"Of course you can?"
Ding Mingcang raised his voice another notch as he demanded an answer.
"How many more copies of this heretical thing were you planning to make?"
"..."
Lu Ze was utterly speechless inwardly.
He had long heard that the Second Elder was stubborn, opinionated, and dictatorial.
But he had never imagined it would be to this extent.
"Enough. There is no need to say another word!"
Losing patience, Ding Mingcang slammed the table and pronounced his sentence:
"Today, I will cripple your cultivation and expel you from the sect!"
Lu Ze frowned at the verdict.
Being expelled from the sect was still acceptable.
He would merely lose part of his player base. He could build it up slowly on his own.
But having his cultivation crippled was unacceptable.
He had gone to enormous trouble to obtain this myriad manifestations xuan demon immortal physique.
If his cultivation was truly crippled and he could no longer channel spiritual power, he would not even be able to make games!
Just then,
an urgent voice rang out from far in the distance. "Elder Ding, wait!"
The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Lu Ze's brow relaxed slightly.
It was the true disciple Zhong Yi.
On the platform, Ding Mingcang frowned deeply, staring toward the voice with a strange expression.
Feeling rather vexed, he turned to the Enforcement Hall steward beside him. "Just who is this kid?"
"I've never heard of him."
The steward was baffled too.
In fact, apart from the outer disciples and those who frequently visited the Artifact Forging Hall, few people knew of Lu Ze.
Ding Mingcang looked at Lu Ze below with a peculiar expression.
He simply could not understand how this young man with such mediocre cultivation could wield so much influence.
First came the outer disciples.
Then the inner disciples.
Now even true disciples were going out of their way to plead for him.
"This disciple, Zhong Yi, diligently practiced Demonic Path Escape yesterday and gained many insights that also benefited my cultivation. It is by no means a creation that corrupts people's hearts, as you claim... I beg Elder Ding to show leniency!"
Zhong Yi moved swiftly, flying outside the Enforcement Hall in an instant.
The powerfully built Mu Yawen and the frostily aloof Li Moran followed close behind him.
The outer and inner disciples below immediately erupted into excitement.
"It's Senior Brother Zhong!!"
"Tsk, tsk. Just what you'd expect from Senior Brother Zhong. Such extraordinary bearing."
"With that physique, Senior Brother Mu must have advanced again."
"What special day is it today? We actually get to see Senior Sister Li in the Spirit Cloud Sect!"
"She's even more beautiful than the rumors say..."
"With three true disciples pleading for him, Elder Ding should show leniency, right?"
"Senior is saved!"
Zhong Yi bowed slightly, his manner deeply respectful.
On their way to the Enforcement Hall, the three of them had sensed Ding Mingcang's furious aura from afar. They hurriedly investigated with their spiritual sense, only to discover that the Second Elder had arrested the creator of Demonic Path Escape.
And he was even going to cripple his cultivation and expel him from the sect?
Zhong Yi was utterly shocked.
He had never imagined that Demonic Path Escape had been designed by a disciple of their sect.
Even if he racked his brains to pieces, he could not think of any disciple in the sect with the breadth of vision to design such an exquisite illusion realm.
But the most important thing now was to save the man first.
Though they had never met, Zhong Yi admired the creator of Demonic Path Escape from the bottom of his heart.
Exchanging insights and discussing the Dao over tea with such a fellow cultivator would undoubtedly benefit him greatly.
"Oh? Is that really so?"
Ding Mingcang's gaze remained hostile as he looked at Lu Ze.
His tone, however, had softened considerably.
After all, these were true disciples, trusted confidants of the various elders. He had to show them some consideration.
"It is absolutely true. This disciple would never dare deceive Elder Ding."
"Then do you know who created Demonic Path Escape?"
"This disciple does not know, but anyone capable of creating such an illusion realm must be an expert of great wisdom."
"An expert? An expert... Heh."
Hearing Zhong Yi's answer, Ding Mingcang sneered.
A hint of mockery entered his gaze as he looked at Lu Ze.
"Then let me give you a good look at this 'expert'!"
With that, he slammed his left palm down hard on the table.
The walls surrounding the Enforcement Hall vanished instantly.
Zhong Yi's eyes widened in astonishment, and for a long moment he could not speak.
Upon seeing Lu Ze's face clearly, a barely perceptible trace of relief flashed across Li Moran's features, then quickly disappeared.
The disciples below were intensely curious about what had happened above.
Among the inner disciples were quite a few Golden Core and nascent soul realm cultivators who could just barely use their spiritual sense to see what was happening above. One after another, they closed their eyes.
The scene immediately descended into chaos.
"Who is this expert?"
"Stop making noise! I'm trying to look!"
"I see him... It's... it's the junior brother from the Artifact Forging Hall who sold us the Crystal Replicas!"
"What? You mean Lu Ze? Are you sure you haven't mistaken him??"
"How could he possibly create an illusion realm like that?"
"Brother, did you get a proper look?"
"No, it's absolutely true! I see Junior Brother Lu too!"
"Junior Brother Lu???"
"There must be some mistake..."
The outer disciples, the inner disciples, and the three true disciples in the sky.
All fell silent at the same time.
No one believed Demonic Path Escape had come from Lu Ze's hands.
Never mind that Lu Ze was in the foundation establishment realm—even if he were a Golden Core Stage cultivator, no one would have believed it.
"Knowing this, do you still intend to plead for him?"
Ding Mingcang was very satisfied with their reactions and continued with a sneer.
"Elder Ding..." Zhong Yi said sheepishly. "Could there... could there be some misunderstanding?"
Zhong Yi was a kindhearted man, after all.
Though he had met Lu Ze only once, his impression of him was quite good.
Lu Ze had solved the problem of changing names for him and Mu Yawen, and had even offered him some advice on escaping.
Even if Lu Ze was not the creator of Demonic Path Escape, he still wanted to lend him a hand.
At the very least, he should not have his cultivation crippled.
"A misunderstanding? Hmph! What misunderstanding could there possibly be!"
Ding Mingcang pointed at Lu Ze and roared furiously.
"Surely you don't think I would believe a creation like this was his work!?"
"I haven't gone senile yet!"
"Just who possesses the ability to create such an illusion realm, yet refuses to show himself?"
"Who only dares let an outer disciple take the blame for him?"
"Everything he has done proves that this person is no virtuous soul!"
Ding Mingcang had long since concluded that Lu Ze could not possibly be the creator of Demonic Path Escape.
The reason he kept pressuring Lu Ze was to make him reveal the person behind it.
The person who was truly threatening his interests!
Moreover, last night, an expert had broken through on the Back Mountain of Glazed Fire Peak, triggering an extraordinary phenomenon in heaven and earth. Yet they had still found no trace of that person...
He strongly suspected
that the two were one and the same!
And very likely a member of the Demon Cult!
Otherwise, why would they design such a vile illusion-realm trial?
With that thought, he glared at Lu Ze again.
A wave of oppressive power swept toward the young man below.
"Outer disciple Lu Ze!"
"You deceived your elders, sold demonic beasts, sheltered a criminal, and fostered wicked and crooked paths..."
"Name the true creator of Demonic Path Escape, and I will spare your life!"
Before you continue