After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 25.1

The bright sunlight stung people’s eyes, and the solemn expressions of the elders made the several disciples in the center, whose restraints had not yet been removed, weak in the knees.

They were just outer sect disciples before, only able to see these high-ranking elders from a distance. How could they have ever been this close to them?

They never imagined their first encounter would be under such circumstances.

Seeing this, Shangguan Yu chuckled lightly, waved her hand, and released the restraints on the disciples: “The few of you have recently spread rumors within the Jianmen sect, damaging its reputation, inciting the emotions of other disciples, and even harming fellow disciples… what was your intention behind all these actions?”

Her gaze was sharp. Although she smiled, there was little warmth in her eyes, and her voice was utterly indifferent, causing the hearts of the few who were already guilty to tremble.

“Senior Sister, these people are no longer Jianmen disciples. Why go through these formalities? He injured my disciple for no reason. Are we still going to keep him in Jianmen?”

Reverend Wen Qing’s voice was stern, like she was making an accusation, pointing toward Qin Qingyi and the others. Her voice, laced with spiritual energy, traveled far, reaching not just the elders present but also the disciples watching from a distance:

“The few of them, taking advantage of my absence, drew swords and injured my disciple. If Qingyi hadn’t arrived in time, I fear my disciple from Hidden Snow Peak would have perished and been separated from me forever!”

She laid bare all the events of the past few days for everyone to hear, including how Zhou Zhixue and the others were verbally abused and then provoked with a sword today.

Her tone was unprecedentedly furious and grief-stricken.

Shangguan Yu said nothing, letting her continue.

The elders immediately began discussing among themselves after hearing her account.

They had learned the general situation on their way, but they didn’t know that these people had actually injured someone. For a moment, they all frowned.

Before the elders could finish their discussion, Reverend Wen Qing continued, “Jianmen rules state that the elders of each peak have the right to accept disciples independently. Now, I wonder, do I need their approval to take on a disciple?!”

Qin Qingyi nodded repeatedly from a distance.

That was exactly right. The disciple assessment was originally an opportunity for ordinary people to advance. Elders of the Jianmen sect accepted disciples based on their own feelings. Even those who achieved brilliant results in the disciple assessment were not guaranteed to be accepted as personal disciples.

So-called personal disciples were essentially poached early by the elders because of their outstanding talent. The disciple assessment was optional for them, but for those with less prominent talents, it might be the only chance to change their fate.

However, to demonstrate fairness and impartiality, even personal disciples would participate in the assessment once.

But it was not mandatory to participate.

Moreover, the next disciple assessment was nearly two years away. Even if Zhou Zhixue wanted to participate, she would have to wait another two years.

The rumors had come fiercely, clearly indicating that someone held malicious intent and wanted to use this to smear Hidden Snow Peak’s reputation.

As for who was orchestrating these small movements in the dark…

Qin Qingyi chuckled softly.

She already knew.

“Senior Sister, what are you laughing at?”

Hu Yu peered out from behind her, not quite understanding why her Senior Sister suddenly laughed.

Zhou Zhixue also tilted her head, blinking her eyes at her: “Senior Sister looks like she’s very happy.”

Although the wound on her shoulder had healed, her face was still pale and transparent from excessive blood loss.

Qin Qingyi looked at her, remembering what Xie Su had told her a moment ago: her little Junior Sister didn’t cry when she was injured and asked him if she had done something wrong to make these people hate her.

So sensible it made one’s heart ache.

Qin Qingyi gently rubbed her head, curved her lips, and kept them guessing: “You’ll know in a bit.”

Zhou Zhixue nodded innocently.

Seeing her so obedient, Qin Qingyi couldn’t resist and thoroughly messed up her hair.

Only when she finally let out an “Aiya,” covered her hair, which was already a bird’s nest, with her hands, and puffed out her little bun face, asking her to stop rubbing, did Qin Qingyi laugh out loud.

She was still a child, only six years old. Why act so sensible?

Reverend Wen Qing’s condemnation continued over there.

“As far as this venerable one knows, the source of the recent rumors in the sect is not limited to just these few people.”

With that, she pointed distantly toward the onlookers: “Among them, there are three other groups responsible for fanning the flames and confusing the public.”

As her voice fell, more than a dozen disciples from the crowd of onlookers were suddenly suspended in mid-air, lifted by the collars of their necks as if they were chickens, flying out from the crowd with their feet dangling.

Amidst the sounds of “Ouch, ouch,” these disciples, singled out by Reverend Wen Qing, were thrown together with the group that was initially tied up.

She looked at these disciples who had participated in the trouble and felt somewhat choked with anger.

When she arrived, she already knew that this matter was by no means groundless. Someone must have been plotting in the background, fanning the flames, and pushing the issue from the shadows to bring a long-past matter back into the limelight.

After all, she had accepted Zhou Zhixue as a disciple months ago, and at the time, all was calm. For it to erupt now, she absolutely would not believe there wasn’t a hidden hand behind it.

She had just used a secret technique to confirm that these disciples were involved in creating the rumors, but there were too many disciples involved, and she couldn’t immediately determine who the real mastermind was.

The disciples who had been quietly watching from a distance immediately erupted in chaos.

Qin Qingyi pricked up her ears and listened for a while, then understood.

It turned out that among those who were singled out by the Master, there were friends of other disciples, and they hadn’t expected their friends to secretly play such deceitful tricks.

These disciples were truly too naive.

Qin Qingyi shook her head and sighed.

And those disciples, who were pulled out from the crowd, faced the many condemning or indignant gazes. They all flushed, covered their faces with their sleeves, and felt deeply ashamed.

Reverend Wen Qing snorted coldly: “You feel embarrassed now, but why didn’t you feel ashamed of your actions when you were spreading the rumors?!”

Their shame intensified, and they all flushed crimson, unable to speak.

However, these people were secondary. Reverend Wen Qing shifted her focus back to the few people Qin Qingyi had initially captured.

She cleared her throat, looked at one of them, and her tone became calm again: “If this venerable one remembers correctly, you should be the child of Elder Guan, the steward of the outer sect. Your talent is not bad, so why commit such a self-destructive act?”

Guan Jinghong, who was named, lowered his head and did not speak.

“Elder Guan’s disciple?” Shangguan Yu spoke up.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, opening her mouth with a hint of interest: “Since he’s the disciple of an elder of the sect, why don’t we invite Elder Guan over and ask him what exactly is going on.”

Upon hearing this, Guan Jinghong suddenly looked up and urgently cried out: “Don’t tell my father!”

He struggled desperately a few times, his face flushed red.

Guan Jinghong, who had not shown any emotion or spoken regardless of what the surrounding people said, finally broke down when Shangguan Yu mentioned his father.

“I did everything! I admit everything, just don’t tell him!”

But it was too late.

Among the onlookers, many recognized him. As soon as he was bound and thrown in front of the Enforcement Hall, someone had already run to the outer sect to find Elder Guan.

And at this moment, the hastily arriving Elder Guan just happened to hear this sentence.

Seeing the situation around him—the Sect Leader, whom he only saw two or three times a month, and the inner sect elders, who rarely gathered, were all present—and then recalling what the disciple who had just come to inform him had said, what was there for Elder Guan not to understand?

“You rebellious son!”

He walked straight over and fiercely slapped the astonished Guan Jinghong.

Guan Jinghong’s face was slapped to one side. After a slight daze, he felt a burning pain on his cheek.

Then, he heard his father begging for mercy for him.

“My unworthy son has been reckless. It is my fault as a father for failing to discipline him and manage him properly.”

Elder Guan wiped the sweat from his forehead, first bowing to the Sect Leader and the inner sect elders one by one. Then, he spoke with difficulty, trying to plead for a lifeline for his own son.

In Jianmen, apart from the different responsibilities, the status of inner and outer sect elders was not significantly different.

However, inner sect elders mostly only needed to handle the affairs of their own peak, which was relatively leisurely. They spent most of their time in cultivation, improving their cultivation level, and nurturing the core disciples of Jianmen. They were the public face of Jianmen.

But the affairs of the outer sect were much more complicated. They had too many things to deal with daily, from clothing and food to spiritual stones and elixirs, from the distribution of sect tokens to the cultivation progress of disciples, and various miscellaneous matters. The daily life of Jianmen disciples, in all aspects, needed to be taken care of.

As an outer sect elder, Elder Guan was so busy with daily affairs that he was spread thin, naturally spending less time with his child.

But this did not mean he didn’t love his child.

Cultivators were inherently distant from familial ties and rarely had children. He had a child late in life, so he naturally cherished this only child, resulting in much spoiling but little discipline.

In addition, his status in the outer sect was not low, and he never concealed the fact that Guan Jinghong was his child. Naturally, many disciples who wanted to curry favor fawned over Guan Jinghong, willingly becoming his minions.

This also fostered Guan Jinghong’s arrogant personality.

Guan Jinghong, who had always been successful in the outer sect, finally fell today at Hidden Snow Peak.

“If the offense committed did not cause severe consequences, could you possibly grant him leniency for my sake?”

He had heard the news that Guan Jinghong was to be expelled from Jianmen on his way, so he rushed over, hoping to use his identity to secure a way out for Guan Jinghong.

Jianmen, as a major immortal sect, was well-known throughout the entire Profound Heaven Realm. If he were to be expelled like this, no other sect would dare to accept him.

His gaze was worried and uneasy, but behind him, Guan Jinghong was furious, shouting that he didn’t need his help. Then, he was slapped again by Elder Guan, which made his mouth bleed, and he looked at his father with hatred, no longer speaking.

What a pitiful parent’s heart, yet the sincere affection was wasted on a dog.

Shangguan Yu and Reverend Wen Qing and the others watched this scene in silence, no one speaking for a moment.

Qin Qingyi watched all the excitement, stood up, walked over, and spoke loudly to Elder Guan:

“Elder Guan, you immediately pleaded for him. Did you ever consider what mistake he actually committed?”

She paced to Guan Jinghong and pointed at him: “He spread rumors within the Jianmen sect, slandering my disciples from Hidden Snow Peak, and then injured my Junior Brothers and Sisters with a sword. If I had arrived a step later today, I fear my Junior Brother would have become a soul under his sword.”