Chapter 70

Chen Nianci immediately lowered her eyes, steadied her heart-mind, "I received my master's instructions; I must not speak."

"What if I don't want you to say?" Shen Qingli countered.

Chen Nianci's heart jumped; she unconsciously lifted her gaze.

Shen Qingli's expression was indifferent, showing no joy or anger.

"Even though you are the Young Master of the Shen Clan, don't go too far!"

The Holy Maiden of the Extinction Sect, her face cold and stern, spoke, and the sword in her hand slowly drew out.

The White Lotus Sect Holy Maiden, however, pressed her sword back into its sheath, "It's not that serious; all the elders are watching from the giant screen, we are innocent—the Changshui Shen Clan are not arrogantly wanton killers without cause; the Young Master Shen surely won't make things difficult for us."

But just as her words fell, Shen Qingmo and others had already appeared behind Shen Qingli, startling all the female disciples of the Su Nv Sect!

"But you drew your swords first; in Sheng Long Tian, drawing first is a provocation." Shen Qingci said with a smile.

The three Holy Maidens of the Su Nv Sect changed expression; Chen Nianci hurriedly said, "This is utterly unreasonable—we were merely defending ourselves!"

"Since the elders are all watching, then please have Teaching Mother Zhong tell my father what this unspeakable secret is!" Shen Qingli declared.

Before the giant screen, Zhong Wuqi's face darkened, "Born of a wicked daughter, indeed..."

"Ah Qi, watch your words!" the Su Nv Sect Sect Leader interrupted, reminding.

"Speak, what is this secret?" Shen Kuo said with a cold face.

"It has nothing to do with you!" Zhong Wuqi also had a cold face, looking even more displeased with Shen Kuo.

"If it's unrelated, why hide it from A Li? Besides, you deliberately hinted and had your disciple tell A Li that she was asking about a secret? It's obvious this matter concerns A Li, and thus concerns me." Shen Kuo spoke clearly.

"Ah, let me say it." The Su Nv Sect sect leader sighed.

Zhong Wuqi's expression grew even uglier, "Sect leader……"

"It can't be kept hidden; besides, you've searched for so many years without finding it—speaking up might yield more clues."

Those words clearly moved Zhong Wuqi; she no longer objected.

The Su Nv Sect sect leader immediately shielded the surroundings and spoke privately with the Shen family.

"Zhao Yue's original name was Zhong Yue; she also has a twin sister named Zhong Minglan, but she's been missing for over ten years. The place she last appeared should be the Jade Green Sect."

Shen Duo instantly looked at Shen Kuo, his gaze strange, "Could it be that Zhong Minglan is your dao companion?"

Shen Kuo's face darkened, "What do you take me for?"

"You've always been clueless about such matters." Shen Duo spoke bluntly.

"Impossible, Zhong Minglan could never take a dao companion."

"In our sect, the saintesses are forbidden from indulging in private affection; none will ever marry out."

Zhong Wuqi took up the words, "The Minglan sisters are merely adopted by us; our cultivation method, once one forms a dual cultivation partnership, leads to the depletion of the Dao and death of the person!"

……

As this was leisurely recounted, Shen Qingli also received the news.

Liu Meng had a question, "Perhaps Zhong Minglan was set up by Zhao Yue to be together with the Seventh Elder?"

"Then how did I come to be?" Shen Qingli countered, "If her mother were truly Zhong Minglan, Zhong Minglan would have died when she lost her cultivation—where would she find the time to give birth to me?"

"Moreover, according to what the Zhong matriarch said, when Zhong Minglan left the sect she had already become a saint! She even brought along a manservant stronger than her, while the highest cultivation in the Jade Green Sect is merely the Profound Emperor; even if the entire Jade Green Sect mobilized, they would not be a match."

Shen Qingli was not surprised by this result; in her previous life she had fallen into demonhood, and Zhao Yue could purify her with bloodline power, which itself shows Zhao Yue is her birth mother.

The aunt's bloodline is still not enough to erase her.

Only the birth mother who bore her can do that.

Therefore, upon seeing the letter brought by Master Huayuan, her emotions were steady.

But she still harbored hope.

Even though she knew the facts, she couldn't help but hope that Zhao Yue was not her birth mother.

"Then where did that former Holy Mother Sect saintess go?" Liu Meng pondered, "Someone so prominent can't just disappear without a trace."

"Zhao Yue doesn't know either." Shen Qingli set aside her thoughts, "It's no longer relevant to us."

Liu Meng looked at her, then suddenly reached out and took her hand, "Don't worry; once we leave the Ten Directions Forest, I'll take you to my home—my mother is wonderful. You are my junior sister, so my mother is your mother."

Shen Qingli's brows and eyes flickered; although Liu Meng is carefree, she always manages to tug at her heartstrings.

"My mother will surely like you! She's always dreamed of having a gentle daughter, constantly saying I'm like a boy, wasting this pretty face." Liu Meng touched her small, cute face, also helpless.

Shen Qingli looked at her, then suddenly recalled that in her past life, while slipping down the mountain amidst chaos, she saw a lady in fine robes gathering corpses at the gate of the Jade Green Sect.

"Your mother is very beautiful; does she like to wear gold bracelets?" Shen Qingli asked.

"How do you know?" Liu Meng exclaimed in surprise!

Shen Qingli didn't answer, but instead asked, "Is your family on good terms with the Bai Li clan?"

"What Bai Li clan?" Liu Meng puzzled, "We don't have any."

Shen Qingli frowned, "None?"

"None, what's up? What's wrong with the Bai Li clan?"

"Nothing, let's go; everyone's already gone in, it's just us left."

Shen Qingli looked behind; a dozen or so handsome young men stood in various poses, no matter how many times she looked, the impact remained great.

"Elder brothers, senior brothers, let's go, we're entering."

"Go!" Shen Qici responded first.

The group was the last to enter the venue; after they went in, the seals around the Ten Directions Forest closed, allowing no living thing to exit until the trial ended, at which point the seal at the entrance would open, then reseal to prevent any danger from leaking out.

The grand screen before the leaders of all forces also went blank, making even the entrance invisible.

But not long after, names appeared one by one on the screen—those of the entrants.

"Shen Qingli is first?"

"If I recall correctly, she's only a Xuan Wang."

"Not mentioning other forces, Shen Qingmo is only ranked tenth, yet she actually is in first?"

"All the high-ranking members, facing the three characters 'Shen Qingli' occupying first place on the giant screen, felt something was off."

"Even Shen Yuan and Shen Duo found it utterly baffling: 'Could A Li be suppressing her cultivation?'"

"\"Isn't it written behind, Profound King? \" Shen Kuo pointed at the cultivation realm behind Shen Qingli and retorted."

"All the high-ranking members fell silent, so how could a mere Profound King rank ahead of so many Profound Sect heavenly talents?"

"\"Let's take a look first; it's probably a misjudgment. \" Shen Yuan pondered, \"Maybe we overestimated the explosive power of our Longwater Shen Clan. \"

"\"No, has that little phoenix advanced? \" Shen Duo asked Shen Kuo softly; if so, that would be possible, after all it's a mature pure-blood fire phoenix!"

"\"No, right? \" Shen Kuo wasn't sure either, \"That was given by her younger brother; I don't know the circumstances. \"

"\"A younger brother? I even have a nephew? \" Shen Duo exclaimed, drawing the gazes of the other forces' senior members."

"Shen Kuo waved his hand, \"An adopted son, not a biological one. \""

"\"Pei Jianshu? \" Shen Duo questioned."

"Shen Kuo had a look of indescribable exasperation; that kind of dog thing isn't worthy of being his adopted son."

"However, it was precisely this \"dog thing\" that now blocked Shen Qingli."

"Shen Qingli didn't even want to bother with him, but every time she changed direction, Pei Jianshu would block her."

"She hadn't even lost her temper yet, but Shen Qingmo and the others were already about to flare up: \"A Li, why not take care of this brat first before leaving? \""

"\"Forget it, I'll say a few words to him. \" Shen Qingli knew that once Pei Jianshu decided to do something, he was indeed relentless; ignoring him would only make things more troublesome later."

"\"Go ahead, I hope this is the last time. \" Shen Qingli looked at the much taller Pei Jianshu, \"You're not the type to cling obsessively, so don't make a scene that's undignified and pointless. \""

"Pei Jianshu's hand beneath his sleeve clenched tightly, his expression unchanged, his tone as usual: \"A Li, I just want to tell you, your mother is not Zhao Yue, but Zhong Minglan. \""

"Shen Qingli remained expressionless, but Pei Jianshu continued, \"Zhao Yue escaped, and I have her in my grasp; I performed a soul search on her. \""