Hantian Surrounds the Ancestral Hall, Qingwan and Wuchen Face Crisis Together

I was still standing in the same spot. The candlelight in the ancestral hall flickered, casting Ji Hantian's face in alternating light and shadow. He closed his folding fan with a snap against his palm, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable pressure. "The evidence is here. Do you still intend to deny it?"

With a wave of his hand, a Law Enforcement Officer stepped forward, holding a piece of silk cloth. It was the blood-stained corner of a robe, retrieved from the remnants of my old garment. The bloodstain had turned black, its edges curled, as if from a fierce battle.

"This was left behind when you fought an external enemy," Ji Hantian stared at me, his eyes like knives. "The Three-Eyed Blood Fox is a ferocious beast raised by the Blood Demon Sect. Not only did you fail to report it, but you also fought it outside the Forbidden Ground and concealed your whereabouts afterward. If this isn't collusion, then what is?"

I didn't move.

Nor did I offer a defense.

I slowly raised my right hand, my fingertips gently brushing the edge of the offering table. I had smeared a wisp of pale gold Origin there, and it was now emitting a faint warmth, like a coal buried in ashes. As long as they approached to examine the cracks in the wall, the layers within the incense burner, or any place where traces of the Pseudo-Primordial Body were hidden, their spiritual sense would shatter upon contact.

But I knew I couldn't delay any longer.

My gaze swept sideways. Ye Qingwan was still hidden in the shadows beneath the offering table, her green jade Medicine Pestle resting across her knees, her knuckles slightly tensed. She hadn't left, nor had she spoken, but I knew she was waiting for an opportunity.

And I was waiting too.

Just as the Law Enforcement Captain was about to order a search of the ancestral tablet's base, I suddenly stepped aside, blocking the front of the offering table. My movements weren't fast; they even seemed somewhat labored, as if I were a person with Wasted Meridians struggling to maintain my stance.

"Wait," I said.

The entire hall fell silent for a moment.

Ji Hantian sneered, "What, finally ready to confess?"

I ignored him and looked down at my palm. A trace of extremely fine golden light remained there, slowly seeping into my skin. The Heaven-Slaying Origin was accumulating, and every Battle Intent Fragment was being silently converted by the System. The more dangerous the situation, the stronger the enemy, the faster it came.

I raised my eyes, my voice steady. "Family Rule number seven: anyone involved in a serious crime must be presided over by an Executive Elder for a dual interrogation. Private detention and judgment are forbidden. You bringing people here to search the ancestral items without a formal conclusion is a violation of regulations."

Several observing Elders, who had been standing outside the door, exchanged glances. Some had already frowned and taken half a step back.

Ji Hantian's expression darkened. "You still have the audacity to mention Family Rules? A person with severed meridians, who has produced nothing for three years, can suddenly refine Rank Nine pills and now trespass into the Forbidden Ground at night. Instead of explaining yourself, you're lecturing me?"

"I don't need to explain," I said calmly. "I only need due process."

As soon as I finished speaking, a figure stood up from beneath the offering table.

Ye Qingwan emerged.

Her steps were unhurried, yet steady. Her Black Cloak hung to her ankles, the tips of her hair flashing with a faint red. She walked to my side, neither too close nor too far, forming a parallel stance.

Then she crouched down and took a thin layer of powder from her medicine pouch, gently sprinkling it onto the blood-stained corner of the robe. The powder was extremely fine, almost transparent, falling silently. Yet, it caused the entire piece of cloth to instantly emit a faint fluorescence.

"Everyone," she began, her voice clear and cold, "the real problem doesn't lie with the origin of the bloodstain."

Her fingertip lightly tapped the fabric, and the fluorescence followed her movement, eventually concentrating on an almost invisible pattern deep within the bloodstain.

"It's that this blood contains Soul-Corroding Demonic Qi."

The air suddenly froze.

Several Law Enforcement Officers instinctively took a step back, and even Ji Hantian's pupils contracted.

"Soul-Corroding Demonic Qi?" an elder whispered. "That's a remnant of the Blood Demon Sect's forbidden technique for refining souls... Even casual contact can cause poisoning, let alone it being on clothing."

Ye Qingwan stood up, her gaze fixed on Ji Hantian. "This Demonic Qi doesn't attach itself out of nowhere, nor does it generate naturally. It must be infused into flesh and blood through the long-term use of related artifacts or formations. In other words..." She paused. "Whoever carries this aura has had deep contact with the Blood Demon Sect."

Ji Hantian abruptly closed his folding fan and shouted fiercely, "Absurd! You are slandering a Direct Grandchild! By law, you should be executed!"

"Whether it's slander or not, a single test will tell," she advanced instead of retreating, her Medicine Pestle tapping the ground lightly. "Why don't we have Young Master Ji open his secret chamber right now so we can inspect your 'Soul Nurturing Cauldron'? I hear you open it every midnight, claiming to worship your ancestors? But the aura seeping from the bottom of that cauldron is from the same source as the Demonic Qi on this robe."

"You--!" Ji Hantian was enraged. The muscles in his arm tensed, and a seam split open on his sleeve, revealing a corner of dark red crystal underneath.

He immediately realized his loss of composure and forcibly suppressed the fluctuation.

But that momentary panic was seen by everyone.

The ancestral hall fell into dead silence.

Several neutral Elders exchanged glances. Two had already quietly left, clearly intending to report to the Executive Elder Council. The Law Enforcement Team no longer pressed forward; instead, they retreated, their halberds lowered, evidently unwilling to be drawn into this high-level power struggle.

I remained in place, my palm held out, appearing powerless, but in reality, the Pseudo-Primordial Body within me was operating at its limit. The surrounding hostility, killing intent, and Battle Intent Fragments were all silently devoured by the System, transforming into wisps of pale gold Origin that flowed into my meridians.

The scar on my left cheek burned faintly, a sign that the Heaven-Slaying Origin was on the verge of breaking through.

Ten wisps form a Dao Foundation. I already had seven.

Just a little more, and I could take the next step.

"Very well," Ji Hantian finally spoke, his voice hoarse, as if squeezed from between his teeth. "You two have conspired to set a trap, and it's truly seamless. Since that's the case..." He surveyed everyone. "Then we will confront each other in court tomorrow. I want to see with my own eyes how you spin your lies!"

He turned to leave but stopped, looking back at Ye Qingwan. He spoke word by word, "Miss Ye, your mother died in an 'accident' back then. But if you insist on stirring up this mess, perhaps you'll uncover something else."

Her body trembled slightly.

I didn't look at her, only feeling her breath hitch for a moment.

Then she raised her head, her eyes colder than before. "Then let's investigate it to the end."

Ji Hantian snorted coldly and waved his hand, leading his men away. The Law Enforcement Team gradually withdrew from the ancestral hall, their footsteps orderly, but none dared to look back at us.

After the door closed, the ancestral hall returned to silence.

The incense rekindled, smoke curling upwards and swirling among the beams.

I looked down at my palm. That wisp of pale gold light had not yet dissipated; instead, it had become more solid. Heaven-Slaying Origin: 7.3/10.

That confrontation just now, though I hadn't made a move, was more impactful than a thousand battles.

"What you just said... is it true?" Ye Qingwan suddenly asked, her voice very soft. "About my mother?"

I didn't answer.

I simply withdrew my hand from the offering table, my fingertip tracing a faint crack—a trace left by the Origin's overflow just now. It would disappear soon, like all evidence that shouldn't exist.

"Do you believe what I'm doing right now?" I retorted.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly bent down and picked up a pinch of medicinal powder left on the ground. It was the fluorescent powder she had sprinkled, not yet fully dissipated.

"I don't believe others," she said. "But I'm starting to believe—you wouldn't say those things without reason."

She looked up at me, her eyes turning golden. "So, tell me, the person you were waiting for in the Forbidden Ground last night, was it me?"

I didn't answer immediately.

Outside, the wind swept past the eaves, stirring a corner of the door curtain.

Beneath the offering table, that wisp of pale gold Origin was still flowing slowly, like a dormant river.

Her fingers tightened around the medicinal powder, her knuckles turning white.