Chapter 78: Chapter 78 - The Saint’s Misfortune and the Mirror of Truth

For the next three days, Su Bai remained in the secluded sanctuary of Clear Cloud Peak. His hut was filled with the rhythmic, steady hum of his circulation, and the lingering "sweet-scented" decay harvested from the Gravekeeper’s Rot-Iron Lantern acted as the perfect refinement catalyst.

Without the Oblivion Pills to force his meridians into a frantic, overclocked state, his progress slowed to a crawl. He was forced to rely on the "old-fashioned" way. The slow, agonizing refinement of the Twilight Qi, supplemented by a generous supply of Liu Meng’s pill dregs.

Yet, even in this crawl, the results were staggering. By the time he opened his eyes on the third morning, the air in his hut seemed to ripple around him. His Yin-Crystal Dao Pedestal hummed with a newfound weight, and his physical body felt as sturdy as a magically reinforced iron slab.

Lu Canghai, returning from a morning flight, drifted down into the courtyard. When he sensed the aura radiating from his disciple, the old master paused.

He looked at Su Bai, then looked at the surrounding trees... which had turned a shade of sickly grey due to the residual decay leaking from the lantern... and finally let out a long, wheezing sigh of disbelief.

"Your reversal body is indeed a beast." Lu Canghai muttered, shaking his head. "I spent months tempering my foundation. And you just... go for a walk in a graveyard and come back a stage stronger."

Su Bai offered a polite, humble bow. "The Ancestors were generous, Master."

Before Lu Canghai could question that bizarre statement, a disciple from Silent Orchid Peak arrived like a fallen petal.

"Senior Brother Su," she murmured. "Peak Master Shen Youran requests your presence at the Disciplinary Hall. Immediately."

Su Bai froze. The Disciplinary Hall.

Lu Canghai’s face darkened instantly. His protective, warlord aura flared, causing the ground beneath his feet to crack. "Why? If she has a complaint, she can talk to me. You are not to be interrogated by that old witch alone."

Su Bai, however, sensed an opportunity. He had been searching for any excuse to visit the Hall and sign in, and now, the opportunity had simply presented itself.

"It is fine, Master. If Martial Aunt Shen wanted to do something bad to me, she would have done so long ago when you’re not here. This is likely just... an inquiry."

Lu Canghai grumbled, but he finally sighed and stepped aside. "Go then."

...

The Silent Orchid Peak was everything the Alchemy Hall was not. While Verdant Peak smelled of herbs and heat, this place smelled of nothing. Not even the wind dared to make a sound here.

When Su Bai entered, he felt the air thicken with a pure, biting Yin energy that made his Dantian vibrate with excitement. ’This is a prime location,’ he thought.

Su Bai walked into the grand Disciplinary Hall. His footsteps echoed against the polished jade floor.

When he arrived, he triggered the system.

[Ding! Signed in at Silent Orchid Peak (Disciplinary Hall).]

[Reward: Soul-Scorching Interrogation Mirror]

[Description: A Disciplinary tool used during trials. The holder must look into it. If they lie, the mirror violently burns their soul.]

’Interesting,’ Su Bai thought. He decided to study it later.

He stopped walking.

Sitting behind a monolithic, frost-covered desk was Shen Youran. She looked like a statue carved from a glacier.

"Disciple Su Bai greets Martial Aunt," he bowed, keeping his posture perfectly professional.

Shen Youran gave a slow, rhythmic nod. Her eyes, devoid of any warmth, locked onto him. "Do you know why you were summoned?"

"Please enlighten me, Martial Aunt."

Shen Youran didn’t smile. She didn’t even blink. She laid out the report with the dry detachment of a clerk reading a shipping manifest.

"For the past days, the Outer Sect has been in a state of absolute, self-inflicted chaos. Disciples have been hoarding low-grade, impurity-heavy Lesser Qi Gathering pills. They have been consuming them until their meridians were so clogged they could barely walk."

Su Bai felt a cold sweat begin to trickle down his spine.

"They seem to believe," Shen Youran continued, "that if they create a ’severe enough’ blockage, you will be forced to conduct another ’Office Hours’ session to cleanse them. Half the Outer Sect is currently paralyzed, and the other half is busy shoving pills down their throats to join them."

Su Bai stared at her. He felt a weird, twisted mixture of horror and profound, irrational warmth. They were clogging their own meridians because he had mentioned something casually? That wasn’t just trust... that was a level of loyalty that even his past-life bosses could only dream of.

"I... I see," Su Bai whispered as his face flushed. "I will address this immediately, Martial Aunt."

Shen Youran watched him and her gaze lingered on his chest. "Will you absorb their impurities again? It is a dangerous practice for your own foundation."

Su Bai paused. He looked at his hands, thinking of the massive, pure energy surges he gained from cleaning the disciples. "It is actually... highly beneficial, Martial Aunt. It aids my cultivation. I assure you, there will be no negative side effects."

She stared at him for a long, silent moment, then nodded. "Then go. Fix this mess before the Outer Sect manages to kill themselves from sheer enthusiasm."

Su Bai flew down to the Outer Sect training ground.

Shen Youran seemed to have gathered the disciples there already.

When he arrived, the scene was worse than he expected.

Hundreds of disciples were slumped in rows. Their faces pale, their movements were stiff, and they were clutching their stomachs in agony. It looked less like a cultivation sect and more like a mass food-poisoning incident.

As he landed, the female disciple from before hurried over, holding a list. "Senior Brother! You’ve arrived! Peak Master Shen said you were coming for ’Office Hours,’ and everyone did their absolute best to get ready!"

Su Bai sighed. "You are all idiots," he said, but his voice was kind.

Su Bai spent the next few hours working. As he "cleansed" them, he answered their questions, turning their panicked pill-binging into an actual, legitimate cultivation breakthrough.

They hadn’t just clogged their meridians; they had forced themselves into a high-pressure refinement state. By the end, they were stronger, faster, and utterly devoted to his "method."

As he walked away, their were voices filled with fervor: "See? He didn’t even break a sweat. Senior Brother is truly untaintable! His body is a holy vessel!"

The rumors of his "Saintly" ability to consume impurities had spread like wildfire, and the Outer Sect disciples were already whispering about "clogging their meridians in preparation for next week."

...

Su Bai returned to Clear Cloud Peak with his Dantian brimming with stolen, refined impurities. He was in a fantastic mood.

He locked the door to his hut and pulled out his newly acquired Soul-Scorching Interrogation Mirror.

He held the mirror up. It was cold, polished, and hummed with a menacing, dark energy. According to the reward description, it punished liars by burning their souls.

He looked at his own reflection then admired it for awhile.

"How ugly this face is."

BOOM.

The mirror flared with a blinding light. The "punishment" hit him. It surged into his head like a cool, refreshing spring, reinforcing his mental defenses and sharpening his perception.

He was blissful. The mirror was working exactly as he had hoped.

Then, he decided to push it. He looked deeper into the glass.

"You’re a manipulative, greedy bastard who sees people as walking batteries."

He waited for the flash. He waited for the soul-burn.

But nothing. The mirror remained dark, cold, and dead.

Su Bai froze. He stared at his reflection with his mouth agape.

"Why didn’t it activate?"