The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 383 Frame-up, Making the Most of Everything
The golden light faded, and the destructive battle passed like a hurricane, leaving behind only a deathly silence.

The pavilion in the middle of the lake was already broken and tilted, and the entire lake sank. The lake water overflowed onto the shore, washing away the vegetation and causing some dilapidated houses to collapse halfway due to the force of the impact.

The already gloomy sky suddenly started to rain, and the rain gradually formed a curtain, growing heavier and heavier.

Lang Jiuchuan continued to sink to the bottom of the water. Her eyes were closed, her limbs were outstretched, and she could hear murmurs in her ears, as if countless people were talking underwater, making a constant noise.

A bone-chilling cold swept over her, and countless strands of hair slowly wrapped around her limbs, pulling her deeper and deeper.

Lang Jiuchuan frowned. "It's so cold, it hurts so much. Get away!"

Someone was calling her name. Someone was holding her hand and teaching her to draw talismans and discern star patterns in her ear. Someone was teaching her to guide her qi into her body and comprehend the supreme Dao. Someone was watching her from afar. Their eyes were gentle and wise, yet they held countless complex emotions.

Who, who is this?
Lang Jiuchuan tried to see the owner of those eyes, but the more she tried, the more excruciating the pain became. Images flashed through her mind, and suddenly, she saw her own eyes staring intently in one direction, filled with deep-seated resentment. The flames of hatred in those eyes could burn everything.

Who is she looking at?

Whispering thoughts tried to drag her down, and countless corpses transformed into human figures, reaching out to her. Lang Jiuchuan burst forth with a violent, murderous aura: "Get lost!"

As the malevolent aura intensified, the world fell silent.

Lang Jiuchuan was enveloped by a pure, cold spring, which dragged her away from the dark lake bottom. Her hand hooked onto something, which she gripped tightly, and they were pulled out together.

She breathed in the fresh air, her eyelids fluttered, and she opened them a crack. Seeing the worried looks in A-Piao's and Jiang Che's eyes, she grinned: "I won..."

Before she could finish speaking, she spat out another mouthful of black blood, her face turned ashen, her body went limp, and she fainted, broken like a doll.

The ghost checked her wrist pulse and said, "Her vital energy is severely depleted and her spiritual power is exhausted. She needs to be well cared for."

After a series of battles, even someone with Lang Jiuchuan's physique and spirit, no matter how strong, would not be able to withstand it. Moreover, she was not particularly strong, yet she actually defeated a Taoist who was on the verge of Foundation Establishment all by herself. Such willpower was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In the era of cultivation, this would be considered a battle against someone of a higher level.

But the cost was enormous. Her vital energy was severely depleted, and her spiritual power was completely exhausted. She didn't know how long it would take to recover. The enemy was getting closer and closer, and they wouldn't give her any time to recuperate.

"What is this?" Jiang Che looked at the object Lang Jiuchuan was holding in his hand. It was neither gold nor wood, and he didn't know what it was.

"Someone's coming." The ghost looked outside, then at the sinking lake and the ghostly aura surging out from the water dungeon.

So this is what the righteous path is all about. I wonder how the Inspectorate will handle this matter?
Fu Qi arrived first, and upon seeing Lang Jiuchuan's appearance, his expression changed drastically: "Who did this!"

His murderous aura surged outwards.

"Take her to Tongtian Pavilion. I have to wait for the people from the Surveillance Department to arrive." A Piao handed Lang Jiuchuan to Fu Qi and said, "After you get back, light some incense by her bedside and ask Hong Niangzi for a Rejuvenation Pill to feed her."

Fu Qi took it, left without a word, and Che followed closely behind. ...

In mid-March, several major events occurred. The Ren family, which had been tragically wiped out, suddenly experienced a major upheaval. It was rumored that a large number of skeletons were hidden beneath the Mo Lake, which had been deserted for a long time.

Beneath the pavilion in the middle of the lake, there is a water prison, which is set up with a mysterious array to isolate the presence of living beings. In a dark room inside the water prison, there are array patterns and talismans, and magical artifacts. Seven children under the age of twelve who have been kidnapped are locked inside and forced to sacrifice their essence, blood and soul to a certain spirit tablet.

The most bizarre thing was that when the Inspectorate arrived, before they could even see the birth date and time on the memorial tablet, it automatically exploded and turned into dust, making it impossible to investigate.

Of course, this fragmented information will not be made public to the general public, so as not to cause greater panic.

Only the Supervisory Department, especially the ordinary officials, seemed to be highly motivated and wanted to launch an attack on the Xuan Clan. This was because the manager of Tongtian Pavilion testified that Zheng Yangzi, an elder of the Rong family of the Xuan Clan, prevented him from searching for people in the water prison and even wanted to kill him. This is how the commotion caused by the battle of magic came about.

As for who was fighting Zheng Yangzi, A Piao was very tight-lipped. If asked, he would have to pay an intelligence fee. If asked further, he would say it was some Foundation Establishment expert. The truth was always in A Piao's hands, which infuriated the people of the Surveillance Department. They wanted to raid the pavilion, but A Piao had a powerful backer and could neither offend nor touch him.

Therefore, the Surveillance Bureau had no choice but to change its target and keep investigating the Xuan Clan Rong Family's secrets. After all, it's hard to explain why your family's elders were sneaking around in Wujing City doing something like sacrificial life-sharing.

However, once this news spread, the Rong family's reputation, which was already precarious due to the young master's demonic possession, was further damaged.

When the news reached the Rong family, the head of the Rong family flew into a rage, especially when he saw Zheng Yangzi's soul tablet fall, his eyes turned bloodshot with anger.

The Rong family didn't have many capable elders to begin with, and Zheng Yangzi was the second-ranked among them. He was also close to establishing his foundation, but he perished at this time, and even his magic weapon disappeared. This loss was considerable.

Losing a Foundation Establishment Realm elder is equivalent to a further decline in the family's strength. If something else happens, the Rong family will definitely be kicked out of the Xuan Clan and will never regain its former glory.

So the Rong family sent out another capable elder who directly labeled Zheng Yangzi a traitor to the clan and said he had already been expelled. The matter of the secret chamber formation was also pinned on Zheng Yangzi, a forced framing. Since he was already dead, they might as well use him and make the most of him.

The fact that the spirit tablet exploded into dust is also easy to explain; he had perished, which perfectly explains why the spirit tablet suddenly shattered.

This was a foolish move. While it's said that the dead can't prove anything, it's also like trying to hide something obvious. It might fool ordinary people, but it won't fool the rest of the Xuan clan and Shen Qinghe.

However, without evidence, this matter can only be put on hold for the time being.

Lang Jiuchuan was completely unaware of this. She had been asleep all along. She clearly felt people coming and going to visit her, but her soul was drifting like a rootless duckweed, unable to find a place to settle.

It wasn't until a pair of cold hands forcefully pressed her back into her body, and some kind of power viciously poured into her mind, that she regained her senses.

"The blood feud is not yet settled. You have no right to wander around. Go inside." A calm, emotionless voice rang in Lang Jiuchuan's ears. Then, she felt her wrists being slashed open with a sharp blade, and something rushed into her meridians.

So rough, it hurts!

She struggled to open her eyes and saw the man walk out the door, a hint of dark gold trim peeking out from the inside of his robe as he walked.

(End of this chapter)