vstars Chapter 122 Framed, Desperate Counterattack
Chapter 122 Framed, Desperate Counterattack
The stone door slowly opened, and a suffocatingly cold aura mixed with a heavy stench of blood rushed out. The smell was like a mixture of rotting corpses and rusty iron. Dai Yao was almost overwhelmed by the smell. She felt as if the odor was something tangible, drilling into her nostrils, and a wave of nausea rose in her throat.
"Ugh, what is this smell? It's even more pungent than my socks that haven't been washed for three days!" she muttered under her breath, clutching tightly to the mysterious figure's sleeve. The fabric of the sleeve was rough, rubbing against her fingers, and she held on as if grasping at a last straw.
The mysterious figure ignored her complaints, staring intently at the open stone door. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if trying to see the secret hidden behind it. He whispered, "It seems we've really found the real secret, but we must be careful..." His voice was deep and seemed to come from underground in the somewhat eerie environment.
Before he could finish speaking, Dai Yao's ominous premonition grew stronger. She turned sharply to look towards the entrance of the main hall. The wind howled from that direction, carrying a faint trace of Stardust's aura. She exclaimed, "Oh no! It's Stardust's aura!"
Almost simultaneously, a powerful dark force erupted from the opened stone door, roaring like a ferocious beast, instantly engulfing the entire hall. The dark force carried a powerful impact; Dai Yao felt as if a cold wind had suddenly swept across her body, leaving her feeling chilled.
"what happened?!"
"What kind of power is this?!"
The high-ranking members of the immortal sect, who were originally waiting in the square for Dai Yao to reveal the secrets of the magic crystal, were thrown into chaos. Terrified screams rose and fell, echoing in the hall. The noise was extremely loud, like a flock of frightened birds chirping.
Dai Yao was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that she almost fainted on the spot. Her heart suddenly raced and her ears were ringing, but she quickly recovered and immediately switched to "drama queen" mode, shouting, "Help! I don't know what happened! This magic crystal suddenly went out of control!" Her voice trembled slightly, making it sound like she was really scared.
Xingchen stepped out from the crowd with a "heartbroken" expression. His eyebrows were furrowed, but there was a hint of smugness in his eyes. He pointed at Dai Yao and shouted, "Elder! I knew that Dai Yao was of unknown origin and had ulterior motives! She must have deliberately provoked this dark power to destroy our immortal sect!" His voice was sharp and particularly jarring in the hall.
The sect leader, who already harbored suspicions about Dai Yao, was enraged by the scene and immediately ordered Dai Yao to be apprehended.
"You audacious vixen! Surrender now!" The elder's voice boomed like a bell, making Dai Yao's ears ring.
Dai Yao cursed Xing Chen inwardly, calling him a "treacherous villain." His method of framing people was textbook-perfect, and she was now completely speechless.
But she wasn't the type to sit idly by and wait for her fate. Her eyes lit up and a plan came to her.
"Wait!" Dai Yao shouted, her voice steady and powerful, clearly audible in the noisy environment, attracting everyone's attention. Then, she looked at the Immortal Sect's steward with an "innocent" expression. "Elder Steward, do you really believe Xingchen's one-sided story? I risked my life to find the secret of the Magic Crystal, how could I possibly want to destroy the Immortal Sect? There must be some misunderstanding!" Her eyes were clear and firm, a stark contrast to the panicked crowd around her.
"Misunderstanding? Hmph!" The immortal sect deacon sneered. "What else do you have to say? This dark power is clearly emanating from the magic crystal in your hand!" His eyes were fixed on Dai Yao, filled with suspicion.
Dai Yao took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She could hear her own breathing, somewhat rapid but gradually becoming steady. The situation was extremely unfavorable for her; she had to find a way out of this predicament…
Just then, she sensed a familiar presence approaching, a warm feeling like a gentle spring breeze. She glanced discreetly in a certain direction within the crowd, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"Heh, who wins and who loses is still uncertain..." Dai Yao took a deep breath, trying her best to look like an innocent little flower who had suffered a great injustice.
Despite the aggressive deacon from the immortal sect, she suddenly felt a sense of peace within her, as if the surrounding noise had faded away.
The golden finger quietly activated, sensing the chaotic flow of energy around her. She could almost see that the energy was tangled together like threads, in a disorderly manner.
Strangely, although this dark power is related to the magic crystal, its trajectory is completely different, as if two ropes have been forcibly tied together.
Dai Yao's eyes darted around, and an idea came to her.
"Elder, you said this dark power is emanating from the magic crystal?" Dai Yao pointed at the magic crystal with a look of "inquiry." "But I'm too dull to understand. It feels more like this power is... stuck on." Her voice echoed in the silent hall, tinged with doubt.
When these words came out, everyone was stunned.
Was it pasted on?
What does it mean?
Some high-ranking members of the immortal sects who had initially been skeptical of Dai Yao began to reconsider. While this sounded absurd, upon closer examination, it seemed...
Makes some sense?
Seeing that the crowd was beginning to waver, Dai Yao pressed her advantage, pointing to an inconspicuous black fragment on the ground, her tone confident: "Please look, everyone, this is what I just discovered. The residual aura on this fragment is exactly the same as that dark power, and..." She paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd like a blazing flame, making everyone feel a burning heat wherever it touched, finally landing on Xingchen, "The aura on this fragment is also quite similar to that on Senior Brother Xingchen..."
At this moment, Dai Yao's voice echoed in the silent hall, and everyone's eyes were focused on the inconspicuous black fragment in her hand.
Stardust's face turned ashen. He wanted to retort, but felt as if something was choking him, as if an invisible hand was gripping his neck.
At this moment, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the hall, illuminating Dai Yao's resolute face. She resembled an envoy revealing the truth, while Xing Chen was a sinner exposed to the light. The surrounding high-ranking members of the immortal sects held their breath; the entire hall was so quiet that only the sound of heartbeats could be heard, each beat striking their eardrums with exceptional clarity in the silence.
Xingchen's expression changed drastically, his eyes flickering. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he jumped up suddenly: "You're talking nonsense! This is clearly a frame-up you're trying to get yourself out of trouble!" His voice was hoarse and tinged with panic.
Dai Yao sneered, "Framed? Senior Brother Xingchen, what are you panicking about? Could it be..." She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, looking at Xingchen meaningfully. Her eyes shone with a sharp light, as if they could pierce through Xingchen's disguise and dissect his schemes clearly before everyone. The high-ranking members of the immortal sects who had initially suspected her were now intimidated by her aura, revealing expressions of admiration. "Have you really done something wrong?"
Following Dai Yao's gaze, everyone looked at Xing Chen and found that his face was deathly pale, cold sweat was pouring down his forehead, and the beads of sweat slid down his cheeks. His eyes were shifty and he looked like a guilty thief.
"I...I didn't!" Stardust tried to remain calm, but his trembling voice betrayed him, and his body trembled slightly, like a leaf in the wind.
Dai Yao's lips curled up slightly, but the smile in her eyes was icy and chilling.
"Is that so? Then why don't you ask the elder to investigate this matter thoroughly, so as to clear my name?"
Stardust's face turned deathly pale; he knew he had been exposed.
He glared fiercely at Dai Yao, as if he wanted to devour her alive; his eyes were filled with hatred, like burning flames.
"You..." He was about to speak when he was restrained by a powerful force, unable to move. That force was like an iron hoop tightly binding him.
Dai Yao looked at the person who had arrived and smiled gently: "You've come."
Just as the immortal sect steward was about to make a move as Xingchen was about to turn into a streak of light and escape, a figure appeared that was even faster than him!
The mysterious figure flashed by, like a god descending from the heavens. Accompanied by a dazzling burst of spiritual light, his spiritual power surged outwards like a raging tide, bringing an immense sense of oppression to everyone who saw it. His eyes were cold and majestic; a mere glance was enough to make Xingchen tremble. He appeared before Xingchen like a ghost, and with a resounding "slap," delivered a powerful backhand blow! The sound of the slap echoed loudly in the silent hall, like a thunderclap.
Stardust was completely stunned by the slap. He felt a burning pain on his face and his ears were ringing. He spun around three times before he could finally steady himself. He covered his face, his eyes filled with disbelief: "You...you dare to hit me?! Do you know who I am?!" He was about to bring up the backstage area when he was interrupted again by the mysterious person.
"I don't care who you are!" The mysterious man's tone was icy, his spiritual power surging around him, and a powerful pressure instantly enveloped Xingchen. "You dare to frame my Yaoyao? You're tired of living!"
"Yao Yao?!" The onlookers instantly erupted in excitement. The way she addressed her, the tone of her voice, the domineering protectiveness...
Hit it! Hit it!
The mysterious man's spiritual power surged, revealing him to be a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!
The high-ranking members of the immortal sects present all gasped in shock; they could feel the powerful spiritual energy sweeping by like a gust of wind.
Xingchen was only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm; compared to this person, he was practically a junior!
"Stop!" The sect's steward hurriedly intervened. If a fight really broke out, Xingchen would probably die on the spot.
He turned to look at Dai Yao, his tone tinged with apology: "Dai Yao, I was wrong to blame you this time. I never expected that it was this traitorous disciple who was behind it all."
Dai Yao smiled slightly, appearing completely harmless: "Elder, your insight is remarkable. I am deeply grateful." (Inner monologue: Thanks for the invitation. I'm currently in the Immortal Sect, having just escaped a calamity. Now, all I want to do is lie down and relax.)
Stardust was being carried around like a chick by the mysterious man, unable to move. He could feel the mysterious man's hands gripping him tightly like iron clamps, and his face was as pale as paper.
He never expected that Dai Yao had such a powerful figure behind her!
With the crisis averted, Dai Yao looked at the mysterious man, her eyes filled with gratitude, as if stars were twinkling in them.
The mysterious man walked to her side, gently took her hand, which was warm and strong. He gently rubbed it and whispered, "It's alright." Dai Yao felt the warmth of his palm, like a warm current flowing into her heart, and a warm feeling welled up inside her.
Just when everyone thought the matter was over, Dai Yao suddenly felt her golden finger getting slightly hot, that dark power...
Still here!
She suddenly looked up at the mysterious man, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "Wait, there's one more thing..." Dai Yao's gaze was fixed on the mysterious man, making him feel uneasy. He felt that Dai Yao's gaze was like two sharp swords.
"What's wrong, Yao Yao? Is there something else?" The mysterious person's tone was gentle, with a hint of seeking praise, practically screaming "please praise me!"
Dai Yao took a deep breath, pointed at the magic crystal and said, "This thing is really weird! I can feel that dark power is still there, and..." She paused, her eyes sharpening, "It seems to have something to do with you."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked!
The onlookers instantly turned into eager listeners, straining their ears to hear every single detail. The entire hall was so quiet that only the faint sound of breathing could be heard.
The sect leader was also stunned. He looked at Dai Yao, then at the mysterious man, and for a moment he didn't know how to react.
The mysterious man's smile froze, his eyes flickered, and he seemed somewhat flustered. A barely perceptible tension flashed in his eyes.
"Yaoyao, what are you saying? I don't understand." He tried to laugh it off, but Dai Yao wasn't buying it.
“Stop pretending,” Dai Yao said coldly, her eyes filled with suspicion. “I felt something was wrong from the moment Xingchen framed me. The appearance of this dark power was too coincidental, and…” She looked at the magic crystal again, “It seems to only react to you.”
Dai Yao's golden finger was flashing wildly at this moment, almost burning her hand. She could feel the heat spreading between her fingers.
She could clearly feel that the dark power was continuously surging out of the magic crystal, and the mysterious man was like a huge vortex absorbing this power!
"You...you're talking nonsense!" The mysterious man's expression changed drastically, and he subconsciously took a step back, his foot scraping against the ground with a slight sound.
His reaction, in the eyes of everyone, was undoubtedly irrefutable proof that he had a guilty conscience!
"I'm talking nonsense?" Dai Yao sneered. "Then tell me, why do you always wear a mask and refuse to show your true face?" She pressed on relentlessly, her tone aggressive.
The mysterious man fell silent, his fists clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white from the force, and his expression behind the mask shifted between light and dark.
The atmosphere became tense, like a taut string that could snap at any moment.
Dai Yao slowly extended her hand, pointing to the magic crystal: "Elder, please examine this magic crystal carefully. Perhaps... you'll find something unexpected." After speaking, she gave the mysterious man a meaningful look, then turned and walked towards the magic crystal...