Chu Xingchen ignored the look Xu Jin cast his way, and decided against using the Baiqing Technique that he'd originally planned to deploy upon meeting.
Although he couldn't yet determine the Buddhist Sect's true intentions, at least he could confirm that the Buddhist Sect had connections with demons.
Whether others believed it or not was uncertain, but at least the Xuanqing Tianzong and the Tianyan Sect believed it, which meant they were now somewhat guarded against the Buddhist Sect.
However, there was another matter that could roughly help calculate the timing of the great tribulation.
That would be his second disciple.
Before his second disciple was reborn, he had spent over a hundred years cultivating to the Nascent Soul realm. At least when Li Xingtian was drained dry by the demoness, the world had not yet descended into complete chaos at the level of a great tribulation.
Otherwise, his second disciple would have long ago told him about these matters.
This meant that the words "great tribulation approaches" did not follow the timeline Chu Xingchen had assumed.
Perhaps the incident of Li Xingtian being drained dry occurred right on the eve of the great tribulation's arrival.
And this timeframe, for Chu Xingchen currently, might still be a considerable period away.
So the choice to alert the enemy might sometimes be a good option, forcing them to reveal themselves before they were fully prepared.
But everything had its pros and cons.
At the very least, he should discuss this matter with Lu Xuan and Bai Xuanling.
"Does the young master wish for this servant to warm your bed?"
Meng Li's expression showed slight surprise, then she batted her eyes and said, "That would be this servant's honor. May I ask, young master... do you want it now, or shall we wait for tonight?"
Both of them had steady auras, and even Meng Li at the Nascent Soul realm couldn't see through them in the slightest.
Without a doubt, these had to be cultivators from the Xuanqing Tianzong at the Spirit Transformation realm or above.
However...
Openly displaying their cultivation without concealment—this kind of self-incriminating behavior seemed strange no matter how you looked at it.
But no matter how strange, no one could currently see through her true identity.
Peel away her heart, and it was purely a human heart.
This outer shell, every drop of blood flowing through her body, was all human blood.
For survival, even the proudest creatures would bow their heads and learn to disguise themselves.
Even if there was suspicion, so what? Even if the wish power was being used by her, so what? She was now a pure-blooded human.
Otherwise, how could the Buddhist Sect possibly release them? That would be throwing evidence right out the door.
Meng Li reached out his delicate hand toward the foolishly grinning Xu Jin, his gaze hazy as if he had taken a fancy to this Xu Jin who only knew how to smile stupidly.
"Furthermore... both of you are top-tier cultivators. This servant was being presumptuous."
Those who could cultivate to the Spirit Transformation realm were no fools—this one simply wasn't good at playing dumb.
Xu Jin's foolish smile instantly vanished upon hearing this, and he directly pushed away Meng Li who was trying to approach. His expression suddenly turned serious as he looked at Chu Xingchen.
He wasn't some rookie cultivator, so naturally he could sense that Meng Li before him had cultivation around the Nascent Soul realm.
He had been playing dumb because he thought Chu Xingchen was up to his usual tricks, using illusion arts to conceal both of their cultivations upon entering.
As for other details, naturally the less concealed the better, since the more things hidden by illusion arts, the easier it would be to detect.
Moreover, the Buddhist Sect had their own insights regarding illusion arts. Concealing cultivation could also conceal identity.
Chu Xingchen casually ignored Xu Jin's questioning gaze, reached out and hooked his arm around Xu Jin's shoulder, patted it lightly a few times, then spoke:
"Knowing you were being presumptuous, you still wanted to follow through? Are we the kind of goods for someone like you to covet?"
Meng Li's expression retracted, and her tone also calmed somewhat. "Then what guidance do the two seniors have? This place is under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Continent Buddhist Sect. Please think thrice before either of you decides to do anything."
"Wow, it really has to be the Central Continent Buddhist Sect—they break through the lower limits faster than other immortal sects."
Chu Xingchen lightly patted Xu Jin's shoulder as a form of comfort, then continued speaking.
"The Buddhist Sect, which has always preached asceticism, was actually the first to open a brothel. That really is an eye-opener."
Meng Li didn't care in the slightest about what Chu Xingchen said. What did the Buddhist Sect's reputation have to do with his?
She sat down gracefully in a chair with a smile on her face, then lightly pointed at the teapot on the table.
"Two distinguished guests, would you care for a cup?"
Chu Xingchen naturally moved to sit down, but before taking his seat, he knocked several times on Xu Jin's shoulder with the hand that had been resting there.
Xu Jin seemed completely oblivious, just somewhat unhappily shrugging his shoulder to shake off Chu Xingchen's hand, as if he still harbored dissatisfaction toward Chu Xingchen.
Chu Xingchen's expression showed slight awkwardness as he glanced at Xu Jin, then turned his gaze toward Meng Li.
"No need for tea. I just have a few questions I want to ask you."
Meng Li lowered her gaze slightly. "Both of you are seniors, presumably disciples of the Eighteen Immortal Sects. Whatever you wish to ask, this servant will tell you whatever she can."
Chu Xingchen smiled. "Then do you know what improper things the Buddhist Sect is raising?"
"That is not something this servant should know, nor is it something this servant can know."
Although Chu Xingchen said no tea was needed, Meng Li still began brewing tea with elegant movements as he continued:
"If the two of you find it strange that the Buddhist Sect runs a brothel, then by all means investigate. You can investigate me, or investigate this entire brothel."
Chu Xingchen nodded as if satisfied upon hearing this, then said:
"Those are your words."
Meng Li's eyes trembled slightly, and her expression took on a pitiful look.
"Then I must ask the two seniors to be gentle. If you're too forceful, this servant gets scared."
Chu Xingchen turned his gaze toward Xu Jin, then raised an eyebrow.
Xu Jin wore a look of disdain, his brow furrowed.
Meng Li carefully observed this scene, still wondering if there was some rift between the two that she could exploit.
In the next moment, the longsword in Xu Jin's hand was already drawn. Vast spiritual energy instantly surged forth, locking Meng Li in place so he couldn't move.
Almost simultaneously, pale purple spiritual energy bloomed from Chu Xingchen's body, completely sealing off the entire room.
Before Meng Li could even blink, she felt a destructive aura at her throat, and the fear of imminent death washed over her.
At this moment, the entire room fell deathly silent.
Meng Li took two deep breaths, barely managing to force a smile as she said:
"Senior... even if the Buddhist Sect runs a brothel, that surely isn't a crime punishable by death, is it?"
Chu Xingchen spoke sternly, "I ask, you answer. If I sense anyone—including people from the Buddhist Sect—approaching, I guarantee your head will hit the ground first."
"You... you ask..." Meng Li's voice trembled violently.
"What is the Buddhist Sect's purpose in raising you demons?!"
Chu Xingchen's tone was sharp. "Is the Buddhist Sect planning to personally trigger the Era of the Great Tribulation?"
"I don't know what the senior is talking about! What demons?"
Chu Xingchen sneered upon hearing this, then retrieved a bronze mirror from his spatial ring and placed it directly in front of Meng Li.
Meng Li looked at the mirror before her.
In the mirror, it was no longer Meng Li's beautiful face, but one with four drooping eyes, the entire face somewhat oval-shaped, with features that were indescribably bizarre.
A face that was attractive yet somehow not quite attractive—a strange countenance.
Chu Xingchen sternly demanded, "The Demon-Revealing Mirror jointly developed by the Eighteen Immortal Sects—do you still want to keep making excuses?"
Meng Li looked at the bizarre face in the mirror, her expression agitated but her heart calm.
Because the creature in the mirror was a charm demon, but she was not.
This was a bluff, an attempt to trick her into confessing.
Meng Li had been able to detect the tainted wish power precisely because the Buddhist Sect had notified Ten Thousand Buddha Temple about the situation.
A cultivator at the Spirit Transformation realm or above, proficient in illusion arts.
Truly formidable illusion arts—there wasn't a single flaw to detect.
Chu Xingchen's expression was fierce, but his heart was also calm. His current purpose wasn't to corner Meng Li and then forcefully expose the Buddhist Sect.
Since the Buddhist Sect could release these demons, they naturally had methods they believed to be foolproof.
Chu Xingchen also couldn't say he had a system that could see attribute entries—that this Meng Li was an Iron Demon, and the Buddhist Sect was rotten to the core. If he said this, few would believe him.
Moreover, this kind of intelligence wasn't meant to be used this way.
The enemy in the light while we remain in the dark—there's value in that.
At this moment, what Chu Xingchen needed to do was first feed the Buddhist Sect a reassurance, making them continue working cautiously with misgivings rather than preparing to completely tear off their disguise.
And Meng Li, for now, was an excellent reassurance.
A reassurance from one's own side was much less likely to arouse suspicion.
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