shut down the teleportation arrays above the nine prefectures back then precisely to search for Li Niang’s whereabouts.
They probably never imagined that Li Niang had not only infiltrated Qingyun Prefecture but had also become good friends with members of the Baili family.
Baili Yuanmo would never have thought that the Lady Miaoyin he had been searching for all this time was right beside him, would he?
Mo Jinghong was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, “Do you know who betrayed the Xuanzhe family back then?”
“No! Do not… I do not know!” Qin Haoyan’s pupils contracted violently, his eyes filled with terror.
Mo Jinghong’s cold, clear eyes darkened slightly. To be under a soul-capturing technique and still refuse to answer about the Xuanzhe matter proved that Qin Haoyan knew the truth behind the Xuanzhe clan’s annihilation.
It was just that a restriction had been placed on Qin Haoyan’s body, preventing him from speaking of the Xuanzhe matter.
Mo Jinghong said coldly, “How did the Ning family and the Dugu family meet their end?”
Qin Haoyan clutched his head, shaking it desperately. “I… I am going to die. Do not kill me! Do not kill me!”
Qin Haoyan gradually fell into a state of madness.
“Seventh Senior Brother, could it be that Fifth Senior Sister’s and Second Senior Brother’s matters are also connected to the Qin family?” In the original novel, Feng Qingran had only seen the endings of Ning Shiyue and Dugu Jianyi.
Regarding their backgrounds, the original novel mentioned not a single word. But the original novel had also expressed, in a very obscure way, that their enemies stood at the pinnacle of power in the nine prefectures.
Could it be that Fifth Senior Sister and Second Senior Brother had a grudge against the Baili family?
Then why would they still come to participate in the Spirit Combat Tournament? Was that not walking straight into the tiger’s den?
Mo Jinghong nodded. “The Dugu family was also highly renowned a thousand years ago. Especially the Dugu family’s swordsmanship, which was number one in the nine prefectures. Later, the Dugu family declined overnight, and the Qin family immediately rose to prominence, with their descendants excelling in swordsmanship.”
“Seventh Senior Brother, could it be that the ones who actually destroyed the Dugu family were the Baili family?” Feng Qingran was unsure of the Qin family’s strength, but she knew the Qin family was the Baili family’s claw.
“Mm, but the ones who directly acted were still the Qin family.” Mo Jinghong’s phoenix eyes revealed cold sternness.
Feng Qingran then asked, “Then what does the Ning family’s matter have to do with the Qin family?”
Mo Jinghong said in a cold, clear voice, “The only two fifth-rank talisman masters remaining in the Baili family came from the Ning family. All the other members of the Ning family were annihilated by the Qin family. Only the direct bloodline barely escaped and lived a life in hiding.”
Feng Qingran’s beautiful eyes lowered. Both Second Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Sister had grudges against the Qin family.
But the mastermind behind the scenes was the Baili family.
And within Lingyun Sect, Third Senior Sister’s surname was Qin, and Sixth Senior Brother’s surname was Baili…
In the original novel, their enemy was always Su Yanran. But now it seemed that was not the case. Their true enemy was the Baili family.
Things seemed to be getting more and more complicated!
Mo Jinghong put away the image-recording stone. Feng Qingran’s gaze shifted. “Seventh Senior Brother, he will not resist for the time being, right?”
“Mm.” Mo Jinghong’s voice was cold and clear.
“Seventh Senior Brother, wait a moment. Give me fifteen minutes.” Feng Qingran gripped the axe, her eyes full of cunning, and walked toward Qin Haoyan.
Feng Qingran turned the back of the axe toward Qin Haoyan, raised the axe, and brought it down on him!
Ah!——
Qin Haoyan let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.
Feng Qingran did not hold back in the slightest. A hint of regret flashed through her apricot eyes. What a pity she could not hit his face. Otherwise, how bad would it look if people saw it when they went out?
Feng Qingran struck fast, ruthlessly, and accurately, without leaving a single wound on Qin Haoyan’s body.
Even if the Heaven-Splitting Axe could not unleash its power, it was still no ordinary magical tool.
Any injury left by the Heaven-Splitting Axe was very difficult to heal through pills or other means. It could only recover bit by bit through the body’s own recovery ability.
Feng Qingran did a quick calculation. This old man would need at least forty-nine days of lying in bed to recover, and he could not cultivate during that time. If he tried to cultivate, his primordial spirit would be in unbearable pain.
