How could Xiao Xue be strong enough to be a challenge for Chu Taishang? Despite her effort to retaliate with her sword, she was still suppressed by his enormous power and imprisoned by his attack. Since she'd sent out her own attack as well, she was heavily wounded and blood began to seep out from the edges of her mouth along with her low groan. Chu Taishang himself flourished his hand to grasp the storage sack into his palm, and after a quick scan of spirit sense, his expression darkened and he pressed down upon Xiao Xue with his Golden Core power. "Why is there only one pellet?" he coldly demanded.
Xiao Xue's face was pale, but her temperament was still extremely haughty and cold. "In order for you to wound me, you must first ask my Xiao clan and esteemed shifu!"
"I am asking you, where are the remaining four Dragon Blood Pellets?" he replied, his voice chilling and dark.
Xiao Xue was aware Chu Taishang's interrogation was related to Hou Guimen, but she had a stubborn nature; the more he pushed her, the more she refused to speak. Instead, she just looked at Chu Taishang with a frigid glare filled with hostility.
Xiao Xue sneered at that. "I have done nothing wrong and nobody would commit murder in broad daylight. I have nothing to hide, but do you really think I can allow you to just come and force me like this? How powerful you are, the great Chu royal clan! Such power, how about you just kill me? Then we'll see if my Xiao clan's grand elder and my esteemed shifu will let you off so easily!"
"Are all youths so arrogant nowadays?" Chu Taishang became furious by now and a frosty aura began to form around him. His fingers extended outwards and reached towards Xiao Xue.
Prince Chu Huang immediately interrupted and called out, "Grand Elder, please don't get angry! I feel what Miss Xiao Xue said wasn't untrue; please allow me to ask her a few questions!"
Chu Taishang was impressed by how this youth of his clan was able to remain calm despite so many setbacks, and all with a temperament that was perhaps even better than his own. This child from the Xiao clan was simply too stubborn and would speak bluntly even in front of a Golden Core like himself, but his status prevented him from lowering himself to ask her politely and it also wouldn't work out if he were to kill her. Chu Taishang was forced to swallow his reservations and move to the side to allow Prince Chu Huang to speak on his behalf instead.
Prince Chu Huang and Xiao Xue faced each other. No words were spoken and murderous intention filled the air between them.
After a long time had passed, Prince Chu Huang finally broke the silence. "Once this matter has been sorted out, I shall battle with you," he indifferently declared without even looking at her.
Surprised, Xiao Xue asked, "Will you use the secret techniques of the Chu royal clan?"
"All of them as you wish!" Prince Chu Huang replied.
"It's settled, then." Xiao Xue released a long breath and paused before continuing on, "This storage sack was dropped by Hou Guimen earlier when he rushed to flee from our battle. It's not a problem for me to tell you this, but you're not off the hook for wounding me today. You'd better prepare a good excuse for when my esteemed shifu finds out…."
"Hou Guimen?" Both Chu Taishang and Prince Chu Huang flinched slightly upon hearing this, neither of them bothering to listen to her words of provocation following his name.
"The kid from the Demon God Court? If it's him, he does indeed have some ability to sneak into the Falling Snow Valley," Chu Taishang muttered to himself for a short moment. He'd heard before that Hou Guimen—the talented elite of the Ephemeral Butterfly—was extremely well-versed in formations and perhaps the best in this art within the current younger generation. The Falling Snow Valley had been surrounded by a large formation to prevent any ordinary person from just entering or exiting at will. If there was anyone within Snowy Mountain aside from the five Golden Cores who was able to come and go as they pleased from that place, it was perhaps only Hou Guimen, making it even more believable.
Prince Chu Huang's brows creased. This was different from his own expectations, but before he was able to say anything, spirit essence belonging to none other than a Dragon Blood Pellet shot right up into the clouds from the direction of Demon God Valley. As it so happened, the seal over the Dragon Blood Pellet in Hou Guimen's possession had also lost its effect and the pellet's aura was revealed.
"It is him…." Chu Taishang had wanted to ask Xiao Xue a few more questions at first, but all of his suspicions disappeared after seeing the appearance of the second spirit essence and he flew off towards Demon God Valley with a loud and violent growl. He didn't let go of Xiao Xue, of course; he naturally couldn't allow her to simply leave before everything was cleared up, and although Hou Guimen seemed more suspicious, there was still a chance the two had been working together.
Rumble….
The golden cloud rumbled as it pushed into the Demon God Valley.
Hou Guimen was at this moment looking dazedly at the Dragon Blood Pellet inside his storage sack, completely confused. What exactly was happening? He'd checked his storage sack earlier when he felt something was wrong, and he'd realized a few of his valuables had gone missing while this much more valuable pellet had been added instead. Who would do something so bizarre like this?
A golden cloud suddenly settled in the skies above Demon God Valley and a loud, angry voice yelled out, "Child of the Hou clan, come out for me right now…."
Hou Guimen jumped at this and quickly put aside his storage sack. He exited his cave estate and called up towards the golden cloud in a loud voice, "Which esteemed senior seeks me?"
In the air, Chu Taishang swept out his spirit sense and quickly noticed the aura of the Dragon Blood Pellet on Hou Guimen's body. "Even now you still pretend to be oblivious! Tell me everything right this moment!" Immediately angered, he waved his large hand, turning it into a giant palm over ten feet long to grab at Hou Guimen below.
Hou Guimen was incredibly startled by this. Unwilling to be disadvantaged, he turned his head towards the center of the valley and called out, "Great grand elder, help me…."
Boom….
Just as the giant hand was about to reach Hou Guimen, a white silhouette dashed out like lightning from within the Demon God Valley to interpose itself in front of Hou Guimen. A great power was released as the silhouette swept his white fly-whisk to the side, sweeping away Chu Taishang's palm into nothingness. This person with a short stature coupled with white brows and a long white beard was the grand elder of the Ephemeral Butterfly Sect—Zhang Daoyi.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, what has my pupil here done to you to have you personally come to my Demon God Valley to seize him?" Zhang Daoyi's expression was calm and his voice was even. When he swept his glance over, he was slightly surprised to also see Xiao Xue bound on Chu Taishang's cloud. "Even the Sword Cleansing Court's Xiao-named girl has been seized by you. It looks as though you have been severely angered…."
Chu Taishang was rather impatient at this moment and didn't feel like explaining everything. "Zhang Daoyi, let me ask you this: are you also unaware of how this little pupil of yours snuck into the Falling Snow Valley to disrupt the trial placed by me and fellow Daoist Hu Qin? Are you unaware his actions resulted in the youth of my clan losing the chance to succeed the Dragon-String Guzheng, or how he stole five of my Chu royal clan's five Dragon Blood Pellets and therefore committed an atrocious crime?"
Zhang Daoyi was actually rather surprised to hear this and glanced to Hou Guimen.
Hou Guimen was even more confused. "I don't know anything…" he said in a daze, nearly on the brink of tears.
"The Dragon Blood Pellets are in your storage sack! Are you still trying to deny it?" Chu Taishang angrily pressed on.
"How could I know who placed it in my storage sack?" Hou Guimen cried out indignantly at the injustice of it all. Still, not even he found his words to be very credible; anyone could see just how valuable this Dragon Blood Pellet was, so who would actually be willing to put it in his storage sack? Hou Guimen could only pause for a moment before anxiously calling out again, "That damned woman, I've— no, I mean, Miss Xiao Xue, you have to be my witness…."
Xiao Xue felt extremely annoyed to be referred to as "that damned woman". She hadn't felt the presence of anybody else back then, and she also didn't feel the need to try to cover for him. "I was mere inches away from you when I broke through the formation, yet I didn't feel anybody else's presence," she coldly replied. "It was after breaking through the formation that I found a lost storage sack with a Dragon Blood Pellet inside!"
Hou Guimen was nearly sent into tears as he cried out, "What I said is the truth, without any falsehoods…. That storage sack isn't mine…." By now, no matter how much he said or how quickly, he wouldn't be able to clear away the suspicions on him. Who would have imagined he would attract such huge trouble for no reason at all?
Zhang Daoyi looked at his pupil—who looked as though he'd been wronged—and let out a cold snort. "Although I do not know precisely what happened, I believe in his character. He would never do such a thing!"
"Even that Xiao girl has said this pellet was left behind by your pupil. Do you think a single 'I believe in his character' is enough to clear everything that has happened? Let me ask you this: within all of Snowy Mountain, who aside from the five of us would have the power and ability to sneak inside your pupil's formation to sneak attack him, all while preventing the Xiao clan's girl from sensing them? Zhang Daoyi, this matter is incredibly important. I must make sure to investigate this thoroughly; do not stop me."
Chu Taishang's voice was cold and solemn. Zhang Daoyi's battle prowess wasn't as high as Hu Qin and he was actually slightly weaker, so Chu Taishang wasn't particularly fearful towards him. Besides, the matter seemed to have become even more complicated, and the flames of anger within him truly started to reach their peak. He even began to consider the possibility of these other old bastards joining forces to try to bring him and his Chu royal court down while they were on the rise. The more he thought about it, the worse his manners became and he even began to show signs of being aggressive….
However, as a Golden Core grandmaster and the great elder of the Ephemeral Butterfly Sect, how could Zhang Daoyi not have any temper himself? He'd originally wanted to curb his anger and speak politely before investigating it clearly, but seeing Chu Taishang show him no respect by yelling at him in front of all his pupils within his valley—and all for a few stupid pellets—diminished his restraint and ignited his own anger. "I am precisely going to stop you. If you're so powerful, why don't you try and come at me and my Demon God Valley?
"How could a lousy valley stop me?" Chu Taishang exclaimed with genuine anger as golden flame began to burn around him.
"Grand Elder, please don't be hasty in this…." Prince Chu Huang started to feel something was definitely wrong and tried to stop it all, but Chu Taishang—enveloped in his own rage—let out a loud growl and grabbed towards Hou Guimen once more. Seeing this, Zhang Daoyi swept his fly-whisk, pulled Hou Guimen behind him, and suddenly kicked out his foot. The earth began to shake and eight giant bronze doors appeared from out of nowhere, creating a formation to try to trap Chu Taishang.
Rumble….
Chu Taishang activated his spells to try to break through the formation. Strong gusts of wind quickly began to blow around the Demon God Valley, and the youths within could only scatter in all directions to try to flee from the carnage.
'How arrogant are those from the Chu royal clan! I shall ask my esteemed shifu to come along and help instil justice!' Although Xiao Xue was completely bound, she still had methods of sending messages to her teacher. A sword talisman flashed across her forehead as she muttered out, "Esteemed Shifu, I have been wounded and bound by the Chu royal clan at the entrance of Demon God Valley…."
In only a brief moment, all of Snowy Mountain seemed to be swept up in chaos.
One of the traditional symbols of Buddhist monastic hierarchy in China and Japan, the fly-whisk in Buddhism represents the symbolic "sweeping" away of ignorance and mental afflictions. The Daoist fly-whisk is made up from the root and twine of the smilax for the handle and palm fibre for the hairs.