Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 6] Chapter 54

[Vol. 6] Chapter 54: The Mystery of the Spirit Maiden

“I waited on the official road for a long time, growing increasingly uneasy. I was about to defy Her Holiness’s orders and search for her myself when the Spirit Guards who had gone with her suddenly returned in haste, bringing the bad news of Her Holiness’s disappearance.”

“That’s… more or less how it happened.”  

“Hmm…”  

Seeing Violet deep in thought, Ling Feng, Bai’er, and Murong Yun exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of what to say.  

The silence didn’t last long, as the priestess broke it with a question.

“So, you’re saying you don’t know the exact circumstances of how the Spirit Maiden disappeared. When was the hunting party attacked? Be specific about the time.”  

Ji Xun responded without hesitation.

“It was during the earthquake. Because of the severe earthquake in Yangyuan County before, Her Holiness was deeply concerned about the people and kept asking me about the time and the distance to Yangyuan City. I’m certain of this point.”  

“Earthquake… that would be early this morning.”  

Violet silently pieced together the timeline of recent events.  

Their group had entered [Tidal Deep Valley] yesterday morning. Around noon, the [Seven Stars Evil-Subduing Seal] was disrupted by Yazi’s assault, triggering a powerful earthquake. Yangyuan County suffered from the disaster, and the Spirit Prison was damaged, allowing many criminals to escape.  

Roughly half a day later, early this morning, the Spirit Maiden’s convoy was attacked.  

At that time, Violet and her group were still in the [Tidal Deep Valley], unaware of the events unfolding outside. This suggested that the perpetrators had intentionally launched their assault before Violet, her companions, or the Spirit Guards with them could react.  

As for the bold, reckless attackers who dared to ambush the Spirit Maiden’s convoy…  

The answer was becoming clear.  

Most likely, it was the group of criminals who had been imprisoned in the Spirit Prison and escaped due to the earthquake.  

These individuals, already guilty of heinous crimes and harboring deep-seated enmity toward the state, were lawless. If someone with intent had organized and guided them, they could easily have become a force too significant to ignore.  

Just as Violet and Ling Feng had initially suspected, this entire series of events had been meticulously planned, one step leading to the next, with the ultimate goal of abducting the highly significant Spirit Maiden.  

Moreover, there were likely enemy informants embedded within the Spirit Guards or the hunting party. Otherwise, how else could the attackers have such precise knowledge of the Spirit Maiden’s whereabouts?  

These deductions weren’t difficult to make. However, Violet felt that the situation wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed.  

Beyond the scheming criminals, who appeared to be acting under the guidance of the Seven Heavenly Demon Lords, there was also the enigmatic Spirit Maiden herself, confirmed by Violet to be named Hen, though little else was known about her. Her actions struck Violet as unreasonable and carried a disconcerting sense of incongruity.  

The chain of events began when the Spirit Maiden received some sort of special intelligence and issued a forceful command to Wen Fu, the Prefect of Yangyuan City, to publicly announce the Qilin’s appearance. She also widely recruited talented individuals to form an investigative team.  

To Violet, who now understood more of the situation, this move was practically inviting wolves into the fold. Such an open recruitment method made it impossible to prevent ill-intentioned individuals from infiltrating, only further complicating the situation.  

Given that the Spirit Maiden had the Spirit Guards at her disposal, she could have simply deployed this well-trained force to explore the [Tidal Deep Valley]. Although the tide fluctuations were a challenge, waiting a bit longer wouldn’t have caused much harm.  

Yet, the Spirit Maiden didn’t take this course of action. Instead, she chose to amplify the scope and impact of the matter.  

If there was a purpose behind this move, the only explanation Violet could think of was to ensure the information spread as widely as possible.  

This decision was how Violet learned of the Qilin’s appearance and ended up becoming involved.  

If that had been the Spirit Maiden’s true intention, how had she known that a certain priestess happened to be nearby and could be drawn in by appealing to her curiosity?  

If the Spirit Maiden Western Origin is the same “Hen” that Violet knows, then she could indeed achieve such a feat. However, based on the information the priestess has gathered so far, it seems impossible for Hen to be an isekai traveller and player.  

This contradiction in logic left Violet baffled.  

And then there were even more puzzling details.  

Honestly, even after deploying elite forces to support the [Tidal Deep Valley] and suppress the escalating situation, the troops left to guard the Spirit Maiden still numbered over a thousand, not counting the officials and attendants of the hunting party. This was not an ordinary army but the Spirit Guards.  

A band of scattered fugitives who had just escaped from Spirit Prison, lacking proper equipment and coordination, and without numerical superiority, would be doomed if they attacked the Spirit Maiden’s entourage head-on. Even with some combat ability, without the help of that toxic mist, their assault would be no different than walking into a trap.  

According to Ji Xun, the Spirit Guard General, the enemy was indeed quickly repelled after the troops reorganized.  

So, what was the point of the Spirit Maiden’s attempt to draw away the attackers?  

Because of the toxic mist? What a joke. This was the [Ancient Spirit Realm], there were countless ways to counteract such poison. 

As Ling Feng had mentioned, skilled cultivators from the [Yin-Yang Division] were always present to protect the Spirit Maiden. In a world of practitioners, Violet wouldn’t find it surprising if they could simply blow the mist back to where it came from.  

The Spirit Maiden’s actions seemed reasonable on the surface, but a closer analysis revealed glaring inconsistencies.  

This ambush appeared more like a convenient excuse for the Spirit Maiden to separate herself from the main force. The outcome spoke for itself. After she left, she quickly vanished from sight.  

Why would she deliberately leave the hunting party?  

There were many possibilities, but Violet couldn’t draw any conclusions yet.  

“Let’s go. We’ll check the place where the Spirit Maiden truly disappeared.”  

The area was now heavily guarded by the Spirit Guards. To conceal the Spirit Maiden’s disappearance, an event that could cause significant national unrest, the main road had been temporarily sealed off. Officially, they claimed to be searching for escaped convicts, but in reality, their primary focus was on the forests, the true core of their search efforts.  

Under the guidance of General Ji Xun, Violet, Ling Feng, Bai’er, and the ever-meddlesome Murong Yun, who had followed uninvited, soon arrived at a restricted area guarded by elite Spirit Guards.  

From a distance, the sound of rushing water could be heard.  

Before them lay a long river, not too wide but with an exceptionally turbulent current. The riverbanks were once connected by a stone bridge, but now the bridge had been violently severed in half, leaving the two sides separated by several dozen meters.  

It was clear that the bridge hadn’t collapsed naturally.  

At the broken bridge, the Spirit Guards had hastily constructed a temporary wooden bridge, just sturdy enough for people to cross. Ji Xun led the group over it and into the forest on the opposite bank.  

Finally, on a narrow path shaded by trees, they came upon an overturned carriage. Its design was exceptionally luxurious and ornate, but it was, of course, empty.  

“Indeed, this is the Spirit Maiden’s personal carriage,” Ling Feng affirmed confidently before the general could speak.  

Although such details wouldn’t be common knowledge, Ji Xun had already verified Ling Feng and Bai’er’s credentials as senior members of the [Yin-Yang Division] through their tokens. He had no reason to doubt her. Nodding, he explained:  

“When we arrived, the carriage was already in this state. According to the Spirit Guards who were protecting Her Holiness, the carriage had just crossed the stone bridge when, for reasons unknown, a violent explosion occurred, severing the bridge and preventing them from following. They could only watch as the startled horses dragged the carriage into the dense forest.”  

“Although the Spirit Guards are valiant, they cannot fly, and the [Yin-Yang Division] experts were ordered by Her Holiness to remain with me to deal with the attackers. At that moment, only two maids, the coachman, and a few Spirit Guards were left with her.”  

“By the time the main force repelled the pursuing enemies, built a wooden bridge, and crossed the river to this spot, they found only the bodies of the Spirit Guards and the coachman. Even the horses had vanished, and Her Holiness the Spirit Maiden… was nowhere to be found.”