"Zhai Shuo, the matter of the demon race is of utmost importance. If you tell me the truth, I might be able to show you some leniency."
"Otherwise, once the Demon-Detecting Stone is brought here, there will be no room for your excuses!"
"I will ask you one more time: did you take the spirit ring and the innate immortal aura from Lingxi? Do you have any connection with the demon race?"
Lu Guichen sat in the seat of honor, his face stern. The moment his voice fell, he slammed his hand against the armrest with a loud bang.
The sound seemed to strike directly into the hearts of everyone present.
Before even investigating the truth of the matter, Lu Guichen used his coercive pressure as a powerful cultivator on Zhai Shuo, completely disregarding his heavily injured body.
This showed that he really did not care much for this disciple who had gone down the mountain to gain experience in his early years.
Meanwhile, just a few words from Su Lingxi were enough to make him almost completely believe in Zhai Shuo's guilt.
Long Yunhui opened his mouth to say something, but was forced back by a cold, harsh glare from Lu Guichen.
Yuan Shu furrowed her brows slightly. She glanced at Lu Guichen, but her gaze could not help falling upon Zhai Shuo.
She had not known much about Zhai Shuo in the past.
At most, she knew from the book's records that after he devoted his heart to Su Lingxi, he relied on his strong perseverance and exceptional talent in body cultivation to achieve great success, eventually becoming a mighty figure of the realm.
She had no idea that Zhai Shuo at this point in time received so little care and protection from his master!
In contrast, Zhai Shuo's expression was extremely calm, as if he had long grown accustomed to his master's attitude.
Kneeling on the ground and cupping his hands, he lowered his eyes and spoke, "Reporting to Master, this disciple did not do it, nor is this disciple a demon."
"Impossible! I saw with my own eyes that he had tens of thousands of demons under his command. He was the one who ordered people to knock me out and steal my things!"
Su Lingxi stood up from the side, accusing Zhai Shuo with an angry expression.
Those were all precious treasures she used to improve her cultivation base, and she was absolutely certain that Zhai Shuo had taken them!
She still held a sliver of hope in her heart.
If Master could help her get her things back from Zhai Shuo, then everything could return to normal!
Zhai Shuo raised his eyes, glanced at the fierce-looking Su Lingxi in front of him, frowned, and reiterated, "I did not."
"You!" Su Lingxi's chest heaved with anger.
But thinking of her usual persona, she held back and did not dare to throw a tantrum directly. When she turned to look at Lu Guichen, her expression carried a hint of sobbing grievance.
"Master... I saw it with my own eyes!"
Lu Guichen waved his hand, signaling her not to be anxious, then raised his hand and ordered, "Someone, go fetch the Demon-Detecting Stone!"
"Master! The Demon-Detecting Stone causes damage to a cultivator's body; it cannot be used lightly!" Hearing this, Long Yunhui quickly knelt down to plead for mercy.
Yuan Shu did not say a word, but simply frowned, squatted down in front of Zhai Shuo, and grabbed his hand.
Seeing this, Yin Ruobai frowned slightly, stepped forward, and whispered a few words into the ear of his master, Shen Jingyuan.
Shen Jingyuan then spoke up, "Peak Lord Lu, the Demon-Detecting Stone damages a cultivator's foundation. Why don't the two of us use our divine sense to investigate instead?"
Hearing the voice, Yuan Shu looked up and saw Yin Ruobai blinking at her, signaling her to stay calm.
Her heart warmed.
Shen Jingyuan was most likely called over by Yin Ruobai. He knew that Lu Guichen was a man of his word and would not give face to these disciples of his.
But he would definitely give face to the Peak Lord of Lingyun Peak!
However, there is no repeating the same trick. Yin Ruobai miscalculated this time.
Lu Guichen directly raised his hand to interrupt Shen Jingyuan, "A demon infiltrating the orthodox immortal sects is no trivial matter. There absolutely cannot be any mistakes."
"Even if you and I use our divine sense to investigate, there might be oversights. Only this Demon-Detecting Stone is foolproof!"
"As long as he is not a demon, this Demon-Detecting Stone will not react!"
In his early years, Lu Guichen had suffered a cultivation deviation and fallen into a secret mountain forest, where he was saved by an old woman.
At that time, due to the cultivation deviation, he went mad and acted crazy, completely devoid of any immortal image, all of which was witnessed by the old woman.
Zhai Shuo was the personal disciple that this old woman forced him to accept in exchange for her life-saving grace.
That was a dark history that Lu Guichen felt from the bottom of his heart. He usually did not allow anyone to mention it, and it had always been a thorn in his heart.
He felt that a dignified immortal like himself was actually threatened into accepting a disciple?
It was simply a disgrace!
But there were quite a few people in the immortal sects who knew about this matter at the time. If he really did not agree, he was afraid he would end up with a reputation for being ungrateful.
Out of necessity, he could only accept this personal disciple.
But over the years, he had never truly cared for him. He just brought the boy up the mountain and threw him to Shen Qi, who was already at the sect at that time, to manage.
Therefore, he had never really liked Zhai Shuo.
Now that something had happened, and it was related to him, he naturally disliked him even more!
Today, if Zhai Shuo really tested positive as a demon, then he would have the perfect excuse to clean house!
Although Shen Jingyuan felt it was inappropriate, Lu Guichen's attitude was so firm. As the Peak Lord of Lingyun Peak, he could not interfere with the decision of the Peak Lord of Qingyun Peak.
In the end, he did not speak up to persuade him again.
"Master!" Long Yunhui, who was on the side, still wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Lu Guichen waved his hand, sending out a burst of spiritual energy that pushed him into a corner.
It was obvious that he did not want to hear anyone plead for mercy anymore.
This Demon-Detecting Stone test was going to happen today, no matter what!
Soon, a junior disciple stepped forward and brought the Demon-Detecting Stone.
"Second Senior Brother, if you don't want to take the test, I can..."
Yuan Shu held Zhai Shuo's hand, but before she could finish her sentence, he shook his head and refused, "I will take it."
"Seventh Junior Sister, don't worry about me. I'm not that fragile. You fed me so many miraculous pills and medicines, I feel my body is still alright."
Zhai Shuo saw the heartache in Yuan Shu's eyes.
His heart suddenly felt warm, no longer cold and devoid of temperature like it used to be.
Because, in this world, there was actually still one person who cared about him!
Zhai Shuo covered his mouth and coughed, then slowly stood up from the ground, stepped forward, and raised his hand to take out a dagger.
Everyone's eyes fell upon Zhai Shuo.
This Demon-Detecting Stone required a cultivator's heartblood to perform the test.
And heartblood was so precious that losing just a single drop would take decades to recover!
But no one cared. He was just an unprotected personal disciple.
What was the difference between a personal disciple that Lu Guichen did not even care about and an ordinary disciple?
The crowd had varying expressions. At the focal point of their gazes, Zhai Shuo held the dagger in his right hand and plunged it into his heart.
Yuan Shu saw him clench his jaw tightly, then his left hand suddenly formed a claw and grabbed.
A drop of bright red blood shimmering with faint golden light was condensed out. Under Zhai Shuo's control, it fell onto the Demon-Detecting Stone.
If one's constitution was that of a demon, it would resonate with the Demon-Detecting Stone and emit a black light.
If one's constitution was that of a human cultivator, the Demon-Detecting Stone would emit a faint golden light, with no black light appearing.
Everyone stared intently at the movement on the Demon-Detecting Stone, except for Yuan Shu, who stepped forward to support the swaying Zhai Shuo.
Heartblood was so precious, how could it be so easily extracted just by saying so?
This guy Zhai Shuo was truly too honest!
Speechless, Yuan Shu reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead, somewhat reproachfully saying, "If you didn't want to take the test, we could have just not taken it. Why must you listen to him?"
If a master doesn't act like a master, why bother respecting him as one?
