Qi Muyuan shrugged: "I didn't say that. We had to give people a chance to speak, didn't we? Even if they betrayed the sect, what if this disciple had his reasons? What if there was some bigger conspiracy?"
"I'm not doing this for the good of the Tianxuan Sect, there's no need to rush to annihilate them."
Feng You could barely contain his murderous intent towards Zhang Hengbo, and the way Qi Muyuan stood in front of him, insisting on interfering, truly disgusted him.
Xie Buwen had no interest in handling his own affairs in front of others, and said sternly, "If you have something to say, go to the main hall."
Zhang Hengbo remained unmoved. He said, word by word, "I swear by my master, True Man Haoqing, if I have uttered even a single lie today, may my soul be annihilated and I never be reincarnated!"
The disappointment in his eyes startled Xie Buwen, while the probing and suspicious looks from others filled him with dread.
The commotion caused by the Tianxuan Sect was too great, and the Sword Sect Master, Shen Changting, also rushed over. He frowned and glanced at Qi Muyuan, then said loudly, "Of course this is a matter for your Tianxuan Sect, but I heard that Feng You previously claimed that Han Tao possessed a demonic seed. I wonder if this is true or not?"
Feng You said angrily, "Of course it's true!"
"He harbors the seed of demonic possession and will inevitably fall into demonic ways in the future; he should be executed immediately!"
Qi Muyuan immediately asked, "If you say it's true, then it's true?"
Si Yang helplessly tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Stop stirring things up."
So Qi Muyuan obediently shut his mouth.
Shen Changting witnessed this scene of respecting one's teacher. He glanced at it again but did not refute Feng You's words. He simply said, "Having a demonic seed does not mean one will fall into demonic ways."
Feng You disagreed: "We all know that the Dragon Clan pursues power. If he falls into demonic ways, the Cangling Continent will surely be devastated. Sect Master Shen, we should nip this threat in the bud."
Shen Changting remained silent, seemingly pondering the meaning behind his words.
Qi Muyuan grew increasingly uneasy as he listened. Shen Changting appeared to have come to inquire about the demonic seed, yet their conversation seemed to be a definitive conclusion regarding Han Tao's fall into demonic possession. Moreover, in just a few words, they had already treated the matter of Feng You and Zhang Anran as an internal sect matter.
With Fengyou around, would those three senior brothers and sisters still have a chance to survive?
He glanced down at Zhang Hengbo and, sure enough, saw the despair on his face.
However, Wenren Tuo from the Medicine Sect couldn't help but ask, "May I ask how True Person Fengyou knew that Lord Han City possessed a demonic seed?"
He was truly honest when he changed from "True Lord" to "Real Person".
Feng You glanced at him coolly: "I have my own channels, so I don't need to explain them to you in detail."
To everyone's surprise, Wenren Tuo persisted: "The matter of the Demon Seed concerns the Cangling Continent. Since True Person Fengyou knows about it, he should inform all the major sects. How can he remain indifferent as if it's none of his business?"
His righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor made Qi Muyuan look at him with new respect.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Feng You snorted coldly, seemingly unwilling to say more to him. He grabbed Zhang Hengbo's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "We cannot let the matter of Han Tao seizing our sect's treasure go. You've all had your fill of the show, so let's not delay our handling of sect matters."
It was indeed unprecedented for so many people to stand inside the Tianxuan Sect to watch the show.
Seeing that the others were unwilling to intervene, Zhang Hengbo immediately struggled to his feet, raised the memorial tablet of Haoqing Zhenren, and cried out, "My master died to exorcise demons, my senior sister was drained of her last drop of blood, my junior sister was subjected to soul-searching and remains unconscious, and I have had my cultivation crippled. Is there no one in this bright and clear world who can stand up for us?"
"How dare you!" Xie Buwen roared. "Who gave you the right to speak here!"
Si Yang's expression was indifferent, as if to remind him: "You are disciples of the Tianxuan Sect."
"Good, good, good!" Zhang Hengbo suddenly realized, "If that's the case, today I, Zhang Hengbo, will betray the sect, just to seek justice."
Xie Buwen was furious and roared, "Fairness? The ancestor and your senior sister cultivated together to advance their cultivation level. Are you out of your mind? Do you even want to betray the sect?"
"Advanced?" Zhang Hengbo protested. "He's using sexual energy cultivation!"
"And my senior sister wasn't the only one who practiced sexual exploitation!"
Such a scandal shocked the surrounding crowd as soon as the words were spoken.
Feng You looked at him as if he were a dead man, and calmly said, "Do you have any evidence? Do you think you can just decide right and wrong?"
Zhang Hengbo was stunned. He naturally had no evidence. Only a few of them knew about this matter from beginning to end, and the sect leader would not help him.
Si Yang frowned, realizing that things had reached a dead end.
"You slander the Ancestor and betray the sect in public, you have quite the nerve!" Xie Buwen only wanted to get rid of this disciple who had made him lose face, and angrily rebuked, "Today, even the memorial tablet of your master, True Person Haoqing, cannot protect you!"
Everyone thought that Tianxuan Sect had saved face this time.
But just then, a golden light descended from the sky, and a clear, melodious voice landed on the ground: "I have evidence."
At the same time, Ye Chen put Zhang Yanran down, knelt down in front of Xie Buwen, and said, word by word, "Sect Master, what if I said that Senior Sister Xie Jingyu also died in this matter?"
He took out a sect disciple token from his pocket, on which were clearly written the three characters "Xie Jingyu".
Fu Mingxu saw the smile on Feng You's lips freeze, just as he had hoped.
A note from the author:
Fu Mingxu: You can't let a duck that's already in your mouth fly away.
Han Tao: Pass it on, he wants to drain me dry.
...
Chapter 43
Xie Buwen's fury froze. His face stiffened, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Is it because I prevented Jingyu from forming a bond with you that you're spreading rumors?"
Ye Chen's mind flashed back to that smiling face, and his heart ached so much that he was almost numb. He looked into Xie Buwen's eyes and said, "Sect Master, have you forgotten that Senior Sister Jingyu has an extremely Yin constitution?"
"How much of the magical artifact you gave her to conceal her physical condition can it really conceal in the eyes of someone at the Mahayana stage?"
"Otherwise, why wouldn't you allow Xie Jingyu to approach Phoenix Mountain?"
Dao Heng stood there dumbfounded, snatched the disciple token from Ye Chen's hand, glanced at it, and said, "It does indeed bear Jing Yu's aura."
"Where is the Soul Lamp?" Xie Buwen roared as if waking from a dream, "Where is Jingyu's Soul Lamp?"
Because of the demon bone chain around his ankle, Fu Mingxu had to lean on Han Tao. Hearing this, he reminded him, "The secrets of Fengyou Mountain that were being concealed have been broken. Now we should be able to see the true situation of the Soul Lamp."
"I'll go check!" Dao Heng said solemnly, then transformed into a stream of light and entered the Soul Lamp Pavilion.
Xie Buwen had no time to pay attention to the two people on the ground. He looked straight at Feng You, his calm tone masking his turbulent emotions: "Ancestor, is what Ye Chen said true?"
Feng You suppressed his shock, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply said, "He resented you for preventing him from forming a bond with your daughter, so he used her identity token to fabricate a story. I'm afraid he was in cahoots with Zhang Hengbo all along."
"If you believe everything they say, what's the point of being the sect leader?"
Perhaps because his tone was too calm, Xie Buwen believed him somewhat again.
Fu Mingxu shook his head inwardly. He remembered everything the Mirror Spirit had told him and knew that Feng You was lying.
Han Tao put his arm around his waist, his brows furrowing slightly: "Does your ankle still hurt? Should I carry you?"
Fu Mingxu shook his head: "No need."
He felt he wasn't that delicate, just standing there once.
As they were talking, Dao Heng returned, his face extremely grave: "Sect Master, the Soul Lamp of Jingyu has been extinguished."
Xie Buwen staggered back two steps, looking much older all of a sudden. The other inner disciples were filled with doubt and suspicion, and many couldn't help but steal glances at Feng You.
Xie Jingyu is the sect leader's only daughter! If the ancestor really does such a thing, it would be truly shocking.
Zhang Hengbo couldn't help but sneer, "Sect Master, do you really think that as long as Feng You can reach the Integration Stage, you would be willing to sacrifice all the sect's disciples?"
"What my senior sister went through, your daughter has already experienced all over again!"
Aside from his sect's grand cause, Xie Jingyu was his only weakness.
After Ye Chen finished speaking, he remained silent, but the hatred in his eyes was hard to extinguish.
To prevent him from forming a contract with Senior Sister Jingyu, the sect leader resolutely crippled his cultivation and threw him into the inescapable Phoenix Wandering Mountain as a menial laborer, so that the two could never see each other again.
But who knew that he would find Xie Jingyu's...corpse on Fengyou Mountain.
Xie Buwen simply couldn't accept this conjecture. At this moment, he completely lost his sect leader aura and roared, "You're talking nonsense!"
There must be some mistake! How could Jingyu be dead? How could she die in such an extremely humiliating way in Fengyou Mountain?
He doesn't believe it!
Fu Mingxu sighed, and the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror appeared in his hand. He whispered, "Mirror Spirit, go and tell him."
"The Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror!" Feng You exclaimed in shock, and was about to snatch it when he was blocked by the golden light. "Han Tao, you really did steal the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror!"
“It’s not stealing,” Fu Mingxu corrected him, saying seriously, “It’s recognizing a master.”
"The Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror recognizes me as its master."
"When the mirror spirit was asleep, you nourished the mirror with your life energy, which activated its ability to conceal heavenly secrets."
"But at the same time, everything you did on Fengyou Mountain was reflected in its mirror."
Feng You naturally didn't believe it: "Nonsense! This is Yuan Tong Zhenxian's magic weapon, how could it recognize you as its master?"
Fu Mingxu did not answer his question. Instead, he summoned the Mirror Spirit: "Go and tell Sect Leader Xie the whole truth."
"Insolence!" Feng You's composure finally crumbled, and he leaped forward to seize it.
"pay close attention."
By the time Fu Mingxu realized what was happening, he was already sitting on Han Tao's arm, just like that night in the folded space of the City Lord's Mansion.
The golden light and the Daoist magic collided again, but this time the situation was very different from before. Feng You was directly slapped away by his palm.
The duel between the two ended quickly. By the time Fu Mingxu reacted, Feng You was already lying on the ground vomiting blood. Xie Buwen's face was extremely pale, while the others stared intently at him.
"Cough cough." He patted the stiff arm, signaling Han Tao to put him down.
After standing still, he ignored everyone else's gaze and let the mirror spirit return to the Xuan Mirror.
"Sect Master Xie, you must be clear about everything now. This is indeed a private matter of the Heavenly Profound Sect, but since I have been kidnapped, I am naturally entitled to know the final outcome." He threw the Heaven and Earth Profound Mirror into the open space, and the huge mirror rose from the ground, with the figure of the Yuan Tong True Immortal flashing by inside.
"This Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror has recognized me as its master, and the reason for this is only related to the True Immortal Yuan Tong. When I was trapped in the Heaven and Earth Mystic Mirror, I encountered a wisp of consciousness left behind by the True Immortal, and he gave me this mirror." The mirror spirit could not speak, but smiled and nodded in the mirror.
"Sect Leader Xie, are you still having doubts?"
Xie Buwen stood there dumbfounded, the images flashing through his mind causing his blood to surge. He desperately suppressed the metallic taste in his throat to prevent himself from going insane.
He asked again, "Ancestor, are all of these true?"
Why did you do this?!
His daughter's pleading and heartbreaking cries echoed in his mind, and he was grateful that Fu Mingxu had ultimately saved face for the Tianxuan Sect.