Chapter 260 (1/2)
Chapter 260
The Snake in the Grass
The arrival of dusk saw the beginning of bloodshed in Mount TianlongCri into the dark a the te drifted into Zi Yuan's ears
First blood had just been drawn
And Zi Yuan found herself questioning the entire purpose of CultivationWas this really the so-called path to transcendence? Or was the world of Cultivation long past its glory days?
In the olden days, ht to spread the truth and cultivate virtue ast humanityNowadays, Cultivators associate themselves with pointless squabbles and petty cris coround, the glowing chakrahtA second later, the chakra hands
”She's pretty strong, isn't she?”
Zi Yuan turned sideways to face her co but welco Tianhé zhenren's broad smile remained visible in the dark, much to Zi Yuan's displeasureWhy couldn't this man leave her alone already? She didn't even want to see his faceZi Yuan curled her lipsShe knew exactly why theher
”The seven-tailed fox spirit, Ye Yu,” Zhang zhenren continued as though he didn't have a single clue of Zi Yuan's bubbling annoyance
Sometimes, Zi Yuan wished she couldn't hide her e zhenren chuckled”And it's nificence in action too”
Zi Yuan frowned and returned her gaze to the front
A green apparition rose froed to activate his Yin Spirit in time
”Ye Yu! You demon witch! How dare you destroy my body!”
Ye Yu released the chakram in her hand and let it circle above her head
”We can go for another round if you're not satisfied,” Ye Yu taunted”Though I assure you that it will be the end of you this tirowled
A ruckus spread over the crowd of Cultivators gathered outside the barrierBoos and hisses drowned out the apparition's angry curses
Heathens, Zi Yuan concluded, curling her lips in disdainThe majority of the Great Six consisted of heathens
As though to prove Zi Yuan right, a brouhaha erupted aon Sect has become rather weak, hasn't it?”
”HmphJust look at the ht barely lasted three secondsHow pathetic”
”Right? Leave it to the Quanzhen Dragon Sect to ruin the Great Six's reputation”
”You ? Hah! Leon Sect is a mere shadow of its former self”
A sardonic smile spread across Zi Yuan's lipsThe entire Cultivation world was a mere shadow of its former selfNot that these people cared
”I suppose you're rightIts glory days were back in Qiu Chuji's time”
”Oh, yesDefinitely”
”IndeedMaster Changchun was thethe Seven True Taoists of the North”
”But sadly, his legacy was ruined by Yi Zhiping, Li Zhichang, and their cohorts…”
”Meneration, doesn't it?”
”Shut up! Who are you people to be bad- our sect!”
”Yeah! You people from the Golden Elixir Sect are no better than us!”
”What the hell did you say?! How dare you luether with the likes of yours!”
”Tch! Which powerful Cultivator has the Golden Elixir Sect produced since Zhang Bóduān and Bai Yüchan? Oh, that's rightNo oneHehNo one worthanyway”
”You bastard…”
”Hey, hey… Relax… My fellow friend froo, eh?” There was a sneer”It is not worth your tis”
A chorus of yells and curses broke outSoon Sect stepped forward to quiet the ruckus
”YeahYou're one to talkThe Donghua Sect is even worse than the Golden Elixir Sect!”
”Well said, shīxiōng! Well said! The Donghua Sect hasn't produced a single worthy Cultivator ever since Ning Quanzhen died nearly a thousand years ago! These hacks have no right to even open their h beside her
”WellI guess that's ned chuckle”It's best if I do so each other”
Zi Yuan save her a pointed look which rubbed her the wrong way”I expect you to join us soon, Zi Yuan zhenren” One of Zhang zhenren's brows rose”The Zhengyi School thrives on the loyalty of its subsidiary sects” A slow s Sect has been rather… quiet, of late”
Zi Yuan's skin crawled
”The Linggong Sect's loyalty has always been with the Zhengyi School” Zi Yuan gave Zhang Tianhé a sotten how yi School all those years ago”
Zhang Tianhé's smirk faltered instantly
”I will step in when the ti zhenren” Zi Yuan quirked a brow”And when I'm actually needed” She tilted her head towards the quarrelling crowd
Zhang zhenren regarded Zi Yuan for a moment before he nodded”See that you do, Zi Yuan zhenrenSee that you do”
Zi Yuan watched through narrowed eyes as Zhang zhenren floated away fro inZi Yuan had picked this grove due to its density—she could use the trees for coverThe fact that it was located on higher ground helped as well, since it would give her a good vantage point of the temple
Zi Yuan didn't like what she had seen so farThere hadn't been a single sign of Mo Ahshi+
The noise fro zhenren rejoined the crowd
”Cal zhenren's voice resonated through the night”Tonight, we, the oal and to take down a co when she felt a fah her as Hongling's figure scoured through the dark foliage and landed beside herThe daé's head after she landed
Hongling opened her er
Realization crept into Hongling's wide eyes, and her mouth clicked shut
Zi Yuan pulled out a talisns
Water Element: Sound Barrier
The talis water vapor shi+fted and gathered until she and Hongling were enclosed inside a transparent bubble
”Did you find her?” Zi Yuan asked once the spell was in place
Hongling shook her head dejectedly
Zi Yuan frowned”I see”
Hongling glanced down at her feet guiltily”I… I'm sorry, Zi Yuan jiějie”
Zi Yuan reached over and rubbed her protégé's arIt's not your fault that she isn't here”
Hongling nodded weakly
Zi Yuan released a soft sighHongling had been walking on eggshells around Zi Yuan ever since their yelling ht
”What did you find, then?”
”Dead bodies”
Zi Yuan turned her head instantly, alrave expression bespoke the significance of that finding
”How ed to the meling's findings in silence”The Heir's doing?”
Hongling shook her head”Doesn't see from her pocket”I also found this”
Zi Yuan took the paper and studied it
It was a talisman
”The Divine Fist School” Zi Yuan frowned”I see”
Zi Yuan shook her head in disgustThe talisman burst into flames courtesy of a Fire spell
”It was brutal, Zi Yuan jiějie” Hongling shuddered”One of the corpses didn't even have a head”
Guesswhat happened to Zhang zhenren's trusted patrol unit
”Any Yin Spirits flying around?” Zi Yuan asked
”No” Hongling paused”I doubt any of the phase, Zi Yuan jiějie”
Zi Yuan hu Tianhé would choose to keep the powerful ones here for the assault
”Any signs of the Heir?”
Hongling shook her head again
Zi Yuan nodded”Good”
If Hongling couldn't detect his presence, then it meant that he had hidden the Jindan's Aura well
”Do you think he's here? In Mount Tianlong?” Hongling asked tentatively
”Of course he's here,” Zi Yuan saidAs if there could be any doubt about that
Hongling nodded meekly
A companionable silence filled the space between the stared up at her”Did you ust welled up inside Zi Yuan's throat as she shook her head”I was being watched”
Hongling visibly tensed up”By who Tianhé and his people, no doubt” Zi Yuan glanced at Hongling from the corner of her eyes”It's another reason I chose to hide here”
Hongling began to glance around fearfully
”Don't worry,” Zi Yuan said”nobody's watching now”
Hongling stopped her frantic glances”Oh”
”He was testing” Zi Yuan chuckled humorlessly”Wanted to see where hed”So what do we do now, Zi Yuan jiějie?”
”Have you searched the entiremumbled
”Even the suns of her aura?”
”None”
Zi Yuan huhtfullyThe damask would know if Su Chan was in fact nearby”Either she isn't in thepointed at the temple
Zi Yuan nodded”Mo Ahshi+ hasn't made her move yet”
”WaitYousounded surprised”Not even once?”
Zi Yuan shook her head”The barrier is still up” Zi Yuan paused in thought”At least we know that Liu Ye is still alive”
Hongling sighed dejectedly”I guess it's pointless to ask where Bahuang is then…”
”The barrier will come down once Mo Ahshi+ aze”He's expecting us to fight” Zi Yuan tilted her head towards the crohere Zhang Tianhé appeared to be giving a lecture on teamwork and the pride of the Great Six
A conflicted look spread across Hongling's face, the sight of whichscruples about killing fox spirits now, Hongling?” Zi Yuan teased”That's a first”
Hongling's face crimsoned when she looked away
”Hasn't it been your wish to wipe out these so-called foul creatures from the face of the earth, hirl so 's blush deepened
”T- They aren't all bad,” Hongling mumbled
Zi Yuan's s's view on fox spirits had changedTo be exact, she had known since the night the twins died at the hands of Hé ShaoZi Yuan didn't think she could ever forget the look on Hongling's face that night when they both saw Su Chan, a supposed deirl
So warrown, HonglingAnd I'”
Hongling's gaze suddenly returned to Zi Yuan's face
Zi Yuan gave her protégé a firirl”All eyes will be on lance towards the te you to take part in the battle”
Zi Yuan glanced at HonglingThe poor girl looked puzzled
”B- But…”
”I have another mission for you”
The red da's shoulder
”This is ié a serious look”And you hter”O- Oh” Hongling cleared her throat”I- I'll tryto break loose once the barrier is down” Zi Yuan paused pointedly”When the fighting begins, I want you to sneak into the tehtly
”Infiltrate the temple” Zi Yuan nodded fir are”
Zi Yuan slipped a talisave her a pointed look”This will su stared at the talisman for a moment before she pocketed it
”If you encounter Mo Ahshi+ inside the tee,” Zi Yuan said sternly”Do not atte on your own” Zi Yuan paused”Instead, you are to summon me with the talisave her a shaky nod
”Good” Zi Yuan sighed and looked towards the temple”With any luck, the Heir would arrive and stop this lance”He's probably going to start his search from the te stared at Zi Yuan for asighed”It's like she's gone without a single trace”
”There is another option,” Zi Yuan said thoughtfully, then shook her head”But I fear we ht not have the opportunity”
”What option?”
Zi Yuan glanced at Hongling briefly”Liu Ye”
Recognition flashed inside Hongling's eyes”I- I see…”
”The Great Seer ht have ways to find her” Zi Yuan paused”But Mo Ahshi+ ht take him out before we even have the chance to ask hih”And then there's the fact that he hasn't found Wushuang-qiánbèi yet, which is very worrying” Zi Yuan shook her head”Either he hasn't suspected anything yet, or…”
”Or what?” Hongling asked
Zi Yuan shook her head instead of answering
Or Wushuang-qiánbèi's captor had -qiánbèi's location frohtThere were certainly ways to acco spells could pull it off; so could ical objects such as the Purple Gold Jade Plate