Ever since the news of Young Lord Chiyan's appearance had spread, many people had remained half-believing and half-doubting.
After all, a person who had been utterly annihilated could not possibly return from the dead.
However, later on, as many witnessed with their own eyes Young Lord Chiyan crushing a natural treasure bare-handed at Little Fold Villa, and then playing 'Wind Rises Over Great Green Mountain' and even the artistic conception of 'Journey of Youth' at Wuse Mountain, although doubts still lingered, most people came to believe it was true.
Yet, they could never have imagined the truth of the matter would turn out to be so bizarre and strange.
Not only was Young Lord Chiyan a fake,
but there had been two impersonators in succession.
The one truly impersonating Young Lord Chiyan wasn't even a person, but a Specter and Demon?
Was that even possible?
At the very least, Liu Qingyan, Qing Xi, and the others from Wuse Mountain felt it was impossible. They had all fought against Gu Qingfeng at Wuse Mountain. Perhaps they couldn't judge the authenticity of Young Lord Chiyan, but whether a person was possessed by a ghost—they felt they could still discern that.
"Han Dong, what Elder Feilu said... is it all true?"
From the crowd of Yao Yue Palace, an old man stepped forward. He was Elder Zihao, one of the few elders within Yao Yue Palace who had consistently supported Han Dong. He seemed unable to believe it, nor accept such a fact, his aged face alternating between pale and ashen.
"Han Dong, is it true?"
Fenghua and the other two Ancestors of Yao Yue Palace also dared not believe it.
Not to mention them, among the many disciples of Yao Yue Palace, anyone who knew Han Dong at all felt she was utterly incapable of such a thing.
In many people's impressions, although Han Dong's nature was cold and aloof, she was absolutely kind-hearted and upright. Coupled with her extraordinary destiny, she was ranked alongside Qing Xi of Wuse Mountain as one of the Ten Top Female Prodigies of the great northwest frontier, and was also the icy goddess in the hearts of many. No one could imagine she would do something like finding someone to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan.
At this moment,
Han Dong's coldly beautiful face was deathly pale, also somewhat distraught, very haggard, filled with self-reproach and guilt. Biting her lip, she glanced at Elder Zihao and the others, then looked at Ancestor Fenghua and the others. Closing her eyes, as if making a great decision, she said, "Elder... Feilu, you are mistaken. The truth of the matter is not like this."
"Hmph! Still stubborn to the death!"
"No! I am not refuting you, nor am I denying it. I am only saying you are mistaken. The one who found Sister Ling'er to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan was not Ye Ye, it was my idea. The one secretly helping me was not a Specter and Demon, it was Aunt Xue. Nor is she the mastermind behind it all. Everything was my idea. I wanted to become the Palace Master of Yao Yue Palace, but feared your opposition, so I conceived this plan. I found someone to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan, falsely claimed he was my Dao companion, hoping to use Young Lord Chiyan's identity to ascend to the position of Palace Master of Yao Yue Palace. Now that the truth is exposed, I have nothing more to say. Whether you kill me or cut me to pieces, I submit to your judgment."
From the day Ouyang Ye found someone to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan, Han Dong had known that eventually the matter would be exposed. She had prepared herself mentally, ready to shoulder all the blame alone, hoping only not to implicate others.
If her death alone could settle this matter, she would choose to die without hesitation.
She was not afraid of death.
She just couldn't bear to part with her master.
With a thud, she knelt on the ground, saying guiltily, "Master, your disciple found someone to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan and deceived you. Your disciple..." "Silly girl, get up quickly."
Daozun Feiyan seemed not to mind in the slightest, shaking her head and saying, "You did not deceive your master. Whether he is Young Lord Chiyan is not important at all. What matters is that his surname is Gu. That is enough. As for the rest, it is no longer important."
"Master... your disciple..." Discovering that her master, even now, remained as if bewitched, believing Old Jiu was Young Lord Chiyan, Han Dong's heart was filled with even greater guilt.
The surrounding crowd angrily denounced Han Dong's fraudulent act of finding someone to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan, clamoring for her to hand over the Specter and Demon that had impersonated Young Lord Chiyan.
Han Dong did not want to implicate Aunt Xue. Just as she was about to speak and shoulder all the blame, at that moment, the bracelet on Ouyang Ye's wrist shimmered with light, and a faint, illusory figure flickered into existence.
Dignified, virtuous, noble, and elegant, like a palace consort.
It was Aunt Xue.
"Aunt Xue, I..." Han Dong had just begun to speak when Aunt Xue, as if knowing what she was about to say, slightly shook her head, signaling her not to speak. Then she looked at the crowd and asked, "I wonder what instructions you all might have?"
Aunt Xue's voice was very soft.
Her gaze was also very mild.
Facing the many experts present, she showed not a trace of fear.
And those present here were all leaders of major sects. Whether in discernment or experience, each was more profound than the last. With one glance, they could tell Aunt Xue's existence was extraordinary, at the very least not an ordinary Specter and Demon. Moreover, some reincarnated great experts even perceived a sense of sacredness from Aunt Xue's ghostly form.
"Are you the Specter that possessed others to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan?"
"Are you the mastermind behind this?"
The crowd voiced their doubts. Like the people from Wuse Mountain, they felt this matter was rather unlikely. Anyone possessed by a ghost, no matter how perfectly concealed, would still carry a ghostly aura, especially when taking action—it could be discerned at a glance.
Seeing the various sects looking ready for a fight, Qian Shan, to prevent the situation from worsening, immediately stepped forward to intervene.
"Everyone, please do not misunderstand. When Bai Ling'er impersonated Young Lord Chiyan, it was indeed Aunt Xue possessing her with her ghostly form. But at Wuse Mountain, Aunt Xue was not possessing anyone."
Qing Xi pressed further, "Then who exactly was the one who acted at Wuse Mountain? At that time, he was definitely not possessed by a ghost. If he had been possessed by a ghost, there would inevitably have been a ghostly aura. He could not have hidden it from us. Moreover, his Physical Body was truly firm as a boulder. This is something possession by a ghost cannot achieve, no matter how powerful the ghost."
"To be honest with everyone, I myself am not entirely certain who the person who acted at Wuse Mountain was. However, he claimed to be Gu Qingfeng, also the Young Lord Chiyan who was utterly annihilated at the Taixuan Platform three years ago."
At this point, Qian Shan felt it best to reveal everything. So she explained the entire sequence of events in detail.
Yet as she spoke,
the people in the hall listened with deepening frowns, each finding it more bizarre than the last, even more bizarre than learning earlier about ghostly possession impersonating Young Lord Chiyan.
Ouyang Ye met a man called Old Jiu in the Peach Blossom Secret Realm?
And then asked him to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan?
And this Old Jiu not only looked exactly like Young Lord Chiyan, but his cultivation was the same, his temperament was the same, even his speech and demeanor were the same.
Also at the Golden Core cultivation level?
Also with a Physical Body firm as a boulder?
Also possessing Absolute Force?
Also peerless in Musical Arts?
The people present couldn't help but be suspicious and amazed. How could there be such a coincidence in all the world?
Was Qian Shan fabricating a story to fool everyone, or was this truly the case?
Everyone was somewhat bewildered.