Chapter 283

Chapter 283: See Who Can Act to the End
One elder said: “No way. Only a few of us old fellows know about the Spirit Vein. There is no way the news leaked.”

Another elder argued: “I would not be so sure. Five Elements Dao Sect is the number one sect in the Cultivation World. Their reach is long. Maybe they used some method to discover the Spirit Vein and are here now to gather information.”

A third elder snorted: “So what if they know? Do they dare snatch it by force? Are they not afraid of being laughed at by cultivators all over the world?”

Everyone spoke at once. The argument would not stop.

Tian Shu finally shouted: “Enough! She is already in our sect. What we should be talking about now is what to do, not digging into the cause!”

One elder said: “Sect Master, I think we should not act rashly. Let us first see what she wants, then decide.”

Another asked: “What if she really did come for the Spirit Vein?”

A different elder said stubbornly: “Then we just deny it to the end. No matter how strong Yu Zhao is, she is only a Golden Core brat. As long as we really want to block her, she will not get any information.”

Tian Shu felt that this made sense and said: “All right, we will do it like this. I will go invite her now.”

The thin, short elder quickly followed him and said: “Sect Master, I will go with you.”

Tian Shu nodded: “Very well. The other elders should go back and wait for news. I and the Head Elder will meet her in person.”

Outside Seven Stars Sect, Yu Zhao sat and waited for quite a while before the late Tian Shu and the Head Elder finally arrived.

Tian Shu started to call out: “Martial Niece Yu…” But as soon as he saw Yu Zhao clearly, the words stuck in his throat.

He exchanged a look with the Head Elder. This was bad. Yu Zhao had already reached Nascent Soul Formation.

A Nascent Soul cultivator under thirty years old was terrifying.

The heart that had just settled in Tian Shu’s chest suddenly rose again.

He had seen Yu Zhao’s methods at the Cultivation World Grand Tournament. She had been invincible among cultivators of the same level, able to fight both up close and from afar.

When facing Yu Zhao now, he had no confidence at all that he could win, even though he had cultivated more than two hundred years longer than she had.

A disciple stepped forward to introduce them and said: “Senior Sister Yu, this is our Seven Stars Sect’s Sect Master, Tian Shu. This other person is our Seven Stars Sect’s Head Elder.”

Yu Zhao greeted each of them in turn.

Her gaze paused on the Head Elder for a moment, then moved away calmly. No one noticed this small detail.

Tian Shu said: “There is no need for so many formalities…” After saying that, he did not know what to say next.

He really did not know how to address Yu Zhao now. Their cultivation levels were the same. If he still called her Martial Niece, it would be too condescending. But calling her by name felt a bit rude.

Seeing his awkwardness, Yu Zhao smiled slightly and said: “Sect Master Tian Shu can just call me Yu Zhao.”

As a sign of respect, people usually did not call a Nascent Soul cultivator by name. They used Dao titles instead, such as Master Qing Yan or Wanderer Bao Hua.

Yu Zhao also had a Dao title.

Her Dao title had been given to her by Master Qing Yan when she first entered the sect.

In her previous life, she had been cast aside by Master Qing Yan before she reached Nascent Soul Formation. He took back all her disciple privileges, so she never got the chance to use that Dao title.

In this life, she had broken with Master Qing Yan, so she would not use it even more.

As for a new Dao title, she still had no idea. She planned that after she returned to Five Elements Dao Sect, she would ask Elder Gu or Sect Master Ji Yuan to pick one for her.

Tian Shu let out a sigh of relief and laughed: “Yu Zhao, it is Seven Stars Sect’s honor to have you here as a guest. Please, come inside!”

Yu Zhao replied with a smile: “Sect Master Tian Shu is too polite. It is my good fortune instead.”

The two of them politely praised each other for a while, then entered Seven Stars Sect together.

On the way up the mountain, Tian Shu tried to probe Yu Zhao’s purpose with side questions.

Yu Zhao examined the layout around her while she answered in a way that did not reveal anything.

By the time they reached Seven Stars Sect’s main hall, Tian Shu and the Head Elder still had not managed to learn why she had come. Instead, Yu Zhao had drawn quite a bit of information out of them.

Yu Zhao was far more troublesome than they had expected. The two men felt even more uneasy.

Yu Zhao, however, looked very calm. She even had the mood to judge the taste of Seven Stars Sect’s tea in her heart.

From Tian Shu and the Head Elder’s expressions, and from what they had just said, she could be sure that Seven Stars Sect’s Spirit Vein was still safe for now.

She only dared to say “for now” because the person who drained Spirit Veins was ruthless. No matter how huge a Spirit Vein was, he could suck it dry in a single night.

Once he set his eyes on it, the Spirit Vein would dry up overnight.

What troubled Yu Zhao most now was that she did not know the exact time when the Spirit Vein would be drained. She also could not stay and guard Seven Stars Sect for a long time.

The only way was to make the people of Seven Stars Sect believe her and set up solid protection around the Spirit Vein. Even if they could not stop that person’s crazy actions, they could at least gather some clues.

She had a plan, but it would be very hard to carry out.

Seven Stars Sect had hidden the news about the Spirit Vein very tightly. They clearly did not want anyone to know it existed.

If she stood up and exposed the Spirit Vein, there was no saying whether they could protect it, but Tian Shu and the others would definitely become suspicious of her.

Also, even if she told them, the people of Seven Stars Sect might not believe her, because she had no proof.

Yu Zhao held her teacup and sank into deep thought.

In the end, she still did not tell them why she had come. She only asked to stay in Seven Stars Sect for a short time.

Tian Shu and the Head Elder agreed with stiff faces. They arranged a guest courtyard for her and settled her there. Then they went back and called the elders to another meeting.

The Head Elder’s face was dark as he said: “Everyone, eight or nine times out of ten, Yu Zhao is here for the Spirit Vein.”

The elders were all extremely shocked.

One elder said: “Would a grand sect like Five Elements Dao Sect really covet the Spirit Vein of an outer sect?”

Another asked: “Is this her idea, or Five Elements Dao Sect’s idea?”

A third elder slammed the table and said: “Five Elements Dao Sect is going too far!”

Someone muttered: “If they are unjust, we do not have to be righteous. Why don’t we strike first…”

Another elder snapped: “Elder Luo, watch what you say!”

Tian Shu heard their words grow more and more extreme and quickly stopped them.

Elder Luo still looked unhappy.

Tian Shu glared at him and said: “Yu Zhao is already a Nascent Soul cultivator now. Leaving aside whether we can keep her here, if she dies here for no clear reason, Five Elements Dao Sect will never let it go. Seven Stars Sect will not escape either.”

Someone cried out: “Nascent Soul? She has already reached Nascent Soul Formation? How old is she?”

Once again, the elders were completely shaken by the news their Sect Master brought.

The Head Elder saw how panicked they all looked and shouted: “What are you panicking for! You old bones have cultivated for hundreds of years, and you are still less steady than a young girl. What a joke!”

Once the Head Elder got angry, the other elders slowly calmed down.

One elder asked: “Head Elder, do you already have a plan?”

Another said: “Head Elder, please tell us. We will all listen to you.”

The Head Elder sighed: “You people are so anxious you could kill someone.”

Tian Shu also looked over at the Head Elder.

Although he was the Sect Master of Seven Stars Sect, the Head Elder was actually the most respected person in the sect.

Back when he had still been a disciple of Seven Stars Sect, the Head Elder had already been a sect elder.

He had only become Sect Master thanks to the Head Elder’s support. That was why he respected the Head Elder so much. Whenever something major happened, he would ask the Head Elder for advice and mostly follow his opinion.

The Head Elder said slowly: “Taking another sect’s Spirit Vein by force is unreasonable no matter how you talk about it. Yu Zhao will not say it out loud, probably because she is worried about Five Elements Dao Sect’s reputation and wants us to give in first.”

“Since that is the case, we might as well play dumb too. If she wants to stay here, we will act along with her and see who can keep up the act until the end!”