Volume 3 Chapter 43

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Volume 3 Chapter 43: Questioning

Just before Xu Qingfan’s finger touched down, the sudden angry voice of an old woman filled the heavens and the earth.

"You dare, young man!"

Though the voice was soft to others, it was thunderous to Xu Qingfan, churning his insides and stopping his finger from advancing.

With just a simple shout, such power was displayed; who could possess such strength?

Despite suppressing the turmoil in his chest, Xu Qingfan was taken aback. He quickly looked up towards the direction of the sound, only to see a large cloud carrying a group of cultivators swiftly approaching. The surrounding clouds shimmered with divine light, seemingly slow but arriving before them in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, Jin Qinghan, Lv Qingshang, Gong Qingya, and others turned towards the same direction, their eyes filled with surprise. However, while Jin Qinghan and Lv Qingshang were merely surprised, Gong Qingya and the other three disciples of the "White Lady Palace" also had a look of delight.

As the cloud landed, the figures on it finally appeared before Xu Qingfan and the others.

The group of cultivators that appeared each had a unique aura, exuding the demeanor of someone in a high position, with subtle yet powerful energy emanating from them. Clearly, they were all at least at the Condensed Core Stage of cultivation.

These cultivators were the sect leaders and elders from various factions who had hurried over from Zhantai.

The elderly woman at the front, staring angrily at Xu Qingfan, was Li Tianying, the Palace Master of the "White Lady Palace." The light sound from earlier had obviously come from her.

Behind her were Master Xu Heng, the abbott of Zen Cloud Temple, sect leader Qinglingzi of Qingxu Gate, representative Venerable Xuan Jian from Penance Valley, sect master Zeng Lianxian of the Five Elements Sect, Sect Master Taoist Jiuze from Liuhe Gate, Man Tian, the chief of Eight Wilderness Hall, and several prominent sect leaders who were well-respected in the cultivation world.

Normally calm and composed, these experts now wore grim expressions, with many sect leaders and elders visibly showing signs of grief.

Among them were Zhang Hualing, the sect leader from Jiuhua Gate, and Supreme Protector Zhou Huahai, watching the confrontation between Li Tianying and Xu Qingfan with knitted brows.

Behind the leaders of each sect stood the guardians, elders, and disciples like Hua Xian, Monk Xi Jun, Deng Tianao, from the five sects. It was clear that before the leaders and elders arrived, the disciples of the other five sects had already been found.

The strange happenings on Huandao Island and the news of multiple disciples dying or disappearing must have already reached the leaders and guardians, which explained their grave expressions.

As Xu Qingfan looked at the leaders, elders, and disciples watching him, he sighed inwardly, knowing it would now be even harder to explain himself.

Just as he was about to speak, a sharp pain surged through him, and blood welled up in his throat. Xu Qingfan realized he had sustained internal injuries from the earlier shout. He hadn’t expected Li Tianying, despite his ordinary appearance, to possess such power that even a soft shout could be so impactful.

However, Xu Qingfan didn’t want to disgrace Jiuhua Gate in front of the others, so he swallowed the blood that had risen to his mouth.

Adjusting his internal energy slightly, Xu Qingfan gestured with his finger, causing the "Bloodsucking Vine" wrapped around "White Lady Palace" disciples to retract underground. He then bowed to the elders before him and said, "Junior Jiuhua Gate Xu Qingfan greets the esteemed elders."

Following Xu Qingfan’s lead, Jin Qinghan and Lv Qingshang behind him also quickly bowed and saluted the sect leaders and guardians.

Meanwhile, Gong Qingya scattered "Frostfall" under the amazed eyes of other sect leaders and guardians, and together with two younger martial sisters, bowed to the elders. However, her eyes were full of sorrow when she looked at Li Tianying.

Only Feng Qingtian remained lying far off, unresponsive. After the chill receded, the flames around him returned to their calm state, indicating the strange change happening to him was nearing its end but not yet complete.

The sect leaders and elders who had just arrived looked towards Feng Qingtian with eyes full of confusion, clearly unable to understand the changes in Feng Qingtian. Even those using Divine Sense to probe found nothing.

Seeing Xu Qingfan act as if nothing had happened, Li Tianying, who had just witnessed Xu Qingfan’s attempt to harm his disciple, looked at him with an increasingly cold gaze. Suddenly, she snorted and with a slight wave of her right hand, a fierce cold blast rushed toward Xu Qingfan.

The cold blast was overwhelming and unavoidable, causing the temperature to plummet instantly, making those with low power feel as if they were in an icy world.

As the cold rushed towards him, Xu Qingfan tried to dodge using his speed, but his chest suddenly hurt, clearly agitating his internal injuries. Just as the cold was about to hit him, Zhang Hualing’s gentle voice rang out, "Please, Taoist friend Li, show mercy."

As he spoke, Zhang Hualing also waved his right hand slightly like Li Tianying. Unlike Li Tianying, his action was silent and stealthy. Yet, in that instant, the cold that had nearly reached Xu Qingfan disappeared, leaving Xu Qingfan, who was bracing for impact, filled with disbelief.

Seeing Zhang Hualing easily dissolve her attack, Li Tianying looked at him with a hint of wariness, never expecting the usually low-key Zhang Hualing to have such strong abilities. She hadn’t detected how Zhang Hualing dispelled her attack.

Despite her caution, Li Tianying angrily shouted at Zhang Hualing, "Zhang Hualing, your disciple tried to harm my junior, and I’m not allowed to teach him a lesson?"

Zhang Hualing looked at Li Tianying’s angry face, a hint of strangeness flashing in his eyes, but his tone remained calm as he said, "Please, Taoist friend Li, stay calm. We need not get involved in their disputes, and deciding who is right or wrong so hastily would be unfair."

Hearing Zhang Hualing’s words, Li Tianying became even angrier, glaring at him, "Are you saying my disciple was wrong first?"

Seeing Li Tianying in such a state, not only Zhang Hualing, but even the sect leaders, protectors, and disciples of all the factions looked at Li Tianying with a hint of confusion.

Among them, the eight sect leaders with the highest skills looked at Li Tianying with a hint of worry or schadenfreude, as if they had already guessed the reason.

It’s known that the "White Lady Palace" Ice Cold Scripture emphasizes a heart as calm as water; the more one practices, the calmer and more indifferent the heart becomes. With Li Tianying’s skills and cultivation, she shouldn’t have easily shown such an irritable emotion.

In fact, when everyone was atop Zhantai, they had already slightly sensed Li Tianying’s unusual behavior, but now it was particularly evident.

Zhang Hualing smiled slightly and said, "I didn’t say that. It’s best to clarify who is right and who is wrong."

Hearing Zhang Hualing’s words, Li Tianying snorted coldly and looked up at the sky, asking, "How long are the Taoist friends of Penance Valley going to watch the fun before coming down to explain?"

Hearing Li Tianying’s words, Xu Qingfan and the other disciples of each faction were slightly stunned, surprised that there were hidden cultivators in the sky, and they all couldn’t help but look up.

In the sky, several cultivators from Penance Valley who had been secretly tracking Xu Qingfan and the others exchanged bitter smiles, knowing that Li Tianying already held a grudge against them for not stopping Xu Qingfan from defeating the White Lady Palace disciple.

Actually, with the cultivation level of the Penance Valley cultivators, stopping Xu Qingfan was a thought away. The reason they didn’t act earlier was that they were confident in intervening if any casualties occurred, and also, they wanted to observe whether Xu Qingfan and the others were the culprits behind the Huandao Island incident, so they deliberately hid their presence.

"I hope I haven’t made a fool of myself, fellow Taoists." After hearing Li Tianying’s words, a cultivator from Penance Valley appeared before the other cultivators with a gentle bow and spoke in a warm voice.

The people present quickly returned the gesture with bows to the Penance Valley cultivators. However, the sect leaders and elder guardians from sects outside the eight major sects bowed reluctantly, with their eyes filled with dissatisfaction and urgency.

After the exchange of bows, some impatient sect leaders and elders started to ask, "Dear Penance Valley Taoists, do you know where our disciples are? We heard from disciples of the six Holy Lands and Liuhe Gate Eight Wilderness Hall that they have gone missing and suffered casualties. Is this true?"

Upon hearing these questions, a hint of shame appeared on the faces of the Penance Valley cultivators. Just as they were about to explain, Li Tianying sharply interrupted, "One thing at a time. Let’s resolve the matter at hand first before discussing the disappearance of your disciples!"

Her tone was firm and undeniable.

Hearing Li Tianying’s unreasonable words, cultivators from sects outside the eight major factions showed dissatisfaction, but most remained silent due to the reputation of the six Holy Lands. A few hot-tempered cultivators were about to retort when they noticed signals from highly-skilled cultivators, including sect leaders of the eight major factions, indicating to hold back, so they reluctantly did.

After calming the other sect cultivators, Li Tianying turned to the Penance Valley cultivator and asked, "Taoist Friend Xuan Xuan, you have been guarding silently. Can you tell us why they were fighting?"

"Fellow Taoists, I have already sent a ‘summon talisman’ to Xuan Xian and the others, and they should arrive soon. The situation with your disciples is complicated, and Taoist Friend Xuan Xian knows more about it. Please wait a bit, and he will provide explanations when he arrives."

Xuan Xuan explained to the questioning sect leaders and guardians, then turned to Li Tianying and said, "The recent conflict started when three female Taoists from ‘White Lady Palace’ attacked three Taoists from ‘Jiuhua Mountain’. The three Jiuhua Mountain Taoists defended and retaliated, and during the clash, Xu Qingfan Taoist Friend Xu, with his extraordinary skills, managed to subdue two of the female Taoists before everyone arrived."

"What?!" Li Tianying was startled by Xuan Xuan’s words because, in her mind, Gong Qingya and the others were not troublemakers. However, since she knew Penance Valley cultivators never lied, she looked at Gong Qingya and the others with an unfriendly gaze.

Seeing her mentor’s unfriendly look, Gong Qingya quickly explained, "Those thieves from Jiuhua Mountain killed Chen Junior Sister and Li Junior Sister and tried to ambush us. We acted to avenge our Junior Sisters."

Hearing Gong Qingya’s words, everyone present was shocked, as it was known that over thousands of years in the Newcomer Competition, it was rare for cultivators to die.

Li Tianying trembled slightly and asked incredulously, "Jing and Qian are dead?"

A young girl beside Gong Qingya nodded angrily, pointing at Xu Qingfan and others, "It was those thieves from Jiuhua Mountain who killed them. They demanded that we hand over the captured Seven-colored Deer. Martial Sister Gong refused, and a fight broke out. During the fight, they killed Chen Junior Sister and Li Junior Sister, but we also killed one of them and seriously injured another."

Upon hearing the words of the White Lady Palace disciples, Lv Qingshang couldn’t help but shout angrily, "Stop making false accusations against us! When did we ever kill your Junior Sisters?"

Jin Qinghan coldly replied, "Are you trying to turn the tables?"

Xu Qingfan frowned and said, "Dear Junior Sisters of White Lady Palace, I think there’s been some misunderstanding between us. I assure you that after we arrived on Huandao Island, we only met once at the ruined teleportation array and haven’t crossed paths thereafter. If you insist on saying so, please provide evidence."

Li Tianying, seeming to have great trust in her disciples, glared at Xu Qingfan and his group with a look of annoyance, sneering, "Evidence? You probably don’t know that these Penance Valley cultivators have been secretly following you and observing your every move."

As she spoke, Li Tianying pointed to the group of Penance Valley cultivators who had just appeared before everyone.

Hearing Li Tianying’s words, all the disciples participating in the Newcomer Competition were stunned. They hadn’t realized that their activities over the past few days had been monitored by the Penance Valley cultivators, which filled the usually proud disciples with a sense of shame.

Some disciples, such as Xu Qingfan, Hua Xian, Monk Xi Jun, and Deng Tianao, thought more deeply. If every disciple was secretly protected by Penance Valley cultivators, why were there still missing or injured disciples? Could it be that even the Penance Valley cultivators could not ensure everyone’s safety? It seemed that the strange occurrences on Huandao Island were more complicated than imagined.

Li Tianying, not caring about the disciples’ thoughts, turned to the newly arrived Penance Valley cultivators and asked, "Dear Penance Valley taoist friends, were my two disciples killed by Jiuhua Gate’s disciples?"

On hearing Li Tianying’s question, the Penance Valley cultivators looked embarrassed, ashamed, and worried. No one answered Li Tianying’s question for a long moment.

Finally, Xuan Xuan gave a respectful bow to Li Tianying and said, "Please forgive us, taoist friend. We do not know."

"What? You don’t know? Don’t you have people secretly guarding the disciples? Who’s guarding the disciples of White Lady Palace and Jiuhua Mountain? Are they blind?" Li Tianying exclaimed angrily at Xuan Xuan’s response, questioning him sharply.

Her words were quite rude, almost insulting the entire Penance Valley cultivators. Although the Penance Valley cultivators were usually peaceful, some couldn’t help but show signs of shame and anger. However, they were stopped by Xuan Jian’s glance before they could speak.

Xuan Xuan, calm and good-natured, wasn’t angered by Li Tianying’s harsh words. He replied slowly, "The taoist friends guarding Jiuhua Gate and White Lady Palace are not among us. If we were guarding, we would definitely not allow any harm to come to the disciples."

"Who is in charge of the White Lady Palace and Jiuhua Gate?" Li Tianying asked again.

"It’s Taoist Friend Xuan Xiu and Taoist Friend Xuan Ku," Xuan Xuan replied.

"Where are they?"

After hearing Li Tianying’s words, Xuan Xuan and the cultivators of Penance Valley showed worry on their faces. After a brief silence, he said, "Last night, we sent out a ‘summoning talisman’ to them, but there was no response at all. Over the night, Taoist Friend Xuan Xian and others searched the entire Huandao Island but found no trace of them. It seems they have disappeared."

"What?"

Upon hearing Xuan Xuan’s words, everyone present exclaimed in disbelief.

It’s important to understand that the disappearance of a few dozen Lingji Stage disciples and two Condensed Core Stage cultivators are completely different matters. How many Lingji Stage cultivators are there in the entire cultivation world? And how many are there of the Condensed Core Stage cultivators?

The gap from Lingji Stage to Fake Golden Core Stage is a challenging barrier to overcome; often only one out of twenty Lingji Stage cultivators succeeds in breaking through to Fake Golden Core Stage, let alone reaching the Real Golden Core Stage and Golden Core Stage.

In the Immortal Realm, where Mahayana Stage cultivators seek the mysteries of eternal life in seclusion, Condensed Core Stage cultivators symbolize invincibility in certain situations. They possess boundless Spirit Qi and unique Daoist techniques. Even when faced with an enemy they cannot defeat, they have ways to escape. To kill them, at least three cultivators of similar strength must attack at the same time for a chance.

Moreover, Xuan Xiu is a very famous cultivator in the entire cultivation world, having reached the Golden Core Stage a hundred years ago. Making him disappear quietly is truly a daunting task.

Could it be that a Mahayana Stage cultivator has taken action?

Although they had anticipated strange occurrences on Huandao Island, the sect leaders and protectors never imagined it would reach such a level where even two Condensed Core Stage cultivators disappeared, one of whom was a Golden Core Stage cultivator!

Venerable Xuan Jian and the Penance Valley cultivators with him were not only shocked, but also filled with concern. They had shared countless discussions with Xuan Xiu and Xuan Ku over the centuries, forming bonds that were not easily understood by others. The thought of something happening to them disturbed their peace deeply, and they anxiously looked at Xuan Xuan and the other Penance Valley cultivators, asking, "Have Xuan Xiu and Xuan Ku disappeared? Did you notice anything unusual before? Is there any news from Xuan Xian?"

Hearing a series of questions from Xuan Jian and others, Xuan Xuan and the rest could only shake their heads in dismay.

Meanwhile, the sect leaders and elders of the other factions remained in shock, momentarily forgetting to ask more questions. Among them, those with deep thoughts had already concluded that the once-in-2,800 years catastrophe of the cultivation world might have already begun, so they silently started to strategize for their own sects.

Jiuhua Gate’s sect leader, Zhang Hualing, seemed to have realized something, his expression extremely grave. Behind him, Zhou Huahai and Bao Qingfang’s eyes were full of fluctuating emotions.

In the midst of this silence, Gong Qingya suddenly spoke up, turning to Li Tianying, "Master, I have evidence that the Jiuhua Gate people killed the two younger martial sisters."

Upon hearing Gong Qingya’s words, the gaze of every cultivator focused on her, while Li Tianying said, "What evidence? Show it quickly."

Gong Qingya nodded slightly to a younger martial sister beside her, then snorted coldly at Xu Qingfan and the others.

Then, the woman beside her waved her long sleeve, and a man’s body fell to the ground.

"Ah!"

"It’s Wang Qingjun!"

"Martial Brother Wang!"

When the body appeared in front of everyone, cries of shock arose, coming from the elders of Jiuhua Gate and Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, and Lv Qingshang.

The male body was one of the representatives of Jiuhua Gate for the Newcomer Competition, Wang Qingjun, who had been traveling with Xu Qingfan before!

"During the previous fight with the people from Jiuhua Gate, although two younger martial sisters were killed by them, we also caused one death and one injury to them, and this is the body of the deceased." Saying this, Gong Qingya faced Xu Qingfan and questioned, "Isn’t this your person from Jiuhua Gate? Dare you deny it?"

"Impossible! Brother Wang was already blown to pieces by an unknown cultivator’s ‘Explosive Spirit Technique,’ and we only managed to collect one of his severed arms." Lv Qingshang looked at Wang Qingjun’s body in disbelief, saying this as he held up Wang Qingjun’s severed arm to prove his point.

"If you insist on saying that, please provide evidence," Gong Qingya asked, imitating Xu Qingfan’s manner.

But Xu Qingfan didn’t participate in the argument; instead, he carefully observed the corpse of Wang Qingjun in front of him.

Wang Qingjun had been killed in an explosion, and although Xu Qingfan hadn’t witnessed it himself, it was almost impossible for Wang Qingjun to have survived such a terrible blast. Furthermore, the severed arm they found and verified did indeed belong to Wang Qingjun.

So, whose body is this then? This body is perfectly intact, so it cannot be another part of Wang Qingjun’s body besides his severed arm. Moreover, there are no signs of tampering. In fact, tampering with it in front of so many Condensed Core Stage cultivators without being noticed is simply impossible.

Then what is going on here?

For a moment, Xu Qingfan was filled with confusion.

Just then, Zhang Hualing slowly spoke, "Putting aside whether what Lv Qingshang said about Wang Qingjun being blown into pieces is true or not, with just one corpse, you still can’t prove that my Jiuhua Gate’s disciples attacked you."

Hearing Zhang Hualing’s words, Gong Qingya and Li Tianying, who was about to speak, were left speechless.

At that moment, a mighty voice echoed across the world.

"Dear Taoist friends, I apologize for being late."

As the voice echoed, over ten cultivators from Penance Valley, riding on auspicious clouds, appeared in the sky. When the voice finished, these cultivators had already arrived in front of everyone; they were Xuan Xian and the other Penance Valley cultivators.

Strangely, once these Penance Valley cultivators appeared before the crowd, they immediately spread out, subtly surrounding Jiuhua Gate’s sect leader Zhang Hualing and disciples like Xu Qingfan Jin Qinghan in the center.