A sudden uproar erupted in the great hall.
Many elders furrowed their brows, looking at Li Xiaoyu with disapproval.
"Presumptuous!"
Daoist Cangsong seized on his words and shouted sharply.
"Li Xiaoyu! How dare you spread such malicious lies here, confusing right and wrong! You and this traitor are clearly cut from the same cloth!"
"This disciple would not dare."
Li Xiaoyu bowed to Daoist Cangsong once more.
"This disciple is merely discussing the matter at hand."
"If practicing another sect's cultivation arts makes one a traitor, then I would like to ask you, Martial Uncle: has there ever been such a precedent in the history of our Green Cloud Sect?"
He suddenly changed tack, posing a question no one had expected.
Daoist Cangsong froze, then sneered. "Our Green Cloud Sect was founded two thousand years ago. Our rules are strict. How could there ever have been such a precedent?"
"Is that so?"
Li Xiaoyu smiled faintly and turned his gaze to Zeng Shuchang, Chief Seat of Wind Return Peak.
"Martial Uncle Zeng, I once came across a piece of secret history in Wind Return Peak's ancient texts. I wonder if you still remember it?"
At this, Zeng Shuchang's heart stirred. He looked at Li Xiaoyu, a flicker of approval in his eyes.
So this young man had been prepared all along.
Zeng Shuchang rose and cupped his hands toward Daoist Daoxuan. "Sect Leader Brother, what Xiaoyu says is true."
"According to the records of Wind Return Peak, among the fourth generation of our Green Cloud Sect's patriarchs, Patriarch Zheng Tong of the Big Bamboo Peak lineage once became dao companions with an overseas cultivator who went by the daoist name Zhen Yu."
"The two were deeply devoted to each other. They once secluded themselves together for a hundred years to