Chapter 24

Sword!

Liu Meng's giant sword behind her unsheathed, as if drawing a river of meteors, grand and vast, slashing toward the medicine cauldron.

Bang!

The sword qi clashed with the medicine cauldron, yet it was not inferior.

This,

The sect master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect stared wide-eyed, speechless!

Liu Meng's sword intent was too strong; even he was shocked.

The scene fell into silence; anyone could see Liu Meng's cultivation was only at the peak of the Xuan Shi realm, not yet having entered the Xuan Wang realm, yet the sword she unleashed was on par with Peak Master Xu, who was already a Xuan Zong-level expert!

What is this?

Even though sword cultivators are universally recognized as the strongest in combat and alchemists as the weakest, the gap between the two realms is such that they could still fight to a draw—this is utterly unbelievable!

And yet Shen Qingli, who was protected, was even more shocked than anyone!

Because she knew very well that Liu Meng had been concealing his sword intent, storing up energy to break through to the Xuan Wang realm.

So in her previous life, Liu Meng never drew her sword even in the upcoming sect grand competition; for Liu Meng and even the entire Tianxing Sect, sect rankings were even less important than her advancement.

But Liu Meng drew her sword for her sake.

Even the Tianxing Sect, from top to bottom, didn't say anything.

Sect Master Ji Wanxing even praised, saying, "Little Mengmeng is even more formidable now, well done! As a venerable elder of the sect, to deal such a vicious blow to a sixteen-year-old junior—you've lost all face!"

The remaining three silent elders of the Tianxing Sect remained silent, but in action they had already stood together with Shen Kuo, standing before Liu Meng and Shen Qingli.

Shen Qingli's emotions grew ever more complicated; Shen Kuo she already understood, truly treating her as a daughter to cherish. As for the others? She hadn't even officially joined the Tianxing Sect, yet they were already protecting her?

If one were to say she had demonstrated her worth, that would still be acceptable.

But she hadn't; even now, what she had displayed was merely the cultivation of a Xuan Shi, and she might even be a great demon.

"Little junior sister, don't worry, with the sect master and elders around, everything's fine." Zhan Yuefeng also comforted Shen Qingli, who looked uneasy.

Shen Jin also came over, clinging, "Older sister."

Shen Qingli withdrew her thoughts, patted Shen Jin's back, "Don't be afraid."

"Not bad, little junior brother doesn't need to be afraid either." Zhan Yuefeng comforted him as well.

Shen Jin's eyes held countless unspoken words, but he didn't retort, still leaning against Shen Qingli.

Although the youth was tall, even taller than Shen Qingli by a head, everyone knew he was her younger brother, so they didn't find him pretentious.

Only Gu Cihe, seeing Shen Qingli comforting Shen Jin, felt especially displeased! He had the sensation that something most important to him had been snatched away, even though he had long forbidden Shen Qingli from treating him like a child, patting his head or back.

"Senior brother, what are you looking at?" Su Chacha, who had tugged at Gu Cihe's sleeve, turned pale, "How could we be found to have demonic aura in our spiritual roots?"

"It's naturally that female demon who tampered with them!" Gu Cihe stared fixedly at Shen Qingli, "Shen Qingli! You're truly vicious! You yourself have fallen into demonhood, yet you want us, your former fellow disciples whom you abused and insulted, to die with you."

Su Chacha burst into tears, looking at Shen Qingli with a pear-blossom-in-the-rain expression, "Senior sister, your phoenix bone—you've already destroyed it; even the greatest resentment should have dissipated by now. You have nothing against me, so why must you harm our senior brothers?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Jianshu, who likewise was found to have three demon pillars turn black, wore a look of disappointment: "Shen Qingli, your conduct is actually so arbitrary and violent."

"Ridiculous—you of the Bi Yu Sect slaughtered me, insulted me, framed me, and yet I'm not allowed to retaliate? Is retaliation considered arbitrary and violent?"

Shen Qingli wore a sneer: "I'm simply unwilling to keep giving endlessly to you lot of white-eyed wolves as before! Is that my fault?"

Pei Jianshu shook his head and closed his eyes: "You really are unrepentant; do you truly want to let whatever affection I harbor for you fade away completely?"

As the words fell, he slowly opened his eyes, his pupils filled with sorrow.

He was handsome; in the Bi Yu Sect's snow-white Dao robes fluttering in the wind, his divine bearing appeared even more graceful.

Especially now, his eyes brimming with a sense of brokenness made the young women of the other factions nearby feel their hearts flutter.

"Senior Brother Pei is truly handsome."

"What virtue or ability does this demoness Shen Qingli have?"

The girls all felt Shen Qingli was unworthy.

Su Chacha felt the same; her jealousy was about to overflow from her eyes.

Shen Qingli, however, sneered contemptuously: "Put away that base appearance of yours, or better yet, save it for your little junior sister. Go hug her more often at the Peak of Elixirs—she'll be delighted."

Pei Jianshu's face changed abruptly: "I..."

"Senior sister, you misunderstand! Senior brother is only afraid I'll get into trouble, and the master will blame you—it's not what you think." The understanding Su Chacha quickly explained to Pei Jianshu, also looking at him with an apologetic expression.

Pei Jianshu felt relieved, gave her a slight nod, and his gaze toward Shen Qingli inevitably carried a hint of "Don't mess around."

However, Shen Qingli wasn't looking at him; his gaze was essentially wasted on a blind person.

Shen Qingli had already bowed to the Envoy of Mysteries, saying, "Lord Envoy, you must have already clarified this matter; there's no need for us juniors to prove ourselves again, right?"

The Envoy of Mysteries nodded, "The patterns on those three demon-testing pillars have been smeared with demonic-infused medicine liquid; once someone enters the formation and activates the demonic energy, the pillars instantly turn black. I will thoroughly investigate this and give you an answer."

"Thank you, Lord Envoy." Shen Qingli expressed her gratitude respectfully.

Yet the scene erupted in an uproar: "Someone actually tampered with the demon-testing pillars!"

"Could it be the Bi Yu Sect? No way, they're trying to kill Shen Qingli?"

"What grudge, what resentment? This is just a sixteen-year-old girl—why go to such lengths?"

Many people from various factions present looked at the Bi Yu Sect with eyes full of apprehension and contempt; regardless of Shen Qingli, the Bi Yu Sect's doing this is overly unbecoming.

Peak Master Xu's face was as black as the demonic clouds that had appeared earlier; upon closer look, his forehead was still beading with fine sweat, and he anxiously gazed at Bai Ren Shan.

Bai Ren Shan, however, held his composure, immediately using his gaze to signal Peak Master Xu to stay calm; he then rose to his feet and declared righteously, "Who knows which petty villain is so despicable! Envoy of Mysteries, please be sure to investigate! Return justice to our Bi Yu Sect!"

"Not bad." Zhao Yue rose to her feet, "Even a tiger's venom does not eat its young; Shen Qingli is my daughter, no matter how angry I am at her defiance, I could never want her dead. This matter must certainly have some other twist. Please, Lord Envoy, be sure to investigate, and furthermore...

Given that the three demon-testing pillars were tampered with, why did Shen Qingli's examination show all ten pillars black? Though I hate to see Shen Qingli fall into demonhood, if she truly has an irredeemable demonic nature, I will personally purge her.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned!

Yes, only the three demon-testing pillars are problematic, yet Shen Qingli has all ten pillars black!

The Envoy of Mysteries actually had doubts as well; he had originally wanted Shen Qingli to be tested again, and thus went along with the flow, saying, "Although this situation exists because, upon initial entry, the demonic energy in the tampered demon-testing pillars is stronger, affecting the other pillars."

But to dispel everyone's doubts, as well as my own concerns, I still ask Little Fellow Daoist Shen to enter the demon-testing formation once more, how about it? If the verification result confirms you have no problem, I will present an apologetic gift.

"Then I won't test it either!" Liu Meng directly refused on behalf of Shen Qingli.

Ji Wanxing also said, "Not bad, the Envoy can make people do tricks under their eyelids; who knows if there will still be problems later?"

The Envoy's face instantly became somewhat unable to hold composure; Bai Renshan immediately said, "Daoist Ji, you're being overly pushy; the Envoy is only thinking of our Xuanti Continent."

"Sect Leader Bai really is generous with others' wealth; why don't you go up first and test whether the demon-testing pillar has any problems?" Shen Kuo said coldly.

Bai Renshan's eyes turned cold, but he was preparing to agree!

However, Shen Qingli was a step faster than him, "I'll go in."

As she spoke, she had already leapt into the demon-testing formation again.

The flowing light again overflowed and sparkled, then……

Ten demon-testing pillars simultaneously burst forth with dazzling purple flowing light!

"This, the Hongmeng Divine Sovereign?"