Upon hearing Su Xin's suggestion,He Tian's eyes lit up,and he quickly said,"Alright,let's go to the entrance."
Su Xin glanced at Meng Changhe and said,"Take him with us."
He Tian immediately praised Su Xin,"Leader Su is truly benevolent.Meng Changhe used to be so hostile to you,yet you still saved him at this critical moment."
Although Su Xin wore a smile on his face,he was inwardly sneering.If he didn't need two witnesses to prove Gong Qingfeng's strength,enough to contend with Fang Dongting and Ah Qi,he wouldn't bother saving these two.
Su Xin and He Tian dragged Meng Changhe to the entrance.After sitting down for a while,they saw a figure slowly emerging from the mist.
Both of them tensed up,but when the figure approached,they realized it was Xie Zhiyan.
"You're still alive?"Su Xin and Xie Zhiyan asked simultaneously.
Su Xin explained,"Fang Dongting and his follower Ah Qi perished along with Gong Qingfeng.I barely escaped with my life."
Xie Zhiyan's eyes showed a hint of doubt.Knowing Fang Dongting well,he didn't seem like someone who would fight to the death.However,she didn't ask further,only stating,"Jiang Ling has also been killed by me."
Su Xin nodded,not pressing for details on how she killed Jiang Ling.
Everyone fell into silence.After an hour passed,the sealed door automatically opened.
Su Xin looked at the five keys on the door and said,"You can keep these keys."
Xie Zhiyan nodded without refusing and put away the five keys.
Now,there was no one left in Constant Peace Mansion to contend for the treasure.This time,only her Yi Sword Sect had truly gained something.
When they exited,Huang Bingcheng and Li Huai were waiting above.Seeing only Su Xin and the others coming out,Huang Bingcheng was puzzled.He wanted to ask something,but Su Xin gestured to stop him.
They first sent the heavily injured He Tian and Meng Changhe back to their respective factions.Su Xin and Xie Zhiyan hurried back to the entrance.
To make things look more realistic,Su Xin stabbed himself with a sword,and Xie Zhiyan,exhausted from using the Supreme Ninth Calamity Sword,also drained her energy and suffered some internal injuries.
Back at the entrance,Su Xin quickly had Huang Bingcheng bring some qi-replenishing and healing pills.After taking the pills and resting for half an hour,their conditions improved.
Holding back his curiosity until now,Huang Bingcheng couldn't help asking,"Boss,what's going on?What about the others?"
Su Xin exhaled and recounted the events inside the palace,leaving Huang Bingcheng astonished.
Gong Qingfeng,the leader of Constant Peace Mansion for over thirty years,turned out to be the remnant of the former Three Lakes Martial Alliance Master,the Lion King Du Yuansheng.Such hidden secrets were truly shocking.
But then Huang Bingcheng excitedly suggested,"Boss,with Gong Qingfeng dead,won't the territory of the Wind God Sect be ownerless?Why don't we just take over their territory?"
Su Xin sighed inwardly.Now was not the time to think about annexing territories.Without dealing with the disciples of the Qingcheng Sword Sect,he might be stuck in Constant Peace Mansion forever.
Just as Huang Bingcheng was about to say something,a commotion came from outside the hall.A group of people barged in,scattering those who tried to stop them.Huang Bingcheng and Li Huai's expressions changed.
Su Xin sternly warned,"These people are not something you can handle.Don't act recklessly!"
Huang Bingcheng and Li Huai clenched their teeth.
Previously,they were prominent figures in Constant Peace Mansion,but now,since these disciples of major sects arrived,anyone could freely reprimand them.
There were five intruders.One of them was Fang Dongting's previous follower,and the other four were young men around thirty years old.Surprisingly,all four were martial artists in the Innate Realm.
Su Xin muttered to himself,"They came so quickly."
From the moment they entered the palace until now,it had been less than two hours,yet these people had already arrived.
Fang Dongting's follower spoke to one of the young men,"Senior Brother Hou Ming,the young master entered with them,but now none of them have come out!"
Hou Ming glared at Su Xin and shouted,"Speak!Where is my junior brother?Why are only you people coming out?If you dare lie,believe it or not,I'll slaughter Constant Peace Mansion!"
Su Xin sneered inwardly.Such audacity to talk about slaughtering a whole city just because.But before Su Xin could respond,Xie Zhiyan coldly spoke,"Senior Brother Hou is quite imposing.We're not babysitters for Fang Dongting.Whether he lives or dies,do we need to take responsibility?"
Hou Ming hadn't paid much attention to the people at the entrance before,as he was worried about Fang Dongting.Now,upon hearing Xie Zhiyan,he finally noticed that Xie Zhiyan,the'Heavenly Maiden'of the Yi Sword Sect,was also present.
Hou Ming thought to himself,this is bad.Involving the Yi Sword Sect meant he couldn't act as arbitrarily as before.
Being two of the Five Sword Sects,the strength of the Yi Sword Sect was not inferior to that of the Qingcheng Sword Sect.If friction were to arise between the two major sects due to their attitude,he couldn't afford the consequences.Hence,Hou Ming immediately restrained his arrogant demeanor and smiled,"So,it's Senior Sister Xie from the Yi Sword Sect.I didn't mean that at all.I'm just concerned about Junior Brother Fang's safety.I heard that many people entered the palace initially.How come only four of you came out now?"
The last sentence was directed at Su Xin,as Hou Ming didn't expect Xie Zhiyan to answer him.
Su Xin cooperated well and roughly explained the situation inside the palace based on his fabricated story.
Upon hearing the news of Fang Dongting's death,Hou Ming felt a chill,and the faces of the other three Qingcheng Sword Sect disciples turned ugly.Fang Dongting was no ordinary figure;he was the only son of Qingcheng Sword Sect Elder'Blue Void Sword'Fang Rui.Hou Ming and the others were disciples of Fang Rui.
Now,with the only son of their master dead in Xiangnan,they could imagine how furious Fang Rui would be,and they might get implicated.Therefore,they needed to find the murderer and give an explanation to Fang Rui.Moreover,as one of the Five Sword Sects,if a core disciple died without a clear reason,it would become a laughingstock for other sects.
The problem now was that,according to Su Xin,Gong Qingfeng,who killed Fang Dongting,was already dead.Bringing back a dead person might not satisfy their master.
Thinking of this,Hou Ming looked at Su Xin and coldly said,"You said that besides Junior Brother and Ah Qi,there were also three leaders of Constant Peace Mansion who fought with Gong Qingfeng.Where are the other two people?"
Su Xin's testimony was naturally not believed by Hou Ming;he had to check for himself.
"The other two gang leaders were seriously injured and have already returned to heal,"Su Xin answered honestly.
Hou Ming waved his hand,"Let your people lead the way and bring them here."
Su Xin immediately had his people take two Qingcheng Sword Sect disciples,He Tian and Meng Changhe,to Constant Peace Mansion.
These two gang leaders were also unlucky.They had just returned to their factions to recover from their injuries and were now brought back to Jin Yue Square by Qingcheng Sword Sect disciples.
When everyone was there,Hou Ming said coldly,"Tell us the details of what you experienced.Don't leave out any details.By the way,question them separately."
Hou Ming was smart enough to know that questioning them separately would add pressure and prevent them from colluding.Unfortunately,this tactic was destined to be useless.
He Tian and Meng Changhe knew very little,only continuously describing Gong Qingfeng's strength in vague terms.Their abilities and perspectives were limited,and all they could see were these basic things.The rest of the details were provided by Su Xin,who had carefully prepared the fabricated story in advance.Every detail was clear,making it impossible to find any faults.
However,Hou Ming still felt something was off.He dismissed He Tian and Meng Changhe,leaving Su Xin for a separate questioning."The person who fought with Gong Qingfeng back then,besides Junior Brother and Ah Qi,was it the three leaders of Constant Peace Mansion?Where are the bodies of my Junior Brother and Ah Qi?"
"In the palace,"Su Xin replied.
Hou Ming frowned,"Why didn't you bring my Junior Brother's body out?"
Su Xin sighed,"Back then,we were all afraid of being chased by Jiang Ling.How could we care about anything else?"
Hou Ming thought for a moment,and what Su Xin said made sense.He directly said,"Fine,take us to the palace to see and bring my Junior Brother's body out as well."
Su Xin said,"The key to open the palace is with Miss Xie."
Hou Ming frowned again.They could only obediently ask Xie Zhiyan to open the palace gate.As for forcibly seizing the key,even if they were stronger now than Xie Zhiyan,they dared not do it.In the current situation,where the key had no owner,everyone could compete for it.However,now that the key was in Xie Zhiyan's hands,it belonged to the Yi Sword Sect.If Hou Ming and the others tried to forcefully snatch it,they would be challenging the Yi Sword Sect and violating the unspoken rules between major sects.Unless the relationship between the two sects had deteriorated to the point of irreconcilability,they would not dare to do something so ruthless.
Xie Zhiyan did not make things difficult for Hou Ming.She opened the palace gate generously,allowing Hou Ming and his group to enter.
Following Su Xin's guidance,Hou Ming and the others quickly found the bodies of Fang Dongting's group.Gong Qingfeng,Ah Qi,and Fang Dongting,all three were holding long swords,as if frozen in the midst of a mutual attack.The ground was already covered in a large pool of blood.
Hou Ming furrowed his brows,"Stop standing there,everyone go and check,see if there's anything unusual about the bodies."
These people were all core disciples of the Qingcheng Sword Sect,from prestigious families before joining the sect.Despite their reluctance,they knew the importance of the situation and patiently checked the three corpses for any abnormalities.
