There were two possibilities for why the Meishen cherry tree had failed to emit the intent-soul fluctuations belonging to the "source" of the illusion.
First, the Meishen cherry tree was not the source of this illusion, contrary to what Tianyan and Xu Yuan had believed.
Second, the Meishen sapling planted in the mountain behind Vault Palace was simply not the genuine article.
Xu Yuan had initially leaned toward the former.
Yet after repeatedly confirming with his intent-soul, his thinking changed.
Because of the floral imprint between his brows, there was likely no one in this illusion more familiar with the aura of a Meishen cherry tree than he was.
That sapling only looked the part; at its core, it was not a Meishen cherry tree at all. While it possessed the effects of bewitching spirits, it lacked its true divine charm.
Who had tampered with it?
Tianrui? Shen Weixiu? No...
With the cultivation levels of those two, it was impossible for them to penetrate so deep into such a forbidden area.
In Xu Yuan's mind surfaced the various formations and restrictions he had passed along the path into the forbidden grounds behind Vault Palace.
So... was there a traitor in the Qionghua Sect?
The Second Elder's faction... did the Second Elder's faction have a soul key capable of entering that kind of forbidden ground? Or had someone within the Sect Master's own faction turned traitor?
Xu Yuan's eyes flickered. He pushed the Huanyang Art within him to its utmost limit, hurtling at top speed toward the residence.
The place where Xu Yuan and Tianyan lived was very far from the Qionghua main peak. Even at full speed, it would take half an hour.
Three-quarters of an hour flashed past in an instant.
The fiery red light of Xu Yuan's flight suddenly hitched, stalling midair.
As far as the eye could see, a silhouette in the distance was slowly rising from among the mountain woods.
Tianrui.
The contemporary Holy Son of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion.
Amid the bleak autumn woods, two silhouettes faced each other across the empty air.
Now that the Meishen cherry tree had been swapped out, no matter which traitor had pulled it off, the only beneficiaries would be Tianrui and Shen Weixiu.
Since they had already secured the Meishen cherry tree, why would Tianrui appear before him now?
The Holy Son of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion looked at Xu Yuan, his voice completely unruffled as it drifted across:
"Stay right there. Don't move."
The moment his words fell, Xu Yuan's sharp senses detected an invisible barrier rising within a radius of several hundred zhang.
"..."
Tianrui was here to intercept him.
And since his current destination was that small residence, the reason the other was blocking him was immediately glaringly obvious.
Tianrui did not want him going to reinforce Tianyan.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan suddenly connected many dots.
Why, under circumstances where the next generation of leaders was on such good terms with Jinghe and Yuchu, would the Qionghua Sect still choose to sacrifice two geniuses with boundless futures as blood offerings?
Because Tang Jiuqing and the others had no choice. Yuchu's constitution was unique with respect to the Meishen cherry tree. Otherwise, after obtaining the Meishen cherry tree, Tianrui and Shen Weixiu would never have chosen to take the risk of capturing Tianyan.
With that thought, Xu Yuan looked across at the Holy Son of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, a trace of amusement creeping into his gaze.
Kidnapping Tianyan...
From the sound of Tianrui's words, his objective seemed merely to stall him. In that case, the one tasked with taking Tianyan should be that white-robed fellow with the squinting eyes.
Well...
Best of luck, squinty-eyed Dao Palace head disciple.
At this thought, Xu Yuan spoke up and asked, "Just staying still is enough?"
Hearing this, Tianrui visibly froze for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
Xu Yuan nodded, and then began slowly backing away.
Given Tianyan's proficiency with the Heaven-Deducing Art, the area covered by the Heaven Character True Words was roughly around a hundred zhang. Tianrui should be somewhat inferior to that.
Seeing Xu Yuan retreat, a faint divine light flickered in the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Holy Son's pale gold eyes. He raised a hand toward him and said in a heavy voice, "Don't move."
Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yuan immediately halted his backward retreat and said clearly, "Very well. Since the Holy Son says so, I shall not move."
"?"
Hearing this, Tianrui, clad in black, felt a deep bewilderment rise in his pale gold eyes. "You won't attack?"
Xu Yuan nodded in all seriousness. "The Holy Son is an honored guest of our Qionghua Sect. Though I am perplexed, this small request is still something I can grant."
"..." Tianrui said nothing.
Was his hostility not obvious enough?
This was already a blatant act of declaring war. Why was this Jinghe acting so calm and collected?
Did he not even stop to wonder why he was being blocked here? Was there something wrong with this Jinghe's head?
Tianrui sensed a trick, but after confirming repeatedly that the other lacked any means of voice transmission, and seeing that Jinghe had not even drawn his sword, he had no intention of continuing to strike for now.
Once Shen Weixiu captured Tianyan and rushed over here, even if this bizarre Jinghe had some trick up his sleeve, he would never be a match for the two of them combined.
The two figures thus stood quietly suspended in midair.
Time ticked by minute by minute. After roughly half an hour of waiting, confusion gradually surfaced in Tianrui's placid, pale gold eyes.
He realized something was wrong.
As someone who had only just broken through to the third rank, why was that Tianyan taking Shen Weixiu this long?
Factoring in the time before Jinghe had arrived, an entire hour had passed.
With that thought, Tianrui turned his gaze sideways toward the man named Jinghe, his tone carrying a note of gravity. "Jinghe, what do you know?"
Xu Yuan looked completely blank. "Know what?"
Pausing, he took the initiative to ask, "Lord Holy Son, may I ask how much longer we need to wait here?"
Tianrui's narrow eyes squinted slightly as he stared at Xu Yuan, spitting out, "At most an hour; at least fifteen minutes."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan nodded, and then suddenly broke into a grin.
Seeing that smile, Tianrui frowned. "What are you laughing at?"
Xu Yuan ignored him, raising a finger to his lips. "Shh—"
Saying so, Xu Yuan pointed behind Tianrui—in the direction of his own residence.
"..."
Tianrui turned his head with a furrowed brow, his pupils shrinking slightly.
On the horizon, amid flashing arcs of lightning, two figures were sprinting wildly toward the two of them.
One was fleeing in front, and one was chasing behind.
The one in front was none other than that Dao Palace head disciple who had slain Senior Brother Li and Bai Fan as though strolling leisurely through a garden. Coils of lightning arcs swirled all about his body.
And the person behind him was a barefoot young woman dressed in pale red palace robes.
The instant they entered the line of sight of the two men, a thunderous voice transmission came roaring from the horizon, stripped clean of its earlier breezy nonchalance:
"Tian—Tianrui! This—this woman isn't right! Quick—hurry and help!!"
"..."
Witnessing this bizarre spectacle, Tianrui's pale gold pupils shrank violently.
And in the very next instant, the Holy Son of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion suddenly sensed Jinghe appearing silently behind him. Without the slightest hesitation, he shouted, "Divine Shield!"
The Heaven Character True Word fell.
A purple-gold film of light instantly manifested around his entire body.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan's brows twitched, surprise flashing in his eyes.
So the "Shield" True Word even had an advanced tier. That woman Tianyan really hid quite a lot of things...
With that thought, his blade swept out.
Blood-Ink Jade: Circular Dance.
A streak of ink slashed through the air as the aura of death instantly eroded every corner around Tianrui.
The jade sword Thousand Thorns, enveloped in blood-colored ink, cleaved straight through the "Divine Shield" True Word around Tianrui like a hot knife through tofu!
Chapter 132