The atmosphere suddenly shifted and Jian Li felt that something was amiss. It seemed as though everyone around her felt the same. Oddly, even Chen Zhen was unusually tensed up.
"Let's just go inside, obviously our mistake was to expect anything from the True Sword Sect doormats.", Hao Wu snidely remarked.
Liu gave the guards a nasty look.
"You really don't understand how serious this is, do you?"
None of the guards reacted in the slightest.
"Well, whatever, we'll soon enough see what's happening anyways. Come."
Chen Zhen led the group through the gates of the sect. They didn't pass any other guards.
In fact, the whole place looked somewhat deserted.
"What... We were barely gone for half a day, what happened?" Hao Wu wondered aloud.
"I'm sure we will find out soon enough." Chen Zhen answered quietly.
They slowly made their way through the halls of the True Sword Sect until they came to a large open room with golden pillars.
In the middle of the room stood two old men wearing black robes and holding swords. O
ne was tall and thin, while the other was short and stocky. They both wore stern expressions on their faces as they stared at the group.
The group stopped dead in their tracks as they noticed how empty the room was. No servants or scholars were present anywhere. Even the doorkeepers were nowhere to be found.
Jian Li looked around and saw that all of the rooms leading out of the hall were also completely devoid of life.
"We are busy right now. If you have something to say, you can leave your name and wait outside for us to return. Otherwise, please take your business elsewhere.", the tall elderly man said.
His face was expressionless as he spoke, but his tone was threatening. Jian Li gradually recognised both of the men as newly appointed elders.
"That won't be necessary." Chen Zhen replied calmly. "We are here because Banmian is in danger."
"What makes you think that?", the short elder asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Because we were out there. Even my master Meng Liang is out there and he is the one that told us to return to the sect." Chen Zhen said simply.
"And what exactly does he think is going on here?", the tall elder asked.
"From his point of view, the Zhang family is behind it all." Chen Zhen answered quickly. "But we need to speak to all the elders, Elder He Yu needs immediate assistance."
"I see... But where is Sect Leader Meng Liang? When will he return." The short elder said, looking towards Jian Li.
"We don't know.", she responded curtly.
"I see..." The short elder muttered quietly to himself before turning back to Chen Zhen. "Then I suppose our business with you is over for today."
Chen Zhen sent the duo a cold glance.
"Yes, we have no further business here." Chen Zhen replied, bowing deeply to the elders.
"Good to hear."
As the elders turned to walk away, Chen Zhen flashed a knowing smile.
"Wait! I have another question!"
The two elders halted and faced him again.
"What do you want this time?", the short elder asked, crossing his arms.
"Why aren't there any servants or scholars in sight?", Chen Zhen inquired curiously.
The short elder raised an eyebrow. "Because we are busy."
"But why are you so busy?", Chen Zhen pressed.
"Because we have a lot of work to do." The short elder repeated.
"I see... Goodbye then.", Chen Zhen bowed respectfully again.
But right as they turned to leave again, Chen Zhen made his move. He reached into his sleeve and threw out a golden dagger.
It glittered as it spun through the air and embedded itself in the short elder's chest with a bang.
"Guh..."
Blood splashed out of the man's mouth as he collapsed to the ground. The short elder clutched at the wound with trembling hands. Blood was gushing from the elder side like a waterfall.
"How many more of you are there? What do you hope to accomplish?" Chen Zhen demanded loudly.
The short elder weakly attempted to speak, blood dripping down his chin as he struggled. His words came out slurred and jumbled together. "This dagger... The Lord..."
The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.
"Looks like you've caught us. Nice trick.", The tall elder chuckled.
"My master has taught me to be wary of people like you.", Chen Zhen said coldly.
"No need to be rude. Well, we weren't planning on letting any of you leave anyway."
The tall elder smiled ominously as he viciously kicked the wounded one on the ground.
"You're a little too late." The tall elder said.
"What are you plotting?", Long asked, pulling his sword from its sheath.
"I'll let you figure that out if you survive. Take care of them!" The tall elder shouted as he took off his robe.
The short elder slowly tried to crawl forward, desperately covering his wounds. "Stop... Please stop... I'm useful..."
A dark purple aura surged out of the elder's body, a sinister chill spreading through the room. The wounded elder let out a blood-curdling scream as purple fire consumed him.
"Your use is over...", the tall elder growled.
Long quickly attacked the elder with a powerful strike but the elder blocked the blow with a graceful wave of his hand. He then grabbed his neck with both hands, squeezing until Long had lost all strength in his limbs.
He dropped the sword to the floor as a dark flame began charring his body, making everyones heart skip a beat.
"You scum of Alushan!", Liu roared angrily. She instantly shot up her palm, summoning an ethereal azure blade.
"Moonlit Snow!"
The strike was fast enough that even the elder could only manage a block.
However, the power behind the strike was such that the elder was sent flying across the hall, hitting the distant wall and collapsing onto the ground in a mess.
"What are you doing?!" the elder screamed as he looked towards the others that arrived from the corridor. Dozens of cultivators blocked the corridor, wielding their weapons.
"Kill them all!" the elder commanded.