Chapter 1863 Discovery
Xia Qingyuan was cultivating in seclusion and sealed the Pavilion to avoid being disturbed by outsiders. This was a very normal thing to do, and no one suspected anything.
As for the destruction of a few puppets, Han Lin had mentioned before that Xia Qingyuan could use them however she liked. There was nothing wrong with Xia Qingyuan destroying them. She had finished studying them so that no one would investigate.
Perhaps it was because she studied the puppets that Xia Qingyuan had some revelations!
Han Lin thought so, so he did not disturb Xia Qingyuan and instead occupied himself with his own business.
Time passed as Xia Qingyuan stayed in seclusion in Senluo Manor. She called it cultivating in seclusion, but she was actually waiting for the World Tree to heal Ye Futian's damaged body. Originally, he could have fully recovered from the heavy injuries he suffered previously by himself. But he was captured by Senluo Manor and put into the Death Matrix. This made matters worse and made it so that the strength he could use was enough to resist the death force.
Now, after coming out of the matrix, he had Xia Qingyuan baptize his body, accelerating his recovery. So, during these days, when Xia Qingyuan was in seclusion, Ye Futian recovered quickly and was able to move his body within a few days.
However, Xia Qingyuan still had not come out of seclusion. Before coming here, Xia Qingyuan and Little Condor had scouted the Senluo Manor. They had the high order Renhuang protecting it, and Senluo Mansion's chief was powerful. Although Ye Futian had killed the high order Renhuang before, for the sake of caution, he needed to return to his full strength.
After all, there were only three of them, and the only one who could truly stand up to Senluo Manor was probably Ye Futian.
In the blink of an eye, a few more days passed.
That day, when Ying Qing brought Ye Futian to Xia Qingyuan's place, she was always very nervous and worried that she would be exposed. After all, if she was not careful, she could be implicated and end up in a terrible situation. She was the one who brought him there, and if she was found out, she did not know if she would be suspected.
Although there was no flaw in this plan, and she did not have a reason to help a puppet, she was still afraid that Ye Futian would betray her.
Despite her fears, she still chose to help Ye Futian that day. People of the Saint Plane were very tough-minded. She had been trapped in Senluo Manor for several years and wanted to leave very long ago. This went against her heart, but if Ye Futian could really give her a chance to escape, she was willing to make this gamble.
On this day, she followed Han Lin to the You Pavilion.
Ying Qing and the others followed closely behind with normal expressions. It had been so many days. After Ye Futian was sent away, Xia Qingyuan went into seclusion to cultivate, presumably to allow Ye Futian to recover. What exactly did they want to do?
Even if he recovered, how could they deal with Senluo Manor?
A figure dressed in black robes, with a terrifying aura, walked towards them. It was Senluo Manor's You Pavilion Master.
"Pavilion Master." Han Lin nodded at the other party.
"Vice chief, come with me." The You Pavilion Master led Han Lin and the others to a hidden palace, where there was an extremely strong corpse puppet. As a sense of death shrouded the palace, Ying Qing and the others retreated outside the palace, not daring to go in.
"What do you think?" the Pavilion Master of the You Pavilion asked Han Lin.
Han Lin stared at the tall puppet. It was refined by a powerful person at the seventh order of the Divine Wheel. They had paid a huge price and spent a long time dealing with this person, and now he was finally refined. He looked at the puppet with a sharp gaze, only to see the puppet's eyes were also open. A terrifying cold green light shot out from it like a ghost.
"Thank you, Pavilion Master," Han Lin thanked him. He was willing to give Xia Qingyuan some puppets to use for training because he felt that the consequences of doing so were insignificant. A puppet of this level was the kind of strong power Senluo Manor truly possessed.
Naturally, there was no need to talk about his father's puppet, and now that he had this puppet, he would be able to increase his strength greatly.
"You're too kind, Vice Chief." The You Pavilion Master spoke up, "It's a pity that there are too few puppets of this level in Senluo Manor. There are only two, otherwise ..."
Han Lin nodded. If there were more of these kinds of puppets, they would have already annexed another opposing force. But there was no rush. When they took down the other side one day, they would all be refined into puppets.
"Good puppets are hard to find," Han Lin said.
"The puppet that you ordered people to bring in that day was actually very good, but it's a pity that it went to waste," the You Pavilion Master said.
Han Lin thought of the person he had picked up earlier, but he did not feel too strongly about it. "He was only at the Divine Wheel Second Order; it's not really a pity that he went to waste."
"No, I spied on his internal breath. His Divine Wheel is probably perfect grade, and he's good at controlling the power of life and death. Hence, the matrix's death force was unable to invade and refine him." The You Pavilion Master said, "You often sent people to check on him from time to time. I thought that you regarded that corpse puppet highly, but I was mistaken."
"Perfect grade and good at controlling the Will of Life and Death?" Han Lin furrowed his eyebrows. He had a feeling that something was wrong.
Wasn't this Xia Qingyuan?
Her Divine Wheel was perfect, she was good at controlling the Will of Life and Death, and she was gifted beyond compare.
What a coincidence?
Ying Qing's heart started thumping when she heard the words of the Pavilion Master outside the palace, and her face changed uncontrollably. She slightly bowed her head to cover up her panic at that moment. She calmed herself down and returned to her normal appearance, but she was still very nervous.
The You Pavilion Master had checked on Ye Futian these past few days?
This was the You Pavilion, and someone would go to that matrix every day, but no one would touch the puppet that the Vice Chief was refining. However, it was normal for the You Pavilion Master to view the puppet to see how the Vice Chief's puppet was doing.
But saying it right now, how could Han Lin not have thought of it?
"Yes, I heard that you gave a woman permission to cultivate?" the You Pavilion Master asked. He did not really take notice of Xia Qingyuan. The You Pavilion was located in the depths of Senluo Manor, and from the entire mountain range, it was rather secluded. The You Pavilion Master was also busy with puppet refining, so ordinary things would not disturb him. Hence, it was not until Ying Qing took the puppet away that he asked a question and learned about Xia Qingyuan.
But even then, he did not ask much in detail.
Those words were unintentional, but when they fell on Han Lin's ears, they felt like a hammer strike to his head.
"Pavilion Master, who comes here often?" Han Lin asked. He had not paid much attention to Ye Futian's presence before and had only asked about him once or twice, let alone sent people here to check on him frequently.
"Your subordinate outside." The You Pavilion Master pointed towards Ying Qing.
Ying Qing came forward, controlled the fear within her heart, and bowed. "Ying Qing doesn't dare to ignore the Vice Chief's instructions. That puppet was difficult to refine, so I came here from time to time to take a look."
"How many times did you come?" Han Lin asked.
"More than ten times," Ying Qing replied. She came more frequently later on.
"Did you bring him over there, too?" Han Lin asked again.
"Vice Chief, if I knew that this puppet was extraordinary, I would definitely not have brought it there; I would have replaced it with another puppet." Ying Qing could adapt to situations quite well. She did not mention Xia Qingyuan, only that she did not know this puppet was extraordinary.
Han Lin did not mention that Xia Qingyuan was suspicious. If Ying Qing took the initiative to mention it, it would be the same as admitting it herself. Under this sudden pressure, many people would easily get confused and accidentally spill the beans.
Han Lin stared at Ying Qing, who knelt on one knee, her head lowered as she trembled with fear.
Now, all these were not loopholes and could be explained.
Seeing Ying Qing's attitude, although Han Lin had his doubts, he did not really think that Ying Qing and the other party were in cahoots. After all, she had absolutely no reason to do so. Why would she help someone who was going to die soon?
And how could she get in touch with Xia Qingyuan?
There were some loopholes in this.
But if it happened to be that they sent Ye Futian to Xia Qingyuan, it would be a bit too coincidental. Xia Qingyuan disguised herself so much that she did not move even when she saw the puppet. Then, if she was suspicious, she must have known in advance that they had refined Ye Futian into a puppet.
However, how did she know that?
There were several rings in this that could not be aligned.
However, as long as he went to ask Xia Qingyuan, everything would be clear.
"What's wrong?" the Pavilion Master asked, seemingly realizing that there was something wrong with this.
"That woman is suspicious," Han Lin replied. Then, he stepped out first and said, "Bring her with you."
He naturally was referring to Ying Qing.
Ying Qing's face was a bit pale. She did not think that the conversation between the You Pavilion Master and Han Lin made her a suspect.
Moreover, she knew that Ye Futian and Xia Qingyuan were problematic, and Han Lin would be able to find out the truth once he went there.
Thinking of this, she felt her whole body turn cold, but then she felt at ease. Since she had gambled, would she not have considered that she would lose her life if she failed?
The You Pavilion Master frowned. Vice Chief Han Lin had been cheated?
Thinking of this, he also followed Han Lin and was ready to see what was going on.
Han Lin had been so attentive to Xia Qingyuan these few days. Before she went into seclusion, he would come here every day to chat with her, and he even used the resources of Senluo Manor for her cultivation. He thought that this was fate, and since it had fallen upon him, he naturally had to grasp it.
But now, looking at it, was this fate, or was everything deliberately arranged?
Is the Goddess, who seems to be otherworldly, really so sinister? he wondered.
Han Lin went to Xia Qingyuan. His body hovered above the cliff as he looked toward the palace in front of him. The people behind him stayed back and did not catch up to him. He needed to confirm his suspicions first. What if everything was really just a coincidence?
Wouldn't that offend the beauty? Though the likelihood of that was low, he still held a hint of such a thought and was unwilling to admit that he had been played.
"Is the Goddess still cultivating?" Han Lin spoke aloud toward the palace. His divine consciousness enveloped the palace and soon encountered a sealing force!