Caomiao Village Massacre, Zhang Xiaofan Joins Qingyun

Caomiao Village Massacre, Zhang Xiaofan Joins Qingyun

At the foot of Qingyun Mountain.

There was a village called Caomiao Village, located fifty li from Heyang City.

That day, Qingyun Sect disciple Song Daren and several other Qingyun Sect disciples were conducting their usual patrol of the sect's perimeter when they suddenly discovered that the village had fallen into silence. A pungent, bloodthirsty aura also wafted down from the sky.

Song Daren's heart jolted. He immediately mounted his sword and flew straight toward Caomiao Village.

By the time Song Daren reached Caomiao Village, the entire village had become a surging river of blood, and a terrifying bloodthirsty aura permeated every corner of it.

Nearly every commoner in Caomiao Village had been slaughtered.

Only two young children and a middle-aged man who had already gone mad remained.

Even Song Daren felt sick at the sight of such a blood-soaked scene, while rage surged within him.

"Who was it?!"

"Who dared massacre an entire village beneath the Qingyun Sect's very feet?!"

Song Daren's face darkened. Normally honest and down-to-earth, he could not help but burn with fury upon witnessing such Demonic Path methods, wishing he could tear the culprit into ten thousand pieces.

The other Qingyun Sect disciples were equally outraged, wishing they could tear apart whoever had committed such a heinous, unforgivable act.

"We must report this to the sect at once!"

Song Daren and the others immediately came to their senses.

Meanwhile, after a chance encounter with Jin Ping'er, Bai Ye left Heyang City.

When he was not far from Qingyun Mountain, he caught the scent of an overwhelming bloodthirsty aura. His expression changed at once. Seemingly recalling something, he headed straight for Caomiao Village.

When Bai Ye saw the corpses strewn across Caomiao Village, his expression shifted slightly.

It seemed the incident had happened after all.

"Junior Brother Bai Ye?"

"Why are you here?!"

Song Daren's voice rang out at once.

Bai Ye turned around and saw that Song Daren and the others wore grim expressions. They were preparing to leave with the two unconscious children and the mad villager.

"Senior Brother Song, I had just returned from my travels when I smelled the pungent scent of blood from Caomiao Village. I never expected something like this to have happened."

Bai Ye spoke softly when he saw Song Daren.

"Truly hateful!"

"Hundreds of people in Caomiao Village were slaughtered beneath the Qingyun Sect's very feet. Only this one villager and these two children survived. I was just about to return to the sect to report this matter. Since Junior Brother Bai Ye has returned, come back and report to the sect with us."

Song Daren's heart was incomparably heavy as he looked at the only three survivors of Caomiao Village.

Bai Ye nodded at those words.

Looking at the two children in Song Daren's arms, Bai Ye sighed inwardly. It seemed the plot would still unfold as it had in the end.

The person Zhang Xiaofan trusted so deeply had unexpectedly turned out to be the true culprit behind the massacre of Caomiao Village.

It would be a devastating blow to him!

We'll see what happens later. Perhaps things won't develop as they did in the original plot.

With that thought, Bai Ye did not dwell on it further. He followed Song Daren and the others as they brought the three surviving people from Caomiao Village back to the Qingyun Sect.

When Bai Ye and Song Daren brought the three survivors of Caomiao Village back to the Qingyun Sect,

the events at Caomiao Village immediately shook the upper ranks of the Qingyun Sect.

The heads of all Seven Peaks gathered at Tongtian Peak.

Inside Tongtian Peak at this moment,

Bai Ye and Song Daren began answering the questions of the Seven Peaks' heads.

"Song Daren, Bai Ye, were you two the ones who discovered what happened at Caomiao Village?"

Dao Xuan looked at the two of them with an extremely stern expression.

"Yes, Sect Master."

"This disciple was patrolling the Qingyun Sect's outer territory with several junior brothers when we suddenly discovered that Caomiao Village had been massacred."

"While we were preparing to return to the sect, my junior brother Bai Ye, who had just returned from his travels, sensed the dense bloodthirsty aura from Caomiao Village and came to investigate. That was how he encountered us."

"..."

Song Daren quickly explained the entire sequence of events.

After hearing the full account, Dao Xuan and the heads of the Seven Peaks all wore dark expressions.

This was simply a disgrace to the Qingyun Sect!

They had never expected that, beneath the Qingyun Sect's very feet, a village under their protection would be massacred, leaving only three survivors—and one of them had gone mad.

"Bai Ye, you said you had returned from your travels and happened to encounter Song Daren and the others."

"What proof do you have? How did you just happen to come across this matter by such a coincidence?"

At that moment, Daoist Cang Song turned his gaze toward Bai Ye, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

Before Bai Ye could answer, Tian Buyi roared, "Senior Brother Cang Song, what do you mean by that?!"

"Are you suggesting that my disciple slaughtered the villagers of Caomiao Village?!"

Daoist Cang Song gave a cold laugh upon hearing that. "Junior Tian, don't get so angry. I merely have some doubts. After all, anything is possible."

"And your disciple appeared at such a convenient time. It is only natural for me to be suspicious."

Bai Ye smiled faintly as he looked at Daoist Cang Song. "Is that so?"

"Then couldn't I say that Uncle-Master Cang Song took advantage of the cover of night to secretly go to Caomiao Village and slaughter all those villagers?"

"With Uncle-Master Cang Song's strength, killing those unarmed villagers presumably would not even take the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, would it?"

Upon hearing those words, Cang Song instantly flew into a rage, his aura surging forth. "Insolence!"

"I think you're the insolent one!" Tian Buyi also erupted in anger, his aura billowing as he stared coldly at Daoist Cang Song. "The Sect Master hasn't even spoken, yet Senior Brother Cang Song is already so eager to pin the crime of massacring a village on my disciple."

"This reminds me of the incident five years ago, when Old Monster Duanmu infiltrated the Qingyun Sect."

"Our Qingyun Sect's defenses are so strict. How could someone from the Demonic Cult have entered so easily? Now such an incident has occurred beneath the Qingyun Sect's very feet. Perhaps these two matters are connected."

"More likely, there may be a traitor from the Demonic Cult within the Qingyun Sect. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain what happened five years ago and what happened today."

The moment those words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.

The other heads of the Seven Peaks all changed expression, staring at Tian Buyi in shock.

They had not expected Tian Buyi to say something like that.

"Junior Tian, enough!"

Dao Xuan also became angry. He glared at Tian Buyi before turning his gaze toward Daoist Cang Song. "Junior Brother Cang Song, you should also say less!"

If those two continued, wouldn't the entire Qingyun Sect be thrown into panic?!

After hearing Daoxuan's words, Cang Song and Tian Buyi merely exchanged cold looks, snorted, and fell silent.

However, the many heads present were deep in thought, clearly considering how much truth there might be in Tian Buyi's words.

"Enough. Let us end the matter here for today. Once these two children awaken, we will discuss it further."

Dao Xuan spoke slowly as he looked at the heads, then flicked his sleeve and left Tongtian Peak.

At those words, the heads and disciples present also departed.