Lin Fan was feeling good this morning, a giddiness in his steps. He had a mountain of XP, a vault full of currency, and the idea of spending the entire month with a beautiful, powerful milf mommy.
He hummed Rickroll imagining Ning Xinyi's hot body as he put on a fresh set of elder robes. Today he would feel more warmth and softness of Ning Xinyi and maybe, just maybe, start collecting some interest on his payment.
He was about to head to her residence when two disciples in the stark black uniforms of the Law Enforcement Hall appeared at his gate. Their faces were like stone.
"Elder Lin Fan," the lead disciple said, voice flat and cold. "The Sect Master summons you to the Law Enforcement Hall. Immediately."
Lin Fan's good mood evaporated. The Law Enforcement Hall was not a place for friendly chats. It was where punishments were decided.
"Is there a problem?" he asked.
"You will be informed at the Hall," the disciple said, leaving him no room to argue.
A bad feeling started bubbling in Lin Fan's stomach. He sighed and followed them helplessly. The disciples were staring and whispering. An elder being escorted by the Law Enforcement disciples was a big news.
The Hall was a large, imposing building made of black stone, designed to intimidate. Inside, it was even worse. The air was heavy and solemn as a crowd started to gather and nobody stopped them.
Lin Fan was not sure but it seems this is going to be some kind of open discussion…or interrogation?
The Sect Master, Zhao Tianyi, sat on the main elevated seat. Below him, on two sides, sat a dozen of the sect's most powerful elders.
Lin Fan's eyes quickly found Elder Chen, the head alchemist. He looked smug. This was not good.
This was not a meeting. This was a trial. A shock trial, designed to catch him off guard.
"Elder Lin Fan," the Sect Master began, his voice echoing in the silent hall. "You have been summoned today to answer for a most grievous accusation. Several elders claim you are practicing demonic arts."
The moment the words "demonic arts" were spoken, the temperature in the hall seemed to drop. The whispers outside stopped.
Lin Fan's mind went into overdrive. 'Demonic arts?! Are you kidding me?! It's a death sentence! This old fart of an alchemist actually went out of his way to accuse me?'
He knew the history of this world. Demonic cultivators weren't just villains; they were a plague. They have twisted cultivation, sacrificing souls for power, refining living blood for pills, turning entire cities into undead puppets.
The Azure Flame Continent has already suffered greatly brought by demonic sects, and had almost been destroyed tens of centuries ago.
For him it's a long time but for this world where old monsters go into seclusion of hundreds of years is just recent memories.
The sleeper cells of these Demonic cults can stay asleep for thousands of years and can cross multiple generations.
That's why the mere suspicion of demonic arts was a poison. It could taint a person, their family, their entire sect. If the Green Cloud Sect was found to be harboring one, the righteous sects wouldn't talk. They would cleanse. Burn the mountain to the ground.
This wasn't just about him anymore. The survival of the whole sect was now on the line with this accusation.
Outwardly, Lin Fan remained calm. He bowed his head slightly. "Sect Master, Elders. This is a very grave accusation. I would like to hear the evidence."
Elder Chen stood up, face full of righteous fury. "Evidence? The evidence is your very existence, Lin Fan! For decades, the Azure Flame Continent has been plagued by the Cultivation Collapse, the Heaven's Resentment Curse. The greatest masters have failed to find a cure. Yet you, a low level elder with no background, suddenly appear with a miracle cure?"
"I ask you, how is this possible? It defies all logic, all principles of the Dao! His methods are unheard of. He uses no pills, no spiritual herbs. He opens a 'Secret Realm' with strange, unholy creatures and claims it can fix a cultivator's foundation. This is not a miracle; this is heresy!"
He pointed a shaking finger at Lin Fan. "This is not a miracle! It is a scheme! There is only one explanation: you are either the source of the plague, or in league with the demonic forces that caused it! You create the disease, then sell the cure to corrupt our disciples!"
'You old pill fart,' Lin Fan thought. 'Your logic has more holes than a fishing net. But you got a point about only I have the cure for now, I'll give you that.'
"We have witnesses!" Elder Chen declared.
A young male disciple was brought forward. He looked pale and scared.
"Tell the elders what you experienced in Elder Lin's realm," Elder Chen commanded.
"I... I felt my foundation stabilize," the disciple stammered. "But the essence... it did not feel like pure Qi. It felt... borrowed. Otherworldly. It strengthened my foundation, but I fear it has planted an impure seed within me!"
'Impure seed? It's called Experience Points, you idiot!' Lin Fan screamed internally.
"And what of his demands with female disciples?"
He looked around the hall, letting his voice echo, his question to raise intrigue, his accusation to settle.
"He demands their bodies. A night of passion. You might think this is a simple perversion, but it is far more sinister! This is the classic method of Yin-Devouring Art! He is not seeking pleasure; he is harvesting their pure Yin essence to fuel his demonic means! He defiles our disciples to power his evil!"
A wave of shock and disgust filled the hall. Su Mei was brought forward, her face tear-streaked and full of shame. She was forced to recount the "price" she paid. Every detail was twisted to sound like a demonic ritual, not a transaction of lust between a man and a woman.
Lin Fan's calm expression almost cracked. This was a perfectly executed character assassination.
'Shit, shit, shit,' his mind raced. 'This is bad. They're good. They've framed it perfectly. How do I defend this? 'No, your honors, I'm not a Yin-devouring demon, I'm just a common scumbag pervert?' That sounds even worse!'
Another elder, a grim-faced man from the Formation Hall, stood up. "I have examined the stone Obelisk in his courtyard. The formation runes are unlike anything in our sect's library. They are not of the righteous path. They are of unknown origin and feel untested, otherworldly, and sinister in nature! And from the accounts of everyone the creatures inside are unheard of. They sound more like spawn of demonic nature than natural beasts."
The weight of the accusations was crushing. Every piece of "evidence" was circumstantial, but together, it painted a damning picture.
Unprecedented miracle cure? Demonic pact.
Strange creatures? Demonic creations.
Borrowed energy? Demonic corruption.
Payment in sex? Yin-Devouring ritual.
They had an answer for everything. They had built a perfect cage of logic, and he was trapped inside it. He could see it in the eyes of the other elders.
The suspicion was turning into belief. This was no longer just about him. If a demonic cultivator was found in the Green Cloud Sect, the entire sect could be purged by the righteous alliances of the continent to prevent a second coming of the Demonic taint.
Their very survival was on the line.
Lin Fan mentally noted every point, every accusation, every twisted testimony. His mind, the mind of a game designer used to analyzing complex systems and finding exploits, was working at lightning speed.
They had laid out their attack pattern. Now, he had to plan his counter.
The Sect Master looked down at him, his face grave.
The pressure in the room was suffocating.
"Elder Lin Fan," the Sect Master's voice was low and dangerous. "You have heard the accusations. You have heard the testimonies. The charge is that you are a practitioner of the demonic path, an enemy of the Dao, and a taint within our Green Cloud Sect."
He paused, letting the weight of the words settle. The entire hall was silent. Lin Fan's life, and the future of the sect, hung in the balance.
"What do you have to say in your defense?"