Take Her Life!
The male cultivator had a long beard, gray hair, and wore a loose blue robe, giving him an air of otherworldly elegance.
He held a dark gray soul stone in his right hand, on which were engraved the words "Chi Yan".
Anyone with eyes can see that this is Chi Yan's Soul Stone!
The male cultivator who suddenly arrived seemed to be of extraordinary status. As soon as he appeared, Elder Xu hurriedly jumped down from his seat and respectfully went to greet him.
Upon seeing this, the disciples of the Mara Gate, led by Su Fuyun, bowed deeply to the middle-aged man, saying, "Greetings, Elder Rong!"
Elder Xu lagged behind the others, but quickly spoke up, "Senior Brother Rong, why did you come so suddenly without informing me?"
Elder Rong, with his rather arrogant demeanor, glanced sideways at Elder Xu and let out a soft snort, "If I hadn't come, you would have ruined all the disciples in our sect!"
After saying that, he flicked his wide sleeves, walked past Elder Xu, and sat directly in his previous seat.
Elder Xu, seeing this, dared not refute it. He looked like a wronged child and obediently followed, taking a step to stand behind Elder Rong.
After a moment of thought, Sang Ying recalled that she had heard of Elder Rong's great reputation.
This person is named Rong Ji, and he is also one of the elders of the Mara Gate. However, the biggest difference between him and Elder Xu is that he became Void Refinement Stage cultivator at a much earlier age, which is a level higher than Jiulian's Soul Formation stage.
This small step forward requires countless years for a cultivator to make up for.
Therefore, a single Rong Ji can drastically reverse the current situation in the palace.
At this moment, even Jiulian, who always wore a smile, unconsciously lowered her eyes.
The Sect Master Jimo was also surprised that the news about the Mara Gate came so quickly, and even invited Rong Ji to come and provide support.
Although the other party's uninvited behavior was somewhat impolite, he didn't say much because of Rong Ji's extraordinary cultivation level.
After a moment of silence, the Sect Master Jimo could only steer the conversation toward the main topic. "Didn't Elder Rong say earlier that he could prove Chi Yan's death? I wonder what Elder Rong meant by that?"
"What do you mean? The Sect Master Jimo actually asks me what I mean?" Rong Ji's tone was sarcastic. "Non-Self hadn't arrived in time, it seems the Sect Master Jimo intends to protect that sinner, Ten Thousand Daos Born?"
As expected of someone from the Mara Gate, they really know how to pin accusations on people. They tried to pin the blame on Sang Ying right from the start.
At this point, it was no longer something that Sang Ying, a disciple alone, could resolve. That's why Elder Gu took the initiative to speak up, "Elder Rong, what are you saying? This matter is still controversial. How have my sect's disciples become criminals?"
In Elder Gu's view, even if Sang Ying really killed Chi Yan, she should not be called a "sinner".
If it weren't for Ten Thousand Daos Born's public image, he really would have said, "So what if we were the ones who killed them?"
As if he had just seen the two elders, the middle-aged cultivator glanced at Elder Gu and chuckled, "So it's the Gu family's young master and the Jiulian brat. It's been so many years, and you've actually managed to sit on equal footing with me!"
"Thank you for your concern. We juniors have been diligently cultivating, and although we are not very talented, we have managed to reach the Nascent Soul Formation." Jiulian smiled politely at him.
Upon hearing this, Rong Ji's expression turned even more unpleasant.
"Hmph, you guys are lucky!" He hadn't forgotten that when he brought the Mara Gate disciples to participate in the sect competition, they were utterly defeated by Jiulian and the Ten Thousand Daos Born cultivators.
The main hall that day was just like it is now. He made a few sarcastic remarks about Jiulian, asserting that this young disciple only knew how to greet people with a smile and lacked integrity, and would certainly not go far.
Unexpectedly, the other party has already reached the Soul Leaving Stage!
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Rong Ji didn't forget the main matter. He took out the Soul Stone again and addressed the crowd, "As everyone here knows, the Soul Stone is something that a disciple's master lights with their heart's blood after the disciple joins the sect. The sect also uses it to check whether the disciple is safe during their training outside."
"Because Chi Yan is a disciple whom our sect has devoted all its efforts to cultivating, his soul stone was directly kept by the sect leader after he entered the sect. But not long ago, the sect leader suddenly discovered that Chi Yan's soul stone had inexplicably cracked!"
At his signal, everyone's gaze fell on the soul stone in his hand, and sure enough, they saw that the grayish-white soul stone had several obvious cracks.
"As you all probably know, when a Soul Stone cracks, it means the disciple is seriously injured. Once the Soul Stone is completely extinguished, that disciple is considered dead. After the sect leader discovered the anomaly, he instructed me to keep an eye on this matter. Only after the Soul Stone extinguished yesterday did I obey the sect leader's order and rush to the Azure Feather Sect."
"I've come here for no other reason than to seek justice for my disciple Mara Gate!"
At this, everyone's expression changed.
"It's you!" Rong Ji pointed at Sang Ying, his eyes dark and sinister. "You mere cultivator, how dare you be so audacious, relying on the protection of Ten Thousand Daos Born to commit such a heinous act against our sect's cultivators."
"If I don't kill you here today, how can I face my poor disciple of the Mara Gate?!"
As he spoke, he formed his five fingers into a claw and suddenly moved. Sang Ying, who was in the distance, was immediately lifted into the air as if an invisible hand had grabbed her throat.
Rong Ji acted too quickly; Jiulian and the others didn't have time to stop him.
However, as soon as he made a move, Jiulian instinctively threw out his fan.
The natal magic Law Artifact of a Soul Leaving Stage cultivator is naturally extraordinary. Even though Rong Ji had already cultivated to the Void Refinement, he was still hurt by this attack and had to withdraw his hand.
Without any support, Sang Ying immediately fell from mid-air to the ground.
Jiulian flashed and appeared in front of her disciple in the next second. Elder Gu and Sect Master Jimo seized the opportunity to intervene and stop Rong Ji's next attack.
"Hmph!" Rong Ji's movements were thwarted, so he had no choice but to withdraw his Spiritual Power.
He glanced at the three men opposing him, raising an eyebrow slightly. "How interesting. When did the Sect Master Jimo become so close to Ten Thousand Daos Born that he'd even fight me for a sinner?"
The Sect Master Jimo quickly replied, "Elder Rong, you must have misunderstood me. I just wanted to remind you that this is still my Azure Feather Sect, not your Mara Gate. Even if I agree to your killing spree here, the elders of our Azure Feather Sect will not."
A single sentence reminded Rong Ji, and although he still looked displeased, he was much more restrained than before.
Below the long steps, Sang Ying, who had escaped death, coughed a few times and quickly recovered with the help of the Spiritual Qi from the Jiulian.
She looked up at the monk on the high seat and realized once again how insignificant she was.
Even though she is now Half-Step Nascent Soul, she is still no more than an ant in front of higher-level cultivators.
"Don't be discouraged by this. I've been hit by this move before." Jiulian secretly transmitted her voice to her disciple, her eyes showing a unique gentleness as she looked at Sang Ying.
Upon hearing this, Sang Ying glanced at her master a few times. She couldn't imagine what kind of expression he must have had when he was humiliated by Rong Ji.
However, she quickly snapped out of her jumbled thoughts.
She looked at the arrogant middle-aged cultivator again, a longing rising in her heart. One day, she wanted to experience what it felt like to trample this man underfoot.
I wonder if Rong Ji will still have the same proud demeanor he has now at that time.