"Dark Stain" was Cheng Hongtan's Saintess title, similar to a Daoist name.
For example, the sect leader of the Dao Evolution Sect, Qing Yangzi's real name was An Hua. Everyone in the outside world called him by his Daoist name, but Lu Xuan would only call him An Hua in the sect.
The older the cultivator was, the more so this was the case.
However, the Dushi Sword House was different from ordinary sects.
Disciples of the Dushi Sword House used their real names outside, but they had to address one another by their names in the sect, especially the sect leader and the saintess. Their real names could not be mentioned and would not even be recorded in the books.
Hearing Lu Xuan's words, Cheng Lingzhu thought about it carefully and shook her head. "No, I haven't."
Lu Xuan was stunned.
How could there be none?
A cultivator at the Transcendence stage shouldn't be anonymous no matter which sect he was in, right?
"Is there anyone named Cheng Hongtan?" Lu Xuan changed his question.
"The elders and disciples of our sect do not address each other by their real names. As for this person…I've never heard of such a name before." Cheng Lingzhu shook her head.
Lu Xuan frowned, feeling that something was wrong.
He used his magic to condense Cheng Hongtan's appearance. Cheng Lingzhu said that she had never seen her portrait in the Dushi Sword House.
In that case, who was the Saintess from 8,000 to 9,000 years ago?
Cheng Lingzhu told him that nearly 9,000 years ago, there was indeed a saintess named Jingchen in the sect. She was an old senior, but she was only an ordinary Mahayana cultivator. She later inherited the position of sect leader and passed away several thousand years ago.
She was completely different from the Cheng Hongtan he was asking about.
Lu Xuan reached out and rubbed his forehead.
This matter was very strange. It was as if Cheng Hongtan had intentionally erased all traces of her existence.
As for the origin of the Phoenix Blood Sword, Cheng Lingzhu said that her master had only told her that this sword was a supreme artifact passed down from the sect. No one knew who its previous owner was.
Lu Xuan sighed.
He had originally wanted to ask Cheng Lingzhu to clear up his doubts, but he hadn't expected that after asking, he would be even more confused.
...
In the Bright Jade Tower in Yanshui City, Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu stayed in the hotel. They had two rooms, and the doors were facing each other.
The Evil Buddha had been executed, but the white-browed demon monk had caused quite a stir.
Even though Dongping was a mortal land, it would inevitably attract the attention of cultivators.
It was fine for ordinary cultivators. After coming here and realizing that there was no opportunity, they would leave on their own.
If a heretic practitioner came, he would probably take some lives before leaving, based on their habit of not leaving empty-handed.
The two of them waited in Yanshui City for three days. During this time, a few cultivators from nearby sects came. They shook their heads after seeing the battle fluctuations in Yan River. They knew that there were no opportunities here, so they left one after another.
On the afternoon of the third day, there were two uninvited guests in the Bright Jade Tower.
Lu Xuan stood on the second floor, leaning against the stairs and looking down.
There were two young men in the hall. They were more than 200 years old. One was in the early Nascent Soul stage, and the other was in the middle Nascent Soul stage.
They said that they were passing by and saw that it was already late, so they came to stay in the hotel.
Lu Xuan did not believe it.
These two cultivators emitted a sinister baleful aura. They were most likely ghost cultivators. The most important thing was that both of them were injured to varying degrees.
Their Qi and blood were unstable, and their magic was sluggish. Even though their auras and injuries were well concealed, they could not escape Lu Xuan's eyes.
What were the two injured Ghost Dao cultivators doing in Yanshui City?
Lu Xuan's eyes darkened.
It was night.
In Earth Room 1 of Wangjiang Tower, Chu Han, the Crown Prince of Dongping, was lying on the table.
There was a tortoise lying on the table, looking at him.
The oil lamp at the side was bright, shining on the tortoise's back and also illuminating Chu Han's face.
The shell of the soft-shelled tortoise was warm and smooth like jade. Half of the broken bone was embedded in it, and strange patterns spread out and were engraved on it.
Chu Han was originally staying in Sky Room 1.
However, because his father had been knocked unconscious by the tortoise, the Wangjiang Tower had been requisitioned. The emperor and his concubines lived on the first floor of the Heaven wing. Chu Han had no choice but to move to the Earth wing.
According to the rules of Dongping, since the emperor was unconscious, the prince was in charge of the country.
At this time, Chu Han had a lot of power.
It had been three days, but Chu Li still hadn't woken up.
Many of the officials' thoughts were stirred.
The emperor had not woken up yet, and the Imperial Army's orders were in the hands of the empress and the Crown Prince's mother.
Now that the Crown Prince was an adult, he had a Qi Refining expert by his side. It was said that a Qi Refining eunuch who was in charge of protecting Chu Li was also on the Crown Prince's side in private…
What he should do at this time was already clear!
Chu Han had no intention of fighting for the throne.
Three days ago, he saw the demon monk fighting with an unknown existence by the Yan River.
The power that could reverse the flow of rivers and change the color of the world had been deeply engraved in Chu Han's mind.
No matter how high and powerful a mortal emperor was, he was still a mortal. He wanted to cultivate!
There were Qi Refining and Foundation Building cultivators in Dongping, so they naturally had some cultivation methods.
Chu Han had come into contact with it when he was very young, but the reality was harsh. Chu Han had no talent for cultivation, and he had yet to cross the threshold of Body Forging.
In fact, Body Forging could not even be considered a proper cultivation system. The concept of this stage was similar to the mortal world's 'innate gurus,' 'seeing a god is good luck', and so on.
There was no mana in his body, and he could not control objects or kill people from afar.
Chu Han lived in the palace and didn't usually exercise. He didn't even like women. This made his already wee amount of exercise even worse.
"But now, everything will change."
The young man looked at the mysterious tortoise on the table and his mood became surging.
There were novels circulating in the secular world. After the good-for-nothing youth had a fortuitous encounter, he embarked on the path of becoming immortal and rose from then on.
Chu Han was usually busy with government affairs and did not read many novels. Now that he thought about it, perhaps it was adapted from real events.
However, after staring at the tortoise for a long time, Chu Han did not gain any insight.
He looked at the bone embedded in the tortoise carapace and then at his palm, wondering if he had to drip blood to activate it.
Right at this moment, a light creak sounded. The window of the first room quietly opened, and two ghostly figures floated into the room.
Chu Han was shocked. He thought that an assassin was coming. Just as he was about to shout, one of them cast a spell to seal his voice.
The other man in black looked at the table.
"He has it!"
He stretched out his hand and grabbed the strange tortoise.
Chu Han's eyes widened.
They were here to snatch his prospects!
He tried his best to resist, but his limbs were restrained by a strange force and he couldn't move.
"Bring him along. This kid has mortal dragon energy within him. We can sacrifice him to the Ancestral Magus!" the person holding the tortoise said.
Thus, the other person carried Chu Han on his shoulder, and the two mysterious people left the place one after another.
On the rooftop of Wangjiang Tower, Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu sat side by side on the roof, watching the two men in black.
These two mysterious guests were the Nascent Soul cultivators who had appeared at the Bright Moon Hotel this afternoon.
Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu looked at each other, then cast a spell and quietly followed behind them.