Immortal of the Nine Realms

Hearing the low murmurs among the gathered core disciples, Fang Chen could tell that Xie Aman had been right. Everyone who should be here had arrived.

Within the vast Enlightenment God Palace, there were only eight people capable of wielding Formation Immortal Arts, and that included Li Shanzi.

Li Shanzi and Nanming Ruyue were already present, and the timing of the remaining five’s arrival was too precise, meaning they had in fact arrived long before. They had simply chosen not to board the Black Dragon Immortal Boat earlier; it was so that they would avoid appearing suspicious before Elder Chen and the others arrived.

”Second Senior Brother.”

”Third Senior Sister.”

Voices whispered through the crowd as five figures stepped forward, parting the sea of disciples to stand before the ice coffin.

Fang Chen immediately recognized one of them—the Seventh Senior Sister, whom he had seen before in the Formless Purgatory. She had always followed closely at Xie Aman’s side. Now, gazing at the body in the coffin, her expression was the darkest of all, while the others remained relatively composed.

”What do you think?” Elder Chen asked the second senior brother calmly.

He withdrew his gaze from the coffin, pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly. ”I can’t make sense of it. But knowing her abilities, she would never die so easily.”

”I examined the body myself,” Elder Chen replied. ”She is indeed dead. Whether her soul remains, however, I cannot tell.”

”Then it makes even less sense,” said the Second Brother. ”Now that she’s gone, we are the ones who should be most suspicious.”

Nanming Ruyue and several others changed expression slightly.

Indeed, among all the core disciples, they were the ones with the most suspicion. The ordinary core disciples, on the other hand, had little to gain from her death.

”Second Brother,” a strikingly beautiful woman said suddenly, ”With Senior Sister dead, doesn’t the position of chief naturally fall to you? If you ask me, you have the biggest motive.”

The crowd stirred, turning toward the speaker. She was the Third Senior Sister, and behind her stood Ji Sheng and a group of other core disciples.

This Third Senior Sister had already reached the sixth transformation Immortal, and when using the Formation Immortal Art, her combat power was comparable to that of an Ancient Immortal. Her face showed no trace of grief. In fact, there was the faintest curl of a smile at her lips, as if she didn’t bother hiding the fact that she was pleased by Xie Aman’s death. That very brazenness, paradoxically, made her seem less suspicious in many eyes.

As she questioned their Second Senior Brother, the others all showed thoughtful looks. Elder Chen and the other elders merely watched from the side, not interrupting.

”The position of chief isn’t something that automatically passes to me just because I’m ranked second,” the Second Senior Brother said slowly. ”There are assessments of merit, of aptitude, of talent. You and Third Junior Sister surpass me in at least one of those.”

He gave a calm smile. ”And besides, there’s Fourth Brother, Fifth Sister, Sixth Brother, Seventh Sister...”

His gaze shifted toward Li Shanzi. ”And even Eighth Brother. Their talents are not inferior to mine. Without certainty of securing that seat, why would I risk making a move on Senior Sister? Moreover, I know a few cultivators in the Lower Six Realms, none of whom are Ancient Immortals. I don’t have the ability to set up such a scheme there.”

”In terms of connections, I’d say you, Third Sister, are far broader than any of us,” the Fourth Senior Brother said with a sneer. ”You’ve been to the Lower Six Realms more times than anyone can count.”

She laughed lightly. ”Hehe, I have met plenty of Ancient Immortals there. But... didn’t you all just hear who the attackers were? Or are you pretending you didn’t?”

Her eyes sparkled coldly. ”One was from the Rulai Monastery, and the other, Chen Sansui of the Five Poison Sect.

”And as I recall, the one who happens to have dealings with both the Temple and Chen Sansui... is you, isn’t it?”

The Fourth Senior Brother’s face darkened instantly.

One accusation after another, their words naturally narrowed the circle of suspicion down to Second Brother, Third Sister, and Fourth Brother. As for Fifth Sister, Nanming Ruyue, and the others, they were almost forgotten in the tension.

”There’s no point arguing here,” their Fourth Senior Brother said coolly. ”We should escort Senior Sister’s body back to Enlightenment Star for proper burial first. Then, we’ll send men to capture Chen Sansui. If we can’t find him, arrest every member of the Five Poison Sect and interrogate them thoroughly. Perhaps we’ll find a clue.”

The Third Senior Sister didn’t argue this time.

The Second Senior Brother nodded. ”Agreed. Senior Sister should rest first. Besides, the trap that killed her might not have been aimed purely at her position. We shouldn’t make assumptions and overlook something vital.”

”Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters...” Little Immortal Honglian suddenly spoke up. ”Before her death, Senior Sister said the Immortal Worshipping Palace was deeply involved in this matter. If not for their false intelligence, she wouldn’t have walked straight into their ambush.”

”The Immortal Worshipping Palace?” The Third Senior Sister’s eyes curved with a mocking smile. ”Then it must be you, Second Brother, you’re the one with ties to several of their deputy palace lords, aren’t you?”

The group exchanged uneasy looks. Even though their Second Senior Brother appeared calm, the suspicion hanging over him was unmistakable. He wasn’t the most talented among the eight, with even Li Shanzi surpassing him in that department. Nevertheless, he alone was a seventh-transformation Ancient Immortal. If the Enlightenment God Palace appointed him as chief, one more eighth-transformation immortal herb would be all it took for him to ascend to the Palace Master’s position.

Elder Chen suddenly chuckled. ”You done talking?”

He reached into his sleeve and pulled out several blossoms, pale flowers gleaming faintly in his hand. ”If you’re done, it’s my turn. I have a few Mirror Flowers here. You’ll answer my questions one by one.”

Mirror Flowers?

Everyone’s expressions tightened slightly.

”I’ll go first,” said the Second Senior Brother calmly, stepping forward.

Elder Chen’s eyes were cold as frost. ”Did you conspire to murder our Enlightenment God Palace’s Chief Core Disciple?”

The Second Senior Brother met his gaze without fear. ”I did not.”

The Mirror Flower in Elder Chen’s hand released a faint, sweet fragrance.

Everyone exhaled in relief. It really wasn’t him.

Though there were ways to deceive a Mirror Flower, Elder Chen’s cultivation was too high. Unless the Second Senior Brother were stronger, it would be impossible to hide the traces.

”Next,” Elder Chen said, turning toward the Third Senior Sister.

She smiled softly. ”Ask away.”

After questioning her, the Mirror Flower bloomed with fragrance once more. She, too, was cleared.

Then the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh disciples proved their innocence.

Elder Chen hesitated briefly, then decided to use one more flower on Li Shanzi as well.

As expected, the result was the same.

Li Shanzi had only just mastered Formation Immortal Arts. He had no reason or ability to plot against Xie Aman.

”You all appear clean,” Elder Chen said at last. ”Then there’s only one other possibility, the killer wasn’t after the position of our Chief Core Disciple at all, but had another goal. But the one who leaked her mission must be among you.”

His brows furrowed slightly. He didn’t have enough Mirror Flowers left to question everyone; otherwise, he would have done so and cleared all doubt.

Fang Chen suddenly spoke. ”Senior Sister also said that... there might be a traitor among the elders as well.”

The elders froze for a brief instant. Even the Ancient Immortals standing by, who had been watching as spectators, were taken aback, their expressions turning slightly strange.

Several core disciples turned toward Fang Chen, one of them barking coldly, ”And who are you, that you dare speak her name so familiarly? And to accuse elders no less?”