Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Pinnacle of the Demon Realm (21)
In the footage, Lin Chen didn’t know what he said to Zhao Yue, which angered Lin Chen, and the two started fighting.

The owner of the Memory Stone was clearly frightened, as the picture shook.

Lin Chen and Zhao Yue were mismatched in strength, and it took only two moves before Zhao Yue could no longer resist, and Lin Chen killed him with a sword.

The Sect Master looked at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen’s heart was in turmoil; why was something he had never done appearing on the Memory Stone?

“Sect Master, I didn’t kill Zhao Yue,” Lin Chen forced himself to remain calm.

“The Memory Stone does not lie,” the Sect Master said in a heavy voice.

“Sect Master, there must be a misunderstanding, how could my senior brother do such a thing?” Song Fenglan, despite her father’s objections, stepped forward to speak for Lin Chen.

“Zhao Yue did pester me, but at that time, my senior brother just scolded him a few times and didn’t lay a hand on him.”

“Zhao Yue’s death has nothing to do with my senior brother, please Sect Master discern the truth.”

Song Fenglan knelt down directly.

“Junior sister.” Lin Chen hurried forward to help her, but Song Fenglan insisted on not getting up, leaving Lin Chen no choice but to kneel as well.

“Sect Master, I don’t know who is framing me, but I have never done this,” he, a direct disciple, had no reason to lay hands on a disciple from the Outer Sect.

Wan Luo’s face was grave, and he remained silent, uncertain whether he was thinking about how to exonerate his disciple or pondering something else.

Only when the Sect Master looked at him did Wan Luo continue, “Sect Master, Zhao Yue was just an Outer Sect disciple, even if he made mistakes, Lin Chen really had no need to kill him. This whole affair is fraught with oddities; please investigate thoroughly, Sect Master.”

“How do you explain the Memory Stone?” The Sect Master had his suspicions, yet the evidence was right in front of him.

Wan Luo had no explanation.

The Memory Stone was precious and could not be faked; the images it recorded were certainly real.

Whether Lin Chen had done it or not, Wan Luo had no idea, but could he question his disciple now?

No!

No matter whether Lin Chen did it or not, he could only support his disciple at the moment.

Lin Chen and Zhao Yue, because of Song Fenglan, had past grievances, providing him with a motive to kill Zhao Yue.

The Sect Master had just let Wan Luo question Chuzheng; if in front of Chuzheng he did not pursue this matter, it would be like slapping his own face.

“Lin Chen, do you realize your mistake!”

“Sect Master!” Wan Luo exclaimed.

“Sect Master!” Song Fenglan was also full of astonishment.

Lin Chen with a grave face, “Sect Master, master, I did not do it.”

“Lock him up in Reflecting-Crimes Cliff for now,” the Sect Master waved his hand.

Lin Chen had no way to overturn the powerful evidence of the Memory Stone; no matter what he said, the Sect Master had made up his mind to lock him up in Reflecting-Crimes Cliff first.

–

The Sect Master and Chuzheng had a bit of a chat, almost as if he was afraid of upsetting her.

Chuzheng found him annoying and left without listening to the end.

Facing the God of Wealth, the Sect Master could only hold back his frustration.

“Chuzheng!”

Lin Chen, escorted by two disciples, caught up with her from behind.

Li Tang eyed him somewhat warily.

Lin Chen said something to the two disciples, they nodded, and stopped following.

He approached her, his gaze cold and his tone decisive, “You did this, didn’t you?”

“No,” Chuzheng denied without changing her expression.

Lin Chen sneered with obvious disbelief, “I don’t know how you used the Memory Stone to leave the images of me and Zhao Yue, but I will certainly get to the bottom of this.”

“Hm.” Should I wish him good luck? After all, the spirit of seeking the truth is commendable… But forget it, even saying one more word seems tiring.

Chuzheng turned to leave, but Lin Chen called her again.

He lowered his voice, “Don’t you remember me?”

Chuzheng gave him a look and continued walking.

“Underground Demon City, you can’t have forgotten, right?”

Li Tang furrowed his brows slightly, “Do they know each other? The Underground Demon City… Is that where the Demon Clan resides?”

Lin Chen continued, “You are a member of the Demon Clan, infiltrating our Sect. What is your purpose!”

Chuzheng rebutted, “Don’t talk nonsense, who is a member of the Demon Clan?”

So what if I’m from the Demon Clan! If it weren’t for me, you’d all be the poorest in the entire Cultivation World by now!

Lin Chen: “…”

Lin Chen wasn’t actually sure whether she was from the Demon Clan or not. He had been injured and fell into a coma at the time, only waking up twice in the interim.

The memory of the girl who was timid and cowardly was vastly different from the one standing in front of him now; aside from somewhat similar appearances, everything else was completely different.

Lin Chen frowned and threatened, “You’re not afraid I’ll expose you? No matter how powerful you might be, within the Ziyun Sect, you’d still be unable to escape even if you had wings.”

“You go ahead.” Scared of you? Not!

After Chuzheng had finished speaking, she left, no longer giving Lin Chen any chance to speak.

Li Tang gave Lin Chen a deep look and quickly followed Chuzheng.

When they returned to North Spirit Peak, Li Tang finally spoke up, “Does this matter have anything to do with you?”

Chuzheng still denied it, “No.”

Li Tang didn’t quite believe her, considering the incident with the Song Family as a reference. At that time, she had also vigorously denied it… this matter seemed to be related to her no matter how one looked at it.

…Was she taking revenge for herself?

This thought popped up, and Li Tang couldn’t stop his wild speculations.

“Then, do you… know Lin Chen from before?” Li Tang didn’t know why he asked this question, but he was inexplicably bothered by it.

“What’s it to you?” Chuzheng shot him a glance, “Have you completed your cultivation for today?”

“Not yet…”

“Then why aren’t you going?” Chuzheng scolded him.

Li Tang: “…”

Li Tang was thrown into his room by Chuzheng, who slammed the door shut behind him. When he tried to open the door, it wouldn’t budge.

Li Tang had no desire to cultivate; he fiddled with the Hexagonal Bell, his thoughts scattered.

At night, Li Tang found that his door still wouldn’t open.

The next day, it remained firmly closed…

The third day…

The fourth day…

Chuzheng had completely forgotten about locking Li Tang away, as she was busy dealing with the aftermath of framing Lin Chen.

That bastard Lin Chen had first set up the Good Person Card which nearly exposed his Demon Clan identity. If she didn’t retaliate, would she appear as an easy target?

No matter how Lin Chen tried to explain himself, he couldn’t clear his name. Even though the Sect Master had people review the Memory Stone over and over, they couldn’t find any flaws.

Although Zhao Yue was an Outer Sect disciple, his death had caused an uproar. Without a proper punishment, more troubles would arise.

But in the end, after many pleas for leniency, Lin Chen was only sentenced to a year of solitary confinement at Reflecting-Crimes Cliff.

“Sect Master, you know full well that Chen’er didn’t do this, so why punish him like that!” Wan Luo was dissatisfied with this outcome.

He had communicated with Lin Chen, who stated that he had nothing to do with the incident and was framed.

Yet, neither the Memory Stone nor the testimonies of the disciples who stepped forward revealed any discrepancies.

The Sect Master, sitting at the head of the room, said, “I can’t overturn the evidence from the Memory Stone. What do you expect me to do, bend the law for the sake of personal feelings?”

Wan Luo, chest heaving with anger, asserted, “This matter must be the doing of that woman from North Spirit Peak, don’t you have any suspicions about that woman of unknown origin, Brother?”

“Why must you suspect her?”

“The last incident, isn’t she taking revenge?” Her relationship with Li Tang is murky; who knows if she’s sticking up for him.

“Even if it’s about revenge, it should be Zhao Yue. Why would Lin Chen be implicated?”

“This…” Wan Luo forcefully argued, “Chen’er stepped in to uphold justice at the time; she must bear a grudge against Chen’er.”

“The Law Enforcement Hall Elder was also present at that time,” the Sect Master reminded him.

“This… I will find evidence!”

Wan Luo left angrily, his sleeves flapping behind him.

The Sect Master picked up the tea that had cooled down, took a sip, and sighed.