Wu Yan straightened her back, flexed her hands, and her gaze landed on Lin Xiao, who was still chatting not far away.
“It’s not as comfortable as you think.”
Wu Yan followed her gaze.
“Oh, what’s wrong? Is there something strange about that kid?”
She asked knowingly.
Although she had watched the entire show, she still had to play dumb where necessary.
Wu Yan’s gaze shifted from Lin Xiao and looked around.
“He should be dead.”
Yu Qingyao, Bai Zhiqiu, Li Qingzhou, Lei Wei, Lin Xiao…
The ones who should have died and those who shouldn’t—right now, they were all on the Martial Arts Arena, lively and active.
Illusionary realm.
Wu Yan subconsciously realized.
And from the level of realism and the current situation, the person who set up the illusionary realm was highly skilled.
After all, if she were Lin Xiao, she would have fled immediately after leaving the illusionary realm, not stand around chatting.
Wu Yan wasn’t in a hurry to expose Lin Xiao. Since it was an illusionary realm, its owner would naturally use a surprise tactic to catch all these spies in one net.
“Do you know about the Ouroboros?”
Suddenly, Wu Yan asked Yan.
“Ha?”
Yan tilted her head.
“Ouroboros? What’s that?”
Of course she had seen the Ouroboros, but that was in the illusionary realm, when she first saw it on Lin Xiao from Wu Yan’s perspective.
“Nothing.”
At this moment, Yu Qingyao also came to Wu Yan’s side.
“Senior Sister, you’re finally awake.”
“Mm. Qingyao, did something happen?”
From her tone, had Qingyao also lost her memory of the illusionary realm? Yu Qingyao’s eyes were filled with undisguised concern, warming Wu Yan’s heart.
“Nothing much. It’s just that everyone seems a bit dazed after waking up. I don’t know either.”
“By the way, Senior Sister, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Yu Qingyao shook her head.
“I’m fine. Where did Master go?”
“Silence!”
An authoritative low shout came from the highest point.
The previously bustling Martial Arts Arena instantly fell silent.
The Sect Leader of the Supreme Clarity Sect slowly descended from the high platform.
“You’ve all worked hard!”
His voice was so calm that Lin Xiao inexplicably felt goosebumps on his back.
‘What is this feeling? Why do I always feel that old man is secretly staring at me?’
“This Five Sects Grand Competition has now come to a successful conclusion. Together with the heads of the other four great sects, I will present each of you with five thousand high-grade spirit stones and a bottle of supreme recovery pills as a reward for participating.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted again.
Especially those cultivators eliminated in the first round—they had thought they were just making up the numbers, but unexpectedly, they received such generous rewards at the end.
“What a huge profit!”
“Great! I never thought the money I lost would come back doubled in my storage ring like this. Grateful to the Sect Leader! I’ll never bet again!”
But then, his tone shifted, carrying a thick murderous intent.
“However, some people are not qualified for this.”
Several figures in black Dharma robes and ferocious ghost masks appeared out of thin air on the martial arts stage. One of them landed beside Lin Xiao, that ghost mask suddenly entering his vision. Each of these black figures actually had the terrifying cultivation of the late Soul Transformation stage.
The mask was based on dark black, with red-gold patterns on the forehead, wide-open angry eyes, a large red nose arched high, and a wide mouth stretched to the ears. The two outermost teeth on the upper jaw protruded outward, while the two large teeth on the lower jaw turned inward.
This ghost mask had an eerie aura that made the hidden demonic energy within Lin Xiao’s body stop flowing.
“Seize them!”
Lin Xiao, stunned in place, was immediately subdued to the ground by them, without even time to resist.
“What are you doing? Why are you arresting me!”
Not far away, Lei Wei reacted even more violently, struggling fiercely the moment he was subdued by the black-clothed men.
Besides the two of them, a few scattered people from other sects were also caught.
In total, six people were captured and brought before the Sect Leader of the Supreme Clarity Sect.
“What is this? What crime have we committed?”
Even at this point, Lin Xiao still refused to give up.
“Oh, you still want to pretend?”
A cold voice came from behind the Sect Leader of the Supreme Clarity Sect, and then four figures came to the front from behind him.
After clearly seeing the appearances of the two men and two women, the last trace of luck in Lin Xiao’s heart finally vanished.
But this didn’t mean he had no means of resistance.
Just like that Lord often said to them.
Although you can’t act anymore, at least you still have your lives.
Lin Xiao and the others hardened their hearts and were about to detonate the demonic energy in their bodies to self-destruct.
Suddenly, a fierce sword chi struck, severing all their meridians and completely thwarting their intention to self-destruct.
“You demonic cultivators all think alike—either self-destruct or suicide after being caught.”
The Palace Lord of Crescent Moon Palace sighed, casually flicked her fingers, and the few lost control of their bodies.
Below the stage, Su Qianqian still looked confused, clearly not understanding the situation.
“? How come Senior Brother Lin was suddenly arrested?”
Zhao Wuji, however, seemed thoughtful. For the heads of the five great sects to collectively come forward and arrest someone, it was certainly no small matter.
Gu Jian also scratched his head in bewilderment.
“I don’t know either.”
Lin Xiao’s identity was now obvious.
“He’s a Demon Sect spy.”
A familiar voice came from behind the crowd. Wu Yan turned and saw that it was Xia Lingshuang returning.
“Senior Brother Lin is a Demon Sect spy?!”
Su Qianqian expressed shock.
“No wonder I got goosebumps all over when I saw Senior Brother Lin, and even my neck started hurting inexplicably.”
Actually, it was because your neck was broken by him in the illusionary realm.
Wu Yan could only silently keep some words in her heart.
“By the way, where is Elder Sun?”
Gu Jian counted the people around him, and only Elder Sun was missing.
“It was he who discovered the first Demon Sect spy infiltrating the Five Sects Grand Competition and notified me. Now he is handling the subsequent matters.”
“That old geezer can also find a mole? He really got lucky.”
Yan clearly had a big grudge against Elder Sun.
But this also reasonably explained why he didn’t appear in the illusionary realm.
“Now all of you go back to the spirit boat to rest. After Elder Sun and I finish handling the follow-up handover, we will return home.”
Thus, after a brief exchange, everyone returned to the spirit boat belonging to the Piaomiao Sect.
—
As soon as she returned to her own room, Yu Qingyao closed the door.
Gray-white currents swirled around her body, her powerful spirit soul energy restless and uneasy.
That’s right, Yu Qingyao still remembered the events in the illusionary realm. The existence of the Soul Governance Art allowed her to resist the Palace Lord of Crescent Moon Palace’s memory erasure technique without being detected.
In the previous life, these things clearly didn’t happen. Was it a chain reaction?
Yu Qingyao restlessly flipped through the diary on the desk, her mind racing.
There were only two possibilities.
The first possibility was that this demon snake was originally unrelated to Senior Sister. She had been presumptuous, leading her to believe it would only appear after Senior Sister fell into demonic possession.
As for the second possibility… Yu Qingyao couldn’t help but recall when she and Wu Yan stood together on the spirit boat in the Piaomiao Sect—the red shadow that flashed behind Wu Yan.
Senior Sister…
“Speak, who is your mastermind? Where are they hiding?”
In the dim dungeon, Elder Sun, clad in black robes, held a long whip and repeatedly lashed Lin Xiao’s body.
Every swing of the long whip tore open Lin Xiao’s bronze body, flaying his flesh and soul together.
“I was proud that you made it into the top thirteen, but I never expected you to be a Demon Sect spy!”
Blood spilled from his mouth.
“If you really want to know, why not just search my soul? Oh right, I forgot—you people don’t have that ability! Hahaha!”
“Still talking tough!”
Elder Sun, seeing his stubbornness, took a bottle of unknown liquid from his sleeve, poured it all over the whip, and then lashed out.
This strike was exceptionally fierce, leaving a horrible wound across Lin Xiao’s chest. At the same time, a sensation like ants gnawing came from the wound, making him grimace.
“Enough!”
Just as Elder Sun was about to continue, the ghost-faced guard squad in black robes appeared behind him and grabbed his wrist.
“From now on, we are fully taking over here. You can go back.”
At midnight, in an unknown corner.
A figure crouched by the window, holding a communication jade tablet in their right hand.
“Mm. Those people have all been exposed.”
“Of course they were caught—after all, the plan was so perfect.”
“Yes, I’ve already set up a backup plan, guaranteed to be foolproof.”
“Alright, I’ll be careful.”
With those words, he put down the jade tablet and placed it on the table.
The bright moonlight streamed in through the window, shining on the back of his hand.
An Ouroboros happened to be there.
“All for Greater Darkness.”
Although the crisis in the Five Sects Grand Competition had come to an end, a greater shadow quietly surfaced.