There Are Other Scores to Settle

Su Fuyun's pitiful appearance aroused sympathy in many male cultivators.

They didn't know the inside story; from the surface, they only felt sorry for the Holy Maiden Su, who was only trying to seek justice for her fellow disciples but had been beaten.

However, under Elder Rong Ji's terrifying pressure, no one dared to help her up, Su Fuyun could only struggle to stand up on her own.

She covered her swollen cheek and silently retreated to the side, not daring to provoke Sang Ying any further.

But where no one could see, Su Fuyun's resentful gaze was quietly fixed on Sang Ying.

With Su Fuyun no longer interfering, Elder Rong Ji planned to let the matter of Chi Yan pass naturally.

His attitude towards Sang Ying had softened, no longer as cold as before; in fact, his words had become gentler. "It seems that today, our Mara Gate has misunderstood Ten Thousand Daos Born's disciple. To avoid damaging the harmony between our two sects, let's let this matter rest."

Rong Ji was naturally dissatisfied with this outcome. He had traveled a long way to the Azure Feather Sect, not to seek so-called justice for Chi Yan, who was no longer of any use.

But when he heard Sang Ying's veiled words and saw that she kept drawing everyone's attention to the disciples' Spirit Root, even Rong Ji became somewhat apprehensive.

The sect can claim that having many disciples with Single Spirit Root is simply a matter of good fortune, having recruited outstanding disciples from elsewhere. However, if the matter of Chi Yan is connected to this, it's not so easy to fool them.

Just as Sect Master Jimo said, his cultivation level is indeed high, but there are many in the entire Immortal Spirit Realm whose cultivation is higher than his. If the secret of the Mara Gate is truly discovered, their efforts in Yao Zhou over the past few hundred years will probably be destroyed in an instant!

At that point, let alone lying low in Yao Zhou, it's uncertain whether the entire Mara Gate can even retain its last foothold.

After all, what they did was hardly the right thing to do.

Compared to the safety of Mara Gate, the life or death of Sang Ying was naturally not so important.

After weighing the two options, Elder Rong Ji easily made his choice.

When the Mara Gate sued for peace, Ten Thousand Daos Born and Azure Feather Sect, though puzzled, had no reason to refuse.

After exchanging glances with Elder Gu, the Sect Master Jimo stepped forward to act as a peacemaker. "Elder Rong is right, it's good that the facts can be clarified. However, your sect should still give your Holy Maiden more guidance in the future, lest she misunderstand someone again and pin a murder charge on them!"

Upon hearing this, Rong Ji's gaze towards Su Fuyun became even colder than before.

He didn't answer, Elder Xu had to step in and smooth things over, saying, "Sect Master Jimo is right. Shall we just let today's matter drop?"

The Sect Master Jimo looked at Jiulian and her disciple. Sang Ying, who was being firmly protected by her master, was about to nod when someone broke the rare peace in the hall.

"How can we just let this go? We may have let your Mara Gate's matter drop, but our Azure Feather Sect hasn't!"

Jimo Xuan, who had secretly slipped away from the palace to search for evidence for Sang Ying, has finally returned.

He strode in through the main entrance of the hall, his imposing presence no less than that of any of the elders present.

A tall male cultivator dressed in black robes stood in the hall and bowed respectfully to the elders on the long steps.

"Jimo Xuan of the Azure Feather Sect, I had no choice but to interrupt this grand competition today. I have important matters to discuss with the elders!" As he spoke, Jimo Xuan stepped between Rong Ji and Sang Ying, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

The Sect Master Jimo never expected that his nephew would cause such a commotion, but after all, he was family. Even though he did not approve of the other party's behavior of tearing off the mask, he still chose to stand on Jimo Xuan's side at this moment.

After observing Rong Ji and Elder Xu's expressions, the Sect Master Jimo reluctantly asked, "Jimo Xuan, you'd better explain yourself clearly. If I find out that you're just bluffing and causing trouble, I will not forgive you!"

Those last few words made Su Fuyun feel as if the sect leader was alluding to her.

She resisted the urge to leave early and quietly squeezed herself further into the crowd.

Seeing this, Sang Ying also cast a worried glance at Jimo Xuan.

That Elder Rong Ji is not someone to be trifled with; she had already displeased him, and now Jimo Xuan had also been targeted by him.

As if sensing Sang Ying's gaze, Jimo Xuan Sang Ying secretly returned her a reassuring look before solemnly meeting the suspicious gazes of the sect elders:

"I have come today only to ask the elders of the Mara Gate one question: Do you know that Chi Yan is a person tainted by Demonic Qi?!"

These words caused an uproar in the audience.

This shocked everyone even more than Su Fuyun's previous words.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Rong Ji's expression turned ugly, and Elder Xu's face turned even paler.

Before Elder Rong Ji could even speak, Elder Xu immediately shouted, "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? What are your intentions in slandering my Mara Gate disciples like this?!"

Elder Rong Ji remained silent, seemingly entrusting the task of dealing with Jimo Xuan entirely to Elder Xu.

How could Elder Xu's few words possibly frighten Jimo Xuan?

"Elder, there's no need to raise your voice so loudly. This disciple isn't easily intimidated. Your sect's disciple previously presented evidence to accuse others, and this disciple naturally has evidence as well!"

As he spoke, Jimo Xuan took out the piece of broken stone engraved with the array. "This stone has been compared and found to be from the fourth dueling platform that was damaged by Fellow Sang Ying during the individual competition a few days ago."

He waved towards the outside of the hall, and immediately someone carried in the abandoned No. 4 fighting arena.

Seeing this, everyone moved aside to make way for the man.

With only a small section of the dueling platform remaining in the center, Jimo Xuan sluggishly placed the broken stones in his hand into a dented spot on the platform. The stones fused perfectly with the platform, and even the markings on them aligned clearly with the other parts.

This scene was clearly witnessed by everyone, and even Elder Xu could not deny it.

"The array on the rubble can absorb the residual Spiritual Qi of the competitors. As you can see, the Demonic Qi on this piece of rubble is crystal clear." In case anyone was unaware of the array's wondrous uses, Jimo Xuan explained it beforehand.

He personally delivered the rubble to the accompanying elder of the Buddha Sound Temple. The elder was a Buddhist cultivator with considerable cultivation, and he immediately noticed the thick black mist on the rubble, as well as the scarlet blood vessels that moved freely within the black mist and refused to dissipate.

The Buddhist elder chanted a Buddhist prayer in a low voice. "Benefactor Jimo, you probably haven't understood. This isn't just Demonic Qi; it also contains karmic retribution!"

At this moment, the hall was filled with a series of exclamations, and the expressions of Elder Rong Ji and Elder Xu were laid bare before everyone's eyes.

Having already been protected by Jiulian and sent back to Ten Thousand Daos Born's team, Sang Ying's heart was pounding wildly.

Is this wretched creature from White Foothill City?