Script of Reincarnation

Chapter 22: The Incident From 20 Years Ago

Lu Yang and Fang Chen eventually separated temporarily outside the inner district of Luoyun Prefecture City.

The evening sunlight gradually dimmed across the bustling streets while countless cultivators and merchants continuously passed by around them.

Fang Chen scratched his head before laughing casually.

"I still have several matters to settle here myself."

Then, he looked at Lu Yang before continuing, "How about this? Seven days later, we meet again at the eastern city gates."

Lu Yang nodded faintly.

"Alright."

The two soon departed in different directions.

...

The moment Fang Chen disappeared into the crowd completely, Lu Yang’s expression gradually calmed further.

The atmosphere around him seemed to change subtly.

This place was different from Wuyuan Provincial Capital.

Here, the Azure Spirit Sect’s influence reached terrifying levels.

Although Luoyun Prefecture contained three Essence Gathering Realm powers openly, the Azure Spirit Sect remained the strongest among them.

Especially within Luoyun Prefecture City itself, countless hidden eyes likely belonged to the sect or factions affiliated with it.

Thus, before long, Lu Yang quietly entered a secluded alleyway before changing into a dark robe completely concealing his figure beneath the shadows. Only then did he calmly move through the streets once more.

The roads before him gradually became increasingly familiar.

Every turn, every alley, every old building...

Memories from nearly a century ago slowly surfaced one after another.

Eventually, Lu Yang stopped before a seemingly ordinary inn hidden near the northern district of the city.

The signboard above the entrance appeared old and weathered.

But beneath the surface, this place handled far more than simple lodging.

In his previous life, after becoming a outer disciple of the Azure Spirit Sect, Lu Yang frequently visited this place to purchase information for sect missions.

The cultivation world never lacked information merchants.

As long as one possessed enough money, almost anything could theoretically be investigated.

Lu Yang quietly stepped inside.

The interior remained dimly lit as always as several wandering cultivators sat scattered throughout the hall silently drinking wine.

At the counter, an old innkeeper slowly raised his head.

His gaze faintly swept across Lu Yang’s concealed figure.

"What information?"

His voice sounded calm and emotionless.

Lu Yang directly placed several heavy silver bags onto the counter.

The dull sound instantly caused the innkeeper’s eyes to narrow slightly.

Several hundred taels of silver. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

For ordinary cultivators, this was already an enormous sum.

Lu Yang calmly spoke, "I want information regarding the Azure Spirit Sect over the past several decades."

The innkeeper remained silent.

Then Lu Yang slowly added:

"Specifically regarding the Gu Family... and Spirit Awakening Realm powers affiliated with the sect."

The atmosphere subtly changed for an instant.

Even several nearby wandering cultivators faintly glanced over subconsciously.

The innkeeper’s eyes narrowed further.

After several moments of silence, he slowly collected the silver before turning around and disappearing into the backroom.

Roughly half an hour later, he finally returned carrying several aged scrolls and records.

Then, his hoarse voice slowly sounded.

"The information you seek is somewhat sensitive. But since you’ve paid enough..."

He casually placed the items before Lu Yang.

Lu Yang quietly began reading afterward, the surrounding atmosphere gradually becoming incomparably silent.

As time slowly passed, faint fluctuations finally appeared deep within Lu Yang’s eyes.

More than twenty years ago... something indeed happened.

According to the records, Gu Changfeng, the young master of the Gu Family, had officially broken through into the Spirit Awakening Realm at that time.

Originally, this should’ve been a joyous matter for the Gu Family, which had a foundation much weaker than the Lu Family he belonged to, with only five or six Spirit Awakening Realm cultivators.

After all, every new Spirit Awakening Realm cultivator greatly increased a clan’s status and foundation.

Yet shortly afterward, disaster erupted.

The records claimed that Gu Changfeng suddenly "went mad."

He directly attacked and killed an outer disciple personally sponsored by the eldest disciple of the Azure Spirit Sect Master.

That disciple who was killed supposedly stood at the peak Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm already and was expected to enter Spirit Awakening Realm before forty years old.

After killing him, Gu Changfeng allegedly used some kind of demonic cultivation method before slaughtering his way into the disciple’s clan directly.

Over one hundred people died, including two Spirit Awakening Realm experts.

Eventually, Luo Tian himself personally intervened.

The sole disciple of the Azure Spirit Sect Grand Elder.

The records described a great battle afterward before Gu Changfeng was finally executed on the spot.

The Gu Family declined heavily afterward because of this incident, targeted by several factions within the Azure Spirit Sect, nearly being wiped out at some point.

Now, only one aging Spirit Awakening Realm old ancestor barely maintained the family. Gu Changfeng’s father and three older sisters, all at the Spirit Awakening Realm, had died one after another due to reasons unknown over the past twenty years.

The inn gradually became silent once more.

Lu Yang slowly lowered the record, his expression remaining calm externally, but inwardly, countless thoughts surged in his mind.

Mad?

Demonic method?

Slaughtering over a hundred people after suddenly breaking through to the Spirit Awakening Realm?

Lu Yang closed his eyes briefly.

He knew Gu Changfeng far too well.

That man might’ve been ruthless toward enemies, but he absolutely would not slaughter innocents pointlessly.

And the Script of Reincarnation stated that Gu Changfeng was furious after learning of the reason behind his death; not that he was truly the one who committed the mass slaughter.

Moreover...

Luo Tian personally executing him?

A faint coldness quietly surfaced within Lu Yang’s heart.

He understood something clearly now.

This information was probably seven parts truth and three parts false, or perhaps even worse.

The Azure Spirit Sect clearly covered up portions of the truth afterward. After all, in his previous life, the sect itself contained intense faction conflicts internally.

The Sect Master’s faction and the Grand Elder’s faction had always opposed each other openly and secretly.

The Gu Family belonged to the Grand Elder’s faction.

And that fellow, Luo Tian, he was the only personal disciple of the Grand Elder himself.

Even Lu Yang himself once received sponsorship from Liao Cheng, one of Luo Tian’s followers.

At the time, he never thought deeply about these matters until his death.

Now, his suspicions had basically been confirmed.

His death was undoubtedly linked to the conflict between the Grand Elder’s faction and the Sect Master’s faction, but Luo Tian killing Gu Changfeng, the so-called slaughter of that Spirit Awakening family, the main reason behind his death...

There were still way too many secrets involved here, countless questions left unanswered.

Unfortunately, his current strength remained far too weak.

A mere Sixth Stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator simply lacked the qualifications to investigate matters involving Spirit Awakening Realm powers and a Essence Gathering Realm faction.

Forcefully probing deeper would only lead to death.

Eventually, without another word, Lu Yang rose and left the inn directly.

...

Night had already fallen completely by now.

The cold wind swept through the streets of Luoyun Prefecture City as Lu Yang calmly walked through several alleys.

However, faint killing intent gradually surfaced within his eyes.

Someone was following him, and not just one person.

Likely because of the information he requested earlier.

Within Azure Spirit Sect territory, asking about Gu Changfeng and events from over twenty years ago naturally attracted attention.

The footsteps behind him gradually became increasingly obvious.

Eventually, Lu Yang quietly entered a narrow secluded alleyway before stopping completely, causing the surroundings to briefly fall silent.

Several breaths later, four figures slowly emerged from the darkness behind.

All possessed decent Blood Qi fluctuations, the strongest among them already at the Fifth Stage of Body Tempering Realm.

One man coldly sneered, "Fellow daoist, our master wishes to ask you several questions."

Lu Yang slowly turned around, the dim moonlight reflecting faintly against his concealed robes.

Just then!

*Swish!*

Gentle Breeze Steps erupted instantly, his figure directly vanished like drifting wind.

The expressions of the four people drastically changed.

Before the Fifth Stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator could react, Qi-Breaking Finger had already pierced directly through his throat.

Fresh blood sprayed outward.

The remaining three instantly erupted with alarmed roars, yet Lu Yang’s movements remained terrifyingly calm.

*Boom!*

Mountain Breaking Fist descended violently afterward.

A body flew backward directly into the alley wall before collapsing lifelessly, all the bones in its body shattering.

The remaining two attempted escaping immediately.

Unfortunately, they were too slow.

Within several breaths, silence completely returned once more.

Lu Yang calmly wiped the blood from his fingers afterward.

Then, without lingering further, he quietly disappeared into the darkness.

...

The following day, Lu Yang left Luoyun Prefecture City alone.

Several hundred miles away stood a smaller county town.

That was the place where his previous life truly began.

The roads gradually became increasingly familiar, and before long Lu Yang arrived before the county town gates.

The atmosphere here remained far calmer and more peaceful than the prefecture city.

Street vendors loudly called out continuously while ordinary mortals moved throughout the streets.

Even cultivators in the later stages of Body Tempering Realm were extremely rare here.

At one point, Lu Yang quietly stopped before an old martial training field.

This was where the Azure Spirit Sect Recruitment Ceremony once took place decades ago.

Back then, he stood among countless ambitious youths here before eventually being selected as a menial disciple.

Time truly passed too quickly.

After staying there for a night, Lu Yang finally departed once more.

The next destination...

His village from his previous life.

...

Walking leisurely, by evening, Lu Yang finally arrived nearby.

He stood silently atop a distant hillside overlooking the village below.

There was not a single familiar face remaining there anymore. Even many buildings had already changed completely.

The small river where he once fished as a child still existed, but the old wooden bridge had long disappeared.

The courtyard where his parents once lived in no longer belonged to his family either.

After all...

Combining the seventy nine years of his previous life together with the more than twenty years since his death, nearly a full century had already passed.

Moreover, after his parents died when he was around thirty years old in that life, he never returned here again.

More than sixty, almost seventy years had passed since then.

Most mortals in this era simply could not survive that long.

Lu Yang quietly watched the village for a very long time.

The evening smoke slowly rose into the sky from household chimneys and children laughed while running through the roads, with dogs barking occasionally in the distance.

Life quietly continued onward; perhaps the people here only knew that someone from their village had once been selected as a disciple of the Azure Spirit Sect, with no one even knowing his name.

Eventually, Lu Yang slowly turned away.

There was no point in lingering upon the past endlessly.

The dead were already gone, and so was his past life.

Only the living could continue moving forward.