Chapter 98: Warning: Must an innocent person be sacrificed? ...
Mu Fuyun stayed in Xizhao Pavilion and was unconscious for more than half an hour.
When she was unconscious, her mind was sometimes clear and sometimes confused, like a piece of driftwood on the water, up and down, in a trance.
She could feel the spiritual energy lingering around her meridians and could hear the movements around her intermittently, but she was always shrouded in a layer of mist, isolated from everything.
It was the small crystal piece on her chest that woke her from her deep slumber with waves of coldness penetrating her skin.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to be able to feel a certain emotion from it.
The familiar coldness, yet with warmth, revealing worry and concern, belongs to Xie Hanyi.
The small wisp of soul he separated was caring for her on his behalf.
Mu Fuyun felt a shock in her heart, and a surge of power was injected into her, which then spread throughout her limbs and bones, pushing her awake.
"You're awake!"
A familiar and urgent call came from her ears. She frowned and opened her eyes to see Song Xinghe's nervous face.
"Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell? I'll send a message to the doctor right away!"
When Mu Fuyun was unconscious, she could always hear his noisy voice. Now that she was awake, she could hear it again. She couldn't help but frown and blurted out subconsciously: "It's so noisy."
Song Xinghe's expression froze, and he was a little slow to react.
Normally, he would have been furious. But now, looking at her still pale face, he swallowed his anger, said a dry "oh," and stepped aside without saying anything else, his eyes still fixed on her every move.
Mu Fuyun held his forehead and waited for the dizziness to pass before looking around. He recognized this place as Xizhao Pavilion, but Chu Ye was not there. So he asked, "Where is Chu Ye?"
Song Xinghe opened his mouth, almost wanting to question her why she only cared about the eldest brother as soon as she woke up, but when he met her impatient gaze, he was afraid that she would think he was too immature, so he held it in and answered briefly, "The eldest brother went to Guizang Hall to discuss the arrangements for the Dharma Assembly with the head master, Shen Jiaoshi and others."
Two disciples who had just reached the Golden Core stage a while ago, were promoted to the Nascent Soul stage a few days before the Dharma Assembly began. This disrupted the established competition arrangements, so naturally some discussion was required.
Speaking of this, Song Xinghe's expression became a little strange.
"You have now reached the Nascent Soul stage. If you can still participate in the Dharma Assembly, if nothing unexpected happens, you will face me."
This feeling is somewhat difficult to describe. In the past, she had always looked down upon this person, whose cultivation was far inferior to hers. However, in just two or three years, he had already caught up a lot. At this rate, she would soon be able to surpass him.
Mu Fuyun was stunned for a moment, and only after he reminded him did he realize that he had advanced.
But a competition that was so easy was somewhat similar to the smooth journey we had on Yuya Mountain before.
She recalled what she had experienced on the trial platform, and suddenly realized that at the moment the thunder struck, the spiritual energy in the mountains seemed to surge, and when the power of the thunder tribulation passed, it quietly fell back to most of its original value.
Spiritual energy comes from the spiritual vein, and the spiritual vein is related to Xie Hanyi.
She stood up suddenly and walked towards the door, ignoring the pain in her body that had not completely disappeared.
"Where are you going?" Song Xinghe asked quickly.
"Return to Lingshanze."
"But you haven't recovered yet!"
"None of your business!"
Mu Fuyun said this, walked out of the house without looking back, and flew away on his sword.
…
Outside the cave in Lingshanze, the ice, snow and cold fog that remain unchanged throughout the year still dye the sky and the earth white.
The tightly closed cave left no gap, as if to keep out everyone and everything.
Mu Fuyun stood outside the door, hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward, put his hand on the door, and applied slight force.
The door was made of stone and was very heavy, but she easily pushed it open.
After a creaking sound, the door was pushed open to a gap two fists wide. A ray of light projected in from the gap and hit the stone couch in the middle of the inner room.
A cold figure sat upright on it, it was Xie Hanyi.
His eyes were closed and his face was calm. He was obviously in a state of meditation and was not disturbed by the noise from the outside world. His white Taoist robe was spread out neatly. Next to the corner of his robe was her small lamp, with blue water droplets sparkling.
It looks normal.
Mu Fuyun stayed at the door for a moment before he breathed a sigh of relief.
She must have just been overthinking it.
She touched the crystal piece on her chest, hesitated for a moment, pushed the stone door open a little more, walked slowly into the inner room, stopped beside the couch, and looked at Xie Hanyi who had no reaction.
He was like a jade sculpture, motionless, with a cold air about him, yet he made her feel as warm as jade.
“Master…”
She called out softly, and couldn't help but reach out, touch his collar, and straighten his Taoist robe bit by bit.
The crystal seemed to sense something and became a little colder, conveying a certain peaceful emotion to her.
Mu Fuyun took a deep breath, and for some reason, his eyes felt a little sore.
She suddenly hoped that the Fa conference would end quickly so that Master wouldn't have to stay motionless like this.
Only then did she realize that the reason she could enter Xie Hanyi's cave without any hindrance was not because he had not set up any restrictions.
For cultivators, retreat has always been the most important thing, and they cannot tolerate any disturbance from the outside world. Even if Lingshanze is a forbidden area of the sect, there is no reason for them to have no defense at all.
It’s not that he didn’t set up a forbidden barrier. On the contrary, now that she released her five senses and spiritual awareness, she could easily feel the complex restrictions outside the cave.
It just didn't work on her - she carried a trace of his consciousness with her, which showed not only his concern for her, but also his trust in her.
…
In Guizang Hall, the leaders of the three major sects were discussing how to arrange for the two disciples who had suddenly advanced.
"I disagree!" Liang Daoheng expressed his opinion without hesitation, "Each sect and each realm can only have three disciples, no more. This has been the case in every Dharma Assembly over the years. There's no reason why you, Tianyan, can make an exception."
Master Hongmeng was not as straightforward as Liang Daoheng, but he also expressed his opinion while stroking his beard.
"After all, there's no precedent. Moreover, these two disciples have only just reached the Nascent Soul stage. I'm sure they still have some gap to go compared to those disciples who have gone through a lot of competitions and made it into the top three. It's probably not reasonable for them to participate in the Dharma Assembly again."
Faced with the opposition from the other two major sects, Qi Yuanbai did not respond immediately, but first looked around at the several Tianyan leaders around him.
Elder Qin, always willing to lead by example for the Sect Master, was the first to object. "Why is it illogical? The fact that they were able to advance two ranks in a row is the best proof of their strength. They're much better than those who only advance one rank and then start trouble before the ceremony."
This barrage of sarcasm immediately made Liang Daoheng scowl, pointing his finger at him: "You, you, you, stop being sarcastic! My daughter has a natural talent. You old man, are you jealous that she is already a Nascent Soul cultivator at such a young age?"
Even Master Hongmeng was a little displeased: "Elder Qin, please be careful with your words."
Elder Chang suddenly interrupted, "I heard that Fellow Daoist Xiao Liang advanced on her way to Tianyan. She should have been a Jindan-stage disciple. I wonder why she is now participating in the Dharma Assembly as a Yuanying-stage disciple?"
True Man Hong Meng said calmly, "Huai Lian is quite powerful. When he was still in the early Jindan stage, he was able to defeat a senior brother in the late Jindan stage. On the day he advanced to the Yuanying stage, he defeated one of the three Yuanying disciples on the spot. That disciple was magnanimous and accepted the defeat sincerely, giving up his place. In this case, my Taixu Sect should not have broken the rules, right?"
Jiang Hanqiu looked around. Being straightforward as she was, she did not express her opinion as usual. Instead, she took out the jade token and sent a message to her eldest disciple Yun Ni.
A moment later, a high-pitched voice was heard outside the hall where the situation was deadlocked.
"Why not let them participate? I want to compete with them!"
Immediately afterwards, a hurried figure rushed into the hall.
Liang Huailian glared at her father Liang Daoheng angrily: "Dad, are you deliberately not wanting your daughter to get what she wants?"
Having said that, without waiting for Liang Daoheng to explain, he turned his head to look at Master Hongmeng, and his attitude softened a lot.
"Master, could you please be flexible?"
Liang Daoheng had always doted on his daughter, but with Liang Huailian's interference, he lost face and gave up. Even Master Hongmeng couldn't resist his young disciple's pleas and compromised.
The discussion ended abruptly. Liang Daoheng was unwilling to stay long and quickly urged his daughter to go back and rest well. The others also dispersed.
Only Chu Ye remained at the end.
"Ye'er," Qi Yuanbai coughed twice. His old injury had relapsed. After carefully recuperating for the Dharma Assembly, his complexion, which had only improved over the past few days, had turned pale again. "Is there anything else?"
Chu Ye stood still, bowed his head, and then said, "Earlier on the trial stage, Fellow Daoist Xiao Liang mentioned that the spiritual energy in Tianyan is richer than elsewhere. I am not talented, but after her reminder, I realized that the spiritual energy in the sect seems to have changed recently. I am worried, so I came to report this to Master."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yuanbai waved his hand and said gently, "It's okay. I believe that in recent years, the spiritual veins have also fluctuated. It's not surprising. Besides, your uncle Xie is here, so there is no need to worry."
Chu Ye nodded, but didn't leave. Instead, he hesitated for a moment before asking the question he really wanted to ask: "I recently read a book I accidentally found in the Xisha Arctic. It mentioned the soul-nurturing technique - I had previously asked Master for advice. This technique is truly against human ethics. It exchanges life for life... Does it mean that an innocent person must be sacrificed? Is there no other way?"
Qi Yuanbai suddenly raised his eyelids, squinted slightly, and looked at him carefully.
"If there were another way, who would choose to use this forbidden technique?"
He lowered his voice and said in a rare warning tone: "Ye'er, no matter what you are thinking, your master advises you to give up the inappropriate thoughts."
Chu Ye's tightly pursed lips moved slightly, and his throat was dry. Facing his master's gaze, he did not dare to tell the truth, nor did he dare to ask any further questions. He could only nod in agreement.
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