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“What?!” the daoists exclaimed in shock. They had just found Peng Wuyan, yet Pei Mianman was now missing?
However, Zu An was even more shocked than the daoist sect members. He quickly arrived in front of Elder Huo Ling and urgently asked, “What? How did she disappear?”
Qiu Honglei was also stunned. She hadn’t expected Pei Mianman to disappear at all. She didn’t even have time to feel jealous, and just looked at her master to see if she had any solutions.
Yun Jianyue remained expressionless, however. This brat was full of honeyed words last night, and yet today, all of his attention is now on another woman?
The surrounding people also cast sidelong looks. Why is this kid so panicked? Could it be that he really ended up liking that Miss Pei?
Still, when they recalled Pei Mianman’s stunning features and physique, they felt that it was only too natural for someone as young as him to feel that way.
Elder Huo Ling’s expression changed several times, but she didn’t have time for anything else and explained, “I went out for some business last night. When I returned, everything was normal, but when it was time to leave this morning, Manman didn’t seem to have woken up yet. It was when I went to her room that I noticed that she was gone. Then, Jadefall Palace’s disciples and I looked everywhere, but we still didn’t find her. That was why we came here to see if anyone knew anything.”
Wang Wuxie shook his head and said, “We only just now heard about her disappearance. We do not know anything either.”
The others began to discuss the situation in a lively manner. They clearly didn’t know where Pei Mianman had gone either.
The disciples gradually found out about what happened and erupted into alarm. Unlike Peng Wuyan, who was safe because of her appearance, Pei Mianman was an incredible beauty! With that bewitching figure, if she went missing, it wasn’t hard to imagine what could happen at all. Many people felt pity when they thought of that. Such a stunning individual actually ending up like that would just be too sad.
Zu An was more worried about Pei Mianman’s safety. He quickly asked Elder Huo Ling for more details. “Manman’s cultivation isn’t low, and you and Palace Lord Wan are both grandmasters. How could she have been silently kidnapped just like that with both of you overseeing your residence?”
Wan Tongtian’s expression became a bit unnatural as he said, “Ahem, I had some affairs to deal with and also left for a bit. It might have happened then.”
The others had strange expressions when they heard that. They had all heard about Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling’s hatred for each other, and yet both had gone out in the middle of the night. It was hard for them to not suspect anything. Fortunately, the subject was Pei Mianman’s safety, so it wasn’t the time to crack jokes.
Elder Huo Ling said, “It’s actually quite strange. When I went to examine Manman’s room, there were no signs of a battle.”
The others had strange expressions as they said, “Lady Pei’s cultivation isn’t low though. How could she have been captured silently like that?”
Even though Pei Mianman had been able to get this far partly due to luck, she had displayed her strength during the group stage. Furthermore, that Fu Hao Owl Statue of hers was quite miraculous. She was a top-tier expert in the world of warriors. Even if a grandmaster had faced her, unless they launched an ambush, it shouldn’t have reached a point where she didn’t even have the slightest ability to retaliate.
Those present exchanged their opinions. After a while, they looked toward Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei.
“What are you looking at me for?” Yun Jianyue snapped impatiently.
Yan Xuehen, who had remained quiet the entire time, said, “Pei Mianman’s disappearance seems similar to Miss Peng’s. I wonder who Miss Peng was kidnapped by, and how she was rescued? We might be able to obtain some clues that will aid Miss Pei’s rescue through this information.” She knew about Zu An and Pei Mianman’s relationship. Furthermore, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were also close friends, so she couldn't just watch without doing anything.
Guan Chouhai and the others couldn't help but give her a look. This woman was usually quite aloof and indifferent. Why did she suddenly seem so engaged in this matter? However, most of them were looking at Yun Jianyue, waiting to hear her speak about how Peng Wuyan had been saved.
Only Zu An knew that Qiu Honglei’s disappearance was fabricated. How could Yun Jianyue provide any useful clues in this situation?
Yun Jianyue coughed lightly and said, “That is related to a secret of our sect, but since this is related to martial niece Pei, I cannot hide it anymore. Our sect left a tracking talisman on Peng Wuyan. If she goes missing for a certain period of time, it activates on its own. I sensed it and swiftly looked for her, and found her in a cave. The strange thing was that it was just her inside. The one who kidnapped her was nowhere to be seen.”
Elder Huo Ling urgently asked, “Where is that cave?”
Yun Jianyue replied somewhat awkwardly, “What are the chances of it being in the same place? They would definitely have known that the place was exposed once the kidnappers saw that Wuyan was no longer there. Would they continue to hide people there?”
The representatives from Jadefall Palace felt that the explanation was reasonable. They all had disappointed expressions.
Guan Chouhai looked at Qiu Honglei and asked, “Martial niece Peng, who exactly was it that kidnapped you? Do you not remember anything?”
Qiu Honglei shook her head. “I was cultivating at the time, but then I was suddenly knocked unconscious by someone. When I woke up, I was  in that cave. I don’t know what kind of objective the other party had either, nor did they ask me for anything. Later, I was rescued.”
That was what Yun Jianyue had told her to say before, so there was no chance that they would have holes in their story.
“Someone who could render you unconscious without alerting anyone has to at least be at the grandmaster rank. But which grandmaster in this world would attack a junior without any regard for their status?” Master Jian Huang muttered to himself.
Li Changsheng said, “It is most likely the Devil Sect Master, Yun Jianyue.”
Yun Jinayue’s brows rose when she heard that. She replied, “Couldn’t it be the dark elves?”
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The dark elves excelled at ambushes and assassination. Even if they didn’t have grandmaster rank cultivation, such a thing would actually be possible for them.
“Shadow Group?” The others’ expressions changed. The Shadow Group was an assassin organization they were all a bit apprehensive about.
Li Changsheng shook his head and said, “Our daoist sects have all gathered together today. There is no reason for the Shadow Group to offend all of us. They have never engaged in any losing transactions.”
…
None of them were able to come up with a conclusion even after analyzing the situation.
Elder Huo Ling was really starting to panic. She asked Yun Jianyue about the cave and quickly left to look for it.
Zu An was about to leave too when Yun Jianyue secretly told him, “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to her.”
Zu An was stunned. He noticed that she seemed to be implying something. He was about to ask her about it when he heard her say clearly, “The competition has already dragged on for so many days, and my disciple has already returned. Can we continue now?”
A huge uproar followed. Wan Tongtian looked at her unhappily and said, “All of us delayed the competition when your disciple went missing before. Now, when our Jadefall Palace’s disciple has gone missing, you instead want the match to start? What is the meaning of this?”
The others all looked at Yun Jianyue, especially the young disciples. They were full of righteous anger and shot her indignant gazes.
It wasn’t just them; even Qiu Honglei was a bit confused. Why had her master done such a thing even though she knew about Pei Mianman’s relationship with Zu An? Why would she raise such a disrespectful request at a time l ike this?
Zu An frowned. He knew Yun Jianyue definitely had a reason for doing such a thing, so he began to speculate about what was happening.
When faced with their questioning, Yun Jianyue didn’t back down at all. She said, “Our daoist sects came all the way here from afar to conduct this great competition at Violet Mountain and can’t stay here forever. We’ve already been away for long enough.
“Once we decide who the winners are, we still need to send the disciples into the secret dungeon. All that needs to be done in order. We’ve already stalled for long enough. If we wait any longer, just how much longer are we going to dilly-dally for?
“In my opinion, that mysterious individual hiding in the dark must have done all of this to ruin our great competition. Even if Pei Mianman returns, there could be other annoyances. This competition could never continue then. As long as the competition reaches its conclusion, that mysterious person will likely cease their schemes.”
The others felt a bit angry when they heard her analysis, but they gradually began to feel that her argument made some sense. After all, they hadn’t learned anything from Peng Wuyan’s return, and yet Pei Mianman had been captured now. No matter how they looked at it, there seemed to be a troublemaker doing all of this on purpose.
Watchful Heart Peak’s Feng Wuchang said, “What Elder Peng has said is reasonable. However, with Lady Pei missing right now, we cannot continue the competition even if we want to.”
Zu An gave him a strange look. Shouldn’t Wang Wuxie have been the one to speak in such a situation? To be honest, wasn’t Wang Wuxie a bit too quiet today compared to before? He hadn’t even snuck any looks at Yan Xuehen.
Yun Jianyue proudly said, “You’ve all seen how Wuyan prevailed over so many strong opponents, and Jadefall Palace’s Lady Pei only won because of luck. If they really fought, I’m sure everyone has their own ideas as to who would win. In that case, why don’t we just proclaim Wuyan the victor and be done with it?”
The others looked at each other in dismay. They had to admit that the cultivation Peng Wuyan had displayed before was a bit higher.
Yan Xuehen said, “Often, it is difficult to tell who would win and who would lose without an actual fight. If we only made decisions based on what we expected, Miss Pei might not even have made it out of the group stage. As for Lady Peng, she also fought against powerful opponents to reach where she is today.”
The other sect masters had been a bit tempted at first, but they began to hesitate when they heard what she said.
Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth. This stone cold woman really is my arch-nemesis! She’ll still go against me even when I’ve changed my identity!
Suddenly, someone screamed shrilly, “That Elder Peng is fake! She’s actually the Devil Sect Master, Yun Jianyue!”