The hunt for Demon Soil Incense did not go smoothly. As the Demon Realm’s primary tool for covert sabotage, it possessed an infuriatingly high level of concealment. Detecting it via divine sense was impossible. It demanded the primitive, painstaking labor of the naked eye.
Ignited incense was difficult enough to spot, marked only by a faint, intermittent glimmer of firelight. But the unlit fragments were a nightmare— indistinguishable from ordinary clumps of earth or, worse, dried cow dung. The difficulty of the task was, quite frankly, outrageous.
After spending most of the night leading a search that yielded only a few crushed, unrecognizable fragments, Perfected Ziling finally mobilized the villagers. With the locals involved, the Sword Sect’s dignified sect master and grand elder no longer had to personally rummage through cowsheds and manure piles.
However, the villagers lacked discernment. Driven by the gravity of the masters’ warnings and the terrifying memory of Su Ke’er’s frenzy, they spared no effort. They hauled in anything even remotely suspicious. Perfected Ziling, Perfected Ziqiong, and the others were tasked only with identification, yet the work was grueling. Constantly confronted by filth, they found the task to be not just physically draining, but a direct assault on their dignity.
In stark contrast, the trio inside the house— Perfected Zizhu, Chu Mingyao, and Chu Mingxi— were the most relaxed people in the village.
Watching the others grow increasingly haggard through the window, the three of them pursued their special tutoring with renewed vigor. Perfected Zizhu was in rare good mood, and while Chu Mingyao practiced her new technique, he even deigned to give Chu Mingxi a few pointers, sharing profound insights that touched upon various paths of cultivation.
Chu Mingyao was equally invigorated. In just a single day, she had successfully learned to condense the Soul Extinguishing Needle. Though her speed was currently too slow for the heat of actual combat, the fact that she had mastered the fundamentals so quickly was a triumph.
Chu Mingxi was also in high spirits. While he couldn’t yet attempt the technique without risking injury to his soul, he meticulously memorized every word of Perfected Zizhu’s instruction. The session even allowed him to resolve several long-standing bottlenecks in his own path. By his estimation, he would reach the peak of the Golden Core stage within a year.
When the time finally came to return to the Sword Sect, the three of them were almost reluctant to leave, wishing the ‘detention’ could last just a few days longer.
Perfected Ziling managed to maintain a facade of amity toward Perfected Zizhu, but Perfected Ziqiong’s composure had finally shattered. Standing atop his flying sword, he glared coldly at Chu Mingyao.
“What are you dawdling for? Now that you have your martial uncle, do you no longer have a use for your master?”
He intended the comment as a biting sarcasm, but beneath her lowered lashes, Chu Mingyao’s heart whispered a quiet yes.
However, realizing it was not yet time for a final confrontation, she shuffled toward him with small, hesitant steps. “I was only afraid Master was still angry with me.” She muttered, her voice a mask of filial piety. “Master, please don’t be upset. Your disciple only works this hard because I want to help you fulfill your long-held wishes.”
After whispering her filial plea, Chu Mingyao cast a swift, fearful glance toward Perfected Ziling and immediately ducked behind Perfected Ziqiong, as if seeking sanctuary.
Perfected Ziqiong froze. A flicker of suspicion crossed his mind. Why did he suddenly feel like Chu Mingyao’s words were a trap designed to pit him against Perfected Ziling? Yet, as he felt the hand lightly clutching the corner of his sleeve, the sensation mirrored the memory of the little girl from years ago— the one who would cling to him after he had ignored her for days as punishment.
It must be my imagination, He reassured himself. He had spent years meticulously twisting her perception of the world through his mentorship. There was no way she could have seen through the deception. Unless…… a Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth was truly nigh, and she was one of those destined by fate to face it. A bringer of chaos? A chosen one? A transcendent?
Perfected Ziqiong shook the thought away.
The group was ready. Mounting their flying swords, they ascended and carved a path through the clouds toward the sect.
Though Chu Mingyao’s muttered words had clearly put Perfected Ziling on guard— his gaze had turned decidedly more vigilant— Perfected Ziqiong didn’t care. He had never expected a true reconciliation with Perfected Ziling anyway. Even at his peak of suspicion years ago, Perfected Ziling had failed to stop what Perfected Ziqiong had done to Chu Mingdong. Now that a decade had passed, what power did Perfected Ziling truly have?
In the end, Perfected Ziqiong was certain that everything would eventually fall into his hands.
……
At the entrance of Danming Village, Perfected Ziyi watched the streaks of sword light vanish into the horizon. She remained behind to assume her guard duty, while Guan Jingjing returned with the others to assist in the official investigation.
Once the sky was clear, Perfected Ziyi turned back to the village chief and the gathered outer disciples. With a curt nod, she led her contingent away on their swords, heading toward her post at Luori Town.
On the journey, the name ‘Xiang Qingyun’ drifted to her ears from the disciples behind her, causing her to furrow her brow. In truth, she harbored a deep-seated distaste for the girl. Xiang Qingyun had an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to sway the emotions of those around her.
During their time in the village, Perfected Ziyi had watched as Xiang Qingyun used a few sweet words to manipulate the outer disciples into performing tasks that were strictly her own responsibility. The villagers were the same. Despite the presence of several powerful cultivators, their praise was reserved solely for Xiang Qingyun. Even Chu Mingnan, once a focused and rational cultivator, became a shadow of himself in Xiang Qingyun’s presence.
It was all too bizarre.
Yet, since both the sect master and the grand elder seemed to approve of the girl, Perfected Ziyi kept her doubts buried. Her senior brothers were far more capable than she. Surely they saw a deeper strategy she was simply too dense to grasp.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Chu Mingyao. She feared the sect’s brightest genius was being sidelined or worse. It was only the sight of Perfected Zizhu’s dedicated tutoring over the past few days that offered her some small comfort.
Stationed now at Luori Town, she knew it was no longer her place to interfere in headquarters’ affairs. With a heavy sigh, she suppressed her worries and focused her mind on the horizon.
────ρя
On the main peak of the Sword Sect, within the cold stone walls of the Hall of Punishment, Perfected Ziling led a contingent of elders in a formal review. Suspended in the air, the Heavenly Water Screen flickered with the recorded memories of Chu Mingyao and her companions.
Because Chu Mingnan and Xiang Qingyun had arrived at Danming Village late, their records were the briefest and were cleared with clinical efficiency. Next came the exhaustive logs of Chu Mingyao, followed by those of Chu Mingxi and Chu Mingbei.
The elders scrutinized every fragment, meticulously calculating mission contribution points.
Chu Mingyao sat at the top of the merit list. Her feat of slaying a mid-Nascent Soul tiger monster, clearing the mountain of minor monsters, and dismantling the enemy formation was unparalleled. Chu Mingxi followed in second place, credited for the village’s defensive arrays and the successful suppression of the initial monster wave. Chu Mingbei’s contributions trailed closely behind. Even Chu Mingnan earned significant merit for his distribution of Mind Steadying Pills.
As for Xiang Qingyun, the record was barren. No matter how the elders viewed the footage, she appeared to have made no tangible contribution. It was as if she had merely gone on a social tour to chat with the locals.
However, Chu Mingyao was not watching for merit. Her eyes were fixed solely on Xiang Qingyun’s record.
Upon entering the village, Xiang Qingyun had visited nearly every household. On the surface, her behavior was impeccable— the picture of a compassionate cultivator comforting the masses. And she was never alone. Either Chu Mingnan or Chu Mingbei was always at her side, serving as accidental witnesses to her innocence.
To the elders, her movements were beyond reproach. But Chu Mingyao’s suspicion only deepened.
Though she had been detained during the search for Demon Soil Incense, her divine sense had mapped the village perfectly. She knew exactly where those clumps of filth had been unearthed. If Ning Wang truly had an accomplice— someone to sow the seeds of frenzy throughout the village— who was more qualified than the young woman who had walked every inch of the area?
Chu Mingyao’s mind drifted back to the final moments of her nightmare. She remembered being surrounded by a tide of demons, a hopeless siege. And yet, Xiang Qingyun had broken through that horde unharmed. She had reached Chu Mingyao’s side not to save her, but to execute her with her own hands, while the demons stood by as silent, cooperative witnesses to the ‘tragedy’.
If Xiang Qingyun had long been an agent of the Demon Realm, everything fell into place. Ning Wang hadn’t appeared by chance; he had been invited. Xiang Qingyun’s insistence on traveling to Danming Village was likely fueled by prior knowledge of Su Ke’er’s hidden celestial fox bloodline.
While Chu Mingyao’s mind raced through those connections, Chu Mingxi and the others were formally dismissed from the Hall of Punishment to collect their mission rewards at Neiwu Peak. Only Chu Mingyao and Perfected Zizhu remained, standing in the center of the hall like prisoners awaiting a final decree.
The records of the Heavenly Water Screen offered no proof of collusion, yet Ning Wang’s parting words had been so laced with calculated intimacy that the eldest of the Hall of Punishment were paralyzed by indecision. Most damaging, however, was the ambiguity of the two most powerful men in the room. Had either Perfected Ziling or Perfected Ziqiong firmly defended her, the matter would have been settled. But their silence acted as a vacuum, drawing out the elders’ suspicion.
After all, while the Heavenly Water Screen recorded what the eyes saw, it could not capture the secrets sent via mental transmission.
Finally, the law enforcement elder and hall master, Perfected Ziguang, broke the stalemate. His voice was a deep, resonating boom, “Everyone is clinging to their own shadows. If we continue to argue, this will drag on for an eternity. I propose we summon the Heart Reflecting Mirror. Under its light, the soul is laid bare and the truth is revealed. We need only trust its verdict.”
A collective breath hitched among the elders. The Heart Reflecting Mirror was a formidable tool, but its cost was high. It could only be invoked once every ten years and required the synchronized spiritual power of all ten elders of the hall.
“What other choice do we have?” Perfected Ziguang’s gaze swept the room, his authority silencing the murmurs. He turned and clasped his hands toward Perfected Ziling and Perfected Ziqiong. “The Dao Discussion Assembly is only a year away. Our sect’s prestige is at stake, and Mingyao is our foremost champion. If we cannot be certain of her loyalty, how can we let her represent us? And as for Zizhu, he is an elder who holds our sect’s deepest secrets. Without the mirror’s verdict, can any of you truly rest easy?”
Receiving only heavy silence in return, Perfected Ziguang let out a sharp, cold laugh. “I personally believe in the girl the grand elder raised, and I believe in the man who has stood by our side for centuries. But it seems it is you who lack faith!”
“Very well.” Perfected Ziling finally nodded. “Summon the Heart Reflecting Mirror.”
Perfected Ziqiong followed with a slight, almost imperceptible nod.
The ten elders of the Hall of Punishment moved as one. In an instant, the ceiling of the hall seemed to dissolve into a torrent of dazzling golden light that poured down like a sunbeam, enveloping Chu Mingyao and Perfected Zizhu.
Simultaneously, a massive bell tolled throughout the mountain. The sound resonated through every valley and peak, a lingering, solemn ring that announced to the entire Sword Sect that the ultimate judgment had begun.