Chapter 74
After Zhou Xuanzhi and Lin Jichen returned, the leaders and elders of various sects also arrived.
In front of the main courtyard of the Chen family, disciples from various sects stood in twos and threes, and Zhou Xuanzhi and others also stood with their senior brothers and sisters from Tianyu Mountain.
The exorcists were also there, and in front of outsiders, their attitude towards Su Liyue remained unfriendly. It was as if she didn't exist; whenever someone tried to speak to her, someone else would interrupt and pull that person aside to chat and laugh.
It was quite an ugly scene, and everyone was saying that the people from the Exorcism Bureau didn't seem to follow the rules very well. Naturally, Lin Jichen and Zhou Xuanzhi heard these comments.
Lin Jichen looked over and saw that Su Liyue was very calm, as if everything was unrelated to her.
"Su Liyue has such a good temper," Lin Jichen remarked, glancing at Mingmo. Although his senior sister appeared gentle on the surface, she was actually quite irritable, and once someone crossed her line, the giant sword on her back would come flying.
Just as Lin Jichen was about to step forward to take a look, Zhou Xuanzhi stopped him, shaking his head and saying, "This is an internal matter of the Exorcism Division, and it is not appropriate for us to interfere."
Lin Jichen disagreed, retorting, "We've all known each other, we can't just stand by and watch them bully us like this..." But before she could finish, Zhou Xuanzhi interrupted her, "She's also the head disciple of the Exorcist Division, do you think she'd be afraid of these people?"
That makes sense. Who would dare to mess with the future successor to the sect leader? At worst, she'll be an elder, while these people probably don't even know where they'll end up!
Seeing Lin Jichen's state, Xiao Mu also stepped forward and said, "Junior Sister, why are you so impulsive? If Senior Sister Ming sees this, she'll scold you again."
Zhou Xuanzhi smiled at Xiao Mu and said, "It seems you know everything."
"I...what do I know!" He said he wouldn't tell anyone that day; a businessman should keep his word.
“Your curiosity is so strong, even the slightest clue is a business opportunity for you,” Lin Jichen gestured for him to look at Su Liyue over there, and then said, “They don’t mind tearing each other apart in front of everyone, so why don’t you want to know the truth?”
Xiao Mu looked at the two of them, pursed his lips, and said self-deprecatingly, "Senior Brother Zhou, you've figured out my personality so well that it's hard to hide anything from you."
Zhou Xuanzhi laughed and said, "I'm not that interested in knowing."
Xiao Mu looked at Lin Jichen and asked with his eyes: What about you? The latter saw that there were still some disciples supporting Su Liyue, and shook his head and said: Although I want to know, not knowing will not affect me.
Both of them were so frank, making Xiao Mu feel a little uncomfortable. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure what the specific reason is. I have some ideas, but..."
Since we've already promised not to tell anyone, then we shouldn't let others know either. Zhou Xuanzhi said, "We really don't want to know."
I have no idea what they're saying inside. The sun has already set, and it's been almost a whole day, but no one has come out yet.
At this point, the image of any particular sect was no longer important. Everyone was sitting on the ground, and there was hardly any sound. Some even started meditating.
Oh right, Zhou Xuanzhi was also the one who started meditating. Lin Jichen took out her zither and began wiping it. Xiao Mu looked at Lin Jichen and then remembered, oh, she's a musician.
The fact that a musician could wield such skillful swordsmanship made even a swordsman like himself feel ashamed. Then he looked at Zhou Xuanzhi; if he remembered correctly, this man also played the flute very well. These two were truly extraordinary. Shi Yunzhou was similar; his flute playing was also quite good.
It seems I really need to practice my swordsmanship diligently when I get back.
While Zhou Xuanzhi was meditating, he suddenly sensed someone rushing into the Chen family home from the foot of the mountain. The Chen family asked him a question, and he seemed to answer something, which made everyone's expression turn sour.
He opened his eyes and saw a man burst through the door and head straight for the council chamber.
Everyone who witnessed this stood up and looked at the figure that had long since disappeared from sight. Everyone was thinking: This is terrible, something horrific has happened.
Bad news has arrived: the Shennong Cauldron, a divine artifact of the Yanyue Sect, has been stolen!
This news came like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, leaving everyone present speechless. Zhou Xuanzhi had been pondering the Demon Clan's true purpose and why they were acting this way. Logically, these divine artifacts should be of no use to them, but now it seemed quite the opposite; these things were extremely useful to them at their current level.
"There shouldn't be many people who know what divine artifacts each faction possesses." Since we don't know the Demon Clan's purpose, we can now find the traitor within the Immortal Sect and get the answer from him.
That's very true. I only know that immortal sects possess divine artifacts. But very few people know which immortal sect has which artifacts. Starting with these people will definitely give me the answers I want.
"We still don't know about the demons' conspiracy, nor how they got to the capital." Being so far behind, it's unimaginable what kind of suffering the people will endure if the demons act now. The immortal sects probably won't be able to handle it.
Lin Jichen felt a headache coming on just thinking about these things. She also deeply hated that traitor. Why did he have to associate with the demons? He must have heard about how they harmed the people, even if he hadn't seen it himself.
But what could the Breath of Earth and the Shennong Cauldron do together? Zhou Xuanzhi really couldn't figure it out. Or was it that the Demon Clan wanted to steal other divine artifacts?
After announcing the news, the Chen family patriarch thought of that great battle. Although they had won, the cruelty of war lingered in the hearts of everyone who had experienced it. These children were still too young; it was too cruel for them to face such a thing at such a young age.
The leaders and elders of each sect wore solemn expressions. The demons were attacking faster and faster, which meant their conspiracy was about to be exposed, and the immortal sects were still unaware of their intentions. What surprised everyone even more was that the names the leaders read out next were not from the same sect.
"What is this for?" Xiao Mu asked, puzzled, since his name was not next to Zhou Xuanzhi's.
Perhaps this is preparation for the future. When facing the demon race in the future, everyone will really be scattered, and there might even be a worse outcome—the destruction of the immortal sect. Zhou Xuanzhi controlled himself and stopped thinking about that worst-case scenario.
Then the group was broken up. Zhou Xuanzhi, Lin Jichen, Shen Junning of Qingxu Sect and others went to Yanyue Sect, while Xiao Mu, Deng Lan and Su Liyue of Exorcism Division went to the "Three States" to investigate.
This grouping has left everyone somewhat confused, as the various factions have been split up and reassigned. There are even some members who are completely unfamiliar with each other. How are they supposed to cooperate effectively under these circumstances?
Before anyone could raise any objections, the people above urged everyone to set off.
Guancheng was originally a prison for demons, but now it has become the first stronghold for the demon race's invasion of the human world. The demons imprisoned inside either submit or are killed.
Faced with a demon race far outnumbering them, the monsters had considered rebelling together. However, Shi Yunzhou, a disciple of the immortal sect, suddenly entered. His first reaction upon seeing the demons was also to rebel, and then to report to the immortal sect. But before he could do anything, he was captured by the leader, Li Sheng.
"How could you... you came to the capital from here?" Shi Yunzhou, who had been captured, was now truly afraid. From Guancheng, one could go to any place in the human world. If the demons were to launch an attack now, how would the various sects of the immortal sects deal with the demons that were present in various places?
Shi Yunzhou, who had been captured, continued to resist, at least trying to get the news out so that the Immortal Sect could start preparing to seal off Guancheng. He was willing to die.
Li Sheng was well aware of his actions. He approached Shi Yunzhou step by step, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Even your master in his prime would be careful when facing me. How dare you try to pull any tricks under my nose?" As he spoke, he grabbed Shi Yunzhou's right hand, which was forming a hand seal. "You want to use it to send a message?"
It doesn't matter if he's discovered; his death can be used as a means of transmission. He glared fiercely at Li Sheng and threatened him, "You demons have been causing trouble for so long, but when have you ever managed to take over a human... Ah..." The words turned into a painful growl as Li Sheng crushed his wrist bones.
He had no spiritual power left to heal his wounds, and it took him a long time to feel alive again. He then imitated Li Sheng and laughed out loud.
Having worked his way up to this position in the Demon Clan for so many years, he naturally knew what Shi Yunzhou was up to. He then grabbed Shi Yunzhou's chin and said, "Don't think I wouldn't dare to kill you."
Facing Li Sheng, Shi Yunzhou showed no fear whatsoever. He laughed again, "Looks like I'm very important. You want to kill me and you need your Demon Lord's permission? You really are..." Li Sheng grabbed his neck, and he couldn't say anything more.
"You're about to die, and you can still laugh?" Li Sheng said, increasing the intensity of his words. Shi Yunzhou's face turned bright red. He remembered his master saying that some villains loved to say something like, "You're about to die, and you can still laugh?" It really was exactly the same thing.
Li Sheng could tell that the other party was seeking death. He couldn't let Shi Yunzhou have his way, so he angrily threw the man to the ground. He stepped forward, stepped on Shi Yunzhou's chest, and leaned down to say, "Even if you didn't have all these injuries, you wouldn't be my match. Don't feel wronged."
Meanwhile, Shi Yunzhou, on the ground, was thinking about how the Immortal Sect could inform them that the Demon Clan had invaded through Guancheng, since they still didn't know the Demon Clan's invasion route. He wouldn't have come here if he hadn't been fleeing pursuit; he hoped someone from the Immortal Sect could investigate.
Li Sheng, still pressing down on Shi Yunzhou's foot, shouted, "A demonic cultivator who always acts like a disciple of a celestial sect, do you even know who you are?"
No, there's another person in Guancheng, Sui Fu. He was someone else's master, and previously a demon cultivator; he wouldn't ignore this matter. With him there, he can definitely get the message out.
Seeing Shi Yunzhou lost in thought, Li Sheng became even angrier. Chonghua had given him an order: there were only two people in the Immortal Sect who could not be killed—Shi Wanqing's two disciples. Although he didn't know what use these two good-for-nothings were, he couldn't disobey Chonghua.
"Since you don't want to become a demonic cultivator, and you can't go back to the immortal sect anyway, why not follow me into the demonic path!" A large number of demons gathered in Li Sheng's hands, the dense blackness instilling despair, as if not even a ray of light could penetrate it.
Chonghua didn't say that he couldn't do anything else to him. Wouldn't it be better to make him a complete demon?
Only then did Shi Yunzhou feel fear. He could be a demonic cultivator, not a disciple of the immortal sect, but he absolutely could not become a demon. Trapped, he struggled relentlessly, his left fist slamming into Li Sheng's shin, but the latter showed no reaction.
He couldn't see his surroundings, how many people were there, or hear any sounds around him. He couldn't think of any way out; he could only watch as the black mist approached him...
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