Chapter 35: Is Something the Matter?

"I was forced by them!" Lianzi hurriedly answered. "Cen Yingqiu gave me these injuries. I was forced! They made me frame Shi Muyao, otherwise they would kill me... SOB..."

Upon hearing this, the crowd felt a surge of anger. To frame Shi Muyao, they had actually slashed Lian Ziying with a sword and threatened her to spout slander.

Even the Yuling Sect Master felt a pang of regret in her heart. Over the years, to make the disciples of the Yuling Sect stronger, she had encouraged them to fight amongst themselves and compete fairly. She had not expected things to devolve to such unscrupulous lengths.

"Master, was I wrong to do this?" the Yuling Sect Master sighed heavily in her heart.

"Then you deserve to die too!" Mo Qianqian snorted coldly.

With a movement of his Spirit Body, a crisp CRACK rang out. In an instant, Lian Ziying’s neck was snapped, killing her on the spot.

The crowd’s faces twitched. This Spirit Master Elder was so ruthless! He had killed Lian Ziying right in front of everyone, even though she was technically one of the victims. Of course, out of selfishness, Lian Ziying had indeed harmed Shi Muyao. She had dared to lie to the Sect Leader’s face, deceiving even the Sect Leader herself. She truly did not deserve any sympathy.

"Who put you up to this?" Mo Qianqian turned his gaze to the woman in the white dress.

During this time, Mo Qianqian made his Spirit Body vanish, reappearing instantly beside Shi Muyao to pour surging spiritual energy into her body. The toxicity in Shi Muyao had been mostly purged, and her life was no longer in danger. However, the remnants of the poison still needed to be cleared, and her injuries required healing.

Meeting Mo Qianqian’s icy glare, the woman in the white dress jumped in fright. True terror seized her as she hurriedly fell to her knees.

"Was it Wu Yubai who instructed you?" the Yuling Sect Master spoke up at this moment.

Hearing this, Mo Qianqian frowned.

"Yes, Wu Yubai sent us! Elder Asura, please spare my life! Sect Leader, save me!" the woman in the white dress pleaded frantically.

CRACK! Mo Qianqian struck again.

"Where is Wu Yubai?" the Yuling Sect Master looked at the several Elders.

"Wu Yubai is currently out gaining experience..." another Elder answered.

"From this moment on, Wu Yubai is expelled from the Yuling Sect! His life or death is no longer any concern of ours!" the Yuling Sect Master announced loudly.

Mo Qianqian harbored some reservations about whether Wu Yubai was truly the mastermind, or if someone else was pulling the strings behind him. However, he had already killed everyone who laid a hand on Shi Muyao, and the Yuling Sect Master had given him a great deal of face. Today’s matters would end here.

Since the Sect Leader had already expelled Wu Yubai from the Yuling Sect, she would not interfere with whatever he chose to do with the man. If he dug out anyone else backing Wu Yubai, that would be his own business as well. The Sect Leader had essentially left him room to act.

But Mo Qianqian was not going to let this matter go! He would not easily forgive the true mastermind behind the scenes who had nearly destroyed Shi Muyao.

"From now on, Shi Muyao is my personal disciple," the Yuling Sect Master declared loudly. "I will not interfere in fair competition, but if anyone dares to use such underhanded tactics again, do not blame me for being ruthless!"

The crowd present fell dead silent. After today, even if the Sect Leader hadn’t said those words, they would never dare provoke Shi Muyao.

Immediately after, the Yuling Sect Master swept Mo Qianqian and Shi Muyao away from the scene, heading toward her residence on Jade Spirit Peak.

The Elders departed one after another. Once the scene was cleared, the remaining disciples dispersed in succession.

Meanwhile, this news spread like wildfire throughout the entire Yuling Sect.

"What? Lu Jun, Cen Yingqiu, and three others were all killed?"

"By a Spirit Master Honored Guest Elder?"

"Rumor has it that nobody even saw anything. Cen Yingqiu’s group just got their necks snapped. Spirit Masters are truly terrifying!"

"Spirit Masters are not just terrifying, they can heal injuries too. He even dispelled Passionate Poison with ease! Most importantly, Spirit Masters can raise the grade of alchemical pills, creating an endless stream of wealth. In the future, the cost of acquiring pills for our entire Yuling Sect will probably go down!"

"What Lu Jun and Cen Yingqiu did was completely over the line. They deserved to be killed!"

"Exactly! Were we supposed to let those scumbags anger the Spirit Master into leaving, causing our entire Yuling Sect to suffer a massive loss?"

"I wonder, what is the relationship between Elder Asura and Shi Muyao?"

"It’s hard to say. If they have feelings for each other, Shi Muyao is already married to Mo Qianqian. But if there’s nothing between them, why would he take action for her?"

"You can’t be sure about that. I heard Shi Muyao still has her Chastity Sand, which means she and Mo Qianqian are only husband and wife in name. It’s not impossible for Elder Asura to have his eyes on her."

"Maybe Elder Asura just couldn’t stand seeing them bully the weak, so he stepped in."

"Come on, would an Elder help her for no reason just because she’s a female disciple? Since when are there so many people in this world who’d help you for nothing?"

"Wu Yubai is in deep trouble. Fortunately for him, he went out for experience these past two days. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have escaped this calamity!"

Various discussions quickly spread throughout the entire Yuling Sect.

Upon hearing the news, Sun Yuerong instantly felt a wave of panic. Fortunately, the other party hadn’t mentioned her. Moreover, she genuinely had nothing to do with this matter.

"It’s a good thing Brother Wu went out to hunt down Mo Qianqian, otherwise he would be in danger..." Sun Yuerong sighed inwardly.

Wu Yubai claimed he was going out to gain experience, but she knew perfectly well that he was actually pursuing Mo Qianqian. Quite a few disciples had followed him out as well.

When Tan Jiurong heard the news, he was also extremely wary. However, no matter what, the other party was only a First-Grade Spirit Master and posed no direct threat to him.

Furthermore, his target was Mo Qianqian, not Shi Muyao. Even if Shi Muyao was associated with Mo Qianqian, the Spirit Master wouldn’t go so far as to intervene if they only dealt with Mo Qianqian, right?

Besides, Mo Qianqian was also tangled up with the Ling Family. Presumably, the Spirit Master didn’t have the guts to go that far. There was even a chance that the Spirit Master had his eyes on Shi Muyao. If they got rid of Mo Qianqian, the Elder might actually be secretly delighted.

Jade Spirit Peak.

Shi Muyao lay on a bed inside a room. Mo Qianqian stood about five feet away, condensing his Spirit Body to channel spiritual energy and help heal her injuries.

Only after almost completely exhausting his mental and physical energy did Mo Qianqian stop channeling. At this moment, Shi Muyao’s complexion was visibly much better. The Passionate Poison had been thoroughly eliminated, and the scars on her face had healed by twenty or thirty percent. With just a few more sessions, Shi Muyao would be fully recovered.

"The injuries are under control," Mo Qianqian said. "In just a few days, you’ll be completely healed. I will return tomorrow." With that, he turned to leave the room.

Lying on the bed, Shi Muyao turned her head to look at his seemingly towering back. She couldn’t help but call out, "Elder Asura!"

Her voice carried a trace of weakness.

Mo Qianqian halted his steps. Without looking back, he replied in his indifferent middle-aged man’s voice, "Is there something you need?"