Scarlet blood trickled down from Xilan's back. Yaohua stood there, stunned, her mind a blank.
Where on earth did that phoenix plume come from?
The maids trembled as they stepped forward. Seeing the princess had breathed her last, they wailed loudly, "How could you, you bitch, be so heartless? Our princess only caught your fault and wanted to teach you a lesson, but you actually took her life directly!"
They pushed Yaohua aside roughly and tried to save Xilan in a flurry. The guards at the door also realized something was wrong and rushed over to help. In the chaos, someone set off a signal firework, and the message - carrying paper cranes flew off in all directions in a hurry.
Soon, the news of Princess Xilan's death spread far and wide.
"Xilan, my Xilan!"
A moment later, a noblewoman appeared in the library. It was Xilan's mother, Lan of the Sparrow Clan.
Seeing Xilan lying in a pool of blood, she couldn't help bursting into tears. Holding her daughter's face, she growled hatefully, "Who dared to kill my child?"
Looking at the blood on her hands, Yaohua said in a daze, "I... I don't know either."
"The phoenix plume is right here, and you still pretend not to know?" Lan hissed. "Bitch, I'll have your life!"
She pounced on Yaohua suddenly, her hands tightly gripping Yaohua's neck. Her head transformed into the form of a sparrow, and her sharp beak pecked at Yaohua's forehead.
If it hit, even if Yaohua had a head of steel, she would be split into pieces.
Before she could regain her senses, Yaohua only felt a great sense of danger approaching. She tried to step back, but her neck was held tightly.
At this moment, several figures appeared and stopped Lan.
It was Qingcang and several other clan leaders who had received the news and rushed over in a hurry.
Looking at Xilan's lifeless body, the clan leaders were all silent for a moment. "Please accept our condolences, Lady Lan," one of them said.
Qingcang turned around and asked anxiously, "Yaohua, what on earth happened?"
"Father!" Yaohua's nose twitched, and tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably. "I really don't know what happened. Just now, Xilan insulted me, and I couldn't help fighting back. Who would have thought that a phoenix plume suddenly flew over, and then she died!"
"Could it be that someone deliberately framed you?" Qingcang quickly caught on to the key point.
Lady Lan was held back by the clan leaders and couldn't get close. Spitting out venomously with hatred in her eyes, she said, "Framed? The phoenix plume is a thing of your Phoenix Clan. You were the only phoenix in the sky just now. If it wasn't you who killed my child, who else could it be?"
"How about asking the Divine Lord to identify whose phoenix plume this is?" Uncle Nanfeng said after a moment of thought.
The Dragon Clan had always been on good terms with the Phoenix Clan. Naturally, Lady Lan wouldn't agree. "You killed my child. You must have made perfect plans. I just want this bitch to pay with her life on the spot!"
"Does Lady Lan think that the Divine Lord can't handle things fairly?" Qingcang retorted.
"The Divine Lord is coming!" someone shouted. Immediately, a path was cleared outside.
Lady Lan rushed to the Divine Lord's feet and said sorrowfully, "My child died an innocent and tragic death. Please, Divine Lord, do justice for my child and let this bitch pay with her life!"
The Divine Lord looked ugly. It was he who had asked Xilan to come and apologize, but he never expected things to turn out like this.
Both the Sparrow Clan and the Ibis Clan were capable subordinates of the Immortal Realm, while the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan were major clans that couldn't be underestimated. In the Divine Lord's mind, the complexity of this matter even exceeded the current threat from the demons.
He raised his hand, and the phoenix plume floated out. "Tu Yang, take a look. Whose weapon is this exactly?"
Divine Envoy Tu Yang picked up the phoenix plume as ordered. After checking it with magic for a moment, he said to Yaohua and Qingcang, "Please each provide a drop of blood to verify who the owner of this phoenix plume is."
Their blood floated in the air at the same time. Tu Yang pointed the phoenix plume at Qingcang's blood, and there was no reaction at all. But when he pointed it at Yaohua's blood, the phoenix plume glowed and absorbed all the blood.
The library fell into complete silence. Cold sweat dripped from Qingcang's forehead. "What... what does this mean?"
Divine Envoy Tu Yang said silently, "The phoenix plume belongs to Yaohua."
"This can't be true!" Yaohua shook her head vigorously. "I did use too much force when I fought back just now, but I never thought of killing Xilan, let alone using the phoenix plume. There's something wrong with this phoenix plume!"
Divine Envoy Tu Yang looked at her complicatedly. "This verification spell has never made a mistake. If you don't believe it, you can check it yourself."
At this moment, another person rushed in through the door. It was the clan leader of the Ibis Clan who had heard the news of his daughter's death and rushed over in a hurry.
Seeing his daughter's body, he was heart - broken.
Lady Lan seemed to see a backer and suddenly cried out, "Brother Xi, it was this bitch who killed our daughter!"
"It wasn't Yaohua who did it!" Qingcang couldn't help defending. "Please, Divine Lord, make a fair judgment. Yaohua would never do such a thing."
"The phoenix plume has been verified. What else are you arguing about?" Lady Lan said through gritted teeth with tears in her eyes. "I also want to know. My daughter had no grudges against you. Why did you harm her?"
After the clan leader of the Ibis Clan regained his senses, he burst into tears. A extremely bright light shot out from his mouth and rushed straight towards Yaohua.
This was the Ibis Clan's life - essential supernatural power. If Yaohua was hit, she would surely die!
He roared, "Bitch, I'll make you accompany Xilan to the grave!"
The light flashed so fast that Yaohua only had time to raise her hand to block her forehead. The blood - stained hand was instantly destroyed, turning into pale white bones.
At this moment, a force suddenly pushed her aside. After the light crashed through a big hole in the library, it gradually dissipated.
Chongming's figure appeared outside the library.
He withdrew his hand with a lingering fear, his expression as cold as ever.
"Everyone, please don't get angry first. I can summon Xilan's soul and ask about what happened. If she was really accidentally killed, my disciple and I will surely search the ends of the earth to preserve her soul and reshape her physical body for her."
Yaohua never expected that her master would suddenly appear and stand by her side. All the anger, grievance in her heart burst out at once, and tears streamed down her face. "Master... I really didn't kill her..."
Chongming nodded. "I believe you."
These three words contained infinite strength, which instantly calmed Yaohua's heart.
Lady Lan shrieked, "You believe this bitch, but what crime did my Xilan commit?"
Chongming ignored her and looked at the clan leader of the Ibis Clan seriously. "To summon Xilan's soul, I must use her body as a guide. What does the clan leader think?"
The clan leader of the Ibis Clan was more rational. Although he hated the master and disciple in front of him to the core, he hoped to reunite with his daughter's soul. So he nodded reluctantly with a gloomy expression.
Chongming heaved a sigh of relief. He made hand gestures and performed the soul - gathering spell.
But as time passed by, Xilan's soul never returned.
The Divine Lord frowned slightly. "Her soul is gone."
Chongming stopped his hand, looking puzzled. "She was just stabbed by the phoenix plume. Why did her soul get completely annihilated?"
Lady Lan, who had just calmed down a bit, burst into tears again when she heard this. "My poor daughter didn't even leave a trace of her soul. Why do you hate her so much, you bitch?"
Yaohua summoned up her courage and defended herself, "Actually, with my cultivation, I'm not capable of making her soul get completely annihilated."