She was secretly pleased. Fortunately, she had handled it quickly, and with just a few words, she had defined Elder Jiu Ling's provocation towards Xu Xing this ti as a competition between fellow Daoists.
A competition was about rivalry, but it wouldn't harm relationships.
As soon as Elder Jiu Ling saw the look in Lady Hua's eyes, he understood. His tone imdiately softened, no longer as harsh as before.
"Now that Silver Ring Zhai is in decline, and both White Old Ghost and Lady Zi are dead, the Taoist Treasures that Our Sect and Phantom Valley lent to them have been seized by Daoist Chang," he continued. "And in this matter, Silver Ring Zhai has shown no intention of offering any compensation."
His words hinted that after this competition, Extre Heart Sect could form an alliance with Imasurable Sect to jointly divide the remaining assets of Silver Ring Zhai.
There are no permanent allies, only permanent interests.
Silver Ring Zhai having caused the loss of both their sects' Taoist Treasures was the perfect pretext for "betrayal."
"Lady Hua is right," Elder Jiu Ling said solemnly. "Seeing that my sect's Taoist Treasure had been seized, I beca anxious and thus offended Daoist Chang. Regardless of how the competition unfolds, I will certainly prepare an apology gift for Daoist Chang to make ands!"
No matter the outco of the competition, he and Lady Hua would be in an invincible position.
If they lost, they would simply apologize with a gift. If they won, the apology gift would still be given, but its value would be another matter entirely.
After Elder Jiu Ling and Lady Hua had finished their exchange, Xu Xing flicked his sleeve robe and sneered, "You two Daoist friends are playing off each other so well, you almost made this Chang mistakenly believe that I truly seized the Taoist Treasures of your two sects."
After the battle at Silver Ring Zhai, he had killed Lady Zi and seized only the Soul-devouring Bell from her. As for the Overturning Sea Seal, it was still in Daoist Jiang Yue's possession; Xu Xing had not taken it.
Of course, since Elder Jiu Ling and Lady Hua have co together today with their spearhead aid directly at the Imasurable Sect, their words likely hold so truth. If the Overturning Sea Seal were truly in Elder Jiu Ling's hands, there would be no need for them to play good cop, bad cop. The Imasurable Sect cannot produce the Overturning Sea Seal. This ans their 'good cop' routine is useless, a wasted effort. There's only one possibility: Daoist Jiang Yue has concealed the Overturning Sea Seal and is using this as an opportunity to plot against the Imasurable Sect, Phantom Valley, and the Extre Heart Sect. Only a struggle among these three sects would allow Silver Ring Zhai to continue to cling to life.
However, despite knowing this, Xu Xing had no intention of exposing Daoist Jiang Yue's conspiracy. He also had no desire to return the Soul-devouring Bell, which belonged to Phantom Valley.
Elder Jiu Ling's expression shifted slightly. He gave Xu Xing a deep look and said, "Daoist Chang, your sect killed White Old Ghost and Lady Zi, and even caused Daoist Jiang Yue to lose an arm. The Soul-devouring Bell and the Overturning Sea Seal must be in your sect's possession."
He hadn't expected Xu Xing to actually refuse to play by the rules, intending to confront the three major sects of North Yue Country with the strength of the Imasurable Sect alone. With Phantom Valley and Extre Heart Sect now potentially joining the fray, the Imasurable Sect's chances of prevailing against Silver Ring Zhai would be practically nil.
At this mont, Yan Luanqing, who had been seated on the dais, finally broke her silence, refuting Elder Jiu Ling, "Losing an arm is not the sa as dying. Fellow Daoist Jiu Ling, surely you understand how difficult it is to seize soone's Taoist Treasure during a fierce battle?"
Exposing Daoist Jiang Yue's conspiracy and revealing the truth to the world was certainly an option. However, even if the Imasurable Sect spoke out, Phantom Valley and Extre Heart Sect wouldn't necessarily believe them. They might even suspect the Imasurable Sect of trying to set one enemy against another. Rather than do that, it was better to outright deny possessing the Taoist Treasures of the two sects and shift all bla directly onto Daoist Jiang Yue of Silver Ring Zhai.
"Daoist Jiang Yue?" Lady Hua's eyes flickered. She felt a flicker of suspicion towards Daoist Jiang Yue, but outwardly, she maintained her denial.
"What a joke!" Elder Jiu Ling said coldly. "Daoist Jiang Yue is gravely injured. How could he dare to offend two major sects again?"
Logically, the weakened Silver Ring Zhai would be desperate for the support of their two sects right now; they wouldn't dare to offend them so readily.
Yan Luanqing shook her head. "These are the sincere words of Our Sect. If Elder Jiu Ling and Lady Hua refuse to believe them, then I and Junior Brother Chang can do nothing more."
She and Xu Xing had already decided: even if it ant becoming mortal enemies with Phantom Valley and Extre Heart Sect, they would not return the Soul-devouring Bell, Phantom Valley's Taoist Treasure. While the Imasurable Sect's enmity with these two sects wasn't as deep as with Silver Ring Zhai, it wasn't far off. Returning the Soul-devouring Bell would only strengthen their enemies. After the great battle with Silver Ring Zhai, neither of those two sects had dared to attack rashly. Now that their own injuries were nearly healed, why should they fear them?
Elder Jiu Ling laughed, though his eyes blazed with anger. "The Imasurable Sect is truly fortunate to have Daoist Yan and Daoist Chang!"
Although he had provoked Xu Xing the mont he entered the Imasurable Sect's Lingxin Hall, he had also co with the intention of finding grounds for reconciliation. Yet, he hadn't expected the Imasurable Sect to deny Extre Heart Sect and Phantom Valley even a sliver of an opportunity for rapprochent. Their stance was too unyielding!
"Daoist Chang has already agreed to a match with ," Elder Jiu Ling sneered. "Then, let us proceed!"
Deciding to settle matters through combat rather than further verbal sparring, he flicked his wide sleeve, summoned his Escaping Light, and flew out of the Great Hall, soaring high Above the Clouds.
Then, he tossed a yellow bag from his waist into the air. A smoky mist billowed from the yellow bag, spreading out to cover a radius of a hundred miles. Within this mist, a green-maned, three-eyed lion, tens of zhang in size, erged, treading upon ominous clouds.
The three-eyed lion gazed down upon the Imasurable Sect, established in the Yan Mountain Range, shook its fur, and let out a deafening roar.
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