Chapter 189

Shiziwen raised his head to meet Lu Xiangxiang's pleading gaze, he pressed his lips together, just as he was about to speak.

"Wait——" Yuan Yao suddenly spoke up to interrupt.

Then, Yuan Yao took out a sound stone from her storage space.

She directly played its contents.

Shiziwen: "Senior Sister Lu."

Lu Xiangxiang: "Junior Brother Shi, did you manage to buy the Detox Pill, the Crimson Secret Pill, and the One-Qi Heart-Protecting Pill?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present recognized Lu Xiangxiang's voice, and the other youth's voice must be Shiziwen's!

The crowd's expressions were complex; they now realized something, and they stared intently at the sound stone in Yuan Yao's hand, continuing to listen.

Lu Xiangxiang's face changed instantly; she never expected Yuan Yao to be so cunning, secretly recording her and Shiziwen's conversation!

As it turned out—

Shiziwen did not betray himself!

Lu Xiangxiang was anxious as fire; she wanted to destroy the sound stone in Yuan Yao's hand, but doing so would clearly show she felt guilty!

She needed to calm down!

She needed to devise a plan!

The sound stone continued to emit sound:

"Yes, I took advantage of yesterday's day off to leave the sect and bought these pills for you." After a pause, Shiziwen's voice sounded again: "Rest assured, I wore a mask; no one recognized me. Here are the remaining spirit stones, returning them to you."

Lu Xiangxiang: "Thank you, Shiziwen."

Shiziwen: "This Crimson Secret Pill... is a poison pill, Senior Sister Lu, what do you intend to use it for?"

Lu Xiangxiang: "If I say... I want to poison her, would you think I am a ruthless and vicious person?"

Shiziwen: "She deserves it."

Lu Xiangxiang: "After the Ninth Province sect competition ends, I will no longer stay in the Carefree Sect; will you leave with me?"

Shiziwen: "Where to?"

Lu Xiangxiang: "The Seventh Province."

Shiziwen: "... Alright. If the poisoning is discovered, you need not hesitate; just insist you knew nothing. I will bear the blame."

Lu Xiangxiang: "Shiziwen, I..."

"Yuan Yao is a venomous-hearted person, always targeting you; she deserves to die." Shiziwen's tone was sinister.

After listening, the crowd stared at Lu Xiangxiang with strange looks, mixed with anger at being deceived.

As it turned out, Lu Xiangxiang actually wanted to poison Yuan Yao!

And she also wanted to defect from the sect!

At that moment, a loud boom came from the high platform above.

Only to see the Carefree Sect Leader slam his palm, shattering the table beside him into powder; he sprang to his feet, his sharp gaze fixed on Lu Xiangxiang, and rebuked: "Lu Xiangxiang, you actually wanted to poison a fellow disciple, and even after poisoning a fellow disciple, you still wanted to defect from the sect?! Speak, did you kill Li Hang?"

"Not at all!" Lu Xiangxiang gritted her teeth: "I never thought of poisoning Yuan Yao! The content of this sound stone is not a conversation between me and Shiziwen; this disciple has been wronged, I hope the sect leader and the immortals will investigate the truth and clear my name!"

Saying this, she endured the abdominal pain and knelt down.

She turned her head and stared fiercely at Yuan Yao: "Yuan Yao, why have you always wanted to put me to death? If this sound stone is genuine, why didn't you present it to the sect leader earlier? Why only release it now? Today's events clearly show you have long plotted to frame me!"

"I will not contend with you over anything, nor will I compete with you! Please spare me, okay?" She spoke with tear-filled eyes, her face as pale as paper, showing some weakness.

Yuan Yao smiled: "What do you want to contend with me over?"

Lu Xiangxiang choked slightly.

"This sound stone is absolutely genuine; why didn't I expose you two earlier? Because I wanted to give you a chance to reform, but I never imagined that, to deal with me, you would kill Senior Brother Li Hang!" Yuan Yao naturally was not intending to give Lu Xiangxiang and Shiziwen a chance to reform; rather, she wanted to use this as an excuse to expel Lu Xiangxiang from the Carefree Sect when she attempted poisoning.

The death of Senior Brother Li Hang, however, was not within her expectations...

"Lu Xiangxiang, do you dare to swear an oath to heaven?"

"Do you dare to swear that you did not kill Senior Brother Li Hang?"

"Do you dare to swear that you will not use the Soul-Capturing Forbidden Technique?"

"Do you dare to swear that you have absolutely no intention of leaving the Carefree Sect?"

"Come, swear to me!"

Lu Xiangxiang's face turned pale, her lips trembling: "Yuan Yao, you are bullying people too much!"

Suddenly, a youth's voice sounded: "The dialogue recorded in the sound stone is true."

Upon hearing this, everyone instantly turned their gaze to the one-eyed youth.

Lu Xiangxiang's expression shifted in shock; she stared incredulously at Shiziwen and quickly said: "Why are you helping Yuan Yao frame me? I thought you were my good friend!"

Shiziwen looked straight ahead and said slowly: "Senior Sister Lu has always wanted to kill Senior Sister Yuan, and after the sect competition she wanted to leave the Carefree Sect, and she also wanted to ruin the sect's reputation upon her departure. I once received Senior Sister Lu's kindness, so I kept helping her, but later I realized that Senior Sister Lu envies Senior Sister Yuan and has continually wanted to deal with her, even to kill her, and then I woke up."

"Senior Sister Lu hates everyone in the Carefree Sect."

Shiziwen's voice was calm, yet it tore open Lu Xiangxiang's last fig leaf!

The entire hall erupted in an uproar!

The Carefree Sect members were even more astonished; no wonder they always felt that Junior Sister Lu's attitude toward them was strange!

So that's how it is!

Lu Xiangxiang's pupils constricted; she clenched her fists tightly, her fingertips piercing her palms.

"Shiziwen!"

She shouted angrily, brandished her sword madly, and slashed at Shiziwen with a single strike!

Shiziwen, however, dodged!

That wretch Shiziwen actually betrayed me, and even claimed he envies Yuan Yao!

Her pride could not tolerate these words at all!

At that moment, Lu Xiangxiang lifted her head and saw Xu Yanzhi slightly furrow his brow, his eyes showing a hint of disdain.

Lu Xiangxiang's heart instantly felt heart-wrenching pain.

It's all Yuan Yao's fault!

Lu Xiangxiang suddenly sprang to her feet and lunged toward Yuan Yao in a sneak attack.

But before she could get close to Yuan Yao, a terrifying force slammed her to the ground, making it feel as if all her bones were broken, and blood kept gushing from her mouth.

Lu Xiangxiang painfully lifted her head; her vision blurred, but she could faintly see a tall white figure appear on the fighting platform, his silver hair swaying slightly.

He looked down at her with an indifferent gaze.

"Today, I, Thousand Jade Mountain, formally announce to everyone that Lu Xiangxiang has been expelled from my sect!"

Those words were like ice arrows piercing her heart; at this moment, she felt as cold as if she had fallen into an icy cavern.

Lu Xiangxiang's eyes reddened, and a flush of ashamed anger appeared in her gaze.

"The Carefree Sect Master stood on the high platform and declared, 'Lu Xiangxiang's conduct is improper; therefore, I hereby strip her of her status as a Carefree Sect disciple! As for whether she practiced forbidden techniques and plotted to harm our sect disciple Li Hang, I will decide after the sect master investigates and clarifies the matter.'"

"Immortal Venerable Fan Quan solemnly ordered, 'First, take Lu Xiangxiang to the heavenly prison in the Heaven and Earth Domain.'"

The matter of practicing forbidden techniques involves many parties and must be investigated.

As soon as his words fell, two figures appeared on the fighting platform, heading toward Lu Xiangxiang.

Lu Xiangxiang's injuries were severe; she wanted to flee, but she was willing yet unable.

She placed her last hope on Xu Yanzhi.

"'Mingli, save me!' she cried out."

Upon hearing the two words 'Mingli,' Xu Yanzhi's expression shifted slightly; his gaze toward Lu Xiangxiang revealed probing and uncertainty.