Chapter 477: Suspicion (Premium Bonus Update)

The black gale qi scattered, and Qian Kuan was dead beyond any possibility of revival.

Snatching up the beast-skin pouch that had fallen to the ground, Xu Yang wasted no time, grabbed Qian Kuan's corpse, and rushed toward the distance.

After sprinting continuously for two quarters of an hour until he encountered a bottomless cave, he finally tossed the already looted corpse into the hole.

He began to circle around the Fire Valley, and after circling for a quarter of an hour, he stopped at a hidden spot.

"So much spirit iron!"

He opened the beast-skin pouch and saw it contained more than ten or twenty pieces of spirit iron of various sizes, all of them refined; judging by the quantity, it was enough to forge two spirit weapons.

"The Xuelian Sect has finally made a wedding dress for me this time, but with my cultivation base exposed, I fear trouble is coming."

He did not intend to hand these spirit irons back; these were things he had snatched from the hands of the Xuelian Sect's demons, so naturally they were his.

"The items are good, their value is immeasurable, but I cannot use them or sell them for now; I can only use them after I learn to forge spirit weapons."

There is also a half-spirit weapon!

The blade carried on Qian Kuan's back was also a half-spirit weapon, but he was unsure whether this blade belonged to Qian Kuan himself or was a trophy obtained from the Third Senior Brother or Fourth Senior Brother, so it could not be shown in public for the time being.

Had he not ambushed and killed Qian Kuan, it would inevitably have been a bitter battle.

Finding a hidden place that was easy to remember, Xu Yang dug a deep pit to bury these spirit irons and the half-spirit weapon, intending to retrieve them later.

Immediately after, he made himself look wretched, even gritting his teeth to strike himself once with his palm, and used Yun Gong to force blood from his mouth.

Just as he finished these preparations, the sound of signal fireworks exploding came from the direction of the Earth Vein Fire Valley.

He did not rush over immediately; he checked the silver notes he had felt, which amounted to about one thousand taels, not much.

The elixir in that bottle, he could not identify.

"Boom!"

Another explosion came from the direction of the Earth Vein Fire Valley, so he slowly got up and headed toward the Fire Valley from another direction.

"If everyone is dead, then no one should know about my Bone Marrow Cleansing reaching the small success stage; I will act according to the situation when the time comes."

After walking for a while, the sound of wind breaking came from the forest, and two figures appeared before his eyes.

"You actually didn't die!"

The newcomers turned out to be Lu Ren, and the other was Yang Song, who lived next door to him; seeing that Xu Yang was still alive, both were greatly shocked.

When they arrived at the Earth Vein Fire Valley, they saw corpses strewn everywhere and thought everyone was dead.

Xu Yang's face was pale, with blood at the corner of his mouth, and he bitterly smiled, saying, "I almost died."

Lu Ren's gaze was cold: "Do you know what direction the people of the Xuelian Sect fled to?"

Xu Yang shook his head: "I was chased by an expert, and after shaking him off, I hid."

Lu Ren nodded: "You return to the Earth Vein Fire Valley yourself; we still need to search for enemy traces, and that place is safe now."

Xu Yang spoke in a deep voice: "How many people survived?"

Yang Song sighed and said, "Currently, only you are alive; your Third Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, and Zhuang Tao are all dead."

After parting with the two, Xu Yang rushed all the way to the Earth Vein Fire Valley and, from a distance, saw Gao Lin with his robes stained with blood, sitting alone in the Fire Valley.

Behind him was a row of neatly arranged corpses.

Xu Yang counted and found there were twenty-three corpses in total, meaning that apart from him, everyone was dead.

"Junior Brother Xu, it is so good that you are still alive." Seeing Xu Yang, Gao Lin showed a smile uglier than crying.

Twenty-three people, a full twenty-three people died; only Xu Yang was missing, and this time it was a complete annihilation.

Besides the twenty-three lives, the spirit iron used as bait was also all taken away; the Ziyang Sect suffered heavy losses.

"Is your injury alright?"

Xu Yang shook his head: "My injury will heal with a few days of rest; Senior Brother Gao, how did it come to this?"

Gao Lin showed a bitter smile: "My Master and I were actually hiding nearby; seeing you send the signal, we came immediately, but unfortunately these plans were all seen through by the people of the Xuelian Sect; they sent a Lotus Envoy of the Heavenly Origin Realm."

Xu Yang was simply speechless; to the Xuelian Sect, the Ziyang Sect was like a sieve; the plan formulated by Elder Elder Huoyun was easily exposed, and so many people died.

"Lotus Envoy!"

His heart stirred; when the black-robed Blood Envoy who had reached the Bone Marrow Cleansing great success stage appeared, the other person had said he was an object that the Lotus Envoy had ordered must be killed.

"Where is Master? Is he alright? Did he kill that Lotus Envoy?" Xu Yang asked with concern.

Gao Lin shook his head: "How easy is it to kill a Lotus Envoy? Master was injured and has already returned to the Zong Sect to recuperate."

Xu Yang was greatly shocked; was the Lotus Envoy so fierce? Even Elder Elder Huoyun was injured.

After talking for a while longer, Gao Lin said, "Junior Brother Xu, tell me the Shi Qing De Jing of this matter in detail so I can report to the Zong Sect upon returning."

Xu Yang's heart sank, and he realized.

Out of twenty-four people, only he survived; the Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother who had reached the Bone Marrow Cleansing great success stage were dead, while he, who had only reached the Bone Marrow Cleansing small success stage, was not dead; he might be suspected of being allied with the Xuelian Sect.

"The ones who were first attacked were the Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother hiding in the dark; Senior Brother Zhuang Tao and I heard the sound of their fighting and ran out from the fire hole; soon a group of people also appeared here and fought with us."

Apart from his own cultivation base, Xu Yang spoke completely according to the real situation: "I killed one of their experts, thinking I could turn the tide, but they sent another expert; I was no match for the opponent."

Reinforcements were late in arriving, and at this time the Fourth Senior Brother also suffered heavy injuries; Senior Brother Zhuang Tao and I broke through and fled for our lives.

I fled into the forest and finally shook off the expert of the Xuelian Sect; as for what happened afterward, I do not know.

By the way, where is that corpse?"

Gao Lin shook his head: "It should have been taken away."

When they arrived here, they indeed found a place with bloodstains, but there was no corpse; what Xu Yang said indeed matched the situation they saw when they came.

He believed Xu Yang was not a hidden agent of the Xuelian Sect, but whether the sect elders would believe him upon reporting was something he did not know.

Two who reached Bone Marrow Cleansing great success, one who reached Bone Marrow Cleansing small success, including Brother Qiao Yong who was the first among the Ten Heroes of the Outer Sect; this time three of the Outer Sect Ten Heroes died, along with a batch of spirit iron.

The sect elders might look for someone to take the blame.

The two waited for about an hour, and the disciples who went to search for enemy traces, including Lu Ren, returned one by one, finding nothing.

A large pit was dug, Brother Qiao Yong and others were buried on the spot, and the group returned to the Ziyang Sect.

That day, the entire Ziyang Sect was shaken; everyone learned that a group of people from the sect had died.

The outer disciples did not know what had happened, but they knew that, including Brother Qiao Yong, three of the Ten Young Talents had died at once, totaling eighteen outer disciples dead.

"Fortunately, we listened to Senior Brother Xu."

When Qiu Qiu Wenjie and Tian Li heard this news, they felt a chill run down their spines and nearly wet themselves from fear.

Eighteen people, not eighteen pigs, simply died.

If Xu Yang had not persuaded them to stop, they would have died too.

"... This is the entire account that Junior Brother Xu gave."

In the Zhanglaodadian, Gao Lin repeated Xu Yang's words.

Elder Elder Huoyun's face was deathly pale, his breath weak; he said softly, "How much of what he said do you think is true?"

Gao Lin said, "This disciple believes Junior Brother Xu did not speak falsely; what he said matches the situation I investigated."

"You do not think he is a hidden agent of the Xuelian Sect? So many people died, including your Third Junior Brother and Fourth Junior Brother, yet he, a newcomer to the Marrow-Cleansing stage, survived. Do you not think that is too coincidental?"

Gao Lin sighed inwardly; his Master truly had begun to suspect something was wrong with Junior Brother Xu.

"This disciple does not believe Junior Brother Xu is a hidden agent. He has always been cautious and meticulous; he likely survived by fleeing first. If he truly were someone from the Xuelian Sect, the Xuelian Sect would not be so foolish as to leave only him alive, making us suspect him."

"Moreover, he hardly ever leaves the Zong Sect; this is not something a hidden agent would do."

Elder Elder Huoyun paused: "Those words do have some merit. However, whether he is a hidden agent of the Xuelian Sect will soon be revealed. Keep an eye on him recently."

Gao Lin was startled: "Master's meaning is..."

Killing intent seeped from Elder Elder Huoyun's eyes: "The Sect Master is furious and has already sent someone to invite the Peak Master of the Beast King Peak to break his seclusion. The Xuelian Sect has killed many of our Ziyang Sect members in succession; do they truly think that by hiding in a gutter, the Ziyang Sect cannot do anything to them?"

Hearing this, Gao Lin's spirits soared greatly: "With the Peak Master of the Beast King Peak intervening, these beasts will have nowhere to hide."

Elder Elder Huoyun waved his hand: "This matter must not be revealed to outsiders. You may leave now; go and give Xu Yang the contribution points he is owed."

Gao Lin nodded, clasped his hands, and exited the Zhanglaodadian.

"Xu Yang, it's that beast again!"

In a certain cave in the Yunling Mountain Range, Zhang Sai looked at Li Shao's corpse, whose head was only half left, and ground his teeth in fury.