Ye Ju watched coldly as the chaos she created unfolded, observing the near-deranged Madam Zhu. This timid yet venomous woman was Qing Yang's mother? With a flick of her spiritual energy whip, she reeled in Chao Yangzi, flicking her finger to place an antidote pill into his mouth.
"Qing Yang, you've grown weak. To think someone could poison you!"
"Divine Venerable? You've returned?" Chao Yangzi's spirit was shaken. This was the true Divine Venerable, the aloof, exquisitely beautiful, and peerlessly noble Jiu Xun Divine Venerable had returned! This sword strike had finally unified her divine soul.
"Hm? Noisy!" Jiu Xun's phoenix eyes cast a detached glance at Chao Yangzi.
"Qing Yin, why are you just standing there?" Chao Xiangzi stared blankly at Ye Ju, as if he had seen this scene before.
Jiu Xun, from a distance through the air, gently tapped Chao Xiangzi's brow. Chao Xiangzi was suddenly struck by a violent headache. Images flashed through his mind: battlefields littered with dismembered limbs, magnificent gilded halls, and a peerlessly beautiful woman unfazed by millions of demons... After a while, Chao Xiangzi regained his past life's memories. He was one of Jiu Xun Divine Venerable's Seven Star Guards, a master of contraptions. Thinking of his previous disrespect towards the Divine Venerable, he was overcome with remorse. With a thud, he knelt before Jiu Xun.
"Divine Venerable, Qing Yin admits his fault!"
Chao Xiangzi's spine was straight as he performed an ancient salute. Zhu Xianxian, who had been prostrated by the pressure from afar, watched this scene with a mix of emotions. Who was this Fairy Ye? Her cousin actually knelt before her. What Divine Venerable? Was her status so high that even her elder cousin showed her such deference?
"Twenty whip lashes," Jiu Xun's clear and cold voice rang out.
"Yes!" Chao Xiangzi lowered his head to accept the command.
"Divine Venerable!" Tian Ji also arrived in a hurry. He had been searching for Li Qihong's corpse, intending to investigate the cause of her death, but the body had already been destroyed and vanished, and he had been held up. It wasn't until the main peak of the Chao Tian Immortal Sect was split in two by a single sword strike that he managed to break free and come.
"Tian Ji? Why are you so old?" Jiu Xun's expressionless eyes looked at the middle-aged man with a beard.
Tian Ji...
"Are you the only ones among the Seven Star Guards who found me? What have I done? Why are these sect members causing trouble for me? Should I kill them all to prevent further annoyance?" Jiu Xun scanned the people of the Chao Tian Immortal Sect. Almost all the sect elders were present. Their burning gazes displeased her greatly.
"Divine Venerable, no, we must not commit unjust killing," Tian Ji wiped a bead of sweat. The Divine Venerable was very sensitive to malice towards others and, disliking trouble, usually dealt with it by killing them directly.
"Oh, then we won't kill. Tian Ji, I'll leave this to you. Investigate the reasons!" Jiu Xun waved her sleeve, and a couch appeared on the ground. She lay down lazily. This body was still too weak; swinging that sword had left her a bit fatigued. She would rest first, as there might be a fight later!
"Yes, Divine Venerable!"
At this moment, the Sect Leader of Chao Tian Immortal Sect regretted his actions immensely. Where did this killing god come from? It was no wonder the heavenly realms feared her so. They had said to kill her before she recovered her divine maiden status and powers. Did this look like she hadn't recovered her powers? With one sword strike, she had destroyed a main peak of their Chao Tian Immortal Sect. They had also been forced to indulge Madam Zhu's scheme. As for the person named Yun He from the Tian Xing Continent, they would control him immediately. If he revealed the truth, there might still be a glimmer of hope.
Now, if things went poorly, the entire sect would pay the price. A millennium of foundation would be destroyed in an instant.
The Chao Sect Leader took advantage of the chaotic situation, finding an opening to secretly send someone to capture Yun He. He then called for attendants to help Madam Zhu sit aside, knocked her unconscious to prevent her from shouting.
"Sect Leader, it's not good. The mountain protection barrier has been broken by someone."
Suddenly, an elder responsible for guarding the mountain rushed over. He had been searching for the person who broke the barrier but found no trace. He hurried to inform the Sect Leader. After searching several places and failing to find the Sect Leader, he went to Lan Xi Yuan and shouted loudly.
The Chao Sect Leader had no words to express his suffering; the person who broke the barrier was right here! But he could only swallow his pain.
"Elder Wang, I am aware. There's no need to panic. Tell Xiang'er to repair the formation."
After Elder Wang landed, he realized belatedly that the sect's peak lords and elders were almost all here. There were also a few dead bodies in the distance. What had happened? But he decided not to pry into private matters and just focus on his duties. He turned to see Chao Xiangzi standing beside a couch, on which lay a female celestial being. He hurried over. If the mountain protection array wasn't repaired promptly, it would be troublesome if an enemy attacked!
"Young Master Xiang, the mountain protection array has been breached. Please help to repair it."
"Divine Venerable, Qing Yin will be back shortly." Chao Xiangzi requested permission from Jiu Xun.
"En, go!" Jiu Xun nodded.
Tian Ji looked at the Chao Sect Leader and said loudly, "Sect Leader Chao, the root of this chaos stems from Elder Li's affairs. We request that Sect Leader Chao provide our Divine Venerable with an explanation."
"Yes, Fairy Ye, I have already sent people to apprehend the relevant personnel. Please wait a moment." The Chao Sect Leader, under Jiu Xun's cold gaze, forced himself forward.
Tian Ji observed that the Chao Sect Leader did not mention Madam Zhu at all, skillfully evading the issue. He decided to proceed with Elder Li.
"Elder Li, where is your grandniece now? Did she not die, but instead framed and slandered Young Master Feng?" At this moment, Elder Li was already subdued. He had witnessed that astonishing sword strike and hadn't expected the demoness Ye's cultivation to improve so rapidly. He had intended to escape, but Young Master Yang's secret guards had caught him.
"Slander! My poor Hong'er was killed by his palm strike that shattered her heart's脉. How could I possibly frame her? It was all in full view of everyone, with witnesses!" Elder Li appeared grief-stricken, his tone filled with indignation!
"Then do you know that Feng Chu did not injure her heart's脉? He merely waved his sleeve and sent Li Qihong flying. She hit a pillar and fainted. The injury was to the back of her head.
Where is her body now? I have already gone to the back courtyard, and Li Qihong is nowhere to be found. The maid said that Li Qihong had only fainted at first, but after you arrived, Li Qihong then gasped her last breath. Is this true?" Tian Ji's voice was calm and assured!
"What? Her body is gone? Impossible! I told the maid to watch her carefully. And when I arrived, Hong'er was indeed not dead, but she only managed to tell me the reason before she breathed her last. In my grief, I examined her body and confirmed that her heart's脉 had shattered and she died!"
Tian Ji let out a cold laugh and instructed his disciples to bring the maid who had been tending to Li Qihong.
As soon as the maid appeared, she trembled all over, her voice quivering. She repeated to Tian Ji exactly what he had stated.
Elder Li cried out "Impossible!" claiming the maid was fabricating evidence. He further questioned the maid about the whereabouts of Li Qihong's body. The maid trembled like a sieve filtering beans in autumn, crying in fear, saying that Elder Li himself had taken it away.
Elder Li also began to sense something was amiss. No one would want a corpse unless they feared something might be revealed from it, hence the hiding of the body. Seeing his beloved junior die, he had been solely focused on avenging her and seeking justice, and hadn't carefully examined how her heart's脉 had shattered from a palm strike. This matter was not right. He had received a notification from Madam saying Hong'er was injured and her life was in danger, but why hadn't he seen the skilled physician Elder Qi? Shouldn't they have sought medical help immediately?
......