65: Nice to meet you

The night the Grand Competition ended, the stone walls of the abandoned stone prison in the back mountain seeped with cold, and the damp air was mixed with the smell of rust and mold.

Elder Wang Daolong of the Enforcement Hall leaned against the corner, his fingertips unconsciously picking at the moss in the cracks of the stone.

He had been imprisoned for many days; the surrounding Restriction glowed faintly, and not even his Divine Sense could penetrate it.

Steward Liu Xian of Dan Ding Peak huddled on the opposite side, his expression tense.

Outer Sect Instructor Zhang Meng paced back and forth, the worn holes in his boots stained with mud.

The three were captured with minimal commotion; no one answered even if they screamed themselves hoarse, and the faint blue light emanating from the Formation barrier was like a death warrant, trapping the three tightly.

Since they were captured and brought here, only one black-robed person would come every day, without saying a word, and would specifically target their painful spots to beat them, then leave.

Although the three did not know why they were captured, they each harbored their own thoughts, yet still held onto a glimmer of hope.

At this moment, hearing the sound of a door opening from the entrance of the stone prison, their hearts all tightened.

This sound was different from the muffled thud when the black-robed person came daily; it seemed as if someone had deliberately opened the outer Restriction.

The vibrating tremor, accompanied by the humming of Formation patterns, spread along the stone wall, causing already taut nerves to suddenly knot together.

Liu Xian subconsciously shrank further into the corner, Zhang Meng’s pacing abruptly stopped, and even Wang Daolong’s fingertips, picking at the moss, froze in place.

The gazes of the three simultaneously shot towards the tightly closed prison door, their breathing unconsciously softening by a few points.

“Bang!”

A muffled thud came from above, and nine black figures were thrown to the ground like sacks, the stirred-up dust making people cough.

“Which son of a bitch ambushed us…”

The first to curse was a young man wearing Outer Sect attire. He rubbed his sore back from the fall and was about to get up when he looked up and met Wang Daolong’s gloomy face.

The young man was startled, then showed a fawning smile.

“Elder Wang? Why are you here too?”

He glanced left and right, seeing unfamiliar faces all around, and lowered his voice to get closer.

“Elder, is this some kind of surprise training? Or a new mission? I knew something was up when you suddenly went silent a few days ago…”

As he spoke, he rubbed his hands.

“But this time the commotion is quite big. So many brothers, are they all from our Burning Heaven Palace? I didn’t expect us to have so many brothers lurking in the Azure Profound Sect?”

Wang Daolong’s eyelids twitched violently. Before he could speak, a furious shout suddenly rang out beside him.

“What, you’re from Burning Heaven Palace?”

The speaker was an Inner Sect Disciple from Dan Ding Peak. He pointed at the young man.

“Ah, aren’t you from our Burning Heaven Palace?”

“Who’s from your Burning Heaven Palace? What nonsense are you spouting? I’m from Myriad Law Pavilion.”

“Myriad Law Pavilion?”

The young man jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

“Good! So you’re a dog of Myriad Law Pavilion! We haven’t settled the score for our Palace Lord getting beaten last time!”

“Heh, beating your Palace Lord was giving him face…”

“Brothers, kill him for me!”

The young man charged at the opponent while not forgetting to call on others to surround him. Two other confused Burning Heaven Palace spies also followed closely.

“Stop.”

Just as the several people were about to fight.

Wang Daolong’s voice was as cold as ice, interrupting the young man’s words.

He leaned against the damp stone wall, looking at the young man’s impulsive demeanor, his brows furrowed into a knot.

The young man’s face stiffened. He looked blankly at Wang Daolong, then glanced around.

The light in the stone prison was dim, and the Formation barrier glowed with a faint blue light, trapping everyone in the middle. There was no familiarity of “our own people” at all.

“El-Elder…” He scratched his head, “Then this is…”

“Idiot.”

Wang Daolong spat out, annoyed.

“Haven’t you realized yet? We’ve been captured, and these people are probably spies from other Sects.”

As these words fell, Steward Liu Xian of Dan Ding Peak, who had been silent, suddenly looked at a young boy dressed as an apothecary’s apprentice in the corner.

“Xiao Wu, aren’t you responsible for drying medicinal herbs at our Dan Ding Peak? How come you’re also…”

The young boy shrank his neck and stammered, “Steward Liu, I… I’m from Jade Clarity Sect. I was sent to be an undercover agent three years ago…”

“Jade Clarity Sect?”

Liu Xian’s mouth twitched. “Your Sect can’t even gather enough Pill Furnaces, yet you’re trying to play undercover?”

Xiao Wu retorted with a stiff neck, “That batch of ‘Spirit Condensing Pills’ you ruined last time, it was because I secretly swapped the medicinal ingredients that it wasn’t discovered…”

“What did you say?”

Liu Xian’s eyes widened like brass bells. “So that batch of Medicinal Pills was your doing?”

“Enough!”

Zhang Meng suddenly let out a low growl, his gaze sweeping over everyone like a knife.

“Now is not the time to talk about this!”

“Steward Liu, which Sect are you from? Now that everyone is exposed, we are all in the same boat, there’s no need to hide anymore.”

“I am from Myriad Law Pavilion.”

Liu Xian said with some pride, as if the identity of Myriad Law Pavilion was somehow more superior than other Sects.

“Which Sect are you from?” Liu Xian asked in return.

“I am from Po Zhen Sect.” Zhang Meng replied.

At this moment, the young man from Burning Heaven Palace looked at an Outer Sect Disciple: “Which Sect are you from?”

The Disciple was stunned for a moment, seeing that he couldn’t hide it, he simply said directly: “From Formation Breaking Sect, Zhao Kuiyi.”

“I am Sun Hao.” The young man nodded, then looked at the apothecary’s apprentice, “And you?”

“Jade Clarity Sect, Wu Xiaosan.” The apothecary’s apprentice answered softly.

“I’m from Burning Heaven Palace, Lin Zhou.” The Inner Sect Disciple from Sunset Glow Peak interjected.

“Tianyan Sect, Qian Tong.” The Zhenyue Peak Disciple in the corner spoke… For a moment, the stone prison was filled with a chorus of responses—

Everyone asked one question and answered one question, like reporting their family background, and the atmosphere inexplicably eased.

Sun Hao looked at the scene before him and couldn’t help but click his tongue: “I didn’t expect so many fellow Daoists to be hidden in the Azure Profound Sect.”

Zhao Kui also laughed: “Isn’t that right? Usually, everyone hides their own, but today we’re all gathered.”

“A pleasure to meet you, a pleasure to meet you.” Qian Tong cupped his hands and smiled at everyone.

“A pleasure to meet you, a pleasure to meet you.” The others also returned the greeting one after another.

“Clap!”

A crisp sound broke the eerie harmony.

Zhang Meng slapped the Po Zhen Sect Disciple on the back of his head, making him dizzy.

“Pleasure my ass!”

Zhang Meng glared at him furiously, “We’re all already prisoners here, and you’re still talking about ‘a pleasure to meet you’? You’d better use this time to think about how to survive!”

The Po Zhen Sect Disciple clutched his head and said aggrievedly, “I was just trying to ease the atmosphere…”

“Ease my ass!”

Wang Daolong also couldn’t help but curse.

“The Azure Profound Sect rounded us all up and even deliberately imprisoned us together; it’s clear they don’t intend for us to leave here alive!”

He looked at the Myriad Law Pavilion Disciple, his gaze sharp.

“Don’t you Myriad Law Pavilion boast about being well-informed? Do you know how they plan to deal with us?”

Just then, a slight sound suddenly came from the top of the stone prison.

The twelve instantly fell silent, looking up vigilantly.

Outside the Formation barrier, two figures in green robes stood with their hands behind their backs. Moonlight streamed through a hole in the top of the stone prison, casting shadows on them, obscuring their faces, yet exuding a chilling pressure that made one’s scalp tingle.

“Quite a lively chat, aren’t we?”

A clear voice echoed in the stone prison, carrying a hint of a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

“Since you’re so compatible, why don’t you chat some more?”

The twelve’s expressions simultaneously changed drastically, a chill rushing from their feet straight to the top of their heads—

One chapter updated first, the second chapter will be updated at noon.