Chapter Thirty-Six: Blade Against Blade

It must be said that Han Jie's proposal was somewhat tempting to Jiang Heng.

Compared to the ill-omened individuals at Snow Crane Peak, the cultivators of the Medicine Hall were clearly much more likable. Han Jie was a very congenial senior brother, and Uncle Ji was a gentle and affectionate elder. Even the other disciples treated her with relative friendliness, not looking at her differently because of the rumors surrounding Snow Crane Peak. Furthermore, if she became a member of the Medicine Hall, it would be far more justifiable to purchase large quantities of spiritual herbs in the future, providing much more room to maneuver.

A glimmer of anticipation surfaced in Jiang Heng’s eyes as she whispered, "I would be very happy to, but what about my Master..."

Immortal Lord Yunyin was a very arrogant man who looked down upon everyone. Even if he no longer favored Jiang Heng as his disciple, if she were to take the initiative to sever the master-disciple relationship, it would undoubtedly be a slap in the face, and the outcome would be hard to predict.

Han Jie stopped using telepathy at this point and said, "If you have this intention, leave everything else to me. I will handle it properly."

Jiang Heng blossomed with a faint smile and nodded. Han Jie’s gaze was gentle as he smiled and stroked her hair—a gesture of intimacy that made it seem as though her status as his junior sister was already a certainty.

Although Xia Zhiyu had come to this side out of spite, he could not control himself and was paying close attention to the situation between Jiang Heng and the others. Cultivators naturally possessed remarkable divine sense, and since he was intentionally keeping watch, he heard their conversation clearly. He could not hear the key points Han Jie had obscured with telepathy, but based on Jiang Heng’s replies and his own understanding of Han Jie, Xia Zhiyu was certain that this man was definitely up to no good! Otherwise, why would there be things that couldn't be said directly and had to be kept from them? It was a transparent cover-up!

Moreover, why was he touching Jiang Heng? Was she his junior sister? He had the nerve to stroke her hair. The more Xia Zhiyu looked at Han Jie, the more displeased he became, but the current situation was not suitable for an argument, so he had to suppress his irritation. Once this incident was over, he would find an opportunity to have a good talk with Han Jie. Were there no female junior disciples in the Medicine Hall? Why was he so covetous of someone else’s junior sister?

As Xia Zhiyu was seething with anger, he suddenly froze. Why was he so angry? That shouldn't be.

It was not until nightfall that Peak Master Xu finished slaughtering all the unseen things on the mountain and captured the little old man who had been hiding on the sidelines watching the spectacle. Already ill-tempered, and having suffered greatly because of this person—who was also a demonic cultivator—Peak Master Xu unceremoniously shattered the old man’s chest with a palm strike and broke his limbs, leaving him screaming and rolling on the ground.

"Audacious demonic cultivator, when exactly did you discern our identities?" Peak Master Xu demanded sternly.

The little old man was only at the Golden Core stage. All the cultivators from the Myriad Spirit Sect on this trip were at the Golden Core stage or above, and with his own Nascent Soul cultivation helping to cast spells of concealment, they should not have been discovered.

The little old man laughed eerily while screaming, his expression sinister: "A bunch of ants, daring to play tricks in front of our Lost Moon Palace! A piece of trash like me, a Qi-refining stage cultivator nearing the end of his lifespan, being able to trade for so many of you—it’s a profit, a massive profit!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present felt their pupils contract. The little old man was clearly a Golden Core cultivator; why did he claim to be at the Qi-refining stage? At a time like this, there seemed to be no need to lie. Peak Master Xu, however, extracted a crucial piece of information from these words and his heart skipped a beat! He was about to use his methods to interrogate the old man’s soul, but he saw the man’s neck go limp, his eyes close, and his breath cease.

"Master, he used his internal energy to commit suicide!" a disciple beside Peak Master Xu exclaimed in alarm.

Peak Master Xu immediately attempted to extract his soul, only to find that the soul had dissipated within the corpse, leaving nothing to be retrieved. Disaster. Judging by what the man had just said, this mountain was strange, and they had walked into an ambush!

Peak Master Xu spread his divine sense to scan the surroundings, only to find that when his sense reached the foot of the mountain, it was firmly repelled and could not extend any further. His face sank immediately. As a battle-crazed cultivator and a Nascent Soul expert, his divine sense was always sharp and fierce; there were few barriers he could not break through. What kind of mechanism was on this mountain that it first produced monsters even he could not see, and now could even block his divine sense?

Peak Master Xu flew to the foot of the mountain himself, and upon confirming that he could not get out either, he immediately sent out a sound-transmission talisman, ordering the others to rush over with all speed.

Once the members of the Myriad Spirit Sect were gathered, Peak Master Xu recounted what had happened and asked Han Jie if he had any ideas.

Han Jie pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, when we were at the Prefect’s Mansion, I felt something was odd. I rarely misjudge, but I failed to see that the Sixth Young Master was a Nascent Soul cultivator. Combining this with the man’s words, it seems they used some technique to rapidly increase their cultivation level in a short time, and by two levels at that."

Two levels! Upon hearing this, several people present felt their composure slip. They were currently at the Golden Core stage; if they were to jump two levels, that would mean...

Huo Shiqing’s focus, however, was on something else. He looked coldly at Han Jie: "This demonic cultivator clearly knew about the anomalies at the Prefect’s Mansion long ago and intentionally played along, sacrificing his life to wipe us all out. In other words, this matter is all thanks to you. You didn't handle the previous demonic cultivator well, which alerted this so-called Lost Moon Palace and caused us to be trapped here."

Back when the little old man had spoken about screening people, Huo Shiqing had felt something was wrong. Demonic cultivators never followed an elite training path; they took in any stray dog, so how could they possibly complain about having too many people with spiritual roots? The miasma on the mountain was so thick that those mortals who had spiritual roots but had not yet embarked on the path of cultivation could not last long; it was clearly a method to filter out the righteous cultivators lurking among them. Now, combined with the clues from Peak Master Xu, his conjecture was correct: the demonic cultivator had intended to take them down with him from the start!

Han Jie thought for a moment and said, "I am certain that I did not give that demonic cultivator any opportunity to send word, and I checked his cave dwelling as well. Combined with the memories in his consciousness, those days were not a period for contact; there was no possibility of a leak."

Huo Shiqing sneered: "Then you tell me, how did this person find out about it and set a trap for us to walk into? As a Golden Core cultivator, how dare you speak such grand words, claiming you didn't give a Nascent Soul cultivator a chance to leak information! It is clear that you bungled the mission but didn't dare to take responsibility, and in your greed for merit and fame, you dragged everyone down with you, didn't you?"

The atmosphere froze instantly. Peak Master Xu frowned as he looked at the two juniors, opening his mouth but not knowing which side to take. Snow Crane Peak was a prestigious and influential peak in the Myriad Spirit Sect, Immortal Lord Yunyin was the sect’s top expert, and his disciples were mostly not to be trifled with; they were the hardest people in the sect to offend. However, old Ji from the Medicine Hall had a good personal relationship with him, and he had been saved by old Ji several times when he was severely injured. How could he, out of fear for the prestige of Snow Crane Peak, side with others against old Ji’s disciple?