Chapter 964 - 404: Exposed

Due to Shentu Ping’s words, everyone in the hall not only began to take Chu Ning seriously but also became more enthusiastic towards him.

In no time, Chu Ning managed to make himself known to many cultivators in the hall.

"The alliance leader has arrived!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out, and several people in the hall began to file out.

The leader was Qin Changkong, whom Chu Ning had met once outside the Golden Spirit Species Spirit Realm.

Besides him, there were four others, two of whom Chu Ning recognized.

He had met them when he previously went to the Cloud Peak Forbidden Land; one was Qu Yichen from the Celestial Sound Pavilion.

The other was Yu Zhiguang, the Middle Stage of Nascent Soul cultivator from the Taihe Institute.

However, as Chu Ning looked towards Yu Zhiguang, his gaze also fell on another Middle Stage of Nascent Soul cultivator whose face resembled Yu Zhiguang’s.

Yu Zhifang, Yu Zhiguang’s twin brother.

It was rumored that the two were skilled in the Combined Attack Technique and, together, could rival those in the Late Stage of Nascent Soul.

This was also why the Taihe Institute ranked second only to the Guiyuan Sect within the Cloud Peak Alliance.

As for the only middle-aged female cultivator among the four Middle Stage of Nascent Soul cultivators, Chu Ning was unfamiliar with her.

However, Tang Xuan had previously introduced her to Chu Ning, so he knew her identity.

He Yuexian, the Supreme Elder of the Purple Feather Sect, also a Middle Stage of Nascent Soul cultivator.

One alliance leader, four vice alliance leaders—these were the main decision-makers within the Cloud Peak Alliance.

As for the other Middle Stage of Nascent Soul cultivators, they had some degree of influence but did not bear the title of vice alliance leader.

Following the five was a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator.

This person wore a worried expression; although Chu Ning had never seen him before, he vaguely guessed the person’s identity.

After the six emerged, Qin Changkong and the others sat down, while the Golden Core Late Stage cultivator took a seat at the far end of the hall.

Qin Changkong sat in the chief seat, glanced over everyone in the hall, and slowly began:

"Thank you, fellow daoists, for coming from far and wide. You are all aware of the situation at hand.

The Celestial Extreme Alliance organized several Nascent Soul cultivators and launched a surprise attack on the Bailu Sect. Let’s have Fellow Daoist Gao Lixiang from the Bailu Sect explain the details."

As Qin Changkong finished speaking, the Golden Core Late Stage cultivator who had just moved to the end rose and bowed deeply to everyone.

He then spoke with a face full of grief and indignation:

"Fellow seniors, a few days ago, three Nascent Soul cultivators of the Celestial Extreme Alliance, leading numerous Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators, suddenly attacked our sect.

Thanks to the preemptive preparation and improvement of the Sect Protection Array with help from the alliance, our sect resisted for more than half an hour.

However, the bandits were overwhelmingly powerful and managed to break through.

The enemy was truly formidable. Left without choice, I could only order our cultivators to scatter and flee.

Despite this, the Celestial Extreme Alliance did not relent and nearly massacred all members of our sect, sweeping away all resources and treasures.

I survived by using the Fake Death Turtle Breath Secret Technique.

At that time, those few Celestial Extreme Alliance Nascent Soul cultivators began searching the entire sect.

Fortunately, Elder Sun from the Celestial Sound Pavilion led other daoists to our aid, ultimately preserving lives."

At this, Gao Lixiang directly knelt down.

"Due to the Celestial Extreme Alliance, the Bailu Sect was annihilated. Seniors, I beg you to seek justice for our sect."

"Outrageous, the Celestial Extreme Alliance is truly bullying us!"

The first to speak was Shentu Ping from the Spirit Beast Valley, standing up and looking towards Sun Zhiyuan from the Celestial Sound Pavilion.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, did you see which villains came from the Celestial Extreme Alliance?"

Sun Zhiyuan shook his head.

"Mr. Sun received the transmission from Bailu Palace and hurriedly brought fellow daoists along to respond.

Realizing our approach, the Celestial Extreme Alliance people withdrew ahead of time.

Although there were three Nascent Soul cultivators among them, I did not dare blindly pursue."

Shentu Ping immediately furrowed his brow, speaking in a resonant voice:

"Having failed to identify who they actually were, what if the Celestial Extreme Alliance denies involvement?"

Sun Zhiyuan paused at these words.

At this moment, He Yuexian spoke:

"Fellow Daoist Sun looked out for potential ambushes by them and also worried that the Celestial Extreme Alliance might attack Cloud Peak City through tricks; being cautious was the right approach.

Actually, since the Celestial Extreme Alliance took this step, whether they admit it or not is not important.

What matters most is how we should respond."

After He Yuexian’s remarks, Shentu Ping thought for a moment and then respectfully addressed Sun Zhiyuan:

"Fellow Daoist Sun, I’m impulsive, and my earlier comments were not entirely directed at you. Please do not mind."

Sun Zhiyuan’s expression improved considerably.

"Fellow Daoist Shentu is courteous; you are also concerned for the public good."

Shentu Ping nodded and returned to his seat.

"Fellow daoists." From the chief seat, Qin Changkong slowly spoke.

"I believe you all roughly understand the current situation. If it were just the Celestial Extreme Alliance, although challenging, we have some leverage with the sect grand arrays.

The greatest concern is if the Demon Alliance and the Celestial Extreme Alliance have formed a combined front; if true, what should be done?"

Upon Qin Changkong’s mention, the hall fell silent temporarily.

Then everyone voiced their thoughts one after another.

Some proposed actively uniting with the Demon Alliance, while others suggested observing changes closely but focusing on defending against the Celestial Extreme Alliance.

There were even suggestions to proactively join ranks with the second-ranked True Martial Alliance or the fifth-ranked Lingcang Alliance.

Despite the discussions, no consensus was reached.

Chu Ning remained in the hall observing indifferently, without expressing any opinions.

However, he did form a general judgment on the current situation in his mind.

Clearly, the majority of the Cloud Peak Alliance cultivators were actually not keen on warring with the Celestial Extreme Alliance and Demon Alliance.

And concerning the Demon Alliance, the unpredictable nature of the Demon Sect cultivators left many Cloud Peak Alliance cultivators apprehensive, making them hesitant to easily form alliances with them.

If not for the presence of Bailu Sect cultivators, Chu Ning even speculated that there might be cultivators suggesting simply joining the Celestial Extreme Alliance camp to fight against the Demon Alliance.

A lengthy discussion ensued, yet no unified stance was reached.

Qin Changkong finally made the decision to temporarily observe the situation and wait to see the next action of the Celestial Extreme Alliance.

However, to be on the safe side, the three sects close to the Celestial Extreme Alliance’s influence should have Nascent Soul and Golden Core Cultivators sent for support.

To prevent another sneak attack by the Celestial Extreme Alliance.

Subsequently, Qin Changkong made arrangements regarding personnel.

Each of the three sects will be led by a Middle Stage of Nascent Soul Cultivator with two Early Stage of Nascent Soul Cultivators, along with several Golden Core and Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

As for the remaining cultivators, they will temporarily stay and defend Cloud Peak City.

Chu Ning and Tang Xuan were not included in the list of those departing, so they remained within Cloud Peak City.

After speaking, Qin Changkong and his group were the first to leave the hall.

It was then that the many Nascent Soul Cultivators gradually dispersed.

Tang Xuan also rose to leave, but suddenly heard Chu Ning’s whispered communication.

"Senior Brother Tang, I’m planning to speak with Fellow Daoist Lu and the Alliance Leader.

Why don’t you ask Fellow Daoist Lu to take us to see Alliance Leader Qin, and say one of us needs to return to the sect."

After hearing this, Tang Xuan turned to look at Chu Ning, his gaze filled with doubt.

At that moment, Chu Ning nodded towards him.

Although Tang Xuan did not know what Chu Ning intended, he placed exceptional trust in Chu Ning at that moment.

He immediately stopped, then cheerfully approached Lu Yuezhang.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, our sect sent two Nascent Soul Cultivators here primarily because I wanted to show Junior Brother Chu the way.

Now we plan to send one person back to the sect. I wonder if it would be possible for you to take us to speak with the Alliance Leader?"

Lu Yuezhang’s gaze swept over Tang Xuan and Chu Ning, then nodded and said:

"Fellow Daoists, please come with me. Actually, you could leave directly without any issue."

"Out of courtesy and reason, I should inform the Alliance Leader and the others,"

said Tang Xuan with a cheerful smile.

When the crowd heard the conversation between Tang Xuan and Lu Yuezhang, they watched the three proceed toward the rear hall, not paying much attention to them.

Given that only one Nascent Soul Cultivator from Jiuhua Sect was required, the presence of all three was indeed unnecessary.

The requirement was only for one-third of the alliance’s strength to support this time.

The three arrived at the rear hall where Qin Changkong and others were still discussing.

Lu Yuezhang immediately explained the reason for bringing Tang Xuan and Chu Ning.

Qin Changkong’s gaze fell on Tang Xuan and said:

"Fellow Daoist Tang is truly noble; you have already provided great support by coming this time. If you wish to return to the sect early, we have no objections."

"Thank you, Alliance Leader," Tang Xuan replied.

"Actually, my visit is mainly due to something Junior Brother Chu intends to discuss with the fellow Daoists."

Upon hearing Tang Xuan’s words, everyone’s eyes fell on Chu Ning.

Even Tang Xuan’s eyes showed a hint of confusion.

He had only heard Chu Ning mention wanting to find Qin Changkong and the others, but was not clear on the specifics.

Facing the crowd’s gaze, Chu Ning slowly began to speak, but what he said next caused everyone’s faces to slightly change.

"Unless I’m mistaken, whatever we discuss here today will soon reach the Demon Alliance.

If the Demon Alliance is truly against us, we’re in for a hard hit."

"What does Fellow Daoist Chu mean? Is he suggesting someone in our alliance is in cahoots with the Demon Alliance?"

Qin Changkong’s gaze was piercing, fixed directly on Chu Ning.

Chu Ning did not answer directly but said:

"I do know that a cultivator within the alliance has had secret dealings with people from the Demon Alliance. However, I dare not conclude that treason is indeed occurring."

"Who is it?" Qin Changkong asked in a deep voice.

"Daluo Sect!"

Chu Ning spoke slowly.

With these words fell, various expressions appeared on the faces of those in the rear hall.

Tang Xuan looked slightly confused.

As for the others, there was some degree of skepticism on their faces.

Yu Zhiguang from Taihe Institute had quite a few interactions with Chu Ning within the Cloud Peak Forbidden Land and held a good impression of him, speaking up at this moment:

"Fellow Daoist Chu, we are aware of the substantial grievances between Jiuhua Sect and Daluo Sect.

However, words like this require evidence."

"Although Mr. Chu doesn’t have direct evidence, when I was in the Golden Spirit Species Spirit Realm, I did indeed see Daluo Sect cultivators collaborating with a Demon Alliance cultivator surnamed Zou from Black Cloud Sect."

Immediately, Chu Ning recounted his earlier encounter in the Golden Spirit Species Spirit Realm involving Ao Langtian and the elder Zou from Black Cloud Sect.

Of course, during the recounting of the events, Chu Ning altered the details.

He merely mentioned accidentally seeing Ao Langtian and Elder Zou jointly combatting Celestial Extreme Alliance’s Tie Shi.

Then Ao Langtian discovered him and deliberately attacked him.

He was forced to fight Ao Langtian, while Tie Shi took advantage of the situation to kill Elder Zou from Black Cloud Sect.

Then Ao Langtian was also killed.

"Tie Shi initially didn’t intend to spare me, but an Outer Celestial Demon suddenly appeared and attacked at that time.

I leveraged the power of the Black Profound Gold Spirit Sword to wound that Outer Celestial Demon.

Tie Shi subsequently hunted down the Outer Celestial Demon, after which a space storm occurred."

Chu Ning’s account was reasonable, although differing in details from the original events, the essence corresponded.

It instantly dispelled much of the suspicion from the faces in the hall, and at this point, Chu Ning casually retrieved several items from his Storage Bag.

"Back then, Celestial Extreme Alliance’s Tie Shi hurried to pursue the Outer Celestial Demon, leaving Ao Langtian’s and the Demon Alliance cultivator surnamed Zou’s Storage Bags for me to acquire.

Here are their magical treasures and personal belongings for everyone to examine."

The insight of Qin Changkong and others was extraordinary; while they might not be very familiar with Ao Langtian as a Golden Core Cultivator, they could deduce from the magical treasures’ refining methods and the recorded matters on some Jade Scrolls.

Instantly, the expressions of Qin Changkong and several cultivators turned grim.