“Something’s wrong! Something’s happened over there!”
“Quick, let’s go and see!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you know? Someone is dead!!!”
Qiu Yutong rolled over in a daze and waved his hands limply again, trying to shoo away the annoying flies in his ears. Suddenly, he realized something with a jolt and rolled over and sat up in a flash, “What’s going on outside?”
Lu Xiao had already gotten up and was wearing his robe, looking out of the hut with a frown, “It seems that something has happened at Nanshan Temple.
“Something’s happened at Nanshan Temple?” Qiu Yutong got up with a start, pulled his robe on and looked out of the hut as well.
Last night, on the rocky beach by the water pool, apart from North Snow City, there were many other rogue cultivators resting here as well. At this moment, only dozens of rogue cultivators were seen, running towards the front. The disciples of North Snow City were also gathered together, chattering and muttering while trying to raise their height by stepping on the hay with their legs to look into the distance.
“Xiao-er, let’s go out and have a look,” Qiu Yutong hastily pulled on his outer robe and led Lu Xiao out of the shelter.
Sang Lingxi tied his hairband messily as he walked out of his hut, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Bai Hanyuan shook his head as he held the spiritual sword in his hands.
“Ruoyu, what’s wrong? It’s so early in the morning and you’re yelling,” Xie Wanting rubbed his temples as Xu Dongqing pushed his wheelchair; the two of them came out of the shelter.
All the disciples had gathered around, Yang Ruoyu hurriedly grabbed the wheelchair from Xu Dongqing’s hand, and also glared at Xu Dongqing, “Sect Leader, it seems that something happened on the cliff, that is, the place where Nanshan Temple spent the night last night.”
The disciples nodded their heads while looking at the cliff in the distance, “Yes, yes, many people went there early this morning to see what was going on.”
“I heard that someone died,” someone said mysteriously.
“Someone was killed?” Qiu Yutong furrowed his brow and looked towards the faint cliff in the distance.
Master Wu Chen was a quiet man, so Nanshan Temple’s straw hut was set up on a cliff by a cold pool, far from the crowd. The cliff wasn’t too far from the rocky beach, about a mile away, but the fog was so heavy that from here, only a few shadowy figures could be seen, and some faint noises could be heard.
Xie Wanting rubbed his brow in pain, “Let’s go and have a look.”
When the North Snow City crowd arrived at the cliff, there was already a large crowd on the cliff, including the monks of Nanshan Temple who were already on the cliff, the North Sea Sword Sect, the brothers of Yuqin Palace, the women of Qingxia Temple, the Palace of Extreme Bliss, the Poisoned Dragon Cult, and a bunch of rogue cultivators watching the fun… filling the cliff in great numbers…
On one side of the cliff facing the cold pool, a few simple reed huts were set up on the flat ground in the middle, the biggest one was filled with cries and shouts.
“Master, Master!!!”
“Which heartless thief has harmed you, old master…”
“Oooh… Master…”
Qiu Yutong’s heart tightened slightly and he couldn’t help but look at Lu Xiao beside him, who was also looking towards him. Both of them looked at each other and both saw the same question in each other’s eyes. The voices crying in the straw hut seemed to be two of Master Wu Chen’s disciples, Qing Ci and Qing Hui; could it be that something had happened to… Master Wu Chen?!
Qiu Yutong calmed down slightly, lifted his feet and was about to walk towards the grass hut; the devil core was in Master Wu Chen’s hands was important, this matter he had to find out.
“Hold on,” a long, dark red sword, with its sheath, was placed in front of Qiu Yutong.
Gui Wuya stopped Qiu Yutong with his “Weeping Blood”, his eyes behind an ancient silver mask, cold and devoid of any warmth, “The Concealing Devil Bowl is still inside. No one can enter without the permission of the North Sea Sword Sect until the matter is clarified.”
Qiu Yutong was slightly stunned, and then understood that Gui Wuya was worried that he would fish in troubled waters and steal back the devil core in the Concealing Devil Bowl!
He barely suppressed his anger, “Island Master Gui, now is not the time to fight over the devil core.”
Sang Lingxi gently cocked the corner of his mouth, but there was no smile in his eyes at all, “In my opinion, Island Master Gui is afraid that others will go in and see something they shouldn’t, such as the clues left by the… murderer by accident.”
“Sang Lingxi, what do you mean?!” Chen Wuya said angrily.
“Nonsense, this Gui is just worried that someone is fishing in troubled waters! So be it, let’s open up and talk about it!” Gui Wuya coldly snorted. The dark red scabbard had slightly shifted up, only to hear a loud boom, and the entire reed grass hut flew apart!
The crowd gazed at it and couldn’t help but cry out in shock!
Only to see the reeds and thatch of the hut scattered all over the place, and in the midst of this mess, apart from Qing Ci and Qing Hui who were kneeling and crying, there was a corpse!
Or rather, two parts of a body…
The two cut-off body parts of Master Wu Chen …
The head of the corpse with its eyes gently closed and the corners of its mouth slightly curled up, looking like it was smiling; it looked very peaceful, except that this peaceful head is no longer onnected to the neck at this point…
The body of the corpse was sitting on top of a straw mat, while the head rolled down at the feet of the body, the mat was covered with spattered blood stains, emitting a fishy smell.
“This is…” Qiu Yutong couldn’t help but draw a cold breath backwards, taking a slight half-step back as Lu Xiao frowned and gently squeezed Qiu Yutong’s hand.
“It’s just heartless,” Xie Wanting closed his eyes and sighed softly.
Bai Hanyuan’s eyebrows wrinkled, his ice-like face, still with little extra expression, while Sang Lingxi’s eyes widened and his pupils constricted.
The crowd of cultivators was silent for a moment, and then there was an uproar! For a moment, there was a loud buzz on the cliff, and it was almost impossible to hear who was saying what.
Gui Wuya was dumbfounded for only a moment, then took a few steps forward, fiddling around with his scabbard with great impatience, constantly looking at the mess of reeds and clothes, “Where is the Concealing Devil Bowl? Where is the devil core?!”
After rummaging around haphazardly and finding nothing, he actually walked up to the corpse and reached out to search it!
Qing Ci jerked up and firmly shielded the corpse, saying angrily, “Island Master Gui, you, you… you have gone too far!”
Qing Hui who had a more violent temper scolded in a stern voice, “Gui Wuya, get the hell out!!!”
The rest of the monks of Nanshan Temple, one after another, shouted their rebuke, and some monks from other sects, couldn’t help but frown.
Xie Wanting said in a deep voice, ” Island Master Gui, Master Wu Chen’s corpse is not yet cold, so it is not good for you to do so, is it?”
Gui Wuya said sternly, “Xie Wanting, what are you pretending to be a good person here for?! Did you kill him and steal the devil core?!”
With a soft sound, Sang Lingxi’s Green Mist was already half unsheathed, with a cold forbidding light, “Gui Wuya, I dare you to say that again!”
Chen Wuya and Tu Wuya also immediately grabbed the hilt of their swords!
Bai Hanyuan clutched his longsword and stared coldly at the duo…
“Lingxi, Hanyuan, don’t be impulsive.” Xie Wanting gently pressed Sang Lingxi’s hand and slowly spoke again, “Island Master Gui, although this Xie has a clear conscience, as the Sect Leader of the North Sea Sword Sect, you should speak with some restraint.”
Gui Wuya spoke out on impulse, but at this point he knew he was in the wrong, but he was arrogant and naturally wouldn’t apologize, so he said coldly, “In any case, the man is dead and the devil core is gone… Hmph, there are only a hundred or so people in this secret realm, search them one by one. I don’t believe I won’t be able to find them.”
He paused, then turned to Qing Ci and slowed his voice, “Master Qing Ci, this Gui is not only looking for the devil core, but also the murderer, to avenge Master Wu Chen’s death.”
The crowd of cultivators on the broken cliff looked different, some were angry, some were upset, some were indifferent, and some looked like they were watching the fun.
“A search? On what grounds?”
“It doesn’t matter, search me if you like, it’s not me anyway…”
“Tsk, this is going to be fun.”
“Is it true that the murderer is among us?”
“Eldest Senior sister, do we really need to be searched?” Yu Zhu said timidly.
“He dares?!” Yuxin said angrily.
Qing Ci and Qing Hui looked at each other with very hesitant expressions.
Lin Yurong glanced at the female cultivators of Qingxia Temple and then at Wu Shengnan, and was unable to resist saying, “This, this is not too good, right?”
“The lord of the Yuqin Palace need not worry too much,” Wu Shengnan said indifferently. “If Lord Gui wants to search me, feel free to do so.”
While speaking, Wu Shengnan slowly and methodically opened her sleeve, revealing a snow-white white wrist and her wide aqua sleeve wriggled gently. It was unknown what was inside, but on the inside of the white collar, a black spider slowly crawled out. A few of the cultivators around her couldn’t help but take a few steps back, wishing to stay far away from this demon lady who was covered in poison.
Gui Wuya was known as the “Dual Cultivator of Poison and Sword” and was a great expert in the use of poison and venom, so he naturally knew how powerful it was. He hesitated for a moment before the corners of his mouth curved up reluctantly, “It’s this Gui’s fault, searching is indeed inappropriate. However, I do have a little something here that I just caught the other day, and it will come in handy.”
Chen Wuya couldn’t help but say, “Senior Brother Gui, is it the scorpion?”
Gui Wuya did not reply, but slowly stretched out his left hand, and a purple bronze cauldron the size of his fist appeared in his flat palm. Although small, the cauldron was exquisite, with an intricate pattern of insects and snakes that almost gave the illusion of writhing and moving.
“Purple Insect Cauldron!”
“It’s Gui Wuya’s personal life weapon!”
“This is the first time I’ve seen it…”
The crowd couldn’t help but whisper…
This Purple Insect Cauldron was precisely Gui Wuya’s personal life treasure. More than two hundred years ago, after Gui Wuya had formed his core, he used the extremely rare purple bronze and refined it in poisonous fire for nine years and nine months to forge this Purple Insect Cauldron, which was said to be able to subdue all poisonous insects and poisonous creatures in the world.
Gui Wuya said indifferently, “This Blood-tailed Scorpion in the Purple Bronze Cauldron is not uncommon in the Secret Realm. It is a very weak demonic creature, particularly timid, and will flee as soon as it senses the demonic aura of a great demon.”
“Blood-tailed Scorpion?” A wandering cultivator took a bold step and went up to take a look.
Only to see a thumb-sized scorpion lying at the bottom of the cauldron, its body as black as ink, with only its tail being blood-red. At this moment, it was lying quietly at the bottom of the Purple Insect Cauldron. It was unknown whether it was dead or alive.
“What’s the use of this thing?” The wandering cultivator couldn’t help but ask.
The corner of Gui Wuya’s mouth tugged up, “It’s not awake yet. When I wake it up later, the devil core of the young son of the Haotian Devil Emperor will naturally emit an incomparably dense devil aura, and when this little scorpion senses it, it will flee away desperately… When it flees, its tail will point in whichever direction the devil core is in.”
The cultivator suddenly realized, “Oh, what Island Master Gui means is that this scorpion is afraid of devil qi and will desperately flee to the opposite of the demon core, so the direction its tail is pointing, will be the direction of the devil core?”
“That’s exactly what it means,” Gui Wuya nodded his head.
Xie Wanting frowned, “This Blood-tailed Scorpion, after all, is only a beast, can it be accurate?”
Gui Wuya smiled coldly, “What, is City Master Xie afraid?”
“This Xie has a clear conscience, so naturally I will not be afraid,” Xie Wanting shook his head. “I am just worried that Island Master Gui would wrong a good person.”
Gui Wuya snorted coldly, “Even if they are identified by the Blood-tailed Scorpion, as long as they do not have the devil core on them, they won’t be afraid to have their body searched, so how would I wrong a good person?”
The crowd nodded their heads, agreeing with him.
“That’s true…”
“It seems reasonable to let this little scorpion try it out first and then search him.”
“Yes, yes…”
“I think so too…”
After talking for a long time, Gui Wuya seemed to get impatient, so he gently barked, “Wake up-“
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw the fist-sized purple copper cauldron gradually light up in his palm, and emit a hazy purple glow, while the tiny blood-tailed scorpion gently trembled and woke up shaking.
Gui Wuya steadily held the purple-bronze cauldron and paced extremely slowly around the group of cultivators, his eyes behind an ancient silver mask, staring unblinkingly at the movements of the blood-tailed scorpion.
He lingered a little longer in particular in front of Xie Wanting’s wheelchair. Sang Lingxi glared fiercely at Gui Wuya, Bai Hanyuan couldn’t help but frown, the faces of all the disciples of North Snow City were very ugly, but Xie Wanting wasn’t moved by anger, he only raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, “Island Master Gui, how is it?”
The blood-tailed scorpion didn’t move at all.
Gui Wuya snorted coldly and rotated around with the purple copper cauldron in his hands.
“There’s no movement.”
“I said it, it can’t be City Lord Xie…”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
The crowd of cultivators whispered for a while. Sang Lingxi stared at Gui Wuya’s back and couldn’t help but curse lowly, “Ghost Crow! I’m afraid it’s a thief calling out to catch a thief!”
“Lingxi, don’t be rude,” Xie Wanting said indifferently.
Gui Wuya walked slowly and seeing that he had walked around the broken cliff while the tiny scorpion, still had no reaction, the crowd of cultivators could not help but shake their heads.
“I guess it can’t be found.”
“If I had stolen the devil core, I wouldn’t have kept it on me…”
“But the person who stole the devil core may not know that Island Master Gui has this trick.”
“The murderer must be a powerful cultivator if he was able to kill Master Wu Chen and steal the devil core without a sound! Perhaps, he has some method to conceal the devilish aura of the devil core…”
Suddenly, the Blood-tailed Scorpion bounced up violently and let out a high-pitched, shrill hissing sound!
“Hissing… hissing…” it hissed in fear while trying to climb the wall of the cauldron, desperately trying to escape, while the blood-red scorpion tail was stretched out straight and pointed straight towards the edge of the cliff…
“It’s you?!” Gui Wuya’s pupils suddenly tightened!
Qiu Yutong froze…
The blood-tailed scorpion’s tail was pointing straight at him .
The crowd stared at Qiu Yutong, and after a moment of silence, a buzz erupted from the cliff.
“Peak Master Qiu?! How could it be him?”
“It can’t be, it was clearly him who handed over the devil core…”
“Yeah, yeah, if he wanted the devil core, he would have just taken it and left, it doesn’t make sense.”
“You can know a person but not the heart, maybe after he took out the devil core, he regretted it… That is the devil core of the only bloodline of the Haotian Devil Emperor, after refining it, it can reshape the dao body, allowing one to cultivate both dao and devil!”
“I still don’t think it’s possible…”
“Wouldn’t a search tell us?”
“Searching the body of Feilai Peak Master? This…”
Qiu Yutong stared blankly at the tiny scorpion and just felt his mind go blank…
How is this possible?
Why?
Was Gui Wuya trying to set him up?
Sang Lingxi snorted coldly, “What can a small scorpion do to be accurate? What’s more, it’s still a scorpion raised by Island Master Gui… Hmph, the people of North Snow City are not so easy to bully.”
Bai Hanyuan clasped his hands around Beheading Wind and Snow and lowered his eyes without saying a word, but obviously meant the same thing.
Gui Wuya also didn’t seem to expect that this Blood-tailed Scorpion had identified Qiu Yutong, he looked at Qiu Yutong with a somewhat hesitant expression, “Peak Master Qiu, could it be you…”
Qiu Yutong shook his head, interrupting the other party’s words, “Island Master Gui, it’s not me…”
Gui Wuya took a deep breath, “Peak Master Qiu, I don’t want to doubt you either, but this Blood-tailed Scorpion would absolutely make no mistake.”
Xie Wanting frowned gently and gazed at the purple bronze cauldron in Gui Wuya’s hand, seemingly pondering over something. He pondered for a moment and then suddenly said, “Yutong, move out of the way a little.”
“Senior Brother, what did you say?” Qiu Yutong’s words were barely out of his mouth when he suddenly gave a jolt and abruptly understood what Xie Wanting meant.
Senior Brother told him to get out of the way.
His young disciple was right behind him.
The tail of the Blood-tailed Scorpion was pointing straight in his direction, while Lu Xiao was standing behind him… What did Senior Brother mean?
Qiu Yutong only felt his mind was a mess and his throat became dry. Almost unconsciously, he turned his body slightly and firmly protected his young disciple behind him, “Senior Brother… This is impossible, absolutely impossible!”
