475 Who’s the Traitor?
“Mingfeng, now that you’ve advanced to the visceral prefecture realm, you need to contribute more to our sect,” Kong Binghuang said, patting Xiang Mingfeng’s shoulder heavily. His demeanor had turned serious, a stark contrast from his initial cheerful entry.
Just then, another figure hurried in from the doorway — Wu Jin, the third elder of Wuji Mountain, and another top-tier expert at the fifth-level visceral prefecture realm.
“Apologies for my tardiness, I was preparing tomorrow’s arena for our troublemaker,” he said, appearing drained. Despite his exhaustion, he congratulated Xiang Mingfeng, “With you present tomorrow, the arena will not be a wasted effort!”
Yu Tiancong, amused, announced, “It seems all four titans of our Wuji Mountain have finally assembled.”
Kong Binghuang then motioned everyone to disperse and prepare for the next day. As they left, their reluctant gazes lingered on Xiang Mingfeng.
Surprisingly, no one mentioned when they would release Xiang Mingfeng.
After waiting a moment, Xiang Mingfeng called out, “Brother Zhou, you can come out now.” Only then did Qin Huai emerge from the underground secret room.
“Brother Xiang, I need to discuss something important with you…” Qin Huai didn’t waste any time, recognizing the urgency of the matter. “Are you close to the ninth elder, Shi Hu, and the former thirteenth elder, Wu Feng…”
“I was quite young when Wu Feng disappeared, so I wasn’t very familiar with his relationships,” Xiang Mingfeng started.
“As for Ninth Elder Shi Hu, he is seen as one of Second Elder’s allies. They were both taught by the same master and have been practicing together since they were young. Furthermore, when Shi Hu became an elder, it was Second Elder who promoted him.”
Qin Huai nodded in agreement. “Moreover, the second elder seemed eager to exile you earlier. He appeared quite hostile.”
However, Xiang Mingfeng quickly dismissed this thought. “That doesn’t seem right. Second Elder is a principled person. He is so dogmatic that he treats the sect’s rules as if they were sacred text.
“Even when Master makes routine decisions, Second Elder often disagrees and obstructs him.” Xiang Mingfeng sighed. “The second elder, a follower of the Sacred Heart Sect… Pardon me for being blunt, but I find it hard to believe.”
Nonetheless, Qin Huai cautioned him, “You can’t judge a person by their appearance. The Sacred Heart Sect has many means of enticing people…” He elaborated on the cult’s offerings, from longevity and healing old injuries to enhancing cultivation — all of which would be attractive to martial artists.
“Shi Hu is surely a follower of the Sacred Heart Sect now, but who is controlling him… Brother Xiang, you still have to think carefully,” Qin Huai said.
Given what he heard, he suspected Second Elder Shang Yinzhong was involved. However, as Xiang Mingfeng knew Wuji Mountain better than anyone, his opinion would be decisive.
“Also, I believe there are still demons present on Wuji Mountain,” Qin Huai continued. “I’ve already eliminated a visceral prefecture realm demon at the entrance. This creature even had a demon bloodline and the blood heart technique.”
On hearing this, Xiang Mingfeng sighed in exhaustion. “Has Wuji Mountain been infiltrated by these two forces?” he asked. “Do you have any info about these demons?”
Qin Huai shook his head. “I stumbled upon this only by chance. However, we suspect that the current Mountain Chief of Wuji Mountain, Kong Binghuang, could be involved.”
Xiang Mingfeng was silent. He had trusted his sect members and never imagined such a scenario. If it weren’t for Tang Xinglong’s death and his own imprisonment, he wouldn’t have suspected anyone in the sect.
“But it couldn’t be Master, right?” His voice wavered, the present situation was too confusing with the Sacred Heart Sect, demons, Qingzhou Alliance, and Wuji Mountain all intertwined, making it difficult to differentiate friend from foe.
“If we can’t determine who is on our side, we will have to take action tomorrow,” Qin Huai suggested, considering the certainty of the Sacred Heart Sect’s impending attack. It would at least reveal the enemy’s identity. “But we could incur significant losses by then,” he added honestly.
“Is it highly probable that Master’s life will be in danger? Could he die?” Xiang Mingfeng inquired.
“Yes. After all, Mountain Chief Kong Binghuang is the Sacred Heart Sect’s target this time,” Qin Huai confirmed.
Deep in thought, Xiang Mingfeng considered potential suspects within Wuji Mountain. “Only four people in the sect have the capacity to bring down Wuji Mountain. They’re the four titans: First Elder Yu Tiancong, Second Elder Shang Yinzhong, Third Elder Wu Jin, and my master Kong Binghuang.”
Excluding the possibility that his master was not part of the Sacred Heart Sect, he was left with three options. “Those who are close to Shi Hu include Second Elder Shang Yinzhong… Perhaps the grand elder is also one of them.”
Xiang Mingfeng looked at Qin Huai. “Grand Elder is a mediator within the sect, and he maintains good relations with everyone. His ties with Ninth Elder Shi Hu are strong and given his personality, he likely had a good rapport with the former thirteenth elder, Wu Feng.”
He concluded, “Without the information you provided about Wu Feng, the Second Elder would be the prime suspect.”
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