Chapter 185
Chapter 185: The Collapse is Imminent!
All eyes were fixed on Shi Zi Chu and Chu Zhi Rou.
One of them had to be the person from the third faction!
Chu Zhi Rou knew what the pattern on her arm looked like. She glanced at Shi Zi Chu, then, with an expression of calm indifference, she casually rolled up her sleeve.
It was not the third pattern!
In an instant, all gazes turned toward Shi Zi Chu.
Some of the more impatient individuals, as if already certain of Shi Zi Chu’s identity, gathered their spiritual power, ready to strike at any moment.
Meng Xi Yu’s face was cold and stern, the life-bound sword in her hand poised for action.
The tense atmosphere, on the brink of explosion, had no effect on Shi Zi Chu. She rested Xue Gu on her shoulder, lifting her arm with slow and deliberate movements.
Beneath her wide sleeve, her arm was slender yet well-proportioned, her skin porcelain-white and delicate. The snake bracelet around her wrist accentuated her bone structure.
“How is this possible?!”
As Shi Zi Chu revealed the pattern on her arm, the scene immediately descended into chaos.
Yu Wen Wan snapped, her voice sharp, “How could it not be the third pattern?! This is absolutely a lie!”
Shi Zi Chu calmly exposed a portion of her forearm, her voice steady, “Miss Yu Wen, do you have evidence?”
Yu Wen Wan, who was only intent on framing Shi Zi Chu, had no evidence to present.
Yu Wen Cheng could not help but glance at Yu Wen Wan, his eyes filled with warning.
Chu Zhi Sheng’s voice was cold and piercing, “If it’s not Shi Zi Chu, then who could it be?”
Ye He Qi turned his gaze toward the slightly ajar palace door, seemingly lost in thought.
Shi Zi Chu lowered her sleeve, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles.
Ye Chi Wei suddenly spoke, as if struck by a thought, “Clan chief, what are you thinking?”
Ye He Qi snapped back to reality, his voice measured, “Daoist Shi indeed has considerable suspicion, after all, she is the only one present who cannot use spiritual power.”
His words immediately struck a chord with many.
A fleeting look of contemplation crossed Ye Chi Wei’s eyes.
Ye He Qi’s statement made sense, but why, at this moment, did he suddenly choose to target Shi Zi Chu? Was there some hidden agenda?
“Perhaps there is another explanation,” Guan Zhuang said, his hands pressed together in a calm gesture. “Daoist Shi is simply unlucky.”
A momentary silence fell over the crowd.
This was truly an unexpected turn of events.
Shi Zi Chu set Xue Gu down from her shoulder, a faint, helpless smile tugging at her lips. “Must the Buddhist disciple be so blunt?”
Guan Zhuang muttered a Buddhist chant under his breath.
Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Chu Zhi Sheng spoke coldly, “There are only two possibilities. Either the person from the third faction is dead, or they are hiding among us.”
“The person is right here~”
The soul spirit’s voice was playful, stretching the final word with a teasing tone.
As if on cue, several subtle glances shifted toward Chu Zhi Rou.
Shi Zi Chu suggested, “Why all the guessing? It would be easier to just test it directly.”
The situation unfolded almost exactly as expected—one after another, opponents were sent flying.
In the end, only Shi Zi Chu and Chu Zhi Rou remained.
All eyes were now upon the two of them.
With her heart racing, Chu Zhi Rou remained composed, exhaling subtly as she stepped forward.
After taking two steps, she suddenly stopped and spoke to Shi Zi Chu, “Second senior sister, let’s go together and verify it.”
At this moment, Chu Zhi Rou had already convinced herself that the person from the hidden faction was none other than Shi Zi Chu!
Though unsure of how Shi Zi Chu had changed her pattern, it was clear—Shi Zi Chu was the one!
“Alright,” Shi Zi Chu agreed readily.
At the entrance, Chu Zhi Rou, realizing the barrier technique posed no resistance to her, was struck by a shock. She quickly suppressed her surprise, her mind racing to find a solution.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Shi Zi Chu’s movements. A perfect plan rapidly formed in her mind.
Almost the instant Shi Zi Chu was sent flying, Chu Zhi Rou changed the direction of her outstretched hand. She grabbed Shi Zi Chu’s wrist tightly, and together they were sent flying!
To the onlookers, it appeared as though Chu Zhi Rou had been struck by the force and thrown backward, but in the process, she had managed to catch Shi Zi Chu.
Shi Zi Chu’s peach blossom eyes looked at Chu Zhi Rou with a smile.
A tender gaze, one that seemed to understand everything, flickered across her face, but it was filled with an ominous intent. Chu Zhi Rou felt an unsettling chill and quickly released her grip.
But it was too late.
“Junior sister, you…” Shi Zi Chu said in surprise.
It was as if Chu Zhi Rou had suddenly shoved her with force, and Shi Zi Chu was sent tumbling toward the mist-shrouded stairs.
At the same time, Chu Zhi Rou was violently thrust toward the slightly ajar door.
“Shi Zi Chu!”
“Qing Qing!”
Meng Xi Yu and Jiang Wan Sheng reacted almost instinctively, moving so swiftly that their figures left afterimages. They barely managed to catch Shi Zi Chu by the sleeve.
The three of them paused briefly at the edge of the stairs before plummeting down.
This event was enough to grab the attention of everyone present, though their focus remained firmly on Chu Zhi Rou.
Shi Zi Chu tumbled down the stairs, taking the two with her, while Chu Zhi Rou was sent flying into the doorway.
Inside the door, Chu Zhi Rou froze in place.
As she regained her senses and looked up, she met the gaze of many eyes, which bore no trace of concealment—only greed and murderous intent. She stumbled back a few steps.
It was over!
Before anyone could act, the ground beneath them began to tremble. The walls around them visibly cracked at an alarming speed.
“This place is going to collapse!”
“Where’s the exit?!”
Panic spread through the crowd.
Ye He Qi struggled to keep his balance, his mind sharp despite the chaos. Just as he was about to ponder what Shi Zi Chu was up to, the temperature around them plummeted.
Frost began to fall from the sky, and the sudden chill made everyone feel as if they were standing in an ice cave.
What is happening?!
“Break.”
The deep, indifferent voice seemed to come from a great distance.
Before anyone could react, the sound of cracking echoed, and the walls around them, now coated in frost, quickly crumbled into dust.
In the next instant, a downpour of blue raindrops rushed in, drenching everything in its path.
Before Shi Zi Chu, who had purposely fallen, could carry out her plans, she was suddenly locked onto by a familiar, powerful presence.
Xue Gu leapt down and began devouring the Ascending Towers Island.
Blue Rain Marsh, Inner Zone.
The torrential rain only thickened the mist that hung over the marsh.
Those who had emerged from Ascending Towers Island were greeted by the storm’s harsh winds and rain, instantly bringing them back to their senses.
Wasn’t the ruin supposed to collapse?
How did they manage to get out?
Ye He Qi surveyed his surroundings, his expression serious.
The sect masters from the Three Sects and the Five Schools, along with the leaders of other sects and families, were all present.
At least two-thirds of the cultivation world’s venerables were gathered here in Blue Rain Marsh.
What was going on?
Had the Devil Realm invaded?
Even if the Devil Realm had come, this didn’t quite add up.
Ye He Qi wasn’t the only one confused—everyone who had survived the ordeal on Ascending Towers Island shared the same bewilderment.
Shi Zi Chu, forcefully yanked out from the island by Xing Lan, responded quickly.
She had hidden the soul spirit within her sleeve, while she, like a delicate flower in the cold wind, shivered and wished to burrow into Xing Lan’s arms. “So cold, so cold,” she mumbled.
Xing Lan draped a fox fur cloak over her shoulders, wrapping her up tightly, leaving only her head exposed.
“Jiu Jiu, why is the disciple token broken? And what happened to your injuries?”
His cold, noble voice cut through the wind and rain, reaching the ears of everyone around.
Chu Zhi Rou looked up.
The man standing in midair, his posture as straight as bamboo, exuded an icy and regal aura. His face was obscured by the mist, but his presence was undeniable, emanating authority and power.
Master has arrived?
A hidden joy surged within Chu Zhi Rou’s heart. Her frown softened, and the panic and fear that had previously gripped her vanished without a trace.