"That Ninth Elder was utterly loyal to Sect Master Miao. Sect Master Miao must have valued him greatly, too, and would never have treated him poorly..."
Standing on his Flying Sword, Lin Mo mulled over every possibility, the furrow between his brows deepening.
His senses could not have been wrong. The Ninth Elder had definitely been tainted by a foul aura.
Now that he thought back, when Gou Fengying had been crushed to death by the Spirit-Devouring Vine, the blood smeared over its vines seemed to have carried that same aura.
Could there really have been such a coincidence? Lin Mo would not have believed it even if someone beat him to death!
"Sect Master Miao trusts that Ninth Elder deeply. Unless I can produce conclusive evidence..."
At that thought, Lin Mo grew even more worried, and his brows knitted tighter still.
Xiao He!
If Xiao He had not become Miao Yun's disciple, he would never have been this anxious. But with Xiao He staying by Miao Yun's side to cultivate the Sword Dao, had she not been placed in danger?
"Probably not."
After pondering for a long while, Lin Mo's taut nerves gradually relaxed.
If the Ninth Elder was a sleeper agent of the Tai Sui Gate like Gou Fengying, then whatever they were plotting had to be vitally important. They were unlikely to ruin their grand plan over Xiao He.
His most urgent task was to quickly find evidence of the Ninth Elder's betrayal of the Sword Sect and eliminate this hidden threat once and for all!
"I can't keep this from the Sect Master..."
Lin Mo stopped dwelling on it. Sword light flashed beneath his feet, and he sped toward the Azure Cloud Sect.
Ten li, fifty li, a hundred li...
Lin Mo's sword light raced onward.