89: A single thread blocked at both ends

With trembling hands, she tapped the communication Restriction on her Flying Sword.

A cold, majestic voice, devoid of any emotion, emanated from the Flying Sword: "Come to the Yaochi Grand Hall to see me immediately."

It was a simple sentence, yet it made Chu Qianqian feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Oh no..."

She thought to herself.

How did Revered Master find out she had returned so quickly?

Could it be that her disappearance had already been exposed?

She had no time to think, not even bothering to change her clothes.

She only had time to hastily tidy her messy hair before boarding her light and rushing toward the Yaochi Grand Hall on the main peak.

...

Yaochi Grand Hall.

Inside the magnificent hall, the cold energy was oppressive.

At this moment, seated atop the cold jade throne that symbolized supreme power at the very front of the hall was a beautiful woman dressed in magnificent palace attire.

She was the current Sect Master of the Yaochi Holy Land—Luo Qingcheng.

Her appearance was stunningly beautiful; time seemed to have left no marks on her Face, making her look only in her thirties.

However, she radiated a cold, majestic aura that kept others at a distance.

Her eyes were deep and indifferent, as if everything in the world was merely passing smoke in her sight.

What she Cultivated was the most profound Ruthless Dao of the Yaochi Holy Land.

Severing emotions and rejecting love, forgetting all through the supreme Dao.

This had forged her strict, demanding, and nearly heartless personality.

Under her long-standing authority, no one in the entire Yaochi Holy Land dared not fear her.

Chu Qianqian walked quickly into the hall.

She dared not even look up at the Revered Master on the throne, instead dropping to her knees with a "thud" in the center of the hall.

"Disciple Chu Qianqian greets Revered Master!"

"Hmph!" The response was a cold snort.

With this snort, the temperature in the hall seemed to drop several degrees instantly, making Chu Qianqian feel that something was terribly wrong.

Luo Qingcheng looked down at the Disciple kneeling on the ground, her gaze like lightning, as if it could pierce straight into the heart: "Where have you been these past few days? Why was there no news? Why couldn't I even reach you through your communication Jade Slip?"

Chu Qianqian knelt on the cold floor, cold sweat rolling down her forehead uncontrollably.

She opened her mouth, wanting to explain.

However, the words reached her lips but she could not bring herself to say them.

In her mind, scenes from the past few days in the Hehuan Sect dungeon flashed by instantly.

Being stripped of her clothes...

Being tied to a rack...

Being humiliated in various ways by that crazy woman, Chu Qianqian...

And finally, being implanted with that damnable Hehuan Heart-Devouring Gu...

These experiences were simply too shameful, too difficult to speak of!

Once spoken, as the Yaochi Saintess, having been captured and toyed with like a pet by the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect...

Not only would her position as Saintess certainly be lost.

Even the entire Yaochi Holy Land would be shamed because of it, becoming the laughingstock of the entire Immortal Realm!

And, more importantly...

Her life was still in the hands of Chu Qianqian!

That Gu poison... could Revered Master really cure it?

If it couldn't be cured, or if Chu Qianqian sensed something and directly activated the Gu... wouldn't she surely die?

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

In the end, she chose silence.

She lowered her head, gritted her teeth, and fabricated a clumsy lie: "Reporting to Revered Master... Disciple... Disciple went out to Cultivate these past few days, got distracted by play, and accidentally entered a maze formation, becoming trapped and unable to send messages, which is why I missed the return date..."

"I beg Revered Master to punish me!"

After finishing, she slammed her head against the floor, not daring to look up.

Luo Qingcheng looked at the Disciple below, who was disheveled, with messy hair, unstable aura, and looking completely distracted, her brows locking tightly.

With her experience, she could naturally see at a glance that this excuse was full of holes.

Accidentally entered a maze formation?

With Chu Qianqian's Cultivation and the Magic Treasure on her, what kind of natural maze formation could trap her for several days?

And looking at her disheveled state, it was clearly that she had been dealt with by someone!

But seeing that the Disciple seemed unwilling to say anything more, even if she died.

Luo Qingcheng assumed that she had likely encountered some expert outside.

She had suffered some loss, felt that she had lost Face, and was therefore embarrassed to speak.

Thinking of this, the anger in her heart grew even stronger: "Playful? Accidentally entered a maze formation?"

Luo Qingcheng slammed her palm on the armrest, sternly reprimanding: "Lacking ambition!"

"As the Yaochi Saintess, you are about to Face the competition for the quota for the Yaochi Immortal Realm. At such a critical juncture, you actually still have the heart to be playful?!"

"Look at yourself now! Disheveled clothes! Unstable aura! Distracted!"

"Where is there any trace of a Saintess! This is simply outrageous!"

Chu Qianqian knelt on the ground, her body trembling, and could only kowtow repeatedly: "Dis... Disciple knows her error..."

Luo Qingcheng reprimanded her for a while before slightly calming the anger in her heart.

She looked at this Disciple, on whom she had pinned high hopes, and a trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes, hating that she couldn't forge iron into steel.

"Enough!"

She waved her sleeve and said coldly: "This competition for the Yaochi Immortal Realm quota concerns the Face of my Yaochi Holy Land, and absolutely cannot be lost!"

"Especially against the helper invited by that enchantress from the Hehuan Sect, you must win! And you must win beautifully!"

"Since you have returned, get back and go into seclusion to Cultivate immediately! Adjust your state back for me!"

Speaking of this, a chilling gleam flashed in Luo Qingcheng's eyes, and she issued an ultimatum: "If you lose to the helper invited by your sister in the competition..."

"...Then you can go to the 'Ice Purgatory' to receive your punishment yourself!"

The moment the four words "Ice Purgatory" were spoken.

Chu Qianqian's body trembled violently, her Face turned pale instantly, and her eyes were filled with extreme fear.

That was the place where the Yaochi Holy Land punished Disciples who had committed major mistakes.

The cold wind inside could scatter a person's Divine Soul, and the level of pain was a hundred times worse than death!

"Dis... Disciple obeys!"

She replied with a trembling voice, then kowtowed heavily again before stumbling out of the hall.

The moment she stepped out of the hall.

Chu Qianqian leaned against the cold jade pillar, looking toward the direction of the Hehuan Sect in the distance.

Her eyes were filled with unprecedented hatred and bottomless despair.

Ahead was Revered Master's strict order that could not be failed and the terrifying threat of the "Ice Purgatory."

Behind was her sister's "Hehuan Heart-Devouring Gu," which could act up at any time and might cost her her life.

And, she still had to win against the guy who had captured her last time in the competition?

Not to mention winning against him, she was still being controlled by Chu Qianqian; would she even allow her to win?

"What on earth... should I do..." she muttered to herself.

This time, she was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

What on earth should she do...