Xu Miaoran shot Nan Baicheng a glance. “‘The harmony between the two sects’? Is there any harmony between the Basking Moon Sect and Horizon Ocean Pavilion to speak of? At best, we have a trading relationship, each side using the other, no? What? You think that because you’ve borrowed my Wind Devil Island, you can treat it as your own?”
This was their first meeting, but they were already spitting fire at each other. Ji Wujiu panicked, but there was nothing he could do. He could only shoot glances at Nan Baicheng, but Nan Baicheng seemed blind to his looks and just kept staring at Xu Miaoran.
When Nan Baicheng had been stationed at Anyang Prefecture, he had been through countless incidents and accumulated a rich reserve of experience. The more he looked, the more he felt that there was a problem with Xu Miaoran’s arrival. Completely disregarding her background, he said, “Unfortunately, while Wind Devil Island belongs to Horizon Ocean Pavilion, it does not belong to Lady Xu. This place already has a manager, and even if my lady is the outer disciple of Sorrowgone, isn’t your range of responsibilities a little too wide?”
He had stopped addressing her as “county lord”.
Xu Miaoran glared. “Then it should be the manager speaking, not you. Moreover, it was just a simple question.”
She looked at Ji Wujiu. “Senior Brother Ji, who is this person in your Prison of Mortal Coil?”
She had never seen Wei Tianchong before, but since this person was imprisoned in the Prison of Mortal Coil and had Nan Baicheng so antsy, she could make an educated guess.
Ji Wujiu looked at Nan Baicheng, who shook his head. After thinking it over, he replied, “This person has the surname Wei, and he is a student of Basking Moon Academy.”
He didn’t dare to offend Xu Miaoran, but he couldn’t break his promise, so he could only compromise by giving only the surname.
But when Xu Miaoran got this piece of information, she instantly understood. She snorted and was about to speak, but at this moment, Nan Baicheng said in a sly tone, “Lady Xu, you’ve asked your question, so you can leave now, yes? My lady, it is best if you avoid interfering with this test of the Basking Moon Sect.”
Xu Miaoran was certainly not intending to leave. She looked around as she tried to think of an idea, and she just so happened to see a crack on the six-edged crystal. Delighted, she sternly asked, “Senior Brother Ji, why is there a crack in the Clam Mirage Mirror?”
Ji Wujiu’s heart trembled, and he hurriedly explained, “When a Basking Moon student was passing through the Gigantes Illusion Zone, they somehow managed to incite the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk into manifesting his will, and even the will of the Gigantes King manifested. The Gigantes Illusion Zone couldn’t take the burden of their clash and thusly shattered.”
“It’s one thing for the illusion zone to be destroyed in a clash of wills, but why is even the Clam Mirage Mirror damaged?”
Ji Wujiu gritted his teeth and replied, “I was trying to restore the illusion to drive out Nine Disaster, and Nine Disaster fought back…”
“I see,” Xu Miaoran snorted. “So you’re saying that this is because you failed to handle the matter properly?”
Ji Wujiu paled. These were the words he feared the most.
If it came to be known that his attempt to maintain this small illusion zone just to imprison Tang Jie led to the treasure’s being damaged, he would not have a good outcome. And Xu Miaoran could report to his superior without having to go through any procedures.
Nan Baicheng saw that Xu Miaoran was intent on starting trouble, and his expression darkened. “Lady Xu, you misunderstand. This Baicheng asked Brother Ji to do this. The Basking Moon Sect will pay compensation for the damages suffered by Horizon Ocean Pavilion’s treasure.”
Xu Miaoran snorted. “This matter concerns an important treasure of my Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and it’s not something that can be dismissed as mere compensation. My Horizon Ocean Pavilion wants one million spirit jades. Can you pay?”
“You…” Nan Baicheng was so angry that he was speechless.
“If you can’t pay, then stay quiet. Is it your place to arbitrarily make a decision about a valued treasure of my Ocean Pavilion?”
Xu Miaoran insisted on staying using the Clam Mirage Mirror, and there was nothing Nan Baicheng could do about it.
A moment later, Xu Miaoran shot a stream of wind out of her finger, which struck the Clam Mirage Mirror. “I need to see what’s going on here that made my Horizon Ocean Pavilion pay such a heavy price!”
Scenes flashed as the entirety of the situation on Wind Devil Island appeared before Xu Miaoran. As Xu Miaoran flipped through the scenes, she found that Wei Tianchong was located rather close to Xian Tao and Hong Yuan.
Xu Miaoran inwardly celebrated, and she continued to look for a little longer. Deciding that it was time to leave, she said, “It seems like there are no major concerns. Boring! I’m done.”
She was about to leave when Nan Baicheng grabbed her and sinisterly said, “My lady, didn’t you have two servants when you arrived? I wonder where they might be.”
Xu Miaoran grimaced. “Are my servants any of your business?”
Nan Baicheng’s suspicions were intensifying. “It’s naturally not any of my business, but I’m sure Lady Xu knows that there are some people in the world who collude with outsiders while also enjoying the benefits of being on the inside. I cannot control Lady Xu, but I can at least control the affairs of the people in my sect. If someone is colluding with an outsider, I think it is best if I strip them of their right to partake in this test.”
“You…” Xu Miaoran glared at Nan Baicheng.
But Nan Baicheng did not fear her, staring right back.
Xu Miaoran knew that this was no good, thinking to herself, This stubborn scoundrel is too cunning. I’m being suspected, so if Xian Tao and Hong Yuan do anything, they’ll most likely be discovered. If he really managed to get his hands on evidence, the unfortunate ones would be Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong. I need to think of another idea.
Xu Miaoran looked around and said, “What a coincidence! I also think there’s something suspicious going on here. The students are all pushing through the formation on equal terms, so why is it that someone who has chosen the left path has encountered the Prison of Mortal Coil? In my view, it truly does seem like someone is colluding with an outsider!”
Ji Wujiu had the wits scared out of him by these words, and he quickly said, “Junior Sister, don’t misunderstand. It’s not what you think…”
Nan Baicheng barked, “Brother Ji was simply doing as I said. The students are being tested, and I need to test their ability to adapt.”
Xu Miaoran sneered. “You have say over the affairs of Basking Moon students, but since when were you given say over the affairs of the people of my Horizon Ocean Pavilion?”
“You…” Nan Baicheng fumed.
It appeared that if Nan Baicheng dared to put Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran together, Xu Miaoran would put Ji Wujiu and Nan Baicheng together. In any case, since neither side was being reasonable, why not see who backed down first?
Ji Wujiu inwardly groaned that he had managed to draw the attention of this girl. He could now tell that Xu Miaoran had some connection to Tang Jie, or else there was no way she would appear at a moment like this. He silently cursed Nan Baicheng for bringing him this huge problem, but he could only try his best to mediate. “The Basking Moon Sect and Horizon Ocean Pavilion have a peaceful relationship and frequently interact with each other, so it’s very normal to have a few private friendships. How could this be called ‘collusion’? The two of you are both being too serious, too serious.”
Xu Miaoran and Nan Baicheng said nothing, continuing to stare at each other.
Ji Wujiu felt helpless. “Say something, will you?”
In the end, Nan Baicheng broke the impasse, laughing and saying, “Brother Ji is right. The two sects often interact with each other, so calling it ‘collusion’ is too serious.”
Xu Miaoran grunted, “Perhaps ‘collusion’ is too serious, but a lack of impartiality is reality. Senior Brother Ji, I think it best if you withdraw your Prison of Mortal Coil. Otherwise, if word gets out, my Horizon Ocean Pavilion will be accused of interfering in a test for Basking Moon Sect students.”
Since Nan Baicheng had already seen through her goal, she decided to be blunt about it.
Ji Wujiu was just about to agree when Nan Baicheng replied, “No! If the Prison of Mortal Coil is removed, the student can step straight onto the Devil Crushing Path, and that is extremely unfair.”
Xu Miaoran immediately glared, but there was no way Nan Baicheng would agree to this.
Ji Wujiu grew frantic and knew that he had been swept up into a vortex. He shouted, “Enough! Stop arguing. I have an idea on how to proceed.”
“Hm?” The two of them looked at Ji Wujiu.
Ji Wujiu gritted his teeth and said, “To just remove the Prison of Mortal Coil would be to let that Wei Tianchong go straight onto the Devil Crushing Path. Since that is the case, I will give that kid a chance and see if he can seize it.”
With a wave of his horsetail whisk, half of the hundreds of doors of light in the illusion zone disappeared.
“Brother Ji!” Nan Baicheng was aghast.
Ji Wujiu said, “I have removed half of the traps. The rest will depend on how the child does.”
He looked at Xu Miaoran, and Xu Miaoran knew that this was the greatest concession Ji Wujiu could make, so she could only express her approval. She thought to herself, I’ve done all I can do. Wei Tianchong, if you still can’t get through… it would be best if Tang Jie chose another young master to support.
On the Devil Crushing Path.
Another figure tumbled through the air.
“Agh! Tang Jie, let’s talk about thisAAAAA…” Qin Liang screamed as he flew through the air and crashed into the formation. The moment he landed, flowery vines emerged and tightly bound him.
He was about to raise his head and curse when he saw that there was a whole slew of people inside. He smiled and said, “Great Brother Peng, Senior Brother Long, Senior Sister Su, Senior Sister Meng, Senior Brother Shaqing, Junior Brother Li, Junior Brother Zhang… You’re all here?”
He had read off several dozen names in one go. The flower formation was full of students that Tang Jie had seized.
Several students had come after Long Dao, and all of them had been captured.
The most dangerous time had been when three students had come out of the Devil Crushing Path at the same time, forcing Tang Jie to use the Blazeraven Ring and Heavenly Pearl Slash Talisman to deal with them.
This Qin Liang had come far behind these others.
These students all looked wordlessly at him, thinking, Kid, what are you playing the fool for?
Qin Liang was the student that Tang Jie had asked to work on the puppet before. As he understood a little about formations, he had come out earlier than most. He knew that he didn’t have the strength to vie for the True Inheritance, and he had mainly come to experience the power of the Nine Palace Illusion Formation. He had believed that the True Inheritor struggle would be over by the time he arrived at the Devil Crushing Path, but to his surprise, all of the students in front of him had been held up in the flower formation.
Feeling some hope, he wanted to talk with Tang Jie and see if Tang Jie would let him through, but he had barely said a few words before Tang Jie threw him into the formation.
He hadn’t had any hope for the True Inheritance in the first place, so he didn’t care much. But as he looked around and saw all these students who were so much stronger and more famous than him caught in the formation, he couldn’t help but be amused and laugh.
“Bastard! Is it that funny?” Long Dao roared, glaring at Qin Liang.
He had been no match in battle and had become Tang Jie’s third captive on the Devil Crushing Path, and he hated Tang Jie so much that he was grinding his teeth.
Qin Liang instantly shrank back in fear, not daring to say a word.
But Peng Yaolong said, “You weren’t able to live up to the potential of your abilities, so you lost. Why vent your anger on others?”
Long Dao fumed, “Didn’t you lose too?”
Peng Yaolong chuckled. “Wrong! I won, but Tang Jie used numbers to capture me.”
“But you still lost your chance!”
“I didn’t have that chance in the first place,” Peng Yaolong replied as he motioned toward Su Xinyue with his mouth.
Unlike Long Dao, the moment he saw that Su Xinyue had gotten here before him, Peng Yaolong knew that he wouldn’t have gotten the True Inheritance even if Tang Jie hadn’t been here. Thus, after his initial rage, he had calmed down and grown to accept this fact. Although he was still looking for a chance to break out, there was no resentment in his efforts.
In truth, the vast majority of the students who had come afterward felt the same. Once they realized that they hadn’t been the fastest, they mostly felt no hatred for Tang Jie. They only pitied themselves for being no match for Tang Jie and failing to overcome him.
Upon seeing Peng Yaolong gesture at her, Su Xinyue smiled. “I’m fine too. After all, Tang Jie was even faster. But regardless, in this contest, there is no denying the fact that Tang Jie is stronger than all the other students. If he wanted to become the True Inheritor, none of us would have a chance, and I would accept a loss willingly.”
“Hmph, he’s nothing but a shameless scoundrel who got where he is through deception. If the academy hadn’t given him more than a hundred thousand coins and a large amount of medicine, you think he would have gotten this far?” Long Dao still wasn’t convinced.