Inside the silent, cavernous hall.
An incense stick's time ago, Buddha Son had been the only one there.
Now several hulking demons stood before him, hands at their sides and unease on their faces, hardly daring to breathe.
Buddha Son sat quietly on a cushion and listened to their account. Then he said slowly, "So what you're telling me is..."
"You encountered a female cultivator in the wilderness who not only knew the Buddhist Gate's secret arts, but claimed to serve another Arhat—and killed a venerable expert of the Initial Myriad Phenomena Heaven Realm right in front of you?"
His mouth twitched into a smile that never reached his eyes. "She said she served another Arhat, and you believed her?!"
"Uh..."
None of the demons dared speak.
Several breaths passed.
Pig Demon forced himself a step forward and said carefully, "Buddha Son, please judge for yourself. That cultivator's methods were overwhelming. When we saw how things stood, we had no choice but to flee in different directions. But... just before I escaped, I looked back. As she pursued Venerable Wutian, she brought out a magic treasure."
"It was a golden ring."
Pig Demon swallowed and lowered his voice. "It looked very much like the Tiger-Taming Seal Ring in the Tiger-Taming Arhat's possession."
At those words,
Buddha Son fell utterly silent.
Had only one demon offered that account, he could have dismissed it as an excuse for failing his task.
But every demon had told the same story.
There were only two possibilities.
First, the demons had joined together to fabricate a lie.
Second... it was true.
At that thought,
he suddenly raised his eyes and swept his gaze across them. "Where is Wutian? Why have only you returned?!"
The demons exchanged glances, bitterness creeping over their faces.
The answer was