Murong Dongyue watched the bloody aura pour into the jade pillow beside his bed, a look of disbelief on his face.
"What’s going on?"
A cold light flashed in Leng Yueshuang’s eyes: "That’s what I’d like to ask you!"
She raised her jade hand, and the jade pillow flew into her palm, the bloody aura still continuously pouring into it.
Leng Yueshuang swept her divine sense over it, and with a slight squeeze of her hand, the jade pillow shattered, revealing a pitch-black orb wrapped in a talisman paper that fell into her palm.
The surface of the orb was covered in blood-red patterns, with a dark golden vertical line in the center, like a pupil, emitting an eerie and bone-chilling light.
As Leng Yueshuang held the pitch-black orb, evil thoughts immediately surged within her, and she quickly recited the Supreme Emotion-forgetting Art to suppress them.
"Sect Leader Murong, can you explain what this is?"
Murong Dongyue stared at the orb in disbelief, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Leng Xianzi, please understand, this old man truly doesn’t know what this item is, nor why it appeared in my room!"
But no one clearly believed him; Xu Zhen stared intently at him, his eyes filled with disappointment and heartache.
"This old man can swear to the heavens!"
Murong Dongyue gasped, his chest heaving violently, his voice hoarse but firm.
"This old man is truly not the one causing trouble in the city, nor have I ever used this item to harm anyone!"
"Leng Xianzi, City Lord Xu, this old man has been framed; you must believe me!"
Xu Zhen hesitated: "You say you were framed, but do you have any evidence?"
Murong Dongyue sighed, closed his eyes, and said: "This old man has no evidence and is willing to surrender and accept my fate."
"But this old man reminds everyone, that demon is still in the city; everyone must be vigilant and not let that person succeed!"
Xu Zhen looked at his old friend of many years, ready to face his demise, and remembering Murong Dongyue’s actions over the years, his heart wavered.
After the Murong Family moved to Qing Shi City, Murong Dongyue allocated funds for road construction, city wall repairs, and canal excavation, truly dedicating himself.
Murong Dongyue strictly disciplined his clansmen, and despite the many cultivators in his family, they were not arrogant; he had an excellent reputation in the city.
"Leng Xianzi!"
Xu Zhen cupped his fists and said: "There is indeed something strange about this matter; why don’t we first place Sect Leader Murong under house arrest and observe the situation, lest we mistakenly kill a good person?"
Leng Yueshuang looked at Lin Luochen, who also felt something was amiss, and nodded: "Let’s do that for now!"
Leng Yueshuang hummed in agreement, then waved her hand, releasing a silver rope that bound Murong Dongyue.
Murong Dongyue obediently surrendered, without the slightest resistance, allowing his spiritual power to be sealed.
Lin Luochen asked: "Sect Leader Murong, you said someone framed you, so who could have entered your room?"
Murong Dongyue sighed: "This old man’s room has no restrictions, so anyone could have come in and framed me."
"But not many people could do it without anyone knowing; at the very least, they must have extraordinary skills and cultivation."
Lin Luochen frowned: "With this item placed by your bed, did you not feel any discomfort?"
Murong Dongyue smiled bitterly: "Today I did feel dizzy and nauseous, and I thought it was due to the injuries I sustained during the day."
Lin Luochen’s gaze sharpened: "It only started today?"
Murong Dongyue hummed in affirmation, and Lin Luochen, lost in thought, turned to look at Leng Yueshuang.
"Leng Xianzi, don’t you have soul-searching techniques? Can you investigate his memories?"
At these words, both Murong Dongyue and Xu Zhen were startled.
Murong Dongyue’s face turned pale, but he slowly closed his eyes and sighed.
"If I can prove my innocence, why would this old man regret dying?"
"No!"
Xu Zhen interrupted urgently, "Soul-searching techniques are extremely dangerous; a slight mistake can cause one’s soul to be annihilated!"
Lin Luochen had only heard rumors and hadn’t realized that soul techniques caused such severe damage to the soul, so he felt a bit awkward.
From the looks of it, Leng Yueshuang probably wouldn’t use it; this clearly looked like a method of the demonic path.
As he expected, Leng Yueshuang looked at him with an awkward expression.
She indeed did not know soul-searching techniques, and even if she did, she probably wouldn’t be able to bring herself to use them.
Lin Luochen put down a bottle of Bigu Pill and said faintly: "Sect Leader Murong, please do not go out and endure this for a while."
Murong Dongyue nodded and said: "This old man understands!"
Lin Luochen and the others inspected the room, and after confirming there was nothing else, they left the room.
Leng Yueshuang set up restrictions around the room to prevent Murong Dongyue from escaping.
A moment later, several people stood in the courtyard, each with a complex expression.
Xu Zhen was still in disbelief and, after a word with the others, began to investigate the Murong Residence.
Murong Xiazhu was also filled with emotion, while only Murong Qiuzhi was genuinely sad.
After all, although Murong Dongyue had always kept his distance from her, he had indeed treated her well.
Had she, once again, harmed her granduncle?
Lin Luochen didn’t think so much, only curiously looking at the orb in Leng Yueshuang’s hand.
The orb continued to absorb the surrounding bloody aura, appearing exceptionally sinister.
"Leng Xianzi, is this orb truly the culprit behind this incident?"
Leng Yueshuang nodded: "This orb contains a strong bloody aura and demonic energy, as well as many negative emotions."
"This item can not only cause people to fall into demonization but also carries a bloodthirsty intent, capable of absorbing people’s vital essence."
Lin Luochen frowned; this was completely different from the “Blood Sacrifice Array” he had heard of in his previous life.
He had always believed the culprit was a formation, and the appearance of this orb caught him off guard.
Could it be that the rumors had deviated due to word-of-mouth distortions?
Or was this item the core of the formation?
"Leng Xianzi, can you tell the origin of this item?"
Leng Yueshuang shook her head: "I can’t tell, but this item should have been refined by someone, only to have its connection severed."
Lin Luochen was thoughtful and wanted to take a closer look at the orb, but Leng Yueshuang stopped him.
"Be careful!" She gripped the orb tightly. "This item is sinister; it’s fine if you don’t touch it directly, the influence isn’t great."
"Once you touch it directly, it’s easy to trigger evil thoughts in one’s heart, and your cultivation is still shallow…"
Although she spoke very tactfully, Lin Luochen still felt extremely awkward.
He was still too weak!
Leng Yueshuang tried to put the orb into her storage ring, but found that the item could not be stored in it.
Lin Luochen frowned: "What’s going on?"
This item couldn’t be put into a storage ring; no wonder the mastermind didn’t hide it.
Leng Yueshuang explained: "This item cannot be put into a storage ring, either because its grade is very high, or because it is alive!"
"Alive?"
Lin Luochen subconsciously looked at the dark golden vertical line, and in an instant, the world spun, and countless bloody illusions flooded his mind!
Leng Yueshuang quickly covered the orb, concerned: "LuoChen, are you alright?"
The green lotus in Lin Luochen’s sea of consciousness trembled slightly, and only then did he break free from the illusion, his back drenched in cold sweat.
"I’m fine, this item is truly bizarre, just like it’s alive!"
Leng Yueshuang relaxed and reminded them: "Your cultivation is low, don’t look at it!"
Murong Xiazhu hesitated: "This thing can’t be put away, so are we just going to let it continue devouring bloody aura?"
Leng Yueshuang looked at the bloody color in the sky and said faintly: "It’s fine, I’ll set up a formation to block all its connections with the outside world."
She returned to the small building where the Murong sisters lived and set up a formation in the attic, placing the demonic orb within the formation.
The moment the demonic orb entered the formation, the surging bloody aura in the sky stopped flowing, drifting like rootless duckweed in the sky, and finally dispersed between heaven and earth.
Leng Yueshuang said thoughtfully: "It seems this orb is indeed the source of the bloody aura absorption and the cause of people falling into demonization."
Lin Luochen hummed in agreement, muttering: "Next is to determine whether the mastermind is truly Murong Dongyue!"
At this moment, Xu Zhen had also inquired around the residence and returned empty-handed.
As night deepened, Leng Yueshuang looked at the tired Lin Luochen and the others, and said softly: "It’s getting late, everyone should go back and rest."
"Whether Murong Dongyue is the mastermind or someone framed him, he shouldn’t make a move again for now."
Lin Luochen hummed in agreement, and Murong Qiuzhi immediately tensed up, fearing that Lin Luochen would once again bravely venture into a dangerous situation.
Fortunately, Lin Luochen returned alone, while Leng Yueshuang followed them back to the small building to guard the demonic orb in the formation.
At this moment, the candlelight flickered in Murong Xichen’s room.
His sinister face flickered in and out of the firelight, and he muttered: "Big Brother, don’t blame me!"
He sent out a message, and then called Murong Bo and his brother, giving them a few instructions.
Murong Bo and his brother were utterly stunned, then nodded repeatedly and left in a hurry.
At the same time, in the deep underground palace.
A black shadow sometimes transformed into a graceful woman, and sometimes dispersed into rolling black mist.
Around her flowed a river, but what flowed within the river was not water, but a green liquid.
The woman chuckled: "The human race’s minds are truly good, but unfortunately, they are ultimately destined to be sacrificed!"