Chapter 156

Regardless of how bitter Han Lin felt, he couldn’t make a sound in front of everyone.

After that, Yu Yi didn’t look at Han Lin again, but Han Lin felt that his every move was being controlled by this terrifying woman—not imprisoned, but manipulated like a puppet. His body no longer belonged to him, entirely at the mercy of Yu Yi’s whims.

She made him laugh, and he would laugh. She made him grimace, and he would show a villainous face.

Han Lin was the villain, and naturally, Yu Yi was the victim of the villain’s persecution.

She leaned beside Elder Song, softly narrating her experience, explaining how she managed to escape from the jade cave and how Han Lin, after the disciples of the academy left, revealed his true colors and forced her into submission.

Song Pianxian should believe her. Yu Yi carefully weighed her words. She had returned from transcending the tribulation from afar. At this point, her cultivation level was barely on par with Song Pianxian’s, but her face was still pale due to transcending two heavenly tribulations in a short period.

Meanwhile, Han Lin had secretly approached Nascent Divinity in recent years. Even if Song Pianxian knew about her Nascent Divinity cultivation, this explanation could still hold.

Yu Yi looked up at Song Pianxian with her pale face, and she noticed Song Pianxian’s gaze pause on her face.

Yu Yi gently fluttered her eyelashes, like fragile butterfly wings being moved by the wind.

Before Song Pianxian could speak, Elder Qin spoke first:

“In that case—this person is the mastermind behind the murders of Fellow Yu and Fellow Qiong Ling, Han Lin? He dares to lay hands on Yu Yi again, utterly insane.”

Elder Qin spoke firmly:

“This person, formerly known as Zhao Ge, has been hiding in our academy. With the truth revealed today, our academy cannot tolerate such wickedness and will not protect him. I leave his fate to Elder Song!”

Those who had inadvertently eaten the big melon and witnessed the scene, like Sun Han and others, hurriedly joined in:

“I noticed his suspicious behavior when we were in the Tianfeng Sect’s front line. I didn’t expect him to be such a despicable person.”

“There are no such disciples in the academy. It’s despicable. I trusted him to accompany Fairy Yu Yi, and he treated her like this, utterly lawless!”

…

The people of the academy condemned and shifted blame, immediately pushing Han Lin far away—joking aside, if Yu Yi redirected her anger at the academy, despite everyone’s cheerful demeanor, Elder Song could turn on them on the spot.

Elder Qin anxiously awaited Song Pianxian’s response, and after a while, he finally heard Song Pianxian’s reply.

“I’ll take this person back,” Song Pianxian flicked her sleeve, her brows sharp as blades, her voice unusually cold, “He says he was instructed by Qu Hang, so he must return to the sect to confront the matter.”

“Yes, that’s reasonable.”

Elder Qin responded, refraining from further discussion when it came to matters within Lingyun Sect.

He glanced at the slender girl protected by Song Pianxian by his side, feeling a sense of pity. If what Han Lin said was true, Lingyun Sect would surely undergo significant changes—

It was also unfortunate for Qu Hang; originally, Yu Yi’s life was already ruined, and if Han Lin hadn’t implicated Qu Hang, he wouldn’t have to fear the insignificant Yu Yi. He would have found a way to erase the traces.

But unfortunately, Yu Yi had this puppet who couldn’t be provoked. Not only was her cultivation superior to Qu Hang’s, but her reputation within the sect was also flourishing.

How could Qu Hang deal with such individuals…

The Heavenly Wind Conference was drawing to a close, with less than a day left.

Yu Yi and the little cat had already returned to the cave in the maze with her. When Qian Du heard that they had returned from exploring the maze, he quickly arrived.

Just as Qian Du arrived, Chu Feng, who had been the only one missing, finally appeared outside the cave. Interestingly, she was holding the Tianxue Silver Fox in her arms.

“Great, Master Chu has also returned. None of us were injured; it’s cause for celebration.”

“Huh, this fox is quite proud. It didn’t even let me touch it before, but now it’s behaving well in Master’s arms.”

“Is Manzhi not in the pouch of beast souls?” Song Pianxian raised an eyebrow, looking at Yu Yi.

She remembered Yu Yi saying that the Silver Fox had attached the remnant soul of her technique, so why was it now next to Chu Feng?

Before Yu Yi could respond, Chu Feng spoke coldly:

“I happened to meet Yu Yi’s beast soul in the Jade Cave, so we traveled together.”

Song Pianxian, thinking of Manzhi’s previous arrogant behavior, politely said:

“Manzhi has a stubborn personality. Many thanks to Master Chu for taking care of her.”

Master Chu Feng stood tall and clear, with a glimmer in her eyes, and chuckled:

“Stubborn? Sometimes she can be quite mischievous, but lately, she’s been quite obedient.”

As if to confirm her words, under everyone’s gaze, Chu Feng casually stroked the fox with fingers like leeks—

In the next moment, the fox shook its head, snapped at her hand, and then spat out twice.

“…”

How was this obedient?

Everyone graciously refrained from voicing their doubts, and they all sat down, recounting to Qian Du what they had seen and heard in the Snow Cold Jade Cave.

The accounts from the others were mostly similar, all being scattered by the surge of demonic cultivators and then eventually reuniting with companions before finding the decrepit palace where Song Pianxian was.

There were three peculiar cases.

First was Yu Yi, who returned alone from the cave.

Second was Chu Feng and the silver fox, who had not yet reunited with the others.

Lastly was Song Pianxian.

Surveying the cultivators, Song Pianxian solemnly mentioned the pile of bones of demonic cultivators at the foot of the mountain and the demonic cultivator she had encountered.

Elder Qin and the others looked shocked and chilled. Those demonic cultivators hadn’t died at the hands of Elder Song; they were all killed by another demonic cultivator?

Qian Du’s expression grew even graver:

“If they’re on par with Elder Song in strength, then they must be at Nascent Divinity stage—previously, we speculated that the one controlling the puppet shadows was either at Nascent Divinity or even higher. Now, it seems to be confirmed.”

“If a Nascent Divinity stage cultivator comes out openly, it’s not much to fear, but we don’t know how many more of these demonic cultivators there are, and what they’re planning by hiding… This matter must be reported to the other provinces.”

“After the Tianfeng Assembly, with the Immortal Palace about to open, it’s unavoidable to trouble you all to return to your sects and, together with the envoys sent out by our Tianfeng City, clarify the situation to the other provinces.”

Song Pianxian nodded in agreement:

“Of course, we were already planning to return to Lingyun Sect.”

Because Song Pianxian had previously agreed to lead the main team to the Beique Immortal Palace, Qian Du was puzzled: “Why is that?”

Song Pianxian casually replied, “Dealing with internal affairs.”

Cleaning up the house, wasn’t it just internal affairs?

As the great cultivators sat down to discuss matters, the ranking for the Tianfeng Assembly was also announced.

First place is still the team from Lingyun Sect, second is Liuyan Sect, and third, surprisingly, is not another celestial sect, but the team of Tang Miao, Song Pianxian’s disciple, and Qian Duoduo, the daughter of Qian Du. When the reporter came in, everyone couldn’t help but praise, “A famous teacher produces high-quality disciples, and a good father has no worthless sons.”

The seven-day Tianfeng Grand Assembly ended, and Song Pianxian came out of the maze with Yu Yi, returning to the villa in Tianfeng City to wait for the disciples to return.

This time, Song Pianxian went directly to the villa where Lingyun Sect was staying, and also sent a message to Tang Miao to come over together. After she and Yu Yi had a cup of warm tea, they heard the triumphant voices at the door.

“We, Lingyun Sect, are still the leaders, and thanks to Tang Miao, we got second place again. Not bad, not bad.”

“Taking the second place alone, hahaha.”

“Tang Miao, huh? How come I didn’t know you were a girl before? Even after coming out of the maze, you’re still like this. I have to admit, you look more handsome than before.”

“Who are you teasing, Yu Wei? If you keep doing this, I’ll have my dad kick you out of Tianfeng City.”

…

The noisy voices outside gradually quieted down as they approached, and if it weren’t for Song Pianxian’s divine consciousness exceeding their expectations, they probably wouldn’t even hear these things.

Before long, the speakers appeared in front of Song Pianxian.

“Mentor, we’ve lived up to your expectations.”

“Big Senior Sister.”

“Elder Song.”

“Well, everyone did a good job at the Tianfeng Assembly this time.”

Song Pianxian praised in a gentle voice, then saw the disciples below cheering like birds chirping happily after being praised. Song Pianxian smiled, then quickly changed her expression and got down to business.

“I’m taking Tang Miao with me. Do the rest of you want to come back with me?”

“Of course.” Elder Jiao was absent, but Zhang Shuhuai and Yu Wei, the two deputy leaders, immediately agreed in unison.

“Alright, let’s prepare and gather in an hour to return to Lingyun Sect,” said Song Pianxian.

“Why so sudden?”

Song Pianxian glanced over and saw that the one asking was not someone else, but Qian Duoduo, who tagged along for the internal meeting.

Seeing Qian Duoduo’s eager expression, Song Pianxian glanced at Tang Miao beside her. Was she reluctant to leave her friend? Song Pianxian explained, “There are urgent matters to attend to at Lingyun Sect. Qian Duoduo, if you have time in the future, you are welcome to visit Lingyun Sect.”

Qian Duoduo’s eyes lit up. “Can I? Is it okay if I come over tomorrow?”

Song Pianxian tactfully replied, “After the competition ends, if Qian Duoduo isn’t too tired, it’s certainly feasible.”

Before Qian Duoduo could say anything else, a female voice came from outside, “Why wasn’t I informed that we needed to hurry back to Lingyun Sect?”

“Internal affairs? When has Elder Song ever been involved in internal affairs? Lingyun Sect is well-organized from top to bottom. Elder Song has never bothered before, and I’m sure she won’t need to in the future. These mundane matters are taken care of by our family.”

The voice grew sharper with each sentence, and by the end, everyone was frowning and looking at each other.

“Is that… Senior Sister Qu?”

Sitting upright at the head of the main hall, Song Pianxian saw Qu Xirong striding in with a proud smile, speaking as if she was wary of Song Pianxian seizing power.

As Qu Xirong entered, she pushed past the others and stood in front of Tang Miao and the others. Her voice was firm, “Regardless of anything else, when we came out, the elders’ discussion was to wait for the Beique Immortal Palace to open in Tianfeng City. Even disciples without quotas can discuss Dao in Tianfeng City. You changed the schedule without any reason. How can you gain the trust of everyone?”

Qu Xirong displayed the aura of a sect leader’s daughter to the fullest, but in Song Pianxian’s eyes, it was rather comical.

Song Pianxian raised an eyebrow, looked at her calmly, and said lightly:

“Does it concern you how I handle things?”

This sentence carried a hint of pressure from the Nascent Soul stage, directed solely at Qu Xirong, causing her legs to give out as if they had been broken, unable to straighten her waist.

Song Pianxian recalled the scene she had seen from Han Lin’s mind. Yes, Qu Xirong hadn’t gone to the Yunzhou Secret Realm, but it was her seduction with beauty and benefits that had led Han Lin to agree to help Qu Xirong and clear obstacles for her.

One was driven by greed, the other by jealousy. What did Yu Qing and Qiong Ling do to deserve this? What did the innocent and naive Yu Yi do at that time?

Qu Xirong’s legs were completely broken, bent abnormally, her upper body pressed tightly to the ground by the pressure, her former elegance in front of her disciples completely gone, revealing her true ugly side.

Yet no one dared to speak up for her. In this world where strength was revered, no one would speak up for a low-level cultivator who had offended a high-level one, especially an elder’s disciple.

Not to mention the deep anger on Song Pianxian’s face at this moment, with everyone below silent, heads bowed, afraid to make a sound.

“Alright.”

Yu Yi’s soft voice melted the icy atmosphere.

The little cat dashed to Song Pianxian’s legs, leaped onto her knees, and rolled around, acting cute.

Song Pianxian paused, raised her hand to scratch the little cat’s chin.

Tang Miao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness for Senior Sister Yu Yi. Otherwise, when the master is angry, no one dares to say a word, let alone persuade her.

Song Pianxian pinched the soft plum cushion of the little cat, feeling a bit relieved in her heart. She lowered her eyes and looked at Qu Xirong lying prone like a frog below:

“You said Qu Hang was handling internal affairs…”

She smiled without warmth.

“But when I return to the sect, it will be to deal with Qu Hang — no, with your Qu Family.”

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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