Chapter 1021: Chapter 1021

The bearded man hesitated for a moment and then said, "Alliance Leader Ding, as the leader of the Hidden Sect Alliance, you should uphold justice. You shouldn't show favoritism, right?"

"According to what you're suggesting, only if Alliance Leader Ding says these people were killed by the Immortal Sect would you not think it's favoritism?" At this moment, one of the two Immortal Sect disciples spoke.

"Hmph, this is the entrance to the Immortal Sect. If these people were killed here and it wasn't done by the Immortal Sect, who else would dare to kill at the front gate of the Immortal Sect?"

At this time, Ding Fan did not pay attention to the argument between the bearded man and the Immortal Sect disciple. Instead, he looked at the bodies on the ground, contemplating his encounters upon arriving at Serpent Island today.

After arriving on Serpent Island, he was ambushed by a cultivator, followed by the discovery of these bodies.

Thinking of the cultivator who ambushed him, Ding Fan wondered if this incident might be related to that person.

"Alliance Leader Ding, there's something you probably don't know yet." At this moment, the bearded man addressed Ding Fan.

Ding Fan looked at the bearded man and signaled him to continue.

"Alliance Leader Ding, do you know who these people are that were killed?"

Ding Fan shook his head.

The bearded man continued, "These people are from the Sea Sect. Lying over there is Wan Hualiang, the leader of the Sea Sect. You might not know why we are here. A few days ago, the leader of the Sea Sect claimed they angered the Immortal Sect, so he asked a few of us to come with him to make amends at the Immortal Sect.

But when we arrived at the Sea Sect, the disciples there said that the Immortal Sect sent an emissary to summon Wan Hualiang to meet with the sect leader. Wan Hualiang went ahead of us. We followed closely but still arrived a step too late."

After the bearded man finished speaking, Na Cheng also nodded and said, "Alliance Leader Ding, I can vouch for Wang Sen's words. Wan Hualiang indeed asked us to accompany him to the Immortal Sect after offending them... we were just one step too late."

Ding Fan pondered for a moment, "Although these people did die in the Immortal Sect's territory, we still don't have evidence to prove that they were killed by the Immortal Sect."

Today's occurrences are quite strange.

Bearded Wang Sen lightly snorted after hearing Ding Fan's words, "Alliance Leader Ding, could it be that you think because the Immortal Sect is powerful, you want to sacrifice the interests of the smaller sects?"

"In my eyes, there are only allies, regardless of size. I just feel there are many doubts in this matter," Ding Fan said.

"Alliance Leader Ding, then how do you think we should resolve the issue at hand? The death of Wan Hualiang from the Sea Sect cannot go unaccounted for," Wang Sen said.

Ding Fan contemplated for a moment and then said, "Give me a little time, and I will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly. Once the culprit is found, I will uphold justice."

Na Cheng then stepped forward and said to Wang Sen, "Wang Sen, since Alliance Leader Ding has spoken, we should trust him. I believe Alliance Leader Ding will give us a satisfactory answer."

"Alliance Leader Ding, we will wait for your judgment. However, Alliance Leader Ding, it would be best if you give us a time frame. We can't just drag on indefinitely," Wang Sen said.

"Give me a month's time. After a month, right here, I, Ding Fan, will provide everyone with an explanation," Ding Fan said.

"Since Alliance Leader Ding has said so, we will wait for the good news," Wang Sen said.

Afterward, Wang Sen, Na Cheng, and the others burned the bodies of Wan Hualiang and the others from the Sea Sect and hurriedly left Serpent Island, taking the belongings of the deceased with them.

While Wang Sen, Na Cheng, and the others were handling the bodies, Ding Fan carefully observed the wounds of the deceased.

They were almost all killed by Wind Blades.

Martial artists of Earth Level Fifth Grade and above can comfortably use Wind Blade techniques. From the bodies, it's difficult to determine who killed them.

After Wang Sen, Na Cheng, and the others left, Ding Fan followed Ding Ming and Ding Qi back to the Immortal Sect entrance.

Ding Ming greeted Ding Fan at the entrance, while Ding Qi went inside to report.

Shortly after Ding Qi entered, the leader of the Immortal Sect came out, accompanied by many disciples of the sect.

Since Ding Fan is the leader of the Spirit Sect and the Alliance Leader of the Hidden Sect Alliance, the leader of the Immortal Sect naturally came to personally welcome him.

"Spirit Sect Sect Master, your grand visit is quite a surprise..." A kindly elder with a face full of smiles approached Ding Fan. "Immortal Sect Leader Shang Jiuzi greets you, friend..."

Shang Jiuzi is at least over a hundred years old. Ding Fan used his Divine Sense to probe Shang Jiuzi's cultivation, which is at least at Profound Level Sixth or Seventh Grade.

"Spirit Sect Leader Ding Fan greets you, friend..." Although Ding Fan and Shang Jiuzi have a significant age difference, their status within the Hidden Sect is equal.

It can even be said that Ding Fan's status in the sect is slightly higher than Shang Jiuzi's. Therefore, Ding Fan only gave the martial artist's salute.

Ding Fan was composed and neither servile nor overbearing, neither arrogant nor impatient, which made Shang Jiuzi look at him in a new light. Despite often hearing about the Spirit Sect leader's youthful talent, seeing it firsthand confirmed its truth.

After pleasantries, Shang Jiuzi directly led Ding Fan into the Immortal Sect.

Ding Fan had accidentally entered the Immortal Sect before. Adding this time, it was considered his second entry.

At this time, Gusu Qingwen was following beside Shang Jiuzi. Although she looked at Ding Fan with gentle affection, she restrained her emotions due to the presence of the sect leader.

Seeing the Immortal Sect leader Shang Jiuzi accompany Ding Fan the entire way, Gusu Qingwen couldn't help feeling a surge of pride.

Husband honored, wife esteemed.

Remember, the Immortal Sect is one of the three major forces within the Hidden Sect. Only two people in the entire world would be greeted by the sect leader personally.

And Ding Fan is one of them.

With such a husband, what more could a wife wish for!

Ding Fan followed Shang Jiuzi into the Immortal Sect.

Last time, Ding Fan arrived in a hurry, and he only wandered near the Desperate Forest at the edge of the Immortal Sect; he didn't see much of the scenery inside the sect.

This time, as he walked along, Ding Fan couldn't help but marvel quietly.

Within this Immortal Sect, the Spiritual Energy is incredibly rich. Surrounding him are wondrous peaks and strange stones, peculiar trees standing tall; now and then, the cries of cranes and monkeys can be heard, giving the place the rather enchanting feel of an Arcadia.

Under the guidance of Shang Jiuzi, Ding Fan was led to a grand hall.

The hall was magnificent. Around the hall, there were more than a dozen incense burners, with smoke curling up, adding to the feeling of being in the Immortal Realm.

Along the way, Ding Fan could also see some Immortal Sect disciples practicing their cultivation.

Shang Jiuzi welcomed Ding Fan to sit in the hall, and there were already people arranging tea.

"Earlier, the space passage of the Immortal Sect was blocked by the Ghost Sect. If it wasn't for Sect Master Ding's righteous actions, searching everywhere for a solution, our Immortal Sect would likely be forever sealed in this realm. Our Immortal Sect disciples Gu Su Qing Wen and Ruan Yuan have been sheltered by the Sect Master many times. Our Immortal Sect owes a debt to Spirit Sect for breaking through,"

Shang Jiuzi said full of gratitude.

"The Ghost Sect ran rampant. Our Spirit Sect only contributed a small effort," Ding Fan replied.

At this moment, Immortal Sect disciples had already brought fragrant tea.

Everyone drank tea and chatted about some inconsequential topics.

"Sect Leader Shang, I have a few things I'd like to inquire about," Ding Fan said at this time.

"What Sect Master Ding refers to should be the matter of the Black Mountain Li family," Shang Jiuzi thought of it before Ding Fan spoke.

Ding Fan nodded. "The Black Mountain Li family is an ally of the Hidden Sect Alliance. Since an incident has occurred with the Li family, I cannot ignore it."

"I can assure you, Sect Master Ding, that the annihilation of the Black Mountain Li family has nothing to do with our Immortal Sect," Shang Jiuzi said earnestly.

Ding Fan pondered for a moment and then continued asking, "Then does Sect Leader Shang know about the Soul Calming Pearl?"

The primary reason for the annihilation of the Black Mountain Li family was due to the Soul Calming Pearl. Later, even Ma Mingyang targeted Li Duoer because of it.

"I've heard of the Soul Calming Pearl," Shang Jiuzi said. "However, it's said that the thing captures human souls and refines them into soldiers; it should be an evil charm."

Ding Fan nodded. "As far as I know, the Black Mountain Li family was mostly destroyed because of the Soul Calming Pearl."

Shang Jiuzi's expression turned grave at this point. "The Soul Calming Pearl is an evil object from heaven and earth. If it falls into the hands of the Ghost Sect disciples, it will inevitably cause harm."

"The Soul Calming Pearl is now safely in my custody," Ding Fan said.

Shang Jiuzi welcomed Ding Fan to drink tea, and they again discussed the current situation. After the battle at Chessboard Mountain, the Ghost Sect was weakened; it shouldn't appear for a while. They analyzed that the destruction of the Black Mountain Li family was mostly not the work of the Ghost Sect.

Afterward, Ding Fan talked about the Sea Sect with Shang Jiuzi.

Initially, the Sea Sect indeed had tensions with the Immortal Sect, but the sect did not summon the Sea Sect people afterward. Furthermore, Shang Jiuzi only just found out that Sea Sect people were killed outside.

Ding Fan did not feel Shang Jiuzi was lying.

Just like with the Black Mountain Li family.

If the Immortal Sect really wanted to destroy the Black Mountain Li family, they could have sent skilled disciples to secretly annihilate them without needing to use the name of the Immortal Sect.

Moreover, considering the Immortal Sect's resources, if they were to destroy the Li family, how could anyone from the Li family escape?

Li Duoer had average cultivation. If the Immortal Sect truly aimed to destroy the Li family, why would they let a disciple like Li Duoer run to the Spirit Sect?

The latter issue of the Sea Sect was even easier to understand.

If the Immortal Sect really wanted to deal with the Sea Sect, there was no reason to act within the sect and be discovered by Na Cheng.

All of these events seemed to be pre-arranged by someone. The most update n0vels are published on 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍

These matters pointed all accusations towards the Immortal Sect.

Moreover, Ding Fan felt there might be a stronger force slowly approaching...

Ding Fan and the sect leader of the Immortal Sect also discussed the matter of jointly resisting the Ghost Sect.

Although the Ghost Sect suffered severe damage, it does not mean its destruction; the Ghost Sect is still enormous. It's virtually impossible to eradicate them completely.

Only by joining forces with the Spirit Sect and the Immortal Sect can they withstand the Ghost Sect.

The leader of the Immortal Sect immediately agreed with Ding Fan to join the Hidden Sect Alliance in the future, bonding closely...

After the tea, the sect leader of the Immortal Sect either intentionally noted the relationship between Ding Fan and Gu Su Qing Wen or coincidentally allowed Gu Su Qing Wen to show Ding Fan around the sect.

After Gu Su Qing Wen took Ding Fan for a tour of the Immortal Sect, they arrived at the place where they first met.

"Ding Fan, do you remember this place?" Gu Su Qing Wen rarely held Ding Fan's hand, her cheeks tinged with shyness.

Fragrant blooms surrounded them, with scents overwhelming.

This was the place where Ding Fan accidentally entered the Immortal Sect and encountered Gu Su Qing Wen.