After I left the sect, the entire sect knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

The reason she went straight to Elder Rong Ce upon her return was to pick up her belongings while she was there, so she wouldn't have to make the trip again later.

After she finished speaking, she took a box out of her storage bag and handed it over.

Li Qiu took it and asked curiously, "What is this?"

As she spoke, she opened the package; it was the necklace she had given her before. "Oh dear, isn't this the gift I gave you when you became my apprentice? Why are you returning it?"

“Fellow Daoist gave me this magic treasure that day to cooperate with me. I can’t just be ignorant and take the necklace for myself.”

"Oh, you're so perceptive," Li Qiu said, putting away the box without any hesitation.

She was about to express her gratitude when she was stopped.

"Don't be so grateful to me. I helped you to repay a favor. I added you as a friend on the Jade Tablet because you are a disciple of Venerable Duanyi, and we will have more interactions in the future."

She openly stated that her help was motivated by self-interest, showing no qualms whatsoever. After saying this, Li Qiu left without lingering.

Lin Yan went to collect the spirit stones and magical treasures that the Mo family had given her as compensation, and as expected, she was lectured by Elder Rong Ce. The elder said that no matter what, she shouldn't have stabbed someone right through in front of an elder.

Especially since he was an elder whose cultivation level was above his own! This was practically courting death.

She caught the key information and pressed, "So next time, if it's not in front of his elders, I can just kill him?"

Rong Ce had a cold expression. He wanted to give someone a good lesson in philosophy, but when he thought that Duan Yi was proving his Dao through killing, he stopped talking.

Not wanting to see this troublesome girl, he waved his sleeve and said, "Get out!"

"Yes, Elder, I will take my leave now."

After leaving the villa, she did not fly directly to Guiyun Peak on her sword, but instead walked back at a leisurely pace.

I overheard the students discussing something on the way home from class.

"Have you heard? Venerable Duan Yi and Venerable Miao Yin have gained insight into the creation of heaven and earth, and their mental state has improved. They have gone into seclusion and may break through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage."

"Oh, of course I've heard about it. The news is absolutely reliable; it's been confirmed by the personal disciples of the two elders."

"Both Venerable Ones are pillars of the sect. I wish I had their comprehension and talent..." a disciple sighed in admiration.

Are Master and Elder Miaoyin both in seclusion?
It's a bit of a coincidence...

This is great news for her! With Venerable Miaoyin in seclusion and Wen Gui left without anyone to protect her, she has a lot more room to maneuver.

She was determined to kill that person, but she couldn't strike first. Her counterattack was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it? Even if Venerable Miaoyin came out, she couldn't say anything.

As soon as she arrived at Guiyun Peak, she saw a woman dressed in red sitting in front of the pond fishing.

The pond is planted with lotus flowers and contains the master's spirit fish, whose color is similar to that of koi.

The woman in red caught a fish and threw it into the fish basket. She stood up from the deck chair and looked the woman up and down.

"You must be Master's newly accepted disciple?" the woman in red asked with certainty.

"Are you the senior sister?"

The woman covered her face and smiled: "Oh dear, junior sister guessed right, but there's no reward. Let me introduce myself, my name is Fu Xin, and my master told me to take good care of you before he went into seclusion."

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Sister." She bowed slightly in greeting.

"Let's go, I'll treat you to spirit fish soup, then I'll take you to see the cave, and in a couple of days I'll take you to hand over the spirit mine."

"Yes……"

The eldest sister spoke gently, but her aura was imposing. She was suppressed in front of her and could only act like a docile kitten for the time being.

If I'm not mistaken, Senior Sister is currently at the peak of the Golden Core stage. Logically, she should be in seclusion preparing for the tribulation. Why is she here to receive me?

Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to suppress your cultivation level and will break through to the next tribulation on the spot?
They said they were inviting her for spirit fish soup, but it was really just a cup of water. The spirit fish were kept in a basin, and nobody knew how to cook them. The eldest sister said she preferred fighting, so her life skills were terrible.

The last fish was even snatched away by the griffin.

The situation was awkward, and she didn't dare to speak for a while. Fortunately, her senior sister didn't chat with her for long before taking her to the cave.

The eldest sister also said that she needed to exercise to improve her physical fitness, so she walked over.

Master prefers quiet, so there are very few people on Guiyun Peak, and there are hardly any people along the way; you can't even see any servants or disciples.

Guiyun Peak's situation is perfect for disciples from within the sect to carry out assassinations.

"What are you thinking about, junior sister?"

Hearing her senior sister's question, she shook her head: "It's nothing. I just think Guiyun Peak is so wonderful that I don't want to go out and train anymore."

Her plan was to lure the people who were imprisoned to Guiyun Peak to kill her, so she could retaliate.

"I've heard that demons are getting restless lately, and evil cultivators are also unruly. It's probably better not to go out and train."

"Thank you for reminding me, senior sister. I've got it."

……

The cave was newly dug, and the already rich spiritual energy, combined with the advanced spirit-gathering array, was practically pouring spiritual energy directly into the cultivators.

"You'll have to find out what you need to add to the cave yourself. You should rest now, and I'll come find you in a couple of days."

She nodded and said "okay," and respectfully saw her senior sister off.

The cave was filled with such rich spiritual energy that it was intoxicating. She quickly called out the little creature in her space to cultivate together in the cave.

The little sprite flew out first, placed the pot on the stone table, and then burrowed into its body to absorb spiritual energy.

The other little ones searched for suitable places to nest in the cave before continuing to sleep soundly.

The difference between spirit beasts and cultivators is that spirit beasts can automatically absorb spiritual energy while sleeping, without needing to circulate it through cultivation techniques to convert it.

She couldn't help but envy this physique. Without needing to cultivate, the body could absorb and transform spiritual energy on its own; wasn't that like cultivating invisibly every moment?

Thinking of this, she paused for a moment, a chill gradually spreading through her, and she couldn't help but shiver.

Previously, Lu Ji was captured and experimented on, turning him into something neither human nor beast. Could it be one of those experiments involving the combination of a cultivator and a beast?

This is supposed to be a world of cultivation, yet there are such crazy people conducting these unethical experiments.

This kind of crooked and evil practice will inevitably use countless innocent people as test subjects, and it's unknown how many people it will harm.

Lu Ji's master planted a bewitching Gu in him, attempting to seize his body. After the plot was exposed, he threw him into this heinous experiment. She didn't believe that this master had nothing to do with the experiment.

She has a bold idea!

Could this be the first experiment to be staged?

If even the first sect has gone astray, then what is the right path?

It's right to pursue a better path of cultivation, but one shouldn't lose their humanity.

I can't imagine how long this experiment lasted, or how many cultivators suffered at its hands.

Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! Just thinking about conducting all sorts of monster experiments on people made her feel incredibly nauseous, and she couldn't even bear to imagine the scene.

As the nausea subsided, she calmed down and began to think.

Those were just my guesses; there's no evidence to prove it was actually the First Case who did it. Even if the First Case were conducting such heinous experiments... (End of Chapter)