Dual Cultivation System: The Villainous Servant’s Rise

Chapter 246: Time to Cleanse the Sect’s Malignant Tumor! Interrogating Old Ghost Black Sha

“Given Old Ghost Black Sha’s vindictive nature—the sort who seeks vengeance for the smallest grievance—we certainly cannot rule out betrayal.” Chi Lian mused, her voice silky but edged with cold logic.

In the past, Old Ghost Black Sha had eclipsed Han Lie in every metric: status, cultivation base, and influence. Back then, if he wanted to crush Han Lie, he wouldn’t have needed a scheme; he could have simply swatted him like a fly.

But the board had changed.

Han Lie might still lag in raw cultivation, but he had ascended to the Elder Council. His authority within the Heavenly Void Sect now rivaled the oldest masters. Even a veteran Hall Master like Old Ghost Black Sha dared not move openly against him.

Compounding this was the humiliation of the recent Elder selection. Because Black Sha had underestimated his opponent, he had handed the position he coveted over to Han Lie on a silver platter.

Chi Lian didn’t believe for a second that Black Sha had swallowed that bitterness. His hatred for Han Lie had likely festered into something poisonous.

“So,” Chi Lian continued, her eyes narrowing, “after hearing your analysis, Little Brother, I am inclined to agree. Whether he intends to ally with Zhao Batian to kill you, or has already been bought by the Sun Moon Sect… in my eyes, Old Ghost Black Sha is already a dead man walking.”

Han Lie rested his chin on his palm, feigning deep thought. “There is one more thing. I distinctly remember seeing Old Ghost Black Sha on my way back to the Violet Heaven Palace from the Elder Council not long ago. He mentioned something about leaving the mountain to ‘clear his mind’…”

He paused, letting the implication hang in the air. “Is it possible that during that excursion, he made contact with the enemy?”

“He left the sect?” A dangerous glint sharpened in Chi Lian’s beautiful eyes. “If that is true, then his fate is sealed.”

The sect did not typically restrict the movements of the eight Hall Masters. Wandering the world for inspiration or tempering was permitted, even encouraged.

However, the timing was fatal.

He had left right after Han Lie stole the Elder seat, and right before the invasion. Perhaps he truly just wanted to soothe his bruised ego. But in war, coincidence was a luxury Chi Lian could not afford. She could not guarantee the Sun Moon Sect hadn’t seized that moment of vulnerability to turn him.

It was their standard playbook. And given Black Sha’s high status, the return on investment for turning him would be astronomical.

“What do you think, Sister Chi Lian?” Han Lie asked innocently. “Should we place him under house arrest first?”

“House arrest?” Chi Lian covered her mouth, her laughter low and terrifying. “Oh, Little Brother, you really underestimate me.”

She stood up, her crimson robes cascading around her like blood. “It is time to excise the tumor rotting inside our sect.”

Her lips curled into a smile that was breathtakingly beautiful yet radiated a chill so profound it made even Han Lie’s skin prickle.

“Come with me. Let me show you how I manage my house.”

Han Lie followed the Grand Elder to the Council Hall.

Taking the high seat at the head of the chamber, Chi Lian waved a pale hand, and a shadow guard materialized from the darkness.

“Summon the Master of the Overlord Hall, Old Ghost Black Sha, immediately.”

“Yes, Grand Elder!”

An hour later.

Old Ghost Black Sha strode into the Council Hall with a mask of calm, though a flicker of unease betrayed him deep within his murky eyes.

He had seen Han Lie standing at Chi Lian’s right hand.

The moment he saw his rival, Black Sha knew this was no ordinary summons.

“Black Sha greets Grand Elder Chi Lian. Greets… Elder Han Lie.”

He clasped his hands in a stiff salute, forcing a steady tone. “May I ask why the Grand Elder has summoned me today?”

THOOM!

Before the last syllable left his lips, a crushing, formless weight slammed down from the dais.

It was not a mere aura; it was gravity itself warping under Chi Lian’s will. Old Ghost Black Sha didn’t just kneel—he smashed into the floor, his knees cracking against the stone with a sickening thud.

“Grand Elder!”

Black Sha’s face twisted, veins bulging as he struggled against the invisible mountain on his shoulders. “What crime have I committed to deserve such treatment?!”

Chi Lian looked down at him with the detached gaze of a god examining an insect. “Hall Master Black Sha. During the recent conflict with the Sun Moon Sect, where were you? And what were you doing?”

Her tone was flat, yet the pressure in the room intensified, threatening to grind his bones to dust.

“I was holding the line at the Overlord Hall!” Black Sha gasped, sweat dripping from his forehead. “I organized my disciples to support the sect’s defense! I deployed my personal students to aid Zhuo Hongyi of the Law Enforcement Hall in reinforcing Saint Ghost City! Thousands of my disciples can testify to this!”

His defense was logical. Watertight, even.

But to Chi Lian’s ears, it sounded like a confession of catastrophe.

If Old Ghost Black Sha had turned, then every single disciple he commanded was potentially a sleeper agent. Every order he gave, every deployment he authorized… was the Heavenly Void Sect dancing in the palm of the Sun Moon Sect?

A chill ran down Chi Lian’s spine. If not for Han Lie’s warning, this massive blind spot could have doomed them all. In the coming war of attrition, the Heavenly Void Sect would have been bled dry from the inside.

Silence stretched in the hall, heavy and suffocating.

Old Ghost Black Sha felt the air around him solidify. His heart hammered against his ribs; even drawing breath felt like inhaling razor blades.

“Oh… is that so?”

Chi Lian smiled, a predatory expression that promised pain. “Then let me ask you this. Shortly before the Sun Moon Sect launched their massive invasion, did you leave the sect?”

“No—”

Black Sha began to deny it instinctively, but then his eyes darted to Han Lie. He remembered the encounter.

“I… Yes, Grand Elder, I did,” Black Sha stammered, pivoting desperately. “Elder Han Lie is here, so I will speak plainly. Anyone in my position would have struggled to remain calm. To avoid succumbing to an Inner Demon, I went out to clear my mind.”

He looked up, pleading. “I have touched the threshold of Perfection in the Nascent Soul Stage. Losing the Elder position was a blow, yes, but I would not jeopardize my path of cultivation over it. I merely needed fresh air. Is that a crime?”

His explanation was smooth, reasonable, and utterly convincing to anyone who hadn’t already decided he was guilty.

Unfortunately for him, Chi Lian was not looking for justice. She was looking for security. And Han Lie had already handed her the knife.

“Mm-hm. That does sound like a very reasonable explanation,” Chi Lian purred.

Then, her eyes went dead cold.

“So… Hall Master Black Sha. You leave the mountain to ‘clear your mind,’ and mere days later, the Sun Moon Sect launches a surprise all-out war.”

She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a lethal whisper.

“Don’t you think that is a little too coincidental?”