Chapter 259 (1/2)

Chapter 259

Noises drifted to Zi Yuan's ears . Empty taunts . Meaningless chatter . She had picked this spot to avoid precisely those, but apparently, this place still wasn't far enough to dull out those obnoxious voices .

”Not planning to join the others?”

Zi Yuan looked towards the source of the voice, which sounded like it came from above . The voice was close . Too close for her liking .

Zhang Tianhé, the son of the current Head of the Zhengyi School, was floating down towards her .

Zi Yuan acknowledged the man with a cordial nod . ”Zhang zhenren . ”

Zhang zhenren's robe rustled when he landed beside her .

”Zi Yuan zhenren,” he greeted politely .

Zi Yuan turned away from the man . ”Crowds aren't my thing,” she said coolly .

Nor is greed, she added in her mind .

Greed . Greed was everywhere; she could see it in the eyes of those gathered here, could smell it in the air .

”I really appreciate you coming out here today, Zi Yuan zhenren . ”

Zi Yuan glanced sideways at the man who had all but invited himself into her private s.p.a.ce .

Zi Yuan acknowledged the remark with a hum, all the while fighting back a frown .

Zhang zhenren appeared to be studying the crowd as well . At the moment, there were over a hundred people gathered in the temple's vicinity . An entire legion of Cultivators flying under the banner of the so-called Great Six .

Disgust pooled inside Zi Yuan's belly .

Greed . That's all there is to it . Pure greed .

They had all heard about the Fox Zen School's legendary vault, about the kinds of treasures that were locked away inside the vault for centuries . Now, a former member of the Fox Zen School had stolen the Renyuan Jindan . The perfect opportunity had presented itself, the perfect excuse to march into one of the oldest schools in the history of Cultivation and claim all its prized possessions . The Fox Zen School had to be destroyed, its members slaughtered, and its vaults pillaged . They had no right to exist, no right to own those treasures . Forget that Grandmaster Pan s.h.i.+ was once a great Cultivator . Forget that the Fox Zen School was once a reputable organization before the Mystical Silver Fox became Head . Fox spirits were evil creatures that deserved eternal condemnation, and they had proven their evil by robbing the Gezao Sect of its finest creation .

How revolting .

As if the members of the Great Six themselves had never entertained the thought of stealing the Renyuan Jindan .

Hypocrites .

This was never about justice . This was Great Six feeding their own greed in the name of justice . This was hypocrisy at its finest .

Zi Yuan curled her lips in contempt .

The Heir had been right . The longstanding creed of the Cultivation world was flawed . So what if there were a bunch of rules in place . So what if the rules had been around for thousands of years . Evil manifests itself everywhere, even amongst those who are supposed to embody virtue and honor .

The siege on the Fox Zen School today was proof that the best of Cultivators were no different than the vilest of mortals; that behind the veil of Cultivation, a bunch of greedy, and power-hungry creatures lurked .

Zi Yuan tamped down her raging emotions . She had a job to do, a mission to accomplish, and hence, a role to play .

”It appears that I'm not needed here after all,” Zi Yuan remarked, her eyes darting briefly to Zhang zhenren's face . ”There isn't much fighting going on . ”

Zi Yuan returned her gaze to the crowd .

Technically, there wasn't any fighting going on . The Great Six's forces were just hanging around, doing absolutely nothing .

”Ah, well, the truth is… We've… Well, we've sort of hit a snag . ” Zhang zhenren chuckled . ”It seems like the Great Seer still had a few tricks up his sleeves . ”

Zi Yuan glanced sideways and raised a brow .

Zhang zhenren smiled at her reaction . ”A powerful barrier surrounds the temple . ” Zhang zhenren gestured with his arm . ”Anybody who touches it will turn to dust . ”

Zi Yuan returned her eyes to the front . The temple's door was wide open . A woman stood guard in front of the door, glaring at the Great Six's forces . Zi Yuan didn't know every member of the Fox Zen School, only the most prominent ones, but she was fairly certain that the woman guarding the door was Ye Yu—if the huge chakram in the woman's hand was anything to go by .

”Is that so?” Zi Yuan glanced at Zhang zhenren .

”Mm . ” Zhang zhenren nodded . ”It is quite a powerful enchantment . ” Zhang zhenren chuckled . ”As expected from the Great Seer, I suppose . ”

”That's too bad,” Zi Yuan said, keeping her voice even .

This is perfect .

Zi Yuan did a quick scan of her surroundings . ”Our forces have yet to withdraw . ” Zi Yuan looked towards Zhang zhenren . ”So I suppose you have a plan then?”

Zhang zhenren smiled . ”A couple of my guys are working on something . ” The jade rings Zhang zhenren wore on his fingers clinked as he crossed his arms in front his chest . ”A counter-spell . ”

Zi Yuan arched a brow . ”Would it deactivate the entire barrier?”

Zi Yuan highly doubted it . It would certainly take more than just a makes.h.i.+ft solution to fully counter a spell performed by a Cultivator of the Great Seer's caliber . At least that was what Zi Yuan hoped .

”Not the entire barrier, unfortunately . ” Zhang zhenren shook his head a few times . Zi Yuan couldn't help the satisfaction that arose inside her at the hint of frustration that she'd detected in Zhang zhenren's tone . ”But it would create a gap large enough to fit a person . ”

”Permanent?”

Zhang zhenren shook his head again . ”Only temporary . ”

”How long?”

There was a few seconds of silence .

”A couple of seconds, perhaps?” A look of displeasure spread across Zhang zhenren's countenance . ”After that it would take another fifteen minutes to reset the counter-spell . ”

Zi Yuan turned away to hide a smirk . So Liu Ye had essentially turned the tables on the Great Six . If the Great Six insisted on attacking, they could only send one person through the barrier until the next person was sent in fifteen minutes later .

A lot could happen in fifteen minutes .

In fact, during those fifteen minutes, it would be one fighter from the Great Six going up against the entire Fox Zen School .

Liu Ye had played the Great Six at their own game .

Smart…

Zhang zhenren chuckled . ”However . . . ”

The smugness in the Zhang zhenren's tone made Zi Yuan turn .

”We have someone on the inside . ” Zhang zhenren smiled . ”So it shouldn't be long until the entire barrier is deactivated . ”

Zi Yuan hummed thoughtfully .

Several moments pa.s.sed . Zi Yuan wanted the man to leave her alone . Well, she could leave, but then she didn't want to give up her perfect hiding spot .

”Would you like to join the rest of us?” Zhang zhenren asked in a hopeful tone . ”I'm sure a lot of our a.s.sociates would be delighted to meet you in person, Zi Yuan zhenren . ”

Well, the feeling isn't mutual . Zi Yuan kept that thought to herself .

”I prefer staying out of sight for the time being, if you don't mind . ” Zi Yuan raised a brow at Zhang zhenren . ”Isn't it in our best interest that the Fox Zen School remain unaware of my presence?”

”Ah . ” Zhang zhenren smiled . ”You're saying that we shouldn't show our hands too early . ”

”Exactly,” Zi Yuan said with a nod .

”Very wise, Zi Yuan zhenren . Very wise . ”

Zi Yuan hid a smirk, satisfied that she had successfully fooled the man . Remaining in the shadows was a wise policy, that much was true; but not for the reason Zhang zhenren imagined .

The real reason Zi Yuan had decided to keep her presence hidden was to minimize the chances of Mo Ahs.h.i.+ recognizing her .

Then again, she might not even have to worry about that at all . She hadn't seen any signs of Mo Ahs.h.i.+ since she got here . Nor was Grandmaster Liu Ye anywhere in sight .

”I must say I'm a bit surprised that Hongling zhenren isn't here with you . ” There was a pause . ”She seemed very eager to partic.i.p.ate in the a.s.sault during the briefing . ”

”She will be joining us shortly . ” Zi Yuan gave Zhang zhenren a sidelong glance . ”After she has secured the perimeter on my orders . ”

But of course, securing the perimeter was just a smokescreen for Hongling's real task: searching for Su Chan .

Zhang zhenren turned and gave her a look of surprise . ”I don't think that's necessary at all, Zi Yuan zhenren . ”