Tian Xuanzi was extremely aggrieved but since Ding Yu had already said so, there was nothing else he could say. He glared at Tian Kongzi and the others and said angrily, "Hmph! You are the ones who rejected the little divine doctor. Let me tell you, if anything happens to senior martial brother because of the delay, you will all be the sinners. "
"Hmph! Don't even think about slandering us. "
Tian Kongzi and the others' faces darkened and they couldn't help but snort coldly. If they were really blamed for this, they would never be able to hold their heads up high again.
"Am I not speaking the truth?"
Tian Xuanzi glanced at Tian Kongzi in disdain and spat on the ground, "A bunch of old fools who don't have the guts to take responsibility for what they have done. Pfft!"
"You … How dare you!"
"Bastard, do you have any respect for your seniors?"
"Bastard, even if your father was still alive, he wouldn't dare to humiliate us like this."
Tian Kongzi and the others were angered to the point their beards stood up high and their auras surged as if they were about to teach Tian Xuanzi a lesson.
Tian Xuanzi, however, was not afraid at all. He looked at them disdainfully and shouted while rubbing his palms, "What? Do you want to fight? Come on, show me your guts. "
Even Ding Yu was worried for Tian Xuanzi. This Pu Huai was really a reckless fool. Even if he didn't know how to fight, he would still be no match for these seven half-step Deities.
He was here to save Qiao Qiao and he didn't want to fall out with the Tianji Pavilion. He could leave after causing a scene but Qiao Qiao was the young pavilion master and he would need these old fools' help in the future.
Just as he was about to mediate, the seven old fools' auras faded away like a receding tide. They turned around with their darkened faces and ignored him.
Tian Xuanzi's nostrils almost reached his head and he dragged Ding Yu to the wooden house next door while mocking, "I knew it. A bunch of old turtles, so boring."
Ding Ning's whole person was in a mess. How could he tolerate this?
The Heavenly Secret Pavilion's grand elders were just too cowardly. Tian Xuanzi had already stomped all over their heads and yet, they were still able to swallow their anger. Who knew if they were really well-mannered or just a bunch of spineless old turtles like Tian Xuanzi said.
Bang!
After entering the room, Tian Xuanzi slammed the door as if he was venting his anger. He said angrily, "How boring! These old things are all turtles! No matter how much I provoke them, they just won't do anything to me and all they know is to complain to senior martial brother."
Ding Ning was speechless; he thought that Tian Xuanzi was trying to stand up for him, but it turned out that he was just itching for a fight.
But no matter what, he was on Tian Xuanzi's side and he comforted, "Thank god they didn't do anything or you would be dead."
"Tsk, a bunch of old turtles. If they really want to make a move, they'll be crushed by me."
Tian Xuanzi said shamelessly.
"Can you stop bragging? Even if they aren't good at fighting, their cultivation alone is enough to crush you. "
Ding Ning pursed his lips and said disapprovingly.
"Crush me? Hahaha, you think too highly of them. "
Tian Xuanzi laughed arrogantly.
"They are at least at the peak of the Saint Martial Realm, right? Crushing you is just a piece of cake for them. "
Ding Ning frowned as he didn't like Tian Xuanzi's arrogant attitude.
"Peak of the Saint Martial Realm? Seems like you've been tricked by them too. "
Tian Xuanzi was laughing so hard that tears almost flowed out of his eyes.
"What? Am I wrong? There's no way I'm wrong. "
Ding Ning looked at him in confusion. He was sure that these elders were at least half-step pericelestial, how could he be wrong?
"Brother, you are right. They are indeed at the peak of the Saint Martial Realm, some even reached half-step pericelestial."
Tian Xuanzi poured a cup of tea for Ding Ning and said slowly, "But that is not their own cultivation level."
"What do you mean?"
Ding Ning was completely dumbfounded as he didn't know what Tian Xuanzi was talking about.
Tian Xuanzi mocked in disdain, "This is the Tianji Pavilion, a place with the Heaven Dao Tablet, known as the place closest to the Heavenly Daos. These old fools cultivate the art of divination, sitting in front of the Heaven Dao Tablet all day to comprehend the Heavenly Daos. After a long time, they came up with a way to use the Heaven Dao Tablet to manifest a peak-stage Saint Martial Realm aura to deter the other saint sects. But in reality, it's just a bluff. Their true strength is only at the early stage of Divine Martial Realm.
Even if they were to fight together, they wouldn't be able to defeat me. "Ding Ning was dumbfounded as he didn't know that there was such a strange thing. It was not that these old fools didn't want to teach Tian Xuanzi a lesson, but they really couldn't defeat him.
However, it was understandable. After all, the Heaven Mystery Pavilion was also listed as one of the Sacred Sects. It had an extraordinary status in the martial arts world and was admired by many. Even the other Sacred Sects respected it. If it didn't even have a Saint Martial Realm expert, it would be too shameful.
Of course, Ding Ning felt that the reason why the Tianji Pavilion did this was because they were afraid that others would know about the Tianji Pavilion's low cultivation level. Then again, they would be taken advantage of by those with evil intentions.
"Ding Ning, I'm only telling you this secret because I treat you as a brother. Don't tell anyone else."
Tian Xuanzi Tu accidentally spilled the beans in a moment of excitement. Only now did he remember that this was the Tianji Pavilion's biggest secret, it was related to the Tianji Pavilion's safety. Thus, he quickly put on a serious expression and reminded Ding Ning.
"Don't worry, I have no grudges with the Tianji Pavilion. Just because Qiao Qiao is the future pavilion master, I won't say anything and put the Tianji Pavilion in danger."
Ding Ning quickly assured him.
"That's good. Speaking of which, although these old men are very hypocritical, it's not like they don't have to pay a price to communicate with the Heavenly Dao Tablet. From this aspect, I am quite impressed by them. If it wasn't for them, the Tianji Pavilion would've been controlled by someone long ago."
Tian Xuanzi said with mixed emotions.
"What price?"
Ding Ning was very interested in the method to imitate the aura of a higher level. He was wondering if he could learn it. But when he heard that there was a price to pay, he lost interest. He was not willing to give up, he wanted to know if the price was within his acceptable range.
"Never to leave the Tianji Pavilion."
Tian Xuanzi said solemnly.
Ding Ning was shocked and he immediately gave up on the idea of imitating the aura. Staying in the Tianji Pavilion for the rest of his life was no different from being imprisoned.
However, he was puzzled. Tian Kongzi and the others had sacrificed so much for the pavilion, Tian Xuanzi should be very respectful to them. Why was he not respectful at all and even humiliating them?
"Because they are too afraid of death. Although they can't leave the Tianji Pavilion for the rest of their lives, they can live comfortably for a long time."
As if he had seen through Ding Ning's thoughts, Tian Xuanzi's eyes were filled with sadness and he revealed another shocking secret, "As long as they have this kind of 'foundation', they won't have to worry about exhausting their life force when calculating the heaven's secrets and the lifespan that the pavilion masters used to calculate the heaven's secrets will be replenished through the Heaven Dao Tablets. Do you think I can still respect them?"
Ding Ning's mouth opened wide in shock. He had thought of countless possibilities but never thought that it would be like this.
The previous pavilion master was Tian Xuanzi's father, he died after consuming his life force for the sake of the world. The current pavilion master was his senior martial brother, the person who doted on him the most. Every time he calculated the heaven's secrets, he would also consume his life force.
Yet, these life force were all used to replenish the so-called 'secrets' like Tian Kongzi. In other words, their lifespan was maintained by the sacrifice of his father and senior martial brother. It would be strange if Tian Xuanzi was nice to them.
Presumably, the feelings of the past Pavilion Masters were also extremely conflicted and complicated. On one hand, the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had no choice but to create some so-called "trump cards" in order to intimidate those with ulterior motives. On the other hand, these "trump cards" were like vampires that constantly sucked away their vitality to replenish their lifespan.
Anyone would feel uncomfortable in this situation, especially Ding Ning. When he thought of Qiao Qiao going through the same thing in the future, his face turned gloomy and he was filled with disgust towards the so-called 'secrets'.
Was it really worth it to lose freedom and never leave the Tianji Pavilion in exchange for an infinite lifespan?
Suddenly, Ding Ning recalled Gui Guzi's words. There were many old geezers on Earth who racked their brains in order to achieve immortality.
Back then, he didn't think much about it. But now that he thought about it, although Gui Guzi said it casually, there seemed to be a deeper meaning behind it as if he was reminding him of something.
Thinking of this, Ding Ning's heart shuddered. Could it be that the 'secrets' of the Tianji Pavilion were also some old antique's means to pursue immortality?
Although it sounded absurd, Ding Ning subconsciously felt that this conjecture was not impossible. In fact, it was very likely.
The Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had appeared out of nowhere at the end of the Dark Era without any warning. However, up until now, no one had been able to clearly explain the origins of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. No one even knew who the first founder was. All of this was extremely abnormal.
It was just that the Tianji Pavilion regarded the common people as its responsibility to predict the general trend of the world. After countless deductions and verifications, it had won a great reputation in the human world and the respect of the people. That was why no one would think about the abnormalities in it.
It was fine if the Tianji Pavilion was really a harmless organization that served the public. But if it had ulterior motives and harbored ulterior motives, the consequences would be too terrifying given the Tianji Pavilion's current status.
The lies weaved by a clever swindler were 90% true and 10% false, so that people would believe them without a doubt.
If the Tianji Pavilion was this clever swindler, then the thousands of years of real deductions were very likely to pave the way for the biggest lie.
From this, Ding Ning immediately thought of the Three Realms' Will falling into a deep sleep and the threat of those old antiques hiding deep in the Three Realms' Source.
If the founder of the Tianji Pavilion was also a chess player coveting the Three Realms' Source, then this chess player would undoubtedly be the one with the highest chance of success.
From this, it extended to the opening of the Heaven-accessing Secret Realm this time. If this was a big conspiracy, then what was the chess player's goal? And where would he place his chess piece?
Thinking of this, Ding Ning suddenly felt cold sweat dripping down his back. He felt that he had unknowingly been dragged into a whirlpool of conspiracy.
Unfortunately, he knew too little about chess players. He could not figure out the opponent's goal at all. He could only temporarily put this doubt in his heart and discuss it with Empyrean Fairy later.
Tian Xuanzi was not a scheming person. Intentionally or unintentionally, Ding Ning began to pry information from him, hoping to learn more about the Tianji Pavilion's history and from there, he would be able to find more clues.
Unfortunately, although Tian Xuanzi was very talkative, he was only brought to the Tianji Pavilion after his father's death. After that, he was either in closed-door cultivation or venturing out. Thus, his understanding of the Tianji Pavilion was superficial and he could not provide Ding Ning with any useful information.
Ding Ning was also speechless. He cursed Tian Xuanzi for being such an idiot. Tian Xuanzi did not even know the name of his closest senior martial brother.
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