Chu Fan had never disdained scheming against others.
However, some people were like flies that courted death.
Seeing them as weak and not wanting to bother with them, they still repeatedly flew to his face to seek attention.
Even though the Demon God had a magnanimous heart, he wasn't so generous as to ignore everything.
Therefore, with a slight calculation, he made the garrulous and intensely jealous Qi Junhao pay a heavy price.
Gasps echoed one after another.
The other spots Chu Fan pointed out also yielded similar stone jars.
As the stone jars were the formation points of the Qimen Dunjia array, everyone assumed they contained rare treasures and began to scramble for them.
None of them noticed that Liu Yunqing's face had already turned as dark as coal.
The secret realm had not even opened, and the sect disciples were already fighting over such trivial items. With Chu Fan, a powerful figure, watching, the Cloud Mountain Sect's reputation was practically in the mud.
"Enough!"
Seeing the competition intensify, Liu Yunqing could no longer hold back. His low shout froze everyone on the spot, too afraid to move.
"What are you fighting for!"
"Put them all down!"
With the Sect Master's command, no one dared to disobey. They reluctantly placed the stone jars down.
"Ah..."
Just then, a piercing scream suddenly came from a tent not far away.
As everyone turned their heads in curiosity, they saw Qi Junhao stumbling out of the tent.
His right hand was as if it had been doused with sulfuric acid, the flesh and blood already rotted into a mess, constantly dripping blood onto the ground.
"Sect Master, save me..."
Qi Junhao knelt on the ground, looking at Liu Yunqing in extreme pain.
The change was too sudden.
Liu Yunqing didn't understand what had happened to Qi Junhao. He lunged to his side. Seeing that his right hand was festering and spreading upwards along his arm, and would soon engulf his entire body, his eyes flickered. He struck down with his palm like a blade, severing Qi Junhao's right shoulder.
"Ah..."
Qi Junhao screamed and collapsed to the ground. The severed arm that fell to the ground rapidly rotted before their eyes, leaving only bloody bone.
"How could this happen?"
"Was Junhao poisoned?"
"Fortunately, the Sect Master acted in time. If there had been a few more minutes, the corrosive effect would have spread throughout his body, and even the Great Luo Golden Immortal couldn't have saved him."
The surrounding Cloud Mountain Sect members looked on in shock.
Qi Shan pulled up the pale but not yet unconscious Qi Junhao and asked, "Junhao, what happened? Who ambushed you?"
The Cloud Mountain Sect was not the only force staring at the secret realm.
With Qi Junhao suddenly injured, everyone assumed he had been ambushed by other forces.
"No, no one ambushed me!"
Qi Junhao responded with difficulty, his eyes turning towards Chu Fan standing not far away. "I was schemed against!"
Schemed against?
Everyone was startled. Following the resentment flashing in Qi Junhao's eyes, they instinctively looked at Chu Fan, believing Qi Junhao was accusing Chu Fan of scheming.
Liu Yunqing and Qi Shan frowned, puzzled as to how Chu Fan, who had been standing with them, could have schemed.
Due to Chu Fan's strength, the Cloud Mountain Sect could only try to maintain good relations. Liu Yunqing spoke, "Junhao, you can eat freely, but you can't speak freely!"
"It's nothing, don't just make things up!"
Seeing that the Sect Master was still defending Chu Fan at this point, Qi Junhao felt a surge of disappointment in his heart, disappointed in Liu Yunqing and the Cloud Mountain Sect.
He snorted softly, turning his gaze to his severed arm and said, "You should all be curious why my hand suddenly became like this?"
"It's all because of that stone jar dug out from the ground earlier."
"There are no treasures inside at all, but rather a poisonous gas. As soon as I opened it, my arm was corroded!"
Hissing...
For a moment, the sound of gasping for breath filled the surroundings.
Especially those who had desperately fought for the stone jars felt a chill down their spines, realizing they had narrowly avoided Qi Junhao's fate.
At the same time, everyone understood why Qi Junhao claimed to have been schemed against by Chu Fan.
It was he who had said earlier that this item was not simple, that it could be used as a formation point for the Qimen Dunjia array, which led to Qi Junhao snatching it away.
They had never imagined that the stone jar was not a treasure at all, but a harbinger of disaster.
Chu Fan happened to walk over. Seeing Qi Junhao glaring at him venomously, he chuckled and retorted, "Did I say it contained something good?"
"I recall saying that as a formation point for the Qimen Dunjia array, this item is extraordinary!"
"Furthermore, I don't know who it was, who, relying on their status, forcibly snatched the item and intended to monopolize the benefits!"
These three sentences caused everyone's state of mind to shift once more.
Qi Junhao's face turned grim, his entire body trembling, unsure if it was from anger or pain.
He naturally knew that his current predicament was entirely his own fault, a consequence of his overwhelming greed.
If not for his avarice, and the desire to hoard the treasures within the stone jar, how could he have ended up like this?
Despite this, Qi Junhao still harbored deep resentment towards Chu Fan, believing that Chu Fan had known that the stone jar contained nothing good but had deliberately described it as extraordinary, thus exploiting his greed and causing him to lose an arm.
The others around also understood that Qi Junhao's downfall was indeed due to his greed.
At that time, he had clung to the stone jar tightly, refusing to let anyone else snatch it.
"Enough!"
Liu Yunqing suddenly spoke, sternly reprimanding, "Let this matter rest for now. Since the stone jar does not contain anything good, throw it far away!"
"From now on, everyone must follow the arrangements. Anyone who dares to cause trouble again will face consequences!"
The crowd dispersed one by one.
Seeing Qi Junhao still standing there, Liu Yunqing directly asked, "What? Don't you need to recover?"
Qi Junhao hesitated to speak, but finally, under the commanding gaze of Sect Master Liu Yunqing, he shot Chu Fan a furious glare before turning and leaving.
Liu Yunqing then approached Chu Fan and said apologetically, "Wuming, Junhao lacks discipline and speaks and acts carelessly. I hope you won't hold it against him."
In fact, Liu Yunqing had long since noticed Chu Fan's displeasure towards Qi Junhao and knew that he had indeed schemed against him.
Chu Fan had found the stone jar, indicating his profound understanding of the Qimen Dunjia array.
If he understood it, how could he not know whether the contents of the stone jar were good or bad?
Undeniably, this move was brilliant.
Without anyone noticing, with just a few simple words, Qi Junhao had received a lesson.
However, even knowing that a scheme was at play, Liu Yunqing could not say anything to help Qi Junhao.
In his estimation, Chu Fan's value far exceeded that of Qi Junhao, who was responsible for connecting the Cloud Mountain Sect to the outside world.
Therefore, despite Qi Junhao's injury, he remained steadfast in his decision to side with Chu Fan.
His intuition and experience told him that for the Cloud Mountain Sect to break free from its third-rate status and advance to a higher level, it was essential to rely on Chu Fan.
Hearing Liu Yunqing's attempt to de-escalate the situation, Chu Fan feigned surprise, "Hold it against him?"
"Is he worthy?"
"He is not worthy!"
This statement was not spoken softly.
Qi Junhao, who had just turned back towards the entrance of the tent, heard these words and felt an instant stab to his heart.