Volume 10, Chapter 696 – She Killed Three Elders of the Immortal Alliance

“How did you find out? To keep something hidden, you must first keep it from yourself.”

Qi Huang smiled mockingly, then continued, “As the saying goes, those who harm others will eventually harm themselves. You brought this upon yourself.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll reveal your true identity to the Immortal Alliance?”

Wenren Jun’s voice was sharp and accusing.

“You wouldn’t be that foolish!”

Qi Huang replied calmly with a faint smile.

“And why do you think I wouldn’t? You killed three of the Immortal Alliance’s great elders, and now you’ve brought a calamity upon my Wenren family. We cannot shoulder such a responsibility!”

Wenren Jun retorted, his voice tight with anger.

Qi Huang’s expression remained indifferent as she smiled lightly. “First, you used scapegoats to deceive the Immortal Alliance, leading to the deaths of their three elders. That’s an unforgivable crime. Even if you confessed the truth, they wouldn’t let you off so easily. Second, if you keep my true identity a secret, you’ll only offend the Immortal Alliance. But if you expose me, you’ll offend both the Immortal Alliance and me. Even if they forgive you, I won’t. Third, you’ve seen my strength just now. There’s no guarantee the Immortal Alliance could handle me anyway. If you act recklessly, you’ll end up hurting yourself more than you hurt me, it’s a losing bargain. Fourth, I believe in Old Master Wenren’s wisdom. If you use your head, pull some strings, and spend a little to smooth things over, you should be able to appease the Immortal Alliance. Is there really a need for us to drag each other down to ruin?”

“You certainly thought this through, didn’t you? When you killed them, you must have assumed I wouldn’t dare expose your identity. That’s why you were so bold, pulling my Wenren family into this mess and making us your shield!”

Wenren Jun sneered coldly.

“This is called returning favor with favor. You used us as scapegoats once, and now I’ve made you be scapegoats once. I’d say that’s perfectly fair.”

Qi Huang’s tone was logical and sharp.

Wenren Jun drew in a deep breath, falling silent, lost in his thoughts.

“Enough. Since I’ve already returned the Golden Fate Blossom seed to you, we’re even now. As for the Immortal Alliance, that’s for Old Master Wenren to handle. Whether you sacrifice a pawn to protect the king or sever a limb to save the body, or whether you really want to fight me to mutual destruction, it’s your choice.”

Leaving those words behind, Qi Huang turned away, leading her main body and her fellow sisters away gracefully.

“Father, what should we do now? If what that woman said is true, then our Wenren family is finished!”

Wenren Qing’s voice trembled as she spoke, panic written all over her face.

“Don’t panic. Contact our acquaintances in the Immortal Alliance’s main headquarters immediately. Confirm whether this is true.”

Wenren Jun took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm as he instructed.

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“Alright, I’ll ask right away. Maybe she was just trying to scare us?”

Suddenly enlightened, Wenren Qing grabbed the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube and contacted a trusted friend in the Immortal Alliance.

Moments later, Wenren Qing ended the call, her face pale as death. Turning to her father, she reported, “Father, it’s true. That woman is utterly insane, she really killed three of the Immortal Alliance’s elders, including Grand Elder Zheng Chi. Only Elder Kang survived. He hasn’t returned to the Alliance yet, but he already used his communication tube to inform the Alliance Leader. The entire Immortal Alliance headquarters is in chaos right now.”

Whoosh!

The light in Wenren Jun’s eyes faded instantly, and he collapsed into his chair, lifeless.

“Father, what do we do?” Wenren Qing asked again, her voice cracking.

“Why… why did we have to provoke this demon in the first place!”

Wenren Jun shook his head in anguish.

After some thought, Wenren Qing hesitated and suggested, “Should we just deny everything, no matter what?”

“Deny it? You personally sent those women to the Immortal Alliance headquarters. There were countless witnesses. How do you plan to deny it?”

Wenren Jun countered sharply.

“Ugh…”

Wenren Qing’s face turned ashen, and she slumped onto a nearby chair.

“How could I have been so foolish! I should’ve sent some unrelated nobodies to escort them instead. That way, even if something happened, we could have discarded the pawns to protect the king!”

The more Wenren Jun thought about it, the angrier he became. He slapped himself hard across the face.

“Father, enough! Put all the blame on me. As long as we can protect you and the family, I don’t care what happens to me.”

Wenren Qing’s face bore an expression of grim resolve.

“How could I let you take the fall? I’m the mastermind here. I should bear the responsibility.”

Wenren Jun shook his head firmly.

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“Father, that woman has dragged us into such a disaster. Do you really think, in the eyes of the Immortal Alliance, there’s any difference between a mastermind and an accomplice? We should at least try to save whoever we can.”

Wenren Qing’s reasoning was clear and sharp.

“No. As your father, with one foot already in the grave, I cannot selfishly let my son take the blame for me.”

Wenren Jun remained resolute in his refusal.

“That may be so, but the Wenren family doesn’t need more young blood, it needs a protector. You’re the clan head and the strongest cultivator we have. You absolutely cannot be harmed. Besides, as your child, fulfilling my filial duty is only natural.”

Wenren Qing’s voice carried both reason and emotion.

“…I understand your intentions, and I’m grateful.”

Wenren Jun sighed heavily, then added, “But right now, the biggest problem isn’t me, it’s Wenren Yu. In the eyes of the Immortal Alliance, she’s the true culprit. If I think hard enough, there might still be a slim chance of survival for me… but for her, death is certain.”

“Ah…”

Wenren Qing let out another heavy sigh, momentarily at a loss.

“Go summon the elders of the other girls’ families. This matter is too grave for just our family to handle, we need everyone’s counsel and support.”

Wenren Jun instructed solemnly.

“Yes, Father!”

Wenren Qing bowed respectfully, gathered herself, and hurried out.

Before long, she returned with the grandfathers and parents of the other five girls. Since the disaster had already exploded, hiding it served no purpose, they needed as many minds as possible to devise a plan.

“Why summon us so late at night? What’s going on?”

“Yes, couldn’t this wait until morning? It’s not as if the sky is falling.”

“What sky? Our Wenren family is the very sky of Changming Kingdom! I’d wager he just wants to flaunt his authority as clan head.”

A group of clan relatives grumbled as they entered the room.

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“Those female disciples from Honghua Sect have returned.”

Wenren Jun spoke through gritted teeth, struggling to control his anger.

“What?”

The study fell silent instantly.

“Impossible! With their abilities, how could they have come back alive from the Kapok Valley Treasure Land? Even bait stronger than them almost never escapes disaster there!”

A man slightly younger than Wenren Jun, Wenren Yu’s grandfather, Wenren Li, questioned in disbelief.

“That’s normal. Even though the Immortal Alliance claims to protect the bait, in a place as dangerous as Kapok Valley, they can barely protect themselves. How could they guarantee the bait’s safety?”

Another clan member, Wenren Lian, offered an explanation.

“But the problem is, they really did come back.”

Wenren Jun smiled bitterly, then picked up the Golden Fate Blossom seed from the table. “See for yourselves. They returned this to me.”

“Where are they now?”

Wenren Li scanned the room and asked.

“Gone.”

Wenren Jun’s tone was flat.

“Gone? Are you joking with us?”

Wenren Li shot up from his chair, glaring. “Elder Brother, have you forgotten why we sent those girls to the Immortal Alliance headquarters in the first place? Now that they’re alive, why didn’t you make them stay?”

“Exactly! If they’re still alive, it means our scapegoat plan has failed! We have to send them back to the Immortal Alliance as bait until they’re dead!”

Wenren Lian agreed firmly.

“We could try finding other scapegoats, but the Immortal Alliance has already seen their faces. Switching them out now won’t work.”

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The last brother, Wenren Zheng, finally spoke up.

“You think I wanted to let them go? Do you really believe they survived purely by luck?”

Wenren Jun’s tone sharpened.

“Then how did they survive?” Wenren Zheng frowned.

“Strength.”

Wenren Jun’s answer was blunt.

“Exactly,” Wenren Qing explained softly from the side. “Cheng Hongling’s doppelgänger Divine Sense alone has at least reached the early stage of the Heavenly Tribulation Realm. Father and I were lucky to escape with our lives, we couldn’t have stopped them even if we wanted to.”

“Wenren Qing, are you kidding me? Cheng Hongling is barely twenty years old. She couldn’t possibly have reached the Heavenly Tribulation Realm herself, let alone her doppelgängers!”

Wenren Li was so stunned, he laughed in disbelief.

“Right. Even the new Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect is only in the late Divine Realm. That country girl with no background and no bloodline. How could she have such absurd cultivation speed?”

Wenren Zheng joined in, equally skeptical.

“Heh. If you knew what they did on this trip, you wouldn’t doubt me.”

Wenren Jun smiled bitterly.

“What exactly did they do?” Wenren Li demanded.

“They killed someone. And not just anyone, the three great elders of the Immortal Alliance!”

Wenren Jun’s expression turned dark and grave.

“What?!”

The study fell into absolute silence.