Tianjing swept her gaze over the other elders who were competing for disciples with her, a fierce look flashing across her face for an instant.

Looking at Liu Changning, there was another round of immortal-like speech: “Now all the major sects want to accept you as a disciple. Young one, have you made your own considerations?”

Liu Changning stepped forward with clasped hands, her face very calm. Even under the pressure of dozens of gazes, her back was straight as a pine or bamboo, standing upright in the hall.

She replied slowly: “Thank you, elders, for your favor. Before Cangyu climbed the ladder, she had already made her choice in her heart. I want to join…”

“Wait!”

Liu Changning’s words were not finished. Just as everyone was listening intently, a gloomy cold shout suddenly came from the sky.

The newcomer wore wide sleeves and a gray outer robe. Not tall in stature, with a hooked nose and a sharp chin. The figure was extremely thin, looking like a withered stick.

She descended on an auspicious cloud, and the aura on her body was actually the pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Her narrow eyes swept over everyone, finally landing on Liu Changning.

With such similar features, Liu Changning recognized the identity of the newcomer at a glance.

She folded her arms and met the intense hostility in her eyes.

She couldn’t help but think of Pan Er from her third life, who liked to read upgrade novels and often had that phrase on his lips: “Drive away the small ones, welcome the big ones, villains keep appearing, this is called a routine.”

However, the old woman’s unrelenting expression at this moment was surprising. Even though that day during the great formation, Ancestor Pei had destroyed Mu Lanqing’s prestige and cut off a strand of her sword intent, they were only acting in self-defense.

The old woman before her now had a vicious look, as if she had a deep blood feud with her.

Liu Changning lowered her head and exchanged a glance with the little black bird, both seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.

All present were Nascent Soul elders, and as soon as the old woman appeared, they recognized her identity.

Sun Lisong stood up and exclaimed: “Junior sister, why have you suddenly come to the trial grounds? The disciple selection ceremony is not yet over. What kind of behavior is it to barge in here uninvited!”

Mu Yun raised her eyes, her aged eyelids covering most of her emotions. She said gloomily: “Senior sister, don’t meddle in others’ affairs. I’ve come to seek revenge. Your disciple selection is your business, but I… today I only want this girl…”

She pointed her finger at Liu Changning, her dry lips rubbing together as she said through gritted teeth: “To die!”

“Nonsense!” Sun Lisong was furious, as she and Mu Yun had never gotten along well.

Mu Yun was both righteous and evil, but because she was the direct disciple of the sect leader Elder Qiu, the two of them had maintained some fellowship as fellow disciples.

Who knew that this junior sister had become increasingly unreasonable in recent years, indulging her daughter to do evil and act willfully, which was bad enough.

Today, she actually barged into the trial grounds alone, interrupting the disciple selection. If such evil deeds spread, it would be their Li Sect losing face.

Sun Lisong hurriedly tried to stop her, wanting to minimize the situation.

But Mu Yun was unmoved. She narrowed her eyes, drew the long sword at her waist, and thrust it straight at Liu Changning.

The attack was blocked by the nearby Daoist Tianjing.

“Friend Mu, do you intend to start a massacre in front of us and kill the innocent?”

Tianjing waved her sleeve, sending out a white light to protect Liu Changning within it.

The other Nascent Soul elders also came forward, their faces showing clear intent to protect.

Although all were Nascent Soul cultivators, Mu Yun was only at the early stage of Nascent Soul, and she was no match for these old Daoists present.

Mu Yun looked surprised at this group of old fellows who came forward to obstruct her. In the cultivation world, it was survival of the fittest, and it would be very easy for a Nascent Soul elder to kill a low-level female cultivator.

But today, these people offended her for the sake of a low-level female cultivator, which was unusual.

There was no time to think carefully. Being obstructed, she was not afraid. She pointed at Liu Changning, who was not far away under the light shield.

She said sinisterly: “A life for a life is heaven’s law. Does Daoist Tianjing really want to protect this girl?”

Mu Yun’s unyielding attitude made her take out a soul lamp from her bosom.

The wick was extinguished. This was a soul lamp lit with the heart blood of disciples from various major sects. When the soul lamp goes out, it means the disciple has died.

Mu Yun swept her gaze over everyone, seeing a trace of hesitation appear on the faces of these obstructing elders.

A flash of viciousness passed through her narrow eyes. She pulled the soul lamp forward a bit and said: “This sovereign doesn’t need to explain, you should understand the meaning of the extinguished soul lamp. This is my daughter Lanqing’s soul lamp. Three days ago, she died in Wuya City, Mingtai Lane. She died in a duel, and the soul lamp retained the scene of my daughter’s death. Please look, everyone.”

The soul lamp rotated in the air, and suddenly a projection appeared.

The scene in the image was clearly from three days ago in the deep alley, showing Liu Changning with her foot on Mu Lanqing’s chest.

The image flashed by in just a few breaths.

Mu Yun looked at Liu Changning with hatred in her eyes and laughed sinisterly: “A life for a life. My daughter’s remains are still not found. What’s wrong with a mother avenging her daughter? Do you still want to obstruct?”

Mu Yun’s gloomy gaze swept across the faces of the ten elders, finally landing on Tianjing.

“Your Supreme Sect is the leader of the righteous path. Now, for the sake of a mere low-level female cultivator, do you want to go against the righteousness of the world?”

As these words fell, Tianjing half-closed her eyes, but the light shield covering Liu Changning was withdrawn.

She looked directly at the calm white-robed female cultivator and asked sternly: “Young one, is what Daoist Mu said true?”

Liu Changning lifted her eyelids, looked at everyone, her fine brows slightly furrowed, creating small wrinkles between her eyebrows.

“If you want to condemn someone, you’ll always find a reason. What kind of person was Mu Lanqing? You elders can find out with just a little inquiry. Wouldn’t killing her dirty my hands?”

She looked coldly at Mu Yun: “That night, I had an argument with Elder Mu’s daughter at the restaurant. The head senior sister of the Heavenly Heart Sect witnessed the whole process.”

Liu Changning turned her head and raised her chin towards the direction of the Heavenly Heart Sect disciples in the distance.

Having been mentioned, Chen Suxin walked out of the crowd under everyone’s gaze. After saluting the elders, she recounted the events of that day in detail.

At the end of her speech, she did Liu Changning a favor by adding: “That day, it was indeed Li Sect’s Junior Sister Mu who started the trouble, not Daoist Liu’s fault.”

Liu Changning nodded to her and said slowly: “That night, I returned to the inn around the hour of You. Unexpectedly, Senior Sister Mu had set up formations in Mingtai Lane, waiting for me to fall into the trap… After several life-and-death battles, I finally escaped the great formation. The scene that just appeared in the soul lamp is indeed true, but at that time, Daoist Mu was merely unconscious, not dead.”

She was already full of righteousness, and her voice was cold and clear. Although she spoke plainly, her voice was firm and determined, without any trace of guilt.

This formed a stark contrast with Mu Yun’s sinister laughter.

Everyone turned their gaze towards Mu Yun, but she laughed loudly: “This girl is still quibbling. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could escape from formation after formation. You are all Nascent Soul cultivators, you should know that with the overlap of traction and isolation formations, could a Foundation Establishment cultivator withstand such power?”

She drew the seven-colored flying lash from her waist. The flying lash was now made up of broken pieces. It was rare to see a high-grade treasure weapon in such a state.

Mu Yun’s sinister voice sounded again: “This is my natal treasure, the seven-colored flying lash, destroyed by this girl that night. You all know how much I love my daughter. I used one-tenth of my Nascent Soul cultivator’s divine sense as a guide to form a sword intent, equivalent to my true body’s full power.”

She paused, seeing doubt in everyone’s eyes, and sneered: “Yet this girl was able to cut off the sword intent and hurt my divine soul under the effect of the double great formations.”

Mu Yun’s fierce eyes swept towards Liu Changning, and she laughed sinisterly: “With such cultivation, yet climbing the Azure Cloud Ladder to pay respects to the sect, her heart is vicious. She has ulterior motives. Most likely she’s a person from the demon race with other plans.”

As these words fell, the ten Nascent Soul elders were all shocked. The evidence Mu Yun presented was almost ironclad, each piece pointing directly at Liu Changning. Combined with the scene of the spirit testing orb shattering earlier.

The shattering of the spirit testing orb usually has two situations: one is that the tester’s internal spiritual energy is so abundant that it bursts the orb.

The second is that the tester is from the demon race. The true qi in the bodies of the demon race goes against spiritual energy, and when the two collide, the spirit testing stone can’t withstand it and also breaks into pieces.

There was no way to defend against a hundred mouths, and almost everyone’s gaze was focused on Liu Changning.

She lowered her head, a flash of anger passing through her tea-colored eyes.

Since entering the ancient cultivation world, it seemed she hadn’t gone on a killing spree yet, even sparing Mu Lanqing’s life despite her repeated provocations.

But this didn’t mean her temperament was soft or that she was a saint. All the forbearance was to get closer to her phoenix, but now someone was blocking her path.

Mu Lanqing’s death was clearly a deliberate frame-up.

The soul lamp had been tampered with, and the evidence pointed directly at her.

Someone wanted to force her to become the target of public criticism.

The one who designed this grand play, if it wasn’t the old Daoist Mu Yun herself turning black into white, then it was an enemy… a wicked disciple!

When she crossed over that year, the demon seed explosion merged with her into this world. It didn’t mean he was dead. The emotion demon is neither born nor dies unless there are no seven emotions and six desires as nourishment.

And in recent days, Liu Changning had learned some news from the demon realm. The demon pool had dried up, and demon races were invading the spirit realm. A series of changes that had never happened in the records of later generations.

Then there was only one possibility: Jing Huan had also come, bringing his resentment and evil intentions to stir up trouble.

Liu Changning, familiar with Jing Huan’s tactics, felt a chill rise in her body.

Although she didn’t know how he maintained his demon body without the demon pool as nourishment, given the wicked disciple’s nature, the possibility was very high that he had stirred up today’s events, making her besieged by the righteous path, preventing her from meeting this life’s Ancestor Pei!

Liu Changning opened her divine sense wide, ignoring Mu Yun’s venomous gaze, and concentrated all her efforts on searching the trial grounds.

If her guess was not wrong, Jing Huan must be here.

In the betrayed second life, she personally experienced how that person could imitate anything convincingly.

But just as Liu Changning’s divine sense had only searched halfway, the sky suddenly rolled with black clouds.

A vast divine thought descended. When Liu Changning’s divine sense touched that familiar warm divine thought, she was so angry her liver and gallbladder ached. She withdrew her divine sense and viciously pulled the disobedient little black bird’s cowlick.

The strong pressure from the sky had already covered overhead.

Not to mention ordinary disciples, even the Nascent Soul cultivators present felt their calves weaken, and many had already knelt on the ground.

The divine thought overhead slowly condensed into a blurry human form.

He had a tall figure, with red clothes and black hair. Although his face was hidden in the clouds and mist.

But as soon as the solid figure appeared, all the people from the Secluded Immortal Palace knelt down in unison to pay their respects.

Juqu raised her head after kowtowing, looking excitedly towards the sky, and said tremblingly: “Ancestor, congratulations to the Palace Master for coming out of seclusion and advancing to the Tribulation Transcendence realm.”