The Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan clearly favored Jing He more.
While the group was at a stalemate, several paper cranes suddenly flew in from the horizon.
Yaohua noticed that the moment the paper cranes arrived, a strange smile appeared on Jing He's lips. An ominous premonition welled up in her heart.
Soon, this premonition came true.
"The Chiefs of the Vermilion Bird and Qilin Clans are missing?" Chongming read out the message on the paper crane. His eyes turned cold and sharp as he stared at Jing He. "You fabricated Xilan's death just to draw out the two clan chiefs. And all your nonsense was meant to buy time and divert our attention, making it easier for the Heavenly Demons to launch their attack?"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand." Jing He pretended to be stupid. "It's the Phoenix Clan that has great ambitions. Maybe this attack was planned by the Phoenix Clan, but they're trying to pin it on us Heavenly Demons."
Yaohua glared at her angrily. "At this point, you still want to slander my Phoenix Clan?"
Suddenly, Jing He dropped to the ground and burst into laughter. At the same time, from a very concealed angle, she silently provoked Yaohua. "So what if you know it's my scheme? No one will believe you now, because that Phoenix plume is real!"
At this moment, Yaohua didn't have the heart to respond to her provocation. Since they had captured her, it proved that the Heavenly Demons were indeed involved, and her suspicion was mostly cleared.
Back then, no one knew the reason why the Heavenly Demons had gone to great lengths to steal the Dragon Pearl from the Chief of the Dragon Clan. Yaohua's intuition told her that the disappearance of the Chiefs of the Vermilion Bird and Qilin Clans this time was also related to that incident.
She exchanged a look with Chongming, and they understood each other's thoughts. "The most urgent thing now is to take this Heavenly Demon to the Divine Lord and interrogate her to find out the conspiracy the Heavenly Demon Clan is planning."
"Are you trying to shift the focus?" The Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan looked hesitant, clearly not knowing who to believe.
He had a bad relationship with the Phoenix Clan to begin with. And he had personally witnessed his daughter die by the Phoenix plume. The balance in his heart was tilting towards the Heavenly Demons, thinking that the Phoenix Clan was no good.
Seeing his uncertain expression, Yaohua took a deep breath. "Chief Lan, if you still have doubts, I can continue to seal my cultivation realm and keep this immortal-binding belt on. The innocent will prove their innocence. I believe the Immortal Realm will clear my name."
"That sounds nice." The Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan thought for a while and said slowly. "But what if you're actually in cahoots with the Heavenly Demons? If I'm led by the nose by you, won't it lead to a great disaster?"
Jing He's words were very misleading, and he was very conflicted at the moment.
Chongming said, "Then hand this Heavenly Demon over to the Divine Lord for interrogation."
Jing He was about to speak when the Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan grabbed her by the neck and headed straight for the Immortal Realm.
As soon as they reached the Divine Lord's Hall, they heard Mrs. Lan's cries from inside. "My husband and I have only had one daughter all these years. Now my husband has also been deceived by those two. Please, Divine Lord, send troops to arrest these two murderers."
"Don't be afraid, Madam!" The Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan carried Jing He and walked into the hall.
Although the two had been married for many years, they had a very good relationship. When Mrs. Lan saw him return safely, she immediately rushed into his arms and cried loudly. "Where did you go just now? Why did you leave me alone?"
The Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan patted her on the back and comforted her. "Just now, we detected demonic energy in the library. We followed the clues and found this Heavenly Demon."
The Divine Envoy Tu Yang stepped forward happily. "Chief, do you mean you've found the real culprit?"
The Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan hesitated. "The situation is a bit complicated. Please, Divine Lord, listen to this Heavenly Demon's confession and then make your own judgment."
He let go, and Jing He slumped to the ground. Her eyes rolled up as she greedily gasped for fresh air. The purple marks on her neck from the choking were very clear, showing how much strength the Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan had used.
Tu Yang's eyes showed disgust as she used magic to heal her injuries. "Speak! Why did you assassinate Princess Xilan?"
Jing He lay on the ground in a complete mess, nervously swallowing her saliva. "It was the Phoenix Clan that contacted me first! Yaohua said that as long as we helped her kill Xilan, she would lead the Phoenix Clan to surrender to our clan."
"This is simply absurd." This time, even the Chief of the Crested Ibis Clan shook his head.
Everyone knew that the Phoenix Clan and the Heavenly Demons were incompatible. It was possible for Yaohua to have a brief alliance with the Heavenly Demons, but if she wanted to lead the Phoenix Clan to surrender, the Phoenix Clan would definitely turn against her.
"Our leader really admires Yaohua. Even if she can't bring the whole clan to surrender, it's okay if she comes alone!" Jing He seemed to have noticed the loophole in her words and quickly tried to make up for it.
Tu Yang asked speechlessly, "But she has a bright future in the Immortal Realm. Why would she betray everyone and surrender to the Demon Clan?"
She had been wondering why the Heavenly Demon had been caught so easily. Now it seemed that this Heavenly Demon must be crazy. She couldn't even tell a proper lie.
At this time, the immortal soldiers brought in torture instruments by the order of the Divine Lord.
Looking at all the terrifying torture instruments specifically designed for Heavenly Demons, Jing He trembled in fear. "Yaohua betrayed the Immortal Realm because she was in love with her master. She killed Xilan because she was jealous that Xilan could be intimate with her master openly!"
These words were like a thunderbolt out of the blue. Everyone's eyes instantly fell on Yaohua.
Because her cultivation realm was sealed and the whip marks on her body hadn't healed, her face was pale, and she looked as weak as a piece of paper. Suddenly exposed with her secret feelings, her mind went blank, and she didn't know what to say.
Seeing her staggering, Chongming quickly recovered from his shock and supported her. Then he shouted in a deep voice, "Villain! Who gave you the courage to slander this god and the Chief of the Phoenix Clan!"
This shout contained his divine power and hit Jing He directly.
Jing He was hit so hard that she spat out a mouthful of blood and crawled on the ground in pain. "This, this is what Yaohua said herself... If she didn't have an improper love for you, why would she always be at odds with your suitors? Ordinary people would try to please the apprentice to pursue the master, but your apprentice treats you as her private property."
Anger welled up in Chongming's eyes, and the aura around him rose steadily. The terrifying pressure made the already injured Jing He tremble. Even the Divine Lord, feeling the threat, couldn't help but sit up straight.
But a figure suddenly rushed in front of Jing He and protected her.
"Let her speak!" Mrs. Lan looked at Chongming with hatred. "My daughter has been unlucky ever since she met you."
"Everyone, don't fall into the trap. The real intention of this Heavenly Demon is to buy time and divert our attention, so that Xilan's death can overshadow their conspiracy!" Yaohua shouldn't have spoken to avoid suspicion. But if she let Jing He talk nonsense, the situation might be completely distorted.
She steadied her mind, stepped forward, and reported her discovery. "I suspect that the Heavenly Demons are hunting the clan chiefs of various clans in a planned way. Please, Divine Lord, send someone to find the whereabouts of the two clan chiefs."
The conspiracy of the Heavenly Demons was indeed more important than Xilan's death.
The Divine Lord thought for a moment. "Then, torture this Heavenly Demon first. Under torture, she won't be able to tell lies."