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"Ahem... cough cough..."

"There are simpler ways to test for demon blood, no need for such... unorthodox methods..."

The elders coughed awkwardly at Yino’s straight-faced nonsense, trying to maintain their composure.

As righteous sect elders, their moral standards were considerably higher than Yino’s.

Hearing the elders come to her defense, Jinyue shot Yino another glare and snorted. He turned away, pretending not to notice.

"Fine, test me then."

Jinyue was irritated - she hated being examined like merchandise for her bloodline, but with Xumo’s accusation, she had no choice but to prove her innocence. Sighing, she stepped forward with open arms.

The white-haired elder glanced at her and summoned a formation, explaining flatly: "If Miss Jinyue is truly a demon, the formation will turn red momentarily."

Jinyue nodded indifferently.

As the formation’s patterns lit up beneath her feet, the patterns reflected in her blood-red enchanting eyes.

"Look! It’s red, isn’t it!"

Xumo exclaimed triumphantly.

But his moment of victory was short-lived as he noticed none of the white-haired elders spoke up. An eerie silence fell over the ancient hall.

Drip...

Drip...

In the silence, Xumo heard water dropping.

He whirled around to see the red-haired fox girl had transformed into her true form - a demon in a red dress with crimson tails. Her knees trembled slightly as she covered her eyes, black blood trickling between her fingers and down her face.

Yino sighed, stepping forward to ease her strain with the Nine-Colored Deer’s natural power.

Her innate charm body was incredibly powerful, but as the power gap between opponents grew, Jinyue’s illusions became harder to maintain.

Against Core Formation cultivators like Xumo, she could still create convincing illusions.

But against the righteous elders, just making them see red light as white light took an immense toll.

Normally, facing three righteous elders alone, she’d collapse from eye pain within seconds, shattering her illusions.

But with Yino’s contracted Nine-Colored Deer and Yuebai helping share the burden, maintaining a simple illusion about color for thirty seconds was manageable.

"Xumo, you really can’t speak a word of truth..."

"Miss Jinyue is clearly human, and the formation is ordinary white. This is absurd."

Wenhua dismissed the formation, turning impatiently toward Xumo.

Xumo gaped, pointing at the fox girl still covering her eyes as Yino wiped away her blood. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

"She... she’s openly transformed into a fox demon!"

"?"

The elders raised their eyebrows, looked back, but saw nothing unusual.

Xumo was speechless, almost laughing from frustration at how differently the two groups saw things.

In this moment, he truly understood the meaning of injustice.

"Let me guess - you’re going to say Jinyue used illusions to fool the elders?"

Seeing Xumo’s helpless frustration, Yino teased.

Actually, since Yuebai’s demon corruption, Yino had lost interest in these mind games with Xumo.

Even without Xumo here, he’d have used the same tactics to confuse the righteous elders.

Taking credit for the Azure Forest exploration was his real goal - he only bantered with Xumo because he happened to still be around.

"Aren’t you the ones using illusions?!"

Xumo became speechless, but he couldn’t swallow this humiliation from these cheaters’ mockery!

Wenhua shook his head at the young people’s argument, even looking at Yino with sympathy.

How did their promising Wuji Sect disciple end up dealing with this lunatic Xumo?

"I’m at Divine Transformation mid-stage, while Miss Jinyue is merely at Foundation Establishment. The power gap is enormous..."

Wenhua said flatly.

He glanced at Xumo, frustrated at their failure to communicate: "Xumo, I can’t believe a Liuli Sect disciple doesn’t understand basic principles of illusions... If illusions could fool those three realms stronger, every sect would just practice illusion arts!"

"What do you old fools know! This vixen is the Pleasure Demon! She’s a once-in-a-century innate charm body among fox demons! She may look Foundation Establishment but she’s actually Core Formation! My master is also a fox demon with nine tails and Nascent Soul realm peak cultivation, yet could only fight her to a draw in illusions!"

Xumo had finally snapped from their mockery.

He pointed at Jinyue while gesturing wildly with his other hand, as if words couldn’t describe the absurdity and humiliation he’d experienced.

But the more unhinged he appeared, the less credible his truth became.

Not just the scowling Wuji Sect elder - even Yino felt sorry for Xumo now.

Just look at this...

How did a proper story protagonist end up dealing with a reincarnator like Yino?

In the original plot, those villains dying by the protagonist’s sword must have been equally baffled - how could an ordinary human youth repeatedly power up when near death?

Their feelings must have been as futile as Xumo trying to explain the truth to the elders now.

"You’re all from the same sect! You must all be working together!"

"Any honest person, any righteous person, anyone who doesn’t lie - how could they not see what’s right in front of their eyes?!"

Xumo clutched his head, nearly driven mad by Yino’s manipulation.

The world felt fake, everything seemed like lies, and he stumbled backward trembling.

But in his most desperate moment, his eyes met Ruoning’s, who stood beside Yino. For an instant, he caught a glimpse of sympathy in the green-haired girl’s eyes. Memories of being helped by the Liu family’s young lady in his childhood surfaced.

Xumo’s eyes widened, grabbing at this last lifeline as he looked at Ruoning:

"Lady Liu, you must remember - when that demoness captured you, I was the one who chased after you to save you."

"I... I really haven’t lied..."

"Miss Liu... you must know the truth, but Yino is threatening you, right?"

"All these Wuji Sect people are conspiring together! We’re both from Jiangnan, Miss Liu, you must help me!"

Xumo rambled on desperately.

But meeting his pleading gaze, the sympathy in Ruoning’s eyes turned to fear.

She seemed scared of Xumo’s deranged state, instinctively moving closer to Yino. He naturally took her delicate hand, like someone protecting a lady from a mad dog on the street.

Ruoning took a deep breath, finally biting her lip and shaking her head decisively: "I was captured by the evil cult’s holy maiden... but it was Young Master Yino who saved me."

She wasn’t lying - after Jinyue rescued her, that’s what she was told. They said prioritizing Ruoning’s rescue wasn’t a mistake, but part of their plan with Yino, which was why they’d deliberately placed him near Liuli. Experience exclusive tales on Lokepub

At her words, Xumo collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

He had no one left to rely on - his master was gone, and Ruoning didn’t recognize him...

"Honorable elders, I don’t think Xumo means ill."

Yino spoke up unexpectedly.

Xumo looked up at him with complex emotions, unsure what game he was playing by suddenly defending him.

As everyone stared in surprise, Yino turned to Xumo and shook his head regretfully:

"I suspect Xumo’s mental instability and confused perception comes from being bewitched by the nine-tailed white fox he calls master."

"Otherwise... think about it, elders. Xumo is from the Liuli Sect in Jiangnan - why would he travel thousands of miles to participate in our Western Region’s Azure Forest trial?"

"I strongly suspect the nine-tailed white fox has been deceiving Xumo with illusions from the start!"

Yino took a deep breath, his regretful expression perfectly capturing the pain of losing a brother.

His theory made the elders thoughtful.

If anyone was suspicious, shouldn’t it be Xumo from Jiangnan?

Ruoning came because of her fiancé.

But why was Xumo here?

Were there not enough secret realms near Jiangnan?

Usually cultivators from the Western Region went south to train - rarely did cultivators from the prosperous regions come to the barren west.

Moreover...

Xumo kept spouting nonsense, as if he and everyone else existed in different timelines!

"Indeed, Xumo’s behavior matches the symptoms of being bewitched by a fox demon."

Wenhua observed Xumo’s mental state, nodding in agreement with Yino’s theory.

Yino smoothly suggested: "Since he’s been bewitched, I recommend the elders detain him and send him back to Jiangnan. Let the local Immortal Alliance check him for spiritual traces to see if he’s been cursed by a fox demon!"

As he finished speaking, the platinum mark on Yino’s right hand flickered unexpectedly.

In his consciousness sea, a small white fox protested.

But Yino pretended not to hear, having the deer spirit cover her mouth while pressing his left hand over the mark as if nothing happened.

Wenhua beckoned his subordinate elders to bind and remove Xumo.

After the most troublesome person was tied up and taken away, an awkward atmosphere settled over the ancient hall.

Wenhua sighed, motioning Yino over while signaling the other disciples to stay back.

As a junior, Yino naturally complied.

When he approached alone, Wenhua smiled and offered him a spirit cigarette wrapped in gold patterns. Yino declined with a wave.

"Good, though these spirit cigarettes aren’t toxic, young people should smoke less."

Wenhua sighed, patting Yino’s shoulder while putting the cigarette to his lips.

He infused spirit energy into the formation patterns, quickly lighting it and releasing strange spiritual fragrance. Taking a deep breath, he silently led Yino deeper into the ancient hall.

They stopped before the broken barrier where the ancient tree spirit had escaped. Looking up at the heavy chains, he spoke softly:

"Yino, here’s the situation."

"Look, we’re all from Wuji Sect. In these troubled times, only sect brothers are family... We’ve detained Xumo for you, but about the ancient tree spirit you mentioned - every family has its difficulties. This world is ruled by the strong, and no sect can claim a spotless past..."

"So I hope you can understand some of Wuji Sect’s... predicaments."

"The truth about Azure Forest is complex, not the oppression and dark secrets the ancient tree spirit described... She’s just an ignorant child stuck in Azure Forest talking nonsense."

"After this is over and we return to Wuji Sect, once everything’s settled, I’ll personally give you an explanation. But when you young disciples leave Azure Forest, as fellow Wuji Sect members we should keep family shame private. Nobody wants this getting out and becoming a weakness others can exploit!"

Finally, Wenhua took another deep drag and exhaled helplessly.

Yino watched him silently, pursuing his lips.

How unexpected that these righteous elders who always spouted noble words in the original story could be so worldly in private.

In a way, every world was the same - when scandal breaks, the first response is to cover it up.

Thinking this, Yino smiled:

"I don’t mind, but I’m curious - without the ancient tree, what will become of Azure Forest?"

"..."

Wenhua glanced back at Yino, surprised the youth cared less about justice and more about the true pain point of the righteous sects.

He sighed wistfully:

"What can we do? The Immortal Alliance is already sealing off Azure Forest. If that evil cult’s holy maiden takes the ancient tree spirit to the Western Region, it’ll be like finding a needle in the sea - we’ll never get her back..."

"But that’s not for you to worry about."

"There are many guardian spirits in this world. Azure Forest didn’t exist because of the ancient tree spirit - the ancient tree spirit existed because of Azure Forest."

"Perhaps after Azure Forest is closed for a few years, without cultivators developing and hunting, the natural ecology will nurture a new guardian spirit?"

"Actually, there’s another possibility... I’ve only heard rumors..."

"The Great Dragon Dynasty probably has quite a stock of guardian spirits..."