Chapter 182: Warmth and Guilt

The Council Hall.

Even though Ye Xiaotian was drenched in sweat, the two world portals showed no tremor whatsoever.

Soon after the worlds connected, one of the portals flashed with light, and then a figure emerged.

“They’re out!” Zhao Xidong exclaimed happily.

Immediately after, the second and third figures also appeared.

The dizziness caused by crossing the world portal was undeniably strong; all three took a while to recover their senses.

As soon as they opened their eyes and saw hundreds of people in black robes under an old locust tree in front of them, their legs immediately turned to jelly.

“This is…”

What kind of lineup is this? Is it specifically to welcome us?

But we can’t possibly bear this!

They tried hard to recall their actions at Tianxuan Gate, finding nothing out of the ordinary, yet why was this happening...?

Turning around, they saw the Dean and Elder Qiao staring intently.

“Hello, Dean!”

“Hello, Elder Qiao!”

“Uh... Hello, Deacon Zhao!”

They greeted them in quick succession, their expressions uneasy.

Even Zhao Xidong, who was on the steps, was included in their greetings; if they hadn’t seen that they didn’t know the middle-aged man and the veiled woman beside him, they would probably have greeted them as well.

“Heh heh!” Facing these individuals who frequently broke rules, Zhao Xidong’s response was always a cold chuckle.

Little did they know, this meaningful chuckle immediately took on a different meaning in their ears.

Qiao Qianzhi said displeasedly, “Why is it you all?”

In his opinion, even if the world was on the verge of collapse, at least his younger siblings should have come out first.

This was not just about the order of appearance, but also about attitude!

Hearing this, the three immediately panicked. The one at the front, with tear-filled eyes, glanced at Zhao Xidong and said innocently, “It wasn’t us! We really didn’t blow up Tianxuan Gate!”

Zhao Xidong almost burst out laughing. These cowards? Blow up Tianxuan Gate?

You’re not even qualified to be on the list of spy candidates!

Qiao Qianzhi was also speechless for a moment, indicating he didn’t want to talk to these people anymore.

The world portal flashed with light again, and Mo Mo walked out, also feeling dizzy and taking a while to recover.

Everyone else reacted quite well, but Zhao Xidong frowned.

“That strange feeling... is it gone?”

Perhaps it was because he had dated many people, but his sixth sense was incredibly accurate; he usually made no incorrect predictions.

Back in the small thatched hut, when Elder Sang asked him who the spy was, his first answer was Mo Mo, and it was also because of this intuition.

Now...

“Was I mistaken?”

“No, according to Elder Sang, there should be two spies. One is confirmed to be Luo Leilei, and the other... if it’s really not Xu Xiaoshou, then it can only be her!”

His gaze fixed on Mo Mo. After she recovered, Zhao Xidong narrowed his eyes, subtly shifting his gaze elsewhere.

Yet his heart was greatly shaken.

Mo Mo’s first glance was at him!

Why?

He seemed to have only met her once. The Dean, Elder Qiao, and hundreds of black-robed individuals in front of her weren’t worth her first look; instead, she looked at the most inconspicuous person?

In the past, if he had received such special attention, Zhao Xidong would have been ecstatic, but under his current assessments, he could no longer feel happy.

“Damn it, it’s happier to live a carefree life...”

Zhao Xidong stopped overthinking. If the sky fell, the Vice Dean would bear the burden; his worrying like this was pointless.

Not far away, light flashed again.

After Mu Zixi and Chao Qingteng emerged, the world portal quieted down for a moment, then a girl in a purple gauze robe walked out.

Luo Leilei!

She was the only one unaffected by the dizziness from the world portal; evidently, she was fully prepared.

As soon as she appeared, her gaze fell upon the hundreds of black-robed individuals, and her heart sank.

No one spoke, and no one made any subtle movements, but everyone clearly felt that the atmosphere had changed.

It was somewhat stagnant and heavy, with a sense of impending doom, like dark clouds pressing down on a city about to be crushed.

“Is it her?”

Yu Zhiwen suddenly spoke, “This woman is very strong!”

Jiang Bianyan shook her head, “She is not Elder Sang’s disciple. If I’m not mistaken, it should be that one...”

Her gaze shifted to the side, to a green-clad girl with twin pigtails whose big eyes were still rolling around.

Is it really her...? Jiang Bianyan grew somewhat doubtful.

These were the only two people in the entire hall who had yet to recover from the dizziness...

The other one was Chao Qingteng...

Yu Zhiwen’s pretty face beneath her veil became strange; she felt her fighting spirit had risen a bit too early.

Origin Court Realm, peak?

Is this the person Elder Sang favored?

Uh, perhaps... she has some hidden extraordinary qualities!

Ye Xiaotian was still maintaining the world portal, while Qiao Qianzhi’s gaze remained fixed on Luo Leilei. Only after seeming to have completely broken her psychological defenses did he smile and speak:

“Leilei, where are the others?”

Luo Leilei was already prepared for a desperate struggle, but she didn’t expect this question.

She looked into Qiao Qianzhi’s eyes, and unexpectedly, she found no trace of coldness, only the same warmth and encouragement as always.

“He knows...”

“But why does he still look at me like this...”

Luo Leilei unconsciously clenched her fists, suppressing the surging guilt and casting aside the fragments of playful memories from the Outer Court.

Her lips parted and closed, but she couldn’t utter a sound.

“Damn it, he’s clearly just a rotten old man who complains for half a day even when giving out cultivation subsidies...”

Her fingernails dug into her palm. Luo Leilei said with difficulty, “Xu Xiaoshou went to the other side and hasn’t returned yet. The other two... are missing.”

“Two people...” Qiao Qianzhi sighed. “Yuan Tou and Zhou Tianshen?”

He didn’t know about the former, but he generally knew about Zhou Tianshen.

According to the images from the ‘Great Heaven-Moving Mirror,’ this guy must have over-cultivated in the ‘Slaughter Corner.’ Originally, he should have naturally sobered up three days after Tianxuan Gate, but now...

Slaughter Corner?

Qiao Qianzhi vaguely felt something was wrong, but couldn’t pinpoint it.

He thought further...

Xu Xiaoshou and Zhou Tianshen seemed to have a decent relationship. If he were to complete a mission, he might have rushed towards the ‘Slaughter Corner.’

And for the ‘Heaven-Bearing Wood’ seed to emerge, it would surely need to interact with the seal of the realm-guarding treasure there...

“That’s it, the realm-guarding treasure?!”

Qiao Qianzhi’s pupils gradually dilated, and the horror in his eyes slowly increased.

He suddenly looked at Ye Xiaotian.

“If Xu Xiaoshou went to the Slaughter Corner... A-Jie?”

Ye Xiaotian was confused by this abrupt remark. The next second, both world portals began to tremble violently, as if they were about to explode.

Everyone was startled!

“Holy crap, don’t get excited, steady yourself first!”

Qiao Qianzhi cursed in surprise, looking at the world portals gradually returning to calm, feeling uneasy.

Just now, no one should have been walking through them, right...?

The hundreds of people present looked at Ye Xiaotian, feeling somewhat shocked.

This Dean, who hadn’t reacted even when sweat got into his eyes and who was supposed to remain unperturbed even when a mountain collapsed before him, almost destroyed the world portals just because of a single sentence from Qiao Qianzhi.

“A-Jie... what is that?”

Many people had already noticed this strange term.

Jiang Bianyan frowned in deep thought, as if trying to recall something, but after a long time, found her memory still blank and could only give up.

After Ye Xiaotian stabilized the portals again, he took a deep breath and murmured to himself, “Xu Xiaoshou... no, things shouldn’t become this bad!”

Qiao Qianzhi’s face turned bitter. Previously, he had been very confident in this diligent young man, but now...

He looked up at the sky, and there was a hint of weariness in his eyes.

“Let’s hope so!”