novelapdf Chapter 210 Confrontation, Self-Revelation
Chapter 210 Confrontation, Self-Revelation
After Li Yan recounted everything that had happened in the secret realm, the entire bottom of Jade Lake fell into a deathly silence.
Huang Yunshan's miserable state can be said to be entirely his own fault.
If he hadn't been so arrogant and insisted on leading his people to fight against three fourth-tier demonic beasts, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.
Of course, the Du family's fickleness and Li Yanhui's timely elimination of the remaining poison were both important factors influencing the outcome.
Zhang Lingyu was able to seize the opportunity when the three parties were entangled and no one could spare a move, not to mention that the Ice Fang Snow Rabbit returned on its own due to the influence of the Mind-Capturing Bell.
But luck aside, they still have the ability.
The fact that he could force Huang Yunshan to take three pills and hold out against him until Li Yanhui and the other two came to his aid shows that his strength is much stronger than that of an average late-stage player.
"This kid is quite interesting."
Master Xuanhao stroked his beard and looked at Zhang Lingyu, who was protected by his magic weapon. He had only intended to give him a small opportunity and lend him a hand, but now he had made the greatest contribution.
They'll have to give him a good reward when they get back.
After everything was clear, he smiled and looked at the other two, asking, "Gentlemen, the matter is crystal clear. You should be convinced by this result, right?"
Regardless of the outcome, just looking at the time when they first entered the Cold Marrow Abyss, Li Yan was injured, Huang Yunshan wielded two powerful magical artifacts, and the Du family's strength was also the best preserved.
It can be said that the Li family had absolutely no connection with Shuimu Tianhua.
In this situation, neither of them could obtain the goods, so they had to look for problems within themselves.
"snort!"
Even though Huang Xingyan was unwilling, he had no choice but to accept the facts. He had initially thought that the two families had conspired to attack them together, but it turned out that Huang Yunshan had only himself to blame. However, he was still somewhat unwilling and asked:
"We accept the Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor incident, but my family's Mind-Controlling Bell is a sacred artifact passed down from our ancestors. You destroyed it, so you must compensate my family!"
The Mind-Capturing Bell is extremely useful. When fully activated in the secret realm, it can even affect those in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Not to mention on the battlefield in the future, once the bell rings, many Qi Refining cultivators will likely be at your disposal.
"After all, it's a magical artifact with the potential to become a powerful treasure!"
This very magical artifact was ultimately destroyed by Li Yanhui and his companion, along with the small bowl containing the Corrosive Spring, which was also smashed to pieces.
After the trip to the secret realm, not counting the manpower, the Huang family lost hundreds of thousands of spirit stones!
"It's good that it's destroyed!"
"Yes, it's best to destroy such magical artifacts as soon as possible!"
The angrier Huang Xingyan became, the happier the cultivators from the Li and Du families were. The Mind-Capturing Bell had been a nightmare haunting their minds, and its destruction was truly a cause for celebration.
"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Huang, let me reiterate: if everything that happened in the secret realm is to be investigated here, then shouldn't you also compensate us for the clansmen you killed and the magical artifacts you destroyed in the past?"
Master Xuanhao wasn't buying it at all, and sneered:
"Back then, your family was taken over by the Jade Serpent Fortress, which is why this Mind-Capturing Bell wasn't destroyed. Who knows if your family has been secretly refining it all these years!"
"Whether this Mind-Capturing Bell was forged by your own family back then, or stolen from demonic cultivators, you know the truth in your hearts!"
"Fellow Daoist, words are not enough. My family has been practicing the righteous path for many years. If you slander my family again, I will definitely report to the sect and accuse you of defamation in your Jade Light Pavilion!" Huang Xingyan was so embarrassed that he couldn't find a reason to refute it, so he had to bring up the sect to put pressure on them.
"Bullshit! I wasn't slandering you; I was simply stating the facts!"
Master Xuanhao's fiery temper flared up instantly, and he pointed at the other person's nose and cursed:
"Practicing the righteous path... How dare you even say that? Who was it that secretly plundered mortals to perform blood sacrifices? If you were truly practicing the righteous path, why didn't you destroy the Mind-Controlling Bell long ago?"
"And what about this bone-corroding, filthy spring? How do you explain that?"
"Naturally, it was left by our ancestors, and we obtained it from that demonic cultivator!"
"Why have you never used it all these years, waiting until today? I bet your family has been secretly refining it recently!"
"You!" Huang Xingyan felt dizzy and disoriented. He couldn't argue with the other party no matter what he said. After all, the Mind-Capturing Bell was a demonic artifact, and his family was not in the right at all.
"Fine, if it's ruined, it's ruined... At least it'll have no excuse to cause trouble for us later."
Even though he was angry, he could only swallow his anger. Just as he was about to leave with his clansmen, he suddenly noticed something: Du Yizhao and the Du family had never said a word.
What's even stranger is that this golden core seems rather leisurely.
So he asked, "Fellow Daoist Du, would you like to say a few words?"
"Say something? What's there to say? A bet's a bet..."
Du Yizhao had no desire to get involved in these messy affairs. Although he hadn't obtained the Water Curtain Heavenly Flower from the Cold Marrow Abyss, his own people hadn't suffered any major losses, which was already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Furthermore... Li Yanhui didn't mention the plant at the bottom of Dragon Whirlpool Lake at all, which shows that it must have been secretly obtained by his own people.
He had been observing the situation without asking any questions until now, when an opportunity arose, he finally looked at Du Yongyi and secretly transmitted his voice, "You got the stuff... right?"
"thing..."
Du Yongyi's heart skipped a beat; he hadn't expected that what was bound to happen would finally come.
They initially thought the Water Curtain Heavenly Flower was on the late Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Huang family, but it wasn't found in their storage bag after the encirclement and killing. So either it was given to Huang Yunshan, or it was in the hands of someone else.
Unfortunately, Huang Yunshan still had some tricks up his sleeve and failed to kill him.
"Um?"
Seeing that Du Yongyi hesitated to answer, Du Yizhao immediately realized what the problem was. His previous good mood vanished instantly, and he grabbed the man, coldly saying, "Speak, what exactly happened!"
"Ancestor... I... I can't breathe."
Du Yongyi's face was flushed. He had been suddenly grabbed by the throat by the Golden Core cultivator and lifted into the air. He was completely unable to use his magic power, and a powerful aura filled his heart, ready to kill him at any moment.
Xuan Hao, Huang Xingyan, and the others were about to leave when they suddenly stopped upon seeing this scene. They immediately realized something was amiss and laughed:
"Fellow Daoist Du, everything was fine just now. Why the sudden change? Could it be that your clansman didn't get what he wanted after going in?"
"Can't we talk this out properly? You're practically strangling your own people to death."
"Yes, yes, this is a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, not some Qi Refining cultivator. It would be a huge loss if he died."
"Please calm down, Ancestor!"
The Du family cultivators finally understood what was going on, but Du Yongyi's injuries hadn't healed yet. If he were accidentally pinched and injured, or even killed, the loss would be enormous.
"snort!"
Du Yizhao snorted coldly, seemingly calming down, and reluctantly put the man down.
He turned to the other two Golden Core cultivators and shouted, "This is none of your business!"
"What exactly is this old devil trying to steal from the secret realm?"
The more the other party acted this way, the more curious the two Golden Core cultivators became; there must be something they were hiding.
The legacy within the Water Moon Palace?
But the place had already been thoroughly looted by the three families when the secret realm first opened, leaving nothing behind.
It couldn't possibly be the demon core of a fourth-tier demon beast.
Those things aren't unavailable on the market, and besides, why would anyone risk their life in the Cold Marrow Abyss just for a demon core?
Could it be that there is something good they haven't discovered yet?
"Fellow Daoist Du, since you're not going to talk right now, then none of the three of us will leave today. We'll stay here and wait for you to tell us when you're ready, and then we'll consider it further."
After Huang Xingyan finished speaking, he immediately gave a wink to the cultivators below, and the Huang family cultivators immediately surrounded the Du family cultivators.
It seems they don't intend to give up.
Seeing this, Du Yizhao became even more agitated. It seemed that it would be difficult to leave today, so he might as well go all out and stir things up.
He was about to speak when he noticed that True Immortal Xuanhao was about to leave with the Li family. He frowned and asked, "Fellow Daoist Li, where are you going?"
"We've already acquired the Water Curtain Heavenly Essence. My family isn't interested in what you're talking about. You should tell Fellow Daoist Huang about it instead."
"Then what if I told you that there's actually a second Water Curtain Heavenly Flower in this Water Moon Secret Realm? Would you believe me?"
"What?! A second one?!"
These words caused a huge stir. All the cultivators present, including the other two Golden Core cultivators, were stunned. Only Zhang Lingyu secretly groaned in his heart.
Master Xuanhao paused, looked at the old man in the distance, and asked, "Is this true?"
"How dare I, Du, deceive my two fellow Daoists?"
Du Yizhao continued:
"To be honest, when the Water Moon Secret Realm opened last time, my cultivators went to the bottom of Dragon Whirlpool Lake and found a Water Curtain Heavenly Flower in the crack at the bottom. Because it was not yet mature and there was a Xuan Water Turtle guarding it, we secretly recorded it and waited to go in and pick it this time."
"Under Dragon Whirlpool Lake, are you perhaps lying, fellow Daoist?"
The three cultivators searched the entire Water Moon Secret Realm, inside and out, during the first two openings. They had also been to the bottom of the crack they mentioned, but had never found a second Water Curtain Heavenly Flower.
Du Yizhao's words are hard to believe at the moment.
Regardless of whether it's true or not, the environment there is far worse than that of the Cold Marrow Abyss, making it almost impossible for such a creature to be born.
"If you don't believe me, why don't you take a look at this recording bead?" Du Yizhao threw out a recording bead from his sleeve. The scene recorded inside was the one where the Du family disciples discovered the second Water Curtain Heavenly Flower. Next to it was a huge creature—the Xuan Water Turtle.
"It seems it's true..."
Once the image-recording bead appears, it can be basically confirmed that there is indeed a previously undiscovered Water Curtain Heavenly Flower growing there. Although the image-recording bead can be faked, there is really no need for it.
"Since there really is a second Water Curtain Heavenly Flower, and it is only guarded by a Xuan Shui Turtle, and the other two families are unaware of it, then your Du family should have already obtained it, right?" Huang Xingyan's words were full of sarcasm. If Du Yongyi really had obtained it, why would Du Yizhao be so angry?
It was either eaten by the Xuan Shui Ao or taken away by someone else.
"Hmph, fellow Daoist, you know the answer already. Why bother asking? To tell you the truth, the spiritual object has been stolen, and that person is among these cultivators!"
"Du Yonghuai, get out here and tell me what happened back then!"
Du Yizhao put away the image-recording bead and then glared fiercely at all the cultivators who came out.
The cultivators remained silent, looking at each other blankly.
"Yes."
Du Yonghuai hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd and immediately recounted the whole story in detail.
......
"Useless, truly two pieces of trash!"
Upon hearing this, Du Yizhao became even more furious. Two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators hadn't even noticed that someone was following them. During the fight, the opponents hadn't even shown their skills yet, and they had completely outmaneuvered them. What else could they be but trash?
He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and with a "whoosh," he slapped Du Yonghuai across the face. Du Yonghuai's injuries had not yet healed, and he was caught off guard. He was sent flying far away, and several of his teeth were knocked out.
But they dared not utter a sound, and could only kneel at the bottom of the lake and kowtow desperately.
"Alas, fellow Daoist, you've gone too far."
Huang Xingyan pretended to stop him, but was secretly overjoyed. He fanned the flames, saying, "He's a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, what if he gets hurt?"
"I think there might not be any outsiders at all. Maybe it was just your two clansmen who staged it all."
After the Du family obtains the Water Curtain Heavenly Flower, they will definitely give it to Du Yongyi. However, both Du Yongyi and Du Yongyi are in the late stage and not far from the peak, so they naturally also have the intention of forming their core.
What if the two of them have bad intentions and want to take it all for themselves?
"Fellow Daoist, are you trying to sow discord within my family? I find the cultivators in your family rather suspicious."
Du Yizhao wasn't buying it. He knew his own cultivators' character best; they couldn't do such a thing, nor was there any need to. After all, everyone would be questioned by the Heart-Questioning Talisman upon returning, and no small action could be hidden.
As for being able to be undetected by the divine sense of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, one must at least be a cultivator of the same level or at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
Of course, those in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage are also suspects.
The chances of it being Zhang Lingyu are not small, after all, he did not appear in the Water Moon Palace at first, and only appeared with the Li family cultivators after the Cold Marrow Abyss opened.
Perhaps this period of time has been spent making up for the blood and qi deficiency caused by the Blood Burning Secret Technique.
"Therefore, none of you Foundation Establishment cultivators who come out are leaving unless I thoroughly inspect your storage bags and find no problems!"
Upon hearing this, the cultivators' expressions changed drastically. Storage bags were everyone's private property; such domineering behavior was tantamount to treating them as less than human.
Furthermore, there are two Golden Core cultivators present. Are you treating them like they don't exist?!
really.
Master Xuanhao flicked his sleeves and coldly snorted, "Check all the cultivators' storage bags? Fellow Daoist, you're truly domineering. Shouldn't you search both of us as well?"
"Even if there's a second Water Curtain Heavenly Flower, so what? It's still growing in the secret realm. Since it's in the secret realm, the rules apply. Whoever gets it has the ability to do so. You have no right to ask someone to take it out for you!"
"Absolutely, absolutely."
Huang Xingyan also started to fan the flames, continuing:
"Whether it was kept by your family cultivators or taken by others, it all boils down to one thing: your family's skills are inferior. You might as well just accept it like us."
"you!"
Seeing the two men mocking him one after another, Du Yizhao was so angry he almost exploded. He watched as the two forces left with their men after their mockery, but he couldn't stop them. He could only vent his anger on his own family members.
"Useless, all of you are useless!"
......
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