Sima Zhao could not help freezing, his expression shifting uncomfortably.
In truth, his expression had already changed upon hearing the elders' discussion a moment before. *No way,* he had thought. *Could those fiends really not have lost any of their cultivation at all? Did the Sect Master and the others sense it wrong?*
This was clearly Sima Zhao being a sore loser. He desperately hoped the Sect Master and the elders had made a mistake in their perception, but how could that be? Given their level of cultivation, how could they possibly be wrong? Panic surged uncontrollably within him.
The Sect Master stood with her brow tightly furrowed, saying nothing.
This silence was precisely what shook Sima Zhao to the core, making him feel as though he were facing a formidable enemy.
It would have been better had the Sect Master spoken or flared up in anger; her grim, taciturn silence terrified him all the more.
He understood that the Sect Master was likely suppressing her fury right now, perhaps waiting to unleash an even greater one shortly.
He had seen the Sect Master fly into a rage before, and it was terrifying. An elder at the ninth level of the Great Supreme realm had been reduced to a mist of blood by a single slap from her hand. He had no desire to die such a miserable death!
Besides, he did not want to die at all.
Over on the side, Jin Dajian and the three elders let out long sighs of relief, inwardly cheering.
They had never believed Ye Qingtao would defect to the Demonic Path. As things stood now, he had done no such thing—Sima Zhao had fabricated the whole thing out of nothing, which was simply hateful.
"As long as he's fine, as long as he's fine..."
"Damn it, that kid had me worried sick. I was planning to play a game of chess with him another day—he'd better not have joined the Demonic Path!"
"Causing me to worry for nothing! Let's see what Sima Zhao has to say for himself now. Wasn't he acting all high and mighty just a moment ago? Wasn't he quite pleased with himself? Look at him now, his face has shriveled right up."
"Right, right, right, I'm dying of laughter. I bet he's panicking inside right now."
The four elders communicated privately via sound transmission.
Smiles broke across their faces, but they hastily coughed and reined them in.
The Divine Son's expression turned exceedingly ugly as he turned his head to cast a glance at Sima Zhao.
That single look nearly frightened Sima Zhao into collapsing backward onto the ground. He sucked in a sharp breath in a hurry and dared not utter a sound.
The Sect Master finally spoke: "Sima Zhao, the cultivation of these fiends hasn't diminished at all. Can you explain what is going on here?"
If she had wronged Ye Qingtao, the matter would be of grave consequence. As a dignified sect master, to have imprisoned Ye Qingtao without any investigation—if word got out, she would become the laughingstock of countless people!
She could already imagine how many people would point at her spine and curse her as a brainless woman.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhenhe's expression had also turned pale to the extreme. A wave of lingering fear suddenly welled up from the bottom of his heart, and he cast a gloomy look at Sima Zhao.
*You bastard, don't drag me down with you! How did I end up taking you on as a disciple? Am I going to be killed by you?*
As for the other elders who had previously expressed a desire to take Sima Zhao as a disciple to get closer to him, they all hurried to distance themselves from him, acting as though they didn't know him at all for fear of being tainted by bad luck.
The instant Sima Zhao heard the Sect Master's question, his body trembled, his face turning as pale as white paper in a flash. Trembling with fear, he stammered, "S-Sect... Sect Master, this disciple has no idea either! Every word your disciple spoke is true, not a single word is false. I believe something must be wrong with these demons! They must have used some kind of concealing technique to make their cultivation look the same as before!"
He was so panicked that, without waiting for the Sect Master to speak, he hurriedly added, "Or perhaps each of them only passed on a tiny, tiny bit of cultivation to Ye Qingtao—so little that it's completely imperceptible!"
"Are you questioning my ability?" Su Yanran's expression remained completely calm.
*Thump!*
Sima Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he nearly cried out in fright. He hurriedly said, "No, no, disciple doesn't mean that! Disciple means they only transferred a tiny bit, which is very easy to recover. With your keen insight, Sect Master, you'll surely be able to see through it!"
Su Yanran chuckled and said, "Very well. Then perhaps you can tell me, what brilliant insight do you have?"
Sima Zhao thought for a moment and said cautiously, "Interrogate them one by one! We'll definitely be able to get it out of them!"
Su Yanran was once again so angered she laughed, and just as she was about to speak, Li Bashan cupped his fists and said, "Sect Master, I think Sima Zhao makes sense. Why not let him start the interrogation with Xiaoyao?"
Several people on the scene who were on good terms with the Divine Son hurriedly chimed in, "Yes, Sect Master! We cannot wrong anyone. Whether it's Ye Qingtao or Sima Zhao, neither can be wronged. Perhaps these demons really did just pass along a tiny sliver of power, which they'll quickly recover from afterward? With so many demons, if every single one passes on a sliver, it would be enough to make Ye Qingtao extremely powerful!"
Su Yanran frowned deeply. After pondering for a moment, she said, "Very well, Sima Zhao. You go and conduct the interrogation then."
She casually pointed at a Xiaoyao and said, "That's the one. You question it."
Sima Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and walked tremblingly up to the demon.
At that moment, the Xiaoyao was completely baffled. He had no idea what was going on—why did these people storm in and immediately start discussing how he and his fellow demons had transmitted their cultivation to someone? What on earth was going on?
Their own cultivation was hard-earned; why on earth would they transmit it to anyone, let alone the righteous path? It was utterly absurd!
Sima Zhao lowered his voice and said, "I expect you to tell the truth. Did you or did you not transmit your cultivation to Ye Qingtao?"
The Xiaoyao stared at him in utter astonishment. *If I had transmitted my cultivation to Ye Qingtao, that would mean I'm in cahoots with him. Why on earth would I confess that to you?*
The other demons looked over, feeling as though this human had no brains whatsoever in his head.
After a brief thought, they mentally communicated with one another: *It seems the Qingyun Sect is having an internal conflict. Shall we just admit to it and frame Ye Qingtao? That way, he'll lose his position as Demon Suppressor, and no one will ever be able to keep us down again!*
They had no idea what was happening outside.
No sooner had the thought been voiced than another demon's body trembled, and he blurted out, "No! You dare frame Ye Qingtao? Do you have a death wish?!"
They had all witnessed Ye Qingtao's decisive and ruthless methods firsthand. He had instantly annihilated one of their companions without a single shred of suspense. If Ye Qingtao found out they had framed him, wouldn't he kill them on the spot?
At this realization, the group of demons collectively drew in a sharp breath and decided to tell the truth after all.
One after another, they spoke up: "We didn't!"
"Neither did I!"
"I can vouch for them, none of us did!"
With every word that fell, Sima Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and his face grew even paler.
If he had merely been shocked earlier, he was now utterly dumbfounded. For this group of demons to say such a thing was practically equivalent to placing him on a roasting spit over an open fire. Who could possibly understand this kind of torment?!
Over on the side, Jiang Zhenhe's face also turned as pale as white paper, his heart giving a violent, painful twitch.
It was he who had ordered Sima Zhao to investigate. If Sima Zhao was brought to justice, he wouldn't be able to wash his hands of it either, and the Sect Master would surely give him a severe thrashing!
The Divine Son wasn't having an easy time either; his face looked as unpleasant as if he had swallowed a dead child. If both Sima Zhao and Jiang Zhenhe went down, he wouldn't be able to clear his name either!