"Was it really the Five Poisons Sect that poisoned the old city lord?" Fang He was suspicious, but had no evidence. Now hearing Xiao Man say it, he felt even more uncertain.
"Yes, the one who poisoned him was the head of the Zhang family," Xiao Man explained. "The Zhang family was originally related to the City Lord's mansion by marriage, so they were not guarded against them. Even the City Lord never expected that the Zhang family would use his trust to harm the City Lord's mansion."
"The Zhang family defected to the Five Poisons Sect?"
"It should be said that the Zhang family was controlled by the Five Poisons Sect." Xiao Man chose her words carefully. Zhang Sheng had saved Shi Lan once, and she did not want to cut off their path to survival. However, the Zhang family had done wrong and must pay the price for their actions. The only thing she could do was not to implicate Zhang Sheng and his sister.
"This is bad!" Fang He slapped his palm. "We were attacked here, so aren't the people inside Wuji City also in danger?"
Xiao Man nodded. "I warned the old City Lord about this early on and made some arrangements. Whether they can survive safely depends on luck. I hope there are no masters above the Golden Core stage in the Five Poisons Sect in Wuji City, otherwise, Wuji City is in peril!"
At the center of the secret realm was a plain of ice, where nothing grew. It was extremely stark in this secret realm, and the rising cold air made people shiver involuntarily.
Qi Hong, leading a few escaped disciples, arrived at the center of the secret realm. They saw an old man with white hair and beard sitting on the ice plain. As they approached, they realized that although the man looked middle-aged, his hair and eyebrows were white, making him appear like an old man from afar.
Having just experienced being hunted, Qi Hong was very cautious and did not get too close. He raised his voice and asked, "May I ask what distinguished senior you are?"
The man opened his eyes, and his gaze held no discernible emotion. "A disciple of the Five Poisons Sect?"
Qi Hong's heart sank. Could this be an elder of the Seven Sects waiting here to kill them?
"Why have only a few of you come here?" the man asked, voicing his confusion. According to their agreement, everyone who entered should have arrived at the ice plain. Even if someone went in the wrong direction, they would have been captured by those ambushing inside. However, he had waited here for six full days and only a few people had arrived.
"After we entered the secret realm, we don't know what happened, but we were attacked by the Seven Sects. Most of the people we brought in were lost, and a small portion were separated. We few managed to get here with great difficulty. May I ask senior's honorable name?" Qi Hong asked cautiously. Although he was the direct disciple of Elder Lu, the Five Poisons Sect did not have only Elder Lu; there were people of higher status.
The white-haired man ignored Qi Hong's question and asked himself, "Who is Qi Hong?"
"This disciple is Qi Hong."
The white-haired man finally looked directly at Qi Hong, his gaze scanning Qi Hong from head to toe without any pretense, as if appraising a commodity. "I am Zang Xu, the sect leader of the Five Poisons Sect. Come and sit down, and tell me what exactly happened."
"This disciple greets the Sect Leader." Qi Hong cautiously walked over and sat down beside Zang Xu.
"Tell me everything that happened after you entered the secret realm, one by one." Zang Xu understood that something must have gone wrong. As long as it wasn't too late, there was still hope for salvation, provided he could figure out what had happened.
"Yes, Sect Leader." Qi Hong thought carefully. "After we entered the secret realm, our people were all together. Later, I met Senior Brother Luo Ke..."
Zang Xu listened carefully, extracting useful information from Qi Hong's words. "Wait, you said the Five Poisons Sect disciples were being hunted because of one person?"
"Yes, because of Xiao Qin." Qi Hong spoke of Xiao Man with great indignation. "That scoundrel, she was killed, and she deserved it. Who told her to be so arrogant and look down on everyone? Being eliminated was entirely her own fault."
"According to your words, she was a person everyone detested. Then why were you hunted because of her death?" Zang Xu found it strange. If Xiao Man was such a detestable person, then everyone should have rejoiced at her death, so why hunt the disciples of the Five Poisons Sect? Shouldn't they be thanking the disciples of the Five Poisons Sect?
"This..." Qi Hong choked. "Her talent was quite good, and she knew many medicinal herbs. Somehow, she caught the eye of Jun Fei'er of the Hundred Herbs Hall and was taken as a direct disciple by Jun Fei'er. The one leading the pursuit against us this time was Jun Fei'er of the Hundred Herbs Hall."
"Jun Fei'er." Zang Xu nodded understandingly. "The people of Hundred Herbs Hall are very protective. Regardless of whether it was their disciple's fault, the stubborn old fools of Hundred Herbs Hall will protect their own."
"Do you know who killed her?"
"I heard it was Senior Brother Luo Ke."
Zang Xu's eyes flickered. Luo Ke killed this person, which shouldn't be the case. Luo Ke's orders were to capture those who were alone and send them here. There was no need to kill them, unless there was a fierce conflict when Luo Ke was capturing this person, and the other party threatened Luo Ke's life...
Zang Xu took out a map. On the map were small white dots that were emitting light. Those white dots represented the disciples of the Five Poisons Sect, and the small white dot representing Luo Ke had disappeared.
"Luo Ke is dead." A trace of surprise flashed in Zang Xu's eyes. Luo Ke's cultivation was in the late Foundation Establishment stage. If he went all out, he could rival a cultivator in the early Golden Core stage. Yet, he died from killing a cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage. It was truly too strange.
"Is the Xiao Qin you mentioned truly in the early Foundation Establishment stage?"
"Yes, my master... Elder Lu once said that to reach the early Foundation Establishment stage on one's own in a year was quite talented for Xiao Qin."
"Are you sure she's dead?" Zang Xu asked abruptly. If Luo Ke died with her, then he got what he deserved. He was afraid that Luo Ke was tricked by her and died in her hands, while she remained unharmed.
Qi Hong was stumped, as he was not sure if Xiao Man was dead or not. He had even been very skeptical when he heard that Xiao Man was dead. That person was very cunning and had prepared for half a year to climb the ten-thousand-zhang cliff, envisioning all possible dangers along the way. That was why they did not fall into the deep abyss. Could such a cautious person who planned ten steps ahead really die so easily?
Zang Xu saw the hesitation in Qi Hong's expression, which meant that this Xiao Qin was very likely still alive. "So, you did not see her body, did you?"
"No, I only heard that she was dead."
"Did you see Xiao Qin's body?"
Several people shook their heads in unison. They had only heard from those who were hunting them that they were avenging Xiao Qin. They had never seen Xiao Qin's body with their own eyes, and they didn't even know if Xiao Qin was truly dead!