After disappearing for ten years, the junior sister made the entire sect kneel down to welcome her.

The little girl was wearing a light pink dress, her two short legs dangling from the edge of the stool, with a small pile of sunflower seed shells at her feet.

Facing the gaze of tens of thousands of people, she didn't even lift her eyelids. She cracked open another sunflower seed, spat the shell into her palm, and slowly placed it into the small dish next to her.

They looked like they were watching a play.

Seeing her like this, Hengyangzi became even more agitated, his voice growing louder: "A six-year-old child who can't even count how many peaks a sect has, wants to be the sect leader? What does she rely on? The prestige of her two masters! The promises Duan Qianchui made to the elders with magical artifacts! But the sect doesn't belong to her masters, and the position of sect leader isn't something that can be bought with magical artifacts and favors! What is a sect leader? A leader who leads tens of thousands of people forward, a leader who shoulders the rise and fall of the sect, a leader who stands in front of you when you're in danger!"

He patted his chest, enunciating each word clearly: "I, Hengyangzi, have been sect leader for two hundred years. Looking back, I have never mistreated a single disciple. Today, I ask all of you to bear witness: I will capture the demon. You be the judge!"

These words were spoken with great conviction.

Many disciples below the stage were swayed. They had cultivated in the Xuantian Sect for many years and had indeed received a lot of care from Hengyangzi. Now, seeing the old sect leader speaking so passionately, and then looking at Luo Huanzhen...

Seeing the deputy casually munching on sunflower seeds, I couldn't help but feel a slight shift in my opinion towards Hengyangzi.

"The sect leader is right! A six-year-old becoming the sect leader is too childish!"

"Exactly, so what if she has a master backing her up? The sect isn't hers to own!"

"Sect Leader, quickly capture the Otherworldly Demon! We all support you!"

Hearing the cheers from below the stage, Hengyangzi's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

What he wants is the will of the people.

No matter how strong Yun Yao is, or how ruthless Duan Qianchui is, they cannot go against the will of the people in front of all the disciples of the sect.

"Good!" Hengyangzi shouted, turning to face the direction of the Biyun Peak cave. "Today, in front of all my fellow disciples, I, the sect leader, will personally drag this demon out!"

He formed a hand seal, and the twelve Demon-Seeking Mirrors simultaneously emitted dazzling light.

The twelve beams of light converged into one and shot towards the depths of the Azure Cloud Peak cave. Rocks shattered, dust flew everywhere, and the restrictions on one of the caves were forcibly blasted open, from which a piercing scream rang out.

A dark figure suddenly darted out from the pile of rubble.

Everyone's breath caught in their throats.

That was indeed a demon.

It was entirely black, with a slender body, twisted limbs, and a mouthful of sharp teeth that gleamed with a chilling light in the sunlight.

It writhed wildly in the pillar of light, emitting a shrill scream, as black demonic energy surged from its body, desperately resisting the suppression of the Demon-Seeking Mirror.

Hengyangzi was extremely pleased with himself.

He channeled his spiritual power, causing the twelve Demon-Seeking Mirrors to shine even brighter, firmly locking the demon in mid-air, unable to move. He turned around, opening his arms as if accepting the worship of thousands.

"Fellow disciples! The Demonic Being has been captured by this Sect Master! From this day forward, the Xuan Tian Sect will no longer have—"

"Wait a moment."

A clear, childlike voice rang out unhurriedly, interrupting Hengyangzi's passionate speech.

Luo Huanzhen jumped down from the small stool, tilted her head, and looked at the alien demon locked in mid-air by the pillar of light. She squinted and examined it for a while, then suddenly pointed at it with an undisguised disdain in her tone.

"Don't you think this otherworldly being is a bit too small?"

Hengyangzi's smile froze for a moment, then he sneered, "A demon is a demon, what's the difference between big and small? Luo Huanzhen, losing the match and then resorting to nonsense here, isn't that unseemly?"

"I'm not being unreasonable," Luo Huanzhen said, shrugging. "I'm simply stating a fact. Look at it—all black, a slender body, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It is indeed a demon. But..."

She stretched out her two small hands to indicate that they were about three feet long.

"It's only this big. About the size of a mongrel."

Following her gesture, all the disciples noticed that the strange demon that Hengyangzi had locked up tightly with the twelve demon-finding mirrors was indeed ridiculously small.

Curled up in the center of the pillar of light, its entire body was less than three feet long. Although it looked ferocious and terrifying, its size was hardly intimidating.

Whispers gradually rose from the audience.

"It is indeed a bit small..."

"Didn't they say the Otherworldly Demons took down several hundred people? How could something this small possibly handle several hundred?"

"Could there be a mistake?"

Hengyangzi's face darkened, and he was about to speak in rebuttal when a slender figure suddenly stood up from the crowd.

Ye Rou.

She was dressed in plain white, and her face was still a little pale, because the heart transplant had taken a toll on her health.

Having received such a great favor from her junior uncle, she would definitely step in if anything happened to her.

Her voice was clear and firm, carrying with her neither arrogance nor servility throughout the entire training ground.

"Junior Uncle Luo is right."

"The 17th entry of Volume 3 of the 'Record of Different Demons' in the sect's library clearly states: 'A demon in its juvenile form is no more than three feet tall. Its demonic energy fluctuates greatly, and its power is not yet stable. A Golden Core stage disciple can kill it.' Adult demons, on the other hand, are over ten feet tall. Their demonic energy is contained and solidified. They can parasitize high-level cultivators without being detected, and their strength is comparable to the late Nascent Soul stage."

She paused, then turned her gaze to Hengyangzi, and said, word by word, "The one that Sect Master Hengyangzi captured is clearly a juvenile demon no more than three days old. The one that could cause hundreds of casualties and dozens of suicides could only be an adult demon."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over someone's head, and the entire training ground fell silent instantly.

Hengyangzi went to such great lengths, using all twelve Demon-Seeking Mirrors and having thousands of disciples search for seven days and seven nights, only to finally capture a newborn cub?

What about the real adult Otherworldly beings?

Still in the sect?

Panic spread like wildfire.

The disciples' expressions changed, and they subconsciously looked around as if everyone around them might be a demon in disguise.

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

The training ground erupted in chaos. The disciples' faces turned ashen, and a cacophony of whispers filled the air.

"Silence!" Hengyangzi roared, veins bulging on his forehead. "Even if there are still adult forms, this sect master can..."

Luo Zhenhuan interrupted him directly.

"But you searched for seven days, used twelve Demon-Seeking Mirrors, mobilized thousands of disciples, and turned the entire sect upside down. In the end, all you found was a newborn cub. Senior Brother Hengyangzi, I truly think you're utterly useless."

Hengyangzi's face turned a deep shade of liver: "You're slandering me!"

"I am not making false accusations." Luo Huanzhen blinked, then suddenly turned around to face the nearly ten thousand disciples below the stage. He stretched out his small hand and pointed in a direction from the crowd. "I am simply stating a fact. The real adult demon is not on Biyun Peak, nor on East Peak, nor in any of the places you have searched."

She pointed to someone in the crowd.

"It's right there. Standing there, watching you all wander around like headless flies, probably laughing to yourself."

Everyone's eyes followed the direction she was pointing.

The crowd parted like a tide, revealing Lin Yichen, the sect leader's personal disciple, standing in the middle.

"Junior Uncle, what are you saying?" Lin Yichen tilted his head slightly, his tone both helpless and gentle. "How could I possibly be a Demon? Are you mistaken?"

Luo Zhen ignored Lin Yichen's explanation and coldly said, "You are the Otherworldly Demon."

Lin Yichen's smile froze, and he dropped the act completely.

Its body suddenly swelled up, its skin tore apart inch by inch, revealing its pitch-black body underneath.

A monster over ten feet tall, with long, thin limbs and sharp teeth, broke free from Lin Yichen's skin, and its violent demonic energy swept outwards like a tsunami.

The disciples below the stage screamed and scattered in all directions.

Then they discovered that they didn't need to run at all.

Yun Yao and Duan Qianchui attacked simultaneously.

An incredibly powerful spiritual force pressed down like an invisible mountain, forcing the massive body of the demon to its knees. Duan Qianchui raised his forging hammer high and slammed it down. Crimson rune chains burst forth from the hammer's surface. From the demon's transformation to its suppression, only three breaths had passed.

It was so fast that you didn't even have time to blink.

The disciples below the stage stared in shock at the demon bound like a dumpling, then looked at the two calm and collected Tribulation Transcending stage experts on the high platform. For a moment, they didn't know whether to be afraid or to applaud.

The expressions on the faces of the elders sitting on the high platform were quite a sight to behold.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, then simultaneously let out a long sigh of relief, their faces beaming with smiles of relief.

It's not because the Otherworldly Demons were suppressed—there are two Tribulation Transcending cultivators around them, so they can't cause any trouble.

They were happy that the ritual implements had been found!

Duan Qianchui's promise is secure!

In stark contrast to the elders' relaxed and cheerful demeanor was Hengyangzi's face, which looked as ugly as if his own mother had died.

He stood frozen in place, the twelve Demon-Seeking Mirrors still hovering behind him, but at this moment those mirrors seemed particularly glaring and ironic.

He searched for seven days, using all available resources, only to find a newborn cub. Meanwhile, Luo Zhenyu casually strolled around, chatting with people, and effortlessly pointed out the true location of the Otherworldly Demon.

What devastated him even more was that the demon was actually inhabiting Lin Yichen.

His disciple, with whom he spent every day, was possessed by a demon, yet he, as the master, was completely unaware and even kept the disciple by his side every day to investigate the demon.

This is absolutely the biggest joke in the world.

"How...how did you know?" Hengyangzi turned his head with difficulty, his voice hoarse as if he had a mouthful of sand.

Luo Zhenhuan tilted his head, "Because I asked those disciples whose heads were replaced with pig heads. And their friends, fellow disciples, and teachers."

Luo was not just idly gossiping or chatting.

Everyone had been in contact with Lin Yichen before the incident.

Some were chance encounters on the road where they exchanged a few words, some were asked by him to help with small matters, and some were given guidance on cultivation by him as a senior brother.

Every interaction was so ordinary that they didn't even think there was anything worth mentioning.

But after these seemingly insignificant encounters, they all met with disaster.

It turns out that Luo Zhenhuan hadn't been slacking off at all from beginning to end.

She was genuinely searching for the Otherworldly Demon.

"Do you think you're competing with an Otherworldly being to see who's stronger? No, you're competing with your own arrogance."

Yun Yao's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, striking everyone's heart with each utterance.

"You didn't find the Otherworldly Demon not because you didn't have enough Demon-Seeking Mirrors, nor because your cultivation level wasn't high enough. It's because you simply don't care about those disciples. From beginning to end, all you care about is your position as sect leader."

"She really cares."

What seems like a small matter to you is someone else's entire life.