As soon as Rong Lingmeng, the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect, spoke, the atmosphere on the high platform immediately became even more subtle.
Her words seemed casual, but they were actually needles hidden in silk, intended to implicitly draw the Water Moon Sect into the camp of those close to the Five Elements Dao Sect and the Hehuan Sect.
How could Liu Changhe not know Rong Lingmeng's intentions?
He inwardly cursed the woman for being cunning, but on the surface, he had to react quickly.
To admit it? That would be equivalent to acknowledging a deep relationship with the Five Elements Dao Sect and the Hehuan Sect, which would inevitably draw suspicion and dissatisfaction from forces like the Sword Heart Sect and the Wuji Sect.
To deny it?
But his son's "enthusiastic assistance to the enemy" was right before their eyes; a forced denial would only make the truth more obvious and embarrassing.
In a flash, Liu Changhe had already made his calculations.
His face showed a slightly helpless smile, carrying the tolerance of an elder. He let out a hearty laugh and spoke loudly.
"Sect Leader Rong must be joking. The Sect Competition, while a competition, is also intended for exchange and learning, to promote the spirit of righteous cultivators watching over and helping one another."
"My son's actions may be reckless, but seeing a fellow daoist in danger and stepping in to help by gifting pills and treating injuries is the duty of our generation of cultivators. How can there be talk of being close or distant?" He paused before continuing.
"Presumably, if your sect's disciples were in danger and my Water Moon Sect disciples happened to be there, they would certainly not stand by and watch."
"After all, in the Sect Competition, friendship comes first, and the competition comes second."
With these words, he skillfully characterized Liu Qingyang's actions as the impulsiveness of youth and mutual assistance among peers. He both explained the motivation and elevated it to the level of cultivator conduct and the spirit of the competition.
After a round of verbal Tai Chi, he saved his face without offending anyone.
Hearing this, Rong Lingmeng's beautiful eyes flickered, and she chuckled while covering her mouth. "Sect Leader Liu is truly noble to say so." She didn't press further, knowing when to stop.
Ling Xiao only gave Liu Changhe a faint glance, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
The sect leader of the Wuji Sect snorted coldly, clearly unimpressed by this rhetoric, but he couldn't say much more.
The other sect leaders' eyes flickered as they had their own thoughts, but on the surface, they all nodded slightly, accepting Liu Changhe's explanation.
However, the looks they cast toward the Water Moon Sect ultimately held a trace of subtle scrutiny.
...
Inside the cave within the secret realm.
Liu Qingyang naturally didn't know that his father was worrying himself sick for him on the outside.
Seeing Feng Weilan's weak state, he was anxious and quickly began searching through his storage bag. Soon, he took out a jade bottle emitting a dense medicinal fragrance and handed it over.
"Brother Zhu, this is a jade-returning pill. It has miraculous effects on severe internal injuries and damaged meridians! Quickly give it to Fellow Daoist Feng!"
His cultivation wasn't top-tier in the team battle, and knowing his combat strength was limited, he had prepared an especially abundant supply of life-saving and healing pills of extremely high quality.
Zhu Yinxi did indeed urgently need high-quality healing pills at this moment.
The pills on him were mostly for recovering spiritual energy. Although he had healing pills, their grade was relatively ordinary, and their effect after giving them to Feng Weilan was not significant.
He took the jade bottle without hesitation and uncorked it. A refreshing medicinal fragrance immediately filled the air.
Zhu Yinxi's divine sense swept over it, and he knew the pill was incredibly pure with abundant medicinal power, posing absolutely no problem.
He trusted Liu Qingyang's character.
This person might be a bit flighty, but he was definitely not a treacherous sort, and he certainly wouldn't do something as despicable as secretly using poison to harm someone's life.
They had once fought side-by-side to the death under the claws of a demonic beast; that trust had been tested by life and death.
Thus, under Liu Qingyang's surprised gaze, Zhu Yinxi didn't perform any complex inspections at all. He directly poured out a warm-colored pill the size of a longan, carefully lifted Feng Weilan's head, placed the pill in his mouth, and circulated spiritual energy to help dissolve the medicinal power.
This scene immediately caused a surge of indescribable emotion and excitement within Liu Qingyang's heart!
'He used it directly without even checking... Brother Zhu... he actually trusts me this much!'
Liu Qingyang felt his eyes grow warm.
In this secret realm of the Sect Competition and conflicting interests, faced with a disciple of a rival sect, Zhu Yinxi actually had no guard against him. This trust based on their past life-and-death friendship felt especially precious and heavy.
'As expected of brothers who have shared life and death! This trust is something I, Liu Qingyang, will never betray!'
He completely failed to realize that Zhu Yinxi's single sweep of divine sense had already completed all inspections.
In his mind, this was unreserved trust, enough to entrust one's life to!
Zhu Yinxi didn't care about Liu Qingyang's thoughts; he kept observing Feng Weilan's state.
The effects of the jade-returning pill were indeed exceptional.
After the medicinal power dissolved, the paleness on Feng Weilan's face was replaced by a visible hint of health. His tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and his breathing became steady and strong. Clearly, his injuries were rapidly improving.
Seeing this, Zhu Yinxi's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. He looked at Liu Qingyang and spoke in a gentle tone, "Thank you. I will remember this favor."
Liu Qingyang quickly waved his hands. "Brother Zhu, you're being too polite! It's good as long as Fellow Daoist Feng is alright!"
He smiled, completely unaware that this act of aiding the enemy had once again caused his father's blood pressure to soar outside.
At that moment, Zhu Yinxi's expression shifted as he sensed several familiar auras rapidly approaching the cave entrance—it was Jiang Yifan, Feng Qingping, and the others, following the Soul-Sound Bell!
Several thoughts flashed through his mind instantly.
He glanced at Feng Weilan, whose face had improved due to the pill, then at Liu Qingyang, who was still somewhat moved by his "trust."
Having Liu Qingyang here might not be a bad thing.
First, the members of the Five Elements Dao Sect had good personal relationships with Liu Qingyang, especially Li Nanzhu and Duan Xianxing, who were quite familiar with him.
Seeing him here and knowing he had just helped their sixth junior brother, his fellow disciples would certainly not show hostility. Instead, they would accept this favor, preventing any potential misunderstandings or conflicts during the reunion.
Second, and more importantly—Liu Qingyang was a disciple of the Water Moon Sect.
Zhu Yinxi had not forgotten that not long ago, they had been cornered and pursued by a team led by Lu Tingyun of the Water Moon Sect, joined by people from the Xuan Tian Sect and the Sword Heart Sect!
Although they had escaped thanks to Feng Qingping's array, he remembered this "gift."
Now, the biological son of the Water Moon Sect's leader was right before him and held goodwill toward the Five Elements Dao Sect... this was undoubtedly an excellent information channel.
Perhaps he could learn about the movements of the Sword Heart Sect and the Xuan Tian Sect from Liu Qingyang, or even the potential alliance intentions of other sects.
This information was vital within the secret realm.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yinxi had already reached a decision.
Not only would he not drive Liu Qingyang away, but he would also appropriately utilize this "goodwill" and Liu Qingyang's personality.
He silently said "sorry" to Liu Qingyang in his heart while remaining calm on the surface.
He didn't mention the approaching fellow disciples, but simply remained by Feng Weilan's side, seemingly focused on smoothing out his meridians. In reality, his divine sense had already quietly spread out, closely monitoring the movement outside the cave and Liu Qingyang's reaction.
Seeing that Zhu Yinxi had stopped speaking, Liu Qingyang assumed he was concentrating on the healing process, so he also stayed quietly to the side, not daring to disturb him.
He was still touched by Zhu Yinxi's "unreserved" trust and secretly decided to help as much as possible.
At that moment, a very subtle fluctuation came from the water curtain at the cave entrance, which would have been nearly impossible to detect if one weren't consciously sensing for it.
Liu Qingyang's cultivation was lower and he hadn't noticed yet, but Zhu Yinxi instantly sensed that those familiar auras had arrived at the entrance.
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