Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I hid inside the abandoned pill room, not daring to move a muscle.

The sounds of the search outside drew closer and closer. Every so often, torchlight seeped in through the cracks in the stone chamber.

My heart clenched.

Lu Qingxuan had already branded me a traitor who had stolen the sect’s secret treasure. If any disciple found me, they were allowed to kill me on the spot.

I leaned against the cold wall, gasping hard as I tried to stabilize my injuries and think of a way out.

Escaping down the mountain was no longer possible.

The mountain gate’s grand formation had been activated. In my current state, not even a bird could fly out, let alone me.

My only hope was the Darksteel Box in my hands.

I lowered my head and looked at it.

Just now, it had been the Nurturing Spirit Jade Master had given me that triggered it and saved my life.

That meant the jade and the box were a pair.

I took out the warm, smooth Nurturing Spirit Jade again and examined it carefully.

At one corner of the jade pendant, I found an extremely tiny protrusion.

Then I looked at the Darksteel Box. Along the seam of the lid, there was a matching groove.

A key.

The jade pendant was the key!

I aligned the protrusion on the pendant with the groove and gently inserted it.

A perfect fit.

I turned the pendant.

Click.

With a soft sound, the lock opened.

Heart pounding with unbearable tension, I slowly lifted the lid.

Inside the box, there were no cultivation manuals and no pills. There was only a mirror the size of my palm.

The mirror was made of bronze. Its back was engraved with intricate patterns of stars, but its surface was gray and murky, reflecting nothing at all.

What was this?

I picked up the mirror and infused spiritual energy into it.

The mirror still showed no reaction.

Unwilling to give up, I bit my fingertip and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

The blood seeped into the mirror’s surface and vanished, but the mirror itself remained exactly the same.

I frowned.

Master had gone to such great lengths, even sacrificing himself to protect this thing. It could not possibly be ordinary.

There had to be some method I hadn’t thought of.

I closed my eyes and recalled Master’s notes.

“…using the life of the strongest to exchange for the continuation of the sect’s spiritual vein… a transaction.”

The spiritual vein!

A flash of insight struck me.

I suddenly understood!

The source of this mirror’s power wasn’t my meager spiritual energy. It was the very foundation of the Azure Cloud Sect-the spiritual vein buried deep underground!

And its purpose… Master had said my spiritual sense was special, that I could see through falsehood.

This mirror had to be a magical treasure capable of dispelling illusions and revealing the truth!

A mad plan surfaced in my mind.

Lu Qingxuan, didn’t you say ascension was an honor? Didn’t you deceive the entire sect with that lie?

Then I’ll tear that lie apart in front of everyone!

I will make them all see what kind of filth and disgrace truly lies behind those clouds!

I had to activate this mirror!

I had to go to the source of the spiritual vein.

That place was the most heavily guarded Forbidden Ground in all of the Azure Cloud Sect, located directly beneath the sect’s main hall.

Right now, Lu Qingxuan had certainly gathered all the core disciples there under the banner of “capturing the traitor.”

Going there was no different from walking straight into a trap.

But it was also my only chance.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I took a deep breath, placed the mirror back into the box, and hid it close against my body.

Then I pushed open the pill room’s heavy stone door. Outside, the night was at its darkest.

The searching disciples had already gone in another direction. For the moment, this place was safe.

I checked my bearings, then slipped toward the main hall on the central peak.

Like a ghost, I moved through the sect where I had lived for more than ten years.

Every familiar corner could now be hiding lethal danger.

I avoided all the main roads, taking only those remote, deserted paths.

At last, I reached the edge of the cliff behind the main hall.

The entrance to the spiritual vein lay in a hidden cave beneath this cliff.

I was just about to climb down when I suddenly heard faint footsteps behind me.

My heart seized. I instantly drew the short sword I carried with me, spun around, and shouted, “Who’s there?!”

Under the moonlight, a small, slender figure stepped out from the shadows of the trees.

She wore the clothes of an initiate disciple, her face filled with terror and hesitation.

It was my Little Junior Sister, Yun’er.

The same Little Junior Sister who had hidden behind the others in the square, too afraid to look at me.

Why was she here?

In her hand, she was tightly clutching something.

An open book covered in messy handwriting… notes.

It was the notebook Master had left behind! She had taken it out of the meditation chamber!