Inside Loyalty Hall, Xue Zhengyong and the other disciples and elders stared at the uninvited guests with gloomy expressions.

     Sure enough, almost all the people from the major sects were present, and even Jiang Xi, who was quite sensible, was among them. Although he didn’t want to target any particular sect, this matter was of great importance, and there were too many clues pointing to Sisheng Peak in recent days. As the leader of all the immortal sects, he had to lead them here.

     The disciples of Sisheng Peak had been continuously harassed these past few days and were already unhappy. Today, they were suddenly scolded for “harboring evil intentions” and “hiding criminals.” This made them even more incensed. Moreover, the upper cultivation world approached them aggressively, their words full of suspicion and contempt. As they spoke, the air seemed to be filled with exploding powder.

     “This Xue will say it again—Sisheng Peak has never intentionally revealed the Forbidden Technique Scroll to Mo Ran, nor did we condone Mo Ran’s practice of it. We did not secretly refine Zhenlong chess pieces, and we did not plan to use this forbidden technique to unify the cultivation world. In any case, Yuheng and Mo Ran are not at the sect at this moment. Please be reasonable.”

     Among the sects of the upper cultivation world, Bitan Manor and Jiangdong Hall had the deepest grudges against Sisheng Peak.

     Jiangdong Hall now only had a hundred or so people, all of whom had drawn a clear line between themselves and Huang Xiaoyue on the surface but not necessarily in their hearts. They looked at each other, and someone sneered, “Sect Leader Xue, there is no evidence in empty words. Although you say you are innocent at Sisheng Peak, now, all sorts of clues point towards your sect. People’s hearts are always hidden. Who knows what you want to do?”

     “That’s right.”

     “All of those Zhenlong chess pieces causing a bloodbath in the cultivation world these days are related to Sisheng Peak. It would be too unbelievable to say it’s a coincidence.”

     Someone from Bitan Manor raised his head and said, “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the people of Sisheng Peak have been slaying demons and monsters for the lower cultivation world, often without accepting any money, for more than twenty years. They're always eager to accept the hardest and most tiring work and don’t even ask for anything in return after doing it. Maybe it was done out of kindness once or twice, but for twenty years, don’t you think that’s a little too absurd?”

     Xue Zhengyong said angrily, “My brother and I started this sect from nothing. The original purpose of establishing our sect was to protect the people of the lower cultivation world. The Xue family is loyal. I am innocent.”

     “Loyal?” The man sneered, “Xue Zhengyong, a loyal man, taught a nephew who secretly learned a forbidden technique and supported a zongshi who killed others and broke a criminal out of prison. Now that these two greatest demons have come from Sisheng Peak, how can Sect Leader Xue have the face to mention the word loyalty again?”

     Someone chimed in, “That’s right. Sect Leader’s words are truly too good to be true. Haha, protecting the common people from the wind and rain? No one in the world is that stupid. No one would do good deeds for over twenty years without expecting anything in return. There must be a scheme behind this!”

     “There were so many chess pieces of unknown origin before. They definitely couldn’t have been made overnight. Maybe these years, Sisheng Peak has used the guise of exterminating demons and following the way on the surface, while secretly raising a wave of Zhenlong chess pieces in private…”

     Xue Meng was also in the main hall. He had been holding back his anger for the past few days, and when he heard this, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He suddenly stood up and drew his sword to settle things, causing cups to crash to the ground. In an instant, the floor was a mess.

     “Have you made up enough stories yet?”

     “...”

     Xue Meng raised his eyes, his gaze fierce. “It’s fine if you make up rumors in private, but to run to Sisheng Peak and behave so atrociously, who gave you the nerve?!”

     Jiangdong Hall was at the end of their rope. After the deaths of so many seniors in quick succession, the matter of selecting a suitable sect leader had become chaotic. The new interim sect leader was a young girl, who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old. She had nothing apart from her beauty and actually managed to get the position by relying on the support and love of many of her shixiong.

     The pretty young girl didn’t understand standards of conduct and had never suffered before. She probably thought that everyone was the same as her unlucky shixiong and would be subdued by her beauty, so she smiled sweetly and said, “Ziming-gege, don’t be angry.”

     Xue Meng: “...”

     “When you’re angry, you’re not so handsome anymore, ah.”

     “Pft!” Immediately, someone laughed out loud.

     Even though the atmosphere in the hall was very tense, many cultivators couldn’t keep a straight face when they heard her words. Disciples from large sects like Huohuang Pavilion or Taxue Palace all looked at this “sect leader” as if she were a fool.

     The girl felt more and more that all the men in the world were falling for her. She raised her snow-white neck and said in a self-indulgent manner, "What grievances are there that you can’t speak about calmly? As long as your words are reasonable, I, thinking as the leader, and the sect leaders of the ten major sects in the upper cultivation world will all uphold justice for you."

     After these words were spoken, the sect leaders who were originally pretending to act solemn could no longer bear it.

     Ma Yun of Taobao Villa was a businessman, so he was the quickest to respond to the number. He was stunned for a moment. “What? How many major sects of the cultivation world? Ten?”

     Taxue Palace Master, Mingyue Luo, said impassively, “She was mistaken. Just pretend you didn’t hear it.”

     Ma Yun was a kind person, so he immediately said, “Oh, oh,” then smiled and stopped speaking.

     But the expressions of Elder Xuan Jing of Wubei Temple and the Daoist priests of Huohuang and Shangqing Pavilion respectively didn’t look good. However, the expressions of all the sect leaders together were probably not half as gloomy as Jiang Xi’s.

     Although Jiang Xi didn't say anything, he was obviously irked by the girl's “thinking as the leader,” and was rubbing his sect leader ring while staring gloomily at the girl.

     The girl was still trying to make a big show of it. "We are just discussing the matter. There is nothing wrong with everyone expressing their own ideas and speculations."

     Xue Meng's tone was full of fire. "If you want to tell stories, go back home and tell them. There’s no place for a little girl like you to speak nonsense in the Shu region!"

     “?”

     The young girl was stunned, and tears welled up in her eyes in an instant. She turned around and sobbed to the shixiong and uncles of Jiangdong Hall behind her. "He, he is unreasonable—he scolded me, I… wah, wah, wah—just said a few words. Why is he so fierce…?"

     Jiang Xi: “...”

     Mingyue Luo: “...”

     Elder Xuan Jing: “...”

     Someone in the crowd whispered, “Jiangdong Hall is at its end.”

     "Who is this little girl? She's even worse than Huang Xiaoyue..."

     Mei Hanxue was also in the crowd. Hearing these words, he rubbed his nose and said with a smile, "That can’t really be said. She's better than Huang Xiaoyue—the girl is at least pretty.”

     As soon as the young girl started crying, her shixiong in Jiangdong Hall immediately became anxious. A white-faced scholar-like figure first took out a handkerchief to wipe her face, then turned his head towards Xue Meng and said coldly, “It truly deserves to be said that this is Chu-zongshi’s disciple and Mo-zongshi’s cousin.”

     Now, Chu Wanning and Mo Ran were like Xue Meng’s reverse dragon scale. How could they be mentioned?

     Xue Meng narrowed his eyes dangerously.

     But this fellow didn't know it yet and said sarcastically, "You are a criminal’s disciple and the brother of a devil. How can you have the face to act so tough?"

     Before he even finished speaking, Longcheng’s chilling light suddenly pointed at the man’s neck! All four sect leaders were silent.

     That person didn’t expect Xue Meng to attack directly, but seeing Xue Meng’s cold eyes and his struggle to keep his rationality, his face turned even paler. He opened his mouth, but didn’t dare to say anything.

     “Yes, I am tough. Can I not be tough?”

     Xue Meng pricked the man’s neck with the tip of his sword, his hands shaking with rage. He couldn’t control his strength and had already pierced the man’s neck, the blade drawing blood.

     “But you, who do you think you are? Do you think you’re qualified to speak rudely to me at Sisheng Peak?”

     Seeing Xue Meng’s outburst, Xue Zhengyong suddenly calmed down a little and said in a deep voice, “Meng-er, sit down.”

     Xue Meng turned back abruptly. "Should I just let them talk?!"

     Xue Zhengyong: “…”

     Xue Meng averted his eyes from his father, his tiger-like gaze forcing its way past everyone who dared to look at him and whisper. His chest heaved, and he spoke. Even though he tried his best to remain calm, there was still a hint of anger trembling in his voice.

     "That’s ridiculous. For so many years, Sisheng Peak hasn’t committed any injustice, and the disciples have been running all over the place—for what? Fame? Money? Forbidden techniques?"

     Longcheng was suspended high in the sky, brimming with waves.

     “All you immortals, righteous men, heroes, and masters.” Word by word, Xue Meng’s voice broke through the air and cut through the faces of the crowd. Xue Meng’s eyes were bloodshot as he said, “Let me ask you…”

     “Twenty years ago, when Wuchang Town was about to be turned into a ghost town, where were you?”

     “Fifteen years ago, when the Shu region suffered a Heavenly Rift, and nine out of ten homes were empty, where were you?”

     “Three years ago, when the barrier around Butterfly Town was broken, ghosts were running rampant, and the hungry were displaced, where were you?”

     There was a glimmer of tears in his eyes, but his voice remained stubborn and cold.

     “Over the years, how many times has the lower cultivation world begged you to have pity and help? How much money did Rufeng Sect ask for before they were willing to eliminate evil spirits back then? The displaced people in the lower cultivation world don’t even have enough money to eat sufficient food, so where would they have the money to invite the great Buddhas?”

     Everyone was a little embarrassed by his words. Some people did bow their heads to reflect, but others stuttered for a while, trying to put all the blame on Rufeng Sect alone. “That’s right. Rufeng Sect was indeed black-hearted back then, but that has nothing to do with us. Our sect only asks for a few hundred silver to slay demons and monsters. Xue-gongzi should not overturn a boat full of people with one stick.”

     “Oh, a few hundred silver.” Xue Meng suddenly sneered, “Daozhang, have you ever been to the towns in Shu?”

     “...”

     “You go and see the southern border of Shu, you go and see the ghost town of Fengdu, you go and see the foot of Mount Emei—you see how those people live, then you come back and tell me that you only charge a few hundred silver.”

     Master Xuan Jing sighed and said, “Xue-gongzi, I know the pain in your heart.”

     After a pause, he redirected the subject.

     “However, no matter what, there was indeed a case of a disciple practicing a forbidden technique at Sisheng Peak. In addition, there was also an elder who deliberately shielded him, obstructing Tianyin Pavilion at the punishment platform, and even killed eleven cultivators of Tianyin Pavilion to escape this catastrophe. For just these two sins, Sisheng Peak cannot escape fault.”

     Xue Meng’s anger grew even more, like a dark cloud covering his brows. “Master, you saw how cruel Tianyin Pavilion was at the time. They wanted to kill my Shizun and Mo Ran! If my Shizun didn’t leave, was he supposed to just stay there and wait for death?!”

     He had a fierce temper, and the moment he blurted these words, he immediately gave others an opportunity.

     “Hmm? According to what you said, Xue-gongzi actually thinks Chu Wanning and Mo Ran are doing the right thing?”

     “There are so many explanations for killing people—it seems that the followers imitate their elder’s vices.”

     “Such a notion of right and wrong is disheartening. I see that Sisheng Peak really can’t remain any longer.

     Hearing the last sentence, Xue Zhengyong’s qi and blood began to surge, and the pain from his injuries became even more intense. He clenched his fingers tightly to endure the pain, then stared at the person who had spoken, his face extremely gloomy. “This elder must be joking.”

     “They’re not joking.”

     Xue Zhengyong narrowed his eyes, slowly turning his head to find the source of the voice. He murmured, “Jiang Xi…”

     From the beginning until now, Jiang Xi didn’t say a word of slander, but neither did he speak up to help him. He stood in the middle of the hall, dressed in a light green robe embroidered with silver thread, his mood indiscernible.

     Jiang Xi really didn’t want to get involved in this mess, but if he didn’t speak up now, the situation would get even more heated. So he raised his eyes, his lashes fluttering, and said, “According to the rules of the cultivation world, if a disciple practices forbidden techniques, regardless of whether the sect directly encouraged it, the overseer is always at fault for failing to supervise properly.”

     Xue Zhengyong’s face turned pale.

     Jiang Xi continued, "In order to prevent future problems, once discovered, such sects should immediately dismiss their disciples and be forced to disband. At this point, Sect Leader Xue would not be unaware of this.”

     It was truly not unclear.

     However, although this rule was devised, it hadn't been truly followed in the cultivation world for hundreds of years.

     How many disciples did a sect have? How could they manage what each disciple did? Looking back, whether it was Rufeng Sect, Guyue’ye, or even Wubei Temple and Shangqing Pavilion, which sect hadn’t produced a few practitioners of the three forbidden techniques? For example, Huaizui was famous for his rebirth technique during his lifetime—who would besiege Wubei Temple and force the abbot to close the temple because of this?

     To put it bluntly, this rule was just for the sake of discretion and never fulfilled. Only in a situation like today, when everyone pushed down the walls and were afraid that Sisheng Peak was hiding a conspiracy, would they bring up this empty letter to force Sisheng Peak to collapse.

     Xue Zhengyong did not reply, but stared at Jiang Xi with a defeated expression, as if he were a lone wolf in a desperate situation.

     After a long time, he asked Jiang Xi, “Don’t you think this is ridiculous?”

     Jiang Xi replied, “I think it is ridiculous. But since the written law is as such, I cannot defend your sect.”

     “Written order…” Xue Zhengyong suddenly smiled and rubbed his knuckles against the carved beast head on the side of his seat, then closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. “Twenty years have passed. The upper cultivation world’s written law is still strict when favorable to be strict and lenient when favorable to be lenient. It hasn’t changed at all.”

     Jiang Xi seemed to have some dissent regarding this matter and only pursed his lips and said nothing more. However, the masters of several other sects nearby began to speak up and said, "Sect Leader Xue, please follow the order and disband Sisheng Peak."

     “The crime should be punished. Sect Leader Xue should be well aware of the situation.”

     "Everything must be done according to the rules. You have caused so much trouble. Do you still dare to say that you’re innocent?"

     Amidst the buzzing noise, someone turned to Jiang Xi and said, “Sect Leader Jiang, we had already received complaints from various major towns before we came here. Sisheng Peak cannot escape the blame this time. You are the head of all cultivators, so please make a statement.”

     Jiang Xi: “...”

     Everyone's eyes were focused on him. Jiang Xi frowned, and after a while, he said slowly, "There are many doubts about your sect, and the current situation is chaotic, so we can't let it go lightly. Sect Leader Xue, according to the law, Sisheng Peak will be treated as a disbanded sect. If you acquire evidence to prove your innocence in the future, you can also..."

     Before he could finish his words, he heard an angry shout, “Jiang Xi, you must not bully others excessively!”

     "...Xue-gongzi." Jiang Xi was a nonchalant person who always did things his own way. Now that he was being forced to act in accordance with the written order, he was already in a bad mood. Now, he was even being called an “excessive bully” by a youngster, which made him even more upset.

     The veins on his forehead twitched slightly, and then he narrowed his eyes. “I’ve told you many times that when elders are speaking, the younger generation should learn to keep their mouths shut. You are also in your twenties, but when it comes to interacting with people, I’m afraid you’re more than a little behind Nangong Si, who was also a young master.”

     Xue Meng became even more enraged upon hearing his harsh words. He kicked the cultivator standing in front of him out of the way and swept straight towards Jiang Xi, tugging on his collar and pushing him against a pillar.

     His eyes were like bayonets, and his blood was like a tide.

     He said with hostility, “Jiang Xi! You can still dare to compare me to Nangong Si? Why don’t you compete with Nangong Liu yourself?”

     Jiang Xi was offended, and his expression grew colder. “Since you are young, I will give you advice first. Let go.”

     Xue Meng ignored him. He had already been driven into a slightly crazed state. He gritted his teeth and continued, “In my opinion, you are even less worthy of being the head of all sects than Nangong Liu! You confuse right and wrong and can’t even differentiate between good and bad!! You… you…”

     Everyone was horrified, and Guyue’ye’s disciples didn’t even have the time to react. They never thought that anyone could be so rude to a sect leader.

     He glared daggers into Jiang Xi’s icy eyes, his teeth clenched.

     “Jiang Xi, you beast.”

     This was outrageous! Loyalty Hall was instantly in an uproar.

     “Xue Meng! As a junior, how dare you speak to your elder like this?!”

     “What a proud darling of the heavens! His talent is wasted!”

     Jiang Xi raised his chin slightly, with a faint light in his eyes. He stared at Xue Meng for a while, then slowly raised his hand and grabbed Xue Meng's hand that was holding onto him. With just a little force—

     Crack. The crisp sound of shifting bones and tendons sounded.

     “Agh!”

     “Meng-er!”

     Jiang Xi threw Xue Meng aside coldly, as if discarding scraps, then carefully smoothed out the folds of his robe before speaking.

     Not to Xue Meng, but to Xue Zhengyong.

     “Xue Zhengyong, you really raised a good son.”

     One of Xue Meng’s hands was dislocated, but he still roared and rushed forward. However, this time, Guyue’ye’s disciples wouldn’t let him do as he wished, and they all drew their swords to stop him.

     Jiang Xi finally lost his patience. With fury between his brows, he said with displeasure, “Disband the sect.”

     “Disband!”

     “Sisheng Peak must be disbanded!”

     The black mass of people pressed forward. Nothing could unite people more than fear. Countless mouths repeated the same words—

     Sisheng Peak must be disbanded today. This nest of demons cannot remain.