Chapter 86: Cross out the name, cross out everything.

After Elder Qi finished demonstrating, everyone was focused on refining pills, except for Song Yin, who stood at the back row with her arms crossed, observing everyone.

"you……"

"Shhh."

Han Changyu wanted to say something more, but Song Yin interrupted him.

Did you see that?

Han Changyu: "What?"

Everyone was focused on refining pills in front of the furnace, while the master would walk around constantly, pointing out problems to those who made mistakes.

This is why Du Ci and his group openly threw finished pills into the alchemy furnace, passing them off as newly refined pills.

"Elder Qi!" Song Yin suddenly called out loudly.

Qi Zibo frowned, sensing something was amiss. Not only does alchemy require a calm mind, but maintaining a quiet environment is also crucial—something every alchemist knows. For this rebellious disciple to shout so loudly, disregarding the disturbance to others, something must be wrong.

"You're making a lot of noise while refining pills; are you disturbing others? Do you have a problem with that?"

Song Yin: "I personally witnessed Du Ci, Wei Fulin, Liu Ren, and Ding Ruchun cheating by throwing finished pills into the alchemy furnace when they opened it."

The entire room was shocked. Everyone stopped their alchemy practice and looked at Song Yin or the person in question.

Han Changyu stared at Song Yin in astonishment, remaining silent for a long time.

"I didn't, you're slandering me." Du Ci's expression changed drastically, and he quickly portrayed himself as innocent. "Please investigate, Elder. Everyone was refining pills, how could Song Le have seen it? Could it be that while we were all refining pills, Song Le, you weren't refining pills?"

Ding Ruchun pointed at Song Yin, "Elder, look, she completely disregards you; she didn't even bring out her alchemy furnace. Someone who disrupts the order and doesn't cultivate seriously should be expelled from the classroom."

Since things have come to this, we should kick this person out first.

Qi Zibo remained silent. What could he do if his rebellious disciple didn't take him seriously? He was already being kind by not keeping an eye on his pill storehouse.

It seemed the four of them had indeed cheated. The thought that they were all on the list filled Qi Zibo with shame; he had lost all face in front of his apprentices. His resolute denial that day felt like a joke.

Qi Zibo raised his hand, and all four alchemy furnaces flew to his front.

"Even if the spiritual herbs used in the pills are in the same proportion, there will still be slight differences in each batch of pills. These differences are so small that they are not noticeable to the average person. Whether there is cheating or not, I will know after I have checked."

Du Ci and the others felt a chill in their hearts.

Du Ci's eyes were like those of a venomous snake, fixed intently on Song Yin.

It's all her fault.

Several years ago, he and Ding Ruchun accidentally saw Elder Qi writing a list, and it happened after the announcement of Danque Peak's recruitment. They quickly realized that the people on the list were all candidates who could enter Danque Peak.

Knowing they might be able to enter Danque Peak, they conspired to show off and try to gain a good reputation among the disciples, while secretly excluding the remaining people on the list.

Over the years, their actions had been flawless, and Elder Qi had gone from being a stranger to admiring them. They firmly believed that given enough time, Elder Qi would naturally accept them into Danque Peak.

The plan was going well, but then Song Le suddenly appeared and told everyone what had happened. More than being blocked from entering Dan Que, he was afraid of how to withstand Elder Qi's wrath.

Even though he knew Song Yin was telling the truth, Qi Zibo still checked each pill.

You won't know until you check, and what you find when you do is shocking.

Qi Zibo threw the pills back into the furnace and looked at Du Ci and the others with a gloomy expression.

"Who will give me an explanation?"

It's over, it's all over.

The four of them immediately knelt on the ground.

"This disciple does not know, please enlighten me, Elder." Du Ci was still unwilling to give up.

Qi Zibo: "If you're not good at alchemy, you can learn; if you're not good at character, you don't need to stay in the inner sect."

The color drained from the faces of the four men instantly. They had only thrown in a few pills; why should they be driven away?

"Elder, we've been wronged!" Du Ci hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy. Through the crowd, he saw the person who had exposed the matter. "Elder, it must be Song Le who's slandering us. When she wasn't in the sect, nothing happened to us. But as soon as she arrived, this happened. Elder, you are a Nascent Soul Venerable. Even if we had ten thousand lives, we wouldn't dare to do anything under your nose!"

Ding Ruchun: "Du Ci is right, Elder, please believe us. The fellow disciples present know our character, and they can all testify for us!"

"Could it really be a misunderstanding?"

“What Senior Brother Du said makes some sense. I have been in the inner sect for almost fifty years without leaving the sect, and I have never heard of a pill cultivator named Song Le in the inner sect.”

The disciples whispered among themselves, and some who had received favors from Du Ci and his companions stood firmly on their side.

Someone stepped forward, bowed to Qi Zibo, and said, "Elder, I think Du Ci's words make some sense. Not to mention who would dare to commit a crime under the nose of a Nascent Soul Venerable, Song Le's identity is obviously questionable. I have been in the inner sect for many years without leaving the sect, and I have never heard of a Dan cultivator named Song Le in the inner sect."

“Elder, I also believe that Senior Brother Du Ci and the others are innocent. They are good people and friends of Senior Sister Song Yin. Please, Elder, clear their name.”

"Elder, please verify Song Le's identity."

Qi Zibo: "Are you sure?"

Seeing that things were looking up, Du Ci and the others immediately kowtowed, "Yes! That's right, we are all friends of Senior Sister Song Yin. Please, Elder, investigate thoroughly!"

The moment his forehead touched the ground, Du Ci's eyes flashed with malice. Once this ordeal is over, I'll make that bitch Song Le pay.

Han Changyu bowed to Qi Zibo, "Elder, I am willing to testify for Song Le. She was by my side the whole time. When everyone started refining pills, she was the only one who did not take out her pill furnace. She kept looking around and observing everyone's pill refining. Everyone was focused on their own pill furnace, so it was indeed not easy for others to notice her doing something."

Du Ci: "Han Changyu, I have no grudge against you, why are you helping outsiders to slander me!"

Qi Zibo ignored them and walked past the crowd to ask Song Yin, "What do you think?" His traitorous disciple was always either on Danque Peak or Wujian Peak, and he knew that she only had a few close friends.

Those blocking Song Yin's way scurried to the sides, clearing a path in an instant.

Song Yin stepped forward, bowed to Qi Zibo, and then asked the first person to speak up for Du Ci, "What is the name of this fellow Daoist who questioned my inner sect identity?"

All eyes were on Sun You, who suddenly felt the pressure increase. "Sun You."

"Ugh~ What a frenemy!" Song Yin deliberately emphasized, "What a coincidence, isn't it?"

She took out her identity token, with her name side pressed against her palm and the side engraved with the three characters of Xianxiao Sect facing everyone. "Do you recognize it? If you do, that's good. If you don't recognize this, then I don't think you're an inner disciple."

Sun You was completely confused, not knowing what she meant by "coincidence," but he recognized the identity tag and silently shut up without saying anything more.

Song Yin took out the list and drew a big cross on Sun You's name with a red pen. Then she drew the same cross on Ding Ruchun, Wei Fulin, and Liu Ren's names.

Qi Zibo, watching from the side, saw it all clearly. It wasn't a cross drawn on the ground; it was clearly his old face. That rebellious disciple would definitely go to Wujian Peak to find his wife, and then drag her and Yuzhu along to laugh at him.

Du Ci saw the thin booklet in Song Yin's book and felt it looked familiar, but he didn't think much of it. After all, everyone had such a booklet, and the sect gave its disciples a bunch every year.

Song Yin then asked the second person who had spoken up for her, "What's your name?"

"My name is Liang Ziling, and I believe in Ding Ruchun."

It seems that Song Yin crossed out Ding Ruchun's name on the list because she was a close friend of Ding Ruchun.

Instead of asking more questions, they continued to ask other people.

What's your name?

"Cai Xin".

"And you?"

"Nan Xiucheng"

"You, you, and you."

Qi Zibo remained silent, watching his traitorous disciple as if he were the King of Hell calling roll, and in the blink of an eye, half of the names on the list were crossed out.

Du Ci wanted to say a few more words, but Qi Zibo's gloomy face scared him so much that he didn't dare to utter a sound.

Wei Fulin: "Elder, are you just going to let her disrupt the order?"

Qi Zibo gave him a look, and Wei Fulin shut up and knelt down.

When Qi Zibo came to teach, many alchemists would come, most of them Golden Core cultivators, and only a few Foundation Establishment cultivators could get a spot.

That's why everyone on the list is there.

Of the twenty-five names, only six were not crossed out.

The six people were rational and did not easily side with Du Ci. Except for Han Changyu, who witnessed his own actions and stood by his side, the other five did not take sides. Instead, they asked Qi Zibo to investigate the truth and not to believe either side.

Song Yin walked up to someone and said, "Open the alchemy furnace and let me see the pills you've refined."

The female cultivator's expression changed. "You think I cheated too?" She opened it directly. "Look, look, anyway, I didn't use any underhanded tricks."

Of the five pills produced in one batch, only one is of superior quality.

With such disciples recruited into Danque Peak, wouldn't the consumption of spiritual herbs increase significantly?

Song Yin: "I didn't suspect you." She silently crossed out the name.

Qi Zibo figured it out: the rebellious disciple wanted to use this opportunity to solve the recruitment problem. If she didn't mind the trouble, so be it; after all, it was her idea to recruit, and it wouldn't hurt to recruit people she liked.

"Open it and let me see."

Looking at them one by one, the final pills produced were all quite ordinary, and the success rate of producing high-grade pills was very low.

Finally, he stood before Han Changyu and said, "Open the alchemy furnace so I can take a look."

Han Changyu: "I need to check too? I was the only one standing on your side just now, bearing witness for you." He opened the alchemy furnace, which contained a total of seven pills, five of which were of superior quality.

Song Yin: "Your testimony is just telling the truth, but my inspection of your pills is a different matter."

After reading it, she asked Han Changyu, "Can you guarantee that each batch of pills will contain five top-grade pills?"

Han Changyu: "I can't guarantee it. When refining new pills, the number of pills produced in one batch will definitely be small. However, if you are skilled, you can be 80 or 90% confident that you can produce five high-grade pills in one batch."

Heavens above! Finally, someone with good alchemy skills has appeared, and we can even save on spirit herbs! You know, the sect leader said that anyone exceeding the quota would have to make up for it out of their own pocket!

Song Yin ticked Han Changyu's name and then returned to Qi Zibo's side.

"I've made my choice."

Qi Zibo said directly: "Du Ci, Ding Ruchun, Wei Fulin, and Liu Ren are to be punished by copying the clan rules twenty times. After they finish copying, they will go to the Cliff of Repentance and wait for three days."

Du Ci panicked. If he were to be accused of cheating, how could he possibly get into Danque Peak!

Du Ci: "Elder, you are wise enough to see through my deception. Today, it is all Song Le's slander. Song Le, you need to provide evidence. Can you produce any evidence? What benefit do you gain from framing us?"

Song Yin removed the exquisite mask, revealing her true appearance.

Looking at his apprentice, who had shrunk in height and returned to his original size, Qi Zibo nodded to himself, relieved that his eyes were finally no longer injured.

Song Yin took out the recording stone. "Coincidentally, I actually have evidence. The recording stone recorded all your little tricks."

Du Ci was stunned when he saw her change. He quickly thought of the magical artifact, the Exquisite Mask, and a sense of unease crept over him.

"Who are you?"

"You just said you knew me and were my friend, but now that I'm standing right in front of you, how come you don't recognize me?"

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Author's Note: My darlings! If all goes well, this book will be available for purchase tomorrow! It's all thanks to your support! [Sprinkling flowers]

Three chapters will be released on the first day of the VIP chapters! [Milk Tea]

Red envelopes will also be dropped in the new chapter on the 30th [rainbow fart]

In short, please continue to support me in the future! [Sparkling eyes][Heart]