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Chapter 241: A Den of Cowards

"You two may leave now," the Sect Master, who had been standing in the hall all along, instructed curtly.

"Yes, sir," the two behind immediately retreated.

"Second Uncle," called out Qiushui, the man who had buried Zhong Shan, after the others had left.

"Kneel!" the Sect Master commanded, his eyes blazing.

"Second Uncle, what\'s the matter?" Qiushui frowned in confusion.

"I said kneel!" the Sect Master roared.

Reluctantly, Qiushui knelt down, his brows knitted together in frustration and puzzlement.

"Where did you go six days ago?" the Sect Master demanded in a stern voice.

Upon hearing this, Qiushui\'s eyes twitched as he immediately realized that the incident from that day had been revealed. In the entire Cangyun Sect, only his fifty disciples knew about it. Who could have betrayed him?

"Second Uncle, who told you?" Qiushui asked immediately.

"Who told me? Hmph, you still think you can hide this from me?" the Sect Master barked.

"I did nothing wrong. Second Uncle, three of my disciples died because of Zhong Shan and Princess Qianyou. Not killing them was already an act of mercy. I did nothing wrong," Qiushui retorted stubbornly.

"Hmph, I\'m not talking about that. I\'m talking about that place. What were you doing there?" the Sect Master fumed.

Hearing this, Qiushui frowned deeply, "That\'s a forbidden area of our sect. Any disciple passing by has to detour around it. But Second Uncle, why? Why should I detour? There are no formidable sects or major cities there. Why?"

"Why? It\'s not for you to know why. That\'s the rule. No one is allowed to go there, especially you," the Sect Master thundered.

"Me? Why me?" Qiushui asked in deep frustration.

The Sect Master looked at Qiushui, a hint of resignation flashing in his eyes. "I\'ll let it go this time since it\'s your first offense. But if there\'s a next time, you will be expelled from the sect immediately, never to return."

Qiushui, filled with frustration, returned to his courtyard, pondering who among his disciples had betrayed him. How had it leaked so quickly? His own uncle had scolded him severely. His disciples weren\'t entirely loyal to him after all. Once they reached the Nascent Soul stage, they would be his equals, and their respect was only temporary.

Had he been wrong to take on so many disciples? Luckily, he hadn\'t killed Princess Qianyou back then, otherwise, someone might have betrayed him again.

As Qiushui was lost in thought, trying to identify the betrayer, he heard footsteps approaching from outside.

"Master," came the call from his eldest disciple outside.

Qiushui got up and gently opened the door. "What is it?"

"Master, they have come to the door," his eldest disciple said with a strange expression.

"Who?" Qiushui frowned.

"Princess Qianyou and that Zhong Shan. They\'ve brought a ghost with them and are asking to see the Sect Master at the mountain gate," the disciple said, his tone odd.

"It\'s them?" Qiushui\'s eyes widened in shock, then his expression shifted to one of contemplation.

"Find someone unfamiliar and lead them to the Cangyun Square. Also, I only found out in the past couple of days that it\'s not the Grand Radiance or Great Luo Alliance; it turns out even Grand Radiance wants to capture them. Very well, if I catch them, you must immediately go to my grandfather and tell him I\'ve already captured Princess Qianyou and Zhong Shan," Qiushui said after some thought.

"Yes," the senior disciple responded immediately.

At the entrance of the Cangyun Sect.

Zhong Shan, Princess Qianyou, and Ruyan stood quietly, waiting. The messenger had already gone inside.

"Mister, even from tens of thousands of miles away, I can feel the battle before Wangyou City," Princess Qianyou said with a smile.

"Indeed. This is a sensitive region. The Grand Radiance army intercepted a \'secret message\' in advance and saw that the Dayu army was indeed attacking Wangyou City. Naturally, there will be a fierce battle. However, the fight shouldn\'t last long. Soon, the commanders of the two armies will meet. Once they do, King Julu will have to withdraw all of Dayu\'s forces. At that point, we won\'t have to worry about being pursued by the Dayu army," Zhong Shan said, taking a deep breath.

"We have Ruyan to thank for this," Princess Qianyou said, looking at Ruyan.

"The young master is searching for a husband for me. Naturally, Ruyan is at your service for such a small matter," Ruyan said calmly.

Zhong Shan looked at Ruyan, feeling a peculiar emotion. He noticed that Ruyan had never smiled, her expression always serene and detached. Could it be that after waiting for a thousand years, she had forgotten other emotions?

"Miss Ruyan, the first time I saw you, you were singing a heart-wrenching song..." Zhong Shan pondered and asked.

"That song was taught to me by my husband. It was the first song he ever taught me. For a thousand years, I have waited for him in vain, guarding the Xiao family. Whenever my heart grew cold, I would sing that song to warm it. That day was no different," Ruyan said.

"A cold heart?" Upon hearing this, Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow and began to ponder the meaning behind her words.

"Please follow me," a man said, emerging slowly from within the great formation of the Cangyun Sect.

"Much obliged!" Zhong Shan replied, then followed the man with Princess Qianyou and Ruyan.

It wasn\'t long before they arrived at a large square.

"Please wait here," the greeter said.

"Very well," Zhong Shan nodded.

The man left quickly. Standing in the square, Zhong Shan looked around. There were numerous mountains and floating islands surrounding them. Compared to the Kaiyang Sect, this sect seemed much larger.

"Mister, something feels off," Princess Qianyou suddenly said with a frown.

"Indeed, something is amiss. But regardless, we need to meet the Sect Master of the Cangyun Sect to inquire about Xiao Bingyi\'s two adopted sons," Zhong Shan said, furrowing his brows. This wasn\'t just for Ruyan; he, too, was desperate for answers.

"Heh, Princess Qianyou, Zhong Shan, you are indeed lucky. Not only did you escape, but you also found your way here," a sudden voice echoed.

Zhong Shan frowned and looked in the direction of the voice. Not far away, a man in a Taoist robe, who had buried him the previous day, approached slowly with his two dozen disciples.

Seeing this group, Zhong Shan narrowed his eyes. It really is a small world.

"Quite the coincidence, but today we are not here for you. We wish to see the Sect Master of the Cangyun Sect," Zhong Shan said solemnly.

"See the Sect Master? Heh, I have been wondering how you managed to escape that time. It must have been the ghost by your side, right? It is no longer a mere specter; it has solidified enough to dismantle the flag formation. I just so happen to need a powerful Yin soul to refine a Pure Yin Pill. Give it to me, and I will let you see the Sect Master," Qiushui said with a sneer.

Upon hearing Qiushui\'s words, Zhong Shan immediately realized that he was intentionally looking for trouble and had not informed the Sect Master of the Cangyun Sect at all.

Ruyan looked at him calmly, her face expressionless, while a trace of cold laughter flashed in Princess Qianyou\'s eyes. To be honest, since Princess Qianyou\'s strength had returned to the Golden Core stage, she no longer feared this group. This was because, at this point, she could already use the \'Forbidden God Sphere\' she had refined through a secret method.

Zhong Shan, holding back his rage from being trapped that day, treated them with courtesy. On one hand, he was in another sect\'s territory, and on the other, he had important matters to verify. However, after taking a deep breath, Zhong Shan shouted loudly, "Is the Cangyun Sect full of cowards? Is this how you treat guests? Laughable to the world～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～"

Zhong Shan\'s voice boomed with all his might, echoing for miles, spreading throughout the entire Cangyun Sect. His voice reverberated, ensuring that anyone not in seclusion could hear it.

"Scoundrel～～～～～～～～～～"

Hearing Zhong Shan\'s abrupt shout, Qiushui\'s face flushed red with anger. In his fury, he was about to unsheathe his flying sword.

At that moment, Princess Qianyou also unleashed a small blue orb. The orb expanded as it flew towards Qiushui. Qiushui\'s eyes widened, his flying sword darted out, but the orb seemed to be an illusion, untouchable. It wasn\'t until it was right in front of him that Qiushui realized it was real, but it was too late. In an instant, he was trapped inside.

Everything happened too quickly. Before the disciples could react, Qiushui was already ensnared.

However, due to Princess Qianyou\'s current limited strength, the Forbidden God Sphere was showing signs of strain under Qiushui\'s resistance, as wrinkles appeared on its surface, indicating it was about to break.

"Capture them!" Qiushui commanded.

The disciples raised their swords and advanced.

Zhong Shan waved his hand, signaling Princess Qianyou to step back. He grasped his massive blade, "Nightmare," in his hand.

Demon Body Refinement Technique! Fourth Stage!

Zhong Shan swung his blade with full force at the leading disciple.

With a powerful strike, a massive blade arc over twenty meters long slashed forward. Surrounding the arc, blade energy whirled, creating a storm-like effect as it surged towards the frontmost disciple.

This strike was incredibly powerful, but it wasn\'t meant to cause severe harm. Zhong Shan\'s intent was to intimidate the others.

"Boom～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～"

The lead disciple was sent flying, and simultaneously, over a hundred lightning pillars suddenly appeared in mid-air, crashing towards the other approaching disciples.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!......."

Lightning flashed and thunder roared, as if divine retribution had descended, thunderous and wrathful. The disciples retreated in fear, the ground of the square shattered, debris flew, and dust swirled.

With just one strike, only one strike, Zhong Shan had forced the twenty-odd Golden Core disciples back. It was a powerful strike. Although the Golden Core disciples were not injured, they were driven to the edges, each one filled with lingering fear.