Perjury!

"The Clan Leader is currently away from the clan. All matters are managed by the Elder Hall!" The Third Elder sharply interrupted Jiang Yifan's words, a faint light glowing in his hand. "Surrender now!"

Li Nanzhu secretly squeezed Feng Qingping's wrist. The latter understood and formed a spirit gathering hand seal inside her sleeve.

Feng Weilan pretended to be frightened and backed away half a step. His long blade "accidentally" traced an arc that happened to block the path of two Hall of Discipline disciples.

"Third Elder, please consider this," Li Nanzhu stepped forward, also stopping Jiang Yifan's next move. "We have only just arrived at the Jiang family's residence. We do not even know which direction the ancestral temple is in, so how could we have trespassed?"

"The evidence is right here, ironclad!" The Third Elder held up the glowing stone in his hand. "Do you still intend to deny it?"

Li Nanzhu suddenly chuckled. "Third Elder, why does the image on this memory stone only show our backs?" She paused before continuing, "If we truly trespassed as you say, why can't we see any of our faces?"

Suisui tilted its head at the perfect moment, its soul fire flaring up to make the image even clearer. Everyone noticed that the footage indeed only showed their backs, and the background was somewhat blurred.

"This..." The Third Elder's face twitched slightly. "The situation was urgent at the time, so naturally only the critical parts were captured!"

"What a coincidence." Feng Qingping suddenly took a jade pendant from her waist. "This is our Five Elements Dao Sect's memory pendant. It just so happens to have recorded our activities over the past few days." With a light tap of her finger, the pendant projected an image showing the four of them remaining in the courtyard the entire time.

Li Nanzhu noticed Jiang Yifan's finger twitch slightly—that pendant was actually his personal possession, its appearance temporarily altered by Feng Qingping's illusion technique.

But it was enough to muddy the waters!

To prevent the others from noticing anything amiss, Li Nanzhu spoke again. "Doesn't the Third Elder find it strange? In this footage, the four of us are standing so perfectly, almost as if..."

"As if we were specifically posing for someone to take the shot," Feng Qingping finished the thought.

"That's... that's because you didn't realize you had triggered the restriction yet!"

Li Nanzhu keenly captured the flash of smugness in the Third Elder's eyes, and alarm bells rang in her mind. She suddenly realized this might be a carefully designed trap.

"Third Elder." Jiang Yifan stepped forward to shield Li Nanzhu. "Since you are so certain, why don't you tell us exactly where in the ancestral temple this memory stone was filmed?"

The arena fell silent. Even the spectating Jiang family disciples held their breath.

"Naturally, it was..." The Third Elder's pupils shrank, but he could not state the specific location.

Suisui suddenly jumped to the edge of the teleportation array, its bone claws lightly scratching the array runes.

Li Nanzhu felt the Green Jade Platform beneath her feet begin to vibrate slightly—Feng Weilan was taking advantage of the motion of straightening his collar to continuously pour spiritual energy into the array's core.

Jiang Yifan sneered. "Then how can you be sure the image is of the ancestral temple? Perhaps someone forged the scene to frame us!"

"Impudence!" The Third Elder's face flushed red. "I have been in the Jiang family for over five hundred years. Does a junior like you need to question me? Men—"

"Third Elder, wait a moment!" Li Nanzhu suddenly raised her voice. "Don't you find this matter suspicious?" She deliberately looked around, ensuring everyone could hear her clearly. "Someone is intentionally forging evidence to sow discord. Perhaps..." she lowered her voice, "someone wants to use your hand to deal with the Jiang family?"

Those words were like a stone dropped into a pond.

Several Hall of Discipline disciples showed looks of hesitation, and even the two elders behind the Third Elder exchanged glances.

"Nonsense!" the Third Elder roared. "I am loyal to the Jiang family—"

"Then all the more reason to find out the truth!" Feng Qingping interjected. "What if it's the work of evil cultivators? They are most skilled at these divisive tricks."

"We also cannot rule out the possibility of someone trying to drive a wedge between the Five Elements Dao Sect and the Jiang family."

As Li Nanzhu spoke, she gave Suisui a secret look.

The little skeleton immediately tilted its head, pointing at the memory stone with an innocent posture. "Clack?"

Several young Jiang family disciples couldn't help but chuckle before quickly stifling it. The tense atmosphere in the arena loosened slightly.

"What they say makes some sense! Third Elder, please reconsider!" an older Hall of Discipline disciple suddenly spoke up. "If it's truly a misunderstanding, it wouldn't be good to harm disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect. It's better to wait for the Clan Leader to return—"

"Shut up! Don't think you can stall for time!" the Third Elder suddenly barked, forming a hand seal again!

"Seize them!"

At that critical moment, the copper mirror in Feng Qingping's hand suddenly hit the ground, exploding into a burst of blinding white light.

In the moment everyone instinctively closed their eyes, Li Nanzhu grabbed Jiang Yifan's arm.

"Go!" The three of them pulled him into the fully activated teleportation array.

"Stop them!" The Third Elder's roar was swallowed by the distorted space.

In her final glimpse, Li Nanzhu saw the Third Elder's distorted face and the complicated expressions of the Jiang family disciples...

...

After the world-spinning teleportation ended, the four of them stumbled into a desolate valley.

Li Nanzhu immediately checked on Suisui, but it was clear Suisui had adapted well; it had even pulled out a piece of candied fruit to eat.

"Where are we?" Feng Weilan rubbed his sore shoulder and looked around. "This doesn't look like the territory of the Five Elements Dao Sect."

Jiang Yifan sat up, his face pale. "This should be the landing point for the Jiang family disciples' missions..." He smiled bitterly. "But at least we've temporarily escaped them."

Feng Qingping quickly set up several concealment arrays. "The Third Elder will definitely send people to track us. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Over the next three days, the four of them moved through three small, hidden teleportation arrays, deliberately taking long detours after each one. Suisui's soul fire remained vigilant, twice detecting the aura of pursuers ahead of time.

When the familiar outline of Qingyun City finally appeared in their sight, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The guards at the city gate were still the twin brothers, and the old man selling sugar figures at the corner was smiling as he handed a phoenix-shaped sugar painting to a child.

"We're finally safe." Feng Qingping stretched her arms, her sword light tracing a graceful arc in the air. "Once we're in the territory of Qingyun City, the Jiang family wouldn't dare chase us even if they had ten times the courage."

Suisui sat on Li Nanzhu's shoulder, its soul fire jumping happily. The little skeleton pulled a handful of pine nuts from its storage bag and began cracking them, the shells scattering in the wind.

Jiang Yifan's flying sword remained at the rear of the group. He looked back from time to time, his brow furrowed.

"Fourth Senior Brother, relax." Feng Weilan softened his tone for once. "The Master is at the sect. Even if the Jiang family comes..."

"I'm not worried about pursuers." Jiang Yifan shook his head, his finger unconsciously rubbing the jade pendant at his waist. "The Third Elder's actions this time were far too suspicious..."

Just as Li Nanzhu was about to reply, Suisui tugged on her collar.

A familiar figure appeared before them...