No one else in the hall could hear Shen Yuxi's thoughts, so naturally, they had no way of knowing these deeply buried secrets. But they were all people weathered by the world, each with their own clear judgment.
Undying Flame and Dawncry Manor were both inextricably linked to "demonic qi." The former had guarded the Forbidden Domain for generations, dedicated to suppressing the Heavenly Demon Abyss; the latter was renowned for researching demonic qi and excelled at analyzing its nature.
This was common knowledge throughout the cultivation world.
Heavenly Crafts Hall had already reached the pinnacle of craftsmanship. If even Heavenly Crafts Hall, armed with the production methods and research ideas provided by Undying Flame, admitted that it could not reproduce the Soul-Quelling Bell's core function, then...
If someone truly could transport the demonic qi of the Heavenly Demon Abyss to the Azure Domain without the slightest loss, it seemed that only those two factions possessed such ability.
But the key question was: what was the motive?
Undying Flame clearly had no motive to do such a thing. Their disciples stood guard in the Forbidden Domain year-round, and fighting the demonic beasts of the Heavenly Demon Abyss was part of daily life. Over countless generations, the number of those slain in battle had long become impossible to count.
To say that someone within Undying Flame had secretly transported demonic qi out of the Forbidden Domain was no different from saying that a city-defending general with a sea of blood and deep hatred for an enemy state had secretly supplied that enemy army with grain and fodder.
It was not entirely impossible in theory, but the odds were so low they could practically be ignored. They guarded the gateway to the Nine Domains and protected the countless living beings behind them.