Saving the White Moonlight Chapter 83

“Qiao Shengjiao was possessed by a demonic cultivator?”
Yan Zhuguang came out after changing into a white dress. Around her shoulders was a blanket that reached her calves. It was the blanket made from wool of the Rongzhu sheep, the one Yun Mixue had given her earlier at Qiuming Pill Hall.
Seeing her like this, Yun Mixue could not help feeling satisfied. The two sat under the beautiful Crystal Frost Fruit tree in the large courtyard and spoke.
Yun Mixue passed on the news Gu Chen had sent her. There was no need to hide this from Yan Zhuguang. There was nothing that could not be said.
When Yan Zhuguang first heard it, she was truly somewhat surprised.
At first, although she had guessed that there was something wrong with Qiao Shengjiao, and that even the Qiao main family behind him might have a problem, she had not expected him to be possessed by a demonic cultivator.
Because in Yan Zhuguang’s view, Qiao Shengjiao stopping her and Eldest Senior Sister from following him might have come from good intentions.
If she and Eldest Senior Sister did not follow him, they would not lose much. Even if they might miss some key clue, the destruction of the Qiao branch family had little to do with them. If they missed it, then they missed it.
On the other hand, if they followed, they might face unknown danger. So Yan Zhuguang had boldly guessed that perhaps Qiao Shengjiao had become lost in Eldest Senior Sister’s beauty and did not want Eldest Senior Sister to face danger, so he had deliberately provoked them into leaving.
But if Qiao Shengjiao had been possessed by a demonic cultivator, then the purpose behind him stopping the two of them from following became worth thinking about.
Yun Mixue said, “Qiao Shengjiao was indeed possessed by a demonic cultivator. However, the one who interacted with us that day may have been his own awareness.”
“How so?”
The matter was like this.
After learning from Yan Zhuguang and Yun Mixue that there was something wrong with Qiao Shengjiao, Gu Chen sent his spies to investigate along Qiao Shengjiao’s trail.
It was also a coincidence. Originally, with Yan Zhuguang and Yun Mixue traveling back and forth, several days had already been delayed. Several days had also passed since Qiao Zhenbang and the others were killed by unknown people. They might not have found any clues anymore. But when that spy found Qiao Shengjiao, he happened to see a dark smoke drift out of Qiao Shengjiao’s body, while Qiao Shengjiao collapsed on the ground, his life or death unknown.
Gu Chen’s spy might not have been extremely powerful, but his skill in hiding his aura and gathering information was exceptional. He hid nearby and used a secret method to hear clearly the conversation between the black shadow inside the formation and another person.
It turned out that the black shadow was a demonic cultivator who practiced a special demonic art. This kind of demonic cultivator was generally called a shadow demon. They parasitized cultivators’ bodies and absorbed the host’s negative emotions for cultivation.
There were not many of these demonic cultivators, and they did not have much attack power. However, their methods of hiding themselves were extremely strong. They were usually controlled by large demonic forces and used as secret spies or to do things that could not be spoken of.
Among shadow demons, there was also a special kind. They could influence the host’s mental state, or even change memories and use other methods, to control the host.
The shadow demon possessing Qiao Shengjiao was one with a certain level of control. Qiao Shengjiao was the Qiao family’s legitimate second son, and his soul lamp was guarded by someone. If anything happened to him, the Qiao family would react. If the demonic cultivators wanted to achieve some hidden purpose, they could not kill Qiao Shengjiao and then have a demonic cultivator pretend to be him. Not only would that easily alert the Qiao family, it would also be easy to expose.
Of course, this kind of control could not last too long. Otherwise, the cultivation world would have long since fallen into chaos.
The reason Gu Chen’s spy happened to discover this was that after parasitizing a host for a certain amount of time, the shadow demon had to leave the host and go out to breathe.
If a shadow demon stayed too long in the same host, it might also get lost in the host’s awareness, be assimilated by the host, and become part of the host’s power.
In the end, influence in this world always went both ways.
There were many ways to defend against shadow demons and detect their existence. Even without these methods, as long as the possessed person stayed with others for a long time, the shadow demon itself would become anxious and expose a flaw.
After Qiao Zhenbang’s group was wiped out, Qiao Shengjiao had been staying with the Qiao family members who came to investigate. Even though the shadow demon had methods to affect Qiao Shengjiao’s actions, it had not been able to find a chance to come out alone.
Only after a few days did the shadow demon find an opening to run out for air, and it was just then discovered by Gu Chen’s spy.
As for the shadow demon’s purpose in possessing Qiao Shengjiao, aside from thoroughly silencing the remaining Qiao branch family members, it was actually also because of Yan Zhuguang and Yun Mixue.
“Could it be that news of the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed leaked? Or is the master behind that shadow demon simply the Dripping Blood Demon Domain?”
Yun Mixue said, “It is connected.”
Yan Zhuguang frowned. An innocent man would be blamed for holding a treasure. If the news that she carried the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed spread, there would be plenty of trouble not only from demonic cultivators, but also from immortal cultivators.
Had the former sect master of Fenghua Immortal Sect not ignored even his daughter’s life and death for the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed?
“But the person behind this is not the Dripping Blood Demon Domain. It is the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate.”
“The Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate?” This demonic force sounded a little familiar. Was it not the demonic gate that had taken the chance to attack the Dripping Blood Demon Domain after Su You Demon Lord and the former sect master eloped, forming a grudge with the Dripping Blood Demon Domain?
“Exactly.”
The people of the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate had gotten news from somewhere that Yun Mixue and Yan Zhuguang had obtained an extraordinary treasure from a hidden realm, one that was very useful to demonic cultivators.
They investigated Yan Zhuguang and Yun Mixue’s movements and guessed that after the two sent Su Qian’er back to Fenghua Immortal Sect, they might go to the Qiao branch family’s remains to investigate. So they had Qiao Shengjiao, who was influenced by the shadow demon, go there and wait, trying to lure the two of them into an ambush and capture them.
However, after seeing Yun Mixue, Qiao Shengjiao’s subconscious unexpectedly woke up somewhat. He seemed to sense that something was wrong with his body. He did not want Yun Mixue to face danger, so he deliberately made Yun Mixue and Yan Zhuguang suspicious and leave the area.
Qiao Shengjiao had some cleverness. At first, the shadow demon did not notice. It only reacted later.
“No wonder the demonic cultivators could destroy Qiao Zhenbang’s group so easily. It turns out there was a traitor inside.”
Yun Mixue nodded. “In the end, demonic cultivators do not dare act too openly in immortal path territory. With the shadow demon parasitizing Qiao Shengjiao, the demonic cultivators had an opening.”
Qiao Shengjiao was the Qiao family’s legitimate second young master. With him giving orders, making Qiao Zhenbang’s group go somewhere was very easy. The demonic cultivators did not need to search the whole cultivation world for people. They only had to wait somewhere for the prey to walk into the net.
“Only, what grudge does the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate have with the Qiao branch family? Why did they have to silence the whole branch family?”
Yun Mixue said, “They seem to be looking for someone. The message the spy heard was, ‘Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one escape.'”
Yan Zhuguang thought for a moment. “No wonder they used a sacrificial method and sacrificed that whole piece of land. That would make sure no fish slipped through the net.”
In a large family, it was hard to guarantee there were no hidden doors, secret rooms, or other life-saving methods. Even if a Dividing Spirit cultivator came and set restrictions in advance to prevent teleportation, crushing everything with overwhelming power still might not guarantee that no one escaped.
But by using a sacrificial method to destroy an entire piece of land, they could use a secret method to strengthen the demonic cultivators’ power and prevent anyone from secretly escaping. For demonic cultivators, it was simply a move that gained several benefits at once.
Yan Zhuguang carefully analyzed the information and said to Yun Mixue, “Behind this, I am afraid it is still hard to separate it from the Dripping Blood Demon Domain.”
Yun Mixue was somewhat surprised. “Why do you say that?”
Yan Zhuguang said, “Aside from the Dripping Blood Demon Domain, the only ones who know Eldest Senior Sister and I went to that hidden realm are the sect master, the elders, and the two senior sisters. The only ones who know we obtained the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed are the people of the Dripping Blood Demon Domain and the sect master. Besides the Dripping Blood Demon Domain, there is no one else who could leak this half-true news to the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate.”
If Gu Chen was interested in the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed, he likely had a thousand methods and would not need to take such a roundabout path through the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate.
But Su You Demon Lord of the Dripping Blood Demon Domain was very likely. She leaked this half-true news to the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate and made the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate and Fenghua Immortal Sect fight each other. No matter which side lost, it would benefit her.
Also, she had probably already prepared some later move to ensure that the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed would fall into her hands.
Yun Mixue said, “Indeed. The sect master also means this.”
Yan Zhuguang tapped her chin. “What does the sect master plan to do?”
“Being able to learn about the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate was purely luck. The sect master still cannot make this matter public. He can only guide the investigation in this direction.”
“However, the sect master has already announced the evil deeds the Dripping Blood Demon Domain committed against the former sect master to the public and has begun working with the Qiao family to investigate.”
Yan Zhuguang understood Gu Chen’s meaning after thinking briefly.
The Qiao family was also suffering because of demonic cultivators. Who cared whether the true culprit was the same one? As long as these two matters were linked and the blame was placed on the Dripping Blood Demon Domain, it would no longer be Fenghua Immortal Sect’s personal grudge. If another fire was lit, the whole cultivation world could burn. At that time, who would still have the spare attention to use this matter to suppress Fenghua Immortal Sect?
She had to sigh. The male lead was the male lead. His mind turned too quickly. He truly had the methods of someone in power.
“Or perhaps, the Qiao family’s destruction really cannot be separated from the Dripping Blood Demon Domain.” Yan Zhuguang’s mind moved quickly.
“Originally, after Su Qian’er took the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed, she should have started cultivating.”
“She is not a member of the Qiao family and may not be suited to cultivate the Qiao family’s methods. Once she began cultivating, the Qiao family might notice something wrong. If that caused trouble, Su Qian’er’s identity would very likely be exposed before everyone.”
“Once something happened to the Qiao branch family, Qiao Zhenbang would naturally make plans for Su Qian’er. As a person with an outside surname, she could not be sent to the main family. At that time, we, who came to feed Su Qian’er the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed, would naturally enter Qiao Zhenbang’s sight.”
“Since we could treat Su Qian’er, at least we would not mistreat her. Qiao Zhenbang would naturally have confidence in entrusting her to us. And in truth, we know Su Qian’er’s background and know she is the former sect master’s daughter. Once Qiao Zhenbang entrusted Su Qian’er to us, we definitely would not refuse.”
“This way, Su Qian’er entered Fenghua Immortal Sect smoothly and logically.”
“Now, the Qiao branch family has been completely wiped out. The Qiao main family cannot possibly take Su Qian’er back. Su Qian’er will no longer have the chance to cultivate the Qiao family’s methods, and no one will become suspicious of her identity.”
“As for Fenghua Immortal Sect, this concerns the reputation of the former sect master and Fenghua Immortal Sect. It also avoids forming a grudge with the Qiao main family. Even if we do not know who Su Qian’er’s birth mother is, we cannot possibly announce Su Qian’er’s background to the public…” Otherwise, that would tell everyone under heaven that the Qiao family had raised the former sect master’s child for free.
Thinking back on it, the timing of the Qiao branch family’s destruction was truly too exact. It happened right after Eldest Senior Sister left the hidden realm, while Yan Zhuguang was accepting the inheritance inside.
Su You Demon Lord definitely had methods to learn when they came out. That period was also long enough for Su You Demon Lord to make arrangements.
The Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate was the Dripping Blood Demon Domain’s enemy. As long as she provoked them slightly, the Heaven-Slaying Demon Gate might be used by her. At that time, she would not need to do anything and could reap the benefits.
After Yun Mixue heard this, a chill could not help sliding through her heart. “Such plotting is far too frightening.”