The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 960: Surrounded
Sect Master Huang’s aura leaked into his surroundings as he showed his fury. The space trembled, and his aura itself gave the sensation of a sharp sword. Meilan and Rei, who felt it directly, grew tense as their souls were shaken by the sect master’s powerful aura.
Then, the aura suddenly disappeared, and the pressure was gone. Sect Master Huang took a deep breath to calm himself.
"My apologies for losing control, but to think the number of traitors is greater than I suspected is still irritating," he said. Inside the information crystal was the recording of Erdo and Veraz’s confession regarding the traitors within the Celestial Lotus Sect.
This made Sect Master Huang surprised because he knew who Erdo and Veraz were and how difficult it was even to capture them, let alone force out their confession.
Forget about making them speak, those devils were stubborn motherfuckers, especially the high-ranking ones. Even if they were tortured, he doubted they would confess anything and would instead choose suicide.
Yet inside the information crystal in his grasp, he could see the sorry state of the two peak commanders of the devils. They seemed to have already been tortured and were clearly traumatized, as they kept answering anything Aldrian asked.
He did not doubt that Aldrian had given them a hell, one that even those devils could not withstand, forcing them to speak.
After the initial shock of seeing the two leaders of the devil movement in this world, he focused on what they had said. After hearing everything, his fury only grew stronger.
He was furious at the traitors and also at himself for looking like a fool who had let these traitors roam freely within the sect.
"It’s alright, Sect Master. I know it is truly infuriating, and it is difficult to hold it in," Aldrian replied.
Sect Master Huang then picked one of the scrolls and read its contents. After reading it, he gritted his teeth. The scroll contained the report sent by the traitors of his sect to the devils. The devils had taken note of their reports and stored them in their main hideout, which at this moment had already been ransacked by Aldrian, Meilan, and Rei.
He then picked another scroll, and then another. He read all of the scrolls, and all of them contained a large amount of information provided by the traitors.
Sect Master Huang instantly rolled up the scrolls, stored all the evidence, and stood up. He cupped his hands toward Aldrian with a slight bow.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for once again helping me and our sect. However, I must apologize, as I have to leave now to take care of this matter. Just thinking that those traitors are still walking freely at this moment is enough to make my blood boil."
Aldrian smiled. "Please go ahead, Sect Master. This is an important matter after all, so it is better to take care of it as soon as possible. In fact, I believe that at this moment, those traitors might already be anxious and may have even tried to escape in desperation."
Sect Master Huang nodded. "Please excuse me." He then flew off in one direction. Meilan and Rei looked at the Sect Master before turning their gaze to Aldrian.
"Your Majesty, we would also like to excuse ourselves. We wish to follow the Sect Master," Meilan said.
"You may go, Miss Meilan and Miss Rei, and thank you for helping me today," Aldrian answered with a smile.
"It is our pleasure, Your Majesty. Instead, we are truly thankful to Your Majesty for everything you have already done for us and for our sect. We will always help Your Majesty if you need anything from us," Meilan said.
Aldrian nodded. After that, Meilan and Rei left. Aldrian, who finally had some time for himself, looked at the beautiful night view of the sect.
’It looks like there will be a commotion after this,’ he thought.
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Inside Grand Elder Almund’s private pavilion, he was still anxious, thinking about what he should do in the future while waiting for any movement from Aldrian or the Sect Master.
Knock! Knock!
"Master, it’s me." Suddenly, the voice of his disciple resounded from outside the room.
"Come in," he said. A second later, the sliding door opened, and Luyan entered the room before closing the door again. Looking at his disciple’s restless expression, he knew why Luyan had come.
"Master, I think we are in danger at this moment. Aldrian the Great and those two women actually came back safely. It is safe to say that the sect will launch an investigation after this, and there is a high possibility that we will be found out," Luyan said.
Grand Elder Almund did not say anything, and Luyan continued.
"Master, I think it would be wise for us to start planning our escape before they can sniff out our involvement with the devils. With Aldrian the Great here, I don’t think it is wise for us to keep staying in the sect."
Grand Elder Almund frowned. "If we escape, it will only make them instantly focus their attention on us. That would be the same as a death sentence. It would be better if we stay within the sect and do what we can to deny any involvement with the devils," he said.
"Moreover, I believe they still don’t have any evidence regarding our connection to the devils. Let them conduct their investigation, and we can erase anything that might cause them to point their suspicion toward us."
Although Grand Elder Almund said that, deep inside he had already decided to make Luyan his scapegoat.
’Well, sorry, disciple, but it looks like you will have to be the sacrifice for me.’
However, unknown to him, Luyan had the same thought.
’Sorry, Master. You should go with those devils. I still have many things that I need to achieve.’
But while they were thinking of stabbing each other in the back, suddenly—
"ALMUND, GET OUT NOW!"
The booming voice of Sect Master resounded from outside the pavilion, shocking both the Grand Elder and Luyan. Their hearts were shaken by the sudden shout, and a chill ran through them as they sensed the Sect Master’s fury.
Their chests grew cold as they thought that the Sect Master must have already discovered something for him to personally come here.
But was this not too fast? Aldrian had only returned not long ago, yet the Sect Master had already come for them.
’Master, what should we do?’ Luyan asked Grand Elder Almund through voice transmission, his voice filled with panic.
Grand Elder Almund gritted his teeth. ’Let us meet the Sect Master first. If he points his finger at us, all you need to do is keep denying our connection with the devils.’
"If you do not come out, I will barge in and drag you out. I will count to three!" the Sect Master’s voice resounded again.
"ONE!"
Knowing they had no time to think further, Grand Elder Almund stepped out of his room and into the garden of his pavilion complex, followed closely by Luyan. The moment they stood in the garden and looked up at the sky, they saw that their pavilion complex was already surrounded by a group of cultivators wearing red robes.
Grand Elder Almund and Luyan recognized them at once. They were from the Hell Pavilion, the department of the sect that specialized in apprehending criminals, especially those who had committed severe crimes. Everyone who became a member of the Hell Pavilion was among the chosen, as they had to be powerful cultivators capable of apprehending dangerous criminals.
They could see that some of the prominent figures of the Hell Pavilion were among the group. The Sect Master stood at the highest position, looking at them with cold eyes. Luyan also saw Meilan and Rei, who were looking at him with cold gazes, as if they could not wait to kill him.
Looking at the situation, he knew that it seemed they no longer doubted that both he and his master were traitors.
"What is the meaning of this, Sect Master? Why are you shouting like that and even bringing the Hell Pavilion to surround my place?" Grand Elder Almund asked. His voice and expression made it seem as though he truly knew nothing and was completely surprised.
Sect Master Huang did not change his expression.
"Don’t act ignorant, Almund. I believe you know why I came here personally, and I want to hear it directly from you and that disciple of yours beside you. Do you confess your crimes, or do I have to force you to confess?"
Grand Elder Almund frowned. "What crime do I have to—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the Sect Master take out a scroll from his storage ring and open it toward him, allowing him to see the writing inside.
"Leaking our information and the movements of our forces when we hunted the devils. For example, the incident a year ago when we lost several talented disciples after they were ambushed by the devils on their hidden route. You must know what I am talking about."
"Providing information about our disciples and elders, causing them to fall into danger. This led to several kidnapping incidents, leaving some disciples still missing until now, and some families unable to find their family members."
"I could go on and on listing everything you have done. Do you want me to say all of it?!"
Sect Master Huang’s voice boomed once again, echoing across the sect.
