Jiang Chongliang, upon hearing this, could hardly suppress his urge to curse.
Was she really accusing others of being traitors so easily?
But the elders of Penglai Island and House Sima were exchanging looks, stunned and enraged.
They had expected Sima Xin to present some irrefutable evidence, yet everything she said was based solely on her own suspicions and conjecture!
This wasn’t the first time.
Sima Xin had gone to the North Sea, but why had her temper become so extreme?
Yan Buxiu was dead, and Yan Hu, the new island master, wasn’t strong enough to make them all bow to him.
The only thing holding them together was Penglai Island’s abundant resources and spiritual energy.
But now, in her current state...
If they didn’t leave Penglai Island soon, they might find themselves killed by Sima Xin herself.
An elder spoke up loudly, "Madam, this is at best a suspicion. How can you just kill him? You should have captured him and questioned him thoroughly!"
If they didn’t speak up now, they feared they would be the next victims.
Other elders chimed in:
"Exactly, Nanli is clearly sowing discord. Can’t you see that, Madam?"
"Madam, you’ve fallen into a trap!"
"Right, we’ve been loyal to Penglai Island for so long. How could we ever collude with Nanli? She even taught her the Starry Sword Spell!"
"You’ve become so bloodthirsty, killing without hesitation. How can we follow you, or follow Penglai Island, in this state?"
Even the members of House Sima were criticizing their lady for being too ruthless.
Sima Xin, despite her firm resolve earlier, felt a storm of emotions inside as she listened to the voices of reproach.
She controlled the Red Silk, glaring at everyone, "Then how do you explain how she learned the Starry Sword Spell? What’s your explanation for that?!"
The group braced themselves for battle.
It was Jiang Chongliang who quickly stepped forward to mediate, "Madam, we all saw how powerful Nanli is. She may have learned the technique just by observing."
Sima Xin turned her gaze toward him.
"Madam, we are all from Penglai Island. Helping Nanli would only harm us. Only if Penglai Island grows strong will we benefit as well," Jiang Chongliang continued. "Nanli’s actions earlier were likely because she couldn’t stand up to the entire Penglai Island on her own. She’s trying to sow discord. We can’t fall for her tricks!"
Sima Xin stared at the lifeless body of the elder.
Her expression grew confused.
Then, unexpectedly, two streams of tears fell from her eyes.
"I... I was so foolish, tricked by that vile woman Nanli..."
Suddenly, she fell to her knees.
With a loud thud, she wept in anguish, her cries echoing in the night, so mournful that no one could continue blaming her.
Yet despite her pitiful state, their lives still mattered, and some were now seriously considering whether they might be slaughtered next.
Some had begun to contemplate leaving Penglai Island.
"Alas, given the current situation, we don’t want to betray the old island master and take revenge, but if Madam keeps doubting us, we might not have a place here in Penglai Island."
Jiang Chongliang quickly spoke, "Madam has realized her mistake. Everyone has been frightened. Madam will surely make amends."
The elders were waiting eagerly for Sima Xin’s next move.
Sima Xin, who had been filled with guilt just moments before, now felt an overwhelming surge of emotions at the sight of people thinking about leaving Penglai Island, about betraying Penglai Island.
Penglai Island had raised them for so long, providing resources, and they should give everything, even their lives, in return. Yet now, they were bargaining with her?!
They all deserved to die!
Everyone should perish!
As she thought this, Sima Xin slowly stood up.
She brushed the dust from her robes, her eyes becoming sharp and clear. With a calm tone, she said, "Penglai Island possesses a supreme technique, one that only the Yan family could practice. I have a debt to repay, and in these troubled times, I will present this technique to everyone here for your training. As long as you help me kill Nanli and avenge both my family and Penglai Island, then when the time comes, if you wish to leave, I will not stop you."
The elders had indeed heard rumors of a supreme technique within Penglai Island, a legacy from the Immortal World.
But they had never seen Yan Buxiu use it.
They were now suspicious, fearing that Sima Xin was trying to deceive them, and one of them asked, "There’s a supreme technique? But we’ve never seen the old island master use it."
"Because there is a condition to cultivating this supreme technique," Sima Xin explained, "The practitioner must be a virgin. Otherwise, all their efforts would be in vain. Buxiu was the only son, the sole heir, and he had to focus on continuing the family line, so he didn’t choose to cultivate it."
As she spoke, Sima Xin started crying again.
She wiped her tears away and choked out, "The supreme technique was meant for A’Hu to practice, while A’Rui was to focus on continuing the family line... now... it’s impossible."
Her explanation made sense.
The others were eager to learn the supreme technique.
At once, one of the elders spoke up urgently, "Madam, your trust in us is overwhelming. I will defend Penglai Island, kill Nanli, and avenge this blood debt!"
Other elders quickly joined in, pledging their loyalty.
Because of the nature of Penglai Island’s techniques, most of them were virgins.
The people of House Sima watched, filled with envy.
But most of them weren’t virgins and certainly weren’t from Penglai Island.
Jiang Chongliang wasn’t a virgin either.
He had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right about this whole situation but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Perhaps Sima Xin was so consumed by hatred for Nanli that she was willing to use the supreme technique to make others fight for her.
Well, as long as everyone worked together to kill Nanli, that would be fine.
The cultivators from House Sima and Asura Palace had already reached the outskirts of the Capital.
The reason for their delay was the overwhelming spiritual energy of the land.
They had thought that the Upper Realm’s spiritual energy was strong enough, but they were shocked to find that the spiritual energy in the Mu Nation of the Human World was far more abundant and concentrated!
They forgot about their mission to kill people and instead circled the area, discovering not just the Spirit Tree but also the Spirit Mine!
What was going on with this Human World?!
Could it even still be called the Human World?!
Perhaps it was time to swap names with the Upper Realm?!
Gu Xuanfeng, the leader of Asura Palace, was filled with excitement and an expression of smugness spread across his face. He glanced at the House Sima cultivators and said, "We, Asura Palace, won’t be taking part in this deal."
Sima Chang, a cultivator from House Sima, glared coldly and said, "The Capital is right ahead. All you need to do is take a few steps, capture the Chu family, and earn a lot of spirit stones. Why being shortsighted? Are you trying to ruin Asura Palace’s reputation?"
Gu Xuanfeng snorted, "My Asura Palace is located in the far north, where there is no spiritual energy and no Spirit Mine. We need to do business to continue our cultivation. But now we’ve found a Spirit Mine here—why not settle down here and take root? No more need to care about the big sects. Do you think I’m stupid?"
He looked at Sima Chang with disdain, then continued, "Sima Chang, you’re a fool. You’re not even really from House Sima. Why not take this opportunity to seize some of the resources for yourself, create your own sect, and build your own legacy?"