Chapter 493: Liu Shiqian's Troubles
Chapter 493: Liu Shiqian's Troubles
"Hss...hss..."
In the grand hall enveloped in white mist, only heavy breathing remained.
Ke Shi San's suppressing stone grazed Shen Yi's brow, kneeling on the ground with his arms propping up his body. His shoulders trembled as if his whole being had lost its soul.
It was still immersed in the sight of a sea of stars, and the additional ink-colored robe and pale white hand that came into view.
Only those who have truly experienced it would understand.
Struggling desperately within the nearly perfect Tian Yan Si Jiu, one finally catches a glimpse of hope, only to find true great terror at the end of the escape route.
That feeling of helpless despair is like a vast tide sweeping over you.
"..."
The Fleshwing Silkworm quietly glanced at this descendant of dragons, then swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling quite relieved that its brain wasn't the sharpest.
Shen Yi gave Ke Shi San ample time to recover, after all, there were still many ways in which he would need to use the other party.
And such a lengthy deduction process could indeed easily drive one to the brink of madness.
He began to condense the demon essence, reshaping the soul of the red-blooded Xuan Feng.
【Remaining Demon Lifespan: 1,663,000 years】
In fact, reshaping Xuan Feng's soul was a losing proposition.
After all, there was already a Xuan Feng suppressing stone in the Dao Palace.
But after seeing Su Hongxiu's pathetic state, Shen Yi always felt that having a strong physical body would be quite useful. After all, there were so many strange methods in the world, and one couldn't guarantee that they would always be able to summon the Dao Palace and manipulate spiritual energy. Having an extra backup plan was always a good thing.
As the eleventh demon essence was poured into the demon soul.
The dignified and elegant woman stood before Shen Yi once more, still as graceful and charming as before, but with a hint of timidity on her face, making her look all the more pitiful.
"Xuan Feng pays respect to my master." She bowed carefully, this time even forgoing the action of pulling her dress.
Shen Yi nodded slightly, but instead of rushing to deduce the cultivation technique, he turned and asked, "Was it your own decision to intercept the Daoist, or were you instructed by someone else in the sect?"
If it was the latter, it meant that someone in the Tian Jian Sect could no longer restrain themselves and even wanted to compete for their own sect's Daoist's unity treasure land.
Then, owning the Nanyang treasure land, such a juicy piece of meat, would definitely attract the same attention, and he would need to be extra cautious.
"This matter has nothing to do with the unity treasure land. It was purely Xuan Feng's impulsive decision to take revenge on the Tian Jian Sect."
Having experienced the torture of the demon essence, Xuan Feng seemed much more honest.
She paused after speaking, as if remembering something: "If my master has any concerns, then the person with the greatest ill-intent towards you in the Tian Jian Sect is definitely Elder Liu Xing Shan. He is powerful and has very senior qualifications. If it weren't for the Tian Jian Daoist's remarkable talent and decisiveness, who took the opportunity to severely injure him during his reincarnation perfection, he might not have been able to intimidate him back then."
If their own Daoist doesn't obey, how could he possibly submit to a young "sect master" like you?
"Noted."
Shen Yi kept this name in mind, then reached out and recalled Xuan Feng as well.
The next moment, the vast demon lifespan once again surged towards the Tian Huang Immortal Body.
Since he had been able to freely enter and exit the Scripture Pavilion, Shen Yi had not tried to forcibly decipher the cultivation technique for a long time, and he was not quite used to it anymore.
【In the first year, as you looked at this true Xuan Feng, you showed her the Tian Huang that dwelled between your five viscera...】
"Hu."
Seeing Shen Yi close his eyes again, Ke Shi San finally heaved a sigh of relief.
But upon noticing his master's face, pale to the point of sickness, the fear in his heart inexplicably intensified.
After all, during the previous deduction of Tian Yan Si Jiu, not only was he being tortured, but the other party was also not idle.
Now, he was once again entering that illusion without hesitation.
And during the last deduction, the master would still dry heave and his body would convulse. Now, he seemed to have already become accustomed to enduring this lengthy process. What a talent!
"Ai."
Thinking of this, Ke Shi San slowly stood up, sighed, and decided to give up on his wishful thinking. After the deduction of Xuan Feng was complete, he would most likely have to continue sitting in that prison.
Behind the wooden door, surrounded by white mist.
The ink-clad youth sat cross-legged, with two suppressing stones guarding his left and right sides. In the quiet room, only the white-haired old man kept repeating the name "Xuan Qing".
...
On the Nanyang relief sculpture.
One figure after another darted out from within the sect, all of them wearing Qing Yue long robes.
"Hey! Seniors, what's going on?" Li Qingfeng hurriedly chased after them, squeezing out a smile, "You're leaving in such a hurry, I didn't even have time to see you off."
Although there were already quite a few powerful cultivators in the Nanyang Sect, including those in the late Returning Void stage, such as the honored priest of the Shuiyue Business Alliance.
Li Qingfeng didn't know what he had done to offend this group, but after sending him a simple message, they were in such a hurry to leave. Could it be that they had come into conflict with the executives of Nanyang Sect?
Setting aside the matter of imparting their teachings for now, since the Sect Master wasn't handling affairs, he dared not make decisions on behalf of Nanyang Sect and create enmity with Qingyue Sect.
"Friend Li Qingfeng, you've misunderstood," the Qingyue Sect executives seemed to have guessed his thoughts and explained with bitter smiles on their faces, "It's not what you think. Our sect has encountered some problems and urgently needs manpower, so we're afraid we won't be able to assist your sect for the time being."
"Wow, what kind of big problem could it be that even Qingyue Sect is in such a headache?" Li Qingfeng's expression changed slightly.
With the Seven Sons Assembly just around the corner, he didn't want to hear any news that might affect the Sect Master.
"It's not that serious, and it has little to do with Qingyue Sect," they cupped their hands in farewell and explained, "It's the subordinate forces under the jurisdiction of our Elder that have been frequently encountering problems recently. It seems they've been targeted by a powerful demon. Once this matter is resolved, we will return to impart our teachings."
Upon hearing this, Li Qingfeng had no reason to detain them further and could only watch as they summoned the Qingyue Treasure Boat and departed.
With his extremely curious personality, he had, of course, already inquired about the matter.
These executives and outer sect elders were all under the command of Elder Liu Shiqian, who treated Nanyang Sect very well.
Unfortunately, Nanyang Sect was currently in a precarious situation and couldn't offer much help. They could only hope that the other party would resolve this issue smoothly.
Thinking of this, Li Qingfeng shook his head and returned to the Nanyang Sect's grounds.
At the same time, the Qingyue Treasure Boat was speeding back to Qingyue Sect.
Several executives and outer sect elders hurriedly entered the light curtain and returned to the inner sect. They had intended to go directly to the bamboo building to find Elder Liu, but they received a message and turned towards the Elder's Hall instead.
"It seems the situation is more serious than we imagined," they glanced at each other quietly, a sense of unease growing in their hearts.
Given Elder Liu's preference for seclusion and his love for tranquility, he rarely left the bamboo building unless something truly significant had occurred.
Arriving at the hall, they saw a solemn and thin middle-aged man sitting in the main seat, his expression grave as he wrote something in a booklet. As he issued orders, executives would pair up and leave the hall, quickly heading out of the sect.
In a short while, more than half of the people in the hall had left.
"Miss Liu, what's the situation now?" they approached the young lady in the crowd and asked quietly.
"My father..." Liu Qianyun seemed anxious, but she quickly corrected herself, "...The Elder's nearly forty subordinate forces have all encountered demonic disasters within just three days. The number of jade slips requesting assistance is enough to pile up on the table."
"The other party's intentions are too obvious, they are clearly targeting Elder Liu... But no matter how we search, we can't find out the identity of the person behind this."
"... "
Hearing this, the group fell silent.
The last sentence was more shocking than the first.
For so many executives and outer sect elders to be at a loss, the opponent must be a powerful demon comparable to Elder Bai Yujing, or perhaps their influence was even greater.
"Haven't you asked the Fourth Elder, Ke?"
According to reason, this dragon grandson, who controlled the waters closest to the Seven Sons of Nanhong, should have stepped in since such a big problem had occurred.
"I asked."
Liu Qianyun looked helpless, "He replied with a letter, only leaving a vague sentence with no further explanation."
"Damn it!" The executives gritted their teeth. Such a perfunctory response was clearly disrespectful to Elder Liu.
If an Elder couldn't even protect their subordinates, they would inevitably be blamed for negligence.
"Keep it down."
Liu Shiqian looked up and quietly reminded them.
Then, he gestured for them to come forward and receive their tasks.
Several jade slips were placed in their palms.
Liu Qianyun was no exception.
Taking advantage of their father-daughter relationship, she plucked up her courage and walked forward, "Elder Liu?"
She always felt that her father must know something but was unwilling to say it.
How could a grand cultivator who had opened two cities and could summon the Qingluan Xianbing not even identify their opponent?
"..."
Liu Shiqian glanced at her and pondered for a moment before surprisingly refraining from reprimanding her. He merely said calmly, "Be careful."
Hearing this, Liu Qianyun's heart skipped a beat.
As she had expected, her father must have had his suspicions, and he even found it tricky, or he wouldn't have warned her.
Thinking of this, Liu Qianyun asked instinctively, "Why don't we ask the other elders for help?"
Liu Shiqian looked up again, his eyes calmer now, "Leave."
Seeing the expression in her father's eyes, Liu Qianyun took two steps back awkwardly, knowing that he was angry again, "Look at you, so impatient. Can't I leave now?"
He sat down by the table and asked, "Why didn't you ask for my help? Who dares to be so audacious and brazenly provoke you?"
Liu Shiqian's eyes fell on the booklet, and he shook his head.
"You won't even tell me?" Chi Yang Elder paused, then retracted his smile. "Then it seems your adversary is not to be underestimated. Since you didn't seek help from other elders within the sect, it seems this trouble is of your own making, and you didn't get permission from the sect master or the Taoist master?"
"..."
Liu Shiqian looked up with a hint of helplessness. "You should leave too."
As an elder of Bai Yujing, Chi Yang was no fool.
"Let me guess," he said, stroking his chin. "With your temperament, it's rare for you to leave the sect. The last time you left was to find that young master of Nanyang Sect, and then you went to the Yan family together."
Chi Yang Elder shook his head, deep in thought. "You stood up for him, causing trouble, but when you returned, you seemed to be in high spirits. So, you thought you had handled it discreetly, but then you were sold out?"
"Shut up," Liu Shiqian snapped, shooting a glance at his friend.
Although the exposure of this matter was indeed bizarre and seemed like an inside job, he didn't believe that Shen Zongzhu would betray him. His instincts about people were never wrong, and during their previous encounter, Shen Yi's cultivation level was not high enough to see through his actions.
Could it be the Yan family?
It didn't matter anymore. What was done was done, and there was no point in dwelling on it. Liu Shiqian remained remarkably nonchalant about the situation.
When Ke Laosi had replied to his letter, he had already guessed who was behind those demons.
According to common sense, the Dragon Grandson in the Dragon Palace was the youngest generation. Although demons had long lifespans, in terms of seniority, they were still considered juniors compared to the elders of the Immortal Sect, Bai Yujing.
But Ke Laosi was an exception.
In terms of strength, he surpassed most of the elders in the Immortal Sect, and even some of the Dragon Princes were not his match.
In terms of influence, he was a half-blooded dragon grandson and should have faced ostracism. However, because he didn't have the opportunity to inherit the Dragon King's position, he was sent out to watch over the Nanhong Seven Sons, which gave him control over a formidable force far beyond what a typical dragon grandson should possess.
"..."
That palm strike at the Yan family had unknowingly brought Liu Shiqian a formidable enemy without the knowledge of his sect.
He was just an elder, not the Taoist master.
Ke Xuanjian had not offended the Qingyue Sect, yet Liu Shiqian had secretly attacked him, becoming the straw that broke the camel's back.
If it went unnoticed, it would be fine, but once discovered, it would be equivalent to the Qingyue Sect making a decision for the Taoist master.
This broke the rules and could even create discord between the Taoist master and the elders.
Liu Shiqian was not a coward; he wanted to put an end to this matter and knew he had to meet with Ke Laosi.
He slowly stood up, walked towards Chi Yang Elder, and handed him a letter, interrupting his friend's train of thought. "Do me a favor and deliver this letter to the Nanyang Sect. Make sure it reaches Shen Zongzhu's hands."
Since Ke Laosi already knew that he had taken action, he would surely remember Shen Yi as well.
It was best to remind Shen Zongzhu to be extra cautious.
"You don't treat your own daughter this well," Chi Yang Elder rolled his eyes. It was unclear whether Nanyang Sect had betrayed Liu Shiqian or not, and now he was rushing to warn someone else.
"Go on, then," Liu Shiqian nodded and strode towards the exit of the grand hall.
He was a man of few words and didn't want others to think that Liu Qianyun received special treatment within the sect. However, he did care for his daughter and worried that she would be implicated in this matter.
That was why he wanted to find Ke Laosi and put an end to this as soon as possible.
As Liu Shiqian's thin figure disappeared beyond the grand hall, Chi Yang Elder raised an eyebrow. He, too, trusted his friend's judgment of character, but if Nanyang Sect hadn't betrayed him, then it was likely one of the other allied sects' Bai Yujing elders.
The problem probably lay with the Unity Treasure Land.
Getting too close to Nanyang Sect was never going to end well.
"Sigh."
Chi Yang Elder heaved a sigh. The saddest part was that everyone seemed to have a motive, and any one of his fellow elders could be the culprit.
What had happened to the once harmonious Nanhong Seven Sons?
"Why should I go to Nanyang Sect? That old man considers you a good friend, and here you are, pushing him into a pit of fire. You're a jinx," Chi Yang Elder muttered to himself as he left the grand hall with a wry smile.
(End of Chapter)
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