Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

Inside the mountain gate, Shi Tie, Zhang Daniu, and others, armed with sticks, glared angrily and guarded the entrance fiercely.

Su Xiao, A Yuan, and other female disciples stood at the back with worried expressions.

The new disciples had never seen anything like this before; their faces turned pale, and they clenched their fists nervously.

The youngest child, Qian Xiaodou, was so frightened that she hid behind Zhao Qingyan, her little body trembling.

"Why isn't the sect leader here yet?" Sun Xiaohou anxiously stood on tiptoe and looked around.

"What's the panic!" Shi Tie growled, forcing himself to remain calm. "The sect leader said to wait and see! I think these bastards just need to be taught a lesson!"

Just then, a calm and composed voice rang out from behind the crowd:

"What's all this commotion about?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly overpowered all the noise and reached everyone's ears.

Everyone turned around and saw Shen Mo, dressed in a faded Taoist robe, walking slowly from the direction of the main hall.

His expression remained unchanged, his gaze calm, as if the tense scene before him was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

"Sect Leader!"

"Our sect leader has arrived!"

The disciples, as if they had found their pillar of support, quickly made way, and the tense atmosphere eased considerably.

Shen Mo strolled to the mountain gate, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the mob outside, finally settling on Hou San, who was jumping the loudest.

"Who are you? What brings you to this mountain gate?" Shen Mo's tone was calm, without a trace of anger.

Hou San felt a sudden pang of fear when Shen Mo's deep gaze swept over him, but relying on his superior numbers, he puffed out his chest and shouted in a show of bravado but inwardly weak voice:

"Shen Mo! Stop playing dumb! Your Qingyun Sect sold fake pills, causing damage to my brother's cultivation! You have committed a crime! You must give us an explanation today! Pay up! Apologize! Otherwise, hmph! We'll smash your fraudulent reputation!"

"Yes! Pay up! Apologize!"

"They've ruined their reputation!"

A group of people followed behind, making a loud commotion, as if they wanted to stir up trouble.

Shen Mo's lips curled into a slight smile, a half-smile playing on his lips as he retorted, "Oh? You're saying my Qingyun Sect sells fake pills? Harms people's cultivation? That's just hearsay. Do you have any evidence?"

"Evidence?" Hou San, his neck stiff, grabbed a sallow-faced, listless man beside him and shouted, "This is the evidence! Wang Laowu! You tell me! Did you take their Qingyun Sect's pills and become like this?!"

Old Wang's eyes darted around, and he stammered, "Yes...yes...a few days ago, I...I bought a Qingyun Sect 'Ancient Qi Gathering Pill' at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. After taking it, I...I felt that my spiritual energy was not circulating smoothly, and I felt uncomfortable all over..."

Shen Mo's gaze was sharp as lightning. He carefully examined Wang Laowu for a few moments and already had a good idea of ​​what was going on.

Through the system's faint scan, he could detect that this person's qi and blood were deficient, his spiritual power was impure and mixed, his foundation was extremely poor, and there were also traces of the toxicity of various inferior pills remaining in his body, which was obviously caused by long-term consumption of inferior pills.

The so-called "lack of spiritual energy" is probably due to its own internal reasons.

However, Shen Mo did not immediately expose his lie. Instead, he smiled calmly and said, "How can I trust you based solely on your word? You claim the pills are from my Qingyun Sect, but do you have any proof? You say the lack of spiritual energy is due to my pills, but do you have any medical diagnosis?"

"This..." Hou San was immediately speechless. He had no evidence to support his diagnosis; it was just a baseless argument. Enraged, he retorted, "Everyone says so! How could it be false? You're just trying to deny it!"

Shen Mo ignored him and turned his gaze to the crowd of onlookers, saying loudly, "Fellow Daoists, today's matter concerns the reputation of my Qingyun Sect. Since some have raised doubts, my Qingyun Sect is willing to publicly examine the pills to prove our innocence!"

He paused, his gaze sharpening as he looked at Hou Sanlang and said loudly, "However, testing the elixir is acceptable, but there must be a proper procedure. To slander someone's innocence with mere words, and what if it turns out to be a false accusation?"

Hou San panicked, but forced himself to remain defiant, saying, "You... what do you want?"

Shen Mo's voice suddenly rose, making sure everyone could hear: "Simple! Invite the stewards of the market and invite Manager Chen of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to come and witness! Examine the pills on the spot!"

"If it is found that the pills of my Qingyun Sect are indeed defective, I, Shen Mo, hereby swear that I will immediately cripple my cultivation, close the sect, and submit to your disposal!"

"Whoosh—!"

These words caused an uproar throughout the hall! To cripple one's own cultivation! To close the mountain gates! This gamble was far too high!

Shen Mo's tone shifted abruptly, becoming chilling: "But if it's proven that the pills are harmless, and that someone is deliberately framing us to incite trouble... then the framing person must cut off their own arm and publicly identify the mastermind! Do you dare, or not?"

boom!

These words, like a thunderclap, resounded in everyone's hearts! To cut off one's own arm! To accuse the mastermind!

Shen Mo, what ruthless methods! What incredible confidence!

Hou San was immediately terrified, his face turning deathly pale and cold sweat pouring down his back! He never expected Shen Mo to be so forceful, daring to propose such harsh conditions!

How could he dare agree? He had absolutely no evidence!

"You...who are you trying to scare!" Hou San's voice trembled as he shouted, his bravado masking his inner weakness. "Who knows if you'll tamper with the pills!"

"Hmph!" Shen Mo snorted coldly, his gaze like a knife, piercing Hou San. "If you dare not examine it, then you have something to hide! Fellow Daoists have all seen it; it is this person who dares not confront us, not that our Qingyun Sect dares not examine the pill! It is clear who is spreading rumors!"

The onlookers immediately began to whisper among themselves, their gazes towards Hou San and his group filled with suspicion.

Yes, you keep saying that there's something wrong with other people's pills, but when they want to test them, you don't dare to. Isn't that just a guilty conscience?

"Check! Why not check!" Just then, a sarcastic voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

Everyone looked over and saw Wang Bao from the Dan Ding Pavilion, who had somehow blended into the crowd. He was now standing with his arms crossed, gleefully interjecting:

"Doesn't the Qingyun Sect pride itself on its authentic elixirs? What's wrong with testing them? It'll be a good opportunity for everyone to see for themselves! Hou San, what are you afraid of? Could it really be a false accusation?"

Wang Bao's words, seemingly in support of Hou San, were actually adding fuel to the fire, forcing Hou San to persevere and also wanting to see Shen Mo make a fool of himself.

Hou San was immediately caught in a dilemma, his face turning pale and then red.

Shen Mo glanced coldly at Wang Bao, sneering inwardly: Very well, the main culprit has finally jumped out.

He ignored Hou San's embarrassment and turned to a quick-witted outer disciple, instructing, "Little Monkey Sun, go to the market immediately and respectfully invite the steward and Manager Chen of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to come and uphold justice!"

"Yes, Sect Leader!" Sun Xiaohou replied and dashed down the mountain.

The atmosphere in the arena suddenly became strange and tense. One side remained calm and composed, while the other was caught in a dilemma, and the onlookers eagerly awaited their response.

Sun Xiaohou was extremely fast, and in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he led the two back in a hurry.

One of the men, dressed in a gray-blue Taoist robe and with a serious expression, was a low-ranking steward in charge of the order of Qingtai Market, surnamed Wang.

The other person was Manager Chen of Baibaoge, who rushed over upon hearing the news, his face showing a mixture of curiosity and seriousness.

"Deacon Wang, Manager Chen, I trouble you both to come and be witnesses." Shen Mo stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and remained neither humble nor arrogant.

Deacon Wang nodded slightly. He was used to such disputes, but he dared not be negligent when it came to the authenticity of the pills and public confrontation.

Manager Chen returned the greeting, his gaze sweeping across the scene as he secretly wondered what Shen Mo was up to.

"Sect Leader Shen, Hou San, we are already aware of what you have said." Deacon Wang's voice was steady, carrying a hint of official authority. "Since both sides have conflicting accounts, it is only right to examine the pills in public to determine their authenticity. Hou San, you have accused the Qingyun Sect of having problematic pills. Where are the pills? Do you dare to take them out for us to examine?"