"But isn't Duanmu Yu at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage?" Qiu Mingchong was still unconvinced.

"My apologies. I have already reached the Golden Core stage," Duanmu Yu said with a faint smile.

"You—!" Qiu Mingchong choked on his words, then flew into a rage out of sheer embarrassment and snorted coldly. "I very much hope this is a joke on the part of all three of you. Otherwise, it is hardly good news for you, and I shall have to ask my master to step in personally and punish the three of you!"

"Punish us?" Duanmu Yu was taken aback, her expression turning strange. "Punishing me is one thing—I am, after all, a disciple of the Yeling Sect. But these two are outsiders. Even if your master is the sect leader himself, by what right would he punish members of other sects? Qiu Mingchong, is there something wrong with your head?"

Had this happened before, Duanmu Yu would never have spoken so bluntly even knowing Qiu Mingchong harbored ill intentions. But now that she knew the man was a mole for the Center, there was no longer any need to hold back.

"Hmph, since they have come onto the Yeling Sect's territory, they naturally must follow the Yeling Sect's rules. Besides, they are nothing but a pair of weaklings who cannot even show their faces. Is my master, the leader of an entire sect, unable to deal with them?" Qiu Mingchong wore a look of self-importance.

He knew perfectly well that neither Wei Zhao nor Bing Wushuang was to be trifled with, but his understanding was built solely upon the great trial tournament of the past. He still believed Wei Zhao to be merely invincible below the Golden Core stage, and Bing Wushuang to be at best an early Golden Core cultivator. Such strength was indeed something he had to look up to, but his master Ye Qingguo was at the peak of the Golden Core stage, so calling them weaklings was by no means an exaggeration.

Hearing this, both Duanmu Yu and Bing Wushuang looked at the fellow as though he were an idiot. Only Wei Zhao appeared entirely in agreement. "What you say makes perfect sense. I find myself quite speechless."

"…" Duanmu Yu and Bing Wushuang rolled their eyes in unison. Wei Zhao actually had the inclination to joke with this sort of trash—they were the ones left speechless.

"Hmph, good that you know it. Just wait, then!" Qiu Mingchong thought Wei Zhao was about to capitulate. He turned and strode off with a haughty air. To know regret only now—too late!

In the Divine Leaf Hall, Ye Qingguo and the other high-ranking elders were all assembled, waiting for Qiu Mingchong's good news. Yet when Qiu Mingchong finished his report, every last face turned grim.

"This is an outrage!" Ye Qingguo slammed his palm onto the table. The massive conference table crumbled to powder on the spot. He was a single step away from attempting the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage, and his sole obsession now was to obtain the Spirit Sense Grass to further temper his spiritual sense—this would not only make him the undisputed strongest Golden Core cultivator in the Taigu minor jianghu, but also lay a foundation for his Nascent Soul breakthrough. In the course of that breakthrough, even a single extra fraction of certainty was something he absolutely could not let slip by!

"Those three clearly hold neither Master nor our Yeling Sect in any regard. Duanmu Yu in particular has openly consorted with outsiders, corrupting the sect's morals. In this disciple's view, she must be severely punished. Otherwise, if word of this spreads, it may well become the laughingstock of the jianghu!" Qiu Mingchong seized the moment to stoke the flames.

The others had no objection to this, but one man rose abruptly to his feet—a middle-aged man with snow-white hair, gaunt of frame and mild of bearing, who at first glance looked like a consumptive wretch who could not withstand wind or rain. Yet not a single person present dared make light of him; even the sect leader Ye Qingguo was wary of him.

This man was named Ye Tongwei. He was a fellow disciple of Ye Qingguo, and like him, one of only two peak Golden Core cultivators in the Yeling Sect.

"You say Yu'er consorted with an outsider?" Ye Tongwei's icy gaze pricked Qiu Mingchong like a needle, and he instinctively retreated several steps. After all, he had another identity—he was Duanmu Yu's master. Had it not been for this formidable backing, Duanmu Yu would never have so easily taken the position of senior sister in the first place.

The thing was, Ye Tongwei had been in secluded cultivation until today, and so knew nothing of what had happened before—knew nothing of his own disciple being confined over the matter of the Spirit Sense Grass, or even of her good name being sullied!

"This… this disciple saw it with his own eyes. She and Wei Zhao were alone together in a room, their clothes torn to shreds, and they had even taken refuge on the bed. If that is not consorting, what is?" Qiu Mingchong said, craning his neck.

"Summon Yu'er. You will confront her face to face. If there is a single falsehood in what you say, you may begin drafting your final letter." Ye Tongwei gave a cold snort, his tone utterly domineering. His only direct disciple was Duanmu Yu, this lone sprout, and he was famously protective of his own. With his special status and formidable strength combined, not to mention a mere Qiu Mingchong—even his sect leader senior brother Ye Qingguo could do nothing to him.

"Master…" Qiu Mingchong's scalp went numb with fright. He could only look to Ye Qingguo for help; if Ye Tongwei truly meant to kill him, there was nothing he could do unless Ye Qingguo intervened.

Unfortunately, Ye Tongwei was famously an obstinate rogue. Unless it was absolutely unavoidable, Ye Qingguo was unwilling to recklessly come to blows with this junior fellow disciple. Still, when all was said and done, Qiu Mingchong was at least his own direct disciple—he could hardly ignore the matter entirely.

"Junior Brother, do not be hasty. In that case, Mingchong, take the token and bring Duanmu Yu here for a face-to-face confrontation. The truth will emerge then." Ye Qingguo seized the opening. If the consorting were real, then even if he himself did not act, Ye Tongwei would likely purge the sect of the disgrace. And if the matter were fabricated by Qiu Mingchong out of thin air, then it was purely Qiu Mingchong's own doing—he was, after all, merely one good-for-nothing disciple, of no great weight in Ye Qingguo's eyes. Beating him to death would be beating him to death.

"Yes, sir!" Qiu Mingchong did not dare delay, and hurried off with the token to fetch the prisoner. Having witnessed that scene with his own eyes, he was utterly confident in the matter of Duanmu Yu and Wei Zhao consorting, and so was not especially flustered now. Yet before leaving, he turned back to ask one more question: "Master, what of Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang?"

"Hmph. The Black Water Formation is a first-rate trapping array. Even an ordinary Nascent Soul monster need not think of breaking out of it. Let them fend for themselves in there." Ye Qingguo snorted coldly. This time he had been determined to obtain the Spirit Sense Grass, never imagining it would turn out like this—no wonder he was furious. But as the leader of a sect, he would not lightly strike down disciples of another sect; that would give people something to gossip about. So he might as well leave them imprisoned for good.

Soon enough, Qiu Mingchong brought Duanmu Yu over. At the sight of Ye Tongwei, Duanmu Yu was overjoyed and hastened to pay her respects. "Master, you have come out of seclusion!"

"Yu'er, you…" Ye Tongwei had meant to question her properly about the consorting, but the moment he sensed the faint, elusive aura about her, his eyelid twitched and he exclaimed in delighted surprise, "You have actually succeeded in breaking through to the Golden Core stage? And at the very peak of the early Golden Core stage at that?" (To be continued.)