Chapter 2541: Showdown

At these words, everyone on the Golden Summit was startled, and even Zu An's heart sank. How had Yun Jianyue's identity been exposed?

Qiu Honglei's expression subtly changed, and she quickly looked at her master.

Yun Jianyue, following everyone's gaze, looked towards the main road leading up the mountain.

A group of people was rapidly approaching. Leading them was a disheveled, fierce-looking middle-aged woman.

While such an appearance wouldn't normally be remarkable, she happened to look exactly like Elder Peng of Empty Isle.

Beside her stood a young woman, whose distinctive ugliness was equally striking. Wan Guiyi of the Jadefall Palace instantly widened his eyes. How could he forget that he had previously found a certain beauty in this appearance, the beauty of a strong practitioner? He immediately stared at Qiu Honglei with wide eyes.

Seeing this bizarre scene, the other people on the previously bustling Golden Summit fell silent.

Guan Chouhai and others looked at Yun Jianyue and her disciple, then at the other pair of Elder Peng and her disciple, instinctively moving further away from both parties.

"What's going on?" Zu An secretly asked via spiritual energy transmission.

"I don't know," Yun Jianyue replied, her expression grave. "There must have been some oversight in where I imprisoned them. Hmph, I should have eliminated them when I had the chance."

By this time, the group had approached. Guan Chouhai was momentarily stunned, "Elder Lian?"

Another white-haired elder in the group cupped his hands at Guan Chouhai, "Sect Master Guan!"

Many from the Nine Daoist Sects recognized this elder from Empty Isle and exchanged greetings with him.

However, everyone quickly realized the problem: there were now two Elder Pengs and two Peng Wuyans. What was happening?

Wan Tongtian asked in a deep voice, "Elder Lian, what exactly is going on?"

Elder Lian looked at the middle-aged woman beside him, "Junior Sister Peng, you explain."

Elder Peng then spoke: "This time, I was ordered to bring Wuyan to Purple Mountain for the decennial Daoist Grand Competition. However, at an inn not far from Purple Mountain, we were ambushed by demonic cultists and imprisoned. For the next few days, they applied strange medicinal mud to our faces. We later learned they intended to create masks to impersonate us."

As she spoke, all eyes turned to Yun Jianyue and her disciple, their gazes filled with vigilance.

Yan Xuehen also looked at her in surprise. Could it really be Yun Jianyue? It truly was a narrow road for adversaries.

Zu An was in a difficult position. Maanmaan's matter was still unresolved, and now something had happened with Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. He couldn't possibly just leave in this situation; he had to observe the situation first.

Yun Jianyue, however, remained calm: "Nonsense! Elder Lian, you're actually colluding with demonic cultists to slander us. This is truly a disgrace to Empty Isle!"

Elder Lian, furious, puffed out his beard and glared: "Demoness, that's nonsense!"

"Isn't that right? You were previously discovered to be colluding with the demonic cult, then fled out of fear of punishment, betraying Empty Isle. Yet, now that we've achieved the best historical honor for Empty Isle, you come out to cause trouble. Just how much do you hate Empty Isle?" Yun Jianyue's barrage of questions left Elder Lian dumbfounded.

Zu An secretly admired her. Since so many people recognized Elder Lian as someone from Empty Isle, Yun Jianyue wisely chose not to deny it, instead directly claiming that the other party had betrayed Empty Isle.

Empty Isle had long been isolated overseas, with little interaction with other sects, so many people had not seen Elder Peng before. Therefore, if Elder Lian had truly betrayed Empty Isle, these people wouldn't be able to verify it quickly.

As expected, upon hearing her words, the others moved further away from Elder Lian's group, fearing they might be demonic cultists in disguise.

"Demoness, stop slandering others!" Elder Lian, clearly not eloquent, was repeatedly cornered by Yun Jianyue's sharp retorts and failed to provide any strong evidence.

"If I were truly Yun Jianyue in disguise, I would have killed you to silence you after capturing you. Why would I give you a chance to ruin my plans?" Yun Jianyue scoffed, though a hint of worry lingered in her heart. The fact that these people had escaped clearly indicated something had gone wrong with the Sacred Cult, and she didn't know the exact situation.

At her words, many in the crowd secretly nodded. Indeed, rumors depicted Yun Jianyue as bloodthirsty; how could she possibly leave survivors?

Consequently, they began to view Elder Lian's group with heightened vigilance.

Sensing the change in everyone's attitude, Elder Lian's group grew anxious. Elder Peng even cursed, "Who knows what evil scheme you have in mind by not killing us? Demonic cultists are always full of tricks; it's not something we can easily guess."

At this moment, Li Changsheng lightly coughed: "Perhaps you don't know, but they have already fought their way into the finals and are the strongest contenders for the championship."

At this, Elder Peng burst into laughter: "Aren't you aware of Empty Isle's capabilities? Could disciples trained by us possibly defeat well-established sects like the Righteous Sun Sect, White Jade City, Jadefall Palace, Kunlun Void, or Lihen Heaven?"

Hearing her words, everyone was startled. They had previously thought Qiu Honglei's continuous victories were too much of a dark horse performance. Now, reflecting on it, it did seem very strange and inconsistent with Empty Isle's past strength.

Only Peng Wuyan's face flushed crimson with embarrassment. Her own elder didn't need to disparage her so much just to prove a point. As a chief disciple of a sect, shouldn't she have some self-respect?

Yun Jianyue was quick to respond: "What a joke! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Empty Isle has worked diligently for decades, and with the discovery of a promising talent, what's so strange about making a splash in the Grand Competition? On the contrary, you disparage Empty Isle so much, yet claim not to be demonic cultists!"

Seeing her master speak with such righteous indignation, Qiu Honglei almost believed it herself, thinking how far her own cultivation still lagged behind her master's.

Elder Lian and Elder Peng on the other side became enraged and started to retort, but unfortunately, they were no match for the eloquent Yun Jianyue. They were verbally defeated, causing many to lean towards believing Yun Jianyue was telling the truth.

Just then, Yan Xuehen, who had been silent, spoke: "It's simple to tell who is real and who is fake. Both parties should allow their acupoints to be sealed, and then we will conduct an examination. The truth will naturally be revealed."

Yun Jianyue cursed inwardly, "This ice woman is truly my bane."

She snorted coldly: "What kind of joke is that? If we give up resistance and allow ourselves to be controlled by you, wouldn't we become fish on a chopping block? If you harbor ill intentions, wouldn't Empty Isle be finished?"

Her words had a point; no master in the world would willingly entrust their life and death to others.

Yan Xuehen calmly stated: "The Nine Daoist Sects are all righteous and reputable sects. With so many young disciples watching, we would not do anything that harms our reputation."

At this, Elder Lian and Elder Peng, who had been at a disadvantage, finally seemed to awaken from a dream and shouted, "We are willing to undergo examination."

After speaking, they adopted a posture of surrender, waiting for those around them to inspect.

Yun Jianyue's expression changed several times. This move was a blatant trap, and she couldn't follow suit. As soon as she was examined, her identity would certainly be exposed, and with the restrictions placed on her body, she wouldn't even be able to resist.

Seeing her expression, those around her finally understood. The sect masters from various factions moved closer, subtly encircling Yun Jianyue and her disciple.

"Hahahaha, the Nine Daoist Sects are nothing more than this! You boast to the heavens, yet in the end, it was a disciple from our Demonic Cult who won first place!" Yun Jianyue stopped pretending. Her outer disguise, including her clothes and mask, shattered, revealing her waterfall-like beautiful hair. Her entire being exuded an otherworldly allure and a dangerous aura.

Seeing this, Qiu Honglei also had no choice but to reveal her true form, her body wreathed in spiritual energy, ready for battle at any moment.

The entire Golden Summit erupted into an uproar. The Daoist sects and the Demonic Cult had always been mortal enemies. Many young disciples had grown up hearing how cruel and bloodthirsty the Demonic Cult was, especially its leader, Yun Jianyue, who was said to have emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

However, most people had only heard her name but never seen her face. They never expected her to be such a stunning beauty.

Qiu Honglei, standing beside her, was equally captivating. Every glance and smile made the young disciples blush and their hearts race.

Only Wan Guiyi looked bewildered. "How did she change? She looks so delicate now. I still prefer her previous beauty, that of a strong practitioner."