8: Chapter 8 The promised secret, you sold it to me?

Holy shit!

Shen Xiao's pupils shrank to the size of needlepoints in an instant, and a chill, even more biting than the ten-thousand-year black ice of the North Sea Ice Abyss, surged from his tailbone straight to his crown.

His brain buzzed, almost shutting down.

He had envisioned countless possibilities, but never this one.

This woman... what on earth is she thinking?

One second, she was using a sick smile that said "only we know" to create a bizarre atmosphere of complicity, and the next, she stabbed him in the back, right in front of the Law Enforcement Elder!

What kind of god-tier move is this? Even burning bridges isn't this fast!

Elder Sun's gaze, sharp as a hawk's, instantly locked onto Shen Xiao.

The Nascent Soul Stage pressure contained in that gaze descended like an invisible mountain, causing Shen Xiao's spiritual energy, already somewhat unstable from continuous Breakthroughs, to churn, making his blood boil.

"Shen Xiao!" Elder Sun's voice was cold as iron, devoid of any emotion, "Is what she said true?"

Damn it, of course it's not true! But in this situation, if he said it wasn't, would anyone believe him?

One is the Sect Master's personal Disciple, on whom the Sect has pinned high hopes, possessing peerless talent, currently tearful and looking like a frightened rabbit.

The other is a "prisoner" with a notorious reputation who just survived the North Sea Ice Abyss, currently standing there lively and kicking.

And the only witness, Mo Feng, his soul lamp is extinguished; there is no proof.

This is a perfect frame-up!

Shen Xiao's throat went dry, and the corner of his eye was fixed firmly on Xia Lengbai, who was kneeling on the ground.

She knelt there, her delicate shoulders trembling slightly, tear stains still fresh on her pale little face, but the moment her beautiful eyes met his gaze, a flash of cunning and... the pleasure of success flickered across them.

She wasn't reporting him to Elder Sun at all.

She was demonstrating her power to him, Shen Xiao!

She was using this extreme method to tell him: Your life, your secrets, your everything, are all in my hands.

From now on, you are no longer the predator who can control the situation; you are just my dog.

If I want you to live, you live; if I want you to die, you must die.

This crazy woman!

She doesn't care about the millennium cold marrow, nor does she care about the "Ice Soul Profound Heaven Scripture".

What she enjoys is this sense of control, holding everything in the palm of her hand!

Countless thoughts flashed through Shen Xiao's mind like lightning.

Refute? Explain?

Useless. In front of absolute "human testimony," any defense is pale and powerless.

The only thing he can do now is to splash this dirty water right back!

Shen Xiao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging blood, and instead of showing any anger or panic at being wronged, he revealed a bitter, miserable smile, even more pitiful and desolate than Xia Lengbai's.

"Heh... hehe..."

His laughter was hoarse, filled with self-mockery and despair, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

He didn't look at Elder Sun but stared fixedly at Xia Lengbai.

"Junior Sister Xia, how... how could you say that?"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was filled with blood and tears, overflowing with heartbreaking grievance.

"In order to help you activate the Ice Soul Immortal Physique, I spared no effort, using my own body as a furnace to refine the violent power of the millennium cold marrow for you! To ensure your smooth Breakthrough, I exhausted my heart's blood and suffered heavy injuries! Senior Brother Mo died of exhaustion while acting as our Protector! How could you... how could you push all the blame onto me just to monopolize this credit!"

These words, like a heavy hammer, struck everyone's heart hard.

The expressions on the faces of the Law Enforcement Disciples behind Elder Sun, which had originally been like looking at a dead man, instantly became vivid and varied.

What's going on?

How does this plot have a reversal?

Elder Sun's brows also furrowed tightly.

He had lived for hundreds of years and had seen more dirty dealings than young people had eaten meals.

Naturally, he would not easily believe the one-sided words of either party.

Xia Lengbai had not expected Shen Xiao's reaction to be so fast; her expression froze for a split second.

She could feel that when Shen Xiao said those words, the spiritual energy fluctuations in his body were intense, and his emotions were not faked; the "grief and indignation" and "grievance" from the bottom of his heart were almost overflowing.

Acting? This guy is actually better at acting than me!

Shen Xiao didn't give her a chance to react; he stumbled forward two steps, reaching out a slightly trembling hand as if wanting to touch Xia Lengbai, but stopped dejectedly in mid-air.

"Didn't we agree on this?" His voice lowered, carrying a hint of threatening ambiguity that only the two of them could understand, "The secret of the 'Ice Soul Profound Heaven Scripture' is known only to the two of us. Now that you've pushed me out as a scapegoat, do you really think you can keep this secret all by yourself?"

He was reminding her that their powers shared the same source, an unbreakable chain.

If she killed him, she wouldn't have it easy either.

"Elder!" Shen Xiao turned abruptly to Elder Sun, straightening his spine, his face wearing a look of fearless determination, "Disciple Shen Xiao knows that his words are of little weight! But this matter concerns the Sect's supreme treasure and the lives of fellow Disciples, so I implore the Elder to investigate clearly!"

He slammed his chest, and with a 'pfft', spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood.

The blood was bright red, but faintly carried a trace of ice-blue cold Qi.

"Please, Elder, examine my Meridians and Junior Sister Xia's! Whether the spiritual energy within us shares the same source, and whether both contain the aura of the millennium cold marrow, a single investigation will reveal! If I truly ambushed her, why did her cultivation surge from the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage to the Middle Stage Perfection? And I, instead, remain at the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage, with an unstable Foundation and heavy injuries!"

"My life, Shen Xiao's, is worthless! But the Sect's rules cannot be broken! I implore the Elder to restore my innocence and to grant justice to the deceased Senior Brother Mo!"

His words were resonant and powerful!

Every sentence adhered to the Sect's rules, every word appealed to justice and human conscience, placing himself directly on the moral high ground.

Especially that last point about the "cultivation comparison," which was like the sharpest dagger, precisely piercing the most fatal logical loophole in Xia Lengbai's narrative!

Indeed, if Shen Xiao had ambushed her and monopolized the treasure, why was it Xia Lengbai whose cultivation had surged?

This didn't make sense!

Everyone's gaze involuntarily shifted from Shen Xiao to Xia Lengbai, who was kneeling on the ground, their eyes filled with inquiry and suspicion.

Xia Lengbai felt the change in those gazes; she bit her lip hard, her fingernails almost embedding into the flesh of her palms.

Out of control.

The situation had once again slipped out of her control.

She had underestimated this man.

He was like a venomous snake hiding in a gutter; no matter how desperate the situation you forced him into, he could always find the most devious angle to bite you back.

That sense of control she was addicted to was rapidly slipping away.

Replacing it was a kind of... excitement, like meeting a worthy opponent!

"You're talking nonsense!" Xia Lengbai raised her head abruptly, tears streaming out again, her acting skills instantly maxed out, "It was clearly you who used a trick to ambush me and Senior Brother Mo! You poisoned me and forced me to use the Ice Soul Immortal Physique to refine the cold marrow for you! My cultivation... my cultivation was forcibly stimulated by you; my Dao Foundation is already damaged, and there is no possibility of any further progress in this life!"

As she cried and complained, she coughed violently, a trace of blood also spilling from the corner of her mouth, her whole body swaying as if she were about to faint the next second.

Good grief!

Shen Xiao inwardly exclaimed, "Good grief," this woman would be wasting her talent if she didn't go into acting.

She just makes it up on the spot!

Dao Foundation damaged?

You fucking have Meridians wider than a highway right now, and you're telling me your Dao Foundation is damaged?

Both sides held their own versions of the story, and both seemed plausible.

Elder Sun's face was already so gloomy that water could drip from it.

He snorted coldly, and an indisputable pressure instantly enveloped a radius of a hundred zhang.

"Shut up, all of you!"

He took one step forward, his figure appearing instantly between the two like a ghost, his two withered yet powerful hands, like iron pliers, pressing down on the crowns of Shen Xiao and Xia Lengbai respectively.

"Whether it's a trick, I will verify it myself!"

A massive and pure Divine Sense instantly surged into their bodies!