Chapter One Hundred: Turmoil Within the Sect

After saying this, Zi Chenyu deliberately glanced at the other black-robed figures, but all he saw were the same cold, identical masks—he couldn't read any expression on those faces.

The black-robed men remained silent as well, only gathering together and standing behind the leader, wordlessly making their stance clear.

Only then did Zi Chenyu begin to panic, though he kept smiling at everyone.

"I was just making a suggestion. Since none of you are interested, I'll drop it. Let's leave this matter here. Just drag that old man up here—I want to see who this master of Daosansheng really is, to have raised such a disciple."

The leading black-robed man glanced behind him, and two of the figures flew over. Without much effort, they seized Guo Tianmeng and pressed her forward between them.

Guo Tianmeng was forced to her knees before Zi Chenyu. He cupped her chin with his hand, then abruptly released it and delivered a vicious slap across her face.

"As the saying goes—if a child is untaught, the father is at fault; if a disciple is undisciplined, the teacher has failed. As her master, you raised such a rebellious wretch who even offended the Envoy. Don't you think you're at fault?"

Zi Chenyu slapped her again. Guo Tianmeng's lip split from the blows, and a thin trickle of blood seeped out. She glared at Zi Chenyu, her lips trembling slightly.

"I've done nothing wrong... I've done nothing wrong..."

"Stubborn as a dead duck's beak. Watch me beat that mouth of yours to pulp."

Zi Chenyu raised his hand again and struck Guo Tianmeng across the face, blow after blow, only stopping after a long while. He then looked at his own hand and couldn't help feeling sorry for it.

"You dead duck—you've worn out this young master's hand. Forget it, I'll beat you again later."

Manager Liu brought over a stool, and Zi Chenyu sat down, crossing his legs and humming a tune.

"Guo Tianmeng, just confess already. Where is that brat now? And do you know where his family is?"

Duan Tianxin walked over to Guo Tianmeng and looked at her swollen face, a flicker of pity passing across his own, before he shook his head.

"Duan Tianxin, I would never betray my sect. I won't be like you—harming disciples of Forge Heaven Valley just to fawn over this spoiled brat from the Zi family, even going after their families. Have you forgotten the sect rules we swore to uphold when we joined? As a disciple of Forge Heaven Valley, you've sunk to such depths. I, Guo Tianmeng, would rather die than cooperate with you."

When Zi Chenyu was beating her, Guo Tianmeng hadn't been angry. But hearing Duan Tianxin's words and seeing what he had done today—she was utterly devastated with disappointment.

"How I, Duan Tianxin, conduct myself is none of your business, Guo Tianmeng. Do remember which of us is the prisoner here. Once those two are captured, we'll see if you still talk tough. Truly a dog biting Lü Dongbin—you can't tell a good man when you see one."

With that, Duan Tianxin flicked his sleeves and turned away, then crouched down to massage Zi Chenyu's legs with a smile on his face. His movements were practiced and smooth, clearly not his first time doing so.

The Supreme Elder watched Duan Tianxin and thought of how he alone had once enjoyed such privilege. Now fortunes had reversed—even this pleasure had gone to an outsider.

Zi Chenyu had just closed his eyes to enjoy the massage when something occurred to him. He turned to look at the Supreme Elder of Forge Heaven Valley standing off to the side.

"Old man, bring out that cauldron. Let me have a play with it—I think it's not bad, quite nice to look at."

The Supreme Elder, who had been sighing, nearly stumbled and fell at these words. He looked at Zi Chenyu with a pleading expression.

"Young Master Zi, this is the ancestral treasure of Forge Heaven Valley, and the only ancient artifact we have left. Please, be merciful. If you need spirit stones, I can give you all of mine."

Zi Chenyu shot to his feet, nearly sending Duan Tianxin, who was massaging his legs, sprawling face-first into the dirt. He pointed at the Supreme Elder and said furiously.

"I, Zi Chenyu, have never been short on money. Talking to me about money? I'm no petty bandit. I only wanted to borrow it for a look. It's not like our Zi family lacks ancient artifacts. Are you looking down on me? Looking down on the Zi family?"

The Supreme Elder hastily bowed, then with a mournful face and trembling hands, offered the cauldron over, his eyes filled with reluctance, tears nearly spilling out.

Zi Chenyu took the Heaven Refining Cauldron and turned it over and over. Painted on its surface were many strange beasts he had never seen before, along with depictions of a barren wasteland that seemed to have no basis in reality.

After studying it for half an hour, he tossed it back. The Supreme Elder caught it with the utmost care, gave it a quick glance, and hurriedly tucked it away.

"What a piece of junk. I'd say it's nothing but a fraud. It looks impressive enough, but compared to our Zi family's ancient artifacts, it's not even close. You'd best throw it out before it tarnishes the name of true ancient treasures."

Chao Xiong and Li Zihong fled one after another toward their cave dwellings, but the number of pursuers behind them only grew. They had barely reached the foot of the mountain when the people behind them were nearly upon them.

Chao Xiong grabbed Li Zihong and abruptly changed direction, flying off toward the other side.

"Chao Xiong, where are you going? We can't outrun them. We're just circling the sect forever—the valley entrance must be sealed. Those black-robed men even beat the Supreme Elder. If we get caught, we'll die here sooner or later."

Chao Xiong kept his grip on Li Zihong's arm as he looked at the place growing closer ahead of them. The tension on his face finally softened into a smile, and he turned back to speak.

"Didn't we send the white bird to find Daosansheng? I'm trying to buy time so we can send out all our message talismans—to Purple Cloud Mountain and along the road back. Tell Senior Brother Dao, whatever he does, don't return to Forge Heaven Valley. Even if I, Chao Xiong, die, I won't drag Senior Brother Dao down with me. If not for him, I wouldn't be who I am today."

The two of them flashed through the cave entrance. Chao Xiong let go of Li Zihong's arm and hurried toward the formation. It was in the bedroom of the cave dwelling, and Chao Xiong knew the place well enough to find it in an instant, dumping down a large pile of spirit stones.

Outside the cave, the group watched helplessly as Chao Xiong and the other entered the cave with practiced ease. The leader hadn't noticed at first, but now he spoke up at once.

"Hurry, everyone! Don't let them activate the formation inside. If we wait until then, who knows what that formation is capable of—or whose cave this is. If that happens, we'll be in real trouble."

The moment the leader finished speaking, everyone's footsteps came to a halt. A massive light barrier slowly extended from within the cave, then dissolved into a thick fog that obscured everything ahead. What you say comes true, the leader thought to himself.

"The formation is finally activated. My spirit stones should be enough to unleash its full power—or at the very least, half of it."

After saying this, Chao Xiong collapsed onto the ground, sprawled across the formation. Li Zihong, who had been in the main hall of the cave, rushed in and saw Chao Xiong lying on the formation, helping him up.

"Why does this cave look so familiar? I think this is Senior Brother Dao's dwelling—the layout and furnishings are about the same. How did you even find this place? I couldn't see it from that far away."

Chao Xiong sat quietly for a moment, then straightened his back, pushed away Li Zihong's hand, shifted position, and looked at the spirit stones placed in the formation before finally relaxing. He turned around to answer Li Zihong's question.

"This is Senior Brother Dao's cave. Remember, this is the inner sect dwelling with the worst spiritual energy in the entire sect, right at the foot of the inner mountain. But from the looks of it, this formation is extremely powerful. Just judging by the amount of spirit stones it absorbed to activate, maybe if we look around a bit, we'll find some more surprises."