"Use the Demon-Cleansing Art on him!"
Xiao Junmo cast a cold glance at the elder before turning her indifferent gaze toward Chu Yuan.
The elder, clutching a string of prayer beads, stepped out from the seating area and approached the front of the grand hall, looking up at the Sect Master, Xiao Junmo.
"Sect Master, are you certain we should proceed with the Demon-Cleansing Art without first verifying whether he truly practices demonic arts? Once this art is unleashed, it cannot be halted. Regardless of whether Disciple Chu Yuan practices the demonic path, there is a strong possibility that his cultivation base will be completely undone."
"I implore you to reconsider, Sect Master. If the Qingyun Sect loses a prodigy such as him, it would be our misfortune..."
The elder bowed his head slightly, his left hand held upright before his chest. He could not sense any aura of the demonic path emanating from Chu Yuan. Either Chu Yuan was not a demonic practitioner, or he possessed some magical artifact capable of concealing his demonic aura.
"Hmph. Must I repeat myself?"
Xiao Junmo’s voice was icy and filled with immense authority. With just that single sentence, the terrifying pressure of her Saint Lord Realm cultivation bore down on everyone in the hall, rendering them speechless.
"I dare not argue." The elder sighed, lowering his head. He then turned to face Chu Yuan, preparing to initiate the Demon-Cleansing Art.
Meanwhile, behind Chu Yuan, a flash of excitement crossed the eyes of his three junior martial sisters. The reason they were so eager for Chu Yuan to be a demonic practitioner was simple: he was far too brilliant.
Though they were all under a hundred years old, Chu Yuan had already reached the Peak Heaven Realm, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the legendary, world-shaking powerhouses of the older generation. They, by contrast, were only in the Earth Realm, separated from him by an entire major realm and countless smaller ones. This gap left them feeling humiliated. Time and again, when they entered secret realms together or took part in trials alongside the prodigies of other sects and holy lands, they found themselves unable to hold their heads high.
It had become a stage for Chu Yuan alone.
Yet, Chu Yuan seemed to have nothing special about him. They practiced the same techniques, yet his strength grew at a pace that far outstripped theirs. Combining this with the fact that they had occasionally seen him exuding a dark aura while practicing, they had deduced that he must be a demonic practitioner. Thus, they had deliberately chosen today—during the grand sect assembly—to expose him, hoping the Sect Master and the elders would punish him.
"Demon-Cleansing Art..."
Chu Yuan’s eyes lifted slightly, a silver light flickering within them. In his previous life, it was precisely this technique that had caused his cultivation to dissipate entirely. To think they would try to use it on him again in this life? They were dreaming.
Chu Yuan knew exactly why his master, Xiao Junmo, was acting so rashly, blindly trusting the claims of his junior sisters and brother, and resorting to an art meant for demonic practitioners against him. The reason was simple: she feared he threatened her position. With his talent, he would reach the Saint Lord Realm in less than a hundred years, surpassing Xiao Junmo to become the next Sect Master of Qingyun. She did not want to relinquish the sect’s power, and she feared he would grow to a level she could no longer control. That was why she had gone straight to using the Demon-Cleansing Art.
Once unleashed, his cultivation would regress, regardless of whether he was a demonic practitioner or not. In Xiao Junmo’s mind, the Qingyun Sect was already the number one sect in the world, and as long as she remained, there was no need for any other world-shaking powerhouse to emerge.
But she was unaware that the demonic path would rise again in less than a century. When that day came, without his "Demon-Suppressing Immortal Body" and without his willingness to sacrifice himself for the Way, Chu Yuan could not imagine anyone else who could stop the Demon God.
"Fools."
Chu Yuan sneered coldly. He no longer felt the slightest desire to remain in a sect governed by such people.
Just then, the elder with the prayer beads began to channel his spiritual power, initiating the Demon-Cleansing Art. But in the very next moment, thick black energy suddenly erupted from all five of Chu Yuan’s sensory orifices! It was indeed demonic aura, though it appeared strangely impure.
"This is... demonic aura! He really is a demonic practitioner!"
"Hiss! So that’s it! Chu Yuan is actually a demonic practitioner! No wonder! No wonder his cultivation progressed so rapidly—it’s because he practices the demonic arts!"
"To think such a high-level demon has been hiding within our righteous sect—it is terrifying!"
Many elders rose abruptly, their power surging as they prepared for a bloody battle. They had no choice; even with a Saint Lord Realm expert like Xiao Junmo present, they still felt no sense of safety. They had seen Chu Yuan’s power before. He was truly invincible among his peers, and even capable of standing his ground against those in the Saint Lord Realm.
"Demonic aura?"
"What a pathetic display of aura."
Chu Yuan looked at his hands, which he had just raised, and let out a cold laugh. This was not his aura; it was energy that someone had hidden within his body, likely using some underhanded method. Connecting this to the current situation, realization dawned on him. It seemed his junior brother, Jiang Fan, his three junior sisters, and his master, Xiao Junmo, had been plotting this for a long time.
This was all for today, and this "demonic aura" was merely their trump card. Chu Yuan’s own Demon-Suppressing Immortal Body occasionally leaked a faint trace of aura, but even that tiny amount carried the power of an ancient, supreme demon—it was not comparable to this low-grade filth. Therefore, they must have hidden it on him themselves.
Chu Yuan could only conclude that their methods were incredibly amateurish. It was enough to fool the people in the hall, making them believe that Xiao Junmo had not acted without cause—that Chu Yuan was indeed a practitioner of the demonic arts.
In his previous life, Chu Yuan had not known about his own Demon-Suppressing Immortal Body, nor did he know that the aura had been planted by Jiang Fan and the others to frame him. He had been completely blindsided.
"As my disciple, you dare to practice the demonic arts! Now that the evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to say for yourself?"
Xiao Junmo stood up, her voice sharp and commanding. The atmosphere in the Law Enforcement Hall grew suffocatingly tense, and everyone glared at Chu Yuan with indignation. To think that the top-tier prodigy, whom the Qingyun Sect had spent so many resources to nurture, was actually a demonic practitioner!
"The sect spent so much to cultivate you, yet you turn to the demonic arts!"
"Chu Yuan! You have betrayed the sect!"
"What a waste of our Qingyun Sect’s countless resources! My heart aches just thinking about it!"
Several core elders also stepped forward, their voices booming like thunder as they berated him.
Hearing this, Chu Yuan couldn't help but recall his past. Wasted resources? The Chu Yuan of the past had cleared out at least ten thousand secret realms, claimed hundreds of ancient forbidden lands, and won over a hundred grand battles for the Qingyun Sect. He had brought back countless honors and resources, yet almost all of them had been fed back into the sect. He himself had received a pittance, while the majority had been given by the Sect Master to his junior sisters!
To hear them claim he had squandered the sect’s resources was truly laughable. However, seeing Xiao Junmo and his junior sisters look visibly embarrassed and avoid his gaze after the elders spoke, he didn't even bother to explain.
"Since you have nothing to say, Elder Fokong, initiate the Demon-Cleansing Art immediately!"
"Setting aside my own failure in teaching you, we do share a master-disciple bond, so there is no need to kill you. While performing the Demon-Cleansing Art, strip him of his cultivation entirely! Then, cast him into the forbidden grounds behind the mountain. Without my express command, he is never to be released!"
As Xiao Junmo’s voice faded, Chu Yuan’s expression turned utterly cold. It seemed he would not be allowed to leave in peace today.