Fang Chen had asked about it earlier and was told that Nanming Ruyue and Li Shanzi had gone to an Ancient Forbidden Zone. Clearly, Xie Aman and Chen Enxue had pulled off a covert sleight of hand.

Fang Chen's soul quietly left his body as he discreetly observed everyone present. Ji Sheng looked just as surprised when he saw Nanming Ruyue and the other two. Ji Tianjun was the same. From beginning to end, it seemed that only Chen Enxue and Xie Aman had known about it, keeping it hidden from everyone else.

"Senior Yan, Daoist Ji, allow me to introduce them," Chen Enxue said with a smile. "This is the Fifth Brother of our Enlightenment God Palace, this is our Eighth Brother, and this one here, Core Disciple Xian Yueguan of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, ranks third."

The three greeted the others in turn.

Fang Chen nodded. So Xian Yueguan ranks third in the Taiyi Immortal Sect?

This man was a sixth-transformation Immortal, no weaker than Chen Enxue. Him ranking third in the Enlightenment God Palace was well deserved.

Yan Qianjun, the Fire Virtue Immortal Division cultivators, and the Ji Family cultivators all shifted their attention between Nanming Ruyue and Xian Yueguan.

Nanming Ruyue had dragon horns sprouting from his head. Xian Yueguan had deep blue hair and fish gills fluttering beneath the ears. Clearly, neither were human.

Yan Qianjun glanced at Xian Yueguan, and a trace of caution flashed in his eyes. "You're from the Surging Tide Sea?"

"I am indeed from the Surging Tide Sea," Xian Yueguan replied with a smile. "But today I'm just here to watch the excitement. Senior, please don't misunderstand."

With that, he casually found a seat and sat down, clearly adopting a bystander's stance.

"Little Chen, it looks like your Enlightenment God Palace came fully prepared. Go on, state your intentions," Yan Qianjun said, withdrawing his gaze from the others and looking back at Chen Enxue.

"Fifth Brother, tell us what useful information you found this time," Chen Enxue said with a smile. "Senior Yan is a reasonable person. As long as what you found is true, we can lay everything out today and speak plainly."

Ji Sheng was secretly shaken. He hadn't expected the Enlightenment God Palace to take the matter so seriously, so much so that they'd sent someone like Nanming Ruyue to the Lesser Immortal Realm in advance to investigate. Even he hadn't anticipated it, and a warm feeling rose in his heart.

Ji Chunmei and the others felt the same, inwardly marveling that Ji Sheng's decision to join the Enlightenment God Palace had truly been a brilliant move.

Fang Chen noticed that Ji Tianjun had momentarily lost his composure earlier. Although he quickly concealed his panic, it indirectly proved that the appearance of Nanming Ruyue and the others had not been part of their plan.

Yan Qianjun nodded and looked toward Nanming Ruyue. "Very well. Let's hear what your Enlightenment God Palace discovered. This old man would also like to know, could there really be some deeper meaning behind this matter?"

Nanming Ruyue cleared his throat and calmly began, "Several decades ago, Eighth Brother and I were entrusted by Third Senior Sister to look into the matter. We deliberately contacted Daoist Xian of the Taiyi Immortal Sect and, through his connections, entered the Lesser Immortal Realm."

"I was just helping out on the side. This wasn't really my affair," Xian Yueguan said with a grin.

"After arriving in the Lesser Immortal Realm, based on some information we had previously gathered, we investigated the core incident that led to this misunderstanding between both sides. Our findings are as follows. Ji Tong of the Ji family and Zhu Ling of the Fire Virtue Immortal Division were the direct parties involved in this incident."

Several Fire Virtue Immortal Division cultivators sneered coldly. One of them directly voiced dissatisfaction. "Isn't that obvious? That's all your Enlightenment God Palace found? We could've told you that if you'd just asked. Why go through all the trouble of investigating?"

"Have some manners. Let them finish," Yan Qianjun said with a slight frown.

The people behind him immediately quieted down.

He nodded for Nanming Ruyue to continue.

Nanming Ruyue didn't get angry and went on calmly. "According to our investigation, there were actually two additional parties involved: Qu Feng of the Water Virtue Immortal Division, and Zhu Ling's personal attendant, Zheng Luoling."

Ji Chunmei stiffened slightly, her expression turning strange. "The Water Virtue Immortal Division and the Fire Virtue Immortal Division have always been like fire and water. How can they be involved in this?"

Yan Qianjun's expression darkened. "The Water Virtue Immortal Division? They're involved in this?"

Nanming Ruyue smiled. "The truth is this, Zhu Ling and Qu Feng had already secretly pledged themselves to each other. In order to avoid being married off to the Heavenly Immortal Clan, and after discussions between her personal attendant and Qu Feng, they decided to find a scapegoat to bear the Heavenly Immortal Clan's wrath in place of the Fire Virtue Immortal Division."

Bang!

Yan Qianjun slammed his palm down, shattering the table beside him. The Fire Virtue Immortal Division cultivators all stepped forward in unison, immortal energy surging from their bodies as if they were about to attack at any moment.

Chen Enxue, meanwhile, sat sloppily in a grand chair, lazily glancing at Yan Qianjun. "Senior Yan, don't rush. Let him finish speaking."

Yan Qianjun suppressed his anger and said coldly, "Every word you speak represents the stance of the Enlightenment God Palace. If you spread baseless accusations and slander my Fire Virtue Immortal Division without evidence, then we truly will have to go to war."

The atmosphere in the reception hall grew strange. The Ji Family cultivators exchanged looks, thinking it through from Nanming Ruyue's angle, it really did seem possible. The Enlightenment God Palace wouldn't make accusations out of thin air. So... had the Ji Family truly been used as a scapegoat?

Fang Tong visibly perked up, looking at Nanming Ruyue with hope in his eyes.

"All of this is supported by evidence. It's not groundless talk," Nanming Ruyue said with a light bow and a smile.

Yan Qianjun coldly countered, "Even if she didn't want to marry, why go through such convoluted schemes? She could've just said so. Did Zhu Ling really not know what kind of consequences would come if this matter blew up?"

"Because Miss Zhu Ling was already running out of time," Nanming Ruyue replied calmly. "She had long since given herself to another. Even if she stated she was unwilling to marry into the Heavenly Immortal Clan, the Fire Virtue Immortal Division likely wouldn't have agreed."

Yan Qianjun and the others' hearts sank.

Indeed, the Fire Virtue Immortal Division wouldn't easily agree, unless there were undeniable reasons. But... if it became known that she had been involved with a cultivator from the Water Virtue Immortal Division, Zhu Ling herself would face extremely harsh punishment.

It might even trigger a war between the two Immortal Divisions.

"She was no longer pure. If she went to the Heavenly Immortal Clan like that, the one who would bear the fury would be the Fire Virtue Immortal Division alone," Nanming Ruyue pointed out with a smile. "That's why she agreed to find a scapegoat, and that scapegoat's status couldn't be too low, otherwise no one would believe it."

Chen Enxue sighed softly. "To think that because of such a small matter, we were personally forced to make this trip. That girl was truly far too willful."

"Where's the evidence?" Yan Qianjun said flatly. "If there's no evidence, I'll treat your words as malicious slander against the Fire Virtue Immortal Division. I came today specifically to handle this matter. Don't think that just because you want to protect the Ji Family, you can splash dirty water on us."

"Qu Feng of the Water Virtue Immortal Division and Zhu Ling's personal attendant, Zheng Luoling, have already confessed," Nanming Ruyue said. "Their testimonies are the proof."

"Confessed? You captured them?" Yan Qianjun narrowed his eyes. "How can a testimony collected by you be considered reliable?"

"Senior, you misunderstand," Nanming Ruyue chuckled. "Third Senior Sister personally made a trip to the Heavenly Immortal Clan and invited seniors from there to handle the matter. From start to finish, we only assisted from the sidelines."

As soon as the words were spoken, the entire reception hall fell silent.