ebookslot Chapter 83 Approaching
Chapter 83 Approaching
Cheng Xiao stayed idly in the saintess's secret chamber.
But outside this secret room, it was very lively, with people searching for people and scouring the mountain.
Countless disciples are busy.
Meanwhile, the culprit himself was quite carefree and did nothing.
After all, the Holy Maiden had instructed him to stay here and not to go out no matter what happened, until the storm had passed.
Since the search of the mountain began, Cheng Xiao has remained undetected.
The puppets he left in the plantation were exceptionally exquisite, more than enough to deal with the few law enforcement teams whose cultivation levels were not very high; those people couldn't see any flaws at all.
Shen Qingci didn't go to his place to slack off today, probably because the sect was just too busy.
Everyone was being questioned, and she couldn't get away from it either.
Cheng Xiao then remained there, lost in thought.
......
As time went by, the search operation intensified.
Finally, after half a day of preparation, it spread to this border area that no one dared to easily set foot in on ordinary days.
Gu Yunshu had anticipated this and had been waiting outside for a long time.
The Zuowang Xuege Pavilion is usually quiet, but now a series of chaotic footsteps could be heard.
The sound of those footsteps clearly indicated that the intruders were up to no good.
As per the sect leader's orders, this search of the mountains included not only the visible areas but also the unseen ones.
Ultimately, the suspicion still lies with the person involved in the arranged marriage.
After all, she was the only one in the entire clan who opposed the marriage alliance.
The footsteps grew closer, along with the wary divine senses.
The person who personally led the team to the forbidden area of Zuowang Xuege this time was named Zhou Yuan.
Within the inner sect of the Supreme Dao Sect, Zhou Yuan was a well-known figure. He was the eldest disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall and the chief figure in charge of the sect's punishments and discipline.
This person is always impartial and incorruptible, only recognizing the sect leader's token and the mountain rules, and never showing the slightest favoritism because of the offender's noble status.
The fact that he was sent shows how much importance the sect leader attaches to this incident.
Zhou Yuan stood in the front courtyard of Zuowang Xuege, with a neat row of Law Enforcement Hall disciples dressed in black robes behind him.
Each of these disciples was tightly clutching a specially made spirit stone in their hands.
This kind of spiritual stone is called "Spiritual Essence Tester". It is a magical tool used by the Law Enforcement Hall to capture residual magical power and find hidden evil cultivators.
The "Spiritual Essence Tester" will issue an alarm if there are any deliberately concealed spiritual energy fluctuations or the aura of cultivation techniques that do not belong to the local sect within a three-zhang radius.
Zhou Yuan waved his hand towards the direction of the forbidden area in front of him, signaling the disciples behind him to spread out and aim the spirit stones at the surrounding stone walls and flowers, not missing a single detail.
Just as Zhou Yuan was preparing to investigate further, Gu Yunshu, dressed in white, walked out of Zuowang Xuege.
She had long anticipated that the sect leader would have some doubts, so to avoid being exposed, she waited here after finishing all her tasks.
At this moment, Cheng Xiao was hiding in the deepest secret room. Although the other party concealed his aura, the specially made spirit stones of the Law Enforcement Hall were extremely sensitive.
If even the slightest trace of sword energy were to remain, the consequences would be unimaginable.
To prevent Cheng Xiao from being completely exposed, Gu Yunshu did not hesitate at all and stepped down the steps, blocking the way for Zhou Yuan and his group.
Her tone was stern: "Junior Brother Zhou, bringing so many people to trespass into my Zuowangxue Pavilion, isn't that a bit too disrespectful of the rules? You should know very well that this is an absolute forbidden area where the Holy Maidens of the Supreme Dao Sect have secluded themselves for cultivation. According to the sect's ancestral rules, anyone who trespasses into the Holy Maiden's forbidden area without permission, regardless of their status, will have all their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the sect. Does your Enforcement Hall intend to openly defy the ancestral rules?"
Gu Yunshu never imagined that one day she would use these rules to oppress others and use them to seek personal gain.
Normally, this would be the kind of behavior she would despise the most.
Upon hearing Gu Yunshu bring up all sorts of "rules" and "ancestral precepts," the disciples of the Enforcement Hall all changed their expressions.
After all, the "Holy Maiden" held such a high position in the Supreme Dao Sect that they didn't even dare to glance at her.
Now, hearing these words, I'm really afraid that my cultivation will be crippled and I'll be expelled from the sect.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at their own leader.
Zhou Yuan stood at the very front, facing the pressure of the Nascent Soul stage released by the Holy Maiden, but his expression showed no panic.
He slowly put away the spirit stones in his hand and respectfully bowed to Gu Yunshu.
Although he was extremely polite, his slightly raised face was full of determination, and his words were neither humble nor arrogant, showing no sign of backing down.
"Senior Sister Gu, please forgive me. It is not that I, Zhou Yuan, intended to openly offend your place of cultivation, but today's matter is of utmost importance."
Zhou Yuan raised his head, looked directly into Gu Yunshu's eyes, and continued:
"The fall of a Nascent Soul stage expert has thoroughly alarmed the patriarchs of both sects. This not only concerns the reputation of my Supreme Dao Sect, but also the harmony and alliance between the two sects for the next few hundred years. Before leaving, the sect leader gave a strict order that no mountain or hidden place should be exempt from this inspection. Since the sect leader has given the order, we who are on duty can only obey. We hope that Senior Sister Gu can cooperate and not make things difficult for us."
Zhou Yuan didn't back down an inch, and the two stood facing each other at the door.
Faced with this scene, everyone else lowered their heads and dared not even breathe.
Gu Yunshu understood that if she continued to forcibly conceal the truth and refused to let them in for questioning at this point, it would only make her appear guilty.
This finally confirmed the suspicions of the other peaks that she had "secretly murdered people in order to resist the arranged marriage."
When that time comes, the sect leader will probably personally lead the elders of the main peak to forcibly break through the barrier here, and Cheng Xiao will not be able to hide either.
After pondering for a while, Gu Yunshu sighed and pretended to give up.
She withdrew her imposing aura and stepped aside to speak to Zhou Yuan, saying, "Since this is the sect leader's absolute order, I will naturally not make things difficult for you. You may go in to search, but at the end of this place lies an extremely cold ice pool that my Zuowang Snow Pavilion has accumulated over thousands of years. The cold air inside is so intense that ordinary cultivators simply cannot withstand it for long. If too many people go in and their meridians are destroyed by the cold air penetrating their bone marrow, I will not be responsible. For your safety, only one person can be sent in to explore at most. The rest of you must stay outside and wait."
Zhou Yuan heard that Gu Yunshu had made concessions and given reasonable reasons, and he did not push his luck.
He turned to the disciples behind him and gave them a few instructions, telling them to keep a close watch on the courtyard. Then he turned back to Gu Yunshu and said:
"Then we will do as Senior Sister says. Zhou Yuan will personally enter and explore, and will not disturb the other junior sisters' cultivation in the pavilion."
After saying that, Zhou Yuan took a step forward and passed by Gu Yunshu.
He gripped the "Spiritual Essence" tightly in his right hand and strode into the forbidden passage!
Just like the sect leader's suspicions, his years of law enforcement experience also made him suspicious.
The saintess must be hiding something!