Boom!
The last sentence seemed to touch a taboo, and a mysterious Zen rhyme suddenly erupted from the Divine Lord, interrupting Bai Shengyi's control.
Bai Shengyi immediately withdrew her divine sense and mental power, but it was too late, and she was counterattacked.
"Mmm..." She suppressed the bloody taste in her throat and calmly looked up.
In front, the Divine Lord seemed to awaken from chaos, letting out a series of violent, heavy coughs: "Cough cough! Cough... Cough!"
The heart-wrenching coughs brought Cui Shenshi back to his senses. He realized he could move and immediately looked around, only to see both Bai Shennü and the Divine Lord as if nothing had happened.
Not the slightest abnormality.
But he clearly heard Bai Shennü's cold question...
His sharp gaze suddenly fell on him, making him stiffen all over. He quickly lowered his head, concealing the complexity on his face, and rushed forward with concern for the Divine Lord.
"Divine Lord, are you alright?"
Bai Shengyi subtly took a step back, lowering her head slightly in thought. This Divine Lord clearly knew about the Divine Wood Heart. Judging by his words, the Divine Wood Heart was in the Central Region Divine Temple and was used for blessings. If so, it seemed she had to go to the Central Region Divine Temple.
With this thought, Bai Shengyi directly transmitted a message to Cui Shenshi: "I want to go to the Central Region Divine Temple."
Cui Shenshi, who was expressing his concern, stopped his actions, almost crying inside!
Go to the Central Region Divine Temple? He had lived for decades and had only been there once! When an adult made such a request, it was truly a difficult task for him!
Who was he provoking? It wasn't some little girl, but a little ancestor specifically sent to trouble him!
"Little Cui, thank you for your hard work during this time." The Divine Lord paused and patted Cui Shenshi's hand. A hint of gentle benevolence appeared on his stern face.
Cui Shenshi dared not be negligent and respectfully said, "Divine Lord, this is my duty. I'm ashamed to say, I haven't found that female slave."
A look of deep guilt appeared on his face, as if he was afraid of being blamed for not completing the task.
He understood the Divine Lord very well. The older this person got, the more worries he had. For instance, about the runaway female slave this time, he already knew her identity. Given the irreconcilable relationship between the Eastern Divine Temple and Donglin City, he thought the Divine Lord would surely suspect someone within the temple had helped the female slave.
As for who he suspected... it definitely couldn't be him.
As expected, the Divine Lord's gaze sank. He suppressed his cough and snorted coldly, "It's not your fault; it's Xiaobai's incompetence. I have other plans for this matter, so you don't need to worry about it anymore."
Cui Shenshi nodded and immediately took the opportunity to say, "Divine Lord, Bai Shennü has great talent for cultivating spiritual plants. The spiritual power crystal ball has turned green from her talent. Look, can you give her a chance to participate in this temple selection?"
"Oh?" The Divine Lord coughed upon hearing this, "Give her the spiritual power crystal ball, and I'll take a look myself."
Cui Shenshi hurriedly signaled Bai Shengyi.
Bai Shengyi's expression remained unchanged as she took the crystal ball. However, this time, she controlled the flow of spiritual power within her. The green hue reflected by the crystal ball was not as intense.
But even this surprised the Divine Lord.
"Good!" The Divine Lord clapped his hands and laughed, then coughed again rapidly. He spoke quickly, "Alright, I approve. You two can retreat... cough cough... down... cough..."
He coughed as if he were about to expel his heart and lungs.
When Bai Shengyi and Cui Shenshi walked out of the room, they could even smell blood.
"Your Divine Lord's body..."
"The Divine Lord's body is fine!" Cui Shenshi immediately said before Bai Shengyi could finish her sentence.
But he answered too quickly, and the meaning of his words was even less believable.
He also realized it himself and gave a sheepish smile, "I mean, although the Divine Lord looks very old, his cultivation is profound, and he will be fine."
Bai Shengyi chuckled, "I thought you were going to say that he has a way to compensate for the vast amount of life force lost within his body?"
Cui Shenshi:!!
He opened his mouth, "My Lady..." How did you know this too!
Cui Shenshi was dumbfounded. What was the origin of this formidable young lady? How could she guess these things after just one meeting?
Bai Shengyi didn't actually know how accurate her guess was. She was just very confused. The Divine Lord's body was clearly not right. Judging by the leakage of life force from him, he probably wouldn't even live for seven days. However, she was now sure that her guess was correct.
Let her think, oh, perhaps the method to compensate for the lost life force was related to the blessing of the Divine Wood Heart that the Divine Lord mentioned...
"My Lady, let me tell you about the selection competition."
Cui Shenshi arduously changed the subject, not wanting Bai Shengyi to know more about the inner workings of the temple.
"For our branch temple to enter the Central Region Divine Temple, there are only three ways: first, to become a Divine Lord and be promoted to the Central Region Divine Temple; second, to become a messenger for the annual temple exchange and participate in the annual exchange conference; third, to participate in the selection competition for the Divine Maiden and Saint Son to travel to the Central Region Divine Temple for the Winter Moon Festival."
Fearing Bai Shengyi's misunderstanding, Cui Shenshi quickly continued, "The Divine Maidens who hold the Winter Moon Festival will be fine. They won't be like other Divine Maidens..."
"Ultimately becoming sacrificial offerings like the female slaves?" Bai Shengyi interjected with a half-smile.
Cui Shenshi's smile was stiff, and he said with his scalp tingling, "My Lady, these are the rules of the temple." He couldn't do anything about it.
Bai Shengyi also knew this, so she didn't make things difficult for Cui Shenshi. However, whenever she wanted to inquire further about the Winter Moon Festival later, Cui Shenshi would start to look around evasively. This situation continued until Cui Shenshi escorted her to the place where the Divine Maidens resided.
"My Lady, this is your room." Cui Shenshi pointed to the entire floor. "This entire floor is for Divine Maidens found through divine revelation. You are the fifth, and the last."
...
Shenqi Mountain, Qianxiao Peak.
"Bang!"
Everything around was instantly crushed into powder. A powerful, suppressed pressure continued to spread throughout Shenqi Academy. Wherever it passed, spirit beasts prostrated and trembled, and cultivators turned pale and vomited blood...
"Qin Si! Stop! Hurry up and stop!" Qian Ying rushed over upon hearing the news and saw the oppressive scene on Qianxiao Peak, like the prelude to doomsday. Her charming willow brows furrowed. While instructing someone to immediately notify Qing Lan, she continued to shout, "Think about junior sister's mother! She can't withstand your aura!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the suppressed and low pressure instantly receded like a tide.
Qian Ying breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she arrived in time, otherwise...
She looked at Bai Yun and Hui Ying kneeling on the ground, swaying precariously, and shook her head. She stepped forward and asked, "Has the matter been investigated clearly?"
Qin Si rubbed a jade token with one hand. His narrow phoenix eyes were dark and gloomy, unfathomably deep, as if containing a terrifying storm.
His cold and ferocious demeanor startled Qian Ying, making her heart jump.
She remembered that the last time junior sister went missing, Qin Si directly turned the Sanghai Secret Realm upside down, and fought with Li Tingyun regardless of the consequences, directly tearing apart one of Li Tingyun's clones, and also injuring himself severely. It was only after Aunt Mo used countless rare medicinal herbs that he did not suffer any hidden injuries.
Looking at this situation this time...
Qian Ying straightened her expression and said sternly, "Don't act impulsively. The academy is at a critical stage of development right now."
Qin Si's expression grew colder. His icy eyes coldly glanced at her.
Qian Ying's breathing hitched, and then she stiffened her neck and said with her scalp tingling, "Qin Si, even if you scare me, I will still advise you this way. And I'm telling you, even junior sister were here, she would agree with what I just said. Qin Si, you are no longer the vice-dean of the academy!"
She swore that she had never spoken so much to Qin Si before, nor had she ever been so timid in front of him!
Master! Why haven't you come over yet!
Qin Si's gaze was too terrifying. She was about to break.