"Hmm... alright, Master, good night..."
Once the three disciples returned to their rooms to rest, the entire courtyard returned to silence.
Chen Ye stood under the old tree, looking up at the cold moon in the sky.
"The time should be about right... This True Inheritor Bai chose this time on purpose..."
He sighed helplessly.
On this day,
He was indeed busy visiting friends and relatives, but Bai Susu was even busier, constantly investigating the matter of the demon cultivator.
It wasn’t until midnight that they got a lead, and that’s when she called for Chen Ye to come over.
Whoosh!
Chen Ye did not disturb his disciples, stepping onto the flying sword, he merged into the night like a wisp of blue smoke, quietly gliding out of the Lisong Valley Mountain Protection Array.
...
Peach Mountain District, deep night.
The streets were no longer bustling as during the day; only the occasional patrolling cultivators passed by in a hurry.
And in the west of the city, Wei Family Mansion.
Although the Wei Family suffered great losses amid the chaos, losing two from Foundation Establishment.
Yet, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse, and in this market, the Wei Family was still a formidable force not to be underestimated.
At this moment, the Wei Family mansion was heavily guarded.
And in a secret underground chamber at the deepest part of the Wei mansion, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.
Several elders of the Wei Family were sitting together, their expressions anxious as they waited for something.
"Why is there still no news?"
An elder lowered his voice, full of panic,
"Bai Susu has already arrived at Peach Mountain District, why hasn’t anyone from the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect come to assist?"
At this place,
In addition to the three Wei Family elders, there were actually two more Foundation Establishment cultivators.
One, at the Foundation Establishment First Layer, was the newly appointed Stone Mirror Chairman,
The other, at the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer, donned a black robe, exuding an eerie aura, with everyone faintly centering around him.
The black-robed cultivator said coldly: "Hmph! The Ten Thousand Puppet Sect is such a sect of cowards, faithless and ungrateful, already frightened by the Refining God Sect! Yet don’t they realize, if we seize this opportunity to ambush and kill Bai Susu, the Lingyin Sect will be unable to raise its head for the next hundred years!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing these words, the other cultivators all turned pale.
They originally planned to use the Lingyin Sect’s investigation as a chance to ambush and kill its cultivators.
But now that no one from the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect was coming, how could they stand against Bai Susu?
The Stone Mirror Chairman exclaimed in shock: "If that’s the case, what if Bai Susu discovers us, what should we do? A few days ago, I noticed that Wang Hao seemed to be aware, he might have already secretly reported to the sect!"
Wang Hao, once the eldest disciple of Lisong Valley, was later taken under Chen Ye’s wing and sent by him to oversee the Wei Family, collecting tributes from them.
At the mention of Wang Hao, the faces of the Wei Family elders involuntarily showed resentment.
Clearly the Wei Family belonged to the Wei clan, yet now this kid in the Late Period of Qi Cultivation was the one in charge, wantonly plundering the Wei Family’s spirit stones to offer them to his master!
How could this not incite anger among the Wei Family?
The black-robed cultivator suddenly stood up, black energy swirling around him, pressing down on the others present so they couldn’t catch their breath.
His eyes, hidden beneath his hood, swept over the crowd with a hoarse voice:
"Since those cowards from the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect won’t dare to come, I shall do it myself! Bai Susu killed my companion, I must take her head! Though she’s at the Middle Period of Foundation Establishment, in the end, she’s just a girl, how much skill can she have? Killing her for me is like slaughtering a dog!"
He was of the same stage as Bai Susu and might well be able to defeat her!
The black-robed cultivator, despite having heard of Bai Susu’s terrifying achievements, was ruthless in his time, having even killed a Lingyin True Inheritor. He had also participated in the ambush of Bai Li in the past.
His Taoist heart was steadfast and not easily swayed by rumors.
"Back then I could kill her father, why can’t I kill her! She was just a little girl back then!" the black-robed cultivator declared forcefully.
The Wei Family elders were invigorated by these words,
Only the Stone Mirror Chairman silently sipped tea: Hmm? At the time of the ambush, this guy seemed to be just an outer underling...
"But... but..."
A timid elder of the Wei Family opened his mouth tremblingly,
"There’s also Chen Ye beside Bai Susu! Although this person is only at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, his methods are quite... quite strange and should not be underestimated. They say it was actually he who killed Senior Mei..."
"Chen Ye?"
The black-robed cultivator frowned slightly, seemingly trying to recall the name, then sneered,
"Isn’t he the cultivator who rose through women’s help? I heard he recently became some dog-bark instructor? Hmph, such bootlicking scum, I could crush him with one hand! With his Early Stage of Foundation Establishment cultivation, how could he have killed my companion? It must be Bai Susu making a name for him!"
"Quite the big talker."
Just as the black-robed cultivator finished speaking, a sinister voice suddenly echoed in the secret chamber,
"But... to kill Bai Susu, rely on you alone? You’re not even qualified."
"Who’s there?!"
The black-robed man, in the midst of his excitement, was furious upon hearing this, with blood-evil qi surging violently around him, he swung his head towards the voice,
"How dare you play tricks before me!"
But when he saw the figure clearly, his pupils contracted, and the blood-evil qi he just summoned up immediately stalled.
The visitor was clad in a loose, dusty grey robe, wearing a pallid mask painted with an eerie smile on their face.
"You... you’re..."
The black-robed man’s heart quivered violently, the arrogant arrogance from before dissipated mostly,
"One of the six Puppet Masters of the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect... Smiling Face Puppet?!"
How could he not recognize him?
Although the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect acted mysteriously, these six Puppet Masters were notorious, each being a terrifying presence in the Late Period of Foundation Establishment, with the blood of countless cultivators on their hands.
This was truly a great cultivator!
"Tsk... you were quite fierce just now, why aren’t you speaking?"
The Ten Thousand Puppet Sect cultivator did not get angry over the previous offense, but instead chuckled lightly,
"Keep cursing? Saying the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect are cowards? Scared out of our wits?"
"No, I dare not! I... I just misspoke in the moment!"
The black-robed man quickly bowed his head, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.