You Zisang bowed respectfully to the three Zhēnzūn present in the grand hall before she spoke, her voice clear and steady in the silence.
"Ancestor, all disciples who had contact with Liang Xiao and Huo Chongshan have been detained for questioning. Those confirmed to have already been possessed by evil souls have been executed. The rest, whose situations aren't yet clear, are still undergoing interrogation in the lower chambers."
After he heard this report, Chen Yebai Zhēnzūn let out a long sigh, the sound heavy with the weight of the sect's recent troubles.
"Zisang, although this incident had an element of coincidence, it's also given us a necessary chance to thoroughly clean up the Gate.
"Don't let evil cultivators infiltrate Yixian Gate again. If the pills and medicines we refine are tampered with by evil cultivators, those affected won't be limited to Yixian Gate's disciples alone."
"Yes, Ancestor."
She understood the gravity of the matter and replied promptly, her expression resolute.
"Ancestor, this disciple has already seized all pills and medicines previously handled by Liang Xiao. They'll only be sold after inspection confirms there's no problem with their contents. If any issues are found, this disciple will destroy them all immediately."
"Mm, you handled that correctly. What about Huo Chongshan, did you find anything else of note?"
At the time of his capture, Huo Chongshan had dispersed his own cultivation to end his life, so she hadn't had time to search his soul for answers. Following that lead to uncover other evil cultivators lurking within Yixian Gate has become difficult as a result. Every disciple who had had contact with him is now under investigation to ensure no one else remained.
As for Ming Cong and Ming Yu, since they'd gone on missions with him, they'd been directly thrown into the cold, damp depths of Yixian Gate's water prison. Even now, the two of them still didn't know that Martial Uncle Huo was a pawn of evil cultivators, which made their situation especially unjust as they waited in the darkness.
"Reporting to Ancestor, nothing useful has been found on Huo Chongshan's side for now. We have only detained those who had close contact with him, and they'll need time to be examined one by one to ensure total safety."
Chen Yebai Zhēnzūn nodded his head slowly.
"Zisang, the Sect Master will handle the aftermath of the beast tide. You'll take charge of purging the Gate. Be meticulous and thorough, don't miss even the slightest clue."
"Yes, Ancestor."
"How is Xia Yiwan doing now?"
After all, she'd been possessed by an evil soul for a time, so he was still concerned about her lingering state.
You Zisang was also a little puzzled herself by the situation, but she answered him honestly.
"Thank you for your concern, Ancestor. After Yiwan's divine soul returned to its place, this disciple examined both her divine soul and her body. Aside from some natural weakness in her divine soul, there are no other abnormalities to be found.
I've had her go into seclusion to recover her divine soul. I check her condition every two days. So far, there's been no sign of backlash from the evil soul."
He nodded at her words.
"Keep a close eye on this. Logically speaking, Yiwan sacrificed half her divine soul back then to deceive the evil soul, so she shouldn't have been able to recover it so quickly. It seems Ran Xi put in quite a bit of effort to preserve her divine soul."
She nodded in agreement, acknowledging the truth.
"Yiwan did mention this. When she woke up, she was soaking in a medicinal bath, and there were still medicinal effects in her body that repaired the divine soul. After that, she took a seventh grade Soul Nourishing Pill that Ran Xi gave her, which barely stabilized her divine soul."
Chen Yebai Zhēnzūn stroked his long white beard.
"No wonder she became Yixian Gate's inheritor. It looks like she really has talent in pill refining. Yiwan was lucky this time. If it'd been anyone else, their divine soul might not've been saved."
You Zisang nodded as well. She didn't say it out loud, but facts spoke louder than words.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhihui had already brought Yunxi and Bing Li back to his cave dwelling nestled deep in the mountains. After he greeted the two of them, Bing Li tactfully withdrew from the cave, claiming she was standing guard for their safety. In reality, she stayed at the entrance. If anything unexpected happened, she could immediately alert the big shots back at Yixian Gate.
Once the cave's restrictions settled and the air inside grew still, he finally spoke.
"Ran Xi Xiaoyou, how're you planning to remove the black qi from this Lord's inner core?"
Yunxi didn't beat around the bush with her answer. She spread her palm, letting him see the secret for himself. A cluster of purple flames reflected in his widening eyes.
"Beast King, to remove the black qi, I need to use my natal strange fire, Mystic Thunder Violet Flame, to scorch your inner core directly. My Zi Yan specifically counters evil cultivators and will force the evil soul to reveal itself."
He sucked in a sharp breath. His face darkened heavily, and it felt like he was about to erupt with fury in the next moment.
"Ran Xi Xiaoyou, haven't you noticed that ever since you were controlled by the evil soul once, your temper has become increasingly irritable? That's the subtle influence of the evil soul working within you."
"Chen Zhēnzūn told me that the Deer Beast King of the Wolong Mountain Range is the gentlest in temperament and always handles matters with restraint. At the very least, you wouldn't be this resistant without even trying the method first.
It's very likely that the evil soul instinctively fears Zi Yan, so it's indirectly affecting your judgment, trying to make you reject this method of removing the black qi."
This time, he truly took her words to heart. A cold sensation settled in his chest as he considered her point. He realized his recent behavior really had been off. Not just the earlier standoff with her, but even the sudden, violent thought that flashed through his mind just now wasn't something he'd normally do.
Lu Zhihui took a deep breath, closed his eyes to steady himself, then opened them again.
"You're right. Lately, this Lord really has felt like I'm being led around by the nose. Now that I know something is wrong with me, I can't afford to delay the treatment any longer."
With that, he slapped his lower abdomen. Opening his mouth, he spat out an egg sized inner core that glowed with a milky light, then he looked at her seriously.
"Ran Xi Xiaoyou, I'll have to trouble you this time. If this succeeds, this Lord will reward you heavily for the help."
"Beast King, you're too polite. This was the purpose of my staying at Yixian Gate in the first place. I'll do everything I can to help you eliminate this hidden danger."
After she said the proper words, she raised her hand and released her strange fire, Zi Yan.
The purple flame, no larger than a palm, drifted lazily toward the ninth rank beast core. The core instinctively tried to dodge the heat, but he restrained it, preventing the object from moving in the air.
The moment Zi Yan drew close, it shed its sluggish, half extinguished appearance. The flames surged, instantly wrapping around the beast core in a tight embrace.
Once engulfed, the beast core began jumping and thrashing, trying to break free from the burning Zi Yan, as if it'd its own desperate will. No matter how wildly it struggled, it couldn't escape the scorching flames.
Aside from his grim expression, he was also having trouble maintaining his human form. After about half an hour, he transformed into his Nine Winged Deer true form. A pair of massive deer eyes stared unblinking at his own inner core.
Spiritual energy inside her surged rapidly into Zi Yan. When she saw a wisp of black qi surface on the scorched beast core, she knew her guess'd been right all along. What puzzled her was when exactly the evil soul'd planted the evil seed inside him.
As the owner of the inner core, he naturally saw it too. He flapped his wings once, enduring the pain of the burning core, his eyes fixed on that wisp of black qi without blinking.
"Ah!"
A shrill female scream rang in both their ears. Under Zi Yan's scorching flames, the black qi finally evaporated and dissipated.
Only then did Yunxi finally let out a long breath of relief. She recalled Zi Yan back into her dantian. Lu Zhihui swallowed the beast core back into his body and transformed back into human form. Even so, because the process of burning the inner core'd been unbearably agonizing, his tightly drawn muscles were still trembling slightly.