When the best team returned to the sect's residence, Elder Jiang was already waiting there.
Upon seeing Shi Xuan and the others descend from their flying swords, he immediately went to greet them and asked, "Have you been safe out there these past few days?"
Elder Jiang's behavior was clearly unusual. They had completed countless missions in this outer arena, and they had never seen Elder Jiang come out to greet them and say such things before.
Shi Xuan paused for a moment and replied, "Has someone from the Hongmeng Sect come looking for us?"
Elder Jiang nodded. "They came yesterday, saying they wanted to get your people back. They came again early this morning, but seeing that you hadn't returned yet, they left."
As Elder Jiang spoke, he looked Shi Xuan up and down, then at all the members. Seeing that none of them were missing, he felt relieved and asked what had happened outside.
"It's nothing serious." Shi Xuan then focused on the important part and recounted the encounter with the Hongmeng team at Yema Volcano.
"I see." No wonder the elders of the Hongmeng Sect were so anxious, making two trips to their small town.
As they were talking, several people flew in on swords, quickly approaching and landing on their encampment. They were the people from the Hongmeng Sect they had just mentioned.
The leader was Yan Lingyi, with two elders standing with him. Behind him were four other team members who had run out together, and... Qian Zheng, whose face looked very bad.
The moment Shi Xuan saw Qian Zheng, his eyebrows subtly twitched, as if giving him a special look. Qian Zheng didn't even look up, expressionless, and shrank back, thinking: Why are you looking at me! Can you pretend I'm not here?!
Yan Lingyi noticed Shi Xuan's look, but he suppressed his anger and instead said calmly, "Release my team members!"
Shi Xuan chuckled and said, "So you've returned to your base and have something to rely on? That's why you're here to bully us?"
"Stop making baseless accusations! You've arrested twenty of our team members, hand them over right now!" Qian Zheng said this, probably wanting to impress the captain and elders, and he shouted with extra fervor.
"There are nineteen." Shi Xuan didn't deny it and kindly corrected him.
Qian Zheng then realized that he was indeed the only one who had been released.
The long-bearded elder of the Hongmeng Sect stepped forward and said, "Release our people, and we will not concern ourselves with the rest."
“We can release them,” Shi Xuan said, “but we can’t just release them for nothing, right? They wasted so many of our pills and talismans to capture them, and then wasted so much of my space to put them back. The spiritual energy they consumed is countless. If we want to redeem them, we have to show some sincerity.”
They said they wouldn't care, but since they were in the wrong, they naturally wouldn't care. Shi Xuan didn't bother arguing with them about those minor details, and went straight to the point: You can have people, but you have to exchange them for something!
Yan Lingyi knew she was in the wrong, and besides, Shi Xuan always liked to use the recording stone, so making a big fuss would not be good for their Hongmeng team.
He then made a concession, saying, "Then I'll give you half of everyone's points."
Shi Xuan raised his eyebrows in feigned surprise and said, "How can it be so cheap? Are your people only worth this little bit?"
Yan Lingyi glanced back at Qian Zheng with an unfriendly look, making Qian Zheng shrink back even further. For the first time in his life, he wished he were shorter, so that no one would notice him.
Yan Lingyi suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Didn't they only collect half the points for the one who was already released?"
"How can that be the same? When I released him... I was in a good mood when I released him! Besides, Fellow Daoist Qian is a familiar old friend, so his treatment is naturally different from others."
What makes you different from others! What old friends! Who are your friends! Qian Zheng was shouting in his heart, but on the surface he shrank his neck and dared not move.
If they weren't at their base, Yan Lingyi really wanted to take action directly. Shi Xuan's tone really showed that he didn't take their Hongmeng Sect seriously at all.
He gritted his teeth, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Then what do you want?"
Shi Xuan smiled gently, revealing her cute dimples, and replied, "I will definitely collect all the points, and I also need to collect some other things to make up for our team's losses. After all, you guys attacked first in order to find the Fire Source Pearl, and we were just acting in self-defense."
Upon hearing the words "Fire Source Pearl," Yan Lingyi's expression changed drastically, and he immediately turned to look at Qian Zheng.
Considering the cause and effect of this matter, all the blame points to Qian Zheng alone. He must have betrayed the intentions of their Hongmeng team, which is why Shi Xuan was able to manipulate things so much.
Seeing that he was looking at Qian Zheng, Shi Xuan kindly added, "Captain Yan, don't misunderstand. The Fire Source Pearl and such were not something that Fellow Daoist Qian Zheng told us. He didn't say anything; he's very tight-lipped."
Her emphasis only made things worse, giving the impression of "protesting too much" and "the neighbor didn't steal anything," making her attempt to cover up the truth all the more blatant.
Yan Lingyi glared at Qian Zheng fiercely, with a hint of "I'll settle the score later," which scared Qian Zheng so much that he almost wanted to disappear into the ground.
"Everything I said is true," Shi Xuan emphasized, and took out a small recording stone, which, after activation, released a very short video.
In the scene, Qian Zheng is tied up and sitting on the ground. Shi Xuan asks him questions, but he stubbornly refuses to speak.
This short clip was shown by Shi Xuan, but it was taken back after only a few breaths.
"Fellow Daoist Qian is truly loyal to the Hongmeng team," Shi Xuan concluded.
However, what Yan Lingyi saw was not the case at all.
Why would any opposing force waste a recording stone to document evidence of their opponent's refusal to surrender? Besides, the record they make could be easily manipulated by both sides if they cooperated; it has no credibility whatsoever!
Yan Lingyi's gaze towards Qian Zheng was already blazing with fury.
Qian Zheng finally realized what was going on. Xuan Hao's malicious intentions had left him speechless. He couldn't explain himself no matter how hard he tried!
"Don't talk nonsense!" Qian Zheng retorted immediately, "We're not old friends at all! I've disliked you for a long time, release our team members now! Otherwise, I'll raze your base to the ground!"
The idea of trampling someone else's territory is just talk. The reason why the Outer Realm Arena is called an arena rather than a battlefield is because it is purely a competition, allowing competition within a certain range, but fighting over territory is not allowed.
Shi Xuan was perfectly in sync with Qian Zheng's taunts. She looked at Qian Zheng with a questioning gaze, then immediately feigned realization and chimed in, "Hmph, calling you an old friend is just flattering you. You don't think you're any different just because we let you go, do you? We don't like you either!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
