As soon as Dongfang Lin finished speaking, the air in the main hall seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, a deliberately drawn-out sigh came from the crowd.

"Patriarch Dongfang, please forgive my bluntness—"

A middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue robe walked out slowly, his fingers deftly turning the jade thumb ring on his thumb. He had a refined appearance, but his eyes held a sharp edge; he was none other than Ling Yun, the head of the Ling family.

"Foreign forces have their own cultivation systems, clearly distinct from those of Chinese cultivators." Ling Yun stood in the center of the hall, his voice calm and unhurried. "The charge of 'colluding with foreign forces' alone is unlikely to convince the public."

A few scattered voices echoed from around the main hall. Dongfang Lin's eyes flashed like lightning, instantly locking onto the seats where the voices had come from—the Chen family of Lingnan, the Hu family of Mobei, and the Situ family of Donghai, the very suspects they had been secretly investigating for some time.

Zhang Jingtian took a barely perceptible half-step forward, forming a pincer movement with Dongfang Lin. Their eyes met briefly before looking away, both reading the same thing in each other's eyes.

Ling Yun, seemingly oblivious, continued his eloquent speech: "As everyone here knows, the Shangguan family, along with the Dongfang and Zhang families, are known as the three great families of China." He suddenly raised his voice, "Who knows if behind this, some people are trying to use this opportunity to eliminate dissidents and vie for the title of 'China's No. 1 Family'?"

These words were like water droplets thrown into a hot oil pan, instantly causing an uproar in the meeting room. The voices of the few families that had previously echoed them grew louder, and representatives of other small and medium-sized families whispered among themselves, their eyes darting around.

"What does Patriarch Ling mean by that?"

"The rivalry between the three great families has been going on for quite some time..."

"The sudden annihilation of the Shangguan family is indeed suspicious..."

Dongfang Lin stood with his hands behind his back, letting the clamor of voices surge around him.

"Ling Yun." Dongfang Lin suddenly called out his name, his voice not loud but overwhelming all the noise, "It seems you're also an accomplice of the Shangguan family."

The jade thumb ring clicked to a stop at the knuckle. Ling Yun's pupils contracted sharply, his facial muscles stiffening for a moment before quickly regaining their innocent expression: "Patriarch Dongfang, don't make baseless accusations without evidence." He spread his hands, turning to the surroundings, "Gentlemen, be the judge! I, Ling, have always been devoted to the cultivation world of China. How have I become a traitor colluding with foreign enemies?"

A burly man from the Hu family of Mobei slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "That's right! If Patriarch Dongfang doesn't produce evidence today, I'm afraid he won't be able to convince the public!"

"Evidence?" Zhang Jingtian suddenly sneered, a recording stone sliding out of his sleeve. "Ling Yun, at 1:00 AM on March 17th, you sneaked into the Shangguan family's side gate and had a two-hour secret conversation with Shangguan Ce. Do you need me to play back the recording?"

Ling Yun's face turned deathly pale, but he forced himself to remain calm: "Absurd! I was in seclusion at the Ling family that day; the entire clan can testify to that!"

"Really?" Dongfang Lin took out a letter from his pocket. "This was written by you personally. The Ling family's secret seal on it can't be faked, can it?"

The letter floated in mid-air, fueled by true essence, emitting a unique jade-like luster—the "Azure Phoenix Seal," a technique only core members of the Ling family could wield. The hall fell silent; all eyes were fixed on Ling Yun.

"Patriarch Dongfang, don't make baseless accusations without evidence!"

Ling Yun's voice echoed in the hall, his face filled with righteous indignation, but his right hand unconsciously rubbed the jade thumb ring on his left thumb.

Dongfang Lin calmly picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and took a sip: "Why is Patriarch Ling so agitated? I haven't made a decision yet."

"You—" Ling Yun was momentarily speechless, then turned to the other representatives of the prominent families present, "Everyone has seen it! The Dongfang family is using this opportunity to eliminate dissidents! First the Shangguan family, isn't it time for us smaller families to be next?"

Several family representatives who had previously echoed his sentiments immediately spoke up in support. An elder from the Beiming family, leaning on his snake-headed staff, stepped forward: "Patriarch Dongfang, this matter is of great importance; we certainly need solid evidence."

"That's right!" a young man from the Gongsun family chimed in. "The Shangguan family is, after all, one of the three great families. If they were truly colluding with forces from beyond the borders, why has there been no sign of it all these years?"

Dongfang Lin and Zhang Jingtian exchanged a glance. Those who jumped to Ling Yun's aid were the same families who had echoed Ling Yun's words earlier and who had initially reacted strangely. Han Feng's judgment was spot on—these families had likely been infiltrated to varying degrees.

"You want evidence?" Zhang Jingtian suddenly spoke, his voice low but causing the entire room to fall silent. The old man took out a crystal-clear blue gemstone from his sleeve and gently placed it on the table. "Do you recognize this?"

The moment the crystal appeared, Ling Yun's expression changed drastically, but he quickly regained his composure: "What does Elder Zhang mean by this? What can an ordinary crystal prove?"

"Ordinary crystal?" Zhang Jingtian sneered, lightly tapping the crystal with his fingertip. Instantly, countless strange patterns appeared inside the crystal, writhing like living things. "This is a 'soul crystal' obtained from somewhere by overseas forces, used to control puppets. It was dug out from Nangong Wentian's heart."

The hall was deathly silent. Several representatives of powerful families unconsciously touched their chests, their faces turning pale.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ling Yun's forehead, but he still forced a rebuttal: "What... what does this prove? Maybe someone framed me..."

"Framed?" Dongfang Lin suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up, a golden light flying from his sleeve—it was a jade slip recording images. The jade slip unfolded in the air, projecting a scene from the Nangong family's secret realm: countless blue crystals pierced the ground, riddling the disciples with holes; Nangong Wentian knelt on the ground, a dark blue crystal pillar embedded in his chest, wailing in agony...

"This is the scene of the Shangguan family's destruction three days ago!" Dongfang Lin's voice boomed like thunder. "Do I need to replay how Nangong Wentian became a puppet? And Shangguan Ce was the one who gave him the soul crystal!"

Several representatives from prominent families with weaker mental fortitude vomited on the spot. Ling Yun staggered back two steps, knocking over the coffee table behind him.

"Now," Zhang Jingtian slowly walked towards Ling Yun, his aura growing stronger with each step, "Does Patriarch Ling still think this is a frame-up?"

At that moment, in a corner of the hall, a middle-aged man in a blue robe suddenly coughed and moved towards the door, pretending to get some fresh air. The Dongfang family guards, who were already prepared, immediately and "coincidentally" blocked his path.

"Furthermore," Dongfang Lin pressed, "after extensive investigation, it has been discovered that within our aristocratic family alliance..." He deliberately dragged out his words, "there are still individuals secretly colluding with forces from outside the region!"

These words became the final straw that broke the camel's back. Suddenly, the elder of the Beiming family sprang into action, unleashing three streaks of dark light from his sleeve, aiming straight for Dongfang Lin's throat!

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

Zhang Jingtian flicked his sleeve, and three poisoned darts were deflected by an invisible barrier of energy. Almost simultaneously, sounds of fighting erupted from all parts of the hall—the family representatives who had been exposed were desperate and attempted to break through the encirclement.