I Have An Infinite Cultivation Resource
Chapter 76: Borrowing Influence
"Elder Wen, you mustn't falsely accuse me. It was Ma Yuan who tested the talismans with the jade slip and declared that the Flame Talismans were unqualified. Who could have expected that these 'unqualified' Flame Talismans would burn him to death?"
Lu You glanced at Elder Wen and lightly cupped his hands. Acting as if by accident, a jade key suddenly slipped from his sleeve with a clack and fell to the ground.
What "Grandmaster State of the Talisman Dao"—that was something even Lu You hadn't anticipated. This jade key was his true trump card. The reason he had asked Wu Tong for a token was precisely to borrow Wu Tong's backing while he supposedly investigated the so-called "Dongfang Bubai."
The jade key emitted faint spiritual fluctuations—clearly no ordinary item.
Lu Xiao'e's pupils shrank sharply when she saw the key, but she quickly put on an indifferent expression.
The disciples gathered at the gate also saw the key, though none of them understood its significance; they were merely curious.
Elder Wen, however, shuddered the moment he saw it.
"So that's how it is… so that's how it is!"
Alarm bells rang wildly in Elder Wen's mind, yet at the same time, everything suddenly became clear. In an instant, he connected all the events of the past few days.
This Lu You actually possessed the room key of a Nascent Soul expert! At a glance, it was obvious—he must be someone close to that expert, or perhaps his talent had long been discovered, and he was simply waiting to be accepted as a disciple upon entering the sect.
No wonder there were rumors that Zeng Yan lent Lu You a treasured artifact. No wonder she wrote to him after killing someone. That wretched Zeng Yan clearly knew Lu You had caught the attention of a Nascent Soul cultivator and had tried to curry favor in advance. And yet, that day, he himself had foolishly questioned her and even tried to suppress Lu You. What a close call! Whether he had punished Zeng Yan or interrogated Lu You, Lu You would surely have remembered it. If he mentioned it to the Nascent Soul expert later, how could Elder Wen still have any standing in the Verdant Cloud Sect?
Damn it—he had even been annoyed that Bai Zihua kept stopping him. Now that he thought about it, Bai Zihua had been saving his life!
And who was the one who died? Huang Wen! The niece of Elder Huang, who might have broken through to the Nascent Soul realm. If Elder Huang learned of her death, his Dao heart might destabilize, and he might never break through. And he had actually tried to investigate the culprit—how stupid!
There were only so many Nascent Soul experts in the sect. Every additional one meant dividing up more power. So the one who died wasn't just Huang Wen—it was clearly part of a covert struggle among Nascent Soul experts, aimed at preventing Elder Huang from advancing. If he continued investigating recklessly, wouldn't he be the next to die alongside Huang Wen?
I understand now—I understand everything! From the very beginning, I stepped into a massive trap!
No wonder Zeng Yan had been so fearless. No wonder Lu You dared to incite the disciples. No wonder Bai Zihua had tried so hard to stop him. They had already laid out a grand scheme, and he alone had foolishly thrown himself into it.
Of course—Bai Zihua gave a treasured artifact to Zeng Yan, Zeng Yan lent it to Lu You, and a few days later it returned to Bai Zihua's hands. Damn it! The Nascent Soul backers behind Bai Zihua and Lu You were clearly in cahoots. One Nascent Soul expert could crush him easily, and yet he had dared to meddle in a scheme orchestrated by two of them!
Elder Wen cast a deep glance at Ma Yuan.
This Ma Yuan died well. He deserved to die!
Unable to hold it in, Elder Wen let out a long howl. Indeed, he was blessed by fortune and possessed unmatched wisdom—Zhou Lei hadn't managed to scheme against him, and he had even seen through this seemingly fatal trap. He laughed at Dongfang Bubai for lacking courage, laughed at the Nascent Soul experts for lacking wisdom—hmph, the entire Verdant Cloud Sect were nothing but chickens and dogs!
After finishing his long howl, Elder Wen clasped his hands behind his back and chuckled. "So that's how it is. This Ma Yuan actually tried to embezzle—he truly deserved death!"
With a flick of his sleeve, he crushed Ma Yuan's already charred corpse into dust. Then, smiling broadly, he walked toward Lu You, bent down, and picked up the jade key from the ground.
"Daoist Lu, there's no need to panic. Quickly put your key away. With me, Wen, here, I absolutely won't allow you to be wronged."
Elder Wen, who had been stern and aggressive just moments ago, now appeared like a kind and gentle old man. He lightly patted Lu You's shoulder and said to the surrounding disciples, "Everyone here saw it with their own eyes—Lu You's talismans were made in the Grandmaster State. So giving him an extra one hundred contribution points this time isn't excessive, right?"
"Not excessive, not excessive." Contribution points were used to exchange for talisman-drawing methods. For a genius like Lu You, even without contribution points, the sect would still provide him with such methods. No one cared about this formality.
"Mm." Elder Wen nodded in satisfaction. Then, noticing that Lu You had no accessories on his hand, he suddenly had an idea and took out a storage ring. "Daoist Lu, I see you haven't yet purchased a storage ring. This one has about one hundred cubic meters of space, consider it compensation for today. I will also strictly discipline every disciple so that something like what happened with Ma Yuan will never occur again."
"Thank you, Elder Wen." Lu You accepted the ring. A hundred cubic meters—far larger than the one Zhou Lei had before, which only had ten.
"Ah, now you're being too formal. In the pursuit of the Dao, there is no distinction of seniority or age. All who walk this path are fellow Daoists. Daoist Lu, you may simply address me as Daoist Wen."
"Daoist Wen…" Lu You's expression twitched, while Lu Xiao'e couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
Elder Wen, however, nodded in satisfaction. Then he turned to the surrounding crowd and barked, "You bunch of trash—why aren't you going back to cultivate? What are you staring at?"
After driving everyone away, Elder Wen gave Lu You a nod. Then he suddenly leapt onto his flying sword. "Daoist Lu, rest well. I, Wen, shall take my leave!"
With a sharp shout, Elder Wen vanished into the horizon. His flying sword drew a long streak of light as it sped toward the Sword Tomb.
At this moment, Zeng Yan had just secretly left the Sword Tomb and had not yet returned, while Bai Zihua was still anxiously waiting nearby with a tracking compass.
Suddenly, Bai Zihua saw a red dot appear on the compass. Looking closer, he realized it was a flying sword, and his expression immediately darkened. Not good—it's Elder Wen! And with Zeng Yan not here, wouldn't that give him leverage?
Bai Zihua stepped out from the forest first. "Elder Wen, stop!"
"Daoist Bai!" Upon seeing Bai Zihua, Elder Wen hurriedly landed, rushed forward, and gave a deep bow. "Many thanks to Daoist Bai for your painstaking efforts—time and again you've saved my life. I, Wen, offer my deepest gratitude!"
"??!" Bai Zihua took a step back in shock and looked carefully. Yes, this really was the same Elder Wen who had been so aggressive just yesterday.
Then Elder Wen looked at the tracking compass in Bai Zihua's hand. "Hmm, only two red dots. Daoist Zeng Yan isn't in the Sword Tomb?"
"What are you trying to do?" Bai Zihua's heart tightened as he grew wary.
"She's not? Wonderful! Not being here is good! I came just to inform Daoist Zeng Yan that her reflection period has been lifted—she's free now!" Elder Wen wore an expression that said I understand everything. Then he bowed deeply to Bai Zihua once more, stepped onto his flying sword, and vanished in an instant.
"Damn it, Zeng Yan wasn't reflecting at all. As expected, they're all in it together. Good thing I possess unmatched wisdom. I laugh at that Dongfang Bubai—haha! I laugh at those Nascent Soul experts!" Elder Wen rejoiced inwardly as he gradually disappeared into the sky.
"??!" Bai Zihua stood there dumbfounded.
Something's not right… What exactly did Lu You do? Did I analyze this wrong? With so many people bullying Lu You and ending up dead, shouldn't Lu You have some hidden identity, then suddenly strike back, deal with Elder Wen, get exposed by me, and be brought to justice? What is going on here—has Elder Wen gone mad?
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