: The Nascent Soul cultivator emerges from seclusion; the Enforcement Hall raids the aband

The entire Heavenly Sword Pavilion was in a state of seclusion, with the sect leader having traveled to the Northern Region and the Grand Elder remaining in seclusion for many years.

There is only one person left who can unleash such power and dare to release such pressure so recklessly within the sect.

Second Elder.

A powerful being in the Nascent Soul stage.

"That old fox Liu Quan has finally closed the net."

Zhou Lingxuan tapped his fingers lightly on the stone tabletop, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

He had guessed before that Liu Quan's sending out the Ten Thousand Year Cold Soul was definitely not for good reasons.

Chen Baichuan, that fat pig who's been praised to the skies,''s gotten so arrogant he doesn't even know his own name anymore. He overstepped his authority by allocating quotas, infringing on the interests of the Fourth and Fifth Elders, and has long been the target of everyone's criticism.

Liu Quan's tactic of praising someone to the point of ruining them through whistleblowing was truly masterful.

This directly alarmed the Second Elder, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, who personally came out of seclusion to question Chen Baichuan. It was as if he wanted to slap Chen Baichuan to death, leaving him no chance to recover.

Just then, a blinding beam of light shot into the sky from the direction of the main peak.

The light was so bright that it turned half the night sky a ghastly white.

The flying light, carrying a world-destroying momentum, drew a terrifying trajectory in mid-air and crashed straight down towards the mountain where the weapon hall was located.

boom!

There was another deafening bang.

This time, even the ground on the abandoned hall side shook violently.

The dust on the courtyard wall fell down in a flurry, causing the stone table to tremble. Finally, the rough porcelain teacup couldn't hold on any longer and fell to the ground with a crash, shattering into pieces.

"Well!"

A muffled groan of pain came from a corner of the courtyard.

Lei Yang was dozing under the eaves while holding the Wind and Thunder Sword when the pressure from the Nascent Soul stage swept over him. He didn't even have time to react before he was forced to kneel on one knee.

He braced himself on the ground with both hands, his bones cracking under the strain, his face flushed red, and the veins on his forehead bulging.

The Wind and Thunder Sword was stuck in the bluestone slab beside him. The lightning that was originally active around the sword was now forced back into the black wooden scabbard by the pressure, and not even a trace of electricity could be seen.

"Manager!" Lei Yang gasped for breath, struggling to lift his head. As his blood surged, a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He looked at Zhou Lingxuan, who was still sitting upright at the stone table, his clothes perfectly in place, his face filled with anxiety and shock.

"What...what's that noise? What happened at the Weaponry Hall?"

Lei Yang gritted his teeth and tried desperately to stand up, but the oppressive aura was like a mountain pressing down on his back, making him unable to move.

Zhou Lingxuan stood up, slowly brushed the dust off his gray robe, and walked to Lei Yang's side.

"The Second Elder has emerged from seclusion." Zhou Lingxuan said in a calm tone, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

"Second Elder?" Lei Yang was stunned. "A Nascent Soul stage expert? What's he doing at the Weapon Hall?"

"Go slaughter the pig."

Zhou Lingxuan reached out and grabbed Lei Yang's arm, forcefully resisting the residual pressure of the Nascent Soul stage, and pulled Lei Yang up from the ground.

Lei Yang leaned against the pillar, panting heavily, his mind racing.

"Slaughtering a pig? You mean... Elder Chen?" Lei Yang's eyes widened. "The Third Elder made a move? How dare he directly alarm the Second Elder?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Zhou Lingxuan turned around and looked at the light gradually fading in the direction of the weapon hall.

"Chen Baichuan brought this upon himself. Who can he blame? He overstepped his authority by interfering in the distribution of profits, formed cliques for personal gain, and now he's been accused of embezzling sect supplies. Liu Quan has solidified the evidence, so the Second Elder will naturally have to step in and clean house."

Lei Yang panicked and grabbed the Wind and Thunder Sword.

"What do we do then? If Elder Chen falls, Liu Quan will definitely not let us off the hook! Those top-grade spirit ores delivered during the day were evidence they used to frame us!"

Lei Yang was so anxious that he stomped his feet and spun around in place twice.

"Manager, let's run! While the inner sect is in chaos, let's get out of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion quickly! Otherwise, once they free up their forces, we won't even have anyone to reason with in this wretched place!"

"Run?" Zhou Lingxuan looked at Lei Yang and asked, "Where do you think you can run to? The sect's protective formation is activated; do you think you can sprout wings and fly away?"

"We can't just sit here and wait to die!" Lei Yang's eyes reddened with anxiety. "They'll definitely send people to search the abandoned hall. If they find it..."

"Found what?" Zhou Lingxuan interrupted him.

Lei Yang was taken aback: "Find those top-grade spirit ores!"

"The spirit mine is gone." Zhou Lingxuan pointed to the small workshop not far away. "It's all smashed to dust."

Lei Yang opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time. Then he remembered that the manager had been banging away in the workshop for two hours.

"But...but even without physical evidence, they can still frame someone!"

Lei Yang was still worried.

"If you're determined to find fault, you can always find a pretext. What methods can't those people in the Enforcement Hall use?"

Zhou Lingxuan didn't reply, but took two steps forward and stood in the center of the courtyard, feeling the chilling atmosphere carried by the night wind.

"Lei Yang, listen carefully." Zhou Lingxuan suddenly turned around, the calmness on his face disappearing, replaced by an unprecedented sternness.

Lei Yang felt uneasy under that gaze and instinctively straightened up.

"Later, no matter what happens, no matter who comes to destroy the hall, you'd better stay put."

Zhou Lingxuan stared into Lei Yang's eyes and said, word by word.

"Never get into conflict with anyone."

Lei Yang panicked: "What if they come to arrest you? Am I just supposed to stand by and watch them take you away?"

"Arrest me if you will." Zhou Lingxuan's tone was firm. "The Heavenly Sword Pavilion is a place that follows rules. What can they do to me, a useless hall manager with no cultivation?"

"But……"

"No buts!"

Zhou Lingxuan interrupted sharply.

"Your task now is to keep an eye on the abandoned hall, hide your Wind and Thunder Sword, and don't expose the thunderous power within you. If you dare to draw your sword, you won't be able to save me, and you'll get us both killed!"

Lei Yang gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He didn't understand.

The manager clearly has such strong abilities and can clearly resist, so why should he suffer such humiliation?

But looking into Zhou Lingxuan's unfathomable eyes, he ultimately swallowed all the pent-up frustration.

"I...I understand." Lei Yang lowered his head, his voice muffled.

Zhou Lingxuan nodded inwardly as he looked at him.

Although this kid is impulsive, he's still fairly obedient.

As long as Lei Yang doesn't reveal his true identity, the Waste Hall still has one trump card.

Just then, a series of extremely chaotic and heavy footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

Along with this came the crisp sound of ritual implements colliding.

boom!

The already flimsy wooden door was kicked open with tremendous force.

The two door panels flew directly into the courtyard. One of them smashed into the water vat, splashing water everywhere, while the other rolled twice on the ground and came to rest at Zhou Lingxuan's feet.

A sudden gust of wind arose, swirling the fallen leaves in the yard everywhere.

A dozen or so disciples of the Enforcement Hall, dressed in black, surged into the abandoned hall like a black tide.

They all held magical artifacts in their hands, their cold light gleaming, and an aura of murderous intent instantly filled the entire courtyard, making it almost impossible to breathe.

The leader was a burly, dark-faced butler.

He held a dark red spirit-locking whip in his hand, the tip of which dragged a shallow mark on the ground, making a teeth-grinding scraping sound.