Faced with the accusations of their former companions, Dharma Transmitters Zhou, Wei, and Huang all wore expressions as calm and unruffled as ancient wells.
Knowing full well the other two's temperaments, they did not waste time trying to persuade them with words.
Instead, they attacked immediately, aiming to subdue these two Dharma Transmitters first!
"Enough talk. Let's see what you're made of!"
Huang was the first to strike. With a thunderous roar, golden light shot simultaneously from the ferocious eyes of his two heads, pinning Chu and Shen in place from afar.
At the same time, Dharma Transmitters Zhou and Wei brought all their techniques to bear as well.
Above Dharma Transmitter Zhou's head, the reflection of her personal pocket world abruptly materialized. It was as though everyone had been dragged into that hazy, dreamlike world, confronting one another atop towering skyscrapers ablaze with multicolored lights.
The attire Zhou wore also shifted into a suit of black metallic battle armor never seen before, bearing some resemblance to the immortal puppet battle armor worn by Tianyang's avatar.
Twenty-four flying swords overflowing with chilling light unfurled behind her like a radiant wheel.
With a flicker of Zhou's intent, the flying swords ripped through the air one after another, hurtling toward Chu and Shen.
So swift and sharp were the flying swords that they seemed capable of tearing space itself, carving black rifts through the void like thrashing, roaring black dragons.
Yet after being launched, the twenty-four flying swords behind Zhou did not vanish. They merely turned into ethereal phantoms. As soon as all twenty-four blades completed a full volley, the very first sword finished shifting from phantom to solid reality once more.
And so came another barrage of flying swords!
Boundless and unending, without cease!
Aside from the destructive might of the flying swords themselves, Li Fan—who had laid down arrays to seal the battlefield before stepping aside to observe—faintly detected traces of shifting time flow within the unending waves of flying sword attacks!
In Yuandao Province and beyond the Immortal Ruins, Li Fan had experienced this sensation before. He could never mistake it!
Though the change in the passage of time was minuscule, it undeniably existed. This meant that Dharma Transmitter Zhou had actually attained some comprehension of the laws of time!
Compared to Zhou, Dharma Transmitter Wei's attacks carried an air of great skill disguised as simplicity.
With every gesture, he cast out horizontal and vertical beams of black light that intertwined into cages. These cages seemed to carry the weight of an entire world. The opponents' movements and reaction speeds suffered varying degrees of sluggishness, and as cage upon cage stacked together, the slowing effect grew increasingly pronounced.
Dharma Transmitter Huang was not to be outdone either.
His emaciated, bone-thin frame closed in on Chu and Shen as he opted for direct, close-quarters combat. Every punch and kick seemed imbued with boundless colossal power, battering the two Dharma Transmitters until they could only parry in disarray.
It had to be said that as Dharma Transmitters, Chu and Shen were certainly not weak.
Chu was enveloped in constant, infinite white light capable of neutralizing any offensive onslaught.
Shen was adept with a horsetail whisk; its myriad white strands could each transform into different weapons to meet the enemy.
Neither of them fell short of any Dao Integration cultivator.
However, the Dharma Transmitters were roughly on par with one another in strength, and Zhou and her companions held the numerical advantage of three against two.
Add to that Li Fan secretly harassing and pinning them with his arrays, and the outcome of the battle was never in doubt.
It took a full seven days before the two Dharma Transmitters were finally suppressed.
Though defeated, they remained defiant. "Kill us if you have the guts!"
Dharma Transmitter Zhou rolled her eyes at Chu. "Do you think that just because I left the Council of Dharma Transmitters, I've truly forgotten everything about being one? With the Heavenly Venerable's life-saving restriction in place, even if we could kill you, a mark would be left behind on us."
Only then did Wei slowly explain, "Brothers, you misunderstand. We had no choice but to do this."
He then recounted the whole story in detail—how Dharma King Mo Rubin of the Profound Heaven Sect had secretly possessed a Dharma Transmitter.
"I have verified this personally," he emphasized.
Chu gave a cold snort, his face filled with disbelief. "Absurd! What sort of strength do we Dharma Transmitters possess? Not to mention the protection of the Heavenly Venerable's restrictions—how could someone be quietly possessed without a trace?"
Shen, however, looked startled and uncertain. Recalling earlier anomalies within the Alliance's Council of Dharma Transmitters, he seemed lost in thought.
Dharma Transmitter Zhou sneered. "It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. We couldn't count on useless sorts like you anyway. Just sit back and watch. Once Jiang arrives and we lay everything out to him, we will invoke the Oath of the Dharma Transmitters. When that time comes, the truth will come to light!"
Upon hearing the words "Oath of the Dharma Transmitters," both Shen and Chu instantly fell silent.
They understood the gravity of those words.
Anyone willing to take the initiative to propose judgment under the Oath of the Dharma Transmitters could never be someone harboring malicious intent.
"Could it be..."
The two exchanged a glance and lapsed into silence.
Li Fan watched the Dharma Transmitters' dispute in silence from the sidelines, uttering not a word.
The inexplicable disappearance of two Dharma Transmitters sent to investigate the ground collapse incidents was a monumental affair that shook the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals from top to bottom.
The Council of Dharma Transmitters convened an emergency session to deliberate on countermeasures.
Although several members, including Dharma Transmitter Feng, voiced their opposition, the vast majority of the council still felt that Dharma Transmitter Jiang had to be informed of this matter immediately.
The minority yielded to the majority.
In the end, Dharma Transmitter Jiang within the Guiyuan Realm was finally alerted.
Reviewing the various investigative reports on the collapses that floated before him, Jiang nodded. "I had already faintly sensed this matter earlier. Deep beneath the Xuanhuang Realm, numerous strange little bugs suddenly appeared. They generate a peculiar spiritual energy that stimulates the desire to slaughter in cultivators' hearts; the slaughter tribulation in the Xuanhuang Realm earlier was brought about by them. Not only have they altered the temperaments of the Xuanhuang Realm's cultivators, but now they are even damaging the foundations of the Xuanhuang Realm..."
Looking at the Dharma Transmitters before him, who feared his "All Things Are As Me" trait so much that they dared not come in person and sent only phantom projections to communicate, a glint of disappointment crossed Dharma Transmitter Jiang's eyes.
He released a ray of white light. "As for how to exterminate these little bugs, I have already found a method. You need only follow the instructions. As for the disappearance of Chu and Shen... I will make the trip in person."
Dharma Transmitter Jiang's figure vanished from the Guiyuan Realm in an instant, his voice echoing long after.
...
After assisting in the capture of the two Dharma Transmitters, Li Fan made an excuse to temporarily part ways with Zhou's trio.
His true self returned to the Spirit Wood Realm to lie low, leaving only Immortal Puppet Li Fan outside.
The warnings that continually flared in his heart told him that Dharma Transmitter Jiang's arrival was not far off.
Sure enough, merely a day later, Jiang followed the trail of clues and tracked them down.
"It is actually you?"
Seeing that the culprits behind the turmoil in the Xuanhuang Realm were his former companions, even someone with Jiang's mental fortitude could not help but show a trace of astonishment.
"It was merely a scheme born of necessity to force you to appear." Facing Jiang, even the habitually arrogant Huang was far milder in demeanor, while Dharma Transmitter Zhou spoke her mind frankly, without a shred of shame.
Chapter 1070