CHAPTER 339: CHAPTER 293

"Speak, and perhaps, I can free someone from his control. If you don’t believe me, I’m willing to take a Demonic Oath. When cultivators take such oaths, they are bound by the constraints of the Heavenly Dao." Lan Tian’s eyes flashed with cunning. Mei Lan was no longer a cultivator; an oath would not bind her. She would be a mortal henceforth, and Lan Tian had no intention of quibbling with her. Ultimately, Mei Lan’s fate would be determined by Ji Feng.

Lan Tian’s mention of freeing someone from that person’s control tempted Mei Lan. The notion of taking a Demonic Oath truly moved her. She had seen in the handbook given by that person that cultivators rarely take such oaths, as violating them would result in the Heavenly Dao meting out double punishment

to the oath-taker.

"He is..." Mei Lan was unable to finish her sentence, as if someone was strangling her throat. She knew internally but couldn’t speak, which frustrated her to no end.

"Who is it?" Lan Tian pressed.

"He is..." Mei Lan tried several times to speak, but still couldn’t, which genuinely panicked her. It was crystal clear in her mind that that person must have done something to her, preventing her from speaking, but she had no clue when it had been done.

Pointing to her throat, she said, "I can’t say it. Every time I try, it feels like someone is choking me." Mei Lan feared what else that person could have done to her, given her current state of cultivation.

"There’s such a thing?" Lan Tian pondered for a moment, then took out a medicine bottle from her Sleeve Universe, poured out a pill, and offered it to Mei Lan, "Eat this."

"What is this?" Knowing she had been tampered with, Mei Lan dared not consume anything rashly, unsure of the effects it might have.

"It’s something good for you. Eat it; it only has an hour’s worth of efficacy." Lan Tian forwarded the pill insistently, leaving no room for discussion. Mei Lan was now a mortal, so the pill should work on her. Regardless, there was no choice but to try.

Overwhelmed by the circumstances, Mei Lan had no other options. She took the pill from Lan Tian’s hand, trembling, and swallowed it.

"Now, tell me, who is your master?"

Mei Lan could not fathom her intention; she had just explained that she couldn’t speak, so why insist she try again? Unable to defy Lan Tian’s will, she said, "He is... I can’t say it." She still couldn’t utter the crucial name.

"Can’t say it, huh!" Even the True Heart Pill was ineffective. Wondering what method had been used, it seemed that the only option left was to perform a Soul Search. Lan Tian had initially resisted using Soul Search, as it could greatly harm the one being searched—minor damage might result in lying in bed for half a year, while serious damage could reduce one to an idiotic state.

"Do not resist." Lan Tian grabbed Mei Lan’s head, closed her eyes, and began the Soul Search, sending a wisp of Divine Sense into her Sea of Consciousness. As soon as her Divine Sense entered Mei Lan’s Sea of Consciousness, it was rebuffed, and multiple attempts yielded the same result.

Someone had placed a prohibition within Mei Lan’s Sea of Consciousness. Forcing a Soul Search might trigger an explosion. It would be best to return and consult Ji Feng. Lan Tian cast a sleeping spell on Mei Lan, who immediately lost consciousness. Lan Tian grabbed her, mounted the flying sword, and returned to the Ji Mansion on Hidden Dragon Mountain.

Quietly returning to the room, Mei Lan was tossed onto the ground casually—it wouldn’t kill her to lie there for a few days in this weather. Mo Junhua’s step halted as she entered the bedroom, and then she proceeded as if nothing was amiss. Ji Feng was lying on her bed.

"You’re back." Hearing the noise outside, Ji Feng sat up to look at her.

"Why are you sleeping here? Didn’t I tell you to stay in Mr. Ji’s room? It’s not safe outside." Lan Tian had a headache; reliving her life, she found that Ji Feng was even more disobedient and willful than before, and did whatever he pleased.

"Worried you wouldn’t sleep well, scared to disturb Mr. Ji, so I had no choice but come sleep in your room. Did you catch the person?" The room was dark, Ji Feng couldn’t see Lan Tian’s expression, but he could imagine her helpless look as he plopped back down onto the bed.

"Caught her, she’s outside. Want to take a look?"

"No need." Looking would only remind him of his idiocy in his former life.

"She has been placed under restraints, can’t get anything useful out of her, nor the mastermind behind her. However, she has a master, and several senior martial sisters. Never expected that there were so many hidden cultivators in Beijing, and your and Mr. Ji’s affair is also related to them. Oddly enough, I’ve been to Beijing with you several times in the previous life and never knew there were other cultivators in existence, nor about Hidden Dragon Mountain..." There were secrets indeed!

"Interrogation is not your forte; it’s normal if you can’t get anything out of her. Leave her to me, those professionals will certainly be able to get answers. Without catching the person behind the scenes, Mr. Ji and I could be in danger at any time. Who actually harbors such a grudge against the Ji Family, determined to doom us to death." Ji Feng pondered who would benefit the most from the downfall of the Ji Family, circling around, suspecting several families in Beijing.

"You handle it your way." Perhaps Ji Feng truly had a method. After finishing speaking, seeing that he was still lying on the bed, motionless, Lan Tian’s mouth twitched, "Aren’t you going back to sleep? It’s nearly dawn."

Ji Feng pouted, feeling wronged, "Didn’t you say it was dangerous outside? My room doesn’t have an array, it’s safer here with you. Xiao Lan, don’t worry, I’m very well-behaved when I sleep and never fidget."

Ji Feng gestured to the spot where he was lying, "Look, I only take up this much space. It won’t be too much, there’s still a lot of room inside."

Lan Tian’s eyelids twitched, if it weren’t for the fact that he had just recovered from a serious illness, she really wanted to beat him up. Closing her eyes, she finally said, "I’ll give you two choices, either get up and go back to your room to sleep, or I will throw you out."

Ji Feng, "..." Xiao Lan is getting less and less cute, certainly corrupted by that bad kid Mo Junhua, with a deflated mouth, feeling wronged, he left Lan Tian’s room, incidentally taking the obstacle on the floor with him, and glancing back three steps at a time, "Xiao Lan, then I’m off, okay?"

After Ji Feng left, Lan Tian set up an Illusion Array in the room, in case Ji Feng sneaked back in. He would see someone sleeping in her bed on it, and with an Invisibility Talisman stuck on herself, she stepped onto her flying sword and flew over the Ji Mansion, overlooking the entire place. The more she watched, the more her heart alarmed, she was still unsure about one family and needed to inspect the others before confirming if it was that particular array.

Flying on her sword towards the other families, the layouts were largely similar to that of the Ji Mansion. After inspecting them, Lan Tian felt her scalp tingle.

Only four families had ancestral homes on Hidden Dragon Mountain, situated in the east, south, west, and north respectively. At the center of these four directions lay the Spiritual Energy of Hidden Dragon Mountain’s mountain range. Whoever orchestrated this was truly ruthless, not only draining all of Hidden Dragon Mountain’s lifeforce but also extracting the Dragon Energy and beneficence of the four families.

Feeling around, Lan Tian sensed that the other three family patriarchs were all healthy, only Old Ji had been subjected to a poisonous insect. Lan Tian guessed that it might be due to factional conflicts, the true instigator was unaware; otherwise, they would not allow Old Ji to be affected by the poison. Old Ji’s lifeforce was being devoured by the Bloodthirsty Worm, his beneficence remained unchanged, but his Dragon Energy would be affected. Whoever was behind this valued this place greatly; to them, Dragon Energy was crucial.