Chapter 132
Chapter 132: Gone Again?
Jiang Wan Sheng’s sarcastic remarks were like pouring oil on a fire, making the already furious cultivators seethe with rage. They could barely restrain themselves from throwing Chu Zhi Rou and her group out to be devoured by snakes.
Clan Chief Yu Wen fixed a grim and fiery gaze on Yu Wen Wan, who instinctively shrank back, not daring to speak.
Pei Luo Xiu walked over to Shi Zi Chu and sneered, “Very good, you’ve directly placed us in a perilous situation with that fire.”
Chang Bai shouted, “But don’t we still have Venerable Xing Lan here?”
Venerable Xing Lan and the other venerables were more than enough—what was a mere snake to them?
“I am not a god.” His voice was cold and low, tinged with open disdain.
It wasn’t a simple matter of fighting a spirit beast at the ninth layer of Qi Refining against one in the Early Golden Core stage; this was more than just breaking the hierarchy—it was crossing the heavens themselves. He wasn’t that powerful yet.
Xing Lan’s words struck deep, and the cultivators who were wrongly caught in the situation couldn’t help but feel the sting.
“Are you all out of your minds?!” he roared.
“Why go to the back mountain at all? Didn’t those villagers warn that it was dangerous?”
“A bunch of troublemakers!”
“If it comes down to it, throw them out to the snakes!”
…
The curses and bitter words were loaded with unmasked malice. Chu Zhi Rou had never been treated this way before. Her lips pressed tightly together, her reddened eyes gazing at the hateful cultivators.
Chang Bai suddenly pointed at Chu Zhi Rou, shouting, “It’s her! It was Chu Zhi Rou’s idea!”
At a moment of life and death, the ugliness of human nature was fully exposed.
Chu Zhi Rou turned her head, her voice sweet yet filled with righteous anger, “I said before we even climbed the mountain—if you had other plans, you could have turned back! And the fire? That was your idea!”
Chang Bai stubbornly clung to his accusations, “You led us right into the snake’s den!”
“Coward!” Chu Zhi Rou retorted sharply, “If you hadn’t incited them to set the fire, would we be in this mess? With so many of us, it would’ve only taken a little time to kill them! Even if we couldn’t kill them, we could’ve escaped, couldn’t we?”
“You’re a woman, what do you know? If it weren’t for your encouragement—”
Wan Yan Qian, unable to listen any longer, kicked Chang Bai hard.
The unprepared man stumbled and fell, his face landing in the dirt with a resounding thud.
“This is not the time for dog fights!” Wan Yan Qian snapped, her voice cold and firm. “If you want to settle scores, we’ll do it once we survive this crisis!”
The enraged cultivators calmed slightly.
Wan Yan Qian turned to look for Shi Zi Chu but found that the person who had been standing there was gone.
“Where is Shi Zi Chu?” she asked.
Ye He Qi pointed toward the earthen wall, “She climbed over.”
Before his words even finished, the wall between the two courtyards collapsed with a loud crash.
Xing Lan quickly conjured a barrier to shield the dust from flying into the air.
Those who were unprepared coughed as the dust choked them.
The usually composed clan chiefs were now in a state of disarray.
“What are you doing?” Wan Yan Qian asked between coughs, spitting out dirt in frustration.
Shi Zi Chu’s voice called out, “Solving the problem.”
?
Jiang Wan Sheng took out a curved bow and handed it to Shi Zi Chu.
Shi Zi Chu took the bow, and in the blink of an eye, she was on the rooftop. “Buddhist disciple, can you hold those vicious ghosts at bay?”
Guan Zhuang didn’t fully understand what Shi Zi Chu was planning but nodded in agreement.
Jiang Wan Sheng tossed a star gem to the ground, “Go.”
A tiny golden snake shot out of the yard, quickly growing in size.
The massive form of the star gem, now resembling a serpent, was nearly equal to the brown-scale, red-eyed giant python.
The giant python sensed the threat and bared its poisonous fangs, lunging toward the star gem.
The star gem flicked its tail.
In an instant, the two giant serpents were locked in a fierce battle.
Shi Zi Chu saw her chance, and with two fingers pulled back the bowstring, summoning a water arrow.
“Whoosh—”
The arrow shot through the air, and at the same moment, Shi Zi Chu vanished from her spot.
Guan Zhuang quickly drew his staff and struck at the vicious ghosts outside.
A group of Buddhist cultivators followed their disciple, rushing out to face the swarm of ghosts.
“Hiss!”
The giant python let out a loud, painful cry as it was struck, the sound ear-piercing. Those cultivators caught off guard were thrown back, blood dripping from their mouths and noses.
“Boom—”
The giant python’s massive body slammed into the ground, sending dust flying.
The dust cloud obscured their vision, and no one could tell what was happening.
When the dust cleared, Shi Zi Chu slid off the python’s back, standing calmly on the ground.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Shi Zi Chu, usually as delicate as a peach blossom, was now covered in grime, looking somewhat comical.
But even in this disheveled state, she had resolved the crisis in less than an hour.
When Shi Zi Chu returned to the yard, Wan Yan Qian glanced at her and then at the spirit sword embedded in the python’s heart, her eyes wide with shock.
But it wasn’t just Wan Yan Qian who was shocked.
“Wait, how did you do that?”
Wan Yan Qian voiced what everyone was thinking.
“All things are born from one another and oppose one another,” Shi Zi Chu replied, coughing lightly before walking toward a well to wash her face.
Jiang Wan Sheng approached, holding the star gem.
“Qing Qing coated the arrow with snake-biting grass. When purified, the snake-biting grass weakens the giant python’s cultivation. With the right timing, it can deliver a fatal blow.”
With that, Jiang Wan Sheng threw a smug look at Xing Lan.
Xing Lan ignored him, his proud gaze turning toward Shi Zi Chu.
Wan Yan Qian looked at Shi Zi Chu, admiration gleaming in her eyes.
No wonder it was her!
After washing her face, Shi Zi Chu walked over, her voice gentle and calm as she spoke, “The remaining poisonous snakes aren’t a concern. The real crisis is finding the culprit.”
Looking at Shi Zi Chu’s composed demeanor, the group couldn’t help but feel reassured.
When the Buddhist disciples returned, Guan Zhuang, holding his staff, walked in with them.
Seeing the vicious ghosts snarling at the entrance, his weary voice rang out, “Daoist Shi, these vicious ghosts will revive after death.”
They were killed in one moment, only to come back the next!
How were they supposed to deal with that?
Shi Zi Chu asked, “What about exorcism?”
Guan Zhuang shook his head, his fatigue deepening.
If he weren’t a Buddhist disciple, he would have scolded someone!
Clan Chief Nan Rong wiped his face, his voice weary and sorrowful, “There’s less than a day left. We don’t have any chances to make mistakes.”
They had already made one wrong choice in the beginning, and it hadn’t been Shi Zi Chu.
Then… could it have been Pei Luo Xiu?
With many suspicious gazes falling on him, Pei Luo Xiu’s expression remained indifferent and composed. “You’re free to write my name down, but as Clan Chief Nan Rong said, there’s no room for error.”
Ye He Qi tugged at his long whip, pulling Qin Da, now in the form of a vicious ghost, forward.
Instantly, countless eyes were focused on the cursing Qin Da.
Shi Zi Chu’s gaze passed over Qin Da, landing on Ye He Qi.
In that moment, both of them, each with their own agenda, gained the information they sought.
Suddenly, Ye He Qi’s gentle and scholarly voice echoed, “Daoist Shi, what is your mother’s name?”
Shi Zi Chu shook her head.
Ye He Qi was not surprised by this.
At this clear hint, Shen Zhi Zhi suddenly thought of something. She hurried toward the hall.
The open door gave her a clear view of the room.
The woman who had been locked in the earthen bed was gone!
Shen Zhi Zhi turned to Shi Zi Chu, her eyes wide with shock.
In an instant, the doorway was crowded with people.
“Gone again?” Clan Chief Yu Wen asked.
Shen Zhi Zhi nodded.
Several clan chiefs looked even graver.
Shi Zi Chu’s mother kept appearing and disappearing—could it be that she had something to do with this secret realm?
Shen Zhi Zhi could see what the venerables were thinking, and she gently spoke, “But Daoist Shi’s mother seems… like a child.”
A woman with the mentality of a three- or four-year-old child, how could she have anything to do with a secret realm?
Unless… she was pretending!