Inside the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
Jin Dajian and the Divine Son had already entered. Looking around, the entire interior was shrouded in thick, gloomy demonic mist, pitch-black like a heavy haze.
The Divine Son produced a ghost-repelling talisman, which dispersed the demonic mist somewhat and allowed them to see further ahead.
Li Bashan sneered. "Elder Jin, see that? Everything the fellow surnamed Ye has done all these years has been for nothing. Who knows what he's been doing here—not a shred of this black mist has been reduced!"
His purpose in saying this was, of course, to emphasize that Ye Qingtao had defected to the Demonic Path. If he hadn't surrendered to the Demonic Path, why wouldn't he clear away this demonic mist?
Jin Dajian understood the Divine Son's implication all too well, but he still refused to believe it. In his mind, Ye Qingtao was a man of utmost integrity—how could he possibly collude with the Demonic Path?
Jin Dajian believed this was utterly impossible!
Even though the Divine Son had already made up his mind, Jin Dajian refused to believe it no matter what.
"It would be best if the Divine Son doesn't jump to conclusions too quickly. The demonic Qi within the pagoda is naturally quite heavy; it's not something that can be cleared away in a short time."
"That's how it has been for generations of Demon Suppressors, let alone Ye Qingtao?"
"You must remember, Ye Qingtao's cultivation is the lowest among all generations of Demon Suppressors. It's only normal that he couldn't reduce this demonic Qi," Jin Dajian said.
The Divine Son chuckled and retorted, "But as I recall, the Demon-Warding Jade Pendant doesn't depend on high cultivation to be powerful, does it? It has nothing to do with cultivation!"
Jin Dajian was actually stumped by the question.
Li Bashan spoke up again. "In any case, Ye Qingtao is incompetent. Setting aside the demonic Qi for a moment, look at these walls—the bricks are cracking, and he couldn't even be bothered to fix them?"
"What if the bricks crack open one day and let the demons out? How do you explain that, Elder Jin?"
Jin Dajian said in a deep voice, "The founder's testament states explicitly that no one is allowed to touch the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, not even for repairs or cleaning. Only guarding is permitted."
The Divine Son laughed dismissively in response. "That's ancient history! After all these years, if we don't repair it, what happens if it collapses one day? Will you bear the consequences?"
This left Jin Dajian speechless once more. A fire of anger burned within him, and he simply decided to say nothing at all.
"What? Realize you're in the wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Seeing Jin Dajian close his mouth, Li Bashan instantly looked extremely smug, a broad smile spreading across his face.
The feeling of overwhelming someone else gave him immense pleasure.
He looked around and decided it would be better to summon some prominent elders as well. With more people present, their collective presence would be even more oppressive.
With a wave of his hand, Li Bashan sent out a sound-transmission message: "Jiang Zhenhe, and you too, Sima Zhao, get over here."
Before long, Sima Zhao and Jiang Zhenhe arrived, bringing the total number of people on that side to three.
The moment Sima Zhao and Jiang Zhenhe arrived, they started nitpicking everything in sight.
"I have to say, Elder Jin, leaving aside whether Ye Qingtao even has the ability to suppress this place, just look at his attitude toward his work—it's utterly unacceptable. The pagoda is in this state of disrepair, and he won't even fix it? He won't lift a finger to help. And you still let him guard the pagoda? Are you joking?"
"Master is right. That fellow surnamed Ye probably spends every day sleeping with his eyes open. There's so much dust on the floor and so many cracks on the walls, yet he neither cares nor asks about any of it. If the walls collapse one day and the demons escape, can he possibly bear that responsibility?"
Jiang Zhenhe and Sima Zhao chimed in one after another, picking bones out of an egg at every turn.
A Demon Suppressor's duty was solely to guard the pagoda. Routine repairs and cleaning had never been mentioned in the founder's testament, and were in fact not permitted.
Jin Dajian couldn't be bothered to speak anymore. Both men had already sided with the Divine Son; talking to them was worse than saying nothing.
Li Bashan was even more pleased with himself and intended to summon the Sect Master as well. That way, if something were actually uncovered later, wouldn't he look exceptionally capable in the Sect Master's eyes?
He immediately sent out another sound-transmission message.
Moments later, Su Yanran, who was currently in the Sect Main Hall, received the message. However, she had an urgent matter to attend to and calmly replied, "Wait the time it takes to burn an incense stick. I'm stepping out to buy some medicinal ingredients and will be right back. You all can investigate a bit later; I very much want to go to the scene to verify things myself."
Inside the pagoda, Li Bashan received the reply and found an open space to sit down and wait.
Since the Sect Master couldn't arrive right away, Li Bashan felt he should do a bit more, so he sent out several more sound-transmission messages to other elders.
Before long, three or five elders rushed over angrily, gathering together in one place.
Upon learning that Ye Qingtao had actually colluded with the Demonic Path, they were instantly furious.
We are all of the Righteous Path—what do you think you're doing by colluding with the Demonic Path? How despicable!
Since ancient times, the Righteous and Demonic Paths have been irreconcilable. You're just asking for trouble!
In their anger, they felt like wiping Ye Qingtao out completely.
…………
What none of them knew was that the Divine Son wouldn't be able to investigate anything in here, because Ye Qingtao simply hadn't done anything at all. If someone could be found guilty of wrongdoing when they hadn't done a single thing, Ye Qingtao might as well just find a piece of tofu and smash his head against it.
…………
Although there were more people now, Li Bashan was still not satisfied. With a flurry of gestures, he sent out many more sound-transmission messages to the outside. Soon enough, more than a dozen elders arrived, forming a dense sea of heads at the scene.
The sect's elders, together with the various peak masters, totaled eighteen in all, and now they were all gathered in one place.
Having heard that Ye Qingtao had defected to the Demonic Path, these elders were already burning with rage and desperately wanted to go inside the pagoda to investigate, but lacked the authorization. Now, the Divine Son had finally opened the door and made things convenient for them.
They cupped their fists in salute one after another. "Divine Son, once the evidence is conclusive later, I suggest we don't bother locking him up in the Cliff of Reflection. We should simply report to the Sect Master and have him executed at once."
"Exactly! I support that with both hands! That fellow surnamed Ye defected to the Demonic Path—it's an unforgivable crime! If word gets out, our Qingyun Sect will become the laughingstock of countless people!"
Voices buzzed with discussion.
Apart from those who had sided with the Divine Son, three elders in the crowd wore worried expressions. They were on Ye Qingtao's side and unanimously believed that the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda could not do without him. Hearing this talk now, they were extremely anxious.
Although they were unwilling to believe that Ye Qingtao had truly defected to the Demonic Path, they still hoped nothing incriminating would be found. Ye Qingtao had earned the sect a century of peace—that was a monumental achievement! Instead of receiving a reward, the man had actually been locked away!
He certainly hadn't defected to the Demonic Path; he had been framed!
All three elders felt a deep sense of injustice in their hearts.
After a short while, with a whoosh from outside, Sect Master Su Yanran arrived.
Everyone cupped their fists in unison. "Greetings, Sect Master."
Su Yanran nodded, her gaze sweeping across the surroundings, and said calmly, "Begin."
"Understood!" Li Bashan was ecstatic.
Following that, the group proceeded deeper into the interior.
This was the first level of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, divided into numerous prison cells. Each cell held a dense mass of fiends—a thousand-year-old serpent demon, a ten-thousand-year-old white forest python, green ghosts, bull-headed and horse-faced spirits... all sorts of bizarre ancient demons.
Li Bashan had originally assumed they weren't rioting because they were asleep, but as he arrived in front of the prison doors and looked inside, he suddenly froze in place.
Because every single one of those fiends had their eyes wide open, staring straight at him.