Chapter 82 The Truth Recorded Inside the Image Stone
These words shocked everyone present.
Regardless of whether they were on or off stage, all the cultivators exchanged bewildered glances. Ren Yeqing met the gaze of the Qing Shen Pavilion Master; those murky eyes seemed to gleam with a cold light when not speaking, yet it vanished in an instant. He looked again at Jin Zong, the sect leader of the Sword Intent Sect. Jin Zong also had a rather rugged appearance; while not enough to frighten a child to tears at first glance, he wasn't particularly popular among the younger generation. Ren Yeqing met those resolute, iron-like eyes, then chuckled awkwardly, "Forgive my bluntness, but is Sect Leader Jin perhaps trying to deceive me? Who doesn't know that the Four Great Treasures of the World are merely a legend passed down in fairy tales? Apart from our Qing Shen Pavilion's Qing Shen Music Score, aren't the other three great treasures still missing to this day?"
He spoke with such confidence that he garnered considerable agreement. A rogue cultivator in the audience remarked, "Those demonic cultivators love these kinds of fantastical legends. The Ancient Sword of Mount Ling has been lost for many years and no one has ever seen it. How could it possibly exist?"
Jin Zong, with a serious expression, said, "Regardless of whether the rumors about the Ling Mountain Ancient Sword are true or false, it is a fact that the demonic cultivators want this sword."
"I've seen this sword before."
Suddenly, a clear, melodious youthful voice rang out from the crowd, coming from the direction of Qing Shen Pavilion. The speaker was none other than Tantai Wushuang, the only disciple from Qing Shen Pavilion to participate in the Ling Shan Sword Tournament this year. This young man had handsome features, and now, standing expressionlessly at the front of the stage to speak, he already vaguely resembled his father.
"You've seen him?" Jin Zong narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Ren Yeqing was taken aback at first, then startled by what his young master had said. His wrinkled face drained of color, and in his panic, he gestured wildly, trying to silence Tantai Wushuang. The young man clearly saw his actions, but chose to ignore them. His gaze was fixed on the high platform, not on Jin Zong who had questioned him, but on Ji Pengde, who sat at the highest point.
"I think you, Sect Master of Qinglian Sect, can ask your elders about this issue," Tantai Wushuang said, glancing around the seats of Qinglian Sect members before pausing briefly at an empty seat in the elders' section. "However, this elder may not be here today."
Ji Pengde's expression was very unpleasant.
Of the elders who personally attended the Lingshan Sword Tournament, only Tianxue Peak Master Ya Feiyu and Rumeng Peak Master Shen Qinghe were present. Shen Qinghe, like him, had fallen into a coma at the venue. The two of them knew the same information. The only one who was not present at the moment was Tianxue Peak Master Ya Feiyu.
Although Tantai Wushuang didn't say it explicitly, everyone could tell from his veiled hints who he was referring to. Jin Zong looked at Ji Pengde, his gaze sharp as a dagger: "Sect Master Ji, where has Immortal Venerable Tianxue gone?"
Ji Pengde paused slightly and said, "Immortal Venerable Tianxue is unwell and therefore did not participate in the meeting."
"Is that so?" Ren Yeqing narrowed his eyes like a fox. "But I've heard that Immortal Venerable Tianxue has not appeared since the Lingshan Sword Tournament."
For a moment, the atmosphere in the council hall fell into an eerie stillness, and everyone involuntarily held their breath, their eyes focused on the three people who were facing off.
Just then, a somewhat cursing voice broke the tense atmosphere.
"Old fox, don't think we can't tell what you're up to. You're secretly trying to frame Qinglian Immortal Sect and Peak Master Tianxue for something so serious. How dare you?"
Caught off guard by such a blunt revelation, Ren Yeqing froze, looking at him with a mixture of anger and flattery. To everyone's surprise, the one who spoke was none other than Dugu Ying, the peak master of the Gluttonous Peak, widely considered to have the worst relationship with Ya Feiyu. The man seemed somewhat weary, and, never one to hold back his words, he spoke even more bluntly. His venomous eyes stared intently at Ren Yeqing for a long while before he suddenly sneered, "You hit the nail on the head?"
Ren Yeqing was speechless and was about to demand justice from Ji Pengde when he heard a voice in the crowd agreeing: "Brother Dugu is right, Qing Shen Pavilion really has a lot of face!"
These words were even more outrageous. Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Pavilion Master of Qing Shen Pavilion raised his eyelids with ill intent and saw a woman in red walking gracefully through the crowd. She looked young, which suggested she possessed profound inner strength. A sword was at her waist, and her eyebrows were arrogant and unrestrained: "She dares to bring up such baseless rumors in the council hall. Don't think that others can't see through Elder Ren's intentions."
Upon seeing this person, Ren Yeqing was immediately enraged: "Yi Fengchun! Why do you always like to cause trouble?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Fengchun scoffed even more: "You've slandered my senior brother and his sect. What, as his junior sister, am I not allowed to say a few words?"
Ren Yeqing was so angry that his beard almost stood on end: "The Qinglian Immortal Sect is truly a den of snakes and rats!"
"Enough!" A voice that seemed to carry a chill came from the distance. Ren Yeqing came to his senses and realized the words he had just blurted out. His expression froze. No matter how angry he was, he could only sit back down in his seat.
The one who spoke was the head of Qing Shen Pavilion, Tantai Wushuang's father, Tantai Yue.
Seeing that Ren Yeqing stopped speaking, Tantai Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, nodded apologetically to the three people on the stage, and said, "I'm sorry, it was my Qing Shen Pavilion that failed to discipline them properly."
Yi Fengchun and Dugu Ying both let out a cold snort in unison, the meaning of which was quite intriguing.
Since Ren Yeqing had shut up, it was Tantai Wushuang's turn to speak. The young man glared at Elder Ren, who had slunk away, then quickly composed himself and pretended nothing had happened. He looked up at Ji Pengde on the high platform, who had an unpleasant expression, and said, "The Lingshan Ancient Sword should now be in the hands of Immortal Venerable Tianxue or his disciple."
Ji Pengde frowned: "What do you mean?"
"I was traveling with the two of them at the time," Tantai Wushuang said slowly. "I saw with my own eyes that the sword shot out from a thick fog and then landed precisely in the hands of the disciple of the Heavenly Snow Immortal Venerable."
"Therefore, I think the people who know the whereabouts of this sword best must be the master and disciple."
Jin Zong had been stroking his chin in thought, but after Tantai Wushuang finished speaking, he asked in return, "Wasn't this sword something the demonic cultivators were looking for? How did it end up in the hands of this master and disciple?"
"Well, that's because..." Tantai Wushuang's eyes were deep and dark. He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, as if he was hesitating whether he should say it or not. He casually raised his eyes and met Ji Pengde's gaze. The latter felt a chill run down his spine for no reason—he could actually see such a cold emotion in the eyes of a junior.
"Sect Leader Ji, you must listen carefully to what I am about to say. In order to prevent you from saying that I am just making things up, I will start from the beginning and tell you slowly."
He said it meaningfully, his nonchalant expression seemingly revealing a hint of mockery.
All eyes turned to Ji Pengde again, but the sect leader on the high platform stared intently at Tantai Wushuang.
He always had a very, very bad feeling.
And it's not an illusion.
"I got lost in the hunting grounds and stumbled upon a pond in the thick fog. I thought I could rest there for a while, but I never expected to find so many corpses inside. I fled in panic and happened to meet Ye Chi, the disciple of Celestial Snow Immortal, on the way. We went back together and prepared to investigate the lake."
"Just then, a group of demonic cultivators emerged from the shadows. We were no match for them and fled to a safer place to hide. It was at this time that Celestial Snow Venerable joined us."
"We originally planned to go together to find the others, because Celestial Venerable Tianxue told us that the venue was quite dangerous and that we should not go near it for the time being. But at that moment, a thick fog began to rise. We belatedly realized that the fog was deceptive, but it was too late to take precautions, and everyone fell into a coma."
"After we woke up, Celestial Venerable Tianxue was gone."
"Later, when we went to look for the Celestial Snow Venerable, we found a ruin in the hunting grounds."
He paused deliberately, then beckoned to the audience. Ren Yeqing understood and hurriedly presented a recording stone. The stone landed steadily in Tantai Wushuang's palm. He glanced at the stage and suddenly winked playfully, which intensified Ji Pengde's sense of crisis. He stared intently at the stone, imagining what kind of scene might appear inside.
“The gate to that ruin cannot be opened by normal means,” he said, casually pricking his fingertip and squeezing a drop of blood onto the recording stone. This was the highest level of encryption for the recording stone; no one else's spiritual power or blood could activate it.
"Why not guess what method Immortal Venerable Tianxue ultimately used to open this gate?"
Suddenly, the previously silent council hall was filled with murmurs of discussion. Doors that cannot be opened by normal means are not uncommon in the cultivation world. Some require barriers, some require talismans, and some more sinister ones require the blood of the master, and so on. In short, all sorts of bizarre methods exist.
Tantai Wushuang listened quietly, only shaking his head with a smile. He looked at Ji Pengde and said with a smile, "Sect Leader Ji, why don't you guess?"
His frivolous attitude made Ji Pengde increasingly impatient. He said coldly, "Instead of keeping us in suspense, let everyone see what happened inside the recording stone."
As soon as he spoke, the council hall fell silent again. Tantai Wushuang, however, showed no sign of being threatened. He even had the leisure to wipe the surface of the recording stone, and upon hearing this, he simply asked with a smile, "Is the Sect Master sure he wants to see?"
Ji Pengde frowned: "Look."
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