HBWnovel Chapter 51 Interrogation
Chapter 51 Interrogation
"Wait a moment, I would like to ask you all about something. Has anyone in the Misty Immortal Sect seen my three disciples, Liu Xiang, Ji Baimiao, and Ling Wushuang? I will reward anyone who provides clues."
When Ji Se heard the question, his heart skipped a beat, but he remained expressionless.
Cheng Nan lowered his eyes, concealing the tension within them.
Jian Wu glanced at his two disciples' expressions; now was not the time to ask questions.
Geng Yu and Zhong Qi exchanged a glance and quickly turned away.
They knew Liu Xiang and the other two, but they parted ways afterward, and it had nothing to do with them.
Zhong Qi remained expressionless, his expression unreadable.
After asking the questions, the people from the Wuji Sect saw the people from the Piaomiao Immortal Sect shake their heads and then went to the Lingyun Sect.
Zhong Qi looked at the newcomer, observing him discreetly.
This person's cultivation level is unfathomable, and his aura is similar to that of his master.
Master has reached the Nascent Soul stage, so this person must be at least in the late Nascent Soul stage.
On the eve of his departure from the secret realm, his master specifically instructed him to stay away from the people of the Wuji Sect.
The Wuji Sect has an elder of similar cultivation level—Shen Tong. This man is particularly fond of taking on disciples, and he already has ninety-six disciples under his name. More than half of his disciples died in this Qi Refining Secret Realm.
When I first saw Liu Xiang and heard about his knowledge of the secret realm, I became secretly on guard.
When the five of them faced thousands upon thousands of demonic beasts, they began to have a vague idea of what was going on.
Whatever this person's purpose is, it's none of his business.
"You, and you, you two carry the aura of all three of them."
Shen Tong kept his eyes fixed on Ji Se and the other three.
Zhong Qi and Geng Yu exchanged a glance; this was it, they were doomed.
Shen Tong, his eyes red, walked up to the two men and pleaded, "May I ask, young friends, when did you encounter my three disciples? Are they still here? Are they already...?"
Everyone who heard this was deeply moved.
Shen Tong is known for doting on his disciples, and now this dignified Nascent Soul stage cultivator is asking a Qi Refining stage disciple for help—how can anyone not be moved?
Geng Yu was about to answer when he was interrupted by a voice.
“We met Fellow Daoist Liu and his group a month ago, and parted ways ten days ago. We don’t know where they went after that.”
Upon hearing Zhong Qi's answer, Geng Yu nodded repeatedly: "It's true!"
Elder Shentong nodded to the people and said, "Yes, I believe you. Can you tell me about what happened back then?"
"Yes, we met Fellow Daoist Liu and his group in a crevice in the rocks. It should be a secret realm with two doors."
The door on the left is a training test. The first test is an illusion, the second test is to kill monsters, and the third test is to match the training illusion with one's own attributes.
The door on the right is the alchemy test.
At that time, there were already six of us: myself, Geng Yu, three fellow Daoists from the Tianyi Sword Sect, and a rogue cultivator.
About a month ago, Brother Liu and his two companions also arrived at the crevice. Fellow Daoist Liu was kind-hearted and even explained the rules to us.
Originally, we were just following the prompts to complete the levels, but it was only with Senior Brother Liu and the others that we realized there were several more levels to come.
After completing the third stage, there was no hint for the fourth. The secret realm would close in less than twenty days. I, along with Senior Brother Cheng and Junior Sister Ji from the Tianyi Sword Sect, would take the alchemy assessment through another door.
Cheng Nan bowed to Shen Tong and replied, "Yes, that's right. I took Junior Sister Ji and the other two with me. The alchemy assessment has three stages. Due to my limited aptitude, I failed to pass any of them, but Senior Brother Geng passed and received the final reward."
Geng Yu grinned foolishly and replied, "Yes, they also rewarded me with five spiritual plants of each of the first to third tiers, and the concentration of spiritual energy inside is ten times that of the outside world. Hehe, my cultivation level increased by two levels inside."
The crowd was in an uproar.
Why didn't they find such a great place?
If I go, will I be able to go up two floors?
Shen Tong glanced at the four of them briefly: "You failed the test and didn't get out?"
Cheng Nan shook his head: "No, we can leave whenever we want for the alchemy assessment. We were just thinking of waiting for Senior Brother Geng to come with us, but we didn't expect that when we went out, Senior Brother Liu and the other two, as well as Junior Sister Liu and that rogue cultivator, had disappeared."
Geng Yu nodded emphatically: "Yes, we suspected that they had entered the ultimate level that Senior Brother Liu mentioned, and we had no choice but to withdraw. When we were leaving the crevice, we saw that rogue cultivator and left with him."
The three nodded in agreement.
"What about rogue cultivators?"
"Don't even mention it. That rogue cultivator was a sickly man. He would pant for ten minutes after walking three steps, and his face was deathly pale. He didn't look like he had many years left to live."
We kindly led the person away, and when we were almost at the exit of the secret realm, we went to change into our sect's robes, but that rogue cultivator ran away by himself.
"Sigh! I guess it's dead. I was originally thinking of bringing it along, since we trained together."
Geng Yu looked regretful.
Cheng Nan nodded.
Ji Se was as cold as ice.
Zhong Qi remained indifferent.
Shen Tong nodded without saying much, took out four fourth-order array plates, and passed them to the four people respectively.
"Thank you, Elder!"
Shen Tong waved his hand, a smile hiding sadness: "Thank you four for providing the clues. You and my three disciples are destined to meet. I thought I would give you some pointers on your cultivation as a way of repaying you!"
Zhong Qi became even more wary.
"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Elder!"
Geng Yu knew they couldn't escape; all of this was within the little mute's expectations.
They analyzed the potential problems.
Based on Zhong Qi's understanding of Shentong, Tu Shan had analyzed it for them.
The fact that he could take in ninety-six disciples, half of whom died in the Qi Refining Secret Realm, and that Prime Minister Liu knew so much about that crevice space, shows that Shen Tong had something in mind.
Since they have something in mind, they will definitely try to find those five people.
It's better to be both truthful and false than to hide it.
Nine parts truth, one part falsehood; even falsehood can be truth.
Questioning is unavoidable; the content can be slightly modified.
There's no need to fear other methods either; that's human nature.
The more open and honest you are, the less likely you are to arouse suspicion; the more you try to cover things up, the more problems you'll find.
They already have problems, and lying will only make them seem more guilty.
Geng Yu sighed silently, thinking how terrifying the little mute was.
All of this was within her expectations, including the friendly competition.
"Wait!"
Jian Wu stood in front of Ji Se and stared at Shen Tongdao: "I will teach my apprentice myself. I don't need anyone else to guide me."
As Ji Se gazed at Jian Wu's tall back, her heart was scalded.
This master wasn't as cold as he seemed. She was prepared to be made difficult, but she didn't expect him to stand up for Cheng Nan and her.
Shen Tong, upon seeing that it was Jian Wu, did not even frown and smiled, saying, "Fellow Daoist Jian, rest assured, it was just my disciple sparring with the four of them. I had no ill intentions, and this is their reward."
A storage ring popped out, revealing a simple and unadorned design.
A sweep of divine sense revealed a considerable amount of items: 10,000 low-grade spirit stones and one Foundation Establishment Pill for each person.
Jian Wu turned to his two young apprentices and asked, "What do you think?"
Cheng Nan hesitated. He was poor and lacked resources, but he was afraid that he might accidentally expose his secret.
Tu Shan said that the old man was very wicked and he was a little worried about what tricks he might have up his sleeve.
Ji Se nodded: "Master, give it a try."
Seeing that Ji Se nodded, Cheng Nan did not refuse.
The four apprentices that Shen Tong sent were of similar strength to Ji Se and his group of four.
Geng Yu: My master isn't here, so I have no human rights.
Zhong Qi: I'm willing to fight if I can get spirit stones.
"Fellow Daoist of Lingyun Sect, would you accept my challenge?"
Geng Yu looked at the person in front of him; he was at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
"Fellow Daoist, please!"
Everyone stepped back a short distance to make room for the group.
"Lingyun Sect, Geng Yu."
"Wuji Sect, Huang Min."