CHAPTER 552: 284、MASTER XU... HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE RED DUST PAVILION_2?

"Chief Hong’s feelings, I, Xu Mou, can understand. Let’s make an exception for this matter."

After saying this, Xu Xing waved his hand, indicating to Hong De, who was standing before him to apologize, to retake his High Seat.

Hong De showed a troubled expression, but seeing Xu Xing’s increasingly indifferent face, he shivered and obediently returned to his High Seat.

Once again, the Great Hall fell into silence.

After everyone meditated for a day, the Cultivators from the Butian Sect and Zuoqiu Clan who had been sent out to capture Gan Yi and Hong Chuan returned to the Great Hall.

Behind them was a beautiful woman leading a five or six-year-old boy.

"Fortunately, we succeeded in our mission. We intercepted Gan Yi and her son as they were trying to escape to Phoenix Mountain," Tan Shan said.

"Please spare the lives of my son and me, Master Xu. We shall forever be indebted..."

The beautiful woman didn’t hesitate when she saw Xu Xing. She knelt with her son and pleaded with all her might.

"Madam Gan... Our Butian Sect follows the Righteous Path, not the Demon Way. We promised not to kill Hong Wenren’s descendants, and we will honor this promise."

Xu Xing shook his head. After glancing at Gan Yi and her son, he turned his gaze to Zuoqiu Lin. "Chief Zuoqiu, I will leave Gan Yi and her son in your hands. They can be placed under house arrest for life; no need to kill them. When their resentment fades, you may release their descendants."

The Cultivation World is different from the Mortal World. If I were handling such matters in the Mortal World, the natural course would be to eradicate them completely, annihilate their three clans. But there’s no need for that in the Cultivation World.

Time is enough to end these people’s lives. It’s better to retain a reputation for not killing unjustly than to ruin my name with slaughter.

"Yes, Master Xu." Zuoqiu Lin nodded and had a few Cultivators from the Zuoqiu Clan take Gan Yi and her son away.

After settling the matter of Gan Yi and her son, Xu Xing and Zuoqiu Lin began to discuss the Bloody Sun Valley with Hong De. At this time, Hong De dared not harbor the slightest desire for the Bloody Sun Valley.

After Zuoqiu Lin "apologized," Hong De immediately made a Heart Demon Oath, promising not to send his clan members to harass Bloody Sun Valley or steal Spiritual Ore again.

This matter was settled, and Xu Xing had no intention of staying with the Lishan Hong Family any longer. He returned to Spring and Autumn Mountain with Zuoqiu Lin to continue discussing the marriage.

「Half a month passed.」

The details of the marriage were soon settled by the Butian Sect and the Zuoqiu Clan.

This time it was only the Zuoqiu Clan’s daughter from Spring and Autumn Mountain getting married, not a marriage alliance between two great Upper Sects like the Nanhua Sect and the Flying Feather Immortal Palace, so it didn’t need to be so complicated. Mostly, they were just discussing when an auspicious date for the wedding would be.

The wedding day was set for one hundred years later. Once Xu Xing and the Butian Sect had established a strong foothold in the North Wilderness, they would send people to bring the bride over.

...

...

「A month later.」

Soon after the Butian Sect and the Zuoqiu Clan signed the Marriage Contract, the Nanhua Sect announced that it had established an alliance with the Butian Sect.

Once this news came out, the various sects in East Huangzhou immediately started buzzing. There were both praises and criticisms of the two sects, but the mainstream opinion was mostly optimistic about the Butian Sect’s future development.

The next day, Wu Ziting, as an envoy, once again came to Qingzhu Mountain Cave Mansion to see Xu Xing regarding this matter.

Wu Ziting sat in the secondary High Seat of the Cave Mansion Hall, took a small sip of the Spirit Tea served by an Immortal Maiden, glanced at Xu Xing, and then smiled, "I’m not sure if Master Xu refused to establish an alliance with our Cloud Sword Sect first, and chose to establish an alliance with the Nanhua Sect first, because Immortal Ying is too captivating?

"Rumors have been circulating that Master Xu flew into a rage for a beauty, went to the Nanhua Sect to disrupt Ruan Baimei’s wedding, all because he and Immortal Ying already had feelings for each other..."

"Street rumors are not credible. They are just stories concocted by outsiders," Xu Xing said, unsurprised. After being "baptized" by Scholar Su several times, he was nearly immune to this. "Whenever a person becomes famous, people will always ascribe to them what they believe to be their entanglements of love and resentment."

The Butian Sect now had fame and fortune, so it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that people were concocting "stories" about the sect.

"Master Xu may be young in his cultivation, but this temperament and wisdom in handling worldly affairs far exceed that of many old Old Monks..." Wu Ziting praised, nodding her qiufu slightly.

Next, she wasted no more words and took out the blank golden paper she had previously presented to Xu Xing.

However, unlike the previous blank golden paper, this one now had the terms of the Treaty of Alliance written on it.

"I wonder if Master Xu is satisfied with this treaty? If not, I, as the envoy, will be punished upon my return..." Wu Ziting said with a light smile.

"This Treaty of Alliance is quite suitable. Thank you, Fairy Wu..." Xu Xing nodded after using his Magic Power to take the golden paper and examine it for a short while.

The Cloud Sword Sect had been willing to give the Butian Sect a blank golden paper because they wanted to snatch the Nanhua Sect’s prize. Now that the Nanhua Sect had already claimed this prize, the Cloud Sword Sect naturally wouldn’t casually promise any further significant benefits to Xu Xing and the Butian Sect.

Being able to produce such a fair Treaty of Alliance already showed that the Cloud Sword Sect, this great Upper Sect, upheld the principles of the Righteous Path and treated the Butian Sect well.

At this moment, what the Butian Sect lacked was precisely the recognition from Righteous Path Large Sects like the Cloud Sword Sect.

Moreover, if not for the stimulus of Wu Ziting’s visit from the Cloud Sword Sect this time, the matter of the Nanhua Sect establishing a Treaty of Alliance with the Butian Sect would likely have been delayed for an unknown length of time.

"I recall that the Cloud Sword Sect’s territory is in the central part of East Huangzhou..." Xu Xing said after signing the Treaty of Alliance and returning the golden paper to Wu Ziting. "Coincidentally, I’ve obtained a fortuitous opportunity from the Lishan Hong Family that requires a trip to Tianyi Gorge. If Fairy Wu doesn’t mind, would you care to accompany me?"

Leaving the Nanhua Sect and traveling with Wu Ziting posed the risk of encountering Chi Yuan and being attacked by him. However, Wu Ziting’s status was different; she was an envoy of the Cloud Sword Sect. As long as Chi Yuan hadn’t fallen to the Demon Way, he wouldn’t dare to easily make a move against Wu Ziting. Her safety on this journey should not be an issue at all. Therefore, inviting Wu Ziting to travel together wasn’t an attempt to drag her into trouble, but purely to use her status to foster a good relationship with the Cloud Sword Sect.

As for the opportunity at Tianyi Gorge, it’s of trivial importance to me, just a Nascent Soul Cave.

"Master Xu’s gracious invitation—how could I dare refuse? It is my honor..." Wu Ziting’s beautiful eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement.

The two then discussed and finalized their itinerary and schedule for the journey to the central region.

To ensure safety on this trip to the central part of East Huangzhou, Xu Xing did not inform the Nanhua Sect’s high-level members of his departure. He only left a handwritten note in his Cave Mansion explaining his travels before leaving the Nanhua Sect one after the other with Wu Ziting.

East Huangzhou is so named not only because of legends about an ancient Sky Phoenix but also because the continent’s map resembles a soaring Sky Phoenix embedded in the boundless sea.

The central region is the most expansive territory in East Huangzhou, home to three Sects and one Pavilion of the Ten Great Upper Sects.

The Three Sects are the Cloud Sword Sect, Daoist Sect, and Three Absolutes Sect. The one Pavilion is the Red Dust Pavilion.

The territories and influence of these Three Sects and one Pavilion are intricately intertwined. Tianyi Gorge, Xu Xing and Wu Ziting’s destination, was located precisely at the border between the Cloud Sword Sect and the Red Dust Pavilion.

"Master Xu... you probably haven’t visited the Red Dust Pavilion for pleasure, have you...?" Wu Ziting glanced at Xu Xing, hesitating as if she wanted to say something more, just as they entered the central region of East Huangzhou.

The Red Dust Pavilion is the Cultivation World’s equivalent of a brothel district.

For men of status in ancient times, visiting brothels was quite common. Similarly, for male cultivators of status in the Cultivation World, visiting the Red Dust Pavilion is also common.

"Fairy Wu, you bring this up so suddenly. Mo Fei, are there some hidden consequences involved?" Xu Xing asked, looking surprised.

The female cultivators of the Red Dust Pavilion are all skilled in dual cultivation techniques. However, they are also highly principled and do not casually absorb Yang essence to replenish Yin. That’s why they are so popular among male cultivators in the Cultivation World. If there were negative consequences, the Red Dust Pavilion’s business wouldn’t be thriving as it is.

"I have certainly never visited the Red Dust Pavilion..." Xu Xing added. "I am a devoted ascetic, focused on my cultivation. If not for this, I wouldn’t have achieved the Nascent Soul stage in a mere three hundred years..."

Hearing this, Wu Ziting sighed in relief and then explained, "It’s not that there are hidden consequences, but rather that my Cloud Sword Sect holds a grudge against the Red Dust Pavilion. If, during our journey, Master Xu were to seek pleasure with the Red Dust Pavilion’s female cultivators...

"Then, bound by my sect’s rules, I would be caught in a difficult position and would have no choice but to part ways with Master Xu."