Immortal Road.

Master Liang was able to detect clues in certain aspects and immediately realized that there was something fishy about the cause of the incident.

Elder Huimiao's face turned pale.

She quickly made a pretext, saying that she was only investigating the mysterious person who rescued the people of Xiongshan, and unexpectedly encountered the Taixuan Holy Land's ambush on Xun Gu Sect, so she hid to the side and watched.

But not only did Master Liang not believe this, neither did Huiming or anyone else!

The Tai Xuan Holy Land had already sent an envoy, who was right there in the hall, directly questioning the Gui Gu Holy Land.

"Elder Huimiao of your Holy Land secretly sent a message, requesting our Xuanji Peak Master to lead people to cooperate in besieging and killing the Xun Gu Sect's inspection delegation. We did this because we considered you allies, but you have turned your backs on us after we've served our purpose! I would like to ask, what exactly is your purpose in taking such a ruthless action against your allies?"

"Brother, please calm down. This must be a misunderstanding."

The people from Guigu Holy Land all spoke up to persuade the Taixuan Holy Land envoy to calm down first.

Then she gave Elder Huimiao a look, signaling her to step forward and clarify the situation.

What could Elder Huimiao possibly say?

She was the one who started this whole thing. Logically speaking, the Tai Xuan Holy Land could easily wipe out a mere inspection team from the Xun Gu Sect by sending a few people. There wouldn't have been any surprises at all!

Afterwards, they could shift the blame to the Confucian Holy Land or the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect, making everyone happy without any effort. The Seeking Ancient Sect on the upper two levels could only be powerless and furious upon learning the news, with no way to do anything about it.

You're not satisfied? If you dare to continue sending people down to monitor our Ghost Valley Holy Land, I'll have someone else kill you!

This was clearly a brilliant move. If the entire Ghost Valley Holy Land knew this, they would all have given it their full support. Who would want to watch the Xun Gu Sect ride roughshod over them?
The problem was that a mysterious person suddenly appeared, ruined her entire plan, and utterly defeated the invading Tai Xuan Holy Land, instead pinning the blame on the Gui Gu Holy Land!
Now, things have backfired. The Search for Ancient Sect is no longer important; it has been sidelined and removed from the picture. Meanwhile, a rift has formed between Guigu and Taixuan.

This series of events happened so unexpectedly that even she found it unbelievable.

"With the fall of our Xuanji Peak Master, do you, the members of the Ghost Valley Holy Land, intend to provide an explanation?"

Faced with the relentless questioning of the Tai Xuan envoy, the Guigu people were unable to answer.

The Liang lineage leader looked at Elder Huimiao, his eyes filled with utter disappointment, and he sighed, instantly aging a lot.

"Junior sister, now that the Haoran Holy Land and the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect are allied, our Guigu Holy Land cannot do without the Taixuan Holy Land. What you are doing is ruining the great situation that we have worked so hard to create in the early stages!"

He secretly transmitted his voice:
“One peak of the Tai Xuan Holy Land has died. I must give an explanation. Do I need to teach you what to do?”

Elder Huimiao was taken aback, her heart sank, and she couldn't help but take a step back.

"Senior brother, are you planning to sacrifice me?"

"What promises did you make to me when you begged me to let you stay? And what are you doing now? Now that you've made such a mess, you're on your own to deal with the rest."

Upon hearing her senior brother's cold words, Huimiao immediately understood.

Sometimes, those in positions of power have to be cold and ruthless in order to maintain the overall situation!

Only through sacrifice and compromise can great things be accomplished.

Since Elder Huimiao was the one who started this whole thing, the Ghost Valley Holy Land should pretend they know nothing and let her take all the blame to minimize the losses.

She took a deep breath, knowing that things had come to this point, and if she didn't want to drag her sect down with her, she had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill.

"To be honest, the person who killed the peak master of Xuanji Peak was not from our Ghost Valley Holy Land, and I didn't even know him! Among all these late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators present, not one of them is a master of insect control!"

"The message that Tai Xuan Holy Land received was sent by me. My original intention was simply to suspect that there was a lone wolf among the Xun Gu Sect's supervisory delegation who was detached from the four holy lands."

“This person clashed with Qianbu a while ago and kidnapped the people of Xiongshan in front of him, so my senior brother ordered me to go and investigate.”

"As you all know, our Holy Land just had a misunderstanding with the Xun Gu Sect. Now they're coming to threaten us, and we're afraid they'll make a big deal out of it. That's why we begged the Tai Xuan Holy Land to take action. Who knew such a big blunder would happen!"

"In my opinion, that mysterious person is hiding within the Xun Gu Sect's supervisory delegation. The person who kidnapped the Xiong Shan monk and murdered the Xuanji Peak Master is exactly the same person!"

"He might have some connection with the Ancient Seeking Cult."

Although Elder Huimiao was petty, she still had the ability to react quickly and could make up lies very convincingly.

I actually guessed them all right by accident!
Unfortunately, the envoy from the Tai Xuan Holy Land did not believe it at all.

"Hmph, you still want to argue even now. First of all, it's unreasonable for you to ask us to go and suppress the Xun Gu Sect. It wasn't for investigation at all."

"Furthermore, since you knew that the Ancient Seeking Sect had a peerless expert hidden within, why didn't you tell us the truth beforehand when you invited us to help, and instead caused the death of one of our peak masters?!"

"In my opinion, either they are harboring malicious intentions, or they are using someone else to do their dirty work."

"If you don't give us an explanation today, don't blame me for siding with the Confucian school!"

Everyone at the Ghost Valley Holy Land was speechless, and Elder Huimiao was also unable to utter a word.

The envoy was clearly eloquent, his words hitting the nail on the head, killing her sophistry.

Left with no other choice, Elder Huimiao had to admit her mistake, claiming that she had acted out of selfishness. She said that she had fallen out with the Xun Gu Sect and wanted to use the Tai Xuan Holy Land to teach the inspection team a lesson.

She took all the blame upon herself and distanced herself from the Ghost Valley Holy Land, but the Tai Xuan Envoy didn't buy it at all!

If you confess your guilt but cannot repay it with your life, then our Peak Master died in vain.

After much haggling, the Ghost Valley Holy Land was forced to relinquish a large amount of profits and agree to many subsequent terms regarding cooperation with the Spirit Tide, barely managing to calm the matter down.

The annihilation of an entire force will inevitably result in a huge financial loss. Tai Xuan's side must be in a state of great agitation right now. The fact that they were able to negotiate with the Ghost Valley Holy Land under such immense pressure shows that they are still able to maintain their rationality.

After the Tai Xuan envoy left, return to report.

Master Liang glanced at Elder Huimiao:
"Junior sister, you should go back. It's better to reflect on your mistakes than to be seen as a thorn in the side by Tai Xuan and Xun Gu Sect. It seems that this spiritual tide is not for you. Consider it a lesson learned."

Elder Huimiao hung her head, knowing that she couldn't evade the situation this time no matter what.

The senior brother didn't want her to stay here any longer. In the end, she almost destroyed two allies of the Ghost Valley Holy Land. Such a serious mistake could not go unpunished.

Allowing her to continue living a carefree life would actually be detrimental to the prestige of the Liang clan leader.

"Senior brother, junior brother, take care."

Elder Huimiao voluntarily resigned and walked out of the Ghost Valley camp in a daze.

She felt extremely depressed and resentful as she recalled her actions in Lingchao.

She hated the Ancient Seeking Sect the most, and she would never forget the day she was humiliated in the Dark River Layer. The face of the Ancient Seeking Sect Leader was like a layer of blue glaze, flashing in her mind.

"I'll give them a piece of my mind once I get out of here."

She knew that she had a smooth life, but she had fallen into a big pit here with the Xun Gu Sect. If she wanted to achieve enlightenment, she had to take revenge. If she couldn't do as she pleased, what was the point of cultivating immortality?

Lei Bo couldn't touch the Ancient Sect underwater, but once he was out, he could do whatever he wanted, and nobody could stop him. He could just uproot the entire Lu Kingdom! Who knew he was the one who did it!
She retraced her steps along the lava sea, thinking that she should not stop at all when passing the Jade Shattered Cold Pool and the Dark River Layer, and try to avoid meeting the Ancient Seeking Cult Leader. She should just get out of there first.

As she was lost in thought, she suddenly found herself in complete silence. Even the lava sea below had become calm and still, no longer bubbling.

When she came to her senses, she suddenly woke up with a start, feeling a chill run down her spine and her temples throbbing!
"not good!!!"

Just as he was about to react, a rotating array appeared above his head, encompassing an area of ​​a hundred feet in radius and sealing off any external aura.

This temporary formation is easily broken and has no effect on late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. It's only there to block information and buy some time!
A sharp slash pierced through the sea of ​​consciousness at the level of divine sense, and in the blink of an eye, it entered the mind. Elder Huimiao had no idea that it was a divine sense attack inside, and was caught off guard, screaming in pain.

"Ahhhhh~"

Although the cry was sharp, it was blocked by the outer array and did not carry out at all.

In response, three arrows flew in quick succession from the shadows, striking her heavily in the chest while she was unable to resist!
Bang!
Elder Huimiao's body exploded like a bubble, disintegrating into countless pieces of flesh and blood. Then, black and white light flashed, and the power of annihilation was unleashed, turning into nothingness before falling into the sea of ​​lava.

And its nascent soul had no chance to escape at all, and died in the womb!
The storage bag flew into the sky with a 'whoosh' and was dragged away by a transparent unicorn gu worm along with the array plate.

The killer never showed up; he simply vanished without a trace.

As the geothermal winds gradually circulated, this sea of ​​magma slowly regained its former vitality, becoming scorching and boiling again.

As if nothing happened.

half a month later.

The Tai Xuan Holy Land is engaged in battles on all sides, fighting fiercely with the Confucian Holy Land, while its various strongholds inside are being repeatedly destroyed.

Without exception, the perpetrators used a massive, dense army of insects that, in one sweep, devoured everything, leaving not a trace.

This forced Taixuan's top management to mobilize troops from all over the place to put out the fire, but when they wanted to investigate the murderer carefully, they couldn't find the person at all.

The direct impact of this incident is that the alliance between Tai Xuan and Gui Gu has become even more strained!
The passing of Elder Huimiao has sparked great speculation.

The Ghost Valley Holy Land learned from the cultivators stationed at the entrance of the Jade Shattered Cold Pool that Hui Miao never passed through there and returned. This means that Hui Miao did not die in the upper two layers, but was intercepted and killed before she even left the mantle layer magma sea!
Everyone's first guess was the Tai Xuan Holy Land!

Because the peak master of Xuanji Peak was framed, he harbored a desire for revenge, so he poisoned Elder Huimiao just as she was about to leave.

The Guigu Holy Land also sent envoys to question them, but they couldn't find any evidence at all, and the two sides kept arguing.

While the Tai Xuan Holy Land vehemently denied it, they were secretly delighted. They had indeed hoped that Hui Miao would die soon, and their wish had come true.

However, the subsequent attacks in various places made them suspect that the Ghost Valley Holy Land might have sent people to retaliate against Tai Xuan for Hui Miao's death.

As tensions escalated between the two sides and the alliance teetered on the brink of collapse, some insightful individuals, instead of being blinded by their own biases, sensed a sinister undercurrent of conspiracy.

Hui Miao's death is suspicious. Who would kill her for no reason?
Based on the principle that whoever benefits afterward is the murderer, a considerable number of people believe that the mastermind behind it all is actually the Confucian Holy Land!
They devised this divisive tactic to break up the two alliances, urging both sides to exercise restraint and remain calm. They argued that the blame for the deaths of Peak Master Xuanji and Elder Huimiao should be placed on the Haoran Holy Land and the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect.

However, no one had considered linking this matter to the Seeking Ancient Cult.
Deep in the earth's veins.

As usual, Master Xiongshan was drilling the foundation with his magic drill. These days he had been working in silence. In the dark mine, the only sounds were the shouts of his disciples sweating profusely.

Recently, due to the successive losses in other places, the higher-ups were forced to send troops out to provide relief, which slowed down the progress slightly. With fewer people here and the reduced monitoring, he no longer needs to pretend to be so hard.

Someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder from behind, startling him so much that he almost reacted instinctively and retaliated!

Shh, it's me.

Looking back, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Brother Jiemie, where have you been all this time? I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

"Let's not talk about that. How's the construction of the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder going? I see it's already three hundred miles deep. What's the Tai Xuan Holy Land saying about it?"

Upon hearing Lin Shan's question, he couldn't help but sigh.

"The deeper we went, the more difficult it became to excavate. This vein of earth is not straight, but meanders underground, and we took many detours. Moreover, because the distance increased, it was difficult to keep up with the construction of subsequent ladders."

“Look, we’ve already dug three hundred li deep in front, but we’ve only paved one hundred and eighty li in the back.”

"This Tai Xuan Holy Land is really useless; they don't even have enough materials to build a ladder!"

Lin Shan recalled what he had seen along the way when he first infiltrated the area: ladders stretched out from bottom to top, and indeed stopped at 180 li.

So it was because there weren't enough materials?

How could such a sacred place have such a huge blunder?

What are the materials used in the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder?

"Needless to mention the miscellaneous items, the main materials are Anti-Gravity Stone and Fifth-Order Demon Vine!"

Even the Venerable Xiongshan couldn't help but marvel at the scale of the project.

In the first two levels, each holy land is merely vying for supremacy; in the third level, they will need to utilize their own resources and strength.

The antigravity stone was built to counteract the immense pressure deep within the Earth's mantle, serving as the stepping stone for each level of the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder.

The fifth-tier demon vine is made for its toughness, so that it can be used to make hanging ropes that are hundreds or even thousands of miles long!

The rope of this ladder is so long under heavy pressure that ordinary materials simply cannot withstand it.

"The Tai Xuan Holy Land uses two types of anti-gravity stones: Abyss Pine Stone and Qirong Gold Iron, both of which have now been used up."

"The fifth-tier demonic vine is a putrid blood vine, and it can probably still last for several hundred miles."

"It is said that they are now rushing to the rear to urge the Holy Land to expedite the mining and transportation of the remaining antigravity stones!"

Lin Shan then realized how difficult it was for the various holy lands to build the Yin-Yang Mystic Ladder. This was the difference in their foundation!

If it were the Xun Gu Sect, they wouldn't even be able to dream of it.

"Corrosive Blood Vine? Can this stuff be used to make ladders? Are you sure your hands won't rot while climbing the ladder?"

"I don't know. I guess Tai Xuan Holy Land did some anti-corrosion treatment. This kind of demon vine is cold-resistant, fire-resistant, and heat-resistant. Its toughness is really something else."

As the man from Xiongshan was talking, he suddenly looked up and glanced around. When he realized that no one was paying attention to him, he suddenly spread his hands, revealing a handful of colorful pebbles.

"Let me tell you, I've found a lot of good stuff in the earth's veins these past few days. Some of them greatly increase cultivation, some can boost the soul, and some directly add strength. Take a look!"

(End of this chapter)