(Regarding the copper needles used to detect poison, it was obviously not because of blood. He had always used the needles on meridians and acupuncture points. This world is not the same as our world. Of course, I admit that when I wrote it, I did not think about this at all …)
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… …
The reason why the forest had suddenly become so quiet was not because of the Heavenly Bestowal Sect expert's words that had exposed everyone's thoughts.
No one believed that Chen Changsheng would use this opportunity to secretly poison someone, because there was no reason for it, no reason at all. Everyone knew that Chen Changsheng was deeply favored by the Pope and supported by the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education. At such a young age, he had shocked the world into becoming the Orthodox Academy. No matter how one looked at it, his future prospects were limitless. Compared to this future, no benefit in the Garden of Zhou could possibly drive him to do such a thing.
The silence was because everyone wanted to know how Chen Changsheng would react to such an unreasonable accusation.
Chen Changsheng did not react at all. The Heavenly Bestowal Sect expert's reddened eyes and almost twisted face from grief were all in Chen Changsheng's eyes.
He and Zhexiu turned and walked out of the forest. Senior Tong and Ye Xiaolian came to greet them, their faces filled with worry.
Chen Changsheng explained the situation in the forest to them, then left the stream bank with Zhexiu, once again entering the vast world of the Garden of Zhou.
Not long after they left, Senior Tong and two other famous cultivators led the other cultivators, supporting each other, toward the garden at the gate of the Garden of Zhou. A stretcher had appeared in the middle of the group. The dead Sect Master Fei lay on it with his eyes closed. From time to time, the sound of sobbing could be heard from the stream bank.
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… …
Standing on a huge rock between the cliffs, Chen Chang Sheng felt relieved as he looked at the procession that was heading downstream.
"There's a problem with your way of handling things."
Zhexiu expressionlessly said, "When a disagreement appears in the group, no matter what method you use, you should suppress it. If you want to survive, obedience is the most important thing."
Chen Changsheng said nothing. He turned and entered the dense forest.
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… …
The search and treatment continued. More and more human cultivators were gathered together, separated into three gardens. Moreover, they had already established contact with each other. The problem was, as long as the Garden of Zhou could not open, did everyone have to remain in these beautiful, yet treasure-less gardens?
In the next two days, even more terrifying things happened. Several more cultivators died mysteriously. They were still poisoned, but no matter if it was the people who traveled with them or the people who investigated afterwards, they could not find the cause. As time passed, the pressure on the people grew greater and greater. Some people might collapse, some people might become numb, and even more cultivators might leave the three gardens once again and enter the world of the Garden of Zhou to search for the magical artifacts and legacies that were incomparably precious to cultivators. This was because in their view, staying together with other people was even more dangerous.
Yes, many cultivators had already begun to suspect that all of this was a scheme of the demons, but even at this very moment, no one believed that the demons could infiltrate the Garden of Zhou. It must be known that the Solitary Drunk Under the Moon, Zhu Luo, was standing guard at the entrance of the Garden of Zhou. There was also the Archbishop Mei Lisha leading a group of priests from the Orthodoxy to verify the identities. Even the most mysterious Demon Military Advisor, Black Robe, would not have the ability to sneak in.
Since there were no demons in the Garden of Zhou, the danger naturally came from the humans themselves, between them.
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…
Chen Chang Sheng dipped his feet into the cool water and let out a comfortable sigh.
To him, running a distance of nearly a thousand li in two days was an extremely exhausting task. His clothes were covered in dust and his face was filled with exhaustion.
Compared to him, Zhexiu was clearly much more valiant. It was as if this wolf youth did not know what fatigue was.
Chen Chang Sheng looked at the small white fish in the depths of the stream and said, "I still don't believe that there's a traitor."
Zhexiu said, "Four people have already been poisoned to death. Since we've confirmed that there are no demons in the Garden of Zhou, then the person who poisoned them is definitely a traitor."
This was an extremely simple and clear deduction.
However, Chen Chang Sheng still found it very difficult to accept.
The alliance of humans and demi-humans against the demons was a war of extermination. Very few traitors would appear on either side.
"Although the war has always been going on on the edge of the snowy plains, for the vast majority of living beings on the continent, it has already been many years since there has been a war. Many living beings have long forgotten the terror of the demons, forgotten that this is a war of extermination." Zhexiu said with an emotionless expression, "In the snowy plains, I've seen many deer people acting as guides for the demons. It's not strange that there are traitors among the human cultivators in the Garden of Zhou."
After a moment of silence, Chen Chang Sheng said, "I've never wanted to admit that there are traitors because everyone has already begun to suspect each other. I believe this kind of distrust is even more dangerous."
Zhexiu had to admit that playing with people's hearts had always been the most terrifying aspect of the demons.
The demons simply did not need to enter the Garden of Zhou. They only needed to sever the connection between the inside and outside of the garden and then have traitors fan the flames and do some sinister things. Then, the human cultivators would fall into chaos.
This sort of thing had happened many times in history.
Chen Chang Sheng continued, "These several hundred Ethereal Opening cultivators are the future of humanity. There are many outstanding and powerful people among them. The number of traitors that the demons can bribe cannot be too many, so as long as these several hundred cultivators do not suspect each other, be vigilant, or even confront each other, as long as their hearts do not scatter, the demons will not be able to do anything."
Zhexiu expressionlessly said, "If you could do this, you humans would have long ago unified the continent."
Chen Chang Sheng was silent.
Based on his observations over the past two days, especially today in the Mountainside Whispering Wood, he could confirm that the hearts of these several hundred cultivators had already scattered.
He was the leader of the group entrusted with the heavy responsibility of the Li Palace, so the cultivators of the northern faction of the Orthodoxy had the responsibility to look after them. Gou Hanshi's high regard made his responsibility even heavier.
But if the hearts of the people scattered, how could he lead the group?
"As long as we stay in the garden, we should be fine. The people that were poisoned to death all died in the mountains, so let's not worry about these people for now. We have to hurry and find the others."
Chen Chang Sheng took his feet out of the stream and stood on the rock, drenched. He gazed at the other two foothills that could be faintly seen on the horizon.
He had already counted the number of cultivators that had been found and gathered in the garden. There were still around a hundred people missing from the total number of people that had entered the garden.
"There are some people that you don't want to find, so how will you find them?"
Zhexiu expressionlessly said, "Like Liang Xiaoxiao, Qi Jian, Zhuang Huanyu, and those upper level Ethereal Opening experts of the various sects, I haven't seen a single one of them."
Chen Chang Sheng shook his feet, put on his shoes, and tied up his hair again. "Even if the demons really did bribe a few spies, they wouldn't dare to act against these people."
Zhexiu replied, "But they're definitely watching from the shadows."
Chen Chang Sheng thought of Gou Hanshi's request in the Mausoleum of Books and said, "Let's go to the Sword Pool and take a look."
Even if he could not meet up with Qi Jian and Liang Xiaoxiao, if he could find the Sword Pool, that would still be a very good thing.
After arduously rushing about for two days and two nights, he felt that he had the right to consider things for himself.
Chen Chang Sheng and Zhexiu left the stream bank and walked into the forest.
They would consider the dangers hidden in the mountains for the other cultivators, but they did not seem to be worried about their own safety.
Because they were all youths. Although they did not seem hot-blooded on the surface, they were never lacking in self-confidence. As they embarked on this journey together, they were naturally fearless.
On the other side of the mountain range, the young girl in white robes was also walking.
She was alone, but she was still fearless, her expression calm. At some point, a bow had appeared on her shoulder.
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When they arrived at the first stream, they followed the same old path, going upstream. They passed by the place where the master of the Clear Void Monastery had fought with Holy Maiden Peak's Senior Tong. Chen Chang Sheng and Zhexiu did not even glance at the black bloodstains left on the riverbank. They silently continued forward, not speaking for a very long time.
The two of them were not good at talking, nor did they like to talk. In the past two days, the conversations they had in the Garden of Zhou could already be considered frequent.
In the quiet forest, the occasional cry of a bird could be heard. Those were creatures that had been startled awake by their footsteps.
Chen Chang Sheng had seen records in the Daoist Canon that many years ago, someone had found the sheath of an ancient sword in this forest.
Liang Xiaoxiao, Qi Jian, and Zhuang Huanyu had all disappeared in the upper reaches of this stream, further confirming his judgment.
If the Garden of Zhou really did have a Sword Pool, it should be in this direction.
For the Mount Li Sword Sect to want to find the legendary Sword Pool was too natural.
At this time, Chen Chang Sheng and Zhexiu did not know that the saying that no one had ever seen a sword in the Garden of Zhou was wrong.
Many years ago, Mount Li's Junior Martial Uncle surnamed Su had once found a sword here and brought it out of the Garden of Zhou.
However, for some unknown reason, this matter didn't spread.
The amount of water in this stream was not very plentiful, especially as they went upstream. After passing through several tributaries, the flow of the water slowed down, becoming as clear as a mirror.
However, this stream was very long. The two of them had started walking in the early morning, and only when the sun was high in the sky did they finally reach the end.
Just like many other streams, the end of this stream was also a cliff, and a silver waterfall poured down from the cliff.
Below the waterfall was a quiet pool. As the water fell into the pool, it constantly emitted a low roar.
Zhexiu raised his head and squinted at the top of the waterfall. Under the blazing sunlight, the shallow layer of water at the edge of the cliff seemed as transparent as colored glass. He confirmed that this was the peak of the mountain.
"I'll go up and take a look."
After saying this, without waiting for Chen Chang Sheng's response, he rushed towards the cliff. While he was still on the way, his body suddenly lowered. With a whoosh, he transformed into a gray shadow and jumped onto the cliff that was over ten zhang high. With a flash, he rapidly ran between the cliffs. In just a moment, he had reached the top of the cliff.
Chen Chang Sheng watched from below. He could faintly see that as Zhexiu rushed forward, his two hands seemed to emit a cold light.
Zhexiu's figure disappeared above the waterfall. He was probably going to investigate the true source of the mountains and rivers.
Chen Chang Sheng withdrew his gaze and looked at the pool under the waterfall. His heart was slightly moved.
This place was already the peak of the mountain. The mountain had a spring, so the amount of water could not be too great. This was also what he and Zhexiu saw.
The waterfall was very thin and the amount of water was very small, so why was the pool below so deep?
He walked to the edge of the pool and looked into the water. All he could see was a gloomy darkness. He could not see the bottom at all.
He calmed his mind and slowly released his spiritual sense, probing the bottom of the pool.
His spiritual sense sank into an unknown distance. Suddenly, he felt a slight pain in his eyes, as if a thin leaf had scraped them.
He closed his eyes and began to cry.
It was a strand of sword intent.
Although it was indistinct and hard to grasp, he was very sure that it was a strand of sword intent.
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(For the past few days, it had been the first watch. After returning on the 25th, I whipped my horse.)
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