Is that our martial brothers? Have they all returned?
Long Yunhui's eyes lit up. He exchanged a glance with Zhai Shuo and stepped forward toward the crowd.
Yuan Shu and the others followed close behind.
As they drew nearer, they could faintly hear a woman's sobbing coming from the crowd.
Interspersed with it was Lu Guichen's angry voice.
Beast! Don't worry, as your master, I absolutely will not let you suffer this grievance in vain...
Lu Guichen cursed. Though he didn't finish his sentence, his meaning was already obvious.
He definitely wouldn't let Zhai Shuo off!
Right at that moment, Yuan Shu and her group stepped forward.
Seeing them, the surrounding fellow disciples hastily cleared a path.
When they saw Zhai Shuo among them, their expressions changed drastically. They retreated several steps, staring at him with vigilant eyes.
Zhai Shuo looked completely baffled.
Although he had been away from the sect for years, he was quite familiar with these fellow disciples.
Since when had he ever been looked at like this upon returning to the sect?
And it wasn't just one or two people; almost everyone present was looking at him as if he were a plague.
In the crowd, Su Lingxi and a few others also noticed the returnees. Looking up and clearly seeing Zhai Shuo at the front, Su Lingxi immediately became agitated.
You, you, it's you! You still dare to come back? Master, he is a demon! Quickly, capture him!
A powerful aura erupted from Lu Guichen, pressing down like a mountain upon Zhai Shuo, who had just walked up.
Even Yuan Shu and the others beside him were forced to stop in their tracks.
Zhai Shuo, already injured and now at the center of this crushing pressure, hit the ground with a heavy thud, forced onto one knee as he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Second Martial Brother!
Yuan Shu's expression shifted. Enduring the pressure bearing down on her, she tried to support him, but despite exerting her strength several times, it was futile.
The one striking was Lu Guichen; how could her current self possibly contend with him?
Zhai Shuo's already poor complexion grew even paler. A fine layer of sweat seeped through his wheat-colored skin from the sheer agony.
But Lu Guichen acted as if he didn't see it, continuing to increase the oppressive aura!
Master, what are you doing? Second Martial Brother is still injured; he cannot withstand such pressure!
Long Yunhui's face also changed. His physical condition was better, and the pressure wasn't directed at him.
Though his movements were sluggish, he could still move freely.
Seeing this, Long Yunhui hurried forward to ask what was going on.
Hearing this, Su Lingxi, who was off to the side, quickly spoke up. Third Martial Brother, don't be fooled by him! He is a demon!
Looking at Zhai Shuo's face, Su Lingxi couldn't help but recall the torment she had suffered among the demons.
The ring she used to nourish her Qingyun astral energy, along with all the Qingyun astral energy she had absorbed into her body over the years, were all gone.
Moreover, her master had said that there was a peculiar wisp of immortal energy within her body, which was the key to her affinity with many fortuitous encounters and treasures.
Now that the immortal energy had been drained, trying to nurture it back would be extremely difficult—it was essentially destroyed!
And all of this was done by Zhai Shuo, her Second Martial Brother. She had seen it with her own eyes!
He was a demon!
Ignoring her pleas for mercy and her cries, he had resolutely attacked her, causing her to lose so many precious treasures.
If her master hadn't personally come looking for her, she probably would have been murdered!
Su Lingxi hated Zhai Shuo to the bone!
To think she had previously wanted to cultivate a good relationship with him and increase her own favorability.
She never expected it would end up like this.
That Qingyun astral energy was such an important treasure, left behind by the Qingyun Peak's ancestral founder, Qingyunzi. She had obtained it through a fortuitous encounter after exhausting so much effort, and now it was completely ruined!
And the innate wisp of immortal energy in her body—how many years had it been since the cultivation world saw someone born with innate immortal energy?
She was the only one in her generation, and now that was all ruined too!
All because of Zhai Shuo!
Long Yunhui was a bit dumbfounded. He looked at Su Lingxi, then at Zhai Shuo, who was forced onto one knee.
Second Martial Brother was a demon?
How could that be possible?
He had personally seen his Second Martial Brother lying in the cave just like him, on the verge of death. If it weren't for Yuan Shu's care over the past few days, it wasn't even certain if he'd be able to stand.
How could he possibly be a demon?
Impossible! Master, there must be a misunderstanding. Second Martial Brother cannot be a demon. He was captured by the demons along with me.
If Seventh Junior Sister hadn't saved us, we might already be dead at the hands of the demons!
Second Martial Brother still has wounds inflicted by the demons. He has only started to recover over the last couple of days!
Long Yunhui, looking agitated, dropped to his knees with a thud and quickly pleaded, Master, I beg you to withdraw your pressure!
Lu Guichen frowned. There was such a thing?
Are you implying that Lingxi is lying?
He had always known that Su Lingxi had immortal energy within her, which was why he valued her so highly and focused on cultivating her.
But upon her return this time, the immortal energy in her body had dissipated. The tiny bit of immortal foundation left was extremely shallow, showing almost no trace of immortal energy anymore.
This was a fact laid bare before his eyes.
Therefore, he had believed Su Lingxi's words with almost no hesitation.
The moment he saw Zhai Shuo, his first instinct was to apprehend him.
Hearing the coldness in Lu Guichen's tone, Long Yunhui quickly braced himself and spoke up.
Your disciple does not mean that. It's just that I fear there is some misunderstanding in this matter.
If Junior Sister was deceived and misunderstood Second Martial Brother, and something irreversible were to happen, it would be too late for regrets!
Long Yunhui's sincere and earnest words caused Lu Guichen to hesitate for a moment.
Seeing this, Long Yunhui quickly added, Master! All of us disciples have had our bodies personally examined by you. If Second Martial Brother were a demon, how could you have not noticed? There must be a misunderstanding in all of this!
Lu Guichen still did not release his hold.
Just as he was about to say something, a soft sigh suddenly came from the back of the crowd.
Peak Lord Lu, since your disciple has spoken thus, why not ask clearly first? These demons aren't fools; if his identity had been exposed, would he willingly walk back into the trap?
The crowd parted, and Shen Jingyuan, the Peak Lord of Lingyun Peak, stepped forward with the Lingyun Peak disciples from the other meeting points.
Yin Ruobai, who had been following behind Yuan Shu and the others, hurried forward to pay his respects.
Shen Jingyuan took an extra glance at Yin Ruobai, smiled, and nodded at him, then waved his hand, signaling him to step aside.
He was very satisfied with the cultivation talent of this personal disciple of his, but right now, the most important thing was the situation here at Qingyun Peak.
Matters concerning the demon race are of grave importance, but we cannot wrongly accuse a personal disciple either.
Lu Guichen's brows furrowed. He shot a cold glance at the pale, tottering Zhai Shuo before finally withdrawing his pressure.
With a cold snort, he turned and sat back down in his seat.
Yuan Shu quickly moved to support Zhai Shuo.
Seeing Zhai Shuo's complexion change from pale to an unnatural flush, her heart tightened, and a flash of anger crossed her cold eyes.
She had painstakingly saved Zhai Shuo's life by delivering medicine to him twice.
Along the journey, she hadn't dared to let him suffer even a single bump, yet now he was being tormented by Lu Guichen like this?
Truly damnable!
But with her current status, it was absolutely impossible for her to question Lu Guichen. She could only silently swallow her anger.
