Jian Ruyun, who ranked fourth on Liangwang Peak, had always been vigilant against Liu Shisui for some secretive reasons related to human nature.
Zuo Yi's case had been mentioned in Shanghai De Peak's interrogation of Liu Shisui. Most people had forgotten about it after more than ten years, but he remembered it clearly.
Through his connections in the clan, he found out that Zuo Yi had visited the Curtain Rollers before his death. Zuo Yi had an old friend in the Curtain Rollers, and Shenmo Peak seemed to have investigated that person as well.
This made him more determined to investigate the case.
Fearing that someone in Aoyama would cover for Shenmo Peak, he didn't tell anyone about it and planned to do it himself.
His whereabouts were too conspicuous, so in the end, this matter fell to his biological brother, Jian Rushan. Jian Ruoshan's ranking in Liangwang Peak was quite ordinary, at least in Aoyama. He didn't alert anyone when he left, and followed the clues to Jianli City.
Though he didn't get any results from the Curtain Rollers, he could at least confirm that the Curtain Rollers were also covering something, which was enough for him.
He thought he had figured out everything, so he was a bit nervous and couldn't even breathe steadily.
He was in a quiet, ruined temple, with a bonfire burning in the middle. He could only hear the sound of his own breathing.
His breathing was as heavy as a mountain, and he felt his shoulders were a bit heavy, which was the responsibility of a disciple of Aoyama.
The bonfire fell on his face, changing between light and dark, making his expression even more solemn.
Jing Jiu had hired a killer …
Neither Jian Ruoyun nor he had ever thought that Senior Uncle Zuo Yi of Bihu Peak was killed by Liu Shisui. It was because Liu Shisui hadn't been in the inner sect for a long time, and his Cultivation state was still very low. Besides, he was very clean and honest at that time, so he should have been covering for someone. As for who that person was … it was easy to guess.
They didn't think that Jing Jiu did it himself, because Jing Jiu's Cultivation state was also very low at that time, and he couldn't kill Zuo Yi of the Undefeated State. He must have hired a killer. But how he could bring that assassin into Aoyama was something that neither Jian Ruoyun nor he could figure out.
Having ascertained what had happened to the Curtain Rollers, Jing Jiu could ride his sword and fly back to the south, but the current evidence was not enough to charge Liu Shisui. As such, Jing Jiu decided to find a friend of his at the Mirror Sect and continue the investigation.
Thinking of the relationship between Liu Shisui and Shenmo Peak, and the fact that Liu Shisui had joined the Old Ones and killed Luo Huainan, Jian Rushan felt this matter was too complicated. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a headache. He even felt dizzy and dizzy. If his eyesight wasn't dizzy, why would the bonfire in front of him turn into the eerie blue color?
As Jian Ruoshan was thinking of this, he suddenly recalled the lessons he had learned after he entered Liangwang Peak, and the details that his big brothers had warned him to remember in a stern voice.
There was a kind of colorless fire in the world, but it would turn into a deep blue color if it encountered a real fire.
Jian Ruoshan was extremely shocked, his face full of incredulity. He didn't dare hesitate, and called out his flying sword, intending to ride it to leave.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The flames of the bonfire rose up violently, reaching the roof and filling the whole ruined temple.
The deep blue flames looked so violent, but the old beams on the roof and the tattered curtains in front of the Buddha statues weren't ignited; they were still intact.
It seemed that the deep blue flames didn't have any real temperature.
"Soul-Fire!"
Jian Ruoshan yelled sternly.
The flying sword struck in all directions, the sword lights extremely dazzling!
He was certain that the enemies were the devil men of the Underworld, feeling extremely nervous.
The Underworld and the human world had been at peace for more than two hundred years, and the devil men of the Underworld were rarely seen. This was the first time he had encountered such a fight.
The soul-fire didn't have any temperature, but it was deadly for the Cultivation practitioners in Chaotian, because it could contaminate and then devour the Golden Pill or Sword Pill of the Cultivation practitioners.
The worst part was that the soul-fire was soundless and difficult to extinguish. When dealing with the soul-fire of the devil men of the Underworld, the Cultivation practitioners would usually use the light of the magic treasures to suppress and purify the soul-fire, or they would kill the body of the devil man of the Underworld at the risk of being contaminated by a small amount of the soul-fire.
Jian Ruoshan was merely a regular disciple of Aoyama, without any magic treasures, and his sword work wasn't strong enough to extinguish the soul-fire, so he could only hope that his flying sword could hit the devil man of the Underworld. Yet, he had already figured out that this devil man of the Underworld should be the projection of a powerful figure, and his body should be at the bottom of the Abyss, so how could his flying sword hit him? As expected, the bright sword light traveled back and forth at a high speed, riddling the three walls of the ruined temple and even the forest outside the temple with thousands of holes; but the soul-fire was still gushing out from the bonfire!
Jian Ruoshan yelled in despair, calling back his flying sword and slashing at the deep blue flames.
The soul-fire dissipated in the face of the sword wind, but the next moment, it floated back again, falling toward his body like a transparent blue light shield.
Jian Ruoshan gritted his teeth, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and firmly guarded his Taoist Heart. He covered his body with the Sword Gang to resist the invasion of the soul-fire.
The flying sword broke through the air, emitting a dazzling bright light in the night sky, sending out a signal for help.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
The ruined temple was occupied by the horrible sound, which sounded like tens of thousands of silkworms gnawing on mulberry leaves, or like a soldering iron being slowly dipped into ice water.
The deep blue soul-fire kept falling, and the Sword Gang covering his body became thinner and thinner. It seemed that he was about to collapse.
Jian Ruoshan opened his eyes, which were full of despair and struggle.
He was faced with two choices at the moment: he could withdraw the Sword Gang and force his way out of the ruined temple, or he could persist like this.
But no matter which choice he made, it was a dead end. Only by practicing the Natural Sword Body could he resist the soul-fire directly with his body.
After a moment's hesitation, everything was settled. The soul-fire eroded his Sword Gang, fell on his clothes and face, and then drilled into his skin and flesh.
Jian Ruoshan screamed in agony. He could no longer guard his Taoist Heart, and the soul-fire eroded him even faster. In an instant, he was burned into a few wisps of green smoke and some residual ashes.
A sword light broke through the night sky and landed in front of the temple, bringing with it a bone-piercing coldness.
Light snowflakes fell from the sky. The bonfire in the ruined temple didn't weaken; instead, it burned more fiercely. The remnants of the soul-fire faded away gradually, until they disappeared without a trace.
Duan Liantian walked into the ruined temple, his expression grave.
He was a newly promoted elder of the Shangde Peak, known for his ruthlessness. He had personally investigated the case of Liu Shisui stealing and eating the Devil Pill and practicing the secret deviant methods.
It was during that trial that he suddenly discovered that Liu Shisui had something to do with the death of Zuo Yi of the Bihu Peak.
Recently, there had been some rumors in the nine peaks. Duan Liantian recalled the case from a long time ago, and began to pick it up again. Like Jian Ruoyun, he found some clues.
To be more precise, he found that Zuo Yi's old friend used to be the Curtain Rollers of Jianli City.
He came to Jianli City today, but found that someone had beaten him to it.
While he was feeling vigilant and confused, he suddenly saw a sword light outside the city in the Immortal House.
The sword light was extremely bright, illuminating a small part of the night sky.
It was the signal of the disciples of Aoyama for help!
Without hesitation, Duan Liantian rushed to the outskirts of the city as fast as he could. He found the ruined temple, but found nothing there except for a bonfire.
If there was a bonfire, there would be people. But where were they? The walls of the ruined temple were broken. Who had fought here?
Duan Liantian took out a bronze mirror and shone it around the ruined temple.
This bronze mirror was called the Mirror of Brightness, made by a master craftsman of the Mirror Sect. The Curtain Rollers in every city had one.
The elders and disciples of the Shangde Peak were used to carrying it with them because of the need of investigating cases.
Duan Liantian was shocked when he saw the blurry images reflected by the bronze mirror, his face looking terrible.
It was a devil man of the Underworld!
As he was about to continue searching for traces and clues, more snowflakes suddenly fell down.
The snowflakes falling down this time were much bigger than those when he arrived by riding his sword.
The sword light dimmed, and Chi Yan appeared in the ruined temple.
Duan Liantian was a bit surprised. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Big Brother."
Chi Yan looked around, frowning slightly.
Duan Liantian said, "A disciple died. I don't know which peak he came from."
"Let's go back first," said Chi Yan.
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