Free Web NovelChapter 142: Chapter 142: This Man Isn’t Lying
Hearing Elder He’s clearly impatient tone, the disciples fell silent. They quietly backed away from Meng Peiyun, leaving him exposed.
Meng Peiyun still hadn’t recovered from his terror.
Just moments before, after a sudden sharp pain in his eyes, the Demoness Cultivator had come forward feigning concern. He had actually been quite touched—until he looked at her again!
Holy hell!
Before him was the hideous face of a monster, wreathed in black mist!
Meng Peiyun was scared out of his wits. He could never have imagined that the woman he’d been enjoying a pleasant chat with would suddenly look like this!
In that instant, his heart nearly stopped, his blood seemed to freeze in his veins, his scalp tingled, and every hair on his body stood on end.
A terrified scream ripped from Meng Peiyun’s throat, drawing everyone’s attention.
However, Elder He’s deeply displeased tone immediately snapped him back to his senses. He knew he’d messed up—and in front of a senior Elder, no less!
In that moment, his fear was forgotten. He spun around, fell to his knees, and began to plead with Elder He for mercy.
"This disciple had no intention of offending you, esteemed Elder. I was simply overcome with fright and disturbed you. It was truly an unintentional mistake. I beg you to spare this disciple!"
Elder He had little interest in punishing a mere Little Qi Cultivation Cultivator, but his interest was piqued when Meng Peiyun claimed he had been overcome with fright.
"Oh? What in this tunnel could have possibly frightened you so? You’re not trying to deceive me, are you?" As he spoke, Elder He’s tone grew several shades colder.
Meng Peiyun felt as if a sharp blade was pressed against his throat.
He knew that if he couldn’t explain this clearly, it would be all over for him.
’I finally managed to become an Inner Sect Disciple, and I haven’t even enjoyed it for a single day! I can’t just die such a pathetic death!’
Meng Peiyun took a deep breath to calm his fear and panic, then recounted everything that had just happened:
"Esteemed Elder, this disciple would not dare to lie.
"Just moments ago, I was speaking with a what seemed to be a normal Female Cultivator when my eyes were suddenly struck with unbearable pain. When I could see again, she had transformed into a hideous monster wreathed in black mist!
"It was this shock that caused me to lose my composure and scream. There is not a hint of falsehood in my words. I ask the Elder to see the truth."
Upon hearing this, all eyes in the tunnel turned to the Female Cultivator who had been talking with Meng Peiyun.
The Demoness Cultivator flew into a panic. She didn’t know how her cover had been blown, but she understood this was a life-or-death moment. Her almond-shaped eyes flashing with indignation, she snapped:
"You shameless scoundrel! Just because I refused to become your dao companion, you’d resort to slandering me like this?!"
The others, not knowing the truth, all shot Meng Peiyun looks of contempt.
They all knew that Meng Peiyun had originally been a Loose Cultivator. Stereotypes led them to believe that all Loose Cultivators were of low character, so they naturally sided with the Female Cultivator from Purple Flower Palace.
Seeing how the people around them were reacting, the Demoness Cultivator grew bolder and spoke with more confidence.
"No, I’m telling you, I really saw a monster!" Meng Peiyun, seeing things weren’t going his way, tried to explain again. But when it was clear no one believed him, he had no choice but to describe the monster’s appearance in painstaking detail once more.
Hearing Meng Peiyun’s description—so vivid and identical to their own true forms—the other Demons hidden in the crowd were inwardly alarmed. They did their best to blend in and began subtly fanning the flames, stoking the crowd’s animosity toward Meng Peiyun.
Putting aside Meng Peiyun’s frantic explanations, when Elders He and Gu heard his description of the monster, they both found it sounded vaguely familiar, as if they had heard it somewhere before.
With a shared, unspoken understanding, the two simultaneously used their Divine Sense and unleashed a special Investigation Technique, scanning every single person present.
The results of their scan left them pale with shock.
It turned out that in this group of over two hundred people, nearly a tenth had been invaded by Demonic Qi, their very minds altered!
For a Cultivator, Magic is a kind of tool.
To make an analogy from a past life, the Light Body Spell is like a bicycle for getting around.
The Spirit Rain Technique is like a spray bottle, and the Golden Light Spell is like a bulletproof vest.
The Spiritual Eye Technique is a telescope or a magnifying glass.
Having the right tool for the job is, of course, very effective and convenient.
But who in their right mind would carry a bicycle, a bulletproof vest, a spray bottle, and a telescope with them every single day?
Just as no one would idly use a telescope to look at their immediate surroundings all day long.
Likewise, no Cultivator would keep an Investigation Technique constantly active.
Furthermore, a Golden Core Cultivator’s Divine Sense is so powerful that ordinary Qi Cultivation Cultivators, and even Foundation Establishment Cultivators, cannot evade its probe. There is simply no need to deliberately activate a special Investigation Technique.
The two Elders only resorted to it now because they knew something was wrong; that’s why it took until this moment for them to discover the problem in their group.
Elder He was enraged and about to annihilate all the Demons, but Elder Gu, who was beside him, shook his head and gave him a subtle, meaningful look.
Elder He hesitated for a moment before staying his hand. Instead, he cast a spell, secretly placing a mark on each of the Demons. Only then did he drop his cold demeanor and announce to the crowd in a flat tone:
"It was merely a case of mistaken identity that caused all this shouting. How improper! Enough. The matter is closed. There will be no more disturbances!"
After saying his piece, Elder He urged everyone to pick up the pace and keep moving.
Seeing the matter dismissed so easily, Meng Peiyun was both relieved and, at the same time, even more frustrated.
He was relieved that he hadn’t been punished, but frustrated at his own terrible luck.
Not only had he been frightened out of his wits for no reason, but he had also earned the undeserved animosity of so many people and even disturbed one of the Elders.
And it looked like his chances of finding a dao companion were ruined, too.
It wasn’t just his chances with that one Female Cultivator, either. Seeing the looks of disgust from the other women of the Purple Flower Palace, it seemed all the other Female Cultivators were out of the question now.
What Meng Peiyun didn’t realize, however...
...was that misfortune relies upon fortune, and within fortune, misfortune hides.
The things he considered bad luck were, in fact, trivial. What he had actually gained was his life!
...
At last, the group emerged from the tunnel, returning to the Endless Forest outside.
Jiang Xu used the Spiritual Eye Technique to gaze into the distance.
Sure enough, the vast Demon Array that had once enveloped the area was now gone.
’Looks like the two Elders took care of Elder Demon Su, otherwise the Demon Array would still be here. That Nine-Turns Essence Firming Grass must be incredibly potent to be able to help two Golden Core Cultivators recover from their injuries. It’s just a shame about Zong Ziqi.’
While Jiang Xu was still lost in his reflections, the two Golden Core Cultivators were already anxious to return to the Sect.
But before they left, they had one more thing to do.
