Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 33 Life hangs on a thread

In the palace.

The jade floor tiles reflected a cold light. Zhang Guangyuan, the head of the Foreign Affairs Hall, sat in the main seat, flanked by elders with solemn expressions.

Song Yan's gray robe was stained with dust, and his spiritual energy was weak and unstable.

"Outer disciple Song Yesheng..."

Zhang Guangyuan spoke slowly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"The disciple is here."

"Now that all the elders are gathered here, please tell me about the secret realm from the beginning."

As soon as Xu Ziqing received the news, he returned from Jiran Valley with Qin Ying and Lu Ziye.

His expression remained calm as he added, "Wang Xi, a disciple of the Xuan Yuan Sect, died in the secret realm, and two disciples of the Ling Fu Sect also died."

"All of my Dongyuan Sect disciples who were caught up in it survived."

"Shao Sichao had already returned to the sect, but he knew nothing about what had happened in the secret realm."

"You must tell me everything you have seen and heard, and all matters truthfully."

"Otherwise, if the elders of the Xuan Yuan Sect come to demand your return in the future, we won't be able to protect you."

Xu Ziqing's early return to the clan will inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives, and it's only a matter of time before the news of Song Yansheng's return to the clan is leaked.

"Yes."

Song Yan paused slightly, her thoughts shifting slightly.

He originally thought that the sect would not risk antagonizing the Xuan Yuan Sect for the sake of an insignificant outer disciple like himself.

However, it now seems that the actual situation is somewhat different.

Perhaps it's because Dongyuan Sect was already penniless and unwilling to sacrifice resources for trivial matters?

He gritted his teeth and decided to tell a half-truth and a half-lies about his life-or-death battle with Wang Xi.

Song Yan lowered his eyes.

The story unfolds gradually, recounting the scheme devised by the Xuan Yuan Sect, Wang Xi's pursuit, Wan Songran's plot, and the final desperate battle, while concealing the secrets of the Taotie Flute and the seed of swordsmanship.

With a slight embellishment, he described Wang Xi's main target as Wan Songran of the Lingfu Sect, while he himself became a secondary character in the battle to kill Wang Xi.

“Wan Songran of the Lingfu Sect is a disciple of the Wan family. Although his cultivation level is only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, he has a secret technique for gathering spirits that can temporarily enhance his combat power.”

"He then joined forces with his disciple and barely managed to kill Wang Xi."

Finally, he coughed lightly, his voice weak: "In order to protect myself, I had no choice but to forcefully activate my spiritual power, which damaged my foundation. I was also seriously injured by Wang Xi, and my cultivation level... has fallen to the first level of Qi Refining."

"Wan Songran originally wanted to kill me to silence me, but he was already seriously injured and on his deathbed, so we each took a step back and left on our own."

"How he died, I do not know."

"..."

An eerie silence fell over the hall.

The elders in the hall exchanged glances, their expressions varying.

"Hmph!" One of the elders, whom Song Yan had never seen before, snorted angrily, breaking the silence, and immediately cursed, "These bastards from the Xuan Yuan Sect, born of mothers but raised without mothers!"

Elder Luo! Be careful what you say.

Zhang Guangyuan stopped Elder Luo Haonan from cursing.

"Wang Xi has the cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining, and as you said, he also possesses powerful magic weapons and talismans. He should be able to kill you without breaking a sweat..."

Yang Wenxuan's eyes gleamed: "How did you assist the Wan family disciples in killing Wang Xi?"

Song Yan felt a chill run down her spine, but remained expressionless.

"I didn't exert much effort; I only assisted from the sidelines."

"Moreover, my spiritual sense is slightly stronger than that of ordinary people, and before I lost my cultivation, I had some insights into several spells."

Now that he has "lost all his cultivation," what happened before is up to Song Yan himself to decide.

This is a benefit that no outer sect disciple pays attention to.

"Divine consciousness..."

Yang Wenxuan pondered for a moment, but Xu Ziqing spoke up.

"Indeed, Song Yesheng, an outer disciple, has mediocre spiritual root aptitude but surpasses ordinary people in spiritual sense, and has also made some achievements in alchemy."

Song Yan was puzzled as to how this elder knew all this, but at this moment, he was overjoyed that someone was speaking up for him.

"Elder Zhang!"

The disciple outside the gate requested an audience with the emperor.

"Shen Yu, the External Affairs Elder of Xuan Yuan Sect, and Zheng Xinzhi and Chang Ziyi, the Deacons, have come to visit with several disciples!"

Zhang Guangyuan and Xu Ziqing exchanged a glance.

"They came really fast..."

……

Zhang Guangyuan, along with several elders, left Longshou Peak and flew to the mountain gate entrance platform.

At this moment, many disciples and deacons gathered nearby, watching from afar what was happening in the entrance hall.

Zhang Guangyuan said loudly, "Elder Shen, it's been a long time..." Shen Yu raised a hand, interrupting Zhang Guangyuan.

"Elder Zhang, there's no need to beat around the bush. We've come here today simply to demand an explanation."

Shen Yu was in a bad mood.

As the external affairs elder of the Xuan Yuan Sect, he has seen which sect not be taken advantage of by them over the years.

This plan actually has nothing to do with the Xuan Yuan Sect; it's purely his own desire to obtain a spiritual vein from another sect.

As the external affairs elder of the Xuan Yuan Sect, everyone knew the truth about this.

After all that hard work, before they could even reap any benefits from either sect, one of their own disciples had already been killed.

He just couldn't understand how that good-for-nothing Wang Xi had died in that secret realm.

“My disciple Wang Xi died, and two disciples of the Lingfu Sect also perished in the secret realm, yet two disciples of your Dongyuan Sect are still alive and well.”

Xu Ziqing smiled and said, "The matter of cultivating immortality is inherently unpredictable. If one dies and one's cultivation dissipates, one can only blame one's own insufficient strength and cannot blame others."

"..."

"That's natural, but..."

"The surviving disciples of the Lingfu Sect confessed that they saw Song Yesheng, a disciple of the Dongyuan Sect, acting suspiciously in the secret realm, and secretly following my disciple Wang Xi."

"Wang Xi is at the eighth level of Qi Refining. If he acts cautiously, he will be safe..."

"Therefore, we suspect that Wang Xi's death may be related to Song Yesheng!"

"If he truly has a clear conscience, it would be better to have him come out and confront him face to face."

Song Yan slowly walked out from the crowd and bowed to the several Xuan Yuan Sect elders who were suspended in the air.

Just as he was about to speak, Xu Ziqing interrupted him.

“We have already questioned him and learned about the situation in the secret realm.”

Song Yan was surprised, wondering what Elder Xu was up to.

Xu Ziqing's face was filled with grief: "Who could have known that there would be several late-stage first-tier demonic beasts in that secret realm?"

“Nephew Wang Xi, seeing injustice on the road, fought against many monsters to cover Song Yesheng and Wan Songran’s escape, and finally died from exhaustion.”

"Elder Shen, rest assured, our Dongyuan Sect will forever remember nephew Wang Xi's righteous act!"

This……

Song Yan was stunned and speechless for a moment.

“My disciple Song Yesheng was injured by a demon beast during the battle. Although he managed to escape, he has now lost all his cultivation and will find it difficult to attain immortality.”

"..."

Song Yan remained silent, only filled with sorrow.

He thought to himself that his fabricated story was still too conservative.

"What nonsense!"

"That secret realm is small and shallow, where would a late-stage first-tier demonic beast come from?!"

"Elder Shen, you haven't even entered the secret realm, how can you make such a judgment?"

Xu Ziqing couldn't help but ask in return.

"Could it be that you already knew about the situation in this secret realm?"

Shen Yu was taken aback, then his face darkened.

Sometimes he would think about whether he could return to his sect, invite several Golden Core elders to come out of seclusion together, and then wipe out the Dongyuan Sect in one fell swoop.

Such ungrateful little sects are truly infuriating.

"I don't want to waste my breath on you. Let this kid surnamed Song hand over his Qiankun bag. If it doesn't contain anything from Wang Xi, then there's nothing to worry about."

"Otherwise...hum."

Behind him, another Xuan Yuan Sect elder stepped forward slightly.

"You're pushing your luck!" Xu Ziqing laughed instead of getting angry: "The path of cultivation is against the will of Heaven. Who doesn't have their own secret treasures and spiritual objects?"

"Do my sect disciples want you to inspect their Qiankun bags?"

"Does the Xuan Yuan Sect think that my Dong Yuan Sect is easy to bully?!"

"Ho..."

Shen Yu's spiritual energy surged, and he had no intention of getting entangled with the people of Dongyuan Sect. His spiritual pressure suddenly exploded.

"Yes... so what?"

boom!
Three immense spiritual pressures erupted simultaneously, their late-stage Foundation Establishment power sweeping across the land like a collapsing mountain, directly threatening Song Yan.

"Is Elder Shen planning to make a move within my Dongyuan Sect?"

Xu Ziqing flicked his sleeve, shielding Song Yan behind him.

For some reason, Shen Yu couldn't see a trace of worry or fear in his expression.

Xu Ziqing's lips even curled into a fanatical smile.

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(End of this chapter)