Chapter 587: Suspicion

Anyone else would have taken the benefits and run. Who would think of staying behind to feign innocence and play the victim? Only Jiang Fan could pull that off.

"My soul-seizing failure was truly no injustice," he admitted. "You, kid, are full of tricks." Six Dao Venerable was finally convinced.

While checking for any suspicious oversights on his person, Jiang Fan said, "Do you think I wanted to? If I weren't here, Venerable Qinghe would immediately know I was the one who took the Bodhi Tree and your corpse's ring. Could I escape the monk but not the temple? If he goes to Qingyun Sect and threatens my sect, what would I do? Besides, that woman Yunxia still has two of my items. I need to retrieve them before I can leave."

"Oh," Six Dao Venerable realized. "That's true. I know a bit about Venerable Qinghe; he looks benevolent but is actually ruthless. Be careful; he's not easy to deal with."

Jiang Fan's brow furrowed slightly. He had witnessed Venerable Qinghe's decisive and meticulous nature in the magma pool. If not for the sudden appearance of the ancient giant, he had no doubt that Venerable Qinghe would have found a way to track him down.

Soon after, Venerable Qinghe was the first to rush out of the huge chasm, followed closely by his two disciples. Concubine Yunxia and Demon King Chunni came last. Upon exiting, Concubine Yunxia immediately looked at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan was her most suspected person. Seeing him still honestly tied in place, she frowned and stepped forward to carefully examine the Dragon-Binding Lock. She found it was still tightly bound. As she prepared for a more thorough inspection, Jiang Fan feigned a bewildered expression:

"Did something happen in there just now?" he asked. "I feel like the whole mountain was shaking."

This interruption unsettled Concubine Yunxia. While they were halfway up, the mountain had indeed shaken violently, and a terrifying roar had faintly echoed. "This is not a safe place; we must leave quickly," Concubine Yunxia said, untying one end of the stone pillar. Holding the chain, she cupped her hands towards Venerable Qinghe. "Senior, thank you for your protection along the way. We will take our leave now."

Since the secret realm had come to an end, there was no need to associate further with the master and his two disciples, especially the one named Lu Liang. His gaze made her very uncomfortable.

"Wait," Venerable Qinghe said, his old eyes narrowing as he scrutinized Jiang Fan. "Has this person been here the whole time?"

Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat. This old man was indeed hard to fool. He feigned bewilderment and asked, "Senior, why do you ask?"

Venerable Qinghe approached, cupping his hands with a benevolent expression, showing no hint of an Essence Soul expert's arrogance. "Young friend, allow me to introduce myself: I am Venerable Qinghe," he said. "I know you inadvertently took my Bodhi Tree and another treasure of great importance to my Myriad Tribulation Sacred Hall. However, ignorance is no crime, so it's fine. Just return them, and I won't blame you. In fact, I'll even take you back to the Myriad Tribulation Sacred Hall and grant you the status of a hall member. How does that sound?"

Jiang Fan sneered inwardly. His words sounded better than a song. In the magma pool, Venerable Qinghe's ruthlessness was his true nature, wasn't it? If he dared to admit it, Venerable Qinghe would dare to teach him a lesson—the kind that involved reincarnating.

"Bodhi Tree? Treasure? I took them?" Jiang Fan's eyes widened. He looked at the chains on his hands, then at Concubine Yunxia, displaying extreme bewilderment.

Concubine Yunxia's brow subtly furrowed. "Senior," she said, "Jiang Fan is bound by the Dragon-Binding Lock, which even an Essence Soul cultivator cannot break free from. And the key has always been in my possession." She took out the key to Jiang Fan's house and showed it to Venerable Qinghe.

Venerable Qinghe glanced at the key, then tugged hard on the chain. He found that the lock indeed had some trick to it; even with his hidden force, it didn't budge. As he pondered this, Concubine Yunxia added, "Even if we consider a thousand possibilities, even if he broke free from the Dragon-Binding Lock, how could he have gone down before us? Furthermore, if he was the one in the magma pool, he would have left after us. Why, then, did he surface before us?" These words greatly reduced Venerable Qinghe's doubts. How could he not understand that this youth's involvement was highly unlikely?

However, as there was no one else around, he had only probed Jiang Fan. From Jiang Fan's reaction, he couldn't find any fault. But being cautious and meticulous by nature, he hadn't entirely dismissed his suspicion of Jiang Fan. His eyes narrowed as he said:

"Young friend, I know you didn't take them. However, just to be safe, I need to search your person. I hope you don't mind." This was hardly a suggestion; it was clearly a command. Jiang Fan's heart tightened. Six Dao Venerable had indeed been right; Venerable Qinghe was difficult to shake off.

"Lu Liang, search him," Venerable Qinghe said expressionlessly.

Lu Liang walked over, gave Jiang Fan a disdainful look, and roughly searched him. Jiang Fan bit his red lip, a look of humiliation in his eyes, but he dared not resist the search.

Concubine Yunxia, standing by, was terrified. Jiang Fan had a spatial storage device, filled with countless treasures, no less than what could be found in this secret realm. If Venerable Qinghe discovered it, he would certainly claim it for himself. And once he took the treasures, to prevent information from leaking, he would undoubtedly resort to murder to silence them. The question was, if he killed Jiang Fan, would Concubine Yunxia and Demon King Chunni also be killed?

"Why do you have absolutely nothing?" However, to Concubine Yunxia's astonishment, Lu Liang kicked Jiang Fan after completing the search. He had expected to find some valuable items, but there was nothing at all.

Jiang Fan had anticipated the search methods Lu Liang and Venerable Qinghe might use. He had already had the little qilin hide the Sky Thunder Stone and other items. There was no way they could find anything.

Concubine Yunxia let out a slight breath of relief, casting a meaningful glance at Jiang Fan. "When I captured him, I already searched him and took everything he had," she said. "He was already empty-handed."

Seeing that Jiang Fan indeed had nothing he wanted, Venerable Qinghe finally dismissed his suspicions completely. His brow furrowed deeply. "That's strange," he muttered. "Who could be so powerful? Who could enter before us and exit after us?" He had initially thought of asking Jiang Fan if he had seen anyone emerge. But then he reconsidered. In the magma pool, he hadn't even seen the person's shadow when they were cloaked in invisibility, let alone Jiang Fan.

"Never mind, never mind. Let's leave this place first and investigate slowly back home," he said, his brow furrowed, his voice a grim hum. "Even if I have to turn both races upside down, I will find this person."

Seeing this, Concubine Yunxia bid farewell to Venerable Qinghe once more. "Then, this junior will take her leave first," she said. She led Jiang Fan onto the Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf. Chunni also obediently got on.

Lu Liang felt a pang of reluctance as he watched Concubine Yunxia's beautiful figure depart. Suddenly, he noticed Jiang Fan staring at him with a cold gaze and couldn't help but sneer. "Still holding a grudge against me? What's wrong with searching you and kicking you once? Do you dare to object?"

"Concubine Yunxia, you can leave, but this person stays!" Having found nothing on this trip, he was brimming with anger. Jiang Fan had just foolishly bumped into him. He might as well vent his frustration on him.

Jiang Fan stood up coldly. "Fine!" he said. "As long as your master doesn't interfere, dealing with you is no problem."

"Hahaha!" Lu Liang laughed in anger. "A good-for-nothing from a desolate place dares to challenge me? Truly, a frog in a well, ignorant and fearless! Fine, today I'll show you how pathetic you barbarians are in front of a disciple of a martial arts sacred land!"

His body trembled, unleashing the terrifying cultivation of a Seventh-Stage Core Formation expert. Such cultivation would be enough to be among the top three elders in any of the other eight sects, excluding the Giant Sect! Yet, in the Myriad Tribulation Sacred Hall, he was merely a disciple! What kind of talent was this?

Jiang Fan's eyes narrowed. Although a Seventh-Stage Core Formation expert was somewhat tricky, he wasn't necessarily unable to fight. But just then, from beneath the base of the Benevolent Buddha statue, a long, slender, crimson tongue shot out like a bolt of lightning!