Chapter 96

The mountain range of Qingniu Ridge is vast and boundless, and the steep cliffs everywhere look like they were chopped by axes and knives, exuding a cold and stern aura.

Clouds and mist linger in the mountains like light gauze, and from time to time, roars come from within.

And in a certain place in the center, it was severely damaged. Many ancient trees still stand charred black, and the surroundings are full of various pits, as if a battle that was hard to imagine had occurred here not long ago.

With a bang!

A corpse fell from the sky, making a dull sound, appearing particularly abrupt in this silent mountain range.

There was even a masked figure who appeared from nowhere, standing on the top of a tree.

"Green Bull Stepping on Mist Shadow!"

Just at this moment, in the woods, a middle-aged man walked out leisurely with his hands behind his back. He first glanced at the corpse on the ground with a calm expression, then slowly raised his head and said.

Gao Xuan slowly took off the mask on his face and said in a deep voice: "Moon Shadow Illuminating the Barren Ridge!"

The man smiled immediately and bowed to Gao Xuan: "Your move was too rash. Aren't you afraid of being seen by others? You must know that you are an important chess piece that my Cangyan Taoist Palace spent countless costs to successfully plant in the Taiqingmen."

Afterward, he hurriedly stepped forward and turned over the cold and stiff corpse. In an instant, his eyes were full of excitement.

"Didn't they say there was no way? Is this a surprise? Haha, not bad, not bad. This Yuqing Peak Master Tong Min didn't know how many good things of my palace she ruined in her early years. I have long wanted to get rid of her quickly. By the way, the Palace Master's meaning is..."

"List!"

Before the man could finish speaking, Gao Xuan interrupted coldly.

The man got up, looking hesitant. After pondering briefly, he flicked his finger, and a note flew out.

"This person's qualifications are earlier than yours. She is a dark piece that was planted many years ago and has never been activated. The original plan was for you to cooperate with him well..."

Pfft—

Before the man could finish speaking, Tong Min, who was originally determined to be dead on the ground, opened her eyes suddenly, and then a gray-gold long silk pierced through his abdomen suddenly.

The man also reacted extremely quickly, instantly releasing the spiritual power of the Divine Transformation realm and retreating rapidly, thus avoiding the other party's second attack.

Feeling the severe pain from his abdomen, he looked at Gao Xuan, who was still coldly watching him from the top of the tree, with disbelief, then looked at Tong Min, who climbed up from the ground, and ran away without saying a word.

"I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation afterward!"

Tong Min frowned, looked up at Gao Xuan on the tree, and said, then chased after him quickly.

Gao Xuan just unfolded the note in his hand slowly. When he saw the name on it, his pupils shrank.

Afterward, he looked at the figures chasing and fleeing in front, lifted his feet lightly, and disappeared from the spot instantly...

Fine rain hit the thick trees, making a rustling sound, and the leaves became greener under the washing of the rain.

A corpse lay in a pit on the ground, letting the rain gradually submerge it.

At this time, Tong Min was motionless, and one of Gao Xuan's fingers was pointing at her brow.

Not long after, Tong Min's body softened. Gao Xuan supported her in time, then carried her on his shoulders and left quickly.

Not long after, he returned again, looked at the corpse in the puddle, walked slowly to the side, picked a small red flower, and threw it on her body.

"Next time there is a chance, don't trust others so easily!"

After saying that, Gao Xuan quickly cleaned up everything around, took out a spirit talisman, burned it, and then left again.

I don't know how long it had passed, but two figures tore through the void anxiously.

They hurriedly checked the corpse on the ground, full of anger.

"Who is it? Who exactly is it? A late-stage Divine Transformation realm expert is just gone like this!" One person roared toward the sky.

The other person checked quickly, but these wounds couldn't distinguish who they came from at all.

"Soul shattered, storage bag also disappeared. What should we do now?" The other person said with an ugly face.

The roaring person hurriedly sent the information here back.

"Cang Lang has been lurking for many years and is our most important chess piece. This time he was ordered to assassinate Yuqing Peak Master Tong Min, intending to let the Taiqingmen fall into chaos first, making people panic, so that we can implement the next plan."

"But the information he sent back was that once he succeeded, he couldn't erase his own relevant traces and was afraid of being suspected, so we prepared to activate Night Owl. The list was all brought over, this—"

After sending the information, he said with his eyes splitting.

The other person said: "Now it's a big trouble. According to the emergency message sent by Cang Lang, he said that he hadn't reached the meeting point yet when he saw fighting here. For safety's sake, he didn't dare to approach and left in a hurry."

"Not to mention anything else, this Qu Shen is a late-stage Divine Transformation realm expert. How did the other party kill him in a short time without leaving traces? And he didn't even have time to send a distress message?"

The two fell into silence, then scattered, trying to find some clues around.

But it was clear that all this was in vain.

Not long after, one of them received information and sighed: "The Palace Master ordered us to rush to the Taiqingmen and pick up Night Owl. This dark piece is considered wasted."

"Then what are we waiting for? Delay will lead to changes, hurry up and go! Damn it, who exactly did it? It seems our Cangyan Taoist Palace has not been cleaned up internally!"

The two hurriedly collected Qu Shen's corpse and then rushed to the Taiqingmen at high speed.

"Tong Shimei, Tong Shimei, are you okay?"

Tong Min only felt her head was dizzy, then opened her eyes tiredly. When she saw Gao Xuan on the side, she sat up from the ground immediately.

But afterward, she felt a sharp pain in her head, and her hands covered it subconsciously.

"Why did you suddenly faint while walking? I see you are not feeling well, how about we go back? This task won't be accepted for now," Gao Xuan said with concern.

Tong Min patted her head hard.

Task?

Right, Gao Shixiong found her, seemed to have accepted a tricky task, wanted her to help, and then they left the mountain gate, afterward... how come she couldn't remember what happened afterward?

"I, I'm fine!" As spiritual power flowed, Tong Min felt a bit more comfortable and smiled at Gao Xuan.

Gao Xuan shook his head: "Forget it, this task is not urgent, we'll talk about it after a while."

"It's probably due to recent fatigue, I'm really fine..."

"I said, return to the sect!" Gao Xuan spoke again.

Tong Min's eyes suddenly became a bit confused again, then she nodded woodenly: "Good, I am not feeling well, return to the sect."

Gao Xuan nodded.

Afterward, the two returned to the Taiqingmen.

…………

"Left three hours ago? Why didn't you say so earlier!" When Mo Xingjian learned that Gao Xuan and Tong Min had left the sect, he was shocked.

Although Gao Xuan's suspicion was constantly being cleared, he always kept Old Four's words in his heart.

But he didn't expect that just as he ran out of the mountain gate in a hurry, he saw two figures coming from the sky.

"Mo Shidi, what are you going to do in such a hurry?" Gao Xuan landed with a smile and asked.

Mo Xingjian looked at Tong Min, who was safe and sound, and felt a sense of relief in his heart, then said: "That, going out to handle some things. What did you two go to do?"

Gao Xuan suddenly smiled: "I said I went out on a date, do you believe it?"

Tong Min hurriedly said: "Gao Shixiong, don't make random jokes. I don't know what's wrong today, I always feel dizzy. Then you two talk, I'll go back first."

After Tong Min finished speaking, she nodded to the two and walked up the mountain through the sect barrier.

Mo Xingjian said: "That, I am busy here, so I'll leave first!"

"Pay attention to safety!" Gao Xuan exhorted.

Mo Xingjian nodded and disappeared into the sky as a stream of light.

Gao Xuan watched Mo Xingjian's back disappear before smiling slightly and stepping into the mountain gate.

Just as he entered, he saw a figure galloping over.

"Gu Shidi, what are you going to do?" Gao Xuan greeted with a smile.

That figure landed immediately, his face gentle.

This person was none other than the General Hall Master of the Task Hall, Gu Tao.

"Greetings to Gao Shixiong!" Gu Tao bowed.

Gao Xuan nodded with a smile: "How come everyone is so busy today? I just saw Mo Shidi go out in a hurry."

"Oh, Mo Shixiong went out? It's probably some urgent matter. It's a coincidence, I received some intelligence here and must handle it urgently. The matter cannot be delayed, so I'll leave first!"

Task Hall Master Gu Tao looked a bit anxious.

Gao Xuan suddenly reached out and grabbed him, saying: "Come to my Jinyang Peak when you are done, I got some good wine recently."

"Okay, I'll come when I return!" Gu Tao said with a happy look.

Afterward, he passed through the barrier and disappeared into the sky.

And Gao Xuan, who originally had a face full of smiles, suddenly turned cold.

"Night Owl—"

He whispered to himself, and soon his face turned pale, then he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

He hurriedly wiped his mouth and cleaned up the bloodstains.

"Three hundred years of nurturing, it's worth it!"

Afterward, he headed straight for Jinyang Peak.

At the same time, a hundred miles away, Mo Xingjian landed on a big tree, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed.

Now it's not going back, and it's not not going back.

"Maybe I thought too much. Forget it, let's go to Yanlong City at the foot of the mountain and stay for a day or two before coming back!"

After Mo Xingjian finished speaking, just as he was about to get up, he saw Task Hall Master Gu Tao coming toward him.

"Is everyone so busy lately?"

Mo Xingjian was about to fly up to shout, but saw Gu Tao scratching his face and neck frantically, as if there was something inside his skin.

"Something's wrong—"

Seeing this, Mo Xingjian's expression changed immediately.

"Ah—"

Before Mo Xingjian could go to help, Gu Tao suddenly let out a miserable scream, and then his body began to expand rapidly.

Mo Xingjian felt a warning in his heart, but before he could react, Gu Tao exploded with a bang.

Instantly, terrifying energy spread wildly toward the surroundings like a surging tide. A protective light shield appeared in front of Mo Xingjian immediately.

But even so, he was still blown away by this powerful impact, hearing only the whistling wind and the cracking sound of trees being hit and broken in his ears.

Afterward, he spat out a mouthful of blood, but couldn't care about anything, hurriedly getting up in shock.

Then he saw the terrifying shockwave like a violent hurricane, constantly raging wildly in all directions.

Countless trees broke and fell like fragile reeds under this force, raising dust and wood chips all over the sky.

The air was filled with a rich burnt smell, and the originally lush forest became a mess.

Broken branches and leaves flew all over the sky, and the ground was even blown into a giant pit.

Taiqingmen Task Hall Master Gu Tao, no bones left!

Mo Xingjian looked at all this blankly, not reacting to what had happened until now.

A mid-stage Divine Transformation realm expert, just gone like this?

Until he saw a storage bag fluttering in the wind, falling slowly to the side, he hurriedly went over, grabbed it in his palm, and notified the Sect Master Shixiong immediately.

At the same time, Soul Lamp Tower!

Tower Guard Elder Jiang Pu looked at Gu Tao's soul lamp completely extinguished and sighed long.

"It's a pity!"

Afterward, he rubbed his face and ran out in a panic.

"Sect Master, something big has happened—"

…………

"Old Four, Old Four, something big has happened!"

Zhou Qing, who was bending over to take spirit eggs from the chicken coop, was suddenly startled by Yan Xiaohu's surprised voice outside.

"Tomorrow I must get a better soundproofing barrier!"

After carefully putting the spirit eggs into the jade box and feeding the old hen some spirit rice, Zhou Qing opened the courtyard door.

As soon as he opened it, Yan Xiaohu rushed in anxiously and grabbed Zhou Qing.

"It's over, Old Four, Master has been taken away!"

Zhou Qing was stunned, not quite understanding.

"Slow down, what exactly happened?"

Yan Xiaohu hurriedly pulled Zhou Qing and headed straight for the main peak, Shenyue Peak.

"I'll tell you in detail on the way."

…………

After the two arrived at Shenyue Peak, they discovered that many people were gathered outside the Qiankun Hall, each full of anger, whispering to each other.

And on the way here, Zhou Qing already knew what had happened.

Task Hall Master Gu Tao, dead!

And the only eyewitness was Master Mo Xingjian.

That was a mid-stage Divine Transformation realm expert! The sect didn't know how much money and resources it had spent to cultivate such a person, and now, he died so inexplicably?

For the entire Taiqingmen, it was like digging a piece of flesh off their body.

"Zhou Shixiong, you're here?"

Lu Yaoyao ran over hurriedly and said: "Rest assured, Master Mo Xingjian will be fine. It's just a simple questioning, I estimate he will come out soon."

Zhou Qing naturally knew that this had nothing to do with Master, but the sudden fall of a Divine Transformation realm expert really caught everyone off guard.

I estimate that everyone present had no psychological preparation at all.

"What is the situation now?" Zhou Qing asked hurriedly.

Lu Yaoyao said: "Before you came, several Supreme Elders, several peak masters, and the two deputy hall masters of the Task Hall were all called in."

Just at this moment, Li Daoxuan and five other core disciples, leading a large group of law enforcement teams, brought everyone who had been in contact with Gu Tao recently.

After a simple report, they all walked in.

"I'll go in and see!" Zhou Qing was a bit worried, but was pulled by Yan Xiaohu.

"This matter is of great importance, let's not add to the chaos, just wait here!" Yan Xiaohu said.

Zhou Qing looked at the Qiankun Hall, his brows tightly locked.

Could it be that people from the Cangyan Taoist Palace did it again?

Time passed bit by bit. It wasn't until late at night that Mo Xingjian came out with a haggard face.

Coming out together were several other peak masters.

"Master!" Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu hurriedly ran up.

Mo Xingjian looked at the two, nodded slightly, then said to the other peak masters: "Then I will leave first, you all go back early too."

Several peak masters including Tong Min nodded slightly, bowed to each other, and then called their own disciples to leave.

"We'll talk when we get back!" Mo Xingjian said.

The two also sensibly didn't ask more, hurriedly following Master toward Little Spirit Peak.

…………

"So, this Gu Tao is a mole planted by the Cangyan Taoist Palace in our sect?"

When Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu heard the truth from Mo Xingjian's mouth, their eyes were full of disbelief.

Heavens, that was Gu Tao, the General Hall Master of the Task Hall, who had made countless contributions to the Taiqingmen.

This this this...

Mo Xingjian immediately made a shushing gesture, signaling the two to be quiet.

Be careful of walls having ears.

"This was also discovered unexpectedly from the storage bag he left behind. Not only that, but there were also a large number of scrolls, techniques, and a million spirit stones involving the secrets of our sect. It can be seen that he didn't intend to come back this time."

When Mo Xingjian said this, he still couldn't believe it, and more of it was confusion.

He had lurked for so many years, why did he suddenly prepare to escape?

Just to take away those confidential things?

But that couldn't compare to the value brought by a Divine Transformation realm expert.

If he continued to lurk, the damage he could cause would simply be unimaginable.

Also, how did he suddenly explode?

After all, I saw it with my own eyes. He seemed to be forced to explode, soul and body destroyed. What is going on?

Could it be that someone else did it?

And Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu looked at each other. This Task Hall Master Gu Tao didn't intend to come back?

"Then Master, how did the questioning at the Task Hall go?" Zhou Qing asked.

Mo Xingjian shook his head: "According to them, Gu Tao's behavior these days was very normal. It was just this afternoon that he suddenly took away a large amount of spirit stones from the hall, and he was in a hurry."

"By the way, before coming out, someone saw him chatting with Gao Xuan for two sentences. Regarding this, Gao Xuan also took the initiative to admit it, saying it was just a casual greeting. I also testified to this point. After all, I heard that he left with Tong Min, so I was a bit worried and prepared to go out to look for them."

"I didn't expect to run into them when they returned at the mountain gate, and then not long after, I saw Gu Tao go out, and then I saw him explode with my own eyes."

After hearing this, Zhou Qing couldn't help but frown tightly.

Could it be that Gao Xuan Shibo did it?

But this makes even less sense, and there is no reason.

For a while, the three of them were silent.

After waiting for a good while, Mo Xingjian looked at the two and said: "Be careful when you go out recently, safety first. By the way, don't spread the news that Gu Tao is a mole of the Cangyan Taoist Palace. After all, not many people know the truth. If everyone knows, it will be a blow to the entire Taiqingmen."

The two indicated they understood.

"Master, who do you think did it?" Yan Xiaohu asked curiously.

Mo Xingjian shook his head and said: "Not acting early, not acting late, but acting just when he noticed Gu Tao was about to escape, and being able to make a mid-stage Divine Transformation realm person fall into the trap without a trace and die miserably—the other party's means and ability are hair-raising."

"One point is certain: the other party is at least at the Divine Transformation realm. But there are only a few Divine Transformation realm experts in the entire Taiqingmen. It seems easy to check, but there is no way to start."

Mo Xingjian was a bit irritable, then waved his hand, letting the two retreat first.

After all, they couldn't help much.

"I didn't expect that under the seemingly calm water surface of our Taiqingmen, there would be such undercurrents!"

After coming out, Yan Xiaohu tutted.

Zhou Qing nodded in agreement.

Before, those who died were just Jin Dan or Soul Formation, just treating it as a small fuss. But now, with the fall of a Divine Transformation realm expert, the situation is serious.

They say good things don't go out, bad things spread a thousand miles.

The news about the fall of Taiqingmen Task Hall Master Gu Tao soon spread to other major sects.

Each sect sent condolences and indignation toward the perpetrator.

But at the same time, they also knew deeply that the Taiqingmen was currently in a state of rampage and didn't dare to bother too much, so as not to cause unnecessary suspicion.

Since it wasn't time to flip the table yet, the Taiqingmen naturally replied politely.

After all, the Cangyan Taoist Palace was now a nailed-down fact. It's just that I don't know which one this other helping force is?

The Taiqingmen needs allies, but it needs to be on guard even more.

For the next period of time, the entire Taiqingmen was in panic, and each peak strictly restricted its own disciples from running around.

In the eyes of ordinary disciples, the other party could even assassinate a Divine Transformation realm expert, let alone others.

But in the eyes of those of them who knew the truth, even the Task Hall Master was an enemy mole, so who else could be trusted?

As for Immortal Xuanyou, she stayed and didn't return. Now she was already a bit suspicious. If she left in a hurry, she wouldn't be able to wash it off.

And Zhou Qing just took advantage of this period when no one was bothering him to devote himself to cultivation using the "Yin Yang Jue," frantically absorbing mid-grade spirit stones and spirit eggs, and charging toward the mid-Jin Dan realm with all his strength.

Heaven knows when this chaos will start. He must have the strength to protect himself when necessary.

Thus, another full month passed, and the Taiqingmen returned to normal from the tense atmosphere.

And at the same time, Zhou Qing's eyes were closed tightly, and two spiritual power vortices, one black and one white, were rotating constantly in his chest and dantian, frantically absorbing the spirit stones around him.

With the continuous influx of spiritual energy, Zhou Qing's aura was also gradually rising.

"Break!" I don't know how long this state lasted. With Zhou Qing's low shout, the two Golden Cores underwent another transformation.

The originally brilliant light became more solid, the size of the Golden Cores increased slightly, and a more majestic force began to flow in his body.

Feeling this aura, Zhou Qing opened his eyes slowly, two rays of essence shooting out from his eyes.

"Mid-Jin Dan realm!"

Finally broke through, and almost caught up with Hearing San Shixiong.

Zhou Qing was full of excitement and enthusiasm, but for safety's sake, Zhou Qing used the "Turtle Breathing Art" again to hide his cultivation at the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm.

"This 'Yin Yang Jue' is truly an extraordinary mental method. It's a pity that it is exclusive to Yin and Yang Qi. Otherwise, if I found an opportunity, I would give it to Hearing San Shixiong. It would definitely help him break through to the Soul Formation realm."

Zhou Qing sighed.

Seeking monthly tickets

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(End of chapter)