Chapter 22: Hua Luoyan

“Sister Muxue!”

After getting a clear look at the figure in the doorway, the several girls were instantly overjoyed. “Sister Muxue, save us—”

Everyone knew one fact very well.

Among these one hundred disciples of the Heaven Sound Sect, if there was truly someone who could contend with a Blue-Horn level evil spirit, that person had to be Su Muxue.

Su Muxue, number one on the Heaven Sound Sect’s inner court ranking list, had reached the peak of the Great Ascension Realm at a young age and was only a single step away from the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

Although there was nearly a whole major realm between a quasi-Tribulation Transcendence and a quasi-Earthly Immortal, the advantage of sonic-type cultivation techniques in restraining ghostly beings could still make up for some of the difference.

“Sister Muxue, the Sect Master and Elder Zhou, they…” Shangguan Yu’s eyes were somewhat dim.

“I know,” before Shangguan Yu could finish, Su Muxue raised a hand to interrupt her, “I was outside the door just now and heard everything…”

It turned out that the residence Su Muxue and her sister had entered happened to be right next to Shangguan Yu’s.

Hearing the unusual commotion from next door, Su Muxue had quickly settled her sister down and rushed over.

“In that case… Sister Muxue,” Shangguan Yu asked, her voice choked with emotion, “Do you think… this is real?”

“I don’t know,” Su Muxue gave a bitter smile, then shook her head, “I only know that the most pressing matter right now is to resolve the trouble in front of us.”

“You’re right…” Shangguan Yu forced herself to stand up from the ground, “We can’t just sit here and wait for death!”

“Jie jie, interesting~”

Hearing the girls’ conversation, the Blue-Horned Evil Spirit couldn’t help but sneer, “You don’t really think—that you have any hope of survival, do you?”

“How will we know if we don’t try?!” Shangguan Yu said, then took out a long golden flute from her robes. “Take this!”

Meanwhile—

The Heaven Sound Sect’s Elder Hall.

“Sect Master, you’ve been pacing back and forth for half the day. Why don’t you sit down and rest for a bit.”

Inside the main hall, a woman in a long brown dress softly advised Hua Luoyan.

“Sigh!” Hearing this, Hua Luoyan let out a heavy sigh, “Sit? How can I possibly sit down!”

It turned out that the Heaven Sound Sect’s Master, Hua Luoyan, possessed a treasure called the Star-Lattice Sand Tray.
This sand tray had a magical function: it could predict the fortune or misfortune of future events.

Whenever an event was about to occur, the Star-Lattice Sand Tray would glow with a corresponding color based on the event’s nature.

Auspicious events glowed purple, while inauspicious ones glowed red.

The brighter the glow, the greater the event.

And just today, the Star-Lattice Sand Tray, which had always been quiet, suddenly erupted in a brilliant red light.

The glare of the light was, it could be said, absolutely unprecedented.

Yet this wasn’t the deadliest part.

The deadliest part was that—almost all the disciples deeply believed in the sand tray’s prophecies.

If this matter were to leak, the sect would absolutely descend into chaos long before the event even arrived.

“Elder Li, what are your thoughts on this matter?” Hua Luoyan frowned and asked a woman in a long purple dress.

“Sect Master,” Elder Li cupped her hands and rose to speak, “Although the Star-Lattice Sand Tray’s prophecies have never been wrong, a prophecy does not represent fact. Before we understand the full story, the only thing we can do is to first lock down the information.”

“Mm,” Hua Luoyan responded with a blank expression, then turned her head to look at the other elders. “And you? Do you all think the same?”

“Yes, yes,” the elders all spoke up in agreement, “For now, it’s best to first lock down the information…”

“Alright then,” seeing that the elders had no decent ideas either, Hua Luoyan felt quite helpless, “In that case, we shall first…”

“Report—”

Just as Hua Luoyan was about to assign tasks to the elders, a guard wearing a helmet suddenly ran in, flustered.

“Reporting to the Sect Master, it’s not good! Someone of unknown identity has secretly infiltrated!”

“What?!” Hearing the guard’s words, Hua Luoyan was greatly astonished. “Do you know who it is?”

“N-No… I don’t know…” The guard looked at Hua Luoyan’s tense face and stammered in response.

“Their appearance? What did the person look like?!” Hua Luoyan pressed anxiously.

“T-Too fast, I didn’t get a clear look…” The guard’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, his head buried even lower.

…

Hearing this string of useless nonsense, Hua Luoyan felt her blood pressure spike. “Useless! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and find him!”

“No need to look, I am here.”

Just as Hua Luoyan was shouting herself hoarse, a ball of black mist slowly appeared in the center of the hall.

The black mist dissipated, and Lin Fan’s tall, slender figure gradually appeared before everyone.

“Who are you?” Hua Luoyan stared at the suddenly appearing Lin Fan, her expression full of vigilance.

“Lin Fan,” Lin Fan said faintly.

“So it is Young Master Lin,” Hua Luoyan asked cautiously, “May I ask what business brings Young Master Lin here?”

“It’s nothing much,” Lin Fan narrowed his eyes, “I just wanted to ask the Sect Master about someone.”

“Ask about someone?” Hearing Lin Fan’s words, Hua Luoyan’s expression instantly tensed. “Who are you asking about?”

“Su Mubing and Su Muxue,” Lin Fan said bluntly, “I believe they should be here, right?”

‘Is it them…’

Hearing this, Hua Luoyan breathed a sigh of relief. “They are indeed here, it’s just that…”

“It’s just that they’ve gone out for training and can’t return for the time being. Is that it, Sect Master?” Lin Fan asked, somewhat mockingly.

“That’s right,” Hua Luoyan nodded, “It seems the guards have already told you, so Young Master, don’t be anxious. Just wait patiently.”

“Patiently?” Lin Fan sneered, “One hundred people go, only ten return. How do you expect me to be patient?!”

!!!

This statement from Lin Fan instantly drained the color from Hua Luoyan’s face.

“You, you, you… How could you…”

“You want to ask—how I know, is that right?” Lin Fan’s tone was playful. “But that’s not something you need to worry about.”

Hua Luoyan suddenly fell silent.

She raised her head and gave Lin Fan a complicated look.

Lin Fan was able to bypass her perception and appear before her silently.

Based on this point alone, Hua Luoyan could determine that Lin Fan’s cultivation was absolutely far beyond her own.

Therefore, if Lin Fan wanted to kill her, it would be as easy as flipping a hand.

But Lin Fan didn’t do so.

This reflected a very important issue: the two girls Lin Fan was looking for were of extraordinary significance to him.

In other words, it was because Lin Fan was worried about the girls’ safety that he had hesitated to make a move.

In fact, handing over the two girls would be absolutely harmless to the plan Hua Luoyan had been orchestrating.

But…

The most difficult problem now was—whether Su Muxue and her sister could return alive.

‘Wait… could it be?!’

Hua Luoyan seemed to have suddenly thought of something terrible. Her pupils shrank, and she looked at Lin Fan as if he were a monster.

“Hm?”

Noticing Hua Luoyan’s strange gaze, Lin Fan subconsciously touched his forehead. “Sect Master, is there something written on my face?”

“N-No… nothing…”

Startled by Lin Fan’s question, Hua Luoyan snapped back to her senses and quickly forced a smile. “Young Master has come from afar, you must be hungry, right? Please have a seat for a moment, I will go instruct the servants to prepare some food.”

“No need,” Lin Fan’s eyes were indifferent, “Just tell me the specific location of Su Muxue and the others’ training.”

“This…”

Lin Fan’s decisive refusal made Hua Luoyan feel instantly awkward. “It’s like this, this involves the secrets of the Heaven Sound Sect, I cannot… Ah!”

Before Hua Luoyan could finish, Lin Fan teleported forward and grabbed her by the neck. “I have a bad temper and don’t like to hear useless nonsense! If you continue to be secretive, be careful I don’t skin you alive!”

“Don’t… cough cough! Don’t do this! I’ll talk…”

Seeing her life in danger, Hua Luoyan finally chose to compromise. “In… cough! In Myriad Ghost City…”

“What?!” After hearing Hua Luoyan’s words, Lin Fan was instantly astonished.

Lin Fan was all too familiar with a place like Myriad Ghost City.

Even if sonic-type cultivation techniques had a certain restraining effect on ghostly beings, without the strength of a Heavenly Immortal or above, it was basically a one-way trip.

But the problem was—

Even Hua Luoyan, the Sect Master of the Heaven Sound Sect, only had a cultivation at the late-stage Earthly Immortal Realm.
Lin Fan couldn’t imagine what that group of female disciples, whose strength was far inferior to the Sect Master’s, would experience inside.

“The heart of a viper… simply the heart of a viper!” Staring at the innocent-looking Hua Luoyan before him, Lin Fan instantly gnashed his teeth in hatred.

“A heart this malicious is a scourge if left around. It’s better to send you on your way right now!”

“No—”

Feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from Lin Fan, Hua Luoyan shrieked and covered her eyes in despair.

[Host, don’t be impulsive! The most urgent matter is to quickly find Su Muxue and her sister and confirm their identities!]

Just as Lin Fan was about to strike, the system suddenly popped up to remind him.

“That’s right…”

Hearing the system’s reminder, Lin Fan’s emotions gradually calmed down.

“But I can’t just let it go like this…”

Thinking of this, Lin Fan fumbled for a moment and took out a black pill from his robes.

“Open your mouth!”

“Mmph…” Before Hua Luoyan could react, Lin Fan had already forcibly shoved the pill into her mouth.

“Swallow it!” Lin Fan commanded, his face ashen.

“Gulp.” Knowing she was no match for him, Hua Luoyan had no choice but to obediently comply under Lin Fan’s furious glare.

“Buzz—”

The moment Hua Luoyan swallowed the pill, the guiding stone in Lin Fan’s hand suddenly erupted in a brilliant red light.

“This is?” Faced with this sudden situation, Lin Fan was somewhat bewildered.

[Not good!]

Seeing this, the system couldn’t help but cry out.

[A fairy has encountered mortal danger!]

“What?!”

Hearing this, Lin Fan was instantly alarmed.
The next second, Lin Fan transformed into a ball of black mist and shot directly toward Myriad Ghost City.

Inside Myriad Ghost City—

The Blue-Horned Evil Spirit looked at the fallen Su Muxue, its eyes full of disdain. “I thought you were so capable, but this is all you’ve got?”

“Cough, cough cough…” Su Muxue’s ten fingers dug into the ground as she struggled to stand up. “D-Don’t… don’t be so smug, sooner or later… someone will come to deal with you…”

“Jie jie,” the Blue-Horned Evil Spirit let out a strange laugh, “Are you starting to spout nonsense now that death is at your door? Then tell me, where is the person who will deal with me?”

“Right here!”

The moment the Blue-Horned Evil Spirit’s voice fell, a thunderous roar suddenly came from outside the door.