"It was people from the Wenxiang Sect!" Zi Yun Zhenren's tone suddenly turned cold. "Just now..."
After Zi Yun Zhenren finished speaking, Ye Fan finally understood what was going on.
It turned out that the people from the Wenxiang Sect had caused trouble earlier and injured Zi Yan.
If it were just an injury, it wouldn't have led to this. But by sheer coincidence, Zi Yan's already unstable demonic power had completely gone out of control!
Currently, this demonic power was fiercely backlashing against Zi Yan's body, and she wouldn't last long.
Just then, a female inner disciple entered with cold water and a towel.
The water was a specially made spiritual water that could temporarily slow down Zi Yan's condition, but it was only a temporary fix.
[Detecting Host...]
'Shut up!' Ye Fan, feeling down, cursed in his mind.
[...]
"I'll do it," Ye Fan said, taking the towel and dipping it in the water.
[System is deploying medicinal energy... Deployment complete...]
[System crash, restarting...]
Ye Fan wrung out the towel and carefully placed it on Zi Yan's forehead.
Zi Yun Zhenren suddenly saw a faint dark red flash on the towel, but when she looked again, she found nothing.
She thought she might have been seeing things due to excessive grief and didn't pay it any mind.
"Your senior sister and second senior sister are in secluded cultivation, they won't even be able to see her one last time..."
Zi Yun Zhenren gently pushed aside a few strands of loose black hair from Zi Yan's forehead, her voice filled with sorrow.
"They've been like sisters for so many years, I truly don't know how I'll face them when they emerge from seclusion..."
Zi Yun Zhenren held Zi Yan's hand like this, softly recounting past events.
But as she spoke, Zi Yun Zhenren felt something was amiss...
"Zi Yan?" Seeing Zi Yan's complexion begin to regain its color, Zi Yun Zhenren called out in disbelief.
After all, Zi Yan was practically at the end of her rope.
To put it bluntly, even a sudden surge of energy wouldn't have made her complexion so rosy under the influence of her out-of-control demonic power!
Zi Yun Zhenren seemed to realize something and quickly grabbed Zi Yan's wrist to check.
Then she was stunned!
Zi Yan's demonic energy had completely stabilized, and it was even repairing her damaged body and internal organs!
Even as the Sect Master of the Zi Yun Sect, she was a little bewildered at this moment...
Zi Yan's condition was such that even the top alchemist in the Eastern Wasteland wouldn't have been able to help. How could she suddenly be fine?
Someone, please tell me what happened...?
A quarter of an hour later.
Zi Yan on the bed had fallen into a deep sleep.
"Your third senior sister is fine now," Zi Yun Zhenren stated with certainty after repeated checks. "She'll be able to move normally after she wakes up."
However, her expression was incredibly strange as she spoke.
Not only was Zi Yan's demonic energy problem resolved, but her cultivation had also broken through a minor realm to reach the tenth level of Foundation Establishment.
"Master, since senior sister is fine, I'll take my leave now." Ye Fan bowed and exited.
Watching Ye Fan's retreating back, Zi Yun Zhenren fell into deep thought...
That night.
Zi Yun Sect's Conference Hall.
"What are your thoughts on today's events?" Zi Yun Zhenren swept her gaze over the elders present.
"Although the Wenxiang Sect and we have had friction over the years, this is the first time they've forcefully trespassed into our stronghold like this," the Great Elder mused. "It just doesn't seem reasonable..."
"And when we fought them earlier, we noticed they didn't use their full strength," the Third Elder added. "It felt more like a scuffle to stall for time..."
"Yes, I had that feeling too."
The Fifth Elder nodded in agreement.
"Later, when the Sect Master and we arrived, they surrendered very readily. They didn't raise any objections to our demands for compensation. It all seems very strange..."
...
For a while, the elders voiced their opinions, with the core sentiment being that the Wenxiang Sect's actions today were utterly nonsensical.
"Great Elder, arrange for people to continue investigating this matter," Zi Yun Zhenren said with a cold tone. "Also, once Zi Yan wakes up, we will go to the Wenxiang Sect to demand an explanation!"
Although Zi Yan had survived this time for some unknown reason, it didn't mean Zi Yun Zhenren intended to let it go!
If Zi Yan hadn't been lucky, her third disciple would have been lost forever!
The Wenxiang Sect's actions were no longer a mere minor friction; they were challenging the Zi Yun Sect's bottom line!
She wouldn't hesitate to go to war directly!
The elders all nodded in agreement.
While a war would inevitably lead to casualties, the opponent had already stepped on their faces. If they still endured it, the Zi Yun Sect might as well disband!
Otherwise, if people saw that the Zi Yun Sect was bullied like this and still tolerated it, who would join such a spineless sect in the future?
"By the way, Sect Master, I have something else."
The Seventh Elder seemed to remember something:
"While counting casualties today, we found the body of Da Shi from the Wenxiang Sect near Jingming Lake. Strangely, he seemed to have been killed by a Wenxiang Sect technique..."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
The Wenxiang Sect's forceful entry into their stronghold today was already bizarre enough. Now, they were staging a scene of suicide within their sect?
Had the Wenxiang Sect collectively lost their minds?
"You're saying Da Shi was killed by a Wenxiang Sect technique?" Zi Yun Zhenren's eyes suddenly lit up. "Are you sure?"
"I checked it several times. He indeed died from the 'Wenxiang One Finger'," the Seventh Elder confirmed.
"Bring Da Shi's body here!" Zi Yun Zhenren's eyes gleamed brighter and brighter.
Half an hour later, the elders left the conference hall in a state of utter confusion.
They couldn't understand why their Sect Master was so interested in the cause of Da Shi's death, and even personally examined it several times...
Inside the conference hall.
The smile in Zi Yun Zhenren's eyes was practically overflowing!
At this moment, she finally understood everything!
The faint red glow she had seen on the towel earlier was definitely not an illusion; it was clearly produced by her precious disciple!
At first, she had only suspected it, but combined with the matter of Da Shi, she was completely certain!
When the Wenxiang Sect caused trouble, the entire sect knew about it. No one would have had the leisure to go to Jingming Lake for a stroll.
At such a time, the only one who would have been by Jingming Lake was her precious disciple, Ye Fan!
One event might be a coincidence, but when two events were put together, it could no longer be considered a coincidence!
Previously, Zi Yun Zhenren had been immensely troubled by Ye Fan's constant indulging in leisure and avoiding cultivation.
But now, she realized that her beloved disciple had probably been cultivating in secret for a long time, just keeping it low-key!
The Innate Dao Body was too rare. So rare that it had been extinct for tens of thousands of years, and even its basic characteristics could only be identified through ancient texts.
As for whether the Innate Dao Body had any other abilities, let alone her, perhaps no one in the entire cultivation world knew.
Now it seemed that whether it was Zi Yan's inexplicable recovery or Da Shi's death from his own sect's technique, it was highly likely related to her precious disciple who possessed the Innate Dao Body!
"Now that my precious disciple should be sleeping, I shouldn't disturb her," Zi Yun Zhenren thought with delight. "Tomorrow, I'll properly probe this kid's background. To think he didn't even tell me, his master. He's too low-key!"
Under the night sky, a small white fox limped towards Immortal Jade Peak, where Ye Fan resided.