Boom!
Frenzied killing intent rose from Ling Ziling, surging straight into the heavens.
High above, her killing aura tore through the thick clouds, revealing the azure sky.
Across the Azure Feather Dao Sect, countless people looked up in astonishment.
"Qi Yue!"
Ling Ziling roared through gritted teeth.
Ling Ziling had originally thought her mother had merely been ambushed and surrounded by the Demon Sect. She had never imagined the Seventh Elder had played a crucial role in it.
To think the Seventh Elder, who held such a high position in the Dao Sect, had long been colluding with the Demon Sect.
Her mother's death was the pain of Ling Ziling's lifetime.
At that moment, she wished she could cut the Seventh Elder into ten thousand pieces.
[Age 231: After returning to the sect, you learn that the sect master's wife has been murdered. Knowing you were an accomplice, you spend every day in fear. The stranger approaches you again, threatening you into serving the Demon Sect. You have no choice but to agree.] [Age 270: You break through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.] [Age 340: You break through to the Nascent Soul Late Stage. Over the years, you have helped many Demon Sect disciples infiltrate the Azure Feather Dao Sect. You still do not know the stranger's identity.] [Age 381: The Immortal Alliance grants the Southern Region an opportunity to enter the Spirit Medicine Realm. Only Qi Refinement disciples can enter. The Southern Region's new generation of heavenly geniuses gathers in the Spirit Medicine Realm to compete! The stranger demands that you secure the escort assignment.] [Age 382: The Dao Sect's heavenly geniuses shine in the Spirit Medicine Realm, slaying countless Demon Sect disciples. On the return journey, three Nascent Soul Peak Stage elders from the Demon Sect surround and attack them. Unexpectedly, the sect master has secretly followed them. The three Demon Sect elders die, and you count yourself fortunate that you did not make a move.]
"Qi Yue didn't die?"
Ling Ziling was somewhat surprised. When she had simulated her own life, Qi Yue had clearly died after being struck by the Black Tiger Fist.
In this simulation, Ling Ziling had thought he would be killed again. She had not expected him to survive.
"Did the Demon Sect elders kill him, or did the mysterious person who killed him not make a move?"
Ling Ziling could not puzzle it out. The life simulation provided only written descriptions, leaving her with far too little information.
[Age 385: You are poisoned without noticing a thing! You die!]
"Poisoned to death!"
Ling Ziling's pupils contracted. The Seventh Elder was already at the Nascent Soul Peak Stage, one of the strongest experts in the entire Southern Region.
There were only two possibilities for someone to poison Qi Yue without him noticing.
First, Qi Yue trusted the poisoner deeply and had let down his guard.
Second, the person responsible had a higher cultivation than the Seventh Elder and had acted so discreetly that he had noticed nothing.
"Could it have been that stranger?"
Ling Ziling stroked her chin in thought. She had simulated the Seventh Elder's entire life, yet found not a single clue about the stranger.
"The stranger appeared nearly two hundred years ago and is still lurking in the Dao Sect. Anyone capable of making the Seventh Elder submit must be far from weak. That narrows it down to very few people in the Dao Sect."
"Besides, over the years, the Seventh Elder has used his position to bring in quite a few Demon Sect spies. This is the perfect chance to find them and purge them all."
A vicious light gleamed in Ling Ziling's eyes, killing intent surging around her.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures sped in from the distance, swiftly appearing atop Azure Feather Peak. They were all top experts of the Dao Sect, drawn by Ling Ziling's sky-piercing killing intent.
"Sect Master, what happened?"
Grand Elder Luo Yun surveyed the surroundings. Finding nothing amiss, he looked at Ling Ziling in confusion.
Ling Ziling had only recently broken through to the Spirit Transformation Stage and was still consolidating her cultivation. Could this sudden eruption of such intense killing intent mean she had developed an inner demon?
"You're worrying too much, Grand Elder. I just received intelligence that numerous Demon Sect spies are hiding within the Dao Sect. Some have even been concealed here for centuries. For a moment, I couldn't quite control my killing intent."
Seeing the look in the Grand Elder's eyes, Ling Ziling immediately realized he had misunderstood and explained.
At the same time, she narrowed her eyes and swept her gaze over everyone present, without letting it linger on the Seventh Elder.
"Oh? Is that true?"
The Grand Elder was somewhat startled. The Azure Feather Dao Sect and the Southern Region's Demon Sects were mortal enemies. If this was true, and those spies coordinated with the Demon Sects from within, the Dao Sect would suffer devastating losses.
"Of course it's true. I'll provide a list shortly. Grand Elder, simply arrest those named and investigate them. This time, we must comb through the entire Dao Sect thoroughly, without overlooking even the outer disciples and chore disciples."
Ling Ziling spoke with absolute finality. From the Seventh Elder's simulation, she knew that in the past forty years alone, he had planted quite a few Demon Sect spies.
As for the list, Ling Ziling already had one.
There were Demon Sect spies within the Dao Sect, and naturally, the Dao Sect had its own undercover agents within the Demon Sects.
Over the years, Ling Ziling had already obtained a list of Demon Sect spies. Though they were all small fry, they at least gave her a pretext for a sweeping purge.
If she could hook a few big fish through this purge and find the stranger who contacted the Seventh Elder, that would be perfect.
Of course, she had to lead this purge herself. Only then could she target everyone connected to the Seventh Elder.
Watching the Law Enforcement Hall disciples rush past him, Ye Xuan shrank back.
"What a fierce killing aura."
Ye Xuan smacked his lips. The entire Dao Sect had been rather abnormal lately. Something major seemed to have happened within the sect, and Law Enforcement Hall disciples were being dispatched frequently.
But Ye Xuan was currently just an ordinary outer disciple with no sources of information. He knew nothing of the sect's purge.
"Ah, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. I'd better think about how to earn Spirit Stones."
Ye Xuan came down Pill Cloud Peak with his head lowered, patting his Qiankun Bag with a troubled expression.
Pill Cloud Peak was where outer disciples refined pills and traded them.
Today, Ye Xuan had gone to Pill Cloud Peak to buy some medicinal ingredients and reference books, and to perform his first check-in there.
He had originally thought it would raise his pill-refining skill level. Instead, his check-in had unexpectedly earned him a cultivation method.
The Myriad Dao Poison Scripture.
It described all kinds of poisons in detail, along with methods for refining poison pills. Some of those poisons made Ye Xuan's scalp prickle.
Nevertheless, Ye Xuan decided to study this poison scripture carefully. He had even spent his entire fortune on a Pill Furnace, furnace fire, and a pile of medicinal ingredients.
But buying these things had nearly exhausted all the Spirit Stones Ye Xuan had obtained from Hu Yi, leaving him with only a few.
Unless he found a way to earn Spirit Stones, even cultivating would become a problem.
"Poison pills that can threaten the Spirit Transformation Realm. Now those are good things."
Recalling the most powerful poison pills in the scripture, Ye Xuan immediately grew excited. Although his current cultivation only allowed him to refine poison pills capable of threatening the Golden Core Realm, that was enough.
As Ye Xuan was heading back, he suddenly felt an immense presence descend from above, pressing him straight out of the sky.
"What's that?"
Ye Xuan raised his head and looked at the sky in astonishment.
A pitch-black rift tens of thousands of zhang long had split open in the azure sky. A golden claw slowly stepped out of it, and the creature's form gradually emerged.
Antlers like a deer's, a head like a camel's, eyes like a rabbit's, a neck like a snake's, a belly like a house, claws like an eagle's, paws like a tiger's, and ears like an ox's. Golden scales covered its body, and its oppressive might stretched for ten thousand miles.
A dragon!
A golden dragon!