Chapter 261: Elder Shen, Meeting You Is My Great Fortune
He Tianchou smiled bitterly. "Elder Shen, I'm sorry. Once again, I've dragged you into a life-and-death situation."
"The only good news is that the spirit stones powering this Blazing Flame Tornado Array seem to be nearly depleted. If we can hold on for half a day, we might survive."
Shen Mo pondered for a moment and said, "Ye Yan must have known this array couldn't kill us, yet he still went through all the trouble to lure us in."
"It seems he's just trying to buy time."
"Buying time? What's the point?" He Tianchou was stunned.
Shen Mo shook his head and calmly replied, "He knows the two of us are traveling together, so he can't kill you anymore. His plan is to rush back to the safe house ahead of us, twist the story, and frame us."
After thinking for a moment, Shen Mo fully understood Ye Yan's intentions.
He Tianchou's eyes widened in rage. "Damn it! That shameless bastard!"
Gritting his teeth, He Tianchou growled, "Are we just going to let him get back to the safe house first and accuse us without any recourse?!"
He was so furious he nearly spat blood.
Shen Mo smiled faintly. "Don't be so anxious."
"This Blazing Flame Tornado Array won't be able to trap us."
He Tianchou froze. "Does Elder Shen have a plan?"
His eyes brightened with excitement. "Could it be that you have an Elder Token from the Nine-Turn Alchemy Sect?"
Shen Mo simply smiled without answering.
Instead, he took out a token.
The token emitted waves of invisible power, spreading outward.
In an instant, the raging flame tornadoes around them stopped abruptly.
Then, just as quickly, they reversed their course and gradually dissipated.
The moment Shen Mo produced the token, all danger vanished into thin air.
He Tianchou's eyes widened in disbelief.
He wasn't a fool.
He immediately realized what the token was.
It had to be an Elder Token from the Nine-Turn Alchemy Sect!
His gaze was filled with envy.
Holders of the Elder Token could move freely within this Fire Alchemy Palace.
However, Elder Tokens were exceedingly rare, and not every Jade Cauldron Sect cultivator could obtain one.
Most people only carried Inner Sect disciple tokens, navigating precariously between fire beasts and killing arrays, barely surviving.
Take He Tianchou, for instance.
He had entered the Fire Alchemy Palace three times, yet never managed to find a single Elder Token from the Nine-Turn Alchemy Sect.
But Shen Mo, on his very first visit, had effortlessly acquired one.
The difference between people was truly staggering!
"Let's go, Hall Master He. If we take a direct route, we should be able to reach the safe house before Ye Yan," Shen Mo said, putting away the token with a smile.
He Tianchou steadied himself and nodded repeatedly.
Ye Yan didn't have an Elder Token, only an Inner Sect disciple token.
This meant he would have to detour around killing arrays and fire beast groups.
Naturally, this would take more time.
With the Elder Token, Shen Mo didn't need to worry about killing arrays.
He could walk straight through without hesitation.
With the Elder Token in hand, no killing array would dare activate.
He Tianchou sighed. "Elder Shen, meeting you is truly my great fortune."
Shen Mo simply smiled and gestured for him to follow.
Six days later.
Ye Yan strode quickly into the safe house.
He knew the Blazing Flame Tornado Array couldn't kill Shen Mo and He Tianchou; at most, it would trap them for a day or two.
Thus, he had used every trick he could to speed up his journey.
When encountering fire beast groups, he hid.
When facing weaker killing arrays, he gritted his teeth and charged through.
This had saved him a significant amount of time.
Otherwise, for an average cultivator, returning to the safe house would have taken at least ten days.
"They must still be far behind me."
"If I get back to the safe house first, I can claim that He Tianchou attacked me and tried to use me as bait for the fire dragon."
Ye Yan took a deep breath.
His mind was already formulating numerous contingency plans.
Back when he was still a member of the Ye family in Jade Sea City, he had done something similar.
That time, his actions had led to the death of a rival.
To him, such tactics weren't morally wrong.
In this world, only strength mattered.
As long as he could become stronger, the means didn't matter.
Steadying himself, Ye Yan strode confidently into the safe house.
The moment he entered, countless pairs of eyes turned to focus on him.
As Ye Yan entered the safe house, the gazes directed at him were filled with an array of emotions.
There was surprise, disdain, and a peculiar curiosity.
Among them was even Yang Wenyuan.
Yang Wenyuan's expression was especially complex, as if he were looking at a stranger.
Ye Yan's heart sank.
What happened? Why is everyone looking at me like this?
He spoke with a serious tone. "Everyone, I was ambushed by He Tianchou—"
Before he could finish, a familiar voice interrupted him.
"Ye Yan, you're a bit slow."
Ye Yan turned toward the voice, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Standing there were two figures: Shen Mo and He Tianchou!
Both were impeccably dressed, completely unharmed, and brimming with energy.
It was clear they had arrived at the safe house days ago.
"You... You two..."
Ye Yan struggled to accept what he was seeing.
Hadn't he tricked them into the Blazing Flame Tornado Array?
At the very least, it should have delayed them for a day!
How had they returned to the safe house several days before him?
Impossible.
This is absolutely impossible!
As the thought raced through his mind, a possibility suddenly struck him.
An Elder Token!
That's it.
Only someone holding an Elder Token could have escaped the Blazing Flame Tornado Array.
Only with an Elder Token could they take a direct route, bypassing the killing arrays entirely.
"Ye Yan, you're cruel-hearted," He Tianchou said, his eyes filled with hatred as he glared at Ye Yan. "For the sake of saving yourself, you didn't hesitate to attack a fellow sect elder!"
"If Elder Shen hadn't happened to be nearby, I'd be dead by now, and the other elders would have been completely fooled by you!"
"Ye Yan, you're unworthy of being an elder of the Jade Cauldron Sect!"
He Tianchou's furious rebuke was soon echoed by others.
Ouyang Wei, Liu Ruyun, and others added their voices to the condemnation.
Even the elders of the Third and Sixth Peaks raised their voices against him.
These elders were known for being opportunistic and rarely taking a clear stance.
They usually played all sides between the sect leader, the Second Elder, and the Tenth Elder.
But now they acted decisively.
It was evident that Ye Yan's lack of camaraderie had already alienated him.
His cold, aloof demeanor had long annoyed them.
With an opportunity to criticize Ye Yan, they weren't going to let it slip by.
The deafening chorus of voices roared in Ye Yan's ears, making his head throb.
Instinctively, he turned to Yang Wenyuan, looking toward the elders of the Second Peak.
But the elders of the Second Peak all avoided his gaze.
Today, you framed He Tianchou, using him to block the fire beasts.
Tomorrow, will it be us? Will you sacrifice us as shields against your enemies?
Trust, once lost, was difficult to regain.
Yang Wenyuan's gaze toward Ye Yan was deeply conflicted.
If you're going to do something like this, fine—but at least clean up after yourself.
How can I help you if you don't even bother covering your tracks?
Ye Yan glanced around the room.
Not a single person was willing to speak up for him.
It felt as though a fire was raging in his chest.
He spoke coldly. "Twisting the truth!"
"I, Ye Yan, have never done anything to wrong a fellow sect elder!"
"But you two arriving at the safe house before me is indeed strange. I've figured it out—one of you possesses an Elder Token!"
"Instead of pointing fingers at me, you should think about how you're going to keep that Elder Token safe!"
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