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Sorry for not updating the past few days. i was writing the new book Emperor’s trap and coudln’t update this one.

Starting today, we will go back to our daily chapter.

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"Honored Elders, it’s here! Right here! This is where the ancient tree demon went berserk from the demonic array!" Xumo’s voice grew frantic as they approached the ancient hall beneath the thousand-year tree. The place held too many painful memories he’d rather forget.

Once the chosen one, he’d had his most treasured talent shattered by Yino in single combat. Then there was that humiliating moment when his master’s tender farewell turned into him wetting himself at the sight of the tree demon, forcing him to sprint three hundred miles through the night to escape the Azure Forest’s sacred grounds.

Now back at the ancient hall, Xumo talked big but kept himself safely behind the powerful righteous elders. No way would he dare push open those doors himself – he’d probably get obliterated the moment he stepped inside.

The elderly masters exchanged glances before one raised his hand, sending a shockwave that forced open the silent hall with a thunderous BOOM!

Xumo stumbled backward, face draining of color. But instead of the battlefield chaos he remembered, they found an orderly ancient hall with two dormant beast statues. No rampaging tree demon, no Yino or Liuli, and no sign of the white fox master he’d abandoned to face the enemy alone.

"Strange..."

"Honored Elders, this is impossible!" Xumo mustered his courage to step forward, but the hall remained eerily empty. Everyone stood stunned – the righteous path elders sucking in sharp breaths as they realized what the missing ancient tree demon meant.

When they’d originally set up the array to contain the ancient tree demon, the Immortal Alliance had led the effort, with Wuji Sect’s senior elders doing the actual work. Over the past hundred years, control over the Azure Forest’s array core had been split between both sects. Last night, when Wuji Sect elders heard the alarm, they’d contacted the Immortal Alliance cultivators stationed nearby. With no reported anomalies from the Azure Forest, they’d dismissed it as a false alarm.

But as time passed, the Immortal Alliance also reported hearing alarms. The Wuji Sect elders, sensing something wrong, had rushed out in the middle of the night toward the Azure Forest.

After a century without incident and conflicting reports from all sides, their response hadn’t been particularly swift. Now they’d arrived to find the array broken and the ancient tree demon vanished – with no one able to explain what happened or take responsibility.

"Xumo, think carefully. What exactly happened last night?" The lead Wuji Sect elder turned hopefully to their only witness. The others pressed anxiously: "Didn’t you mention not just the Western Region’s evil cult maiden, but also someone called He Yino...?"

"Ah! Right! Yino! Yes, yes, yes!" Xumo’s eyes widened as if finally remembering something through his tree demon-induced terror. "Honored Elders, what I’m about to tell you is extremely bizarre – but you must believe me!"

Xumo swallowed hard, gesturing dramatically as he prepared his tale. The white-haired elder nodded, signaling the others to search the hall’s depths for clues while Xumo spoke.

"This Yino! I’d never heard of him before, but while he pretends to be both the Grand Tutor’s seventh son and a Wuji Sect righteous cultivator, that’s all just a facade! He’s actually an evil cultivator! And his righteous cultivator companions aren’t even human! His whole team is made up of cold-blooded lunatics!"

"Evil cultivator? Non-human?" The Wuji Sect elder drew a sharp breath. He actually recognized He Yino’s name – just a month ago, he’d been publicly commended by Sect Leader Mu Daosheng himself for exposing Gu Wanglan at the Mountain Temple.

"Yes! Not human at all! Yino has this red-haired junior sister – she looks cute and charming, but she’s actually a fox demon from the Western Region! They say she’s some kind of Pleasure Demon!!"

"Yino is an evil cultivator, and his junior sister is a fox demon?" The righteous elder repeated slowly. His brow furrowed as he muttered, "But isn’t the Pleasure Demon supposed to be a Western Region elf? When did she become a fox demon...?"

"I’m not sure! Maybe I got it wrong, but if she’s not the Pleasure Demon, she’s definitely some terrifyingly powerful witch!" Xumo rambled on about these demons without pause. "But evil cultivators and witches... those aren’t even the worst part!"

"The worst part?"

"The worst is that Yino already knew that Western Region evil cult maiden who corrupted the ancient tree demon!"

"They knew each other?"

"Yes! They’re working together! First the evil cult maiden kidnapped Miss Liu, then when I chased after them, I found her plotting with Yino about corrupting Miss Liu!"

"Corrupted?"

"Then I tried to save Miss Liu and got into a fight with them, and just when I was about to defeat Yino, the sealed ancient tree demon suddenly turned dark and broke free!"

By the end, Xumo was practically glowing with his fabricated tale. He certainly couldn’t reveal anything about his nine-tailed white fox master – in this world where the Great Dragon Dynasty and demon-kind were mortal enemies, demon-kind were outcasts among righteous immortal sects. Xumo never dared reveal his master’s true identity. How could he accuse Yino of consorting with fox demons when he himself was connected to a nine-tailed fox?

The white-haired elder clicked his tongue, processing this new information. "Which Miss Liu are you talking about?"

"From the Grand Tutor’s mansion! Miss Liu Ruoning from the Jiangnan Liu family!"

"The Liu family’s daughter came to Azure Forest? And was kidnapped by evil cultivators?!"

"Yes! Yino kidnapped Liu Ruoning and corrupted her!"

The elder’s eyes widened as he realized the gravity of the situation. First accusations that the Grand Tutor’s seventh son was an evil cultivator, then claims that the Liu family’s daughter had been kidnapped and corrupted. Just these two young nobles’ involvement was as serious as the missing ancient tree demon! When word got out, how would the Wuji Sect and Immortal Alliance explain this to the two Grand Tutor families?

Just as a heavy silence fell over the ancient hall, footsteps echoed from outside.

"Brother Xumo, you were certainly the fastest runner when we were fighting the evil cult maiden."

"Now that we’ve finally survived that battle, why are you here spreading lies about everyone’s reputation?"

A black-haired youth stood in the doorway, panting heavily, his white clothes stained with blood and wounds covering his body. Yet he strode boldly into the ancient hall.

At that familiar voice, Xumo froze in terror, he trembled as he turned around.

At that moment, the other elders turned to look. Through their watchful eyes, a battle-worn Yino stepped into the ancient hall first, followed by a red-dressed girl with blood on her delicate face, and the green-haired girl who Xumo had just claimed was kidnapped and corrupted.

"Honored Elders, I don’t know what’s gotten into this boy to make him spout such nonsense, but while you may be advanced in years, you’re certainly not blind. Ruoning stands here safe and sound - so how could I have possibly kidnapped and corrupted her?"

Yino stepped forward, taking a deep breath while turning to look at Ruoning beside him. She stood there flushed and breathless like him, and though her dress showed signs of battle, her spirited expression still carried that proud bearing of a chosen one.

Yunjin and Wangxue entered with her. The group - one man and four women - were all disheveled and covered in dirt, looking like they’d just emerged from an intense fight in the wilderness.

Xumo stared at them blankly, momentarily lost for words.

"Xumo, what’s the meaning of this?" The white-haired elder raised an eyebrow, turning to him.

Xumo sucked in a sharp breath, pointing a trembling finger at Yino. "Honored Elders, d-don’t listen to his lies! He clearly conspired with that evil cult maiden-"

"Nonsense! Xumo, stop slandering Young Master!" Ruoning strode forward angrily, cutting him off.

Her outburst plunged the hall into silence. Yino blinked, glancing at her with surprise. He’d worried that Ruoning, raised in righteous sects and known for her unwavering integrity even in the game, might struggle to support his deception.

He’d expected her to just stay quiet, maybe nod or shake her head in support. Instead, she’d jumped to his defense with such passionate conviction that anyone would think he truly had been wronged.

Was this really the same sword maiden from the Liuli Sect in the original? Yino had to recalculate just how much his childhood actions had affected her storyline. In his childhood memories, except for his aunt, other girls had just been passing acquaintances.

But if even a chance encounter like Ruoning had been influenced this much, he had to wonder about all the other girls he’d met as the Grand Tutor’s seventh son - distant cousins without blood ties, blood-related immortal official sisters, even the little dragon princess he’d played with in the palace while his great-grandfather played chess...

"Miss Liu, how... how could you become like this?" Xumo finally burst out while Yino was lost in childhood memories.

He couldn’t understand what had happened to her. It seemed overnight, Ruoning had become a completely different person. She’d been at odds with Yino outside the secret realm before, not protecting him like this!

"Xumo, stop making trouble! After that demoness captured me last night, Young Master came to save me! You’re just a coward who ran away when the ancient tree demon appeared. What right do you have to accuse my savior and future husband?"

Ruoning spoke more and more smoothly, lying even more naturally than Yino. He swore he hadn’t rehearsed with her - he’d just told her the planned story.

Her reaction surprised even the two girls beside her. Wangxue wasn’t particularly shocked, having seen even stranger behavior from her newborn master. But for Yunjin, this level of deception was unprecedented!

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Last time, Yunjin had been nervous just deceiving Yuyan. Before entering the hall, her heart had been pounding, and Ruoning had kindly patted her shoulder, saying she was nervous too but deep breaths would help.

Then Yunjin had thought Ruoning was a kind big sister. Now she realized they weren’t even in the same league!

"How... how did it come to this..." Xumo stood helpless after Ruoning’s fluid performance.

He stared at her righteously indignant expression that didn’t seem fake, then at the white-robed body beside her, before shouting accusingly: "Yino must have corrupted and brainwashed Miss Liu! That’s why she’s helping him cover up his crimes!"

Though Xumo couldn’t beat Yino in single combat, with the righteous elders present, he glared at him with renewed hatred.

Yino sighed helplessly. Glancing at the Wuji Sect elder beside Xumo, he sensed the elder, sharing their sect background, leaned somewhat in his favor.

"Heh..." Yino laughed coldly. "Brother, you seem to be pushing your luck. I haven’t blamed you for running away like a coward, yet you turn around and accuse me? Are you really going to force me to reveal the whole truth in front of everyone?"

"What-?!" Xumo’s mouth twitched, too angry for words.

Just then, the white-haired elder, catching the key phrase, stood with hands behind his back and spoke: "Young master, please tell us what happened."

"Elder Wenhua, the truth is this….."