Chapter 228 Showing Affection:

Elder Wild Crane's disciple sheathed his golden sword, stretched his shoulders and back, and his bones cracked and popped.

Elder Wild Crane approached the unconscious trusted elder and slapped him across the face. The trusted elder lay unconscious like a dead pig. Elder Wild Crane said, "Sword Saint Shen, that slash of yours was quite heavy."

Behind him, the "disciple" suddenly grew taller, his previously hunched figure becoming upright and slender. Shen Bingsi wiped his face, removed the disguise, and said, "Don't worry, I just tapped him with the back of my sword, he won't die."

As she spoke, Shen Bingsi groped around her waist.

Elder Wild Crane clicked his tongue: "It's a shame you're an elder, you're so weak. The nickname 'good-for-nothing' is truly fitting for you."

As they were talking, Elder Yehe took out a hemp rope and turned to ask Shen Bingsi to help him tie up the person. Suddenly, he saw Shen Bingsi holding a teardrop-shaped piece of white jade, with a strange smile on her face and her eyes gently fixed on the jade pendant.

Elder Wild Crane was taken aback: "Sword Saint Shen, what are you doing—"

“Elder, please go ahead with your work. I need to use this Heart-to-Heart Communication Jade Pendant to contact my Daoist partner right away,” Shen Bingsi explained. “My Daoist partner is in the Mirror Palace, a thousand miles away. He’s there to provide support… I need to tell him about our situation here.”

"Oh," Elder Yehe wondered why Shen Bingsi was suddenly explaining things to him in such detail, and in such a polite tone. "If you have something to do, then you go ahead and do your thing. I'll tie it myself."

“No, I’m willing to help, but this is a Heart-to-Heart Communication Jade Pendant. It can only be used between two people who are of one mind. It’s usually used between Daoist partners, but many Daoist partners are only superficially together. As you know, my Daoist partner and I are different. We were already of one mind for many years before we became Daoist partners,” Shen Bingsi continued to explain. As he spoke, he activated the communication jade pendant, which emitted a golden light. “See, it’s like this. It can transmit sound from thousands of miles away, and it doesn’t require spiritual power. It’s all thanks to the resonance of my soul and my Daoist partner’s. It’s effortless because we grew up together as childhood sweethearts.”

"..." Elder Yehe held the rope, unsure whether to tie her up or not. Shen Bingsi kept talking, and out of courtesy, he had to keep looking at Shen Bingsi and couldn't turn around to tie her up.

"Moreover, this pair of jade pendants with the ability to transmit voices has another wonderful function that you would never expect. Wait, it's connected!" Shen Bingsi's spirits lifted, and he looked up at the air. The mutton-fat jade pendant floated up and rose to the same height as his eyebrows. A gentle voice came from inside.

"Bing Si? What's the situation over there? Is everything going smoothly?" Rong Xie's voice came from the jade pendant.

"Everything is going smoothly, according to plan. Old Man Feng and the elders have gone to the Mirror Palace to find Brother Jiang," Shen Bingsi said with a smile. "They'll probably arrive in about half an hour."

"Okay, then I'll go tell Brother Jiang."

"Wait!" Before the light from the communication jade pendant went out, Shen Bingsi hurriedly called out, "Rong'er, I want to see you. Can we use the image transmission function?"

"Hmm? Now?" Rong Xie's voice sounded troubled. "But they'll be here in half an hour..."

"Just one look, just one word," Shen Bingsi pleaded earnestly. "We haven't seen each other for a full thirteen hours! Don't the storytellers in the teahouses always say that a day apart feels like three autumns? What's the difference between this and not seeing each other for a year?"

"..." Rong Xie was silent for a moment, "Then let's take a look?"

"Great! Just one look!!" Shen Bingsi beamed with joy. While activating the image transmission function of the sound transmission jade pendant, she introduced it to someone, "This image transmission function is even more advanced than the sound transmission function. It's very rare on the market, mainly because there are too few Daoist couples whose soul compatibility meets the standard for image transmission. My Daoist couple and I are such a rare and divine couple. Ah, here it comes!"

Elder Wild Crane remained expressionless as his subordinates quickly tied knots in the rope.

A phantom image appeared in the air, and then a young man dressed in a moon-white robe with a light gauze overcoat appeared in the phantom image. He frowned slightly and looked at Shen Bingsi with a puzzled expression: "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, it's Elder Yehe, one of our own." Shen Bingsi slightly turned the communication jade pendant and turned her body to the side so that Rong Xie could see Elder Yehe.

Elder Wild Crane stopped tying his knot and, upon seeing the illusory figure floating in the air, still managed a forced, polite smile.

"Greetings, Elder." Rong Xie saw Elder Yehe tying someone up. "What is Elder Yehe tying up..."

“He’s Old Feng’s lackey, a complete idiot. Old Feng just arranged for him to become the head elder of the Ruthless Dao Palace,” Shen Bingsi introduced. Then, he held up the jade pendant and pushed it to the edge of the cliff of Chicken Peak Mountain, showing Rong Xie the strange mountain scenery. “This is Chicken Peak Mountain where the sect’s Heavenly Eye is located. What do you think? Isn’t the scenery nice? I’ll bring you here to play next time.”

"...Bing Si, I really have to go and deliver the message."

Shen Bingsi reluctantly ended the image transmission, put the jade pendant into her bosom, came to Elder Yehe's side, sat down on the rock, sighed, and looked into the distance: "Old Feng is really annoying. Because his affairs are not over, my Daoist partner and I cannot travel around the Five Continents and Seven Seas."

Elder Wild Crane: "..."

Later that day, Sect Master Feng, Elder Yangming, and several other elders arrived at the Mirror Palace to request an audience with the Adjudicator Jiang. Adjudicator Jiang and the Registrar received them at the gate.

Sect Master Feng began by complaining that after the Flower Demon Rebellion, he had been working hard to keep the Xuan Tian Sect running. Now the Xuan Tian Sect was in dire need of rebuilding, and he had come up with a way to restore confidence and boost revenue. The plan was going very smoothly, but then someone spread a rumor that the Mirror Palace had issued a ban specifically targeting his method of saving the sect, which caused his subordinates to waver and made it impossible to carry out anything.

"Jiang Caijie, the Mirror Palace has issued a decree banning the Illusion Test. It must be a rumor! How could anyone believe such an absurd rumor..." Feng Sect Master was interrupted halfway through his sentence.

"It's true," the registrar said. "We issued this decree; didn't you receive it, Sect Master Feng?"

The Wind Sect Master's smile froze on his face.

"What?" he asked in confusion. "Is there really such a ban? But the illusion test has been around for a long time. Not to mention our Xuantian Sect, all the major sects and families use illusion tests to hone their disciples. In the end, they are all imitating the inner demon tribulation during the tribulation! We can't just stop using illusion tests because of the flower demon disaster. Wouldn't that be throwing the baby out with the bathwater?"

"We don't ban all illusion tests, only those that directly attack a cultivator's mind," Judge Jiang explained. "Our ban should have been sent to the three sects. Didn't the Xuantian Sect receive it? The ban clearly states the prohibition in black and white."

Sect Master Feng felt a cold wind sweep across his back, and the chill seeped into his heart.

What's going on? The rumors are actually true? Everyone else received such an important ban, why didn't he? If he had received it, he could have thought of a countermeasure in advance, or discussed the matter with Mirror Palace, but he didn't receive it.

By the time he found out, it was too late; everyone already knew!

There must be something fishy going on here.

Considering the past few days, whenever Sect Master Feng wanted to implement any orders, there were always people making excuses and obstructing it. This was especially true at the elders' meeting held during the day today, where the elders each had their own thoughts and were no longer as united as before.

Even more terrifying, the sect leader's decree he gave to his trusted elders actually attracted Elder Yangming, who was at odds with him, and directly forced him to come to the Mirror Palace to verify the decree!

This meticulously planned scheme pushed him to the brink of disaster without him even realizing it.

“We haven’t received it, and Sect Master Feng probably hasn’t either. After all, he was just denying it everywhere,” Elder Yangming said to Judge Jiang. “Since there’s such an order, could you please give us a copy so we can take it back with us…”

"Elder Yangming!" Sect Master Feng suddenly turned around, pointing at Elder Yangming with a look of sudden realization, "So it was you!"

"What?" Elder Yangming was taken aback.

Without saying much, Sect Master Feng turned and flew away, transforming into a streak of light and soaring into the sky.

On Xuanmiao Peak, Elder Yangming and several other elders looked at each other, wondering what Sect Master Feng was up to.

Jiang Caijie took out a copy of the order and handed it to Elder Yangming, seemingly unconcerned about the internal disputes within the Xuantian Sect. He considered it done once the Mirror Palace's order had been passed on to these people.

Elder Yangming thanked the adjudicator Jiang and left with the other elders.

After everyone left.

Jiang Caijie opened the side door of the Mirror Palace, and Rong Xie walked out of the side door, holding a communication jade pendant in his hand.

"The message has been sent, thank you, Brother Jiang," Rong Xie said with a smile.

“No need to be polite,” said Judge Jiang. “We also hope that the Ruthless Dao Palace will not repeat the same mistakes. Sect Master Feng’s willful actions are not a blessing for the cultivation world. As for what happens next, we’ll see how the Xuan Tian Sect handles it.”

"Hmm." Rong Xie gazed at the surging sea of ​​clouds under the moonlight, feeling both worried and expectant.

I wonder what Shen Bingsi is doing at this moment?

Jiang Caijie and the recorder talked outside for a while, then prepared to go into the backyard to see if Tianjing had any new instructions. They asked Rong Xie if he wanted to come in with them, but Rong Xie replied that he wanted to stay outside for a while.

The official Jiang left a side door open for him, and he went in with the registrar.

Rong Xie stood on Xuanmiao Peak in a daze, recalling the first time he came to this place in his precognitive dream.

His anxiety grew stronger, and he clutched the communication jade pendant tightly in his hand, wanting to contact Shen Bingsi.

However, Shen Bingsi must be very busy right now... Once Sect Master Feng returns, he will soon stir up a major event, possibly tonight.

Let's wait and see. Contacting him rashly might disrupt important matters.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed across the night sky, like a shooting star falling westward, heading straight for the cliff where Rong Xie stood.

Rong Xie stared wide-eyed in surprise. The golden light in his pupils grew brighter and brighter until a familiar figure emerged from the golden light and walked right up to him.

"How did you end up here?" Rong Xie stared in astonishment at Shen Bingsi, who had landed on her sword.

Shen Bingsi sheathed the Shengxie Sword, strode up to Rong Xie, took his hand, rubbed it in her palm, and said with a smile, "I've come to pick you up so we can go together."

"How could it be so fast? They just left. You set off then, and it hasn't even been the time it takes for an incense stick to burn yet." Rong Xie still couldn't believe it.

"Of course it's because I set off early!" Shen Bingsi said proudly. "I set off as soon as we finished transmitting the images. I stopped somewhere along the way and waited for Elder Feng and Elder Yangming to arrive before I came over."

"You came out early? Who's waiting for you over there?" Rong Xie panicked even more.

“Don’t worry, Elder Yangming has his own way of communicating with his people. As long as we get Old Man Feng to Xuanmiao Peak, the rest will be handled by the Xuantian Sect. We don’t need to get involved anymore,” Shen Bingsi explained. “I have already notified our own people to stop their activities and withdraw from Chongyue Platform. Now it’s up to the Xuantian Sect to decide what to do.”

"Is this... alright?" Rong Xie was a little uneasy.

“If we’ve helped them this much and they still can’t seize the opportunity, then they’re beyond saving. Even if they take power, it will be taken away by Old Man Feng,” Shen Bingsi said.

"Is that so?" Rong Xie felt that Shen Bingsi's words made sense.

“Yes, we’ll just wait and see.” Shen Bingsi rubbed Rong Xie’s shoulder and touched his face. “You’re such a worrywart. You’re standing outside in the wind. Aren’t you cold? Do you want to warm up in your partner’s arms? We’ll be flying on our swords for half the night later, so you should put on some warming talismans.”

Rong Xie was both amused and exasperated: "I've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so I'm not afraid of the cold at all. Can you please stop being so clingy?"

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The chapter was scrambled together, so the Xuan Tian Sect Incident won't end until the next chapter.