From Fanwu to Xinghai

Chapter 41 The Standoff at the Mountain Gate

As dusk settled, the mountain gate of the Qingyun Sect came into view.

The ancient gate tower, which had stood for 3,700 years, appeared unusually silent at this moment. The spiritual light on the two massive stone pillars was dimmer than usual, as if even the protective array of the mountain was being suppressed by some kind of force.

There were more than a dozen people standing in the square in front of the mountain gate.

Lin Chen slowed his pace, glanced around, and memorized the faces of those people.

The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe with a disciplinary token hanging from his waist. His face was so serious it looked as if it had been carved by a knife. Behind him stood seven or eight law enforcement disciples dressed in black, each with a wary expression.

Lin Chen recognized the face.

Zhao Yuanzhen.

The chief elder of the Qingyun Sect's Discipline Hall was also the one in charge of this "thorough investigation of Shen Qingluan" incident.

Beside him stood two other people. One was an elder of the Bai family, with white beard and eyebrows, a kind smile on his face, but his eyes held a cold, scrutinizing gaze. The other was the heir of the forbidden area's guardian lineage, dressed in a black priest's robe, his face covered by a half-face shield, revealing only a pair of greyish-white eyes.

The moment those greyish-white eyes looked at Lin Chen, the mark between Lin Chen's eyebrows suddenly twitched.

It felt like something was resonating with it.

It also sounds like a warning.

"Lin Chen."

Zhao Yuanzhen's voice broke the silence, steady and authoritative:

"You're back."

"Yes." Lin Chen stopped ten feet away, neither humble nor arrogant.

"We have received the battle report from Yanhuang Pass." Zhao Yuanzhen's gaze lingered on him for a moment. "Closing the dimensional rift and repelling the Time Eclipses are outstanding achievements. On behalf of the entire sect, I express our gratitude to you."

He spoke very politely, but there was not a trace of gratitude in his eyes.

"However!" he abruptly changed the subject, "your unauthorized departure without reporting to the sect violates the sect rules. According to the law, you should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and confined for seven days."

Lin Chen remained silent and offered no explanation.

He knew this was just the opening act.

As expected, Zhao Yuanzhen continued:

"However, considering your contributions at Yanhuang Pass, the sect can make an exception. But there's one condition."

His gaze sharpened:

"Hand over all items on your person that are related to the forbidden area, including everything you took from the forbidden area during the secret realm trial."

Lin Chen's lips curled up slightly.

coming.

"What is the elder referring to?" his voice was calm. "Please explain."

"Lin Chen, don't play dumb." The Bai family elder took over, his face still bearing that kind smile. "We saw in the testimonies of the trial disciples that you trespassed into the core area of ​​the forbidden zone deep within the secret realm and took away some... things you shouldn't have taken."

"What is it?" Lin Chen asked again.

"The coordinates of the dimensional rift," Zhao Yuanzhen said for him, "and the evidence of your connection to that sealed being."

His voice grew colder:

"You think we don't know? What power did you use to close that dimensional rift? And where did that mark between your brows come from?"

Lin Chen's fingers twitched slightly.

He knew they were testing him.

But he also knew that if he backed down now, they would turn their anger towards Shen Qingluan and say that she brought him into the forbidden area back then in order to activate some kind of power within him and prepare for "breaking the seal" in the future.

He could guess the whole story with his toes.

"The elders want evidence; that's simple."

Lin Chen's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Zhao Yuanzhen.

"But before I hand over anything, I have a few questions to ask."

Zhao Yuanzhen frowned slightly: "Are you trying to negotiate with me?"

"It's not a condition, it's a procedure." Lin Chen looked directly at him. "May I ask, Elder, is there any witness or physical evidence to support the accusation that Elder Shen Qingluan 'released prisoners from the forbidden area and colluded with foreign enemies'?"

"Of course."

"Who testified, when and where?"

"This is an internal matter of the sect, and details of the evidence cannot be disclosed to the public."

"I am one of the parties involved," Lin Chen said calmly. "Xiao Yan is my companion. If his existence truly threatens the sect's safety, I have more right than anyone else to know the details."

Zhao Yuanzhen's face darkened.

The smile on the face of the Bai family elder faded slightly.

The descendant of the lineage that guarded the forbidden area remained silent, his gray-white eyes fixed on Lin Chen as if he were observing some kind of specimen.

"Lin Chen, you are very smart," Zhao Yuanzhen said slowly, "but the biggest mistake a smart person can make is using their intelligence in the wrong place."

He took a step forward, and the oppressive feeling suddenly intensified:

"I'm asking you one last time! To hand it over or not?"

Lin Chen did not back down.

He didn't even mobilize the spiritual power within his body.

He simply stood there, calmly watching Zhao Yuanzhen, as if he were watching a clown jumping around.

"Elder Zhao," he said, "I think you may have misunderstood something."

"What?"

"I'm not here to hand over anything, nor am I here to be interrogated."

He paused, a barely perceptible chill creeping into his voice:

"I'm here to rescue people."

The air seemed to freeze.

Zhao Yuanzhen's eyes suddenly turned cold, the smile on the face of the Bai family elder vanished completely, and even the descendant of the forbidden area's guardian lineage turned his head slightly.

The disciples' hands were already on their sword hilts.

The atmosphere was tense and ready to fight.

"How dare you!"

Zhao Yuanzhen roared, his palm surging with spiritual light, and the pressure of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator pressed down on Lin Chen like a tidal wave:

"You think you can disregard sect rules just because you've earned a few military merits? You think you can do whatever you want just because Shen Qingluan is backing you up?"

His voice echoed through the valley:

"Today I'll show you what it truly means!"

Elder Zhao.

A voice suddenly came from inside the mountain gate, interrupting him.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man slowly emerging from the clouds. He wore a simple gray robe with no insignia at his waist. His face was aged but his spirit was high, and every step he took was like stepping on solid ground.

Lin Chen recognized him.

Chen Xuanfeng.

Uncle Chen.

"Elder Chen... Elder Chen?" Zhao Yuanzhen's expression changed slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Why can't I be here?" Chen Xuanfeng slowly walked to Lin Chen's side, looked at him, then at Zhao Yuanzhen. "A young man returning home, and the elders lining the streets to welcome him—what's this all about?"

"Elder Chen, this is a crucial case within the sect, and it has nothing to do with you."

"A major case?" Chen Xuanfeng stroked his beard. "What major case? Why haven't I received any news about it? I don't think they notified this old man when the Elder Council held its meeting."

Zhao Yuanzhen's expression turned even uglier.

The Bai family elder quickly tried to smooth things over: "Elder Chen, you are unaware of the situation. This matter is urgent, and there isn't enough time to summon all the elders!"

"Too late?" Chen Xuanfeng interrupted him. "Elder Shen was imprisoned in the Demon Suppression Tower five days ago. Five days have passed, and you didn't even inform this old man?"

His voice remained slow and leisurely, but that slowness carried a chilling sense of oppression.

"Or is it that some elders simply don't want the other elders to know?"

Zhao Yuanzhen remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a cold laugh:

"Chen Xuanfeng, when you left the Elder Council, you swore never to interfere in sect affairs again. For years you've lived a carefree life, cultivating seven kinds of flowers and raising birds in the Cloud Pavilion. What, are you going to go back on your word today?"

"An oath?" Chen Xuanfeng laughed, a laugh tinged with an ambiguous meaning. "I remember, wasn't it you, Elder Zhao, who made me make that oath back then?"

"you!"

"I'm not here today to interfere in sect affairs," Chen Xuanfeng's voice suddenly turned cold. "I just want to remind Elder Zhao of something!"

He took a step forward, and his aura suddenly became overwhelming.

That wasn't the pressure from someone at the Foundation Establishment stage.

That's the Nascent Soul Realm.

Zhao Yuanzhen's face turned pale instantly, the pupils of the Bai family elder and the successor of the forbidden area's guardian contracted simultaneously, and the swords of the law enforcement disciples were drawn and lowered in a flash.

They couldn't lift it.

The oppressive force was like a mountain pressing down on their heads, causing their hands to tremble uncontrollably.

"In all my years, I've come to despise two types of people the most," Chen Xuanfeng's voice echoed before the mountain gate. "One type is those who, despite having a guilty conscience, pretend to be righteous."

"Another..."

He turned his head and glanced at Lin Chen, his gaze carrying a complex meaning:

"They're fools who could have stayed out of it, but instead insisted on jumping into the fire."

Lin Chen did not speak.

He knew Chen Xuanfeng was talking about him.

He also knew that he really was the fool.

But some things just have to be done.

"Enough." Chen Xuanfeng withdrew his oppressive aura and sighed. "I'll pretend I didn't see what happened today. Elder Zhao, interrogate whomever you wish. But there's one thing I want to say."

His gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on Zhao Yuanzhen:

"The Qingyun Sect has stood for 3,700 years, relying not on power struggles, but on the unwavering loyalty and dedication of generations of disciples. What Shen Qingluan has done and what she hasn't done is a matter of public opinion."

"But what if someone uses this opportunity to settle personal scores or eliminate dissidents!"

His voice suddenly turned chilling:

"I wouldn't mind letting some people know what regret is."

After saying that, he turned and walked slowly toward the mountain gate, as if nothing had happened.

But no one dared to stop him.

No one even dared to breathe loudly.

Zhao Yuanzhen's complexion only slowly returned to normal after Chen Xuanfeng's figure disappeared into the clouds.

He looked at Lin Chen, his eyes filled with undisguised hatred:

"Okay. Very good."

"Lin Chen, you have someone protecting you, so I can't touch you. But don't forget!"

"Shen Qingluan is still inside the Demon Suppression Tower."

"You want to save her?"

He sneered:

"Then show us what you've got."

After saying that, he turned and left, followed closely by the Bai family elders and the successor of the forbidden area's guardian, and the law enforcement disciples also withdrew.

At the mountain gate, only Lin Chen, Qin Mo, Xiao Yan, and the messenger disciple who had brought the message remained.

"Senior Brother Lin," the servant disciple's voice trembled, "who was that senior just now...?"

"It's an old friend," Lin Chen said.

He gazed in the direction where Chen Xuanfeng had disappeared, his mind churning with thoughts.

How much does Uncle Chen know?

Was he protecting Shen Qingluan, or was he protecting him?

When he said "a fool jumping into a fire pit," was he advising him to stop, or was he implying something?

Too many questions, no answers.

But one thing is certain.

He must infiltrate the Demon-Suppressing Tower before midnight tonight.

Xiao Yan suddenly spoke:

"I'll go with you."

Lin Chen turned his head and saw him standing in the twilight, his expression calm and firm.

"Shen Qingluan was imprisoned because of me," he said. "I can't hide here and watch someone else suffer for me."

Lin Chen looked at him but did not answer immediately.

He recalled Xiao Yan's silent demeanor in front of Zhao Yuanzhen, his resolute stepping forward now, and the deep purple light emanating from his chest.

This is the man who once lived only for revenge.

This is the man who once pushed away everyone who came near him.

It's changing little by little.

"Okay," Lin Chen said, "Let's go together."

Qin Mo didn't say anything, but simply stood silently beside them.

Three people, in the twilight, with the Qingyun Sect's mountain gate standing silently behind them.

Tonight, a storm is brewing.