Wait a minute, where is my master?

Three Cultivators responsible for the screening sat expressionlessly behind the table, looking both serious and earnest, yet two of them were secretly slacking off by covertly communicating through voice transmission.

However, one couldn't really blame them, as the screening relied mainly on the Hao Ran Stone, and their presence was more about dealing with emergencies as they arose.

"Little Liang, I've been in seclusion all this while and am not aware of the specifics," Lord Nan from the city had said, "but I've heard that this Qingmu Secret Realm has been opened and closed countless times today.

As for your complaint about this place being simple and tarnishing the image of our academy, I must criticize you for that. Our Qingmu Academy, being one of the Four Great Immortal Sects, could its image be represented by just a screening point? I tell you, you..."

Mr. Zhuo, perhaps because he had been in seclusion for too long, was overreacting.

Seizing the opportunity, he began a lengthy lecture directed at the Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator surnamed Liang.

"...I'm really asking for trouble, talking about this with someone from the academy who is famously pedantic,"

Little Liang was inwardly lamenting and still had to respond through voice transmission.

Just at that moment, another Cultivator, this one seriously doing his work in the Nascent Soul Realm, faced a Loose Cultivator dressed in a treasure blue robe and exhibiting spiritual power fluctuations around the Golden Core Realm.

The cultivator appeared amiable with an average face and a faintly discernible smile at the corner of his mouth, presenting an image of a benign person.

"Fellow Taoist, place your palm on the Hao Ran Stone and activate your spiritual power,"

Perhaps because he found the appearance of the person in front of him agreeable, the diligent Cultivator reminded him and pushed the Hao Ran Stone slightly forward on the table.

"Understood, understood, thank you for the reminder, fellow Taoist,"

The cultivator in the treasure blue robe spoke with a Miao State accent, smiling amicably, and then grasped the Hao Ran Stone on the table, covertly activating the spiritual power within his body.

A burst of clear light emanated from the Hao Ran Stone, and the cultivator in the treasure blue robe quickly withdrew his spiritual power, placing the stone back on the table.

"Fellow Taoist, did I pass?"

After seeing the burst of clear light, the earnestly working Cultivator slightly furrowed his brow inconspicuously and covertly sent a voice transmission to Mr. Zhuo, who was still lecturing extensively. He then adopted an official tone and addressed the cultivator in front of him,

"Fellow Taoist, please hold the Hao Ran Stone again and activate the spiritual power within your body, this time for a longer duration, maintaining it for three breaths,"

Usually, holding the Hao Ran Stone and activating spiritual power had no set duration, but the amiable Cultivator had generated a burst of light when he did it.

The diligently working Confucian Practitioner had spotted a barely discernible hint of black and red within the light, prompting the request for a second screening.

"Sure, sure, not just three breaths, I can even maintain it for four,"

The easy-going attitude of the cultivator in blue robes made the Confucian Practitioner doubt whether he had seen wrongly before.

In the middle of the long table, Mr. Zhuo, having received a voice transmission from his colleague, finally ceased lecturing Little Liang and surreptitiously focused on the suspicious individual.

The benign-looking Cultivator, seemingly unaware of these developments, obediently extended his hand again to hold the Hao Ran Stone, activating the spiritual power within his body.

The first breath.

All that burst forth from the Hao Ran Stone was clear light.

The seriously working Confucian Practitioner felt slightly relieved at this sight, thinking he might have been overly suspicious earlier.

The second breath.

A barely noticeable shade of black and red suddenly appeared from the Hao Ran Stone.

Mr. Zhuo and the diligently working Confucian Practitioner both tensed up and secretly prepared spells.

Although in the past some Righteous Path cultivators, due to their backgrounds as generals who grew up on battlefields, hunters of a large number of Demon Cultivators, or those who had slain many disaster-causing demons, might carry Blood Evil Qi.

This would cause anomalies in the Hao Ran Stone's screening results.

However, such individuals usually explained their circumstances beforehand and willingly submitted to the "Truth-Telling Skill" screening of Qingmu Academy.

It was rare for someone like the cultivator in the sapphire blue robe to come up and initiate the test straightforwardly.

The third breath.

In the clear light above the Hao Ran Stone, a subtle black-red color abruptly expanded and thickened, haphazardly mixing with the clear light, making it extremely glaring.

"What what what is happening here?"

The cultivator in the sapphire blue robe, with a panicked expression, tossed the Hao Ran Stone back onto the table. The clear light and black-red color that had just emerged instantly disappeared, and the Hao Ran Stone, no longer infused with spiritual power, returned to being an ordinary stone.

"Fellow Daoist, I have been cultivating up to now and have never committed any evil deeds. Why would this black and red light emerge from the Hao Ran Stone? As Qingmu Academy, one of the Four Great Immortal Sects, you must attest to my innocence!"

The genial expression had vanished from the cultivator's face, replaced by burgeoning agitation.

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to panic. If you have recently slain a large number of members from the Demon Clan or demon cultivators, or have been tainted by the Blood Evil Power, it could cause such a situation.

As one of the Four Great Immortal Sects, Qingmu Academy will never falsely accuse any cultivator of the Righteous Path. However, we will also not tolerate demon cultivators causing trouble under the guise. So please proceed to the side and undergo the Truth-Telling Skill inspection. Once it's done, the situation will naturally clarify."

The Confucian practitioner, vigilantly working, did not let his guard down due to the cultivator's reaction, and beckoned two Golden Core realm cultivators to lead him to a temporarily erected cabin on the side for the Truth-Telling Skill screening.

"Alright then, you must clear my name," said the sapphire blue-robed cultivator, looking aggrieved and mumbling.

He then turned and followed the two Golden Core realm cultivators toward the wooden house nearby.

The queue behind him was slightly disturbed by this incident but was soon calmed down by a Confucian practitioner in charge of maintaining order.

Everyone thought that would be the end of it.

However, just as the cultivator dressed in the sapphire robe moved away from the queue and reached a spot not far from the cabin, he suddenly erupted into action!

He first struck down the Golden Core cultivator on his left with a palm, then grabbed the one on the right into an embrace, shattered his spiritual power with another palm, and then tightly controlled him.

"Although Wu Mou's skills are inferior, I have spilled the beans and accept defeat. I kindly request the grand scholars of Qingmu Academy to deactivate the No-fly Array in the city, and grant Wu Mou a way out, lest in my tension, I accidentally snap this little one's throat."

The cultivator dressed in sapphire once again displayed a genial expression and placed his hand on the neck of the Golden Core realm cultivator, shouting loudly towards the shed.

At the same time,

the fluctuations in his spiritual power rapidly escalated, reaching the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm in a single breath.

"Ha, if you dare to strangle, then go ahead and try," sneered the Confucian practitioner at the long table, who had been keeping an eye on him. A ring of earthy yellow appeared in his hand and with a slight wave, a spike made from Earth Attribute spiritual power flew toward the sapphire-robed cultivator.

"How could you, as esteemed scholars, disregard the life of your fellow sect member!" said the sapphire-robed cultivator, astonished, as he dodged the spike.

The Nascent Soul Confucian practitioner did not respond but continued to swing the earthy yellow ring, crafting several stone spikes in the air that shot out, blocking all of the self-proclaimed Wu Mou's escape routes.

"Since you are heartless, do not blame me for being unrighteous. Let all righteous cultivators bear witness that this Golden Core cultivator did not die by my hands, but rather due to the scholars of Qingmu Academy who stood by and watched him die!"

Seeing the relentless confrontation, a cruel look appeared in the sapphire-robed cultivator's eyes.

With ruthless determination, he tightened his grip and crushed the Golden Core cultivator's throat!

But after doing so, he suddenly realized the tactile sensation in his hand was amiss, and there was no blood flowing out.

He looked down, stunned to find,

this damned Golden Core cultivator was actually a wooden puppet!