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The Emei Sect was shrouded in sorrow and gloom.
This time, among the newcomers participating in the competition, aside from the Emei Four Swords returning relatively unscathed, more than one hundred and eighty disciples had only about fifty left, with over one hundred thirty having perished in the Ancient Celestial Field. Moreover, everyone who returned was injured, and many disciples would likely have to endure years of hard training to recover their previous cultivation levels. How could Yiyang not feel heartbroken?
He and the Elders were busy treating the injured disciples, cursing Qing Yizi while also thinking about how to clarify the situation and hold him accountable. Just as they were in a state of panic, they suddenly heard that someone from the Nine Li Sect was requesting an audience. Just as he was about to refuse, Zhu Xue exclaimed, "This is perfect! I was just looking for them to settle accounts!"
Upon hearing this, Yiyang sensed there was a reason behind it. Zhu Xue elaborated, and aside from other matters, upon hearing that Li Hong had destroyed Zhu Xue's Superior Spirit Artifact, the Purple Cloud Sword, Yiyang's face turned dark with anger as he slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "What a little thief! This is a perfect opportunity for me to kill him and offer him as a sacrifice for our 'Purple Cloud'!"
Three members of Spirit Stone entered, only to be met with a fierce atmosphere from the Emei Sect.
Without saying a word, Li Hong took out a Fire Phoenix from his sleeve and ignited it with his Awareness right in front of Yiyang. Everyone watched as the massive Fire Phoenix soared into the sky. The surviving disciples immediately recognized it and shouted, "Nine Li Sect's Fire Phoenix! That night, it was him who saved us!"
Zhu Xue's face turned from red to pale; she was at a loss for words. Azure Sky stammered, Cande's expression darkened, and Azure Mist Sword Xu Yang could no longer contain himself, exclaiming in shock, "It really is Chu Hong!"
Li Hong clasped his fists and chuckled lightly: "That night when I saw your sect being besieged, I had no choice but to take this desperate measure. The situation was urgent; I was targeted by the Black-Clad Assassin leader and fought my way outside without having time to meet with all of you. Please forgive me." He then turned seriously to Zhu Xue and said, "There are many misunderstandings here. I had no knowledge of Senior Brother Black Flame's death. At that time, I was mistakenly pursued by all of you and got caught up with that monster. I had no choice but to destroy Senior Sister's Purple Cloud Sword; it was not my intention. I sincerely apologize to Senior Sister." After saying this, he bowed deeply with utmost sincerity on his face.
Looking at this detestable face before her, Zhu Xue recalled how he had repeatedly humiliated her; she couldn't swallow her anger and felt like slapping him. Yet somehow, her mind involuntarily conjured up images of him destroying her Purple Cloud Sword while laughing arrogantly as he left. The two thoughts clashed in her mind, leaving her feeling confused and unexpectedly causing her heart to race.
Zhu Xue was stunned; she couldn't help but wonder—what exactly was happening to her?
Seeing Zhu Xue remain silent for a long time, Spirit Stone quickly seized the opportunity and smiled: "It seems things are clear now; it truly is a misunderstanding!"
"However," he said with a serious expression as he turned to transmit sound to Yiyang: "Brother Yiyang, do you want to know who exactly killed your Emei disciples?"
Yiyang trembled all over.
The two exchanged glances and communicated silently for quite some time.
After a moment, Yiyang turned his eyes and burst into laughter, "It seems this is truly a misunderstanding! We need to meet Ling Xuzi and Junior Brother in person. If we all talk it out together, there will be no problem! Come on, Spirit Stone, let's go!"
With that, the two old foxes laughed heartily and walked hand in hand towards the Nine Li Sect Inn, seemingly in perfect harmony under the various gazes of the Emei Sect disciples.
Li Hong and Chuxuan exchanged glances, silently agreeing that this trip would be a success! They followed behind Yiyang and Spirit Stone. Just as they stepped out of the Emei Inn, they suddenly heard someone calling from behind, "Wait!"
Li Hong turned around to see it was Zhu Xue. He stopped and cupped his hands respectfully, saying, "Senior Sister, what instructions do you have?"
Zhu Xue's face flushed slightly as she fidgeted, biting her lip for a moment before managing to say two words, "Thank you." Her voice was so soft it was almost like a mosquito's buzz. She turned and left, her crimson figure disappearing behind the wall.
Li Hong was puzzled—had this wicked woman changed her ways? Not wanting to think too much about it, he cupped his hands again and turned to leave. However, Chuxuan paused, looking back thoughtfully. Once they were out of earshot, he suddenly said, "Zhu Xue has taken an interest in you. You should be careful; that wicked woman is not easy to deal with..."
Before he could finish, he noticed Li Hong's expression change to one of extreme strangeness, as if he were about to choke on his own saliva. He slapped Chuxuan on the head and exclaimed, "Nonsense! Let's go!"
Li Hong took the lead and dashed out as if his pants were on fire.
Chuxuan shook his head, muttering to himself, "A woman's heart is as deep as the ocean; your actions just happen to suit her taste. Forget it; it doesn't matter..." He continued walking slowly.
********
In the Heavenly Grain Conference Hall, the atmosphere was tense, increasingly filled with a sense of impending conflict.
Sect Master Xuan Xuzi sat high above while representatives from the Eight Major Sects, Five Elements Sect, Qixia Palace, and several Little Sect Leaders were all present.
Emei Sect Leader Yiyang was currently demanding an explanation. With furrowed brows and fierce eyes, he pointed at Qing Yizi and shouted, "You must give me an account! Are we to believe that our Emei's fine young men just die in vain?"
Qing Yizi's face turned pale, and he retorted without holding back, "Entering the Ancient Celestial Field is a matter of life and death; that was agreed upon long ago!" He glanced around at everyone, his sharp gaze sweeping over their faces one by one. "We, Heavenly Grain, proposed the new competition precisely to be transparent. It has been stated before that the Ancient Celestial Field has been extremely unstable in recent years, with shrinking space and reduced production of celestial herbs. You all know this very well! If you resent me for being too weak back then, for agreeing to open the Ancient Celestial Field for you to see, then ask yourselves honestly: did you not have other intentions? Now that something has happened, you all blame us! Do you think we, Heavenly Grain, are easy to bully?"
He suddenly changed from his previous submissive tone to one of extreme firmness. The crowd was surprised; had this old man taken some kind of stimulant? Why did he suddenly seem like a different person?
Only Southern Valley Master Qingqinzi agreed with Qing Yizi's words, frequently casting encouraging glances.
The hall fell silent, even the aggressive Yiyang was contemplating his words. A voice then calmly spoke up, "Brother Qing Yizi, I have a question."
Ling Xuzi spoke at the right moment. He stroked his beard leisurely and said, "I want to ask you: you keep saying that the Celestial Field Space is shrinking and that celestial herb production is decreasing. However, according to my disciples who witnessed it firsthand, what you say is untrue! The space has not shrunk at all; while there may be a decrease in celestial herbs, most of them are still present. Where does this claim of shrinking space and reduced production come from? I fear you are fabricating it!"
Ling Xuzi took out a list from his robe and cleared his throat before reading aloud: "In the Celestial Field Space, there are seven groups. Excluding the Seventh Space which does not produce celestial herbs, the first group has ten locations, each with one hundred twenty-five herb plots, totaling one thousand two hundred fifty types of celestial herbs. The second group consists of Ancient Spirit Beast breeding grounds which have been abandoned and do not produce celestial herbs. The third group has ten locations with various celestial herb seeds, estimated at around two thousand six hundred types; the fourth group, fifth group, and sixth group are similar to the third group, totaling approximately seven thousand types of celestial herbs.
Starting from the third group, each type of celestial herb is guarded by spirit beasts."
After finishing reading, he looked up at Qing Yizi and calmly raised the list in his hand. "What else do you have to say?"
Qing Yizi's complexion suddenly turned ashen; he trembled as he pointed at Ling Xuzi. "You... how could you send your Nine Li Sect elder to infiltrate the competing disciples! How shameless!"
"Wrong! I didn't send any elder! This was indeed investigated personally by my participating disciples. Here is a rough map; would you like to see it?" Ling Xuzi countered leisurely. With a flick of his hand, the list and map floated toward Qing Yizi.
"No! Prevent him from tearing it up and denying it!" Kongtong Sect Leader Bai Juzi exclaimed in shock and quickly intervened.
Qing Yizi had already caught it in his hands but trembled upon hearing Bai Juzi's words.
Ling Xuzi smiled and said, "Do you think I only have one copy?" After saying this, he pulled out another copy from his sleeve and waved it; that list seemed to be drawn by an invisible thread as it slowly flew in front of Sect Master Xuan Xuzi.
Xuan Xuzi reached out to take it, examining it closely before looking at Qing Yizi. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Qing Yizi's face turned red and then pale, and after a long pause, he shouted, "But what I said is the truth! The space was indeed unstable recently, and the Ancient Celestial Field was shrinking! I did not lie! Ten days ago, all of you were there! You all witnessed the chaos in the Celestial Field Space!"
"At that time, the space was indeed unstable, but isn't it stable now? Unstable space and the shrinking of the Ancient Celestial Field, as well as the reduced production of elixirs, are two different matters. Don't confuse them!" Ling Xuzi calmly retorted.
Qing Yizi had no response, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Yiyang shouted, "You Azure Elder! Now your true colors are finally showing! Tell me, were those Black-Clad Assassins sent by you? You want to incite internal strife within our Immortal Sect! How malicious of you!" He moved as if to charge forward.
Xuan Xuzi immediately called out to stop him. Yiyang reluctantly halted but yelled, "I have evidence here; everyone look! This was found on a Black-Clad Assassin by our Emei disciples!"
He took out a crystal-clear vial and poured its contents into his hand, where three yellow pills immediately rolled around like fish. If Li Hong were present, he would recognize this as the Disguise Pill he obtained from that Core Formation Stage Black-Clad Assassin.
The prominent figures of the Immortal Sect present were naturally well-informed, and upon seeing it, they erupted in an uproar.
"The Disguise Pill! It really was Heavenly Grain's doing!"
"How malicious! To stir up internal strife within our Immortal Sect at such a critical moment!"
"Killing off our promising new disciples to weaken us!"
A piercing voice rang out particularly loud: "Qing Yizi, my female disciple who participated in the competition was sent to her death by your Black-Clad Assassins. They were brutally killed! I wish I could eat your flesh and wear your skin! Old man, prepare to meet your end!" With a flash of azure light, Yuan Zhenzi, the female leader of New Luo Sect, could no longer hold back and made her move.
"Stop!"
A flash of golden light passed by, and Xuan Xuzi was already standing beside Qing Yizi on the high platform, two slender white fingers firmly gripping an object.
The object, Azure Light, shimmered and resembled a small green lotus flower, its entire body glistening with a watery glow that flickered unpredictably. It was Yuan Zhenzi's prized treasure, the Superior Spirit Artifact—Dripping Water Guanyin. Xuan Xuzi casually rotated Dripping Water Guanyin between his fingers and lifted it lightly; Dripping Water Guanyin slowly flew back into Yuan Zhenzi's hand.
Xuan Xuzi had managed to seize Yuan Zhenzi's artifact with just his two fingers, and everyone understood—Xuan Xuzi's cultivation had advanced once again.
Yuan Zhenzi's face turned as pale as her artifact, Dripping Water Guanyin, her eyes reddening. Although she did not strike again, she shouted like a madwoman: "Sect Leader! You are being unfair! This old man secretly trained assassins and laid such a poisonous scheme; do you still intend to protect him?"
Xuan Xuzi shook his head and said, "Everyone, please do not be angry or act rashly; listen to me first."
"Fine! I have always respected you as the Sect Leader, but you must give us all an explanation! Otherwise... hmph!" Yiyang said loudly, angrily sitting back down and dramatically tossing his black cloak, which landed heavily on everyone's hearts with a loud slap.
Xuan Xuzi walked back to his seat, leisurely surveying the crowd. "You all know that ten days ago, I sent Elders to the Ancient Celestial Field to assist various sect disciples, and they have all lost contact. I now solemnly tell you that although not everyone has returned, most of them have." He raised his voice: "Xuan Qingzi, come in."
An elder responded from outside the hall and walked in. He appeared middle-aged, with cultivation at the Mid-Stage of Transformation.
"Xuan Qingzi, please share your findings with everyone present," Xuan Xuzi said calmly, his demeanor commanding respect without anger.
The people in the hall immediately perked up their ears.
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