A disciple stumbled upon Nie Xingqingâs corpse when passing by the rockery.
When Luo Changhe arrived at the rockery with everyone, Elder Fanyun went pale at the sight before him.
"Itâs too late," Luo Changhe, after checking Nie Xingqingâs condition, said with a heavy tone, shaking his head.
"Sect Master Luo, this happened at your Holy Spring Sect, shouldnât you give an explanation?" Elder Fanyun spoke in a cold tone.
"Please be assured, Elder Fanyun, I have already ordered the sect gate to be sealed, and no one is allowed to leave the sect," Luo Changhe nodded, "Once the inner gate competition is over, I will thoroughly investigate every disciple."
Xu Zimei glanced at Luo Changhe and felt something was off. Logically, with a sectâs saintess dead in their own sect,
shouldnât they be conducting a thorough investigation immediately? The inner gate competition could be delayed and pushed back.
But judging by Luo Changheâs attitude, it seemed that the relationship between the Holy Spring Sect and the Immortal Spirit Sect wasnât as good as imagined.
"Sect Master Luo, are you planning to shield the murderer, waiting until after the inner gate competition ends, by which time everything would have already been decided?" Elder Fanyun said with an embarrassed look.
"Elder Fanyun, you should speak with evidence," Luo Changhe snorted, "Just because someone died in our Holy Spring Sect doesnât mean itâs entirely our fault.
Maybe it was someone you offended, and they were pursued here," Luo Changhe continued, "We also have a responsibility for this matter, but Iâm not shirking it. I said we would investigate immediately after the inner gate competition is over."
"Luo Changhe, are you taking revenge on our Immortal Spirit Sect for the incident that year?" Elder Fanyun, angered, directly called out his name.
One must know that Nie Xingqingâs death was not just a complete waste of the sectâs many years of cultivation.
Moreover, she carried the inheritance of the Ancestor of Wind. If the inheritance were lost, she would be the sinner of the Immortal Spirit Sect.
"Iâm not that petty. But as to who is behind this, itâs too early to jump to conclusions," Luo Changhe spoke indifferently, "While our Holy Spring Sect admits its own responsibility, I ask Elder Fanyun not to blame everything on us without evidence."
"You want evidence, right? I will give it to you now," Elder Fanyunâs gaze fixed, and the aura of the Emperor Pulse Realm surged around her.
The spiritual energy around her began to condense, and a faint blue swirl appeared behind her.
As the vortex appeared, Elder Fanyun slightly drew her hands apart in midair.
In that instant, in everyoneâs eyes, Elder Fanyunâs hands seemed to embody a special meaning, as if transcending time and space.
A white curtain appeared before her.
"What is this?" Lu Ang asked Xu Zimei who was at his side.
"I donât know," Xu Zimei shook his head.
"Time reversal, this is the ability of Elder Fanyunâs True Fate Emergence," Elder Tianzhen elaborated from the side, "As long as itâs within twenty-four hours, Elder Fanyun can use time reversal to see what the deceased experienced in the hour before death."
"Thatâs a nice ability," Lu Ang commented with interest.
Martial artists could condense their True Fate while in the Empty Vein Realm, and once they reached the Emperor Pulse Realm, they could manifest their True Fate.
Since everyoneâs condensation of True Fate is different, the abilities upon True Fate Emergence naturally vary.
...âŠ
As Elder Fanyunâs hands moved over the curtain, images shockingly appeared in the previously blank space.
Everyone watched the unfolding images with rapt attention.
On a night with a black moon and high winds, Nie Xingqing lay motionless behind the rockery, with two men in black sitting beside her.
The pair sat in silence for nearly an hour, while Elder Fanyun wore a somewhat unsightly expression to one side.
She didnât know if these people had come prepared, knowing her abilities, they deliberately dressed in black and masked their faces, then spent an hour to ensure she couldnât find out anything.
As the scene was about to end, one of the figures clad in black suddenly stood up, reached out, and grasped Nie Xingqingâs neck.
A deep voice came forth.
"Iâm not afraid to tell you before you die, it wasnât I who slaughtered the Heavenly Sword Sect, but a guy named Chu Yang. Even though he hails from a small village known as Qingyang Village, his luck is anything but small.
......âŠ"
After the man in black finished those words, he ended Nie Xingqingâs life.
The crowd watched as the two people headed in the direction of the Holy Spring Sectâs gate.
"Chu Yang, Qingyang Village," Elder Fanyun uttered these words through clenched teeth as she watched the content on the screen.
The aura of the Emperor Pulse Realm burst forth from her, reaching the sky and shaking the surrounding space.
"Elder Fanyun, please calm down," Luo Changhe hurriedly interjected.
"Itâs not your Holy Spring Sectâs Saintess who died, of course youâre not in a hurry," Elder Fanyun said with an embarrassed and displeased expression. "Sect Master Luo, due to the matter concerning our Sectâs Saintess, I must attend to it as soon as possible.
As for the Internal Sect Competition of your Sect, I shall abstain for now."
"Itâs fine, the matter concerning the Saintess is more important. I will also conduct a thorough investigation within the Holy Spring Sect," Luo Changhe replied indifferently.
"I hope this matter has nothing to do with your Holy Spring Sect," Elder Fanyun said, and then she promptly left with the other disciples from the Immortal Spirit Sect.
...âŠ
Watching the imposing back of Elder Fanyun as she left, Luo Changhe smiled and said to Elder Tianzhen, "Brother Tianzhen, donât mind this, no one wanted such a thing to happen."
"Itâs not a problem," Elder Tianzhen shook his head and smiled.
Afterwards, Elder Tianzhen led Xu Zimei and a few others towards the site of the Inner Gate Competition of the Holy Spring Sect.
Meanwhile, Luo Changhe secretly gathered some of the Holy Spring Sectâs elders and issued an order, "Aside from those Inner Sect Disciples currently in competition, conduct a thorough search of every other place in the Sect.
Especially any disciple acting suspiciously, capture first then interrogate."
...âŠ
"Brother Lu, is there some story between Sect Master Luo and Elder Fanyun?" Along the way, Xu Zimei asked curiously.
"Iâve only heard about it myself. Iâll tell you more when we get back," Lu Ang whispered in response.
On the other hand, Elder Fanyun rode the Monster Beast Cang Luan at full speed back to the Immortal Spirit Sect. She had to start her investigation with Qingyang Village and this crucial figure, Chu Yang.
...
At this moment in the True Martial Holy Sect, Baili Xiao had been restless since returning from Goose Southern Peak.
She didnât know how Xu Zimei came to learn of Chu Yangâs situation, but leaving Chu Yang to stay in Qingyang Village indefinitely would eventually lead to danger.
And Xu Zimei could continue to use this matter to blackmail her.
Therefore, she called Xue Qianxue over, instructing her to take Chu Yang away from Qingyang Village or find a place to settle him down, so she could have peace of mind.
In case Xu Zimei one day insists on killing Chu Yang, she would not be able to stop him.