Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 109 Questioning the Heart
On the bed, Shen Wen'an slowly opened his eyes, and after a brief moment of confusion, he sat up.

At this moment, he still gave off the same indifferent feeling as usual, but he was not as strange as before.

"Wen'an".

Shen Yuan called out with a smile.

"Father."

"Big brother, second brother."

Looking at his family in front of him, Shen Wen'an forced a smile.

"Junior Brother Wen'an."

"Junior Brother Shen."

Li Heshan and Pei Yuwan also came over with smiles.

Shen Wen'an simply nodded slightly in greeting to them.

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Heshan finally spoke seriously: "Now that Junior Brother Shen has woken up, about that matter..."

The fact that he killed his fellow disciples in front of the mountain gate is something that still needs to be addressed.

Fortunately, Ji Yan is here now, and he has witnessed firsthand that Shen Wen'an's mind was previously affected by the remnant soul of an unknown powerful being.

The swordsman's fragmented sword spirit had dissipated, so all the blame could be placed on him.

In that case, as long as Shen Wen'an has no intention of defecting and returns to the sect, with the help of his master Pei Zhao and Elder Ji, the punishment should not be too severe.

Pei Yuwan hesitated for a moment, then looked at Shen Wen'an and asked, "Do you still remember killing Liu Hong at the mountain gate?"

In her view, Shen Wen'an's ruthless actions were definitely influenced by the incomplete sword spirit of the sword wielder.

However, Shen Wen'an simply nodded.

"He asked for it."

Upon hearing this, both Li Heshan and Pei Yuwan frowned.

Li Heshan asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Shen Wen'an said calmly, "That day, when I was about to leave the mountain gate to go home, Liu Hong and the others deliberately made things difficult for me, asking me for the academy master's written order."

"I didn't want to get involved, but these people wanted to discipline me on behalf of my master, so they made the first move..."

"See! I told you Liu Hong provoked us first!"

"When did such a rule come into effect for disciples of Qiyun Valley to leave the mountain?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuwan immediately retorted angrily, "What right does a mere disciple have to discipline his own disciple on behalf of Father?!"

"Ahem! Junior Sister." Li Heshan coughed lightly and said, "Even so, fellow disciples shouldn't resort to killing each other."

"This matter will be reported to the discipline disciples, and they will be punished accordingly."

Shen Wen'an frowned slightly: "He had murderous intent, so why can't I kill him?"

Did Liu Hong harbor murderous intent?
Li Heshan turned around and glanced at Ji Yan.

Ji Yan was also somewhat surprised, and after a moment of contemplation, he said:

“Little fellow, my Qiyun Valley is proficient in formations, and there is a Heart-Questioning Formation within the mountain gate.”

"If there is even the slightest falsehood in these words, you should think carefully about the consequences."

“Junior Brother Wen’an wouldn’t lie!” Pei Yuwan immediately replied firmly as soon as Ji Yan finished speaking.

Seeing her like this, Ji Yan chuckled and said, "In that case, you two should take him back."

"Who is right and who is wrong can be found out by taking a trip through the Array of Questions."

"We can't take Junior Brother Wen'an back!" Pei Yuwan hurriedly reached out to stop him and pleaded, "That Liu Hong is a disciple of Yashan Academy. Elder Ji should know what kind of person Senior Uncle Yao of Yashan Academy is."

"If Junior Brother Wen'an goes back, she will definitely not let this go!"

Ji Yan pondered for a moment and then sighed.

"Yao Lin is indeed like that..."

"But if this little guy doesn't go back, how can we verify this matter?"

"If word gets out, what will become of the reputation of Qiyun Valley?"

Pei Yuwan thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "Simple!"

"Several disciples from the Cliff Mountain Academy were with Liu Hong that day; they must know the truth!"

"Let them go through the Heart-Questioning Formation, then we'll know whether Junior Brother Wen'an is telling the truth or not."

Ji Yan shook his head helplessly.

“He Shan, you are the leader of your sect. I don’t want to get involved in this matter. You can discuss it yourselves.”

"The situation in the mountains has reached a critical juncture, and I must return."

Ji Yan was only focused on studying the art of formations and didn't care much about sect affairs.

With Li Heshan as the eldest disciple of Qiyun Valley and a candidate for future sect leader, Ji Yan had even less reason to worry about this matter.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, Patriarch Shen, I take my leave."

Ji Yan cupped his hands in greeting to Lu Zhiyuan and Shen Yuan, then walked outside.

Shen Yuan escorted him to the door.

When they returned, Li Heshan and Pei Yuwan had already discussed their countermeasures.

"Senior Brother, let's do it this way!"

"If there's really no other way, then we'll consider letting Junior Brother Wen'an go back."

Li Heshan pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“Alright, you keep an eye on He County for now, I’ll rush back to my sect to discuss it with my master.”

As a candidate for the next sect leader of Qiyun Valley, Li Heshan is also very dissatisfied with the current state of Qiyun Valley.

Clinging to outdated ideas and sticking to old ways, many elders within the sect still maintain an air of superiority due to their past glory and honor.

If this continues, Qiyun Valley will only decline further.

Ultimately, the sect collapsed and its disciples scattered, becoming pitiful creatures kept by other immortal sects.

He also hoped that he could protect Shen Wen'an this time, so that the sect would have a powerful protector after he took over in the future.

After they reached an agreement, they both left.

Only the father and his three sons remained in the room.

"Wen'an, are you feeling any discomfort?" Shen Yuan asked in a deep voice.

He was still somewhat worried that the so-called swordsman's fragmented sword spirit had not completely dissipated and was hiding in his son's body for some other purpose.

Shen Wen'an carefully sensed it and shook his head slightly: "I feel like I'm about to break through."

Shen Yuan nodded slightly: "Then you should rest well. It's not too late to start cultivating again after you've recovered."

After saying this, the father and his two sons left the room.

……

Danzhou, Qiyun Valley.

After Li Heshan returned, he immediately went to Yinyun Courtyard to find Pei Zhao.

Pei Zhao looked rather haggard at this moment, but upon seeing Li Heshan, he regained some of his energy and spirit.

"How is Heshan?"

"Is that traitor in Yangnao Land?" Li Heshan cupped his hands slightly and replied, "Uncle Pei, Junior Brother Shen is indeed at home in Yangnao Land."

Hearing this, Pei Zhao breathed a slight sigh of relief.

In his opinion, it was good that Shen Wen'an had gone home.

This at least proves that he had no intention of defecting.

Otherwise, he would probably be at the Green Luo Sword Pavilion by now.

"Since that traitor is at home, why didn't you bring him back on this trip?"

Li Heshan smiled wryly: "Junior Brother Shen was seriously injured. Elder Ji treated him, and he is currently recuperating at home."

This explanation was something he and Pei Yuwan had agreed upon.

"Injuried?"

"Who injured you!?"

Pei Zhao quickly asked.

Li Heshan cupped his hands and said, "The Shen family discovered an ancient ruin in Hidden Dragon Mountain. Junior Brother Shen went in to explore and was injured inside the ruin."

"Uncle Pei, don't worry. Junior Brother Shen is fine now, he just needs to recuperate for a while."

While offering words of comfort, Li Heshan also felt a surge of emotions.

I was deeply moved by the profound bond between Pei Zhao and Shen Wen'an, their teacher and student.

It should be noted that under the influence of the sword spirit of the sword wielder, Shen Wen'an inexplicably killed Liu Hong of Yashan Academy and disappeared without a trace.

Within Qiyun Valley, nine out of ten people believed he had defected.

Despite being the head of the Hidden Cloud Academy, Pei Zhao always believed in his disciple.

"That's good, that's good..."

Pei Zhao rubbed his hands together, a look of relief on his face, and then asked, "Did you ask him what exactly happened that day?"

Li Heshan nodded and repeated Shen Wen'an's words verbatim.

Pei Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing this.

"Hmph! Very well!"

"Are the disciples of Yashan Academy going to take over my duties of disciplining my junior disciples?"

"Then why don't I just hand over the position of headmaster of Hidden Cloud Academy to him?"

Sensing the anger emanating from Pei Zhao, Li Heshan felt quite helpless.

The biggest reason for Qiyun Valley's decline was its complacency and failure to recognize its own limitations.

In addition, infighting and mutual dislike within the organization are also a contributing factor.

Pei Zhao and Yao Lin, the head of the Yai Shan Academy, already had a deep conflict back when Yao Lin was not yet the head of the academy.

Given this situation, he had no idea what to do when he took over Qiyun Valley in the future.

"Uncle Pei, please don't be angry."

"Now both sides have their own version of events, and Junior Brother Shen has no way to come."

"Elder Ji means to activate the Heart-Questioning Array..."

As Li Heshan spoke, he silently apologized to Ji Yan in his heart.

Judging from the current situation, the Yashan Academy is the apparent "victim." The abbot of Yashan Academy, Yao Lin, will not easily agree to start the interrogation of the victim using the "Questioning the Heart" method.

Pei Zhao sneered after hearing this.

"Just ask your heart."

"I believe that brat wouldn't lie."

"He Shan, come with me to see the sect leader."

Qiyun Valley, Sect Master's Hall.

Yao Lin glared angrily at Pei Zhao, her face dark with rage: "You want to send my disciples from the Cliff Mountain Academy into the Heart-Questioning Array?!"

Pei Zhao didn't indulge her, and said calmly, "If Senior Sister trusts her disciple, what's wrong with taking a trip through this Heart-Questioning Formation?"

"Now, in front of the sect leader and all the elders, I, Pei, will make my statement."

"If the disciples of Yai Shan Academy can be clear in their conscience, I, Pei, will immediately resign from my position as the head of Yin Yun Academy and give two hundred spirit crystals as compensation to my nephews."

"If the disciples of Yai Shan Academy dare not, then this matter..."

Pei Zhao did not continue speaking, but everyone understood what he meant.

Your disciples from Yashan Academy keep saying that they were just asking questions as usual, but it was Shen Wen'an who suddenly attacked and killed Liu Hong.

Now they don't even dare to enter the Heart-Questioning Formation, which means the obvious.

They disliked Shen Wen'an as an oddball, but when it came to matters of principle, they were still able to make sense of things.

Otherwise, if word gets out, it will also affect the reputation of Qiyun Valley.

Yao Lin looked pale.

So much time has passed that she already knows the details of what happened.

This is just a hope that Shen Wen'an will be forced to defect under pressure, then no one will pursue the matter.

Seeing that she remained silent, Pei Zhao felt even more confident and cupped his hands in greeting, saying:

"Please make the decision, Senior Brother Sect Leader!"

Yun Zhongzi, the head of Qiyun Valley, looked at Yao Lin and said, "Junior Sister Yao, could you please summon those disciples from that day?"

"I will give them a chance. If they can tell the truth, I will treat them leniently."

"If we insist on activating the Heart-Questioning Array, then we will have no choice but to deal with it according to the sect rules."

His meaning was quite clear; he was almost certain that the disciples of Yashan Academy were lying and that they had framed Shen Wen'an of Yinyun Academy for defection.

Yao Lin's expression shifted, and in the end, she could only bow and walk out.

A moment later, two disciples from the Cliff Mountain Academy were led into the sect's main hall.

The others sustained more serious injuries and are still recovering.

"Zhang Lei (Wang Kang) of Yashan Academy pays respects to the Sect Master and all the elders."

The two men's voices trembled as they bowed with their hands clasped in greeting.

Yun Zhongzi glanced at the two of them and said calmly, "Your master should have already told you about it, right?"

"Now tell me everything that happened that day, word for word, and I might give you another chance."

"Otherwise, once you enter the Heart-Testing Formation, you will have no way out."

The two trembled slightly, their faces showing fear.

They had heard of the formidable reputation of the Inquiry Formation; once inside, all their secrets since birth would be revealed without reservation.

To lie and deceive the Inquiry Formation would be extremely difficult, let alone for those who are merely at the Qi Refining stage; even for an ancestor at the Golden Core stage, it would be very difficult.

"Sect Leader, I'll talk!"

"We all say it!"

Faced with such immense pressure, the two finally couldn't hold on any longer and immediately knelt on the ground and spoke.

(End of this chapter)