After the mind-reading cripple junior sister, the entire sect rose to prominence.

Chapter 101 Soul Search
When Zhao Ning was suddenly blocked by these people, she was stunned, and then her expression turned strange.

What terrible luck she has! How did she end up running into so many powerful figures from various sects all at once?

"Zhao Ning greets all seniors."

She quickly bowed respectfully, and then stepped aside to let them pass.

but--

She had been keeping her head down for a while, but when she realized that the footsteps in front of her weren't moving at all, she realized something was wrong.

"Zhao Ning, come with us."

She looked up in surprise.

A moment later, Zhao Ning was led to a private room in the nearest teahouse.

The four garden owners sat at the table, while she was the only one standing. The oppressive aura emanating from them made her tremble with fear.

However, Zhao Ning was no ordinary person. Aside from her initial confusion and uncertainty, she quickly took the initiative to ask for the reason.

"I wonder if the four garden owners have something to discuss with me?"

"Zhao Ning, do you know your crime!"

With a bang, the owner of the garden slammed his hand on the table.

He didn't use any spiritual energy at all, but the table still couldn't withstand the force and developed cracks.

"Master, what crime have I committed? Please enlighten me!"

Zhao Ning clasped his hands in a fist and asked, his back ramrod straight.

What happened to the master of the garden? She was certain that she hadn't done anything wrong recently. Even if she had, her master had already punished her. It was definitely not something that would attract these four great gods!
"Alright, still being stubborn! Hand over Quanling now!"

Zhao Ning was stunned. "Spring Spirit? What Spring Spirit?"

"You're still pretending! If it weren't for sending the Spring Spirit away, why would you suddenly leave the Nine Nether Spring ahead of schedule!"

Zhao Ning cried out that she was wronged, "I came out early because someone came looking for me, and I needed to give him something..."

"What is that? Is it the Spring Spirit?!"

"No, it's not the Spring Spirit..." The words "Spring Spirit" were clearly uttered, and Zhao Ning slowly realized what it meant, so her reaction was particularly intense. "How could I possibly have a Spring Spirit? I just wanted to send some materials to that person and ask him to make a magic artifact for me!"

That person was too arrogant and had a strange temper. She tried to contact him for a long time, but he couldn't find the time, only saying that he would contact her when he was free.

It was that person who suddenly sent her a telepathic message while she was cultivating today, saying that he had arrived and that she should go out quickly.

She then hurriedly left the Nine Nether Spring, and just as she was about to leave, she remembered that she had left something behind in the cave. So she went back first, retrieved the item, and then went to see him.

And Quanling...

The Nine Nether Spring has actually come to life!
Judging from the current attitude of the garden master, the spring spirit has still disappeared?!

No, she can't carry such a heavy burden; she has to explain it clearly.

"Who, what materials, what ritual implements, who can prove it?" The owner of the garden asked several questions in succession.

Zhao Ning opened her mouth, but her face slowly turned pale.

"This concerns my personal matters, so please forgive me for not being able to speak of it." Zhao Ning clenched her fist. "But I absolutely do not have the courage, nor the ability, to take Quanling away!"

The materials she provided and the items she was going to make were all secrets and absolutely could not be revealed to anyone. Otherwise, not only would she be in danger, but her whole family would be in trouble!
That's why she only dared to seek out that one weapon refiner. Although he had a bad temper, at least he would keep secrets and was very principled.

"You still say you don't know? You clearly know about the existence of the Spring Spirit, otherwise why would you say those two words so fluently!" Zhao Ning's eyes widened. "No, it's because you kept mentioning the Spring Spirit that I started saying it too..."

"Still trying to quibble!"

"Alright, stop wasting time talking to her. Two of you go find the person she just met, and the other two take her back to the sect to search her soul!"

……

Inside the Qingyue Sect, almost every place within the sect was searched. Several disciples were found to be using treasures to conceal their true cultivation level, pretending to be weak while actually being strong.

However, none of the suspicious individuals hiding Quanling appeared.

This alone is not enough to anger the Qingyue Sect's higher-ups, because they consider Zhao Ning to be the most suspicious person, and she is also the one who best fits the criteria so far.

But to everyone's surprise, after Zhao Ning brought her back, she refused to confess, claiming that she was innocent and that she had no idea that Quan had become a spirit.

Reasonable persuasion failed, and the matter was of great importance. In order to get Zhao Ning to talk and learn the truth from her, at the suggestion of Master Qin Kunyuan, it was finally decided to perform a soul search on her.

The art of soul searching should not be used lightly, because those who have been searched will either die or become mentally impaired. Unless it is confirmed that they are guilty, using this method is too contrary to the will of Heaven.

However, in the eyes of the Qingyue Sect's higher-ups, they had a compelling reason to do it, because they had to do it in order to find out the traitor in the sect. Moreover, Zhao Ning was the most suspicious person, so who else could it be but her?

Zhao Ning never expected that Qingyue Sect, a prestigious and righteous sect, would use a soul-searching technique on its own disciples. Her heart sank, and she began to argue her case.

She was never one to be trifled with; she always had a strong personality within the sect, and she wasn't good at arguing with people, preferring instead to settle things with a sword.

However, the sword-drawing move was completely useless against several of her seniors, so she could only explain and defend herself.

But no one believed her.

Seeing that she was about to be subjected to the soul-searching technique, she couldn't care less about anything else and quickly revealed the secret of the materials and magical artifacts—

If she were to face a soul search, the secret would be impossible to keep even if she didn't tell, and she would end up completely involved.

It turned out that it was a weapon-refining method passed down from her ancestors, but it contained a very special material—

It requires thirty-seven drops of blood from different people of the same cultivation level!

Only in this way can the magical artifacts be forged to be stronger.

"What? Using human blood to forge weapons?" Sure enough, the sect leader and the garden masters all changed their expressions after hearing this.

"I didn't kill anyone! I carefully collected that blood, taking it from the sword during a duel," Zhao Ning hurriedly explained. "They're all still alive; I didn't kill a single person!"

But after hearing her words, those people did not believe her.

"Who knows if you're just making up this excuse to avoid the soul search?" Qin Kun sneered. "This concerns the Spring Spirit, which is the foundation of our Qingyue Sect. It cannot be lost, so we can't just believe your side of the story!"

“You’re right. Whether it’s true or false, we can find out by searching the soul.” The sect leader nodded.

Compared to Quanling, what is a disciple's life? If she really helps them find Quanling, then that is her blessing.

"I'll do it myself," Qin Kun said, stepping forward and extending his hand.

"Do not--"

Zhao Ning was shocked and cried out in agony.

A moment later, Qin Kun withdrew his hand, but the expression on his face was far from pleasant.

(End of this chapter)