Instantly upon seeing his silhouette, he bowed.
"This martial artist greets you, Imperial Prince!"
'What's with this difference in treatment? You were ready to kill me in front of my ancestor? But when it's him, you suck up to him directly?' Bai She looked at the man with a disdainful gaze, not even paying attention to Qing Long's arrival.
"Please rise, senior, you embarrass me. A junior should bow to an elder, not the other way around." He retorted with a humble smile.
Then he did the same.
"This junior greets the elder."
The soldier nodded with a smile, as if validating something.
"You remain humble despite your talent, Imperial Prince... I'd discuss longer, but the patriarch awaits."
"As you mentioned, elder. It so happens I was on my way to meet my dear fiancée when I saw all this commotion. Young Master Hu is back, but what of my martial brother?"
"Well, Young Master Xuan perished in the Lower Realm. Even his essence was devoured."
The cultivators watching from afar, and even the powerhouses in the shadows who hadn't yet heard the news, were shocked by what had happened.
"The Black Tortoise Clan's talent is dead?"
"Isn't it the fault of that good-for-nothing who led him to the Lower Realm?"
"To hunt the Devourer... in my opinion, I wouldn't be surprised if Bai She was in cahoots with it."
"Shh, do you want to die?"
"So, do you think the Imperial Prince intervened to help him?"
"I doubt it. They've never had a good relationship."
"And the situation has nothing to do with the Celestial Dragon. He wouldn't involve himself in the clash of two ancestral families," added another.
Many cultivators commented while watching the scene, unsure of what might happen.
"What are you saying, elder!? This Devourer will become a scourge... Xuan Shen's fate grieves me deeply." Qing Long sighed, looking at Bai She.
"Young Master Hu, it seems the situation is against you."
Qing Long had already understood what was happening. Bai She had once again dragged Xuan Shen into one of his delusions in the Lower Realm. They had accidentally encountered the Devourer, and Xuan Shen ended up dead. Now, the enraged Ancestral Clan would accuse Bai She of colluding with the Devourer and demand justice by his death.
'Young Master Bai She may be a hedonist who disrespects his elders, arrogant, lecherous, sadistic, and a troublemaker, but he wouldn't ally with the Devourer to kill Xuan Shen, who was like his little brother.' Qing Long concluded in his thoughts.
"I understand what the patriarch feels, but shouldn't he be judged by the Immortal Tao Sect? It seems many disciples witnessed it."
"Imperial Prince, with all due respect, stay out of this matter." He said respectfully.
"Qing Long, I don't need your help. You may leave." Bai She declared, finally standing up.
"I won't hide behind the sect, my family, or my master. I'll personally ask my mother to ensure there are no reprisals, even if the patriarch kills me. It's my incompetence and weakness that caused my little brother's death." Bai She declared, positioning himself beside the soldier, ready to follow.
Not only were the soldiers themselves shocked by his words, but everyone present couldn't believe their ears. Since when did the lecherous coward of the Hu family take responsibility? It was unprecedented.
Qing Long raised his eyebrows. Usually, Bai She wouldn't hesitate to use the sect's or his master's name to get out of trouble. But now he remained firm.
"Very well, let it be so, Brother Hu." Qing Long nodded, then disappeared into the clouds as if he had never appeared.
The man from the Black Tortoise Clan finally emerged from his stupor.
"Alright, let's go—"
"It's quite unexpected from Young Master Hu..."
"Who?"
Before he could sense his presence, he saw an old monk sitting on the ground, looking casual. Beads adorned his neck, wrists, and ankles. His eyes were closed, his clothes not only simple but appearing very poor, and he was even barefoot.
"We greet the Blind Monk!"
Everyone present knelt, after all, he was a figure who had nothing to envy from the most powerful in the world. He was the only disciple of the Buddha during his lifetime and the chief monk of the Forbidden Grotto, Manesh.
He was a very important figure who never left the grotto in thousands of years and never involved himself in worldly affairs except those related to the extreme Yin Qi of the cursed city.
Manesh looked at Bai She for a few minutes, then at the others who remained on the ground without moving.
'He's young, maybe he doesn't know who I am.' He thought, seeing that Bai She stood straight with no sign of bowing or greeting him.
He waved his hand; after all, such things as respect didn't really interest him.
"How interesting, I sensed the aura of extreme chaotic Yin from miles away. I even thought the abyss of absolute evil had already appeared, but it turns out it was just your wound oozing with that unholy energy. So tell me, young man, where did you get this injury? Your cultivation must have taken a big hit."
No one dared speak, for just like the Orthodox Cult, the Forbidden Grotto was highly respected not only for their power but for what they represented. The Forbidden Grotto, with Buddha, the purifier of absolute evil from the cursed city. And the Orthodox Cult, devoted to the Immortal Lotus, the innate adversary of the Devourer. In an era where the Devourer has already appeared, it only takes a few more years for the Holy Lotus to emerge.
"I fought the Devourer."
"Is that true?"
The blind monk asked, standing up from the ground.
"It is, old monk."
The man from the Black Tortoise Clan wanted to reprimand Bai She for speaking to the blind monk so casually, but he waved his hand; such worldly attention didn't interest him.
"Interesting, so you survived!?"
Bai She simply nodded, not really understanding the old man's thoughts.
"Elder, without meaning to offend, the patriarch asked us to bring him back—"
"No need, he's under my responsibility."
"What!?"
Sweat instantly ran down his forehead. If he didn't bring Bai She back dead or alive, it would be him and his subordinates who would perish.
The man fell to his knees.
"Please, elder, reconsider this matter."
Manesh remained with an indifferent face.
"If little Zheng Xuan disagrees, let him come find this weak old monk." He retorted sarcastically.
"Elder—"
Bai She grew increasingly confused when he saw the monk appear before him, grabbing him by the collar, then they disappeared.