Chapter 227 During the Mutiny:

"Breaking news! Mirror Palace forbids any sect or faction from using illusions to attack cultivators' minds! Illusion tests must be abolished!"

"Breaking news! The Ascension Academy's illusion test is a program explicitly prohibited by the Mirror Palace. The Ascension Academy is now defunct!"

"Breaking news..."

"Who are you! Don't spread rumors here!" Several Xuan Tian Sect cultivators rushed into the crowd and tried to arrest the vendor who was shouting "major news." Upon seeing this, the vendor overturned his cart full of prohibition notices, slipped into the crowd like an eel, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Where is he? Where did he go?" The Xuan Tian Sect cultivator rushed to the car, only to find that the person was nowhere to be seen.

The Xuantian Sect cultivators had no choice but to stand by the cart and prevent those around them from picking up the prohibition notices.

"You're not allowed to look at them, you're not allowed to take them! These papers are all malicious rumors! Anyone who looks at them or takes them is making an enemy of the Xuantian Sect!" "What Mirror Palace decree? It's all a rumor, there's no such thing at all!"

However, there were only a few words on the paper to begin with, and the vendor had already made a lot of noise, so even if people around didn't look at it, they already knew what it contained.

People around them were talking amongst themselves, glancing sideways at the Xuantian Sect cultivators.

"Is this real or fake? If it's fake, why is the Xuantian Sect so afraid of us seeing it?"

"Is the Ascension Academy really going to go under? Without the Illusion Test, the true strength of the Ruthless Dao Palace will be reduced by at least half—isn't the Illusion Test their biggest selling point?"

"Tsk tsk, it seems Sect Master Feng's business is going to fall through."

"No talking about it!"

"These are all rumors; those who discuss them will be punished for spreading rumors!"

The Xuantian Sect cultivators tried their best to stop the surrounding crowd from talking, but this not only failed to stop them, but also made them talk even more excitedly.

"Why can't we discuss it?" "Exactly, they want to control everything we say!" "If they're so capable, let Sect Leader Feng come out and clarify! Is the Ascension Academy going to take place or not? We've been waiting at the Moon Ascension Platform for so many days, and we haven't received a single piece of concrete information. Are they just playing games with us?"

"Report!"

As night falls, at the Tianji Altar.

A cultivator responsible for stopping the spread of rumors rushed into the Tianji Altar. His clothes were covered in rips and his face was red from being beaten. He rushed to the Feng Sect Master's seat in a disheveled state and reported the situation to him.

The Ascension Platform he was in charge of had already fallen victim to rumors. Not only were the cultivators on the platform discussing the ban and rumors that the Ascension Academy was about to collapse, but even the aristocratic families who had been sitting comfortably in the top tier of the restaurant couldn't sit still and came out to demand an explanation.

"This disciple is incompetent and truly unable to answer the questions from the aristocratic families. I can only return to report to the sect leader and ask for his instructions."

The monks bowed their heads, and the hall was completely silent.

A moment later.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud came from above; it was Sect Master Feng's heavy blow that landed on the armrest of the throne.

"Useless trash." Sect Master Feng spat out the words between his teeth. "It's a waste of spirit stones for me to keep you spies. You're utterly useless when it matters!"

The monk trembled.

"Sect Master, please calm down. These people may be useless, but they are not worth getting so angry about," said a trusted elder beside Sect Master Feng. This elder had just been selected in the meeting to choose the head elder of the Trust Dao Palace. "The enemy clearly came prepared. They deliberately spread rumors on the seven Moon-Piercing Platforms at the same time while we were busy. By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late."

"Oh?" Sect Master Feng glanced at his confidant. "You're quite clever. I didn't promote the wrong person. According to you, someone is stirring up trouble behind the scenes?"

"Exactly."

"Interesting, who could it be?"

The trusted elder was eager to show off his skills in front of Sect Master Feng. He had no other skills, but no one could match his ability to understand Sect Master Feng's thoughts. It was precisely because of this ability that he won the selection meeting today, surpassing his colleagues who were much stronger than him in both strength and strategy. He knew that this result would not convince the public, so he could only secure his position as the head elder by clinging to Sect Master Feng and serving him well.

“Summon the sect’s Heavenly Eye; it will be clear at a glance,” the trusted elder said. “I am willing to go and see for myself to prevent any leaks.”

"Good!" Sect Master Feng clapped his hands. "I will go with you."

Sect Master Feng narrowed his eyes: "Since you've come knocking on my door, don't blame me for being impolite!"

The Sect's Heavenly Eye is the sect's most treasured artifact, used to monitor the area around the sect. Its monitoring range is extremely large, extending from the sect to the outskirts of the capital. Moreover, it can be used to specifically rewind time.

However, this large magical artifact requires the combined power of four elders and twelve senior disciples to activate. Each activation involves a complicated process that can take one or two hours.

Sect Master Feng also considered activating the sect's Heavenly Eye, especially after news of the simultaneous outbreak of rumors at the seven Moon-Piercing Platforms reached back. His thoughts coincided with those of his trusted elders; however, he went one step further than his elders:

The elders' meeting just now ended unhappily, as many elders did not meet the selection criteria for the head elder of the Ruthless Dao Palace. It would be difficult to get them to cooperate in activating the sect's Heavenly Eye.

Simply put, the trusted elders cannot mobilize the legitimate elders, so they can only ask the sect leader to make the trip in person, get things done, and ideally, give the credit to the trusted elders. In this way, no one will question the trusted elders' abilities anymore.

Of course, the trusted elder was not the sect leader's biological son, and the sect leader had no intention of opening his heart to him. It was just that this tool was particularly handy, and he needed a tool that would not interfere with his efforts to advance the development of the Ruthless Dao Palace.

Sect Master Feng led his trusted elders to Chicken Peak Mountain, where the sect's Heavenly Eye was located. This was a solitary, towering, strangely shaped mountain, not connected to any other mountain, with sheer cliffs on all sides and no way to ascend. However, this was not a problem for a cultivator like Sect Master Feng.

Sect Master Feng and his trusted elders landed one after the other in front of the sect's Heavenly Eye mechanism. The two cultivators guarding the Heavenly Eye immediately stood up. Sect Master Feng looked at them and said, "So you're guarding the Heavenly Eye today, Elder Wild Crane? Why didn't you go to the selection meeting?"

Elder Wild Crane lived up to his name, a carefree and unconventional cultivator who was always marginalized in the sect and had no interest in fame or fortune. Sometimes he would not even attend the elders' meetings. If it weren't for seeing him here, Sect Master Feng would have almost forgotten that there was such an elder.

However, Elder Yehe's lack of interest in fame and fortune also has its advantages. For example, today, he doesn't feel that his opportunity has been taken away by his trusted elders, and he doesn't feel indignant like others. This makes it much easier for Sect Master Feng to activate the sect's Heavenly Eye.

“Why would I go and join in that fun?” Elder Wild Crane said. “It is a person’s virtue to know his own limitations.”

Sect Master Feng smiled and said, "Why belittle yourselves? Everyone has a chance. It just so happens that there's some trouble below, and they want to activate the sect's Heavenly Eye. Go and call another elder over. I'll find the other twelve high-ranking disciples. We'll meet here in an incense stick's time."

Elder Yehe didn't move. When Sect Master Feng looked at him with a questioning expression, he said, "I'm afraid this is inappropriate. Activating the sect's Heavenly Eye requires the consent of more than half of the elders in the Elder Council. These are special times, and this rule cannot be disregarded, can it?"

"Wild Crane, what do you mean?" the trusted elder said. "Are you not even listening to the sect leader? Just do what I tell you to do!"

Sect Master Feng feigned concern and stopped his trusted elder: "It's reasonable for Yehe to have doubts, after all, the Flower Demon Rebellion has just passed. However, Yehe, you may not know this, but this matter has already been discussed at the elders' meeting. I am here on behalf of everyone to activate the sect's Heavenly Eye."

Anyway, Yehe didn't participate in the elders' council, so he didn't know whether it had been discussed or not, Feng Sect Master sneered inwardly.

Wild Crane, however, crossed his arms and showed no intention of making a move.

"Why do you say we discussed it when we clearly didn't?" Yehe said. "Wasn't this elders' meeting just a pretext to elect your cronies to power? When did we discuss activating the sect's Heavenly Eye?"

Sect Master Feng's expression changed, and he immediately wanted to reprimand Yehe. However, his suspicious nature made him think another step further. Why had Yehe suddenly become so stubborn? Who gave him this confidence? And who had leaked the contents of the Elders' Council meeting to him?

"Wild Crane, I think you've lost your mind," Sect Master Feng sneered. "You've always been overlooked, so I gave you a chance to make a contribution. I didn't expect you to be so eager to escape. Fine, then I'll find another elder. Xuan Tian Sect has no shortage of elders!"

After saying this, Sect Master Feng activated the Sect Master's Decree, issuing a call to the elders with whom he had close relationships, instructing them to come to Chicken Peak Mountain immediately, activate the sect's Heavenly Eye, and capture the traitor who spread rumors on Chongyue Platform.

Soon, sword lights flew from each peak, and figures landed on Chicken Peak. Sect Master Feng was very satisfied with the efficiency.

To everyone's surprise, upon closer inspection, these people were not the elders who had close ties with Sect Master Feng, but rather some troublemakers who had just expressed clear dissatisfaction with the selection results at the elders' meeting.

Sect Master Feng immediately sensed something was wrong. He turned around and glared at Yehe: "Well, Yehe, you've been making excuses for my investigation into the rumors and even secretly contacted people to come over. Could it be that you're the one who started these rumors?"

Wild Crane remained with his arms crossed, adopting a detached, indifferent stance: "Ridiculous, weren't these the people you brought here?"

Seeing that Yehe's attitude didn't seem like he had secretly notified these people, Sect Master Feng was puzzled. He turned around, about to say something, when he suddenly heard Elder Yangming, who was at the head of the group, say, "Sect Master Feng, the Mirror Palace has issued a decree requiring that no sect or force use the Illusion Test. Is this news reliable?"

"These are all rumors, how could you believe them!" Sect Master Feng said helplessly. "Wait, you didn't come to me for this, did you?"

"Hmph, whether it's a rumor or not, we'll find out soon enough. Please come with us to the Mirror Palace, Sect Leader Feng, and we'll get to the bottom of this!" said an elder beside him.

“Yes, let’s get to the bottom of this!” the other elders echoed.

"This is ridiculous! Are you going to go to the Mirror Palace and bother Judge Jiang and the others just because you heard a rumor? Judge Jiang just finished hearing the case of the flower demon and needs to rest. You should stop being unreasonable!" Sect Master Feng said dismissively.

“It’s better to just say a word than to make a big fuss and summon all the elders to activate the sect’s Heavenly Eye to investigate the source of that irrelevant rumor, right?” Elder Yangming stroked his beard. “Sect Leader Feng, there’s no need to look around. We have our own sources of information. Your so-called close elders aren’t actually as close as you think. Ever since you abandoned them and chose this good-for-nothing by your side, they’ve had their own ideas.”

"What?!" Sect Master Feng gripped the Sect Master's Token tightly. He hadn't expected that it was the message he sent that had attracted these people. Those elders who were greedy for immediate gains, who were originally on his side, had now betrayed him and joined the opposing camp for the sake of a mere position as a senior elder!

"Let's go, Sect Master Feng, let's go and find out what's going on." Elder Yangming gestured for them to proceed.

"No, this is too..."

"If this is true, the Ascension Academy can no longer operate!" Elder Yangming's voice suddenly became sharp. "Sect Master Feng, you keep saying you want to reform and take responsibility, but with interests at stake, do you still want to continue expanding the Ruthless Dao Palace? How can you face the many disciples who died unjustly in the Dao Palace, and how can you face the fellow disciples from all the peaks who sacrificed themselves to fight against the Flower Demon?"

"Elder Yangming, don't speak so virtuously, as if you didn't attend today's selection meeting?" Sect Master Feng knew there was no way to resolve this peacefully, so he sneered and tore off the mask. "Since you all believe this rumor so much, fine, then I'll go with you and ask Judge Jiang if there really is such an absurd prohibition!"

On Chicken Peak Mountain, several arcs of light shot up and headed towards the Mirror Palace.

Before the gate of the sect's Heavenly Eye, only Elder Yehe and his disciples remained, along with the trusted elder who had just become the head of the Ruthless Dao Palace.

The trusted elder glanced at Yehe, shook his head, and said with an attitude of hopelessness, "He can't even choose sides properly, no wonder he's called Yehe (Wild Crane)."

Wild Crane wasn't angry at all; instead, he looked at his trusted elder and smiled, "Why didn't you go with your master? Is it because you're not good enough at flying on a sword, you good-for-nothing elder?"

"Who is this incompetent elder?" The trusted elder immediately jumped up and down. "I am now the head of the Ruthless Dao Palace! The future of the Xuan Tian Sect is in my hands! You have offended me today, and you will suffer the consequences in the future!"

“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” Wild Crane waved his hand, “Grab him! Tie him up and throw him inside!”

"W-what?" The trusted elder was startled and looked around, thinking there was an ambush. However, only one person walked over, Yehe's silent disciple.

"Huh? Him?" The trusted elder immediately calmed down. Even if he wasn't strong enough, he shouldn't be unable to defeat even a disciple. He—

"Zheng!"

A golden light flashed, and before the trusted elder could see what was happening, he felt a heavy blow to the head. Immediately, everything went black, and he knew nothing more.

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Bingbing flashes by at the end [doge emoji].

The next chapter of the Xuan Tian Sect Incident concludes here.