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墨書 Inktalez
Someone is in danger!
This was the first time encountering someone from another faction in the Ancient Celestial Field.
Li Hong suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I'll go take a look. You all stay put and be on guard!" He soared towards the direction of the sound, his figure flickering and immediately disappearing ten miles away.
This was his true speed. Saving the person was urgent; at this moment, Li Hong did not want to hide his true cultivation level any longer.
The night wind was heavy, and there was a deathly silence in the air. After that person called for help, there was no further sound.
Li Hong quickly flew close to the source of the sound. Here stood a shorter mountain peak, filled with dense Red Coral trees, making it difficult to see where the person calling for help was located.
Li Hong shouted, "Which brother is calling for help? Please respond!"
"Here..." A faint voice came from halfway up the mountain.
Li Hong hurriedly flew down. In front of him, the thicket of Red Coral trees was thick and tangled. He summoned the Starfire Shield, disregarding the strange trees as they crackled and burned, charging into the forest like a fiery dragon.
Oh, there’s actually a small pond here!
Among the strange trees were several particularly thick and gnarled old Red Coral trees surrounding a small pond that measured only about ten feet square. The water in the pond was still like a mirror, reflecting starlight; surprisingly, it was bright red, resembling blood.
Beside the pond lay a person—one could only say it was half a person.
The lower half of this person was missing. The wound was gruesome to behold, their face pale like gold paper, breathing shallowly. They appeared to be between youth and middle age, with a fairly decent appearance. Their eyes were tightly closed, and something hovered above their head, resembling their protective treasure. This treasure shielded them from the dripping crimson sap of the old Red Coral tree, which continuously emitted soft hissing sounds as wisps of red smoke rose.
Without hesitation, Li Hong rushed over, opened the Starfire Shield, and pulled him beneath it. At that moment, something suddenly leaped out of the pond, seemingly mistaking the Starfire Shield for some delicious food, and took a bite. A loud hissing sound erupted as red smoke billowed out, filling the air with a burnt stench.
Strange creaking noises followed as that creature was injured and retreated back into the water, no longer daring to come out.
Li Hong's mind was focused on the injured person, caught off guard by the unexpected presence of something in the water. Startled, he loosened his grip, causing the person's upper body to fall back to the ground, fortunately still within the protective range of the Starfire Shield.
"Are you okay?" Li Hong called out, immediately feeling a bit embarrassed. With the lower half of his body gone, how could he be fine?
The person kept his eyes tightly shut and after a moment said, "I have a life-saving Elixir in my arms. Could you please feed it to me?"
"Alright." As Li Hong reached to check the person's arms, he noticed that his chest was covered in blood and something seemed to be wriggling inside. His hand paused at the collar, sensing that something was off.
"Why aren't you moving?" the person suddenly said, opening his eyes to stare at Li Hong. At that moment, a flash of surprise crossed his gaze.
Li Hong immediately took notice.
The person stared at Li Hong for a while before hesitantly asking, "Who are you?"
"I am Chu Hong, a disciple of the Nine Li Sect. I came here to participate in the grand competition. My senior brothers will be here soon to assist me; I was the first to arrive. How do you feel? Which sect do you belong to?" Li Hong replied.
"Oh..." Disappointment flickered in the person's eyes as he suddenly said, "You should go. Just leave me here. Hurry! I'm fine!"
Li Hong was baffled. Was he mistaken? He had come to save this person's life, yet he showed no gratitude and wanted him to leave? He feared that as soon as he turned away, this person would end up feeding himself to whatever monsters lurked in the water.
However, the man was insistent and urged Li Hong to leave repeatedly. He didn't seem injured at all. Confused and with no other option, Li Hong let him go and watched as he collapsed by the pond's edge while a magical artifact flashed and began to hover above him.
It was a shimmering Azure Jade Axe.
Li Hong remained perplexed until he returned to the Summit.
Upon hearing about it, Chu Xi pondered for a moment and said, "An axe artifact? I haven't heard of any sect having such a figure... But you did well; I suspect that person's injuries were fake. Even if they were real, it was likely a trap meant to harm someone. Fortunately, you didn't fall into it!"
Li Hong was still puzzled, "How can it be fake when the lower half of his body is gone?"
"This kind of injury looks terrible, but for us cultivators, it's not that serious. As long as the Dantian isn't harmed, one can continue to cultivate. At a certain level of cultivation, a severed leg will regrow. If he has spiritual medicine, there's even less to worry about—of course, it takes a lot of determination to sever one's own leg; not everyone can do that," Chu Xi said thoughtfully.
Li Hong remained skeptical, feeling that it was the creature in the pond that had bitten off the man's leg.
In the dead of night, there were no more screams from that direction; it was unclear whether the man was dead or alive. As dawn broke, everyone packed up and set off.
The Second Peak and Basin, the Third Peak and Basin… this group of Basins were almost identical, all filled with sprawling Red Coral and Toxic Forests, with large Basins in the center that had no Restrictions. Except for One Basin, from Two to Seven Basins were completely empty. They were now flying towards the Eighth Peak, with only two more places left before they would change direction.
Up until now, aside from encountering that inexplicable legless man, they hadn't come across any other people or living creatures. Thus, they resumed their formation in pairs, with Chuxiong still paired with Hui Feng.
As they flew along, Li Hong suddenly halted mid-air, frowning and tilting his ear as if he heard something. Being the one with the highest cultivation level, everyone immediately stopped.
Li Hong said in a deep voice, "Someone is coming!"
After a while, the sound of swords slicing through the air echoed from the horizon as a large group of Flying Swords approached. The first four figures looked particularly familiar to Li Hong; upon seeing them, his immediate reaction was—run!
The Emei Four Swords. It was the Emei Sect.
Li Hong turned and flew away; most of the group followed suit. However, Chu Huai called out, "Wait! It's not every day we encounter people from another sect; shouldn't we ask for directions?"
Li Hong scoffed, "Do you think they will tell you?"
Chu Huai smiled and replied, "You have a grudge against them, but I don't. How about this: you stay quiet at the back and treat them politely; what’s there to fear?"
With this reasoning presented, everyone felt it made some sense and turned their gaze towards Li Hong.
It has been more than half a month since I arrived here, and this is the first time encountering people from another sect. Upon hearing Chu Huai's words, everyone wanted to go over and ask for news, such as the places they had passed through; at least they could exchange information, right?
Seeing that everyone basically agreed, Chu Huai turned around and flew forward, cupping his hands and calling out, "Emei Sect brothers, I am Chu Huai, the third disciple of the Nine Li Sect's leader. Long time no see!"
The leading Emei Four Swords had already spotted the Nine Li Sect members. With a swift gesture of their swords, they quickly approached and soon met up with Chu Huai. The initial few sentences of casual greetings reached Li Hong's ears, but then the Emei Four Swords began to communicate with Chu Huai through sound transmission, occasionally glancing toward the Nine Li Sect group with cold expressions.
Li Hong could almost confirm they were discussing him. His brows furrowed; how long were they going to go on? Did they want to stir up trouble?
However, Chu Huai was waving at everyone, signaling them to come over.
Li Hong hesitated at the back, feeling an ominous sense in his heart.
As Li Hong flew closer, the Emei disciples immediately spread out into a surrounding formation, each wielding their swords and encircling him in the center. Chu Xi and others stood beside him, leaving almost everyone trapped within the Emei Sect disciples' encirclement except for Chu Huai standing with the Emei Four Swords.
Chuxuan frowned and raised his voice, "What do you mean by this?"
Li Hong couldn't help but cheer; this was exactly what he wanted to ask.
"It has nothing to do with outsiders; we want to ask Chu Hong one question. The other brothers of Nine Li Sect can come over and stand with you, Brother Chu Huai," White Silk Sword Azure Sky said with a smile, though his eyes were filled with coldness.
Not a single person from Nine Li Sect moved. Chu Huai kept signaling with his eyes, but still no one shifted their position.
Chuxuan frowned and said, "Even if my Sixth Senior Brother has grievances with you, that is all in the past. The Ancient Celestial Field is fraught with danger; after all, we are all from the Nine Major Sects of the Immortal Sect. Those minor grievances can be discussed later. Please disperse."
"It is precisely because of current grievances! You won't leave until we clarify things! Chu Hong, tell us why you set us up!" Zhu Xue, the Fairy finally couldn't hold back any longer as Willow Brows shouted angrily.
What on earth was going on! Li Hong rubbed his forehead band and felt his head swelling: "I'm barely managing my own affairs; where would I find time to set you up? If you want to make a scene, think about how to save your own life first!"
"Your life is just as valuable as ours, the lives of us disciples from Emei are not worth less! Enough with the nonsense, Chu Hong, if you have the guts, surrender and come with us. Once we're out, we will naturally seek justice from the Sect Master!" Zhu Xue shouted.
Surrender! Li Hong was so furious he couldn't speak, feeling utterly confused.
Chuxuan coldly said, "You need to clarify your words. My Sixth Senior Brother has been with us the entire time. For half a month, we haven't encountered a single person from another faction, let alone harmed anyone from Emei!"
"That's right! Chu Hong has been with us all along."
"When has he ever harmed you? You're slandering him!"
Members of Nine Li Sect couldn't help but shout in protest.
"Fine, you must recognize this item." Zhu Xue turned to someone in the group and said, "Take out the evidence and see what he has to say! We must avenge Black Flame Senior Brother!"
A young man stepped forward, his face filled with anger, holding an object that glimmered in the light.
It was a small jadeite axe.
Li Hong was taken aback; wasn't this the protective treasure of that man with a broken leg?
"Look! He recognized it! And still wants to deny it!" Zhu Xue shouted.
Li Hong shook his head seriously, "It's not the same thing. Six days ago, I did see a man with a broken leg using this treasure. At that time, I wanted to save him, but he drove me away. I still don't know whether that man is dead or alive. I don't understand why his protective treasure is in your possession, nor do I know why you insist on accusing me of harming you!"
"The man with the broken leg! It's him! You are in cahoots with him; you plotted against us! Black Flame Senior Brother's tragic death is precisely because of you and him working together! Before that man died, we all heard it. Nine Li Sect's disciple Chu Hong was alone; just now your Chu Huai Senior Brother said it was you—do you think he would wrongfully accuse you?" Zhu Xue yelled.
Chu Huai! Li Hong's eyes narrowed as he shot a cold glare at Chu Huai. All the disciples from Nine Li Sect also looked at Chu Huai with cold expressions.
Chu Huai saw that everyone had an unfriendly expression and hurriedly shouted, "That day, it was indeed Chu Hong who went alone. Where did I lie?"
"You did not lie, but you have put me in an unjust position!" Li Hong said coldly.
He roughly understood that the person with the broken leg probably had a grudge against Emei. Somehow, they had mixed into the Ancient Celestial Field and set a trap on the road ahead of Emei, but unexpectedly fell into their own trap first. After that, they truly framed the Emei disciple named Black Flame.
Since the protective treasure was already in Emei's hands, the person with the broken leg must have died. Before dying, they likely said something that these crazed individuals took as confirmation that he was an accomplice.
He thought this way, and others did too. Chu Xi immediately asked, "Please clarify, based on a single treasure and the words of a dying person, you conclude that our Chu Hong senior brother participated in the framing. May I ask, what sect did that person belong to? Did he explicitly say before dying, 'Chu Hong is my accomplice'?"
This hit the nail on the head, and Zhu Xue was left speechless.
Chu Xi calmly said, "You must have misunderstood. To assert that our Chu Hong senior brother is his accomplice without even clarifying the person's sect is truly too arbitrary. I ask all Emei seniors to withdraw; we do not conspire with those of different paths!" After saying this, he flicked his sleeve and posed as if to leave.
"Leaving is fine! But Chu Hong must come with us!" Zhu Xue made a gesture with his sword technique and charged forward. Even before he arrived, a scorching heat rushed toward them.
The Purple Cloud Sword flashed coldly and was already at Li Hong's face.
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