93. Returning to Danxia: Affairs of Right and Wrong

Xie Wuji was also puzzled. Why had the Elder Chu suddenly become so furious? He hadn’t offended him, after all. So Xie Wuji spoke up, “I’m just curious, and learning a technique is always better than not learning anything at all.”

Protector Chu sighed, casting a glance at Xie Wuji as he replied, “The technique that burns one’s life force can only be used by the Protectors. If a Protector can’t even defend the sect leader, what face have they to call themselves a Protector? As for the sect leader, there are more profound techniques available. Burning your lifespan isn't for you, and I have no intention of teaching it to you.”

“Fine, whatever you say. You’re the boss here.” Xie Wuji helped the old man up, just as the other two children began dragging away the corpses.

At that very moment, a sharp sound echoed from the distance. Looking closely, it was the old shamaness! She staggered forward, approaching her husband and daughter. “Daughter… husband… what happened to you? What’s going on here?!”

Xie Wuji thought to himself what a pitiful woman she was—kept in the dark all along, never knowing her husband’s true identity.

“Master,” one of the children called, pulling out a row of golden needles.

Protector Chu nodded. “Forgetting Sorrow needles.”

The child proceeded to insert several needles into the woman’s head. Xie Wuji was about to stop him, but after Protector Chu’s explanation, he understood: these needles would make people forget their most painful memories. It was a kind of self-induced numbness, but for Old Lady Ye, it would at least offer some comfort.

Otherwise, she would live out the rest of her days in endless agony.

Witnessing these scenes of sorrow and separation, Xie Wuji felt deeply conflicted. What was right, what was evil? In this moment, none of it seemed to matter anymore.

After spending a few more days in Qingshi Village, Xie Wuji returned to the Danxia Sect. He traveled slowly, weighed down by inner turmoil and contradiction.

“Hey, Chicken, do you think we’ll be celebrated when we return?” Xie Wuji patted the head of the Fiery Demon Chicken. “We took down an elder of the Myriad Demons Hall, after all.”

The Fiery Demon Chicken was the former Fire-Tailed Rooster King. After Xie Wuji fed it a pill given by Protector Chu, it had mutated into a demonic beast even closer to a phoenix.

But it was still, undeniably, a chicken.

Its cultivation was around the Golden Core stage, making it a formidable fighter. It could fly and brawl, and its beak was as sharp as a freshly whetted sword.

“Cluck cluck cluck!” The Fiery Demon Chicken responded enthusiastically.

Xie Wuji laughed heartily. “I know what you’re thinking—your harem of three thousand hens! For a rooster to achieve what you have, you really are something!”

“Cock-a-doodle-doo!” The Fiery Demon Chicken soared even faster.

Outwardly, it resembled a phoenix, but the moment it opened its beak, its true nature was revealed.

Its journey was nothing short of inspirational: once destined for the chopping block, it had clawed its way up, step by step, into a rare and valuable beast with divine blood. Its demonic spirit was now of middle earth-grade quality—an impressive feat.

With a rush of wings, the Fiery Demon Chicken landed on the square before the Alchemy Hall. The place was as deserted as ever, and Xie Wuji was surprised to find none of his friends there to welcome him.

“Maybe no one got the message. No matter,” he sighed, patting the Fiery Demon Chicken. “Go on, give your harem a surprise—let them see your evolved self!”

The chicken looked around warily and suddenly stepped protectively in front of Xie Wuji, as if sensing danger.

At that moment, a large crowd appeared in the distance. At their head were the two brothers, Ding Desheng and Ding Xuanming, leading a squad of sect guards closing in on Xie Wuji.

Xie Wuji frowned. He could tell they were coming for him.

“Go,” he said, slapping the Fiery Demon Chicken's back, urging it to leave.

Ding Desheng’s eyes were bloodshot.

With a cold sneer, Ding Desheng stepped forward, pointing at Xie Wuji. “Arrest this traitor, an accomplice of the Flower Thief!”

In an instant, Xie Wuji was surrounded.

He demanded, “What is the meaning of this? Why are you arresting me?”

Ding Desheng laughed coldly. “You dare ask why? Are you not going to admit what you’ve done?”

“I fulfilled the agreement of three thousand pills—what more is left?” Xie Wuji retorted.

Ding Xuanming took a step forward. “Since you pretend ignorance, I’ll be blunt. Xie Wuji, you secretly entered the Sky Prison and released the notorious Flower Thief, Ximen Qiu-Huan. Do you know how many innocent young women will now suffer because you let him go?”

“What?! Ximen escaped?!” Xie Wuji was stunned.

“Take him to the sect leader!” Ding Xuanming ordered. Xie Wuji was immediately bound.

Just then, a golden light descended in the distance. Xie Wuji turned to see his master, Dongmen Yong, striding over, his expression darkening at the sight. “Elder Ding, Elder Ding—what’s the meaning of this?”

“Last month, Xie Wuji entered the prison and conspired with the Flower Thief Ximen to let him escape. Last night, Ximen killed two people with a blade and slipped away from the Danxia Sect. If no one had helped him, would he have escaped?” Ding Xuanming accused.

“There’s such a thing?” Dongmen Yong said, furious. As sect leader, he should have known about this, but Ding Xuanming and Ding Desheng had bypassed him entirely, seizing Xie Wuji without his knowledge.

This was a public slap in the face for Dongmen Yong—a message to the whole sect that Ding Desheng’s authority surpassed that of the sect leader himself.

Veins bulged on Dongmen Yong’s forehead.

Beside Dongmen Yong, Ji Liancheng stepped forward. “My junior brother only arrived at the Alchemy Hall today, but the incident happened last night. The timing doesn’t match up.”

“Who knows?” Ding Xuanming stroked his thin moustache, a lecherous smile on his face. “Maybe Xie Wuji arrived earlier than he claimed, only pretending to return today to create an alibi!”

Xie Wuji shouted, “If you want to frame someone, even the flimsiest excuse will do!”

“My disciple, what’s with this chicken?” Dongmen Yong asked.

Xie Wuji’s eyes darted as he replied, “I went with senior brother to confront the Hall of Yama. On the way back, I sensed a fire-spirit fruit nearby with strong fire energy. I took the Fire-Tailed Rooster King there, and we both ate a lot of the fruit. The rooster changed and became what you see now—I’ve named it the Fiery Demon Chicken.”

“What a marvelous Fiery Demon Chicken! Wuji, you really have been blessed with fortune, haha!” Dongmen Yong laughed.

But Ding Desheng called out from afar, “This is no time for reunions! Xie Wuji has committed a crime—how can you dodge responsibility? Arrest him!”

Dongmen Yong was furious. “Do you even acknowledge me as sect leader? With me here, who dares lay a hand on him?”

“Oh? Sect leader, are you planning to openly shelter a criminal?” Ding Desheng snapped, brimming with satisfaction at his brother’s scheme.

Ji Liancheng countered, “Elder Ding, did anyone actually see my junior brother take Ximen away? And even if he met Ximen before leaving the sect, couldn’t you have met him too, Elder Ding? I heard it was your disciple Baili Qingyan who brought Ximen back—doesn’t that mean your disciple is involved as well?”

Ding Desheng exploded in rage. “You’re slandering me!”