CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54 THE PERSON BEHIND THE SCENES (HELMSMAN’S ADDITIONAL UPDATES)_1

So there really was someone pulling the strings!

"Who was that person?"

"I don’t know his identity or name. I only saw an elderly man with white hair dressed in a plain Taoist robe. He claimed to share a deep connection with the Blood Robe Sect. He coerced me, demanding that my brother and I regroup our old followers to rebuild our sect and avenge the fallen warriors of the Blood Robe Sect. Otherwise... he would kill us."

A mysterious Taoist? Forcing them to seek revenge?

Shen Mo remained silent as he listened. He didn’t interrupt, only gesturing for her to continue.

"My brother and I had just escaped death; how could we be willing to be killed? So, we had no choice but to agree to avenge the Blood Robe Sect. But the enemies of the Blood Robe Sect are the many righteous path factions in Tianyou City, filled with powerful experts. My brother and I were just insignificant figures in the martial world, with weak strength. Even if we had the heart for revenge, we lacked the ability."

Without concealing anything, Gu Zhao continued her explanation, "But that Taoist said he had a way to make my brother and me formidable martial arts experts of this era. He not only gave us divine manuals but also many elixirs and herbs to increase our cultivation, which allowed us to rise rapidly."

After receiving various benefits from the Taoist, Gu Zhao and her brother Gu Ming’s cultivation speed advanced by leaps and bounds.

In just five short years, they broke through to the Nature Master Realm, a level most people could not hope to reach in their entire lifetime.

As their strength grew, so did their arrogance, and their previous constant fearfulness transformed. Their actions became increasingly audacious.

This led to their wanton slaughter of the righteous path forces immediately upon returning to Tianyou City.

Listening to this woman’s account, this mysterious Taoist’s methods seem profoundly unfathomable, almost unworldly.

He must also be from the cultivation world.

But as a cultivator, why would he meddle in mortal affairs and support the defeated remnants of the Blood Robe Sect? What is he after?

Sensing Shen Mo’s unspoken questions, Gu Zhao shook her head and said, "I also don’t know what that Taoist truly intends."

"In fact, I have only met that Taoist once."

"Afterward, he only contacted my brother, Gu Ming. He wouldn’t inform me of the various matters he assigned."

The brother she mentioned was the current Sect Leader of the Blood Robe Sect, the one known as the Bright King.

It seems I’ll have to capture that fellow to get to the bottom of this.

Shen Mo believed Gu Zhao wouldn’t dare lie to him; she likely truly didn’t know the details.

"Where is the Blood Robe Sect’s main headquarters now?"

"On the shores of Yuheng Lake, outside Tianyou City."

"Is that Taoist also within the Blood Robe Sect?"

Gu Zhao shook her head. "No, that expert’s whereabouts are erratic. He doesn’t stay at the Blood Robe Sect."

"He’s not there?"

After the interrogation, Shen Mo decided to go directly to the Blood Robe Sect’s main headquarters.

Since the mysterious Taoist wasn’t there, it was best to deal with the prime culprit sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if news leaked and that so-called Bright King of the Blood Robe Sect got scared and fled, he didn’t have time to linger here chasing him.

He pushed open the door of the room.

Outside, all the members of the Shen Family were waiting.

Seeing Shen Mo emerge, Shen Zhou, as the patriarch, stepped forward to greet him and couldn’t help but ask, "Immortal Master, are you a member of our Shen Family?"

"My father was Shen Yuanchang," Shen Mo stated with a slight nod.

"Shen Yuanchang..." Shen Zhou sighed. "That child... I do have some impression of him.

"Years ago, my cousin and his wife passed away from illness one after another, which left him disheartened for several years. Eventually, he chose to leave home and venture out. Unexpectedly, he had the good fortune to enter an immortal sect.

"What a pity. The ways of the world are unpredictable. I never got to see him return. Fortunately, Yuanchang still has a descendant in this world..."

As he spoke, he put on the air of a family elder, looking at Shen Mo with a benevolent expression.

It seemed he was hoping Shen Mo would acknowledge his kinship and return to the clan, envisioning a scene of family reunion.

But Shen Mo’s attitude was somewhat cold. "Those are all matters of the distant past."

In Shen Mo’s memory, he knew his father came from a side branch of the family.

His relationship with Shen Zhou’s main family, the direct line, wasn’t particularly harmonious.

Shen Zhou’s current display of sorrowful reminiscence seemed more performative than genuine.

"Ahem."

Shen Mo’s obvious lack of interest made Shen Zhou feel awkward, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.

As the patriarch, he had intended to curry favor, but who would have thought this grandnephew, who cultivated in an immortal sect, seemed to feel no sense of belonging to the Shen Family? He couldn’t even be bothered to exchange a few pleasantries.

"Regardless, thank you, Immortal Master, for saving the Shen Family in its time of crisis."

"On behalf of the more than one hundred and twenty members of the Shen Family, I, this old man, thank you, Immortal Master."

Shen Zhou, being an experienced man of the world, naturally knew how to adapt. Seeing Shen Mo’s lack of attachment to the family, he no longer tried to force the act of doting affection.

The way he addressed him also became subtly more respectful.

"I am of Shen Family bloodline. When the family is in trouble, it is necessary to lend aid; otherwise, these worldly ties will be hard to sever."

He nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with Shen Zhou’s change in attitude.

In fact, Shen Mo wasn’t a cultivator indifferent to worldly connections, a loner solely focused on the arduous and solitary path to immortality.

The main reason for his distant attitude towards the Shen Family was truly the lack of any emotional foundation.

He also had no desire to act as a guardian for this mortal family with whom he shared only a blood tie.

To him, in terms of closeness, even his closest blood relatives were far less dear than neighbors like Uncle Chen.

"Immortal Master, what do you intend to do with that demon cult she-devil?"

At this moment, Shen Zhiyun spoke up, diluting the somewhat tense atmosphere.

"Keep her for now. Detain her within the Shen Family," Shen Mo said coolly. "I’ve already learned the location of the Blood Robe Sect’s main headquarters from her. I plan to go to that Demonic Cult’s lair first and bring back that Bright King."

Capture the Bright King!

Hearing this, the members of the Shen Family were quite excited.

Since the Bright King had established himself as the Blood Robe Sect Leader, his actions over the past six months had been earth-shattering, shaking the entire martial world of Tianyou City.

Despite his fearsome reputation and being loathed to the bone by the righteous path martial artists, no one dared to eliminate this great scourge for the martial world.

Because his strength was simply too formidable.

A martial arts legend—this was the mythical pinnacle of the martial path!

Currently, only a cultivator from an immortal sect like Shen Mo possessed the ability and audacity to speak of capturing and killing this fiend.

"If the Immortal Master intends to go to the Blood Robe Sect’s main headquarters, I am willing to accompany you."

Outside the courtyard, a martial arts champion who had been carefully listening to the conversation stepped out, sword in hand, and volunteered.

"I am willing to go too!"

"How could Thunderclap Fist miss such a momentous event? I am also willing to accompany the Immortal Master!"

"Count me in!"

Instantly, all the powerful martial artists from Tianyou City who had come to attend the Heroes’ Banquet declared their intention to go along.

An Immortal Master descending to the mortal realm to cleanse a demonic cave—this was an extraordinary and wondrous event for these ordinary mortals.

Even these powerful figures of the martial world didn’t want to miss it.

If they could witness this grand occasion with their own eyes, they would have something to boast about in the future.

Besides, the Blood Robe Sect was rumored to house many Divine weapons and martial arts divine manuals.

As an Immortal Master, if Shen Mo were to flatten the Blood Robe Sect, he probably wouldn’t care for such worldly possessions.

But for them, it was a different matter.

Those divine manuals were enough to make martial artists flock to them, even to the point of bloody slaughter.

"If you wish to accompany me, you are free to do so."

Regarding these martial artists who offered to join, Shen Mo didn’t try to send them away, merely uttering this indifferent sentence.

Then, he set off for the Blood Robe Sect’s main headquarters, located on the bank of the Yuheng River.

Behind him, a tide of people followed, vast and mighty.