Outside the Lotus Pavilion, the scene was rather awkward.
Lin Jing didn’t even want to speak anymore.
Witness: Snow Moon City Lord, Tang Qinghan.
Physical Evidence: Ice Soul Gu.
And now another genius claims that he’s part of the Demon Cult.
He was mentally exhausted.
Considering that the Divine Pine called himself a "Demon Cultivator" and taught the Pine Leaf Mouse "Demonic Arts", his current predicament seemed somewhat justified.
He was on the verge of becoming a demon cultivator himself.
"Detective Gao, please stop deducing, I’ll explain everything to you later."
"The most urgent task now is to catch the real mastermind Gu Cultivator..."
Before Lin Jing could finish his words, everyone suddenly looked towards the sky.
At some point, a massive bronze ancient sword had blocked out the moonlight, hovering beneath the moon.
Upon the bronze ancient sword was a woman, dressed in pure white, her hair cascading down like a waterfall, held up with a simple jade hairpin.
Under the cold moon, the woman’s robes swayed gently with the wind, as if she were a fairy, untouched by worldly dust. Her eyes were fixed upon the endless Companion Gu Insects in Snow Moon City, before she softly parted her red lips, her voice dissipating in the wind and snow.
After speaking, her fingertip lightly touched the white long sword hanging by her waist. The sword hummed faintly, emitting a soft green glow.
The next instant, the air around seemed to freeze, and then tens of thousands of sword lights burst forth from her sword, transforming into countless tiny ice swords, forming a dazzling sword array that illuminated the heavens.
With a single command, the myriad sword lights tore through the night sky like a meteor shower, bearing down with unstoppable momentum upon the Companion Spiders on the ground. Wherever the sword lights reached, nothing could stand in its way. Countless spider-shaped Gu Insects writhed and screamed under the sword lights, but ultimately all turned to ice fragments, scattered by the wind and snow.
Instantly, the cultivators in Snow Moon City who were clearing the swarm found that the Gu Insects had completely vanished and couldn’t help but look at the sky in astonishment!
Detective Gao Sheng also showed a hint of fear as he gazed at the figure standing on the bronze ancient sword.
With his words, the white-clad Female Sword Immortal descended slowly, "Gao Sheng, you did not pass the Demon Extermination Bureau’s examination and stole a Demon Exterminator token. Are you aware of your crime?"
"Someone entrusted me to take you back into custody."
"No, please!" Gao Sheng exclaimed, while the white horse with dragon horns beside him sighed and walked into the blizzard upon realizing the situation had been exposed.
"Are you the Ling Yue Sword Immortal, Feng Ning?" Meanwhile, the Snow Moon City Lord spoke up.
"Snow Moon City Lord, report to me the causes and consequences of this Snow City unrest later," the white-clad Female Sword Immortal said coldly. Tang Qinghan nodded repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, Ling Yue Sword Immortal, for your assistance, or Snow Moon City would have suffered greatly in this Gu disaster."
"Sister Feng, don’t arrest me first, arrest him. The Ice Soul Gu was reborn and drilled into his body!!!" Gao Sheng pointed at the innocent Lin Jing, who also raised his hands obediently.
"I said it was a misunderstanding." Lin Jing’s eyes fell upon the white-clad Female Sword Immortal, recognizing her.
On the Celestial Secret Tower’s Ancient Country Prodigy List, Ling Yue Sword Immortal was ranked third in the Earth List among the three lists of Heaven, Earth, and Human, with a Golden Core at perfection stage cultivation, as the senior sister of the foremost Sword Sect in the Ancient Country, Celestial Sword Sect.
Simultaneously, she had joined the Ancient Country Demon Extermination Bureau, known for single-handedly destroying a demon cultivator stronghold and slaying an early-stage Nascent Soul demon cultivator, earning her the title of Blood Moon Sword Immortal.
She was a true prodigy at the pinnacle of the Cultivation Realm, in a league far beyond the young talents of the Beast Taming Sect.
Lin Jing had not expected such a prodigy to arrive in the barren Great Wilderness Domain. He glanced at Gao Sheng, thinking, the Demon Extermination Bureau’s Demon Exterminators usually start at Foundation Establishment, so how did a Qi Cultivation Stage layer infiltrate? Turns out the identity was stolen, and now he’s about to be taken away!
However, if he did not explain himself properly, he might also be taken away.
"I’m giving you this opportunity." Ling Yue Sword Immortal looked at Lin Jing, a glimmer of light in her eyes.
"Thank you, Immortal." Lin Jing met her gaze and smiled slightly.
"It’s not that I believe you, it’s just that I don’t believe him," Ling Yue Sword Immortal hinted, making Gao Sheng’s face fall.
Am I really that untrustworthy?
"The Immortal is wise. Let me introduce myself. I am Lin Jing, a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, and came to Snow Moon City on a mission from my sect to investigate the disappearance of beasts in the city."
"Upon arriving in Snow Moon City, I conducted a thorough investigation and discovered that ’Insect Feather Grass’ was starting to grow under the snow. This poisonous plant is known to thrive where venomous insects gather."
"Furthermore, my senior brother Ouyang Hao, who undertook this task before me, suffered mysterious poisoning in this city that was impossible to cure. Therefore, I deduced that it’s the work of a special Gu Insect, as only a blend of various potent Gu poisons could leave someone so helpless."
"To find this Gu Insect, I used Illusion Path Magic as bait to ascertain the true body of the Gu. It is, indeed, one of the top ten rare Gu crafted by the Gu God Sect—the Ice Soul Gu."
"When I discovered it, the Ice Soul Gu was not yet born, operating on mere instinct without forming its Gu poison. Thus, I reasoned that there must be a demon cultivator who had already prepared a sub-Gu, forged a suitable host body in Snow Moon City, awaiting the rebirth of the rare Gu to absorb it and complete the demonic art."
"Based on my senior brother’s special Yang Spirit Body, it’s already clear who this person is—it should be the Pavilion Master Hua of the Lotus Pavilion. Fearing my senior brother’s Yang Spirit Body would become the preferred container for the reborn Gu, he acted first, using a sub-Gu to harm my senior brother. However, what he didn’t anticipate was that the one succeeding my senior brother to continue the investigation, me, possesses an even more special physique than my brother’s, far surpassing a Fire Spirit Body, making me more suitable for Gu parasitism."
"Hence the scene Brother Gao witnessed, the Gu chose me as its host. I am truly innocent." After Lin Jing finished speaking, Gao Sheng was utterly shocked.
"So this is the truth behind the missing beasts in Snow Moon City and the Beast Taming Sect disciple being poisoned by ice?" Gao Sheng’s face looked bewildered, this was miles away from any of his deduction possibilities.
"Hua Qian Dao?" The Snow Moon City Lord’s face changed, "Is it really him? Wait, a body suitable for the Ice Soul Gu is fire-attributed? Why do I feel my Ice Spirit Body is more suitable."
"The Ice Soul Gu, it is said that when the Gu God Sect crafted it, because of its overwhelmingly cold nature, it nearly froze itself to death multiple times. They later endowed it with an additional instinct during the crafting process using a secret technique, so that it prefers extremely Yang and hot environments during its growth, to suppress its own cold nature," Ling Yue Sword Immortal explained.
After hearing Lin Jing’s explanation, she believed a bit in his account.
At this moment, her icy demeanor disappeared, and she looked at Lin Jing with interest.
"Even so, for you at the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation to achieve all this and even seize an opportunity planned by a demon cultivator for years is quite illogical. I am now very curious about what allows you to attract such a rare Gu, even more curious as to why, after becoming its host, you remain completely unaffected."
Lin Jing replied, "Immortal, do not become curious about someone so casually. As the future Saint Heir of the Beast Taming Sect, I do need some unique skills when traveling outside."
"Indeed, Sister Feng Ning, this person is no ordinary disciple of the Beast Taming Sect. Qi Cultivation stage cultivation, Foundation Establishment stage mount, Golden Core stage magic item—I’d even believe if he secretly had a Nascent Soul stage guardian following him! This is exactly the setup I should have!" Gao Sheng deduced again.