Chapter 49: Answers

Considering Immortal Changcun’s advanced age, Jiang Li decided to ask his questions tactfully, avoiding any excessive excitement.

“The Red Dust Celestial has been resurrected. What are your thoughts?”

Immortal Changcun’s blood surged, and he jumped to his feet. He immediately cast several immortal-level purification techniques on himself, straightened his back, checked his appearance in a bronze mirror, and changed into his immortal robes.

The Holy Maiden of Tranquility felt as if she had just blinked, and in that instant, the old farmer had transformed into an elegant elder with an imposing presence.

Without a word, Immortal Changcun turned into a streak of light and shot toward the Pure Land of the Mortal World.

Before he could fly out of the cave, Jiang Li grabbed his ankle and dragged him back.

“Let me go! Let me go! Don’t stop me from pursuing love!” Immortal Changcun struggled desperately, but Jiang Li’s hands were like iron clamps, making it impossible for him to move.

“You call that love? Even I’m embarrassed for you.” Jiang Li rolled his eyes.

Back when the Red Dust Celestial first descended, she caused a huge commotion. Immortal Changcun had been intrigued and went to take a look. The moment he saw her, he fell to his knees on the spot, proclaiming he had found true love and would worship the Red Dust Celestial for eternity.

It was only after calming down that he rationalized it as the Red Dust Celestial being the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao’s concept of beauty.

With the Holy Maiden of Tranquility present, Jiang Li was too embarrassed to say all this out loud.

“Let me go! You’re bullying the elderly!”

The Holy Maiden of Tranquility was shocked—not because of Immortal Changcun’s outburst, but because Jiang Li could restrain a true immortal so effortlessly!

After quite a while, Immortal Changcun finally calmed down.

“See? Even an immortal can’t resist the charm of the Red Dust Celestial.” Jiang Li turned to the Holy Maiden of Tranquility.

This was an undeniable demonstration.

She hadn’t personally witnessed how Emperor Mengjiang and the others lost their composure, nor did she know the exact details of Daoist Nun Xuan’ai’s coup.

This was the first time she had seen someone go crazy over the Red Dust Celestial—and it was an immortal, no less.

“So the Red Dust Celestial is really alive again?” Immortal Changcun knew Jiang Li wouldn’t joke about something like this, but he still couldn’t help asking.

Jiang Li and the Holy Maiden of Tranquility took turns explaining everything that had happened. After a moment of thought, Immortal Changcun concluded—

“It appears her body has given birth to a new soul!”

“This has precedents in the Celestial Realm. When an immortal dies but their celestial energy remains intact, their body doesn’t decay. Over time, it may develop sentience—a completely new being with no memories of its past life. This phenomenon is most common among body-refining immortals.”

“Didn’t you propose the theory of ‘new soul emergence’? A body infused with spiritual or celestial energy will eventually produce a new soul.”

“Then why has she been sleeping all this time?”

“It’s a psychological issue. A newly born soul is completely ignorant of itself and the world yet possesses immense power. This confusion and fear make them instinctively use sleep as an escape.”

“Didn’t you say that ever since you told her about her past, she’s been sleeping less and less? That means she’s gradually accepting herself.”

Having spent thousands of years in the Celestial Realm, Immortal Changcun had extensive knowledge. After just hearing the details, he immediately came up with a logical explanation and resolved Jiang Li’s doubts in just a few sentences.

Seeing the eager glint in Immortal Changcun’s eyes, Jiang Li warned him—

“Don’t even think about sneaking into the Pure Land of the Mortal World while she’s still adjusting.”

“What?! Am I that kind of person?!” Immortal Changcun felt insulted and turned his head away, refusing to meet Jiang Li’s gaze.

How did this brat see through him so easily?!

“I’m serious. What should we do about the Red Dust Celestial? If she stays in the Pure Land of the Mortal World, it’s fine, but what if she wants to leave? Should we let her or not? I still haven’t figured this out. Right now, only a handful of people know about her revival—don’t cause any unnecessary trouble!”

Seeing Jiang Li’s serious expression, Immortal Changcun understood he wasn’t joking.

Just telling him about this was already a sign of trust.

As a senior, he couldn’t betray the trust of his juniors.

“Alright, I understand.”

Seeing Immortal Changcun’s solemn promise, Jiang Li finally relaxed his expression.

“There’s something else.”

Jiang Li then explained how the black-robed man had been spreading demonic cultivation and had been laying out a plan for 380 years.

Jiang Yixing’s descent into demonic cultivation had already happened over two months ago. He had long since been executed, and as Jiang Li’s cousin, it was Jiang Li himself who had personally thrown him into prison.

This scandalous event had spread across the Nine Provinces, causing a massive uproar.

Some believed Jiang Li had upheld justice and supported his actions.

Others thought he should have executed Jiang Yixing immediately instead of following legal procedures.

Still, others condemned Jiang Li for imprisoning his own cousin, calling him cold-hearted.

But no one suspected Jiang Li of practicing demonic cultivation himself.

The most direct consequence was that the Bronze Cauldron in the Human Sovereign Hall began collecting faith power at a slightly slower rate.

However, since Immortal Changcun had been secluded in the Dao Sect and the Holy Maiden of Tranquility had just come out of seclusion, neither of them had heard of this event.

“How was the black-robed man able to plan this so far in advance? If I weren’t strong enough to not need faith power, his schemes might have actually worked.”

Jiang Li no longer believed this was mere coincidence—

A random demonic cultivator wouldn’t have been able to point a finger and instantly raise Jiang Yixing from the Mid Foundation Establishment Stage to the Golden Core Stage.

That kind of power required at least a Peak Soul Formation Stage cultivator.

At that time, Jiang Yixing was just an ordinary talentless cultivator with no influence.

Who would bother planting demonic cultivation in him unless there was a bigger plan at play?

This had to be a conspiracy targeting either him or the Human Sovereign position itself!

Immortal Changcun stroked his beard in silence. After a while, he finally spoke.

“Either someone glimpsed your future using the Dao of Time, or someone skilled in Karmic Laws or Fate-Reading Techniques saw that you were destined to become the Human Sovereign.”

The Dao of Time wasn’t exclusive to the Great Zhou Imperial Clan. There could be hidden cultivators who had mastered it.

“Karmic Laws? Fate-Reading?” Jiang Li was unfamiliar with these terms.

“It’s natural that you don’t know. Karmic Laws are about destiny—if something is fated for you, you’ll get it no matter what. If not, it will always remain beyond your grasp.”

“Fate-Reading Techniques claim that every person has a unique aura above their head, and its color determines their future achievements.”

“These cultivation methods were lost ages ago, but there’s no telling if an old temple or ruined Daoist shrine still has remnants of these techniques, waiting for someone to accidentally discover them.”

Even though Jiang Li had found a clue, he had no idea where to start searching.

“Why would someone want to weaken the Human Sovereign’s faith power?” The Holy Maiden of Tranquility was puzzled.

If the Human Sovereign weakened, it would only benefit the black-robed man—but who would defend the Nine Provinces from the Outer World Demons then?

This was an obvious question, yet both Jiang Li and Immortal Changcun had overlooked it.

Now, thanks to the Holy Maiden’s casual remark, they finally realized the truth.

They exchanged glances, confirming their suspicions.

The only ones who would benefit from the Human Sovereign’s downfall…

Were the Outer World Demons themselves.

There was a traitor among them.

Or worse—an Outer World Demon had infiltrated the Nine Provinces!