NOVPUB◎Revealing the Truth, Demanding Justice◎
Over four thousand martial artists had gathered at the Carefree Sect, but most were confined outside the Abandoned Peak, with only a select few permitted to proceed further. Those who followed were primarily sect elders, elite disciples, and highly skilled wandering warriors.
The path up the Abandoned Peak was treacherous, and a large crowd would only slow the group down.
Helian Xue stayed close behind Lu Jianwei, with Amuyan—still veiled by her hat—walking beside her.
As she watched Helian Zheng leading the way ahead, she felt nothing but bitterness and scorn.
Before sneaking into the sect, Lu Jianwei had tasked her with finding a secluded hiding spot. Her first thought had been the Abandoned Peak.
She had never understood why this peak, no different from the others, had been forsaken—why even the surrounding peaks remained sparsely inhabited.
Older members of the sect seemed to avoid mentioning the Abandoned Peak, as if it carried some unspeakable dread.
Driven by defiance, she had chosen it as their refuge.
As if fate itself had intervened, her decision led Lu Jianwei to uncover the peak’s secrets.
Helian Zheng stopped at the mouth of a mountain ravine and turned to face the crowd.
"I discovered suspicious insects on the peak and traced them here, only to learn that she had been hiding in this place all these years. Fearing she might escape, I had her confined here."
Lu Jianwei wasn’t sure whether to call him bold or simply overconfident.
Even if his fabricated story sounded plausible, Amuyan’s condition told the truth.
Anyone with eyes could see the difference between someone who had lived freely and someone who had been imprisoned for years.
Even in the dim light of the cave, the signs of Amuyan’s long captivity—the chains, the weariness—were impossible to miss.
If Amuyan had the power to shield herself from the rest of the sect, why would she choose to live in a cave?
Helian Zheng must have realized these inconsistencies, but he no longer cared.
He was no longer the weak, scheming disciple who relied on underhanded tactics to eliminate his enemies.
As the sect leader, his word carried weight. Whether people truly believed him or not, few would dare openly question a ninth-level Martial King.
Helian Zheng felt no fear—only exhilaration at the control he wielded.
He wanted their reverence, their fear, their unquestioning obedience.
Understanding his reasoning, Lu Jianwei spoke up. "Sect Leader Helian, I dislike dark places. If you claim the culprit is here, why not bring them out into the open?"
"Indeed, Sect Leader Helian, bring them out," others chimed in.
No one wanted to venture into a pitch-black cave—who knew what lurked inside?
"Alliance Leader Ling, Elder Zhao, Dean Shangguan, would the three of you accompany Sect Leader Helian inside?" Lu Jianwei’s tone was polite but brooked no refusal.
The three had no choice but to agree.
They couldn’t trust Helian Zheng to retrieve the prisoner alone.
"We will also accompany our sect leader," declared four Carefree Sect elders, stepping forward.
They wouldn’t allow outsiders to bully their leader.
Unlike Xie Tongshu and the others, these elders had been cultivated by Helian Zheng after his rise to power—their loyalty was absolute.
Lu Jianwei smiled. "Anyone else eager to explore the cave?"
"I am!" Wan Cong stepped forward, his round face alight with excitement. "Venerable Lu, this one is Wan Cong. Might I join the expedition?"
Lu Jianwei nodded. "Of course."
A few other curious martial artists, unwilling to wait outside, clamored to join as well.
Helian Zheng: "..."
What did they think the Carefree Sect was? A tourist attraction?
Two years ago, he never could have imagined someone like Lu Jianwei emerging in the martial world.
If not for her, his plans would have succeeded long ago.
"Do you not trust me, Venerable Lu?"
Lu Jianwei: "Not at all. I merely wish to indulge their curiosity. Surely Sect Leader Helian wouldn’t begrudge them such a small request?"
"Of course not." Helian Zheng flicked his sleeve and turned away. "Follow me."
Aside from the ten who had volunteered, one more figure silently trailed behind—a blade in hand.
Lang Ye lingered at the rear of the group, his grip on his sword tightening as they navigated the narrow, shadowed passage.
A frigid wind seeped through the damp crevices, biting into their skin.
Torches in hand, the group pressed forward, their flames startling insects into scurrying away.
Ling Zong and Shangguan Huai exchanged glances, both sensing something amiss.
"Helian Zheng, how much farther?" Zhao Xian demanded bluntly. "Are you leading us into a trap?"
Helian Zheng remained silent.
Something was wrong.
Every time he had come before, the cave had teemed with insects. Even if Amuyan could shield her presence with her perception-disrupting gu, he should have sensed something by now.
Something had changed—something he didn’t know about.
His steps slowed.
"Why are you stopping?" Lang Ye’s rough voice echoed from behind.
Wan Cong, standing ahead of him, chuckled. "Who knows? Perhaps he’s seen something unbelievable."
From what he knew of Lu Jianwei, she never let others dictate her actions—she preferred to take charge.
This time would be no different.
Lang Ye shouted, "Helian Zheng, are you scared?"
His voice boomed through the tunnel, reverberating painfully in their ears.
Ling Zong and the others frowned.
Rumors of dissent within the Carefree Sect seemed true after all.
Helian Zheng stood mere yards from the fork in the path, yet his feet refused to move.
Had she escaped on her own?
Had she abandoned Helian Xue?
Or—had someone taken her first?
His mind raced.
Years of unchallenged authority had made him arrogant. He had believed everything within the sect was under his control—and for over two decades, it had been.
Under his strict orders, no one had discovered Amuyan, and she had obediently refined the Gu Emperor for him.
Never had he imagined the linchpin of his plan would vanish without a trace.
Lang Ye, impatient, shoved past Wan Cong and the others, stopping just behind Helian Zheng. "If you won’t go, I will."
He moved to push past, but Helian Zheng blocked him.
"What’s your problem?"
Helian Zheng’s voice was low and strained.
"She’s gone."
The others: ???
Sect Leader Helian, are you hearing yourself?
Did he think this was a joke?
Lang Ye, incensed, knocked Helian Zheng’s arm aside and charged forward—only to find severed chains lying on the ground.
"How could she escape?!"
Zhao Xian sneered. "Sect Leader Helian, did you really think such a flimsy lie would fool us? Do you take us for fools?"
"..."
Helian Zheng’s heart sank. The yawning darkness of the cave seemed to morph into a monstrous maw, ready to devour him whole.
Where had he gone wrong?!
"Where is she?" Lang Ye slammed his scabbard against the ground, his expression savage. "Helian Zheng, I never should have listened to your nonsense!"
Wan Cong raised his torch, illuminating the broken chains. He sucked in a sharp breath.
"The chains are sturdy, judging by the break, they were severed with a single slash—what a blade."
The crowd: What’s the point of saying that now?
"Hmm?" He made a sound of surprise again, turning to ask Helian Zheng, "Sect Leader Helian, you mentioned earlier when you discovered this person?"
Helian Zheng: "About five or six days ago."
"And before that, was there anyone else living here?"
"I told you, she’s been hiding in the abandoned peak’s cave." Helian Zheng frowned. "Why are you asking this?"
Wan Cong clasped his hands. "Just curiosity."
"Enough nonsense." Lang Ye turned and walked out. "Helian Zheng, now that the person’s gone, you’d better think carefully about how to explain this to the people outside."
Outside the cave, the martial artists waited intently.
What kind of person could lurk in the Carefree Sect for over twenty years, steal the Sect Leader’s blood to refine gu worms, and even conspire with Zhuang Wenqing to harm the entire Central Plains martial world?
They were burning with anticipation.
Lu Jianwei stood among the crowd, ordinary martial artists keeping a deliberate distance to avoid offending her.
Some younger warriors stole glances at her from the corners of their eyes.
The proprietress of the inn and Commander Pei were still holding hands!
Lu Jianwei never cared for others’ opinions—she and Pei Zhi held hands only to communicate by writing in each other’s palms.
The Jade-Stone Formation was both a trap and a killing array, derived from the phrase "perish together," embodying mutual destruction.
Helian Zheng must have prepared multiple contingencies, with the Jade-Stone Formation as his last resort.
His plan was clear.
First, he pushed Amuyan out as the scapegoat. If that failed, he still had the Emperor Gu of Puppet Gu and Love Gu, which could recreate the arena scenario. Since this was the Carefree Sect’s territory and he was a Ninth-Level Martial King, he would remain invincible.
If even that didn’t work, he could escape using the Jade-Stone Formation. As its creator, he would have left himself an exit.
Once he fled, the martial artists and Carefree Sect disciples trapped in the formation would be severely injured, if not dead.
Those present were elders and elite disciples of major sects, along with the Martial Alliance Leader and the Luzhou Academy’s Dean. If they perished here, the martial world would plunge into power struggles.
Helian Zheng had always concealed his true strength, appearing as only an Eighth-Level Martial King. Everyone would assume he died alongside the other experts in the formation.
He could then reinvent himself under a new identity, manipulating the chaos from the shadows.
A Ninth-Level Martial King, wielding the Emperor Puppet Gu and an unknown number of puppet assassins, could easily rise as a revered figure among independent fighters, establishing a new faction with absolute authority.
No matter the outcome, he stood to gain.
But unfortunately, he didn’t know Lu Jianwei possessed the Emperor Yin-Yang Gu.
Earlier in the hall, Lu Jianwei first exposed his Ninth-Level strength, then crushed the Love Gu Emperor, rendering the elite disciples infected with its offspring useless and planting seeds of doubt about his gu-raising schemes.
She had also secretly taken the scapegoat from the cave, forcing Helian Zheng to lose face before the crowd.
Now, Helian Zheng had only the Puppet Gu and the Jade-Stone Formation left.
What choice would he make?
The first to storm out of the cave was Lang Ye.
He returned to the other four elites of the Carefree Sect, fury barely contained.
"Where is she?" Luo Xianshan’s icy gaze cut like a winter gale.
Lang Ye: "There’s no one! Not even a ghost!"
"What game is Helian Zheng playing now?" Lou Qingyi stroked the flying hook at his waist, narrowing his eyes at the cave entrance.
Yin Sui remarked idly, "He thinks he can always outmaneuver everyone. Isn’t that right, Brother Xie?"
Xie Tongshu ignored him, cradling his horsetail whisk.
Ling Zong, Zhao Xian, and others soon followed.
The crowd waited eagerly.
Moments later, Helian Zheng emerged with several elders.
"Sect Leader Helian, where is the mastermind?" someone shouted.
Others joined the clamor.
Uninformed Carefree Sect elders and disciples exchanged confused looks.
Hadn’t the Sect Leader said the culprit was imprisoned? What was going on?
Helian Zheng remained composed, step by step, until he stood before Lu Jianwei, his gaze dark and unreadable.
"Proprietress Lu, what skillful maneuvering."
Lu Jianwei arched a brow but didn’t respond.
Silence stretched between them, the oppressive aura of two Ninth-Level Martial Kings clashing invisibly in the space between.
The terrifying pressure weighed on the crowd—only Eighth-Level experts could endure it; those weaker couldn’t even speak.
After an eternity, Helian Zheng slowly withdrew his energy.
Lu Jianwei did the same.
Just as the crowd sighed in relief, Helian Zheng struck like lightning—aiming for the veiled figure behind Lu Jianwei!
A blade flashed. Lu Jianwei moved faster, forcing Helian Zheng back before steel could taste blood.
"Proprietress Lu, your refusal to let me lift her veil speaks volumes." Helian Zheng chuckled lowly. "Everyone, the true culprit was originally locked in that cave, but Proprietress Lu took her away. She’s determined to frame me."
The crowd: ???
Wan Cong crossed his arms, stroking his chin. "How fascinating."
"Sect Leader Helian, you spin tales well." Lu Jianwei remained unruffled. "Are you suggesting that everything you’ve endured was orchestrated by me and Zhuang Wenqing?"
Helian Zheng declared, "Consider the Eight Directions Inn’s appearances in the martial world. Wherever Proprietress Lu goes, chaos follows. Coincidence?"
In the cave, his first thought upon finding Amuyan gone was Lu Jianwei’s involvement.
The woman was unnatural. The Eight Directions Inn had appeared out of nowhere.
What young disciple entered the martial world already an Eighth-Level expert?
No sect could cultivate such a monster, even with all its resources.
Unless she had forbidden arts.
"Sect Leader Helian’s claims are absurd." Pei Zhi’s tone was light, but his eyes were frost. "Before Proprietress Lu emerged, the martial world was rife with strife. Since her arrival, potential bloodshed has been averted. She stands for justice."
"Does she?" Helian Zheng sighed. "As the Imperial Mirror Bureau’s Commander, you’ve benefited from her actions—like the Liangzhou treasure. And given your relationship… of course you’d defend her."
Shangguan Huai interjected, "Sect Leader Helian, you accepted the Alliance’s decree. It’s your duty to clarify your crimes, not shift blame. Any rational person can see Proprietress Lu has always upheld righteousness."
The crowd: "…"
While Lu Jianwei hadn’t schemed for personal gain, calling her purely righteous was a stretch.
At least she was quite good at "threatening" people.
Helian Zheng sneered, "The daughter of Dean Shangguan has ties with Innkeeper Lu, and you wish to leverage the influence of the Eight Directions Inn, so naturally you’d defend her."
"Stop twisting the facts," Zhao Xian retorted impatiently. "Don’t take us for fools. There was no one in that cave—what do you have to say now?"
"There was no one in the cave because Innkeeper Lu abducted the person," Helian Zheng declared, turning his gaze toward Amuyan. "It was her!"
The crowd erupted in murmurs, all eyes fixed on Amuyan, whose face was hidden beneath a veiled hat.
The Five Heroes of the Carefree Sect were particularly agitated, itching to tear off her veil.
Lu Jianwei couldn’t help but admire him.
To concoct such a scheme in such a short time—truly worthy of the unscrupulous Helian Zheng, who clawed his way to the top.
"Helian Zheng, if you have anything else to say, now’s the time," Lu Jianwei said coolly.
Helian Zheng turned to the crowd.
"Everyone here knows that Innkeeper Lu emerged into the martial world already an Eighth-Level Martial King, with a Ninth-Level Martial King guarding her back. No sect in the entire martial world could produce such a warrior. I believe she must hail from a hidden sect."
"A hidden sect?"
"Do hidden sects really exist? Where are they?"
"I’ve heard hidden sects aren’t allowed to interfere in martial affairs."
Wan Cong paused in stroking his chin, his probing gaze settling on Lu Jianwei.
Zhao Xian frowned. "So what?"
"Surely you’ve all heard the rumor—hidden sects have an ironclad rule: their disciples may roam the martial world, but they must never meddle in its conflicts. Yet how many incidents has Innkeeper Lu involved herself in?"
"Bravo," Lu Jianwei clapped mockingly. "Helian Zheng, do go on."
"A sect capable of producing such mastery in martial arts, medicine, and weaponry—does it truly exist? I don’t believe so. Therefore, I conclude that Innkeeper Lu must have the backing of at least two hidden sects."
Helian Zheng struck a righteous pose. "Innkeeper Lu, you and your hidden sects—what is your true purpose in stirring chaos in the martial world?"
The crowd fell silent.
It sounded… plausible.
After all, Innkeeper Lu’s origins had always been shrouded in mystery. Her martial prowess, medical skills, and weapons were all astonishing. If these resources came from multiple hidden sects, it would explain everything.
But—
Were hidden sects truly as the rumors claimed, teeming with Martial Kings?
And those supreme techniques, peerless medical arts, and exquisite weapons—were they really so awe-inspiring?
Faced with such temptation, few could resist greed.
Lu Jianwei smiled faintly. "Helian Zheng, you seem quite knowledgeable about hidden sects. Do you know someone from one? Perhaps Zhuang Wenqing of the Thousand Miles Tower?"
His absolute certainty reminded her of the Life Lotus prescription from the Thousand Miles Tower.
Even her system had deemed the prescription lost to time—how had the Thousand Miles Tower obtained it?
Unless, of course, it came from a hidden sect.
Helian Zheng scowled. "Stop deflecting."
"You’re the one deflecting," Lu Jianwei shot back, losing patience. "That puppet gu king in your body—are you going to use it or not? If not, let it come out and greet everyone."
Helian Zheng scoffed. "Don’t spout nonsense—"
Before he could finish, a sharp pain pierced the back of his skull. Beneath his hair, a tiny insect writhed violently, as if trying to burst free.
What—?!
His eyes widened in horror as realization struck. He glared at Lu Jianwei.
"You—you actually refined a Yin-Yang Gu?!"
Lu Jianwei flicked a glass bead between her fingers. Under Xiao Wu’s coercion, the puppet gu king tore through Helian Zheng’s skin, revealing itself to the crowd.
"It really is the puppet gu king—just like the one on Zhuang Wenqing!" Zhao Xian roared. "Helian Zheng, what more excuses do you have?!"
Helian Zheng blurted, "She planted it on me when I wasn’t looking—"
"You’re a Ninth-Level Martial King, yet you didn’t notice a gu worm in your head? The gu king can shield itself from others’ detection, but never its master. If you disliked it so much, why not remove it? And earlier, you claimed the mastermind plotted against you for years—yet they implanted this powerful gu in you, letting you control countless puppet assassins? Isn’t that contradictory?"
"I’m not its master! I didn’t know!" Helian Zheng protested desperately.
"Want to vomit blood again?" Lu Jianwei arched a brow.
The love gu king in the hall had already made him cough up blood once.
When a gu died, its master suffered backlash.
Helian Zheng denied vehemently, "You’re all conspiring against me—you and the Gu God Sect, and whatever hidden sects back you! You must have ulterior motives! Don’t believe her!"
The crowd exchanged glances.
Sorry, but they weren’t idiots.
Being tricked into giving blood? Maybe. But a gu worm crawling out of his skull? That was undeniable proof.
Combined with the letters Wu Ping had stolen, they were now certain—Helian Zheng had long colluded with Zhuang Wenqing to harm their peers.
What was his goal?
Was being the leader of the world’s greatest sect not enough?
"Helian Zheng," Zhao Xian demanded coldly, "what do you truly want? You and Zhuang Wenqing schemed to disrupt the Grand Tournament—what did you gain?!"
Helian Zheng knew his lies were exposed, but he refused to yield.
After all his preparations, all his schemes—why should he stand here and endure these fools’ judgment?
He could have unified the martial world—even the Gu God Sect!
"Lu Jianwei," he spat, "dare you lift her veil?"
"Why not?" Lu Jianwei replied lazily. "But first, answer my questions."
"What questions?" Helian Zheng shed all pretense, glaring at Amuyan.
He had to know—how had she escaped?
Lu Jianwei began, "The chaos during the Gu God Festival—the puppet assassins, the gu king in Azhaduo, the gu-infected tribesmen—was that your doing?"
"So what if it was? Amuyan deceived me years ago, then unleashed gu worms in my Carefree Sect! Was I wrong to avenge my fallen comrades?" He clung to his justification.
"When I was in the Gu God Sect, you sent assassins to attack my inns in Fengzhou, Jiangzhou, and Dianzhou—correct?"
"Of course. You ruined my plans."
"Yang Jidu of the Martial Alliance—was his gu worm also from you?"
"The Martial Alliance is full of parasites. Yang Jidu was just one of many." Helian Zheng smirked. "If you want justice for the Zhou family, go ask Zhuang Wenqing in the underworld. He was the one who leaked news of the Polar Golden Silkworm."
Ling Zong: "…"
The crowd: "…"
"Did you kill Huan Meng?"
"He—" Helian Zheng caught himself, narrowing his eyes. "You’re baiting me."
"Did you kill him?" Lu Jianwei pressed.
Helian Zheng burst into laughter. "Digging up events from twenty years ago—are you trying to absolve Amuyan?"
Lu Jianwei clasped Pei Zhi’s hand and stood tall.
"I’m seeking justice for my dear Commander Pei."
