I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

In a treasure blue color, it shimmered with iridescent light, flickering with an uncommon glow. With this inner armor hanging on it, the entire tree seemed filled with vibrant vitality, as layer upon layer of spiritual power kept dispersing. It was obviously an extraordinary item, most likely the personal garment of a Transcendance Tribulation Stage cultivator.

But that wasn’t the main issue. Anyone could claim that the Situ Household possessed thousands if not hundreds of such protective magic treasures. The key point was, this nameless female cultivator’s inner armor was hanging on a big tree facing the Situ Household’s gate, and even if they jumped into the Yellow River, they wouldn’t be able to wash themselves clean of this scandal.

For whatever reason, such a scandalous item was hung in front of the Situ Household’s gate, it was an insult to the family.

And the fact that it hung there the whole night and was only discovered in the morning revealed a dereliction of duty on the Situ Household’s part. To go further, it signified weakness and bullyable vulnerability of the family. After today, the Situ Household’s prestige within Aolai Country would probably decline significantly.

From the expressions of the surrounding cultivators, it wasn’t hard to find that their awe and respect for the Situ Household vanished without a trace the moment they saw the woman cultivator’s inner armor.

With a pile of face masks in front and the unknown woman cultivator’s inner armor behind, the Situ Household no longer retained their former absolute authority.

“Who the hell did this?”

Internally, Patriarch Situ was furiously roaring, but on the surface, he remained composed as his brain worked furiously, pondering countermeasures.

It had been a long time since he felt this way. The Situ Household had stood tall for a dozen years, always acting arrogantly and domineering. When did their disciples ever need to explain themselves to others in their lives?

But at this moment, to protect the Situ Household’s decades of reputation, he had to bow down, and this sense of shame almost drove him insane.

Elder Wang and the others at his side were also somewhat at a loss, this affair was too big for them to handle, and they dared not bite off more than they could chew.

The Situ Household was making a public spectacle of itself, yet they hadn’t even touched the shadow of the person who framed them. It could be said that they swallowed a mute’s grievances and fell hard.

The hearts of the few from the Punishment Hall wavered a bit; the Situ Household no longer seemed as reliable as when they had arrived.

Moreover, there were still hidden enemies targeting the Situ Household, with the face masks being the best proof. The adversary must have discovered the conspiracy of this group of family disciples without blowing their cover, indicating that the matter was far from over and there were surely contingencies in place.

At this critical juncture, if they got too close to the Situ Household, they might get dragged into the mess.

A few people exchanged looks, each seeing the intention to withdraw in the others’ eyes.

Indeed, cooperating with the Situ Household meant sharing the blessings, but they absolutely couldn’t share the hardships; that was not something they could afford to endure.

Once things here settled, find an excuse to retreat to the Punishment Hall to lie low for a while, and when the situation became clear, they could re-emerge to take sides!

“Why would a woman cultivator’s inner armor be hanging high in front of the Situ Household’s gate?”

“Could this be some kind of provocation? Have some families lurking in the shadows revealed their fangs?”

“The one capable of doing this can’t possibly be any person of quality.”

“Role models of our generation, tell me, whose body was this woman cultivator’s inner armor stripped from?”

The bold cultivators amid the crowd of onlookers were whispering to each other in low voices.

In their eyes, this was someone openly challenging the Situ Household. Whether it was the face masks or the inner armor, these were just preliminary warnings. Perhaps the main act was soon to begin.

They may be whispering, but it was practically loud scheming, their words unreservedly reaching the ears of the Situ Household head.

“Cough cough, everyone, there’s no need for further speculation. This woman cultivator’s inner armor belongs to a disciple of my Situ Household!”

“The matter has been thoroughly investigated. Last night it was a female cultivator from our Situ Household airing her clothes, and this Inner Armor was among them. Accidentally, it was blown away by the wind and caught on a tree branch. We have troubled you all greatly.”

“The disciples of our clan have always been shy and restrained, not daring to make a fuss or show their faces. So I, the Family Head, will take it upon myself to collect the garment. Everyone, please disperse.”

Patriarch Situ stated, aiming to make a big issue small; that was his most urgent desire at the moment.

First to silence idle talk, then to find out who was behind the scenes.

“Is that really so?”

“This Inner Armor belongs to the Situ Household?”

“Brother, do you believe it? Anyway, I believe it.”

“Since Patriarch Situ has said so, then let’s just believe it.”

The cultivators also noticed something off about Patriarch Situ’s aura and didn’t dare to delve deeper. They fell silent and turned to leave.

Relief washed over the heart of Patriarch Situ, but just as everyone was about to depart, a sudden shout came from the crowd:

“Hey, doesn’t this Inner Armor look familiar? Last year, when I attended Immortal Long’s tea party, the part that peeked out from beneath her dress seemed to be this very one!”

The one who shouted was none other than Dongfang Mingyue. These days, because of Xiaobai, the three major families endured tremendous pressure, but fortunately, they were loyal to one another and didn’t abandon Xiaobai as a collaborator just because of public pressure.

They were prepared to wait until the matter was conclusively over before taking action.

He had always believed that Xiaobai could not have committed such a heinous act, and there must be someone framing him.

Now, upon suddenly seeing the pile of masks in front of the Situ Household and the Inner Armor hanging on the tree branch, he immediately realized it must be Xiaobai’s doing.

The other party was not one to be taken advantage of; he would reclaim his position from wherever he had been framed.

The mask was probably discarded by the other party; moreover, the Inner Armor belonged to the female cultivator, which he truly recognized and was not spouting Luanyu.

He attended Immortal Longxue’s annual tea parties, and this piece of azure Inner Armor seemed to be her favorite outfit, possibly because of its extraordinary power, which led to Immortal Longxue wearing it often.

He could not have mistaken it.

In light of this, the mysterious prodigy who appeared in Linglong Pagoda must, indeed, be Xiaobai’s doing!

“Oh my, now that you mention it, it does seem to be the same one!”

“Yes, Immortal Longxue has always favored azure clothes. I, too, have seen her wearing this Inner Armor frequently.”

Beichen Shixi and Nangong Wan’er immediately chimed in from the side.

The surrounding cultivators paused for a second, all halting in unison. Numerous family disciples began closely examining the azure Inner Armor on the tree branch, curious about what Immortal Longxue’s usual attire looked like.

Their eyes were filled with curiosity.

“Is this Inner Armor really Immortal Long’s?”

“The dense spiritual power and flowing charm indicate it’s no doubt a Transcendance Tribulation Stage protective Magic Treasure. If it’s associated with Immortal Long, it certainly makes sense.”

“Are there any geniuses who have attended the tea party who can explain? Is this Inner Armor really something the Immortal wore?”