Chapter 78
"It seems that I came at the wrong time?"
An old voice came from outside the crowd, and the tribesmen spontaneously made way for a narrow path to let the man in.
The man speaking was dressed in a Taoist robe, with white hair and a long beard, and held a whisk in his hand. He folded his arms in front of him, the whisk resting on his left arm, swaying slowly back and forth as he walked.
Wu Wangmen and others all changed their expressions when they saw him.
Zhou Binran exclaimed in surprise: "Mr. Chen!"
The man called Old Chen turned his head and looked. His gentle gaze suddenly became fierce when he saw Zhou Bing. He asked knowingly, "Youngsters, are you here to wipe out the Nightmare Clan?"
Zhou Binran was shocked and didn't dare to look him in the eye. "This..."
Elder Chen looked at Xue Mei and said, "This must be the Nightmare Lord, right? I wonder who is behind him?"
Shadow did not answer. He silenced Xue Mei and waited for Ji Tang's order. He did not care about Mr. Chen at all.
Old Chen followed his line of sight and finally saw Ji Tang, "Who is this?" He noticed Su Jinzhou wearing the disciple uniform of Su Xuanzong from the corner of his eye, and his eyes finally changed from calm to astonishment.
"Trace the Xuanzong?"
After he mentioned it, Wu Wangmen and others discovered that Su Jinzhou was also among them.
Zhou Binran was very surprised, "Fellow Daoist, have we met somewhere before?" He noticed Su Jinzhou, and naturally also noticed Ji Tang beside Su Jinzhou.
Ji Tang's face was so recognizable that Zhou Binran remembered it immediately. She was now completely unconcealed, and Zhou Binran was stunned after only observing her for a moment. He quickly realized her identity as a member of the Nightmare Clan and was momentarily confused.
It was Ji Tang who spoke first: "May I ask why you came to my Nightmare Clan?"
Elder Chen suppressed the surprise in his eyes and said, "I am Chen Zhenyi, an elder of the Qinglao Sect. As for why I came here, I would like to ask the younger generations of the Wuwang Sect, Jinyu Sect, and Guijian Sect here."
He turned his gaze and landed on Zhou Binran, "Junior, where is your master?"
Zhou Binran lowered his head to avoid it, hunched his shoulders slightly and said, "Master is on his way."
Chen Zhenyi waved his whisk. "What benefits did the Nightmare Clan offer you that would make you forget your roots, disregard the hatred of your own people, and form an alliance with the Nightmare Clan?"
He asked the question so forcefully that Zhou Binran didn't dare to answer.
Now, only a few disciples from the twenty-three sects have come to the Nightmare Clan. The elders, masters and disciples are still on the way. No one expected that the various sects of cultivation would get the news so quickly. Zhou Binran and others now dare not say a word.
Ji Tang: "Mr. Chen, you came uninvited. I wonder if the people of our clan guarding the valley are doing well?"
Chen Zhenyi originally looked down on juniors like Jitang, but Xue Mei, who was in a high position, was being controlled by a powerful man, and the man whose cultivation level was unknown seemed to only obey Jitang's orders.
Chen Zhenyi frowned, "How can a young man be so ignorant of etiquette that he doesn't even introduce himself to his elders?"
Ji Tang: "Senior, you have trespassed into my Nightmare Clan, and you still blame me for being ignorant of etiquette?" She curled her lips and said, "I am the Young Clan Leader of the Nightmare Clan, Ji Tang."
When Chen Zhenyi heard this, combined with the fact that Nightmare Lord was under control, how could he not have thought of the current situation?
He asked tentatively, "It seems that the Young Clan Leader and Nightmare Lord have some disagreements?"
Ji Tang: "Old Chen, please don't worry about the internal affairs of my Nightmare Clan."
Chen Zhenyi threw away his whisk and said, "The Nightmare Clan has wantonly harmed innocent people of our clan. This can't be an internal matter, right?"
Ji Tang was silent for a moment, "The Nightmare Clan is indeed at fault in this matter."
Chen Zhenyi glanced at Jitang twice more. He didn't expect that there was someone in the Nightmare Clan who could communicate. "Since the young clan leader knows that he is wrong, he naturally knows why I came here."
He stepped aside and said, "Besides, there are more people coming than just me."
Ji Tang subconsciously tensed his body. The space made available to him by his clansmen became larger and larger, and more and more cultivators came in from outside.
Among them were many sects and palaces that she was familiar with. She swept her eyes over the different disciple uniforms and finally stopped at the team of disciples in moon-white uniforms.
——She also wore that disciple uniform and rode on a sword, doing justice.
Trace back to Emperor Xuanzong.
She saw Elder Qin leading the team, followed by Xun Jinzhi and Wei Shaoxin at the front of the team. Han Chengzhao and Sun Xiangrong also came and stood with other fellow disciples.
There was a commotion in the crowd. Gu Yan squeezed in from the back and saw Ji Tang and Su Jinzhou. He endured for a long time and silently called out "Senior Brother" and "Senior Sister".
Ji Tang's eyes were gentle, but his expression did not change.
She said, "You all came to my Nightmare Clan because of the Nightmare Clan's injuries."
Among the many cultivators, Su Xuanzong and his group knew Ji Tang best. They all felt uncomfortable looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar Ji Tang in front of them.
At this time, Chen Zhenyi had already returned to the Qinglao Sect. "Young Patriarch, why do you still ask when you already know the answer?"
Ji Tang: "It is indeed wrong for the Nightmare Clan to harm the people. I also know why you all came here. Now that the Nightmare Lord who gave the orders has been subdued, we are waiting for the trial. After the Nightmare Lord's trial is over, I will give you an explanation, okay?"
Chen Zhenyi: "The Nightmare Clan has harmed so many helpless civilians. How can you resolve this with just a single sentence of judgment?!"
Ji Tang: "The trial is only the first—"
Chen Zhenyi interrupted her harshly, "Even if we agree, our severely injured comrades won't agree, and the countless wronged souls of our clan will certainly not agree!"
Before Jitang could speak, another voice infused with spiritual power broke through the air: "So what if you don't agree?!"
Everyone looked up at the sky, and in the distance, a large group of people were coming with swords.
Zhou Binran immediately said happily: "Master!"
Ji Tang clenched his fists in his sleeves, maintaining composure on the surface.
She wanted to get rid of Xue Mei before the two groups of cultivators arrived, but they came too fast, far beyond her expectations.
On the high platform, Xue Mei's body kept shaking in an attempt to break free from the shadow's restraints. However, due to his cultivation level, he was firmly controlled by the shadow and could neither speak nor move.
The visitor quickly noticed Xue Mei's situation, and his indifferent expression turned into caution.
He knew Xue Mei's cultivation level, and he was definitely no match for anyone who could force Xue Mei into such a situation.
Xue Mei kept pointing in Ji Tang's direction.
The man immediately understood and flew towards Jitang with his sword.
The shadow moved at the same time. He grabbed Xue Mei's collar with one hand and tapped the ground with his feet quickly. The speed was so fast that even afterimages were formed behind him.
A sword and a knife suddenly collided in front of Ji Tang, sparking sparks. The next moment, two powerful spiritual powers collided, instantly pushing Ji Tang and Su Jinzhou backwards.
The moment the two men clashed, cultivators from twenty-three sects, including the Wuwang Sect, suddenly launched an attack. Zhou Binran bore the brunt of the attack, attacking the cultivators on the other side.
The Nightmare Clan was among them, divided into two groups. One group looked at Ji Tang, waiting for Ji Tang's order, and the other group looked back and forth between Ji Tang and Xue Mei, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Ji Tang said decisively: "Protect the tribe and retreat to the Phantom Valley!"
At the same time as her words rang out, a voice that Ji Tang was all too familiar with rang out: "My fellow Nightmare Clan members, quickly join the cultivators of the Wuwang Sect and others to kill all the cultivators who come here to seek revenge!"
Jitang turned around in disbelief and saw A Qian who had disappeared for many days.
"Ah Qian!"
A Qian has been secretly helping Ji Tang gather his clansmen. In fact, he is the one who has the most contact with the clansmen.
At this moment, he didn't even look at Ji Tang, and said to the tribe members: "The young clan leader colluded with human cultivators, betrayed our clan, and put the entire clan in danger. Kill him immediately!"
Ji Tang couldn't believe what she heard. Her voice escaped from between her trembling teeth: "A Qian, do you know what you are saying?"
The fellow tribesmen who were protecting Ji Tang were stunned by the news. They looked at each other in confusion, but did not take action immediately.
Ah Qian's eyes shone deep as he pulled a light blue belt from his storage bag. He held it above his head and announced to the crowd, "This is the belt worn by disciples of the Suxuan Sect, a human cultivation sect! Look inside the belt to see if the words 'Jitang' are embroidered on it! If you don't believe me, take a look at the male cultivator next to her. His clothing is identical to those of the Suxuan Sect disciples. He's always protecting Jitang!"
After A Qian finished speaking, he threw the belt onto the tribesmen. The belt floated down and the tribesmen took it. The first person saw the name embroidered on the inside with confusion and hesitation, and his expression was stunned. Before he could react, the belt was taken away by the tribesman next to him.
Ji Tang was speechless, his eyes showing intense shock.
The belt was dropped by her when she was changing clothes in the tree hole when she returned to the Nightmare Clan. She didn't pay much attention to it, but she didn't expect that A Qian would take it away.
Only the tribesmen who were nearby could see the belt. Others further away didn't press forward to see it because they saw the tribesmen's reactions; their expressions spoke volumes. And beside Jitang, Su Jinzhou, dressed in a moon-white robe, seemed to reveal the answer.
The tribesmen who surrounded Jitang in a protective posture began to waver.
"I'm the young leader of the Nightmare Clan. How could I betray them?" Ji Tang shouted with red eyes. "Ah Qian, why did you suddenly act like this? Are you being instructed by Xue Mei, or do you have other motives?!"
A Qian looked at her with a cold gaze, "You still don't admit it? Someone come here!"
A group of people came up from behind A Qian. They were divided into groups of four, and each group carried a simple stretcher on which was a member of the tribe who had been tortured for a long time.
Ji Tang saw at a glance the person on the stretcher in front, it was Zuo Qiao.
She pushed aside the tribesmen around her and stumbled forward, approaching the stretcher.
Zuo Qiao was lying on it, no longer breathing. His body was covered with burns, bleeding, and his skin was red and charred in patches.
Ji Tang's breathing stagnated slightly, and she ran to the stretcher behind. One after another, the tribesmen she had treated with great care were lying quietly on the stretchers, each one lifeless. She checked them one by one and found that they had all died, and had been dead for some time.
She stood up and ran towards A Qian like crazy, "You did this?!"
Without waiting for Jitang to come close, A Qian immediately made a hand gesture and two roaring nightmare demons immediately rushed towards Jitang.
After Ji Tang came out of Ningmeng, he used up all his nightmare energy to attack Xue Mei, and he had no extra strength left to stop the nightmare demon.
The nightmare demon pounced towards him, and a spiritual barrier immediately rose up in front of Ji Tang. The two forces collided with each other, and it was obvious that the spiritual power side was superior.
Ah Qian clutched his chest and took several steps back before finally stopping. His face darkened as he looked at Ji Tang and said, "You were out for three days, and the day after you came back you were on duty in Huanguang Valley. That same day, the clan leader confined you to the cabin. Tell me, what did you do during those three days you were out? What did you do on duty in Huanguang Valley? Why did the clan leader confine you?"
Ah Qian spoke before Ji Tang, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself! You were away for three days, going to Dengtian City. I don't know what kind of deal you made with Dengtian City, but Dengtian City actually sent strong men to help you. You know the importance of the Dream Building Festival to our tribe, yet you chose today, the day of our tribe's worship, to assassinate the tribe leader!"
He pointed at the tribesman on the stretcher and said, "On the day you returned to the valley for your shift, you brutally slaughtered the tribesmen. The tribe leader, mindful of your status as the only descendant of the thirteenth generation, spared your life and locked you up in the cabin. Yet, you slipped away without anyone noticing and only reappeared today!"
Ah Qian pressed on. "Where were you during those few days you disappeared?"
Jitang took a step back. As it involved Su Xuanzong, she did not answer immediately.
"You went to the Suxuan Sect and colluded with them! You haven't been back to the Nightmare Clan for hundreds of years, and the day you came back you were wearing the uniform of a Suxuan Sect disciple. The Shougu Clan saw it all clearly! As the young patriarch of the Nightmare Clan, you actually joined a human cultivation sect and practiced human cultivation magic. I think you've been thinking about betraying the Nightmare Clan for a long time!"
"Why are all the various sects of human cultivators looking for the Nightmare Clan today? Why did they just happen to show up when you trapped the clan leader?! Because of you! It's you who led them, it's you!" He cried bloodshot with every word, "You want to destroy the Nightmare Clan!"
He struggled to stand up, "Even now, this male cultivator from Suxuan Sect is still protecting you, and you still refuse to admit it?!"
The tribesmen became more shaken by A Qian's questioning, and distanced themselves from Ji Tang when she suddenly fell silent.
Now the tribesmen are no longer divided into factions. They stand together, like a rope, and are united against the outside world.
Jitang became the outsider.
She watched as her tribesmen all looked wary and stood against her.
She looked at A Qian again, trying to find even a hint of a crack in his expression - no, there was only coldness and gloom on his face, and his eyes looking at her were full of hatred and murderous intent.
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