You Lost to Me Again

Although he was threatened a few times by the Sect Master Jimo, Rong Ji was not one to give up so easily.

He came here on the orders of the sect leader, and he was determined to get rid of Sang Ying as soon as possible!

He had heard that this person's talent was no less than that of Jiulian. Ten Thousand Daos Born already had Jiulian, who was five hundred years old and had reached the stage of Soul Formation the body, so there was no need for another promising person like Sang Ying!

Thinking this, Rong Ji spoke again, "Fine, since the Azure Feather Sect won't let me fight here, then I'll give the Sect Master face. But I'm definitely taking Sang Ying back to the Mara Gate today."

Since he couldn't kill her immediately, Rong Ji didn't mind taking her away. This woman had so many opportunities; she must be a person of extraordinary luck. He could take her back to the Mara Gate and use her luck for his own purposes, which would also bring about her demise!

He had used this method more than once. The luck that Rong Ji gained from the sidelines was the biggest reason why he was able to achieve his current level of cultivation.

Unfortunately, his plan was destined to fail. "Elder Rong has misunderstood. Our sect does not believe that its disciples would be indiscriminate killers. Even if Sang Ying Chi Yan were the one who did it, let alone Chi Yan, the problem is probably not solely her fault!"

Jiulian's voice was louder than ever before, and the moment Rong Ji opened his mouth, it extinguished his hopes.

Upon hearing this, the Sect Master Jimo helplessly covered his eyes.

Here it comes, here it comes, Ten Thousand Daos Born's ancestral protectiveness has arrived.

He had long known that Ten Thousand Daos Born loved his disciples, but he never expected them to be so protective of their own!

But to be honest, the one being protected was his own niece, Sect Master Jimo couldn't help but feel pleased when he saw it.

He secretly glanced at the side door on one side of the main hall. Back when Sang Ying was accused of injuring someone, Jimo Xuan had quietly left through the side door, saying he was going to find evidence.

It's unclear what he found after all this time.

Nephew, nephew, you'd better come back quickly, or I'm afraid I won't be able to protect your sister!

The Sect Master Jimo had considered exposing Sang Ying's relationship with the Jimo Household. That way, even if Rong Ji's cultivation was high, he would have to think twice before taking action.

However, the patriarch had secretly sent Sang Ying to study in Qing Zhou because he was worried about her. He was afraid that if he spoke up rashly, it would disrupt the patriarch's arrangements, so he could only suppress his eagerness and try his best to smooth things over and buy time for Sang Ying.

But—looking at the imminent fight below— the Sect Master Jimo probably wouldn't be able to mediate for long.

As expected, before the Sect Master Jimo could even sort out his thoughts, Elder Rong Ji revealed his anger. "Jiulian brat! Are you declaring war on my Mara Gate?!"

"This junior wouldn't dare. I'm merely following Elder Rong, wholeheartedly protecting the sect's disciples," Jiulian said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

As the emotions between the two sides grew increasingly agitated, the atmosphere inside the hall became increasingly tense. Sang Ying quietly tugged at her master's sleeve and whispered, "May I come out and say a few words?"

Jiulian turned to look at Sang Ying and, unsurprisingly, saw the determination in her eyes.

With Jiulian's permission, Sang Ying stepped forward again. "Today's events have taken me by surprise, but I had a vague suspicion about them beforehand."

She looked at Rong Ji: "Your sect's Chi Yan was just an ordinary disciple with Three Spirit Roots a few years ago, but now he is an extraordinary Single Spirit Root cultivator. I am a little curious, could it be that the Mara Gate is such an extraordinary immortal mountain and treasure land that it can produce a Spirit Cleansing Grass that can wash away two Spirit Root without damaging a cultivator's foundation?"

Rong Ji's arrogant expression finally changed at this moment.

Upon seeing his expression, Sang Ying knew she had made the right bet.

She knew that Rong Ji didn't care about the truth at all, and even if she presented solid evidence, Mara Gate would find other excuses to deny it.

The only way forward is to shift the focus from Chi Yan's death to doubts about his Spirit Root.

With the clues she had, once everyone realized Mara Gate's problem, even if she couldn't clear her name, Rong Ji wouldn't be able to take her away today.

Moreover, Sang Ying didn't believe that Rong Ji would be willing to risk having his secret discovered and fight her to the bitter end for the sake of Chi Yan.

"We're talking about Chi Yan's death today. What does it have to do with his Spirit Root? Fellow Daoist Sang Ying, do you know you can't escape it, so you're trying to divert attention?" Although Su Fuyun didn't know the inside story of Chi Yan's Spirit Root, he knew that it involved a lot.

She dared not let Sang Ying continue, after all, Elder Rong's expression had already changed.

"Don't worry, Holy Maiden Su. I only brought up the matter of Spirit Root to find out about Chi Yan's death." The more nervous they were, the more reassured Sang Ying became.

This means she hit a nerve with these people!

Hidden in the crowd, Jing He stared with his bloodshot eyes, taking in the expressions of the people in front of him.

Who could it be? Who could have killed you? At this moment, his mind was filled with the image of his friend lying unconscious on the ground yesterday.

"As everyone knows, the Spirit Cleansing Grass is extremely rare, appearing only once every thousand years. A cultivator can only consume one herb in their lifetime, and it can only cleanse one Spirit Root. As for something as miraculous as Chi Yan, forgive my limited knowledge, I have only ever seen this one case."

"Therefore, I boldly guess that what caused Chi Yan's innocent death was probably not the so-called injury, but this strange Spirit Root that caused him to die suddenly for no reason!" Sang Ying slowly revealed her thoughts, while not forgetting to look at the expressions of the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators of the Mara Gate.

Sure enough, several people immediately showed signs of panic, as if they had realized something.

Rong Ji, who was on the upper level, also began to feel uneasy.

Sang Ying lowered her eyelashes, concealing the darkness in her eyes. "It must be that Chi Yan obtained some strange Secret Method, which allowed him to change his Three Spirit Roots into Single Spirit Root. However, this method caused great damage to his body, which led to his death from exhaustion of his Essence Blood when he reached the Golden Core Late Stage realm."

"Elder Rong, do you think this reason is reasonable?" If it's not reasonable, then she'll have to drag out even more people.

The threatening meaning in Sang Ying's words was not obvious to others, but Rong Ji understood it very well.

He gripped the chair's armrests tightly, crushing the stone handles to pieces. It was as if only in this way could he conceal the fear in his heart.

"Hmph, as expected of Jiulian's disciple, she's just as clever as him." Elder Rong emphasized the last two words.

Rong Ji hadn't expected Sang Ying to be able to see through this secret. After weighing his options, he still didn't dare to take the gamble. There were too many people and too many eyes in the hall today, so he could only let Sang Ying go for the time being.

However, there's plenty of time ahead. He didn't believe that Sang Ying, a cultivator about to enter the Nascent Soul, would be confined to the Ten Thousand Daos Born for her entire life.

Once she leaves the house, I will make my move on her immediately!

Thinking this way, Rong Ji wasn't so unwilling anymore. "I hadn't thought of this before, but now that you, female cultivator, have suddenly brought it to my attention, it's become clear. It seems that Chi Yan's death really has nothing to do with you."

With Rong Ji's definitive conclusion, Ten Thousand Daos Born and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

While Sang Ying and the others were happy, Su Fuyun was not. She had finally managed to deal with Chi Yan and gone to great lengths to threaten Medical Cultivator Chen into giving false testimony. If Sang Ying escaped so easily, would she have another chance?

The sword strike from Sang Ying within the small world has left an indelible mark on her heart. If Sang Ying hadn't died, she might have developed a demonic inner demon!

For her own sake, she absolutely could not let Sang Ying leave alive.

"How can the elders let this murderer go so easily? Chi Yan's death must be related to her..."

Rong Ji suddenly struck, delivering a powerful slap to Su Fuyun's face from a distance.

Like a saintly maiden from the Tianshan Mountains, half of her face instantly became red and swollen.

"If I say it's not her, then it's not her. This matter ends here!"

Amidst the ringing in her ears, Su Fuyun heard Rong Ji say this. She slightly shifted her head, secretly glancing in Sang Ying's direction.

Her former enemy was also looking down at her, his eyes filled with emotions she couldn't decipher.

Suddenly, Sang Ying's lips moved slightly, and Su Fuyun quickly understood what she meant. Jealousy and hatred immediately filled her face.

Because Sang Ying was clearly saying: Sure enough, you lost to me again.

A note from the author:

Praise me! Praise me! (Sparrow with hands on hips - JPG)

Today's update is 10,000 words! Let's all say together: Queque is awesome!

Love you all, see you tomorrow~