Chapter 81
Within a day, the leaders of all the immortal sects arrived at Yanyue Sect.
Shen Junning led his men to gather with the disciples of the Yan Yue Sect. The loss of this divine artifact was a major event, but when the Chen family of Gusu lost their divine artifact before, the immortal sects did not take such a big action.
The moment the sect leaders arrived, Zhou Xuanzhi knew his guess was correct. The traitor from the Immortal Sect was in the Yan Yue Sect.
They can't go forward right now, and they don't know what's going on. If Xiao Mu were here, he could find out everything.
Seeing Zhou Xuanzhi's confident demeanor, Shen Junning had a vague idea of what was going on. He tentatively asked, "Junior Brother Zhou, have you discovered something?"
"I wouldn't say we've discovered it, but we do have a guess." Zhou Xuanzhi glanced at Shen Junning and continued, "The Demon Clan opened the entrance to the city directly to the ancestral temple, otherwise how could no one have discovered it?"
Shen Junning naturally agreed with this point. After learning about Guancheng's situation, everyone could understand this; it was just a matter of time. But now a question arose: "How did the demon race know that the divine artifact was hidden in the ancestral temple?"
“If I’m not mistaken,” Zhou Xuanzhi took a deep breath and slowly said, “the traitor within the Immortal Sect is in the Yan Yue Sect.”
These words shocked everyone present except for Shen Junning and Lin Jichen. Zhou Xuanzhi's words, though brief, struck them like a hammer blow. Traitor and Yan Yue Sect—these seemingly unrelated words were inextricably linked in Zhou Xuanzhi's speech, leaving everyone stunned.
Seeing that Shen Junning's expression remained unchanged, Zhou Xuanzhi knew that he had guessed it as well. So it was he who informed the Qingxu Sect Leader? He asked directly, "When did Senior Brother Shen guess it? I didn't see you contact Sect Leader Chu at any time?"
Shen Junning shook his head and said, "I was just guessing, I have no evidence, and I didn't tell my master."
No one informed their sect, which means...
"Therefore, from the moment the leaders of each sect learned that the divine artifact of the Yanyue Sect was in the ancestral temple, they knew that there was a traitor within the Yanyue Sect!"
The disciples of Yanyue Sect were naturally indignant upon hearing these words, accusing Yanyue Sect of having an internal traitor without any evidence.
"Junior Brother Zhou, you can't just say things carelessly. You can't make wild guesses without evidence."
"Yes, although our Yan Yue Sect is not the number one sect in the immortal realm, it should not be underestimated. If you cannot provide evidence, we can sue you for defamation."
"Zhou Xuanzhi, you'd better have evidence, otherwise..." As he spoke, he drew his sword. If it weren't for the people around him stopping him, the sword would have pierced Zhou Xuanzhi's back.
Lin Jichen really couldn't understand what those two were thinking! Accusing someone of having a traitor on their own territory—anyone would be angry! But then again, what was this traitor after? He hadn't seen that elder of the Yan Yue Sect gain anything, nor had he heard of anyone's family being away from them recently.
"Gentlemen, whether it's true or false, we'll know the answer today, won't we?" Zhou Xuanzhi stood up and looked at everyone present. "If what I said is false, you can do whatever you want with me."
No, Lin Jichen shook his head. Zhou Xuanzhi wasn't that kind of person. Why would he have to provoke the Yan Yue Sect? Could it be that he had some other purpose?
"The leaders of all the sects have come here today to find out the truth, haven't they? Please wait a little longer, and wait for the truth." Shen Junning also stepped forward and stood in line with Zhou Xuanzhi.
The people from Qingxu Sect also came up behind their senior brother. They also felt that their senior brother was different from usual today, but no matter what, they couldn't let others bully him.
The Yan Yue Sect member pointed at several people and said, "You, you just wait and see!" Then he turned and left.
Lin Jichen was somewhat confused. It was one thing for Zhou Xuanzhi to act this way, but why was Shen Junning doing the same? Were the two of them cooperating on something? Now that the people from the Yanyue Sect were no longer there, she asked, "Are you acting like this just to provoke the people from the Yanyue Sect?"
Considering the time elapsed, the Yan Yue Sect has taken good care of them. They've taken excellent care of the people they sent. It doesn't make sense!
Zhou Xuanzhi shook his head and said, "No, why would I upset them?"
Shen Junning shared the same attitude: "We're just discussing our views on the Yan Yue Sect incident; we have no other thoughts."
Seeing how convincingly the two spoke, Lin Jichen became even more puzzled. She nodded and followed their line of reasoning, saying, "Oh, I see. I thought you were deliberately cooperating with the Qi Yan Yue Sect! I misunderstood."
The two found Lin Jichen's idea strange. Shen Junning was very puzzled, "Why should we be angry with the people of Yanyue Sect? They've treated everyone very well."
This time, the disciples of Qingxu Sect also sensed something was wrong. They didn't say anything on the surface, but in their hearts they were all thinking that once the sect leader finished his business, they must let him come and see their senior brother.
Sui Fu and his group searched around Cuiwei Mountain, but there wasn't a soul in the surrounding villages and towns.
Murong Jing sensed no demonic energy or smelled any blood in the vicinity. "The people in this area must have all been evacuated."
"Where have all these people gone?" Gu Qingci asked. Feeding so many people is not something an ordinary person could afford, and it seems that all the crops in the fields have been harvested.
Murong Jing thought for a moment and replied, "The nearest immortal sect is the Yan Yue Sect." It's highly likely that the Yan Yue Sect relocated these people elsewhere. However, the Yan Yue Sect has just lost the Shennong Cauldron; they're probably powerless to help now!
Murong Jing and Gu Qingci exchanged a glance. Murong Jing suddenly remembered something: "There should be disciples from Qingxu Sect and Tianyu Mountain in Yanyue Sect now. Could it be them?" Their mission at the time was to go to Yanyue Sect.
"How did the people from Tianyu Mountain end up with the Qingxu Sect? Who are they?" Sui Fu still remembered that the incident involving Wen Sushu and Ding Xiuyao had caused quite a stir, and it was Shi Wanqing who personally dealt with the two of them. You should know that Ding Xiuyao was only one step away from becoming the sect leader at that time.
Sui Fu was probably referring to two people who were deliberately forgotten, suggesting that Sui Fu felt it would be awkward for disciples of these two sects to meet. Murong Jing recalled that when he was in the capital, he didn't seem to have seen any awkwardness between the disciples of Tianyu Mountain and Qingxu Sect.
"It was the sect leader of Qingxu Sect who ordered them to act together. Shen Junning led the team from Qingxu Sect, while there were only two people from Tianyu Mountain, Zhou Xuanzhi and Lin Jichen," Murong Jing replied. He didn't know many people from Tianyu Mountain or Qingxu Sect.
Zhou Xuanzhi was Shi Wanqing's disciple, and she felt deeply indebted to these two disciples. She never expected them to get involved, and she wondered what they would think when they learned the truth. Sui Fu said, "Let's go to Yan Yue Sect now."
Lin Jichen is at the Yan Yue Sect? Gu Qingci was a little excited. It was Zhou Xuanzhi and his junior brother who saved her back then, and Lin Jichen protected her all the way. Hearing that she would see them soon, Gu Qingci was very happy.
"Is the matter with Yanyue Sect really that troublesome?" But they went to Yanyue Sect to do serious business. Wouldn't it be a waste of my time to go to them?
Sui Fu said with certainty, "No, those kids should be very free right now."
"Why do you say that, senior?" Gu Qingci knew that the situation was serious, but they were not completely helpless.
Sui Fu looked at Murong Jing and said, "When you came here, your master happened to be going to Yan Yue Sect. I asked him, and he said that he wasn't the only one going; all the sect leaders of the immortal sects would be going."
"Why?" There aren't many sect leaders who went to the Chen family in Gusu, but so many people are going to the Yanyue Sect now. That's not normal!
Sui Fu felt that Murong Jing was still young and needed more experience. But he said, "Because something terrible has happened at the Yan Yue Sect."
Murong Jing and Gu Qingci were dumbfounded when they arrived at the Yan Yue Sect. Who could have imagined that the sect leader was the traitor they had been searching for all this time? Who could have imagined that Shi Yunzhou, whom they hadn't been able to contact for so long, had become a pawn of the demon race? Even more terrifying was that Zhou Xuanzhi and Shen Junning had somehow become tainted by demonic energy, and Zhou Xuanzhi had been taken away by Shi Yunzhou.
Gu Qingci saw Lin Jichen's stunned expression and felt a pang of sympathy for her. How could she possibly accept that her senior brother had been tainted by demonic energy and abducted by the demon race, and that demon was none other than her junior brother?
The disciples of the Yan Yue Sect had the same reaction. Their sect leader had actually colluded with the demons, not only revealing the affairs of Guancheng, but also offering the Chen family's Xirang (a type of soil) along with their own Shennong Cauldron to the demons.
After Murong Jing's introduction, Gu Qingci saw the head of the Chen family. His current look of wanting to devour the entire Yan Yue Sect was indeed terrifying.
She came to Lin Jichen's side and squatted down like the other woman. "Senior Sister Lin, are you alright now?" Her silence was really unlike her.
Upon hearing the voice, Lin Jichen looked up and saw Gu Qingci. Wasn't she the county princess? "How did you get here?"
Gu Qingci glanced at Murong Jing behind her and said, "My coming here is... a coincidence. What exactly happened?"
What happened? Lin Jichen looked at the people in the courtyard and didn't know where to start. After thinking for a moment, he told them about Zhou Xuanzhi.
“Yesterday, Senior Brother Shen, also known as Shen Junning of the Qingxu Sect, and Senior Brother Zhou were acting a bit strange. They actually said in front of the Yanyue Sect members that there was a traitor within their sect, which is quite unlike their personalities. We felt something was off at the time and wanted to wait until the sect leaders finished dealing with their affairs before letting them see these two suspicious individuals.” Lin Jichen looked at Gu Qingci with disbelief as he said this, “But who would have thought that at this moment, Sect Leader Wu, the wife of the former Yanyue Sect Leader Wu Chenghao, would appear.”
Lin Jichen paused for a moment and then continued, "The sect leader's wife is covered in demonic energy and has lost her mind. She sucks the life essence from anyone she sees and even tries to eat people!"
Unlike mortals, cultivators who are tainted by demonic energy lose their minds because the demonic energy and their own spiritual energy corrode each other, ultimately harming them. However, Madam Wu is also a cultivator; she should have been able to notice the abnormality in her immediately. Even if she didn't notice it herself, Sect Leader Wu would have.
It has been a long time since anyone has seen Madam Wu. Legend has it that the couple separated due to marital discord, but now it seems that Madam Wu has become a mindless demon and has been hidden away by her husband.
"Why would the sect leader's wife suddenly appear?" Murong Jing really couldn't understand the couple. Being tainted with demonic energy wasn't a big deal. Besides, they had been imprisoned, and he had never heard of any demons harming people in the Yan Yue Sect before.
Not only does everyone present need an answer to all of this, but the entire world needs an answer as well.
The sect leader's wife came out... At this point, Lin Jichen didn't know what to say. She decided to tell the truth.
"Because she was proof of Sect Leader Wu's betrayal, and everyone couldn't let the Sect Leader's wife be hidden away forever, so they sent someone to bring her out, and then..." She appeared in front of a disciple. The irrational Madam Wu was like a ferocious beast that had been starving for a long time. Suddenly discovering food nearby, she rushed up and had a feast without any regard for anything else.
"Thankfully, Sect Leader Wu arrived in time to stop it, otherwise even more people would have died," Lin Jichen said.
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