From Fanwu to Xinghai

Chapter 40 A Sudden Storm

On the seventh day of the journey home, dusk was approaching.

The three of them were not walking very fast. Xiao Yan's injuries had not yet healed, and he had to stop and rest for a while every hour. The purple light that had settled in his chest was like a lurking wild beast, which would occasionally jump uncontrollably. Every time it did, his face would turn three degrees paler.

Lin Chen saw this but didn't say much, only handing over the water pouch each time they rested.

Qin Mo remained taciturn, but his steps would subtly slow down by half a beat when Xiao Yan stumbled, leaving him behind.

A strange tacit understanding developed among the three of them.

Until they met that person on the mountain path.

He was a menial disciple of the Qingyun Sect, dressed in a gray Taoist robe, carrying a flag on his shoulder with a crookedly written character for "urgent". He came running down the mountain path at great speed, but crashed into a tree trunk by the roadside, bounced back, got up, and continued running.

Lin Chen recognized the token on his waist; it was a token of the inner sect's Cloud House.

"Senior Brother Lin!"

The servant disciple's eyes lit up when he saw Lin Chen. He staggered a few steps to him, knelt down with a thud, and gasped for breath, shouting:

"Senior Brother Lin, you're finally back! Something terrible has happened!"

Lin Chen reached out and helped him up: "Tell me slowly, what's wrong?"

"Elder Shen—Elder Shen, she—"

The disciple took several breaths before he could finish speaking:

"Elder Shen has been imprisoned in the Demon Suppression Tower!"

Lin Chen stopped in his tracks.

"When did this happen?"

"Five days ago!" The handyman's eyes reddened. "Just the day after you set off for Yanhuang Pass, the sect's elder council suddenly announced that Elder Shen had 'released prisoners from the forbidden area and colluded with foreign enemies,' saying that she let that person named Xiao Yan escape during the secret realm trial, and that they would thoroughly investigate all her movements over the years!"

"That's enough."

Xiao Yan's voice came from behind, very soft, but like a bucket of cold water poured into the air.

Lin Chen turned around and saw him standing there, his expression terrifyingly calm, but something was slowly burning in his eyes.

"Shen Qingluan was imprisoned in the Demon-Suppressing Tower." He repeated it, as if confirming the truth of these words, "because she let me go."

"It's not just that." The handyman wiped his face. "The Elder Council said that Elder Shen has been secretly investigating the secrets of the forbidden area all these years, and even made unauthorized contact with that sealed...that being...They say she's been bewitched by an evil entity, and they need to thoroughly investigate whether she's been corrupted."

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Xiao Yan, his eyes filled with a complex fear.

Lin Chen's brow twitched slightly.

He had heard bits and pieces of information about Shen Qingluan's whereabouts over the years while he was staying at Yunshejiqi's place. She often entered the forbidden area alone, staying for days at a time, and always returned carrying a faint...

He remembered what that aura was.

It's exactly the same as the force in the dimensional gap.

"Who are the members of the Elders' Council?" Lin Chen asked.

"Elder Zhao Yuanzhen is in charge of the overall situation, along with elders from the Bai and Zhou families, and..." The servant disciple paused, his voice lowering further, "...and the successor of the forbidden area's guardian lineage."

"The lineage that guards the forbidden land?" Qin Mo finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"They are the elders who have guarded the forbidden area throughout the ages. It is said that they have special marks on their bodies that allow them to sense everything happening within the forbidden area."

Lin Chen and Qin Mo exchanged a glance, both seeing the same confusion in each other's eyes.

The Forbidden Land Guardian Lineage?

They had been a member of the sect for so long, and had never heard of such a lineage.

"When did this lineage originate?" Lin Chen pressed.

"It seems like... a long time ago." The handyman scratched his head. "It's said that they've existed since the founding of the Qingyun Sect, always responsible for guarding the forbidden area. But they never show themselves normally, only appearing when there's a major event."

He took out a jade pendant from his pocket and handed it to Lin Chen:

"Elder Shen gave this to me before she was taken away, telling me to deliver it to you no matter what. She said... if you return, she wants you to go somewhere."

Lin Chen took the jade pendant; it felt slightly cool to the touch.

The front of the jade plaque is engraved with a pagoda, while the back has two lines of small characters, written in a neat yet rapid hand:

"The seventh floor of the Demon-Suppressing Tower. The time is only midnight."

Lin Chen carefully put away the jade token and asked, "What's the current situation of the sect?"

"It's chaotic." The servant disciple's voice carried a hint of fear. "The inner sect has split into two factions. One faction supports a thorough investigation of Elder Shen, saying she must have some unspeakable secret; the other faction believes it's a frame-up and has jointly petitioned for a public trial. The two sides are arguing fiercely, and the Enforcement Hall is suppressing them every day..."

"Where is Lu Qinghe?" Lin Chen suddenly asked.

The servant disciple was stunned for a moment: "Senior Brother Lu? He... he's been grounded. They say he's not allowed to leave his residence while cooperating with the investigation."

Lin Chen's brows furrowed even deeper.

Lu Qinghe was the one who brought him into the sect back then, and also one of the few elders he trusted. If even he was confined, then this action was definitely not a simple factional struggle.

This is someone orchestrating this.

Moreover, this whole affair wasn't aimed at Shen Qingluan alone from the very beginning.

Xiao Yan, who had been silent, suddenly spoke:

"Zhao Yuanzhen, which Zhao family member is he from?"

"It's... the Zhao family of the dynasty," the handyman disciple answered cautiously. "They're said to be a collateral branch, but they wield considerable power within the sect. Elder Zhao Yuanzhen is in charge of discipline and external affairs; he's been in charge of almost all major and minor matters concerning the sect in recent years."

Xiao Yan chuckled, a laugh tinged with an inexplicable chill:

"The Zhao family of the dynasty, I remember them, they're the head family of that aristocratic family we wiped out."

Lin Chen glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Xiao Yan had heard about the feud between the Zhao family and the Xiao family during the secret realm trial. It was said that the Zhao family was behind the massacre of the Xiao family.

But if it were just a personal grudge, Xiao Yan wouldn't speak in that tone.

The tone was as if stating a fact that had been known for a long time.

"Senior Brother Lin," the handyman disciple suddenly lowered his voice, "there's something else, but I'm not sure if I should say it."

"explain."

"The day after Elder Shen was imprisoned, a scream echoed from the Demon Suppression Tower." His voice trembled slightly. "It was a piercing scream, not like a human voice... but the disciples guarding the tower all said the scream sounded very much like Elder Shen's."

"Very similar?" Qin Mo seized on this word.

"It's...it's very similar, but not entirely." The handyman disciple scratched his head. "A senior brother said that the voice sounded like Elder Shen's, but there was something...something I can't quite put my finger on."

He shivered:

"It's like...like something is mimicking her voice."

Lin Chen lowered his eyes and looked at the jade pendant in his hand.

He had carefully examined the handwriting on the jade tablet left by Shen Qingluan, and it was indeed her handwriting. However, there was a very subtle tremor in some strokes, as if the writer was trying hard to restrain something.

What did she want to tell him?

Why on the seventh floor of the Demon Suppression Tower?

He had heard of the Demon Suppression Tower before. It was a place used by the Qingyun Sect to imprison serious criminals and seal evil creatures. Legend has it that a certain ferocious creature from ancient times was suppressed at the bottom of the tower.

If Shen Qingluan is really imprisoned there, with her cultivation level, she should be able to hold on.

But if that scream really did come from her...

Lin Chen raised his head and looked in the direction of the Qingyun Sect.

The area was shrouded in mist and looked no different from usual.

But he knew that beneath those clouds, a storm had already formed.

"Let's go," he said.

Qin Mo nodded, and Xiao Yan had no objection.

The handyman disciple looked at them blankly: "Senior Brother Lin, what are you doing...?"

"Return to the sect." Lin Chen had already taken a step forward. "If someone wants chaos, then let it be even more chaotic."

His voice was calm, as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

But Qin Mo sensed something beneath that calm.

It was something I hadn't seen on him in a long time.

The last time I saw something like this was on the city wall of Yanhuang Pass.

That was murderous intent.