93 Locking the Spirit (Part 5)

◎The truth. ◎

“Father…” Lou Tinglan repeated the word. Everything about this man was almost taboo in the Discipline Hall, rarely mentioned, and never before had it been thrown at him in such an accusatory and resentful tone.

Lou Guan, however, seemed to suddenly realize his momentary lapse in composure. He remained silent for a moment, his anger subsiding, and his expression softened into a weary, almost persuasive tone:

“Tinglan, you have been cared for by the elders of the sect since childhood, and you have always been a model disciple of the sect in every task you have undertaken. I do not want you to be like your father, trapped in love and neglecting the path of cultivation.”

Ran Qinghe chuckled softly, no longer hiding behind Lou Tinglan, but taking half a step forward to stand beside him:

"The Second Elder keeps talking about the sect's responsibilities, but how dare you ask why the Spirit Locking Array draws spiritual energy from heaven and earth and concentrates it solely in the Azure Sky and the Discipline Hall, causing an imbalance in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth..."

"The mortal realm is filled with turbid air, making cultivation in the Mortal Valley difficult. Is this what they call responsibility?!"

Her voice was soft, but every word was clear.

She observed Lou Guan's reaction closely and saw that she was familiar with the term "Spirit Locking Array." She understood even more clearly that the leaders of the five sects and the elders of the Discipline Hall were tacitly approving of the existence of this Spirit Locking Array.

She was just curious whether the Discipline Hall knew that Lou Yunya, a naturally born spiritual body, was trapped in the Spirit Locking Array and served as the array's core.

She thought the answer should be no.

Sure enough, as soon as the words "Spirit Locking Array" were uttered, both of their gazes fell on her. Lou Tinglan was shocked, but what shocked her was how she knew about it.

Lou Guan's brows furrowed with barely concealed impatience. The matter of the Spirit-Locking Array was utterly insignificant to her; she merely replied with a dismissive tone:

"Did Lin Ge tell you?"

Her tone was one of utter nonchalance, as she already knew that Lin Ge had instructed Ran Qinghe to destroy the spiritual vein, and now she spoke with an air of complete understanding.

Ran Qinghe, however, slightly curved her eyes, twisting the meaning of Lin Ge's original words: "Sect Leader Lin did indeed tell me that the Qingxiao Sect and the Discipline Hall used the Spirit Locking Array to absorb spiritual energy from the mortal realm."

"But the reason I chose to destroy the spiritual vein is because of Senior Lou Yunya..."

Ran Qinghe stopped halfway through her sentence.

"Have you seen him?" Lou Guan's tone revealed his eagerness.

Judging from Lou Guan's reaction, Ran Qinghe became even more certain of her guess.

Although Lou Guan and even the elders of the Discipline Hall tacitly approved of the existence of the Spirit Locking Array, they were completely unaware that Lou Yunya had been used as the array's core.

Therefore, the final answer points only to Qian Zhong, the Qingxiao Sect Leader who sits at the head of the Qingxiao Sect.

This explains why Qianzhong repeatedly tried to take her away.

Qianzhong may well know that she is a born spirit. Perhaps, Qianzhong still wants to use her to plot something.

But for her, facing thousands of bells was like an ant trying to shake a tree; however, if it were the Discipline Hall, it might not be so difficult.

So she met Lou Guan's intense gaze head-on and replied loudly, "Of course."

A hint of doubt flickered in Lou Guan's eyes: "How can you prove it?"

Ran Qinghe said, "He told me that he created the Spirit Locking Array."

Lou Guan seemed somewhat disappointed and said, "This matter... is known to all the leaders of the five sects, and is not evidence."

"He told me that he never imagined that the array he created to imprison himself and to balance the Five Sects and the Discipline Hall would one day become a tool for the Five Sects to absorb all the spiritual energy of the mortal world."

"He told me that he was very curious about how Qian Zhong knew about the Spirit Locking Array after Qian Xue's death and the shattering of the jade tablet, and even went further by expanding and connecting it to the five sects' earth veins."

Lou Guan's face turned pale, then ashen, and finally, he could only ask one question: "Where is he?"

Ran Qinghe said, "The Second Elder should consult Qianzhong for the answer to this question."

"Second Elder must know the effectiveness of the Spirit Locking Array. Aren't you curious about what has allowed it to last for a hundred years without fading away?"

"Moreover, I think that Sect Leader Qian's ambitions go beyond this. How can the five sects sharing spiritual energy be better than one sect dominating the world, right?"

"However, what I can think of, the Second Elder may also have thought of. Or is it that the Second Elder thought of it, but tacitly approved of this happening?"

"Heh!" A smile appeared on Lou Guan's lips. Sword energy condensed in front of him. In just a breath, the sword tip was already pointing straight at Ran Qinghe's throat, and his spiritual power surged violently.

Lou Tinglan stepped forward, her sword moving freely with the intent of Jingxin, blocking Lou Guan's deadly sword energy. Her face paled slightly, but she did not yield an inch.

"If what she said is true, why is the Second Elder so angry?"

Lou Guan, however, couldn't hear anything. Her eyes were filled with disbelief, as if she couldn't believe that her most trusted disciple would attack her for Ran Qinghe's sake.

"Lou Tinglan!"

She roared, and her next sword strike was already upon her. However, this time, it was the Tranquil Heart Sword that blocked her attack, not Lou Tinglan.

The Tranquil Sword seemed to have come to life, swiftly blocking every single one of Lou Guan's sword strikes.

But Lou Guan was extremely familiar with this sword technique, every move and stance.

Her moves were completely neutralized.

"Senior brother..." she murmured almost involuntarily, and the sword in her hand fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Lou Tinglan stared at the Tranquil Heart Sword, which had automatically returned to its sheath, and in a daze, she understood something.

On the day the spiritual vein was destroyed, the Tranquil Heart Sword was summoned in this way. Father, indeed, is still alive.

In an instant, Lou Guan and Lou Tinglan seemed to have both realized something, and blurted out in unison:

"He's here, isn't he?"

Ran Qinghe sighed and thought to herself that Lou Yunya truly deserved to be called the number one person in the world, even seeing through her methods.

She originally intended to use Lou Yunya's name to incite Lou Guan and Qian Zhong to fight each other, but unexpectedly, Lou Yunya thwarted all her plans.

*

Tribulation Realm Prison.

"Senior brother..." Lou Guan called out softly, taking a step forward.

"Don't go over there!" Ran Qinghe stopped her in time, her face solemn. "Rashly touching the Spirit Locking Array could very likely damage his very soul."

"Little sister, how have you been?" Lou Yunya looked at her steadily, his gaze calm, without sorrow or joy.

Looking at the massive, crisscrossing chains before him, Lou Guan suddenly understood everything, his voice hoarse and dry:

"I don't know, senior brother, I don't know... It's my fault." Her eyes were filled with immense grief and anger, and even more so with a sense of bewilderment at being utterly betrayed.

“Back then, if I hadn’t insisted on reshaping your Dao Heart Tribulation Seal, Qianzhong wouldn’t have had the chance to trap you here…”

"If I hadn't believed Qianzhong's so-called 'for the sake of the Five Sects' Great Dao,' and handed over the Spirit-Locking Array so easily..."

The moment the words were spoken, the room fell silent.

Ran Qinghe suddenly understood; the key to understanding that she had been struggling with all along was this.

As for the deeper questions, Lou Guan couldn't bring himself to say them.

Back then, Qian Zhong promised her that for the sake of Lou Yunya's Dao heart, he would find a way to separate Lou Yunya from Qian Xue. However, in exchange, she would have to offer up the Spirit Locking Array with both hands.

However, she never expected that Qianzhong would actually target Qianxue.

When Qianxue died and Lou Yunya was heartbroken, she took advantage of his vulnerability.

She thought that as long as she could rebuild Lou Yunya's Dao Heart Tribulation Seal, he would be able to completely forget Qianxue and become the upright and virtuous head of the Discipline Hall again.

However, the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal failed to be rebuilt, and she suffered a backlash, her vital energy was severely damaged, and she was unconscious for several days.

When he woke up again, he heard the news that Lou Yunya had disappeared.

She thought he was just too heartbroken, so he went on a journey to clear his mind, but a year, two years, three years, even a hundred years passed, and he never came back.

Unexpectedly, he was imprisoned here by Qianzhong.

Lou Yunya's gaze swept past his excited and out-of-control junior sister, then fell on Lou Tinglan, who was trying hard to suppress her shock: "You look a lot like her."

Lou Tinglan lowered his eyes, unsure how to answer. He felt a deep sense of unfamiliarity with his father, from whom he had been separated for a hundred years, and in the end, he simply gave a soft "hmm".

Then he asked, "How do we break the Spirit-Locking Array?"

Lou Yunya shook his head: "The Spirit Locking Array is already connected to the Five Sects, so moving one part will affect the whole. If I forcibly break the array, even if I succeed, I will probably suffer damage to my soul and spirit, and it may even cause the spiritual veins to fluctuate, causing unpredictable disasters."

"Are we just going to let you get trapped here and die?" Lou Guan asked excitedly.

"There is a way."

Ran Qinghe suddenly spoke, and in an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on her.

"Find the complete diagram of the Spirit Locking Array in Qianzhong's possession, and then break the array. Since Senior Lou created this Spirit Locking Array, surely he can't even break this array?"

Lou Yunya sighed and said, "Young friend, you overestimate me. I am currently trapped in a predicament, how can I possibly break the formation?"

Ran Qinghe said, "Then I will take over Senior Lou's position and stabilize the array. When Senior gets the master plan, he will be able to come up with the solution to the Spirit Locking Array, so that it will no longer require the sacrifice of a natural spiritual body."

“No,” Lou Tinglan said firmly. “If someone is needed to be the core of the formation, then let me…”

Before he could finish speaking, Ran Qinghe interrupted, "This is the only way that can possibly satisfy both sides. Either Senior Lou will be trapped here forever, or we must take a desperate gamble."

Lou Yunya looked at her intently: "But do you know that even if you get the array diagram, the process of taking over is extremely dangerous. If you make the slightest mistake, your soul will be scattered."

Lou Guan analyzed, "The Five Sects meeting has just ended. Qian Zhong and Yun Xiu have taken a hard line and insisted on detaining Ran Qinghe. In the short term, his attention will still be on the Discipline Hall, especially on... Ran Qinghe."

"Perhaps this is an opportunity to feign an attack on one front while secretly advancing on another."

Lou Tinglan immediately became alert: "What does the Second Elder mean?"

"Ran Qinghe is still a 'fugitive,' and the chief disciple of the Discipline Hall is ordered to 'hunt him down.' Make a big fuss, and if Ran Qinghe is not caught in a day, Qianzhong will worry that Ran Qinghe will damage the Qingxiao Spiritual Vein."

"I will guard Qianzhong and keep an eye on the location of the formation diagram, and finally hand it over to my senior brother to solve the formation."

Lou Tinglan said tautly, "But how can I believe that Ran Qinghe has become the core of the formation, and that the Second Elder and... Father will do their best to break the formation, or simply let her remain imprisoned here and let things take their course?"

Ran Qinghe met Shang Lou Tinglan's intense gaze and suddenly chuckled softly, silently thinking, "Fool."