Chapter 449: She Is the Sect Leader’s Candidate

“Greetings, Sect Leader,” Mo Hua and the other people shouted in unison.

“Hmm,” the Sect Leader responded with a grunt. His face was still shrouded in a hazy black fog. His appearance could not be seen.

Elder Mo Hua was the first person to speak. “Sect Leader, Yun Jiu discovered a Secret Realm but concealed it without reporting. She is full of nonsense. We cannot condone her behavior, lest the other disciples will follow suit with such behavior. She must be punished,” he said.

“That’s right. The Secret Realm is of great importance and relates to the future development of our sect. Yun Jiu should be subjected to the Soul Searching Technique,” Elder Bai Gu added.

“I second it,” said Xie Ying, raising his hand with a grin.

“I second it too,” Elder You Ming said while nodding solemnly.

“I’m against it,” Qiu Sen stood up and said coldly. “Once Yun Jiu discovered the Secret Realm, she immediately made the report to the sect. There was no concealment. If you carry out the Soul Searching Technique on her due to your selfish reasons, the other disciples will not vow loyalty and devotion to our sect once they hear of the punishment.”

“Qiu Sen, we can resolve this matter quietly. The sect’s disciples will only know that we have gained another Secret Realm. They will not know about matters that they should not know,” said Mo Hua. He had already thought of a solution.

“So many other disciples had gone to the Fiendish Corpse Secret Realm. Don’t tell me you want to silence them all?” Qiu Sen retorted sarcastically.

“They’re all smart people who know what should be said and what not to say. Unless it is someone who doesn’t want our sect to prosper and to destroy it on purpose,” said Mo Hua, holding her ground.

Yun Jiuge stayed silent throughout the exchanges by the elders. She was only a low-level disciple and could not interject given her position.

If the Sect Leader helped her, she would stay.

If he didn’t, then she would leave with Zi Shang. It was as simple as that.

The Sect Leader was silent. Even the black fog on his face was not moving. Elder Qiu Sen and Elder Mo Hua carried on with their arguments.

Qiu Sen was adamant that Yun Jiuge deserved merit for the discovery of the Secret Realm. They should not be tearing her down after reaping the benefits.

Mo Hua, on the other hand, wanted the sect’s interest to come above all else, and therefore Yun Jiuge must be subjected to the Soul Searching Technique.

“Sect Leader, what do you think?” Mo Hua turned to ask the Sect Leader. His opinion would be the most critical.

“I understand,” replied the Sect Leader. His voice was so flat that no emotion could be discerned.

It looked like he was going to ignore the issue and not help either one of them. It seemed as if Yun Jiuge would have to leave Yin Corpse Sect.

Yun Jiuge began to tell Zi Shang and Qiu Sen to standby through Mental Transference.

Zi Shang began to gather the Demonic Power while Qiu Sen moved closed to Xie Ying without revealing his intent. They would wait and see if the Sect Leader would agree to Mo Hua’s suggestion.

The Sect Leader finally said, “Yun Jiu is my Sect’s Peak’s disciple. No matter what she did, it should be up to me as the Sect Leader to make the decision.” Everyone stared blankly when they heard the Sect Leader’s words.

“Sect Leader, what do you mean?” asked Mo Hua. She did not quite understand what he meant. Could it be that the Sect Leader would personally conduct the Soul Searching Technique?

“I meant that you have over-reached yourselves!”

The Sect Lead’s tone was stern. A black Unholy Wind flew out from within his figure and turned into four shadows, which then attached themselves to the back of the four elders, Mo Hua, Bai Gu, You Ming, and Xie Ying.

It was quite clear that the Sect Leader was ready to dispose of the elders.

Qiu Sen was also stunned by the sudden reversal of the situation.

He thought that the Sect Leader would only speak on behalf of Yun Jiuge. He did not expect him to make a move on her behalf.

But it was good that it happened. Mo Hua and the others would have to consider the consequences if they were to touch Yun Jiuge again in the future.

“Sect Leader, she’s only an ordinary disciple. Why are you sticking up for her?” Elder Mo Hua asked.

Her face was contorted with anger.

She put a great deal of effort into recruiting Elder You Ming and Elder Xie Ying. She thought that victory was already within their grasp. She did not expect that the Sect Leader would turn against them because of Yun Jiuge.

“Yun Jiu will be my Sect Leader’s Peak’s candidate. If anyone of you dares to touch her, it is equivalent to declaring war with me,” said the Sect Leader, dropping yet another bombshell.

The candidate of Sect Leader’s Peak was equivalent to becoming the next Sect Leader of the Yin Corpse Sect. This position was extremely important. Generally, all elders must convene for a conclave before a conclusion could be made.

“Sect Leader, are you not being too impulsive?” asked Elder You Ming with a frown.

Although he did not have many years left to live, he still had the right to speak about the future of the Yin Corpse Sect.

“In three years, I’ll hold a Conclave of the Elders Council,” said the Sect Leader with an imposing voice that brooked no argument.

The Sect Leader’s right to decide would take precedence over everything else. The candidate would be selected and groomed by him before the final decision would be made by the Conclave of the Elders Council.

Since he said so, no one else had the right to object.

“It seems that the Sect Leader has decided,” said Elder Mo Hua as she looked at Yun Jiuge with disgust.

She had been opposing Yun Jiuge all this while. If Yun Jiuge assumed the position of the Sect Leader, things could be difficult for her then.

At the moment, Elder Mo Hua felt even more murderous, but she had to suppress her true emotions completely.

She had to give herself some leeway. Otherwise, there would be trouble if she could not kill Yun Jiuge by that time.

“Now that the Sect Leader has decided, I have nothing more to say. I’ll take my leave now,” said Elder You Ming as he stood up unsteadily. He did not want to involve himself in trifling matters.

If he could not find a way to extend his lifespan, then he would just spend the rest of his time quietly.

“I still have some matters to attend to, I’ll now take my leave,” said Xie Ying. Since the situation was not in their favor, it would be better for him to slip away as quickly as possible. There would be less trouble if he avoided Qiu Sen. Nothing good would come out of his entanglement with the mad man.

With their allies gone, Elder Mo Hua and Elder Bai Gu left soon after.

Yun Jiuge’s crisis was over just like that.

She was a little dazed by the turn of event. She could not figure out why she was in the Sect Leader’s good books.

“Something seems off with the Sect Leader, we must ask him to clarify what he said,” said Zi Shang. He was rather concerned about why the Sect Leader was being so considerate of Yun Jiuge. He couldn’t figure out the reasons for his behavior.

“You’re right. We must ask him to explain,” replied Yun Jiuge. She was not accustomed to the good intentions of others, even if he was the Sect Leader of the Yin Corpse Sect.

Seeing that the Sect Leader was about to leave, she hurriedly went after him and asked, “Sect Leader, can I have a moment?”

“I know you must have a lot of questions, come with me,” said the Sect Leader. He brought Yun Jiuge to the cave-dwelling of the Sect Leader.

His cave dwelling was simple and crude. There was only one stone table, four stone chairs, and nothing else.

“Sit down,” said the Sect Leader as he beckoned Yun Jiuge to sit. Then he took out a tea set from the Magical Bottomless Bag and placed it on the table. He got ready to brew tea.

Just as Yun Jiuge was about to fire away all her queries, the black fog over the Sect Leader’s face dispersed, revealing a familiar face.

She recognized him as Yin Shili, Heifeng Village’s Secondary Steward, who had helped her before in Dabie Mountain.

“Big Brother Yin, it’s you!” uttered Yun Jiuge with a look of disbelief.

Zi Shang nodded to himself. Indeed, it was him.

“I was instructed by the higher up to draw you into the sect,” said Yin Shili as he lowered his head to focus on brewing the tea. His movements were graceful and pleasant to the eyes. He seemed completely different from the uncouth fellow in Heifeng Village.

“Who’s the higher up?” asked Yun Jiuge, glancing at Zi Shang. Could the higher up be him?

“It’s not me,” said Zi Shang. If he could command Yin Shili, then he would not have to put in so much effort in the first place to let Yun Jiuge enter the Yin Corpse Sect.