Mo Fan’s words instantly caused many people on the great ship to reveal shocked expressions.
Even Saintess Yue Liu, who had been sitting cross-legged on the deck, could not help frowning. She turned to Venerable Demon Sun beside her and asked, “Protector, is this fellow daoist truly a disciple of our Holy Sect?”
“Every Core Formation disciple of our sect must offer a wisp of their soul to the Sun Moon Precious Mirror. No matter which main altar they belong to, as long as that soul wisp is recorded, we protectors can sense it.
“But this boy is different. I have never felt his aura before!”
Venerable Demon Sun snorted coldly, then shouted at Mo Fan, “Who exactly are you? Where did you obtain the Sun Heaven Scripture?”
His words immediately caused everyone aboard to change expression. They all looked at the sun-formed Mo Fan with icy gazes.
Seeing this, Mo Fan felt rather depressed. This was the first time he had heard that the Sun Moon Holy Sect had such a devious practice. Was this not simply a way to track the whereabouts of every Core Formation and higher cultivator?
“As expected of a demonic sect,” Mo Fan inwardly sneered. On the surface, however, he withdrew his technique, revealing his true form. He cupped his fist toward Venerable Demon Sun and said respectfully, “Senior has sharp eyes. I am indeed not a cultivator of your Sun Moon Holy Sect, but I do have some connection.”
As he spoke, his expression suddenly darkened. In a heavy voice he continued, “Actually, I come from the Southern Border region of the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
“The technique I cultivate was passed down by my master. For reasons unknown, he never told me his origins. Only after he was killed did I gradually learn that the method he taught me was actually the supreme divine art of the Divine Domain’s Sun Moon Holy Sect…”
Under Mo Fan’s narration, he packaged himself as an orphan from the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains who had, by sheer luck while chopping wood, saved an old daoist wearing Sun Moon robes. In gratitude for saving his life, the old daoist took him as disciple…
The story might have been clichéd and worn-out, but the cultivators aboard still listened with wide eyes and stunned expressions.
“When Southern Border fell, I knew I could no longer stay there. Therefore, I took my two disciples and crossed the sea, heading for the Divine Domain, all so that I could find the Holy Sect!
“After all, no matter how one looks at it, I cultivate the Holy Sect techniques. The Holy Sect is my true home!
“Yet when we reached Three Saints Island, we suffered unexplained pursuit from the Su Family. After fleeing for our lives, we happened to meet all of you here.”
Having finished, Mo Fan looked toward Venerable Demon Sun and Saintess Yue Liu, saying respectfully, “Therefore, may the two of you bring me back to the Holy Sect?”
Yue Liu frowned. She had to admit Mo Fan’s story was rather ordinary and full of holes, yet the fact that he cultivated the Sun Heaven Scripture, one of the three great arts of the Sun Moon Holy Sect, was undeniable. This forced her to take it seriously.
Moreover, hearing of Mo Fan’s experiences made her feel slightly embarrassed, as though their conflict with the Su Family had implicated him.
Still, feeling that way did not mean she actually believed him. She turned to Venerable Demon Sun and asked, “Protector, has anyone from our sect truly gone to the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?”
“Well… there was indeed someone, but my senior brother left the sect two hundred years ago…”
Venerable Demon Sun also frowned. Unlike Yue Liu’s suspicion, he was inclined to believe Mo Fan.
The reason was simple: it concerned his senior brother.
“Protector’s senior brother?”
Yue Liu was startled. She had not expected that someone from the sect really had gone to the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
Hearing this, Mo Fan inwardly rejoiced, feeling he had made the right gamble.
He had once obtained the Great Sun Breathing Method from Blue Sky Sect, and that breathing method was actually the foundational respiration section of the Sun Heaven Scripture. Therefore, he guessed that the demonic cultivator slain by the female devil Fang Yunxian back then was very likely from the Sun Moon Holy Sect.
Of course, that person might not necessarily be Venerable Demon Sun’s direct senior brother; it could have been a disciple of his senior brother. Otherwise, how could Fang Yunxian have killed him?
But none of that mattered to Mo Fan. What mattered was that Venerable Demon Sun’s words had just corroborated the authenticity of his fabricated story.
“Back then, my senior brother Venerable Extreme Yang was also one of the sect’s protectors. However, because he coveted the sect-suppressing scripture, he fought the sect leader and lost. In the end, he rebelled against the sect and fled westward over the seas with heavy injuries.
“The sect leader sent people to hunt him all the way, but the matter eventually faded into nothing.
“More than a hundred years ago, someone discovered traces of my senior brother in the Southern Border of the One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. The sect leader dispatched three protectors to search for him, but they returned empty-handed.”
Venerable Demon Sun spoke with a sigh.
Yet upon hearing this, Mo Fan went completely numb.
He had thought he had crafted a perfect backstory, only for the other side to tell him that his “master” was a traitor, and one on the Sun Moon Holy Sect’s must-kill list at that…
At this moment, Mo Fan felt extremely uncomfortable all over. Not only him, even Little Yellow and Yu Nian beside him felt the situation had become incredibly awkward. They suddenly had the urge to turn and run.
“Could this be Venerable Uncle Demon Sun?”
Mo Fan suddenly spoke, looking at Venerable Demon Sun with delighted surprise. Then his face filled with grief as he continued, “When Master was still lived, he often spoke of you.
“He said he had a junior brother of extraordinary talent who had always protected him. In that place devoid of human warmth, only the two of them relied on each other and achieved success together.
“Unfortunately, Master later made a grave mistake and had to flee far away.
“Master often taught me that if I ever had the fortune to meet Venerable Uncle Demon Sun, I must convey his apology on his behalf!”
Mo Fan’s words caused Venerable Demon Sun’s body to tremble violently. When he heard the words “I’m sorry,” the old man’s eyes actually reddened with tears.
“Senior Brother Extreme Yang!
“You fool!!!”
Perhaps overwhelmed by emotion, Venerable Demon Sun could not contain himself and roared in anguish. Then he looked at Mo Fan and asked gravely, “Boy, is every word you said true?”
“Uncle-master, seeing you is like seeing Master himself. How would this junior dare deceive you?”
Mo Fan immediately replied with utmost seriousness, his face filled with sorrow.
“True, you have never met me before, yet you know my title. That alone proves much.”
Venerable Demon Sun nodded. The pain on his face gradually calmed. He then asked, “Who exactly killed my senior brother?”
“Replying to uncle-master, it was a sword cultivator from Blue Sky Sect!”
Mo Fan answered without hesitation. He was far too familiar with Blue Sky Sect. Back then, Bai Xiaosu had taken him there and wiped the sect out completely. Pinning it on a dead sect was perfect, no evidence, no witnesses.
Moreover, Blue Sky Sect had been a genuine great sword sect with Nascent Soul cultivators inside. It was entirely capable of killing Venerable Extreme Yang!
Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, Venerable Demon Sun gnashed his teeth.
“Protector, Blue Sky Sect has long been destroyed. Although it was not our sect that did it, vengeance has still been taken for Senior Extreme Yang. There is no need to hold it in your heart any longer!”
At that moment, Yue Liu spoke. She then looked at Mo Fan and said solemnly, “You keep claiming to be the disciple of Senior Extreme Yang. Do you have any token that can prove your identity?”
“Master passed away in haste and his corpse was lost. Apart from a manual recording the breathing method, I have nothing else.”
