novelraw Chapter 323: Master, Is Ye Cong Xin Really Dead?
Chapter 323: Master, Is Ye Cong Xin Really Dead?
This novel is translated and hosted only on Bcatranslation.
In the Five Elements Dao Sect, the air in the Grand Hall of Deliberation was thick with tension. The elders and peak masters sat upright, their expressions stern. Sect Master Ji Yuan scanned the room and focused his gaze on the enraged Master Guan Yun.
“Guan Yun, what’s your opinion?” he asked.
Master Guan Yun stood abruptly, fury blazing in his eyes. “Su Ming and Quan Ye committed such heinous acts. They must face punishment according to sect rules!”
The sect’s code was clear: anyone maliciously harming a fellow disciple would be executed.
Kneeling in the center of the hall, Quan Ye burned with indignation. He raised his head to argue but was swiftly silenced by a glance from Sect Master Ji Yuan—it wasn’t his turn to speak yet. The other elders and peak masters whispered among themselves after Guan Yun’s declaration.
After a moment, Elder Sun stood up. “Sect Master, Master Guan Yun, I am not pleading for leniency for Su Ming and Quan Ye, but there are peculiarities in this matter. Should we not understand the details before making a decision?”
Elder Sun found it hard to believe that Su Ming and Quan Ye would suddenly turn against Ye Cong Xin, whom they had previously cherished openly. A sudden betrayal might lead to anger, but outright murder? It was too extreme.
Master Guan Yun snorted coldly but did not object. Quan Ye glanced at the Sect Master, hopeful.
Sect Master Ji Yuan, however, paid him no mind. Instead, he summoned disciples who had witnessed the events to recount their observations. When they had finished, he turned to the silent Su Ming. “Speak your defense.”Su Ming’s first words were like a thunderclap in the hall. “Sect Master, elders, the reason I killed Ye Cong Xin in public is because she was a demonic entity capable of stealing others’ fortune to nourish herself. Such a being cannot be allowed to exist in this world!”
“Outrageous! How dare you spout such nonsense in the sect hall!” Master Guan Yun roared, his face livid.
She had been willing to grant Su Ming and Quan Ye a chance to live, but now it seemed they were ungrateful, concocting such absurd excuses. It was unforgivable.
Su Ming knelt and declared solemnly, “I speak the truth. I vow upon my Dao heart: if a single word I say is false, may my soul be shattered and never reincarnate!”
Boom!
A deafening thunderclap echoed.
The audience gasped. The Dao vow had been established—Su Ming was not lying. But how could this be possible?
Sect Master Ji Yuan’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. Fragmented memories of Ye Cong Xin’s peculiarities resurfaced: surviving her eighteenth-year tribulation, her unexplainable cultivation leaps, and the undue favoritism she enjoyed at Lone Moon Peak. These details, trivial alone, formed a chilling picture when considered together.
Ji Yuan lifted the ban on Quan Ye’s speech. Quan Ye, seizing the moment, shouted, “Sect Master, elders, Ye Cong Xin was no human. She was a vile entity who deceived everyone, including me! She deserved to die!”
With both disciples claiming Ye Cong Xin was a demonic entity, doubt began to creep into the hearts of those present, despite their reluctance.
“Disciple Zhou Jin Yue requests an audience,” a crisp voice sounded from outside the hall.
Sect Master Ji Yuan’s stern expression softened. “Enter.”
Zhou Jin Yue stepped in, her commanding aura betraying her recent breakthrough into the Nascent Soul stage. Her presence radiated pressure, and the elders, impressed, exchanged approving glances.
If not for the grave circumstances, they would have lavished her with praise.
“Jin Yue, why have you come?” Sect Master Ji Yuan’s tone softened as he addressed his beloved disciple.
Zhou Jin Yue bowed respectfully before the assembly. “I come regarding the case of Su Ming and Quan Ye killing Ye Cong Xin.”
Her words drew everyone’s attention. From her tone alone, it was clear where her sympathies lay. Was the Main Peak choosing to involve itself in this matter?
Sect Master Ji Yuan frowned. Relations between the Main Peak and Lone Moon Peak were delicate, and his rapport with Master Qing Yan was far from amicable. If Qing Yan perceived interference, it would create unnecessary friction.
“You’ve just emerged from seclusion. Do you truly know the details of this situation?” he asked.
Recognizing the veiled warning, Zhou Jin Yue sidestepped it. She apologized to the other elders before posing the same question to Su Ming and Quan Ye: why had they killed Ye Cong Xin?
Their answer was unified. “Ye Cong Xin was a demonic entity who would have endangered the entire cultivation world!”
Zhou Jin Yue found the missing piece to her puzzle. Her long-standing suspicions about Ye Cong Xin were finally validated. Kneeling resolutely, she detailed Ye Cong Xin’s anomalies and manipulations, citing Zhang Jun and Xiu Luo as witnesses.
The hall erupted into murmurs. While many had doubted Su Ming and Quan Ye, Zhou Jin Yue’s words carried weight. Her integrity and abilities were beyond question.
For Su Ming and Quan Ye, Zhou Jin Yue’s testimony was both a relief and a blow. Relief because someone reputable supported their claims; a blow because it highlighted their own ineptitude. She had identified the threat long before they did and acted decisively, while they had been ensnared by Ye Cong Xin’s schemes.
Sect Master Ji Yuan, satisfied with Zhou Jin Yue’s poise, nodded in approval. In stark contrast, he cast a disdainful glance at Su Ming and Quan Ye, who appeared utterly mortified.
After consulting the elders, Ji Yuan decreed that Su Ming and Quan Ye be imprisoned at Lone Moon Peak until Master Qing Yan emerged from seclusion to decide their fate.
Thus, Lone Moon Peak gained two more prisoners alongside Fang Cheng Lang.
As the elders departed, Sect Master Ji Yuan’s stern visage melted into a broad smile. “You’ve advanced?” he asked Zhou Jin Yue.
“Yes,” she confirmed.
He nodded in satisfaction before feigning irritation. “You imp, you should’ve warned me. You caught me off guard.”
Zhou Jin Yue smiled wryly. “It all happened so suddenly. I couldn’t foresee this.”
She explained how she had rushed to the hall upon hearing of the incident, fearing a wrongful conviction.
“Sigh, Su Ming and Quan Ye acted rashly. Even if Ye Cong Xin was a demonic entity, they should have captured her alive,” Ji Yuan lamented. His curiosity about her alleged fortune-stealing abilities remained unfulfilled.
“Utterly incompetent,” he muttered.
Zhou Jin Yue hesitated, then spoke. “Master, is Ye Cong Xin truly dead?”
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