Chapter 1060: Jiang Yuan
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"Skyleaf King? Shouldn"t the Skyleaf King be a male?"
"Indeed! From what I know, the Ten Great Kings of the Qingtian Lineage are all men…"
Since the Ten Great Kings of the Qingtian Lineage were all men, how could the Skyleaf King be a female?
"Who says that the Skyleaf King can"t be a woman?" Jiang Yuan interjected. "The Skyleaf King has always been an enigma to the Master Teacher Pavilion. All we know is that she exists, but none of us have met her before. So, how can you be certain that the Skyleaf King is not a woman? Besides, even if the Skyleaf King is a man, given that he has already reached the Leaving Aperture realm, it should be easy for someone of his prowess to possess the body of a human and mix in among us!"
"This…"
Hearing those words, the crowd clenched their fists tightly as they directed wary gazes toward Luo Ruoxin.
Indeed, a cultivator who had reached the Leaving Aperture realm was capable of drawing their Primordial Spirit out of their body. On top of harnessing immense strength and the freedom of movement, they were capable of possessing the bodies of others as well! Furthermore, unlike soul oracles, they wouldn"t suffer from the Possession Decline either. At most, their Primordial Spirit would just be incompatible with the body they were in, causing them to be unable to draw out their full strength!
It could be said that… if the Skyleaf King had truly possessed Luo Ruoxin, no one would be any the wiser, and this was including even Wu s.h.i.+!
Recalling Luo Ruoxin"s actions, while she had not spoken much after entering the ancient domain, every word that she had spoken was of the utmost importance to the progression of their journey. No matter how knowledgeable a twenty-year-old woman was, could she still be more well-read than Wu s.h.i.+ and Guild Leader Han?
Could she have really been possessed by the Skyleaf King, intentionally using her words to lead the crowd from one trap into another along the journey?
Wu s.h.i.+ was just about to say something when he suddenly paused for a brief moment. Frowning deeply, he turned to the young lady and said, "This… It would be best for you to explain this matter!"
To be honest, Jiang Yuan"s a.n.a.lysis did make sense. There were indeed several doubtful aspects about the young lady before them.
While Luo Ruoxin did have a close relations.h.i.+p with Mu s.h.i.+, whose recommendation had allowed her to join the expedition team, up to this point, Wu s.h.i.+ still had no idea how powerful she was. Even with eye of discernment of his level, he was unable to see through the young lady.
Despite being doubted by everyone else, Luo Ruoxin did not bother to explain herself. Instead, she shook her head before asking, "Is that what all of you think?"
"Y-you… You can"t really be an Otherworldly Demon in disguise, can you?" Feng Xun"s face paled as he backed away fearfully.
Had he actually fallen in love with an Otherworldly Demon, and one who could very well be a man? Just the thought of it left his hair standing on ends, and he felt like puking!
Seeing Feng Xun"s response, Luo Ruoxin could not help but shake her head with a wry smile. That fellow claimed that he liked her, but in crucial times such as this, he didn"t have the slightest trust in her.
Sighing deeply, Luo Ruoxin was just about to speak when a towering back suddenly appeared before her.
"Enough!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand. Turning around to shoot a glance at the young lady before him, he said, "I believe that she isn"t an Otherworldly Demon, and she isn"t being possessed by anyone either!"
Luo Ruoxin looked at Zhang Xuan and asked, "You trust me?"
"I do." Zhang Xuan said with a smile. There was earnestness in his eyes that could not possibly be faked. "Don"t worry. No matter what others say, I will always stand by you!"
Of the entire expedition team, he was the one who had come the closest with this young lady. Along the way, the latter had been walking alongside them quietly, rarely allowing anything to bother her. If she was truly the Skyleaf King, considering the strength that she possessed, the expedition team would have been wiped out long ago. There was no need for her to go the extra mile to disguise herself.
Seeing that the other party"s eyes were clear, devoid of the slightest hint of doubt, Luo Ruoxin could not help but feel a warmth in her heart. "What he said is true. The Otherworldly Demons attacked right after I left, and I was also the one who recommended following the Otherworldly Demons" trail before we stepped into this trap. There"s no way I can refute those claims, so why do you still believe me?"
"Must there be a reason for trust?" Staring deeply into Luo Ruoxin"s eyes, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly. "I will trust you no matter what you do. Don"t worry, you don"t have to say a word. I will resolve this matter for you!"
After saying those words, Zhang Xuan turned around and said, "I am willing to use my life to guarantee that Luo s.h.i.+ isn"t the Skyleaf King or an Otherworldly Demon!"
"Use your life to guarantee? Princ.i.p.al Zhang… you have to reconsider it! What Combat Master Jiang said isn"t without sense…" Wu s.h.i.+ hurriedly tried to persuade him.
"Indeed, Princ.i.p.al Zhang. There"s something amiss about Luo s.h.i.+…"
The others also chirped in anxiously.
Princ.i.p.al Zhang was a person whom they deeply trusted and admired. Why would such a formidable master teacher end up falling before the skirt of a lady?
Seeing Zhang Xuan stepping forward to protect Luo Ruoxin, Jiang Yuan said with a deep frown, "It is due to Princ.i.p.al Zhang that we are still alive right now and have managed to come so far. If Princ.i.p.al Zhang truly intends to protect her, there is nothing I can say. However… if she truly is the Skyleaf King, not only will all of us die here, more importantly, our mission to find Zhang Yinqiu and the others will fail as well. The reputation of the Master Teacher Pavilion could very well be sullied due to this matter!"
Zhang Xuan flung his sleeves and harrumphed coldly. "I know what I am doing. I don"t need you to teach me what to do!"
"You…" Not expecting the amiable Princ.i.p.al Zhang to suddenly disregard him altogether, Jiang Yuan clenched his fists tightly.
"Stop with your pathetic efforts to sway others; there"s definitely nothing wrong with Luo s.h.i.+. Instead, the one who has something wrong is you, Combat Master Jiang!" Zhang Xuan gazed upon Jiang Yuan coldly.
"There"s something wrong with me? What could there possibly be wrong with me?" Jiang Yuan shook his head.
Throughout the entire journey, he had not spoken a word at all, and he had not given the wrong direction either. How could he be a spy for the Otherworldly Demons?
At the same time, the crowd was also perplexed to hear Zhang Xuan"s abrupt accusation.
Instead of replying to Jiang Yuan"s words, Zhang Xuan turned to the crowd and said, "We have pa.s.sed through many courtyards so far, and every single one of them has a formation that triggers as soon as we enter. I believe every single one of us here should have a deep impression of this matter."
"Un." The crowd nodded.
They had met many perilous situations ever since entering the celestial palace. Each time, they would barely escape with their lives. Even when their companions died right before their eyes, they did not even have the time to collect their corpses so as to give them a proper burial later on.
"Every single courtyard that we enter poses a threat of its own… but did you notice that despite having entered this courtyard for some time, nothing has happened at all? Other than the words that the Scarletleaf King said before leaving, it doesn"t seem like anything has happened at all, right?"
Zhang Xuan looked at the crowd and said, "Don"t you think that it"s bizarre?"
"This…" The crowd fell silent.
Just as the other party said, the courtyards that they had been through thus far had been extremely dangerous, and the slightest carelessness could have resulted in their deaths. However, they had already been in the current courtyard for more than twenty minutes, but nothing had happened at all. Initially, they thought that it might just have been a safe zone, but thinking deeper into the matter at this moment… was it really possible for there to be a safe zone in this ma.s.sive formation?
"Isn"t it just because the Scarletleaf King didn"t activate the formation? He has probably just changed his plans and is trying to have us kill one another instead…" one of the combat masters said.
"You"re right in saying that he is trying to have us kill one another, but… I can tell you that the formation in this courtyard has already been activated!" Zhang Xuan said.
Guild Leader Han was taken aback by those words. "You are saying that… we are currently standing amid an activated formation at this very moment?"
As the head of the Qingyuan Empire Formation Master Guild, a 7-star pinnacle formation master, if a formation had truly been activated where they were standing, he should have noticed it!
"That"s right!" Zhang Xuan nodded grimly. "There is a formation in this courtyard, and it has already been active for some time. In fact, we are currently under its effects!"
"This…" Everyone glanced at one another with bewildered expressions.
They might not have been as skilled as Guild Leader Han in the field of formations, but as master teachers and combat masters, they should still have been able to discern whether they were in a formation or not. Their surroundings were completely silent, and there was not the slightest disturbance in the spiritual energy to be felt. Given so, how could they possibly be standing amid an activated formation?
At this point, Zhang Xuan turned to Shen Pingchao and asked, "Princ.i.p.al Shen, may I ask how Elder Gan usually conducts himself in the Luoqing Master Teacher Academy?"
The person whom Zhang Xuan addressed as Elder Gan was the master teacher who had charged forward previously to kill the combat masters.
"Elder Gan is a true master teacher through and through. Due to his amiable and patient personality, he is well-received by the students…" Shen Pingchao wasn"t sure why Zhang Xuan would ask such a question, but he still answered it earnestly after pondering over it for a moment.
Normally speaking, Elder Gan could not even bring himself to reprimand students who had erred, thus earning him a good reputation within the Master Teacher Academy. It was also in view of this that Shen Pingchao was extremely protective of him… As such, he was willing to stand up against even Feng Xun for Elder Gan"s sake.
Seemingly knowing that Shen Pingchao would respond in such a manner, Zhang Xuan asked calmly, "An amiable and patient teacher suddenly raised his sword to kill another… Don"t you think that it"s a very bizarre situation in itself?"
"This…"
The crowd was stunned by the questioning.
Guild Leader Han suddenly thought of something, and he immediately asked with a grim look, "Could it be that… there is some kind of special formation in this courtyard that interferes with our thoughts and emotions, causing us to become more hot-tempered than usual?"
"Indeed. That is precisely why the Scarletleaf King chose to appear right at this moment, saying those words so as to plant a seed in our minds. After which, he secretly activated the formation to affect our emotions… Have you all realized that, within just a short twenty minutes, we have become more violent-tempered and irrational than before?" Zhang Xuan posed.
The crowd was rendered speechless.
That was indeed the case.
Previously, when they were in the other courtyards, they would still proceed as carefully as they could so as to reduce their casualties. Yet, after entering the current courtyard, they realized that the thought that had been dominating their minds was how they could kill others or commit suicide so as to make up for the required fifteen slots!
Thinking back, their thoughts had truly been irrational. It was due to such thoughts that resulted in the conflict among them.
After hearing those words, Feng Xun and Shen Pingchao glanced at one another as cold sweat drenched their backs.
Had Wu s.h.i.+ not stopped them previously, they might have ended up doing something unforgivable to the other party!
"Everyone ended up succ.u.mbing to it, and not even Combat Master Feng Xun was an exception…" At this point, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze toward Jiang Yuan. "I am just curious to know how the great Combat Master Jiang managed to avoid the effects of the formation and even rationally argue that there is a problem with Luo s.h.i.+ and that she is the Skyleaf King?"
"Indeed! Could it be that you aren"t affected by the formation?"
Innumerable gazes immediately turned toward Jiang Yuan.
"I…" Jiang Yuan eyebrows shot up inconspicuously for a short moment before sneering coldly. Shaking his head, he said, "Princ.i.p.al Zhang, please don"t change the topic at hand. I might be unaffected by the effects of the formation, but the same goes for you and Luo s.h.i.+, isn"t that so? Each of us has differing experiences and encounters in life, and thus, our personality and mental fort.i.tude are different. You can"t cast doubt on me just because I am different from the others, right?"
"You are right. Just the fact that you are unaffected by the formation isn"t enough evidence to suspect you…"
At this point, Zhang Xuan looked at Jiang Yuan with an enigmatic smile. "But both you and Feng Xun are Thousand Men Commanders of the Combat Master Hall. The both of you are equal in terms of standing, but throughout the entire journey, you have hardly spoken a word. It is as if you do not exist at all. Even when your subordinates were attacked, you acted as if it had nothing to do with you at all. Don"t you think that you are being a little too… impa.s.sive?"