Chapter 88: What Does It Matter

Silence, a silence so dreadful it seemed one could hear the powerful beating of one’s own heart.

At the moment Gu Yang knelt, something within each of them was forged anew.

“Shen Qingyun, you actually dared to make Senior Brother Gu kneel. When I get out, I’ll make you pay, even if it costs me my life!”

“You still have the strength to shout; it seems it’s not enough,” Shen Qingyun replied. Instantly, the formation accelerated, and the smoke within the light barrier thickened at a terrifying rate. Soon, everyone was shrouded, only silhouettes visible.

“What are you doing!” Gu Yang exclaimed in shock, raising his gaze to Shen Qingyun. “Didn’t you say you’d let them go?”

“Kneel and write a confession; you’ve only completed half,” Shen Qingyun answered.

“Fine, I’ll write it, I’ll write it!” Gu Yang almost roared.

“I, Gu Yang, coveted the ancestral lotus obtained by Shen Qingyun’s team, causing casualties within both teams... In this incident, Shen Qingyun acted in self-defense, and all responsibility lies with me!”

Gu Yang recorded these words directly onto a jade slip, eliminating any possibility of forgery. The slip would carry his aura as well...

Taking the jade slip, Shen Qingyun’s expression remained calm. To him, the confession was of little importance, but it still served its purpose.

“I’ve written it, now let them go!” Gu Yang looked at Shen Qingyun, his eyes pleading, his whole person appearing utterly wretched.

“Not so fast.”

Shen Qingyun stored the jade slip away. Compared to Gu Yang’s urgency, his demeanor was another extreme.

“You said you’d let them go once I wrote it—how can you break your word?” Gu Yang erupted like a volcano, as if Shen Qingyun didn’t release them soon, he would leap up and risk everything against him.

“They’ll be fine,” Shen Qingyun said lightly. “Even if they remain in the formation for a day or two, nothing will happen.”

Gu Yang was momentarily stunned; Shen Qingyun’s words left him speechless, only glaring at him with even wider eyes...

Shen Qingyun continued, “That formation is a fusion of two arrays: a Prison Dragon Array and a Spirit Gathering Array. The Spirit Gathering Array draws the energy of Ghost Valley, trapping it within the Prison Dragon Array.”

“In fact, as long as they don’t actively absorb that energy, nothing will happen. The difficulty in breathing is because I set the Prison Dragon Array to be absolutely sealed; once the breathable air is consumed, naturally it becomes hard to breathe.”

“What about the previous claim that the energy would erode them?” Gu Yang asked, bewildered.

“I made that up,” Shen Qingyun shrugged. “There are over thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators in total; if I really killed them, the consequences would be dire.”

“So you were deceiving me!” Gu Yang finally realized, his previously pale face now flushed with anger.

“Yes, I was deceiving you,” Shen Qingyun admitted, to everyone’s surprise.

“I’ll kill you!” Gu Yang leapt up, the Crescent Blade appearing once more in his hand.

As he jumped, Shen Qingyun’s intimidation resumed, and Gu Yang was instantly restrained, his movements sluggish.

Watching Gu Yang’s slow steps, Shen Qingyun spoke, “The ones you should blame aren’t me, but the person in your team and the mole in mine.”

“If they hadn’t sent messages, I wouldn’t have known they were plotting to recruit my people into your team. Of course, if they wanted to recruit me, I wouldn’t have refused.”

Hearing this, Gu Yang gradually lowered his blade. In truth, he never had the chance to act, but Shen Qingyun’s words brought him clarity; indeed, it was Zhou Ze and the other two who didn’t follow his orders that led to all these events.

Seeing Gu Yang put away his blade, Shen Qingyun withdrew his intimidation and continued, “In a moment, I’ll release Liu Mo to you as well.”

“Liu Mo is unharmed?” Gu Yang asked in disbelief.

“Of course he’s unharmed. I only killed one. Liu Mo hurt no one, so I had no reason to kill him,” Shen Qingyun shrugged.

After a pause, Shen Qingyun added, “But now you’ve written the confession; everything will be attributed to you. When they come out, you’d better keep them in line.”

Gu Yang was speechless and could only nod. He was confident he could manage them; if he couldn’t, then his kneeling would have been utterly worthless.

Boom—

The formation shattered, first with a thunderous noise, then the light barrier cracked with spiderweb-like fissures, sections collapsing. The black smoke within surged skyward like a wild horse, then dispersed.

As the smoke cleared, the disciples’ figures reappeared, sprawled haphazardly on the ground, but otherwise unscathed—clearly just unconscious.

Seeing they were unharmed, Gu Yang finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

...

Su Ye watched Gu Yang’s group depart, feeling unsettled. They had arrived with twenty-four people, counting Gu Yang as twenty-five. Now, as they left, their numbers had swelled to thirty-seven!

They had instantly become the largest team.

Twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators—no matter how you looked at it, this was a formidable force. Su Ye couldn’t understand why Shen Qingyun had handed them over so willingly!

Moreover, when Shen Qingyun uttered those words, it had startled Su Ye. Everyone knew that Ghost Valley contained a special power capable of eroding one’s mind, turning them into a creature obsessed with slaughter.

But who could have guessed it was all fabricated?

When Su Ye realized Shen Qingyun’s plan was to turn them into such monsters, his mind exploded, left blank, with only one thought circling in his head.

He’s mad, Shen Qingyun is mad!

What else could this be but madness? Such lunacy—only a madman could conceive it.

In that instant, Shen Qingyun’s image in Su Ye’s heart collapsed.

Thankfully, he learned in the end it was all Shen Qingyun’s fabrication.

“From the very beginning, he never trusted anyone.” Su Ye couldn’t help but recall Shen Qingyun’s words.

His gaze dimmed slightly. If he never trusted anyone, what did that make him?

At that moment, Shen Qingyun walked up beside him and casually asked, “Where’s Ling Xiao?”

“He went to check on Senior Sister Wu,” Su Ye replied, though his mood was clearly low.

Shen Qingyun noticed, glanced at him, but said nothing. Instead, before Su Ye’s eyes, he retrieved the jade slip containing Gu Yang’s confession from his storage ring.

As Su Ye’s pupils contracted, Shen Qingyun crushed the jade slip into powder, letting it scatter into the wind.

“Senior Brother Shen, you...” Su Ye was too shocked to speak.

“I have no need for such things,” Shen Qingyun replied with a gentle smile, then turned and patted Su Ye’s shoulder. “Come, let’s find Ling Xiao.”

Su Ye had no words. If he didn’t need it, why make Gu Yang kneel and write it?

He simply couldn’t understand.

...

By this time, Wu Xier had awakened and was sitting against a tree.

Ling Xiao stood not far away. His expression was grim, his face cold, and deep within his eyes flickered pain.

“Do I disgust you so much?” Ling Xiao asked.

“Yes,” Wu Xier replied, her calm words devoid of emotion.

Ling Xiao’s body stiffened. His hands clenched tightly as he gazed deeply at Wu Xier, his voice low. “Fine, as you wish.” With that, he turned and left without hesitation.

After Ling Xiao departed, Wu Xier finally relaxed her tense body, a struggle and pain surfacing in her eyes.