Chapter 33: Hanging by a Thread

Inside the main hall.

The blue jade floor tiles glimmered with a cold sheen. Zhang Guangyuan, the head of the External Affairs Hall, sat upright in the principal seat, flanked by elders whose faces were set in grave expressions.

Song Yan, his grey robe stained with dust, stood before them, his spiritual energy faint and unstable.

“Outer sect disciple Song Yesheng…” Zhang Guangyuan began, his voice utterly devoid of emotion.

“Disciple present.”

“All the elders have gathered here. You are to recount everything that happened in the secret realm, from beginning to end, in detail.”

Xu Ziqing had hurried back from Jiran Valley with Qin Ying and Lu Ziye as soon as he received the news. His expression was calm, but he added, “Within the secret realm, a disciple of Xuanyuan Sect, Wang Xi, perished. Two disciples of the Spirit Talisman Sect also lost their lives.”

“All of our Dongyuan Sect’s disciples who were caught up in the affair survived.”

“Shao Sichao had already returned to the sect earlier, yet he knows nothing of what transpired within the secret realm.”

“You must speak truthfully about all that you saw and heard.”

“If you conceal anything and Xuanyuan Sect’s elders come to demand you, we will not be able to shield you.”

Xu Ziqing’s early return was bound to draw attention from interested parties—news of Song Yan’s survival would inevitably leak sooner or later.

“Yes.”

Song Yan paused, his thoughts shifting slightly.

He had originally believed the sect would never risk offending Xuanyuan Sect over a trivial outer disciple like himself. Yet now, it seemed the reality might be different. Perhaps it was because Dongyuan Sect was already impoverished and unwilling to forfeit resources over such a minor matter?

He gritted his teeth, deciding to mix truth with falsehood regarding the deadly struggle with Wang Xi.

Lowering his eyes, Song Yan slowly recounted how Xuanyuan Sect had orchestrated the scheme, how Wang Xi pursued him, how Wan Songran from the Spirit Talisman Sect plotted in secret, and how the final desperate battle unfolded. He concealed the secrets of the Gluttonous Flute and Sword Dao Seed.

With some subtle embellishment, he made it seem as if Wang Xi’s main target had always been Wan Songran from the Spirit Talisman Sect, and his own role in the fight to slay Wang Xi was secondary.

“Wan Songran, scion of the Wan clan in the Spirit Talisman Sect, though only at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, possessed a unique spirit-gathering technique that allowed him to briefly raise his strength.”

“By joining forces with me, we barely managed to slay Wang Xi.”

At the end, he coughed weakly, his voice frail. “In order to save myself, I was forced to expend my spiritual power recklessly, damaging my foundation. On top of being gravely wounded by Wang Xi, my cultivation has… fallen back to the first level of Qi Refinement.”

“Wan Songran intended to silence me, but he too was severely wounded and at the end of his strength. So we each retreated and left separately.”

“As to how he died, I do not know.”

A strange silence settled over the hall.

Several elders exchanged glances, their expressions varied.

“Hmph!” A stern elder Song Yan had never seen before suddenly snorted, breaking the silence and bursting out, “That Xuanyuan Sect rabble—motherless wretches, the lot of them!”

“Elder Luo! Mind your words,” Zhang Guangyuan cut off Elder Luo Haonan’s tirade.

“Wang Xi had reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and by your account possessed powerful magical tools and talismans. It should have been trivial for him to kill you…” Elder Yang Wenxuan’s gaze was piercing. “How did you assist the Wan disciple in slaying Wang Xi?”

Song Yan’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his composure.

“I did little, merely assisted from the sidelines.”

“My spiritual sense is somewhat stronger than most. Before my cultivation was lost, I had some skill with a few spells.”

Now that he was supposedly “crippled,” his former abilities could be whatever he claimed. Such was the benefit of being an overlooked outer disciple.

“Spiritual sense…”

Yang Wenxuan mused, but Xu Ziqing spoke up.

“It’s true. Outer disciple Song Yesheng may have mediocre spiritual roots, but his spiritual sense is above average, and he’s shown some talent in alchemy.”

Song Yan was puzzled as to how this elder knew such details, but in this moment, he was simply grateful for someone speaking on his behalf.

“Elder Zhang!”

A disciple’s voice came from outside the hall.

“Elder Shen Yu of Xuanyuan Sect, with Stewards Zheng Xinzhi and Chang Ziyi, along with several disciples, request an audience!”

Zhang Guangyuan exchanged a glance with Xu Ziqing.

“They’re quick to arrive…”

…

Zhang Guangyuan and several elders left Longshou Peak together, flying to the entrance plaza at the mountain gate.

Many disciples and stewards had already gathered nearby, watching from a distance.

Zhang Guangyuan called out in a clear voice, “Elder Shen, it’s been a while—”

Shen Yu raised a hand, cutting him off.

“No need for pleasantries, Elder Zhang. Today, we are here for an explanation.”

Shen Yu was in a foul mood. As the External Affairs Elder of Xuanyuan Sect, for years they had always dictated terms to other sects as they pleased.

This recent scheme, truth be told, had nothing to do with Xuanyuan Sect itself—it was simply Shen Yu’s personal attempt to seize a spiritual vein from another sect.

Everyone in his position knew how these things worked.

Yet after all this effort, before he could extract any benefit, his own disciple had died first.

He simply couldn’t fathom how Wang Xi, that useless fool, could have died in that secret realm.

“A disciple of our sect, Wang Xi, is dead. Two disciples of the Spirit Talisman Sect perished in the secret realm as well, yet your Dongyuan Sect’s disciples emerged unscathed.”

Xu Ziqing smiled faintly. “Cultivation is a fickle path—death comes to the unworthy. One can hardly blame others for their own weakness.”

“…”

“That’s true enough. However…”

“The surviving disciples of the Spirit Talisman Sect reported seeing your Dongyuan Sect’s Song Yesheng sneaking about, shadowing my disciple Wang Xi in secret.”

“Wang Xi was at the eighth level of Qi Refinement—had he acted with caution, he could have survived without trouble.”

“We therefore suspect that Wang Xi’s death is linked to Song Yesheng!”

“If you truly have nothing to hide, then let him come forward and face us directly.”

Song Yan stepped out from the crowd, bowed to the Xuanyuan Sect elders hovering in the air, and was about to speak when Xu Ziqing cut him off.

“We have already questioned him,” Xu Ziqing said, “and have learned what transpired in the secret realm.”

Song Yan was startled, unsure what this elder was planning.

Xu Ziqing’s expression was one of deep sorrow. “Who could have foreseen that several late-stage first-tier spirit beasts would appear within the secret realm?”

“Your nephew Wang Xi acted nobly, risking himself to cover the retreat of Song Yesheng and Wan Songran. He fought valiantly, alone against many beasts, and fell only after exhausting his strength.”

“Please rest assured, Elder Shen. Wang Xi’s selfless sacrifice will be remembered always by our Dongyuan Sect.”

Song Yan was speechless.

“Our disciple Song Yesheng was injured while fighting the beasts. Though he escaped by chance, his cultivation is now gone, and he can no longer hope for immortality.”

He said nothing, only appearing deeply sorrowful. Inwardly, he thought that perhaps his earlier story had been too conservative.

“Nonsense!”

“That secret realm was shallow and small—where could late-stage first-tier spirit beasts have come from?!”

“Elder Shen, you never entered the secret realm. How can you make such a claim?” Xu Ziqing retorted. “Or perhaps you already knew the details of that secret realm?”

Shen Yu faltered, his face turning sullen.

At times he wondered whether he should return to his sect, request a few Golden Core elders to emerge from seclusion, and simply crush Dongyuan Sect outright. Such petty sects, so insensible, were truly infuriating.

“I have no wish to argue further. Have that Song boy hand over his storage pouch—if it contains nothing of Wang Xi’s, then all is well.”

“If not… hmph.”

Behind him, another Xuanyuan Sect elder stepped forward.

“Outrageous!” Xu Ziqing laughed coldly. “The path of cultivation is a struggle against fate. Who among us does not possess their own secret treasures?”

“You want our disciple to hand over his storage pouch for your inspection?”

“Does Xuanyuan Sect take my Dongyuan Sect for easy prey?!”

“Oh?” Shen Yu’s spiritual energy surged, his patience at an end. The pressure of his cultivation burst forth.

“And if we do?”

Boom!

Three mighty waves of spiritual pressure erupted simultaneously. The power of late Foundation Establishment cultivators swept over Song Yan like a collapsing mountain.

“Elder Shen, do you intend to make a move within my Dongyuan Sect?” Xu Ziqing waved his sleeve, shielding Song Yan behind him.

For some reason, Shen Yu could see not a hint of fear or worry in Xu Ziqing’s expression.

There was even a trace of wild excitement curling at the corner of Xu Ziqing’s lips.