Chapter Seventy-Two: Far Too Contrived

Xu Zhe immediately sensed something was wrong.

These speculations didn’t add up at all.

His intimate encounters with Lin Keyi had all happened back in university. If there had been a child, counting from Lin Keyi’s awakening until now, it would have been six thousand years. Liu Gaoqing was nowhere near old enough for that.

“Please, I beg you, hurry up and change the spiritual net name on the Universal Jade Tablet to your own, or there’s no way I can clear my name.” At that moment, Liu Gaoqing’s voice rang out again from the Universal Jade Tablet.

Xu Zhe blinked, glanced once more at the notifications still popping up on the spiritual web page, and opened one.

Good heavens—every comment he’d just left was, by default, under Liu Gaoqing’s name.

And both of the people he’d commented on had replied.

Chu Xiaotong replied to Liu Gaoqing: “(•̅_•̅) The Vermillion Bird Army is on the way. You folks from the Dao of Destiny better watch yourselves.”

Mo Xiaolian replied to Liu Gaoqing: “Are you looking to die?”

Xu Zhe: “…”

“Xu the Prodigy, I’m even calling you father now. Please show mercy, just let me off this once.” Liu Gaoqing pleaded bitterly, clearly terrified.

“Daoist Liu, you misunderstood. I’m just not familiar with this Universal Jade Tablet and didn’t notice. Don’t worry, I’ll clear things up right away.” Xu Zhe replied.

Liu Gaoqing let out a sigh of relief, but when he realized Xu Zhe meant to go and explain, he panicked.

“Xu the Prodigy, how exactly do you plan to explain?”

“Relax. I’ll leave another comment saying I’m Xu Zhe, not Liu Gaoqing.”

“Oh—”

Liu Gaoqing forcibly swallowed his words and pleaded, “Please, don’t do that, Xu the Prodigy! Since the Universal Jade Tablet is already yours, just change the name. I can even find someone right away to help you get verified.”

“Oh, I see. That works.” Xu Zhe nodded, operated the jade tablet in his hand, and quickly found the option to change the username.

But while making the change, he distinctly sensed the tablet scanning his divine sense before finally approving the request.

“Pretty smart, actually.” Xu Zhe chuckled.

Meanwhile, Liu Gaoqing finally relaxed completely on his end, and joked, “Thank you for your kindness, Xu the Prodigy. By the way, what do you want for the verification info?”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I won’t be using this much anyway.” Xu Zhe replied offhandedly.

“Then I’ll just pick a title for you? How about ‘Qingci’s Number One Handsome Man’?” Liu Gaoqing was already at ease, making light of the situation.

“No, that’s too much. I prefer something more humble,” Xu Zhe said seriously. “At the very least, drop the word ‘handsome.’”

There was a long silence from Liu Gaoqing before he replied, “Alright then, goodbye,” and promptly hung up.

Moments later, Xu Zhe noticed a change on his spiritual web page.

Xu Zhe (Verified: Qingci’s Number One Beautiful Man)

Immediately, a barrage of replies and likes started flooding in.

Xu Zhe casually clicked on one and noticed that Chu Xiaotong had deleted an earlier reply and posted a new one.

Xu Zhe: “You look like beef to me.”

Chu Xiaotong replied to Xu Zhe: “You look like a tomato.”

Below, there was a flurry of comments from bystanders.

“Holy—”

“Holy crap, it’s actually Xu the Prodigy.”

“Beef and tomato stir-fry? When did that happen?”

“You above, something’s off with you.”

“We know beef, but can anyone tell me what a tomato is?”

“Just saw the new secret realm footage posted by the Dao of Destiny—Xu the Prodigy is absolutely terrifying.”

…

Xu Zhe raised an eyebrow as he read.

So the Dao of Destiny had once again posted his footage on the spiritual net?

He immediately scanned the site and quickly found a trending section—one of the top ten headlines read:

“Stoneflame Secret Realm: Xu the Prodigy Emerges from Water, Fights Five at Once.”

“What???”

Xu Zhe was baffled and about to click in for a look—

“Ah—!”

Suddenly, Qu Hongxiu, nearby, let out a sharp cry.

Clutching her Universal Jade Tablet, she stared at Xu Zhe in shock and rushed over.

“Uncle Xu, so you’ve been at the Burial River these past ten days?”

“You actually went inside the Burial River?”

“Heavens, after the Burial River revived, you came out unscathed.”

“You even one-shotted a Nascent Soul master.”

“My god, how did you do that?”

Qu Hongxiu bombarded Xu Zhe with questions, nearly turning an interrogation into an embrace.

Only then did Xu Zhe notice the Universal Jade Tablet in Qu Hongxiu’s hands.

It was a video recording of himself at the Burial River’s edge, executing five Nascent Soul cultivators and Li Xunhuang.

One glance at the familiar headline explained everything.

Damn clickbait!

“It’s all quite easy, really. If you put in the effort, you could do it too—provided you work hard enough,” Xu Zhe replied blandly, tucking away the jade tablet.

“I…” Qu Hongxiu wanted to protest that she was already working hard, but thinking about it, she decided against it, feeling a wave of exhaustion.

“Xu the Prodigy!”

Just then, a white-robed man emerged from the poisonous fire mist, smiling as he called out to Xu Zhe.

Xu Zhe looked up, slightly surprised.

Qu Hongxiu immediately stepped forward and said coldly, “Mo Tianchou, what are you doing here? Li Xunhuang brought about his own death; my Uncle Xu already killed him. Do you want to be next?”

“Misunderstanding—Li Xunhuang truly brought about his own demise, but I have no ill intent toward Xu the Prodigy.” The white-robed Mo Tianchou smiled innocently and stopped.

“Mo Tianchou, from the Mo family?” Xu Zhe frowned, looking to Qu Hongxiu for confirmation.

She shook her head. “He’s not from that Mo family in Xikun Continent, but he is the disciple of the Dao of Destiny’s chief.”

“A disciple of Wang Jianguo?” Xu Zhe was taken aback.

He looked again at Mo Tianchou, a meaningful smile appearing.

“Xu the Prodigy, my master is indeed your old friend Wang Jianguo. I’m here to deliver a message on his behalf.” Mo Tianchou’s face was still friendly.

“Who are you kidding? Wasn’t your master declared missing long ago?” Qu Hongxiu rolled her eyes.

“My master left the message before he went traveling. He also instructed me to wait until Xu the Prodigy awakened and possessed sufficient strength before delivering it,” Mo Tianchou explained calmly. “I believe Xu the Prodigy meets those criteria now.”

“Very well, let’s hear it.” Xu Zhe smiled faintly.

Mo Tianchou hesitated, then transmitted his message directly: “Xu the Prodigy, my master said that if you want to know the secret of the Holy Lord Lin of Jade Pool, there’s a place you must go.”

“What place?” Xu Zhe asked, not particularly interested.

“The center of the secret realm, a stone cave. He entered it years ago and left a seal at the entrance—only you can enter,” Mo Tianchou replied.

“Forget it. The secret realm’s closing soon,” Xu Zhe refused outright.

Mo Tianchou was clearly surprised.

He froze, then said, “The realm closes at midnight, after night falls. There’s still time. And the stone cave isn’t far—I can guide you.”

Xu Zhe glanced at Mo Tianchou, silent for a moment, then sighed.

“Ah, why bother?” he said, his words carrying a hint of meaning.

“Xu the Prodigy, don’t you want to know the Holy Lord Lin’s secret?” Mo Tianchou was surprised.

“Fine. Lead the way,” Xu Zhe conceded.

In the end, Xu Zhe nodded his assent and turned to Qu Hongxiu. “Little Qu, I have something to take care of. You should leave the secret realm first.”

“Huh? Please, Uncle Xu, let me come with you. We’ll be teleported out when the realm closes anyway,” Qu Hongxiu pleaded, tugging at Xu Zhe’s sleeve with a pitiful look.

Mo Tianchou, off to the side, twitched his lips and averted his gaze.

“No.” Xu Zhe refused flatly.

“Why not?” Qu Hongxiu pouted.

“Be good, go on ahead, and I’ll bring you something nice later,” Xu Zhe said with a smile. He turned and walked back into the poisonous fire mist.

“I’ll lead the way, Xu the Prodigy.” Mo Tianchou hurried after him.

Qu Hongxiu wanted to sneak after them but suddenly recalled how Xu Zhe had scolded her before, and reluctantly stopped.

If Uncle Xu caught her, she’d definitely get an earful.

And when he started scolding, he never stopped—talking one into utter despair.

Better to run for it.

After all, he was stronger than her now.

Thinking this, Qu Hongxiu turned and dashed for the secret realm’s exit, already developing a shadow of fear toward Xu Zhe.

Meanwhile, deep within the poisonous fire mist—

Mo Tianchou had caught up and was walking alongside Xu Zhe toward the center.

Xu Zhe remained silent, and though Mo Tianchou wanted to speak, he ultimately held his tongue.

Soon, they passed through the mists, climbed several mountains, crossed a few rivers, and arrived smoothly at a cave.

Just as Mo Tianchou had described, there was a formation at the cave’s entrance.

The formation was still active, radiating an ancient aura as if it had been maintained for years.

“Xu the Prodigy, this formation’s been here for centuries. To be honest, I’ve entered the secret realm several times and always come here to observe, but it’s far too advanced—I never managed to crack it. Just as my master said, only you can enter,” Mo Tianchou explained.

Xu Zhe raised an eyebrow and approached the formation, but stopped at its edge.

Behind him, the smile on Mo Tianchou’s face froze.

“Xu the Prodigy, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Fake—far too fake,” Xu Zhe said, shaking his head as he crouched to examine the formation lines on the ground.

Mo Tianchou’s expression changed, though he forced himself to remain calm. “What do you mean by that, Xu the Prodigy?”

“This formation is brand new. But to cover it up, you used some old artifact to carve the lines, trying to give it an ancient feel.

“But that was naive—the artifact you used isn’t old enough, so the ancient aura only lingers on the surface, fading as we speak.

“You’ve ruined a perfectly good aging job. Now it’s neither convincingly old nor believably new—a failure!

“The depth of the lines is off—another failure!

“There’s not enough dust on the lines—failure!

“Some lines are drawn too thin to mimic weathering, but it’s so forced it’s obvious—a failure among failures!

“And worst of all, you didn’t even clean the cave entrance—there’s a fresh bird dropping in the corner. A cave ‘sealed for centuries’ with a fresh bird dropping—really?”

Xu Zhe straightened and turned to Mo Tianchou. “Are you serious, Qi Ming?”

“You…”

Mo Tianchou’s face changed dramatically, disbelief filling his eyes.

He’d been certain he could trick Xu Zhe into entering the cave with just a little deception, never expecting the formation he’d so painstakingly aged would be exposed for so many flaws.

This guy had only just awakened—how could he possibly know formations?

And most crucially—

How did he know my true identity?