One strike
Shi Yuzhen responded coldly, the tip of her ink sword pointing directly at the monster wrapped in hair in the middle.
The person in front of him was the Immortal Master who had guided him into the sect, but his eyes were piercing as if he were looking at a dead object.
Shi Yuzhen grew up in a less-than-normal environment, which naturally shaped her into a cold and aloof person who was single-mindedly focused on seeking the Dao.
He didn't care about anyone—not his sect masters, not his fellow cultivators, and not even the men and women who tried to curry favor with him.
He only cared about himself, so when he was sabotaged during his promotion, he was furious. He valued himself too much and others too little. How could he allow anyone to hinder his promotion?
Such obsession is perhaps deeply ingrained in every high-ranking cultivator in the Immortal Realm.
When he learned that Master Chen, who had taught him for decades, had long since become a paper talisman controlled by Master Xu, he didn't feel much.
Now, the ink sword is only an inch away from breaking through Master Xu's defenses, but Shi Yuzhen is completely unaware of it.
Shi Yuzhen felt a strange sense of annoyance strike her like a thunderbolt.
There was a moment of hesitation.
Master Xu quickly noticed and revealed his scheme with a sly smile: "Hehehehe... Do you like fried chicken? Finally, it's working..."
Before she could finish speaking, Shi Yuzhen swung her sword fiercely, causing the mountains to shake!
Master Xu's smile cracked... No, that's not it... The trace amounts of toxins he took each day should have taken effect long ago.
Why?! Where exactly did things go wrong?!
Master Xu was slashed to the ground by the sword, crawling on the ground and spitting out mouthfuls of foul blood. His hair returned to normal, like a thin black blanket covering his body.
Master Xu was injured all over by the ink sword, and soon dark blood seeped out from under his hair.
Soon, Master Xu was about to be riddled with holes from all sides by the incredibly fast-moving ink sword.
The cultivators finally gathered at the two accident sites and witnessed a shocking scene: Shi Yuzhen had gone mad and murdered her master!
The cultivators were wary and dared not step forward to participate in the battle. This was clearly a spiritual energy duel even more powerful than an explosion. No, it was simply a one-sided massacre!
The unsuspecting cultivators assumed that An Jiaze, whom Xu Ya was taking care of, was also injured by Shi Yuzhen, so they rushed over to check the situation. Seeing that Xu Ya was in the way, they forcefully pushed her aside.
Xu Ya was suddenly pushed, and with her physical condition only slightly better than that of an ordinary person, she staggered and knelt on the ground.
However, a sharp edge flashed by, and the ink sword left a mark, slicing a strand of hair from the clumsy cultivator who approached An Jiaze, a clear warning.
At that moment, those with sharp eyes noticed that Master Xu was lying motionless and silent on the ground, his eyes wide open in a ferocious manner, as if he had died with his eyes open in disbelief.
"This..." The cultivator was terrified. Only the support behind him prevented him from collapsing. He was drenched in sweat and cried out, "Murder, murder!!! Shi... Master murder!! Shi Yuzhen killed Master Xu!!"
"Master!!"
The monks became agitated at this man's words.
Although An Jiaze had replenished his spiritual energy by eating Xu Ya's fried chicken and was feeling much better, he was now unable to speak because Xu Shi's eerie hair had been wrapped around his throat for too long.
Just as I was about to make a sound, my throat started to hurt and itch, and I coughed repeatedly.
Seeing this, Xu Ya scrambled to her feet and tried to help the very weak An Jiaze.
Shi Yuzhen appeared out of nowhere, leaning slightly against Xu Ya, but firmly holding the ink sword against An Jiaze's chin. Her face was gloomy and bloodshot, and she casually ordered, "Explain."
An Jiaze gave him a deep look.
After a long silence, An Jiaze stood up, leaning against the wall, and let out a sharp cough. He solemnly told everyone what had happened: "It was Master Xu who ambushed me at the most crucial stage of my advancement, attempting to seize my body."
"Do you have any evidence?!" Among the surrounding cultivators were many of Master Xu's personal disciples. Seeing Master Xu's current miserable state, they were all utterly horrified. Reason told them they should demand justice from Master Xu, but in front of high-level cultivators, they were like quails, only able to wait for the ensuing attack. "How do I know that you weren't in cahoots to slaughter Master Xu??"
Suddenly, a disciple shouted, "Oh no! At Senior Brother Shi's residence, we've discovered Master Chen's badly burned and mangled body!"
This news caused a great stir among the many cultivators.
The expressions on everyone's faces kept changing, from anger to doubt and then to terror—had he escaped from his inner demons?
At this moment, a powerful voice came from beyond the heavens and reached the ears of all the cultivators. It was an unfamiliar and aged voice, followed by the familiar voice of Zhan Zhengzhen.
A powerful, spiritually resonant voice resonated in everyone's minds: "Let me explain the whole story!"
Zhan Zhengzhen led an elderly man to the outer perimeter of the dungeon in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh.
Some of the cultivators who gathered there often went out to train. When they saw the familiar big beard, they instantly remembered him and exclaimed, "Elder Xu? Could you be Elder Xu Ducang from the Supreme Dao Palace?"
A cultivator who had heard of this person asked, "Xu Ducang? That Nascent Soul stage cultivator? It's him? What brings him here?"
The monks chattered amongst themselves.
Xu Ducang is a well-known figure among cultivators, a living fossil of the Supreme Dao Palace! Although he looks old and frail, he is already a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage.
But why would Elder Xu Ducang come to Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, which has nothing to do with him?
In Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, the strong are respected. Now, when they see a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, they all act like obedient little babies, looking up at Elder Xu with utmost respect as they listen to his speech.
Old Xu was still in good spirits, and although he spoke slowly, he was full of energy: "Previously, young friend Zhan accepted my invitation to do something for me. He did a very good job, and I promised young friend Zhan that I would do my best to help him if he ever needed anything in the future."
After a pause, Old Master Xu said slowly, "That day, young friend Zhan brought me a handful of unusual black smoke and sand, and I heard that it was this handful of black smoke and sand that almost killed him on the spot! He did all the work for someone else! Please take a look, everyone!"
After saying that, Old Xu stretched out his wrinkled palm. He held a handkerchief that was imbued with spiritual energy, and on it was the strange black sand from the body-snatching talisman he had encountered that day!
Xu Ya recognized him. No wonder when Shi Yuzhen hesitated and made this request to her, Zhan Shixiong secretly helped her repair the wound on her palm. Was he looking for a skilled person to test the material?
"What you may not know is that this thing is Yin Silk Sand, which is refined from essence blood. It is an ancient evil technique. This evil technique has a deep connection with my family. You should have heard that the Supreme Dao Palace is investigating the old case of the massacre of Qixia Immortal Marsh. That old case has also uncovered the dirty things that Qixia Immortal Marsh has done in secret for many years."
The cultivators had heard of it, and Qixia Immortal Marsh was considered so ordinary that no one would bother discussing it in the cultivation world. However, the year it was suddenly wiped out, the discussion about it surged. The cultivators were worried that the villains were attacking indiscriminately, and for a time, the cultivators were filled with fear and had no heart for cultivation.
Ultimately, the Supreme Taoist Palace was chosen to investigate the matter.
The investigation into this tragedy has been handled by the people of Taishang Daogong, who have only released a few pieces of information over the decades. It was thought that they had long since stopped investigating, but unexpectedly, Old Xu has brought it up again.
Could it be that all these events are connected?
"The precision of this Yin Silk Sand is far different from the Yin Silk Sand left over from the Qixia Immortal Marsh murder case back then. Back then, the entire Qixia Immortal Marsh was covered with this kind of deliberately refined Yin Silk Sand. I can only reveal a little bit about it. This kind of evil technique was passed down by Qixia Immortal Marsh itself."
"Such a wicked argument was concealed by the Supreme Dao Palace at the time, for fear of causing chaos in the world. I urge you, my young friends, to know only a portion of the truth and not to spread it."
"What? That's a sect of great stature, how could they teach evil arts?"
Old Xu recounted the results of the investigation back then, along with some speculations from the Taishang Dao Palace at the time. The investigation had progressed for over thirty years, but there were simply no more clues, so it had to be stopped and kept secret.
It is known that Qixia Immortal has long been using evil arts to steal disciples' cultivation talents and maliciously sell them to evil cultivators in various places who have such needs, and this handful of Yin Silk Sand is one of the tools used in this operation.
After a thorough investigation, it was almost certain that the evil massacre of thousands of people in Qixia Immortal Garden was perpetrated by Qixia Immortal Garden's own disciples. This matter was particularly heinous, so the entire Taishang Dao Palace agreed to remain silent about it.
The day before yesterday, at Zhan Zhengzhen's request, Xu Lao investigated the incident of the reinforcements being attacked that day, and only then did he connect the two events.
Thirty years later, this handful of Yin Silk Sand reappeared in the cultivation world, and it was by sheer coincidence that Zhan Zhengzhen and his group encountered it. Was this a coincidence, a conspiracy, or the sinner from back then striking again?
Zhan Zhengzhen took out a piece of white paper from his sleeve. The white paper slowly revealed itself to be the image of the tassel that Xu Ya had destroyed that day.
He added in a clear and resonant voice: "Fellow disciples, please look. That day, Senior Brother Shi, Senior Sister Rong, Yu Manjing, Cai Wenle, Junior Sister Xu and I went to the dense forest to provide reinforcements. We entered the formation and found the formation eye smoothly. Just as we were breaking the formation, this sand and a strange rune appeared at the formation eye. When we injected spiritual energy to break the formation, our essence, energy and spirit were all sucked into it. At that time, we were all out of control. Fortunately, with the help of Junior Sister, we were able to save our lives."
"This talisman becomes stronger when it encounters a powerful opponent, and even Senior Brother Shi was helpless against it. Conversely, only Junior Sister's physique at the time could break it."
Several cultivators who frequented the Yunmeng Academy recognized the fragmented talisman: "Could this be the Body-Seizing Talisman from the Seven Forbidden Techniques, the Heaven-Seizing Creation Chapter?!"
"What?! We actually encountered this talisman?!"
"They look very similar!"
Zhan Zhengzhen said, "It is indeed a Possession Talisman! Someone set up this talisman along our path and at the core of the formation, using the evil Yin Silk Sand. Their intentions are despicable!"
"That was really dangerous. If it weren't for Xu Ya, they wouldn't have made it back then, would they?"
After Zhan Zhengzhen finished speaking, he made a gesture of invitation and asked Elder Xu to finish his sentence: "The connection between these two events may be a coincidence, but the incident of the cultivator self-destructing at Aya's Fried Chicken Shop that day could not be considered a coincidence, could it?"
"Is Xu Ya involved here? Wasn't that case supposed to be closed by An Jiaze and be foolproof? How is she connected to this matter?"
An Jiaze was very close to the cultivator, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon hearing this...
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