Chapter 73
Lin Jichen noticed Zhou Xuanzhi's absent-mindedness and was about to ask something when Xiao Mu interrupted him, "Shouldn't we maintain a friendly relationship with the Exorcism Bureau?" He raised an eyebrow at Lin Jichen.
Lin Jichen, who instantly understood Xiao Mu's meaning, felt somewhat helpless and didn't really want to comprehend it. Zhou Xuanzhi, having recovered his senses, said in a half-joking tone, "Didn't you say you didn't want to get close to them?"
Lin Jichen nodded knowingly and raised an eyebrow at Xiao Mu, "Yeah, didn't you refuse? What did he say back then... something about eyes... something like that..." Lin Jichen and Zhou Xuanzhi pretended to think.
Seeing these two suddenly start joking, Xiao Mu looked at them quietly with a somber expression. Noticing the inquisitive looks from Deng Lan and Chen Xingyan beside him, Xiao Mu cleared his throat. "What are you talking about? We are all cultivators, there's nothing we don't want to get close to. I just... prefer to be close to Junior Brother Murong Jing and Senior Sister Su Liyue, after all, I'm familiar with them. I'm only familiar with them."
"As for the eyes, I mean... Senior Sister Su Liyue's eyes are very beautiful," Xiao Mu explained. He glanced at Deng Lan and Chen Xingyan beside him and saw their slightly upturned lips, realizing that his explanation had been superfluous.
However, it seems that I am quite popular. Apart from not being familiar with the Exorcism Division, I get along well with my senior brothers, sisters, junior brothers, and junior sisters from other sects.
After listening, Zhou Xuanzhi nodded thoughtfully, and then said, "In that case, Junior Brother Xiao, go to the Exorcism Division to find out what's going on! After all, you two are quite familiar with each other." Then he walked to Xiao Mu's side, patted him on the shoulder, and went straight out of the courtyard.
Lin Jichen glanced at Xiao Mu but said nothing, only sighed, and followed in Zhou Xuanzhi's footsteps.
Xiao Mu looked at Deng Lan and Chen Xingyan in the courtyard, wanting to say something, but kept it to himself. He walked past the two back to his room, and just as he was about to close the door, Deng Lan's voice rang out, "Brother Xiao, would you like me to go with you?"
His response was the sound of Xiao Mu closing the door.
Deng Lan and Chen Xingyan smiled and then left.
Looking at the backs of Zhou Xuanzhi and Lin Jichen ahead of him, and seeing that they didn't seem to have any ambiguous relationship, Chen Xingyan said, "The disciples of Tianyu Mountain really have a good relationship."
One of them was an elder disciple, and the other was a musician from Nanyu Peak. They were actually quite familiar with Xiao Mu from Daoguo Peak and could even joke around with him.
Deng Lan had collaborated with the disciples of Tianyu Mountain several times during their training trips outside the mountain. It was only after this that he learned about Tianyu Mountain's unique apprenticeship system: "Before formally becoming an apprentice, the disciples of Tianyu Mountain are divided into outer disciples and inner disciples. Outer disciples are what we know as doing miscellaneous tasks. The disciples with good aptitude or outstanding qualities are selected to first study in the inner sect, familiarize themselves with the techniques of each peak, and then go to places that interest them or that they are good at."
"It's different from our system where elders select disciples and disciples select masters." So they all got to know each other when they were inner disciples, and even if they hadn't spoken, they knew each other.
"No wonder they're not from the same peak, yet they seem so familiar with each other." The Chen family disciples might only be nodding acquaintances, but their interactions are truly enviable.
They no longer discussed matters concerning other sects in detail, but only chatted about other things.
Lin Jichen quickly approached Zhou Xuanzhi and asked, "Master and the others will be here soon, right?" These disciples all knew this matter was related to the Demon Clan, and the other sects should know as well. Logically, they should be in Gusu to discuss matters and search for clues that the disciples hadn't found.
"It should be in the next few days. I wonder what the demons' purpose is." Zhou Xuanzhi remembered his master saying to put himself in the shoes of the suspects and think from their perspective.
If I were a demon, originally living on this continent, but imprisoned on this deserted island for eating a few people, never to leave, my resentment would grow daily. One day, when I finally escape, I would surely seek revenge on this world. I would not spare a single person in this world.
But how can this Breath of Earth be used? To get out, one must step out of the repulsive Ten Directions Barrier, so the divine artifact might be the object that opens the barrier, or some kind of medium or key...
"Senior Brother Zhou." Lin Jichen called out to Zhou Xuanzhi. His earlier distraction must have been because of Shi Yunzhou. He had indeed been out of contact for a long time, but this man was incredibly capable and was the future successor of Huanhai. Who would dare to harm him?
No, since they were able to get out, it means they have a way to do so. The Ten Directions Barrier wasn't damaged, which means they can bypass the barrier and allow a small group of people to escape. They've already mastered the method of entering and exiting.
Before, it was just a suspicion, but now it's confirmed.
"Senior Brother Zhou!" Lin Jichen shouted loudly, which finally caught Zhou Xuanzhi's attention. He looked at Lin Jichen apologetically, "I'm sorry, Junior Sister, I didn't hear you just now. What did you say?"
Zhou Xuanzhi's face paled, as if he had just thought of something. He swallowed back the words of comfort and instead asked, "Senior Brother Zhou, what did you just think of?"
"We previously speculated that the demons could freely enter and exit the Ten Directions Barrier because the Ten Directions Barrier had a loophole."
Lin Jichen instantly understood, "You don't think so?"
Zhou Xuanzhi nodded. "If you were a demon, and you knew that the Ten Directions Barrier had a loophole, what would you do? Would you be willing to stay in the Boundless Realm?"
Even though Chonghua is very powerful, there will always be some people he can't control no matter what, and these people won't just sit idly by and watch that loophole.
"So the demons didn't come through that loophole; they had other ways." Lin Jichen really didn't want to believe it, but Li Sheng also came out of the Ten Directions Barrier. He wasn't someone without ruthlessness; he had quite a few lives on his hands.
"So Master and the others should know by now."
“They probably already knew. They could have guessed something from what happened in the capital.” Zhou Xuanzhi didn’t know how to face this situation.
The elders seem to have always treated them like children, never telling them anything. But if the demons really launch a large-scale invasion, should they really be left completely unprepared?
If it were her master, what would she do? She would probably tell herself from the beginning to prepare herself. Even if she couldn't win, she could at least escape and gather strength for a counterattack.
Their conversation was naturally not kept secret from Deng Lan and Chen Xingyan behind them, and both of them broke out in a cold sweat after hearing Zhou Xuanzhi's analysis.
"If what Brother Zhou says is true, it seems we have no way to deal with it." Deng Lan was terrified at the thought of the demons silently appearing in the capital, and fearing they might also silently appear in other cities, throwing the entire mortal realm into chaos with a single order. Even if the entire immortal sect mobilized, they wouldn't be able to save many people.
Lin Jichen quickly turned a positive view of the situation, "Since the leaders and elders of each sect had already guessed it, they would definitely have made preparations in advance, and the worst-case scenario may not occur."
Is that really the case? Zhou Xuanzhi had a bad feeling about it.
"It's probably impossible to defend against." Chen Xingyan closed his eyes, recalling the loss of his divine artifact. "The area where the artifact was located is heavily fortified with arrays, and there are people patrolling it..."
However, the artifact was lost under these circumstances. The formation was not destroyed, and the patrolmen said they did not find anything unusual.
This was also what Zhou Xuanzhi had thought of. He said, "The situation will only be worse than we think."
According to them, the demons bypassed the heavily guarded outer perimeter and went directly into the interior of the artifact's location. What kind of power is this? How did they really manage to do it?
While Xiao Mu was kept at the Chen family's residence, he also discovered some interesting things. Su Liyue of the Exorcism Division was the sect leader's disciple and a strong contender for the future sect leader position. Even if one disliked power, one would not offend her. However, this was not the case.
Su Liyue said to everyone, "We will now help the Chen family search for some clues and look outside Suzhou City."
No one responded; some even said, "Senior Sister, this isn't right!" The term "Senior Sister" carried a mocking tone, causing Xiao Mu to frown, while Su Liyue remained unresponsive.
"What do you want to say?" she asked calmly.
The male disciple said, "The Chen family isn't stupid. How do you think we can find clues that they haven't?" The people around him echoed his sentiments, and he continued, "The demons in the vicinity don't know about our Exorcism Division. What can we possibly find out if we go there?"
Everyone knows these things, of course. There are no clues at all now. Even if it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, there's still a glimmer of hope.
Seeing that Su Liyue remained silent, another female disciple said, "That's right, Senior Sister. Do you know how to do it? If you can't, then let someone who does."
"Senior Sister, please don't stand here."
Before Su Liyue could express her opinion, the male disciple stepped forward again and said, "Everyone, listen to me. Some of you will patrol outside the Chen family, and the rest of you will come with me to Hanshan Academy!"
And just like that, everyone who had gathered there left, leaving only a few people behind. Xiao Mu was speechless; this person's temper was too good! If it were Ming Mo, she would have killed him.
To his surprise, even a cold and aloof figure like Murong Jing was among those supporting Su Liyue, though that made sense.
Murong Jing stepped forward and said, "Senior Sister, I'll take some people outside to investigate first. You and your men stay at the Chen family's place to avoid running into those people."
The woman seemed to be used to it; she nodded and said, "Be careful during the investigation."
After Murong Jing and his men left, Su Liyue looked in Xiao Mu's direction and said, "You've been hiding for so long, you've seen everything you could possibly see, aren't you coming out yet?"
The disciples who stayed behind did not expect their senior sister to say that. They had not sensed any aura at all and remained in their respective positions without moving, but they all made the motion of drawing their swords.
Xiao Mu scratched his head and walked out from the shadows. To be honest, he didn't do it on purpose. It wasn't a good idea for him to come out when the Exorcist Bureau members had all gathered here.
"Senior Sister Su is here too," he greeted her as if he didn't know anything. "How have you been lately?"
Those around Su Liyue were puzzled to see the newcomer dressed in Tianyu Mountain attire. Why were people from Tianyu Mountain here? He had witnessed the internal discord within the sect; what should they do? They looked at Su Liyue.
"You guys go back and rest for a bit, everything's fine here." She said naturally, without a trace of embarrassment or sadness.
After everyone around her had left, Su Liyue smiled and said, "I wonder what your price is for internal discord within our Exorcism Division?"
There's no one around. Although he's no match for Su Liyue, she doesn't have the ability to kill him in one blow, so he won't be silenced.
"Look at what my senior sister is saying, how can this kind of thing be known by others! Please don't overthink it."
Su Liyue ignored his teasing, "Did you come alone?"
The other party changed the subject, which meant that the matter was over. Xiao Mu replied, "I came with Senior Brother Zhou and Senior Sister Lin. They have left now."
"It seems you came here right after returning to Tianyu Mountain. Did you receive some news at the time?" Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to come to Gusu.
After Xiao Mu told Su Liyue everything, he realized that this was just too much of a coincidence!
Looking at Xiao Mu, who was deep in thought, Su Liyue said, "So you guys have noticed that something seems off."
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