Ye Qingguo and the others were all struck dumb. She had not only succeeded in breaking through to the Golden Core stage, but had vaulted straight to the peak of the early Golden Core stage in one go—what on earth was going on?

"Master, you see clearly enough. During this trial in the mortal world, your disciple made a good friend. Without him, there would be no me as I am today," Duanmu Yu said truthfully. Though with her aptitude, breaking through to the Golden Core stage had only ever been a matter of time, without Wei Zhao it would likely have been delayed three to five years—and there was absolutely no chance she could have shot straight to the peak of the early Golden Core stage in a single leap.

"Oh? There exists such a remarkable person?" Ye Tongwei could not help but be astonished. He knew well that Duanmu Yu never lied—or more precisely, disdained to lie. That someone could enable her to break through to the Golden Core stage in such a short time, and moreover advance two levels at once—just who in the world was this?

At this, Qiu Mingchong sneered from the side, "Heh heh, don't tell me you mean Wei Zhao? No wonder you were so willing to become his bedwarmer. That certainly makes it forgivable—one night in bed with a man and you break through to the Golden Core stage and leap two levels. Anyone at all would be tempted, wouldn't they?"

"What did you say?" Duanmu Yu's brows knitted at once.

"Playing dumb? Still playing dumb at a time like this? What's the point? I saw with my own eyes you hiding under the covers, with clothes torn all over the floor. Dry kindling meets a blazing fire—the two of you certainly had your fun!" Qiu Mingchong mocked.

"Yu'er, is this true?" Ye Tongwei asked in a low voice. Though he trusted his disciple's character, what Qiu Mingchong said was not without reason—if Duanmu Yu had paid a sufficiently high price, why else would the other party help her break through to the Golden Core stage for no reason at all? The resources required for such a thing were no trifling matter; even he, a master at the great perfection of the Golden Core stage, might not be able to produce them.

Before Duanmu Yu could speak, Ye Qingguo on the other side had already reached her conclusion. "It seems it is true. If this sect leader remembers correctly, that is not the outfit you wore when you went in, is it?"

The other high-ranking elders all nodded. Duanmu Yu was now dressed in mortal-world clothing, an oddity in the Taigu Small Jianghu—they could hardly fail to notice.

"…" A rare flush rose to Duanmu Yu's face. Tomboy though she was, she could not possibly say such a thing as changing clothes aloud before everyone. She could only retort, "Martial Aunt Sect Leader is mistaken. It is true that your disciple changed clothes, but that does not mean your disciple has done anything shameful. Heaven and earth can bear witness to this!"

"You've rolled in the sheets together and still nothing shameful? Heh heh, now that is truly a marvel!" Qiu Mingchong would not let it go. This was the sort of thing where mud falls into one's trousers—whether or not it is dung, it is dung. So long as he refused to relent, Duanmu Yu simply had no way to prove herself; she could jump into the Yellow River and never wash it off.

"You!" Duanmu Yu was furious. Yet for the moment she truly did not know how to prove her innocence. Facing the doubtful gazes of Ye Qingguo and the others, she could not help feeling powerless—surely she could not actively invite someone to verify that she was still a virgin?

Just then, a mild voice drifted in from the doorway into the Divine Leaf Hall: "Your Yeling Sect really is amusing. It was nothing more than my giving her a set of clothes, yet you keep such a close watch on what your female disciples wear. Just how idle are you high-ranking people?"

"Who goes there!" Ye Qingguo and the others were all startled. So many Golden Core experts, and none of them had sensed two people standing at the door. Had the intruders not spoken up but launched a sneak attack instead, some among them might well already be corpses!

The newcomers were none other than Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang.

Duanmu Yu had been brought here so abruptly that anyone with a toe's worth of brains could guess someone meant her harm. Wei Zhao would naturally not sit by and do nothing—he had brought Bing Wushuang and broken out of the formation without hesitation.

The Blackwater Formation was formidable enough, but to him, a Xuan Sheng stage primordial spirit, it was hardly worth a glance. After all, the formation had from the very beginning been designed to counter only ordinary old monsters at the Nascent Soul stage—that was its absolute limit. It had no conception of the Xuan Sheng stage at all.

"You've all locked the two of us up—don't you still know who we are?" Wei Zhao walked unhurriedly to Duanmu Yu's side and shot her a glance, signaling her to rest easy.

"Wei Zhao? Bing Wushuang?" Ye Qingguo frowned, then turned and glared at Qiu Mingchong. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Uh… your disciple does not know either…" Qiu Mingchong was equally baffled. He hurried to defend himself: "Your disciple had only one token in hand, and bringing Duanmu Yu out just now went smoothly enough. The two of them were clearly still locked inside the Blackwater Formation—could it be that Duanmu Yu discovered some flaw in the formation recently and secretly told them about it?"

Even while clearing himself of blame, he had to splash the dirty water onto Duanmu Yu. Qiu Mingchong had given everyone a fine demonstration of what it meant to be a petty man.

"Are you an idiot? If she knew a flaw in the formation, she would have gotten out long ago. Why would she wait until now?" Wei Zhao looked at the creature as though at a fool.

"How dare you! To trespass into the sanctum of my Yeling Sect and still behave so recklessly—do you truly think this sect leader will not punish you?" Ye Qingguo flew into a rage at the sight. He had not originally intended to do anything to Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang; after all, they were disciples of another sect, and striking at them merely because the Spirit Consciousness Grass had not been obtained would not sound good if word got out. So he had meant only to let the two of them fend for themselves. But now things were different.

Having failed to obtain the Spirit Consciousness Grass, his mood was already foul in the extreme. And now Wei Zhao was acting so utterly unbridled—was this not slapping him in the face before everyone? Even if people wagged their tongues about it, today he simply had to make this ignorant wretch suffer properly!

"Noisy. Did I ever say you could speak?" Wei Zhao gave a seemingly casual flick of his hand, and Ye Qingguo, who had already been stung into a fury, suddenly fell silent as though bewitched. He simply lowered his head and, in truth, said not another word.

The high-ranking elders of the Yeling Sect all looked on, deeply alarmed. With their level of insight they could not yet tell what had happened—they only saw that a single offhand remark from Wei Zhao had made Ye Qingguo shut his mouth obediently. They could not help but wonder: the sect leader's temper was never this good, was it? Just what in the world was this creature?

Among them all, only Ye Tongwei seemed to have caught a glimmer of what was going on. The look he cast at Wei Zhao was both shocked and angry, and he was about to speak when he saw Duanmu Yu shake her head at him. Only then did he force the words back down his throat and watch quietly to see how matters would unfold.

Ye Tongwei knew very well that Ye Qingguo's strength was on par with his own. If Ye Qingguo was no match for this Wei Zhao, then even if he struck with all his might it would be to no avail. At this moment, all he could do was let the other party have his way. (To be continued.)