Chapter 107: Challenging the Core Disciple
As murmurs of Gu Mo's name rippled through the crowd, Gao Yunrui—being a cultivator at the Golden Core stage—naturally heard them. Yet he didn't believe a word of it. He had personally examined Gu Mo's spiritual roots. Whether Gu Mo had practiced demonic arts or not, there was no way he wouldn't have noticed.
To question Gu Mo now was to question Gao Yunrui's own judgment.
"Why isn't the Sect Master reacting?"
Ever since Gu Mo's name was mentioned, Ye Yuqi had been closely watching the Sect Master's expression. If Gu Mo was indeed a suspect, wouldn't the truth come to light quickly with a simple inspection? According to the information he'd obtained from He Shaogang, Gu Mo had practiced demonic arts.
The only reason no one had discovered it until now was because Gu Mo had acquired a very high-level aura-concealing technique. But no matter how well he concealed himself, even the best disguise would be stripped away under the scrutiny of a peak Golden Core cultivator.
"Sect Master, I've compiled a list of disciples who meet the criteria. Please take a look."
Since Gao Yunrui hadn't made any moves, it meant the current evidence wasn't sufficient. Without hesitation, Ye Yuqi presented his second contingency.
"Well done."
Gao Yunrui nodded in approval at Ye Yuqi's preparedness and accepted the dossier. The first name listed—unsurprisingly—was Gu Mo.
The document laid out numerous "pieces of evidence" supposedly proving that Gu Mo was a hidden demonic cultivator within the sect. These claims were almost entirely fabricated by He Shaogang, presented as hard proof. Not only did they "prove" Gu Mo's guilt, but also pointed toward another demonic cultivator hidden within the outer disciple ranks.
That "other" person was one of three operatives planted in Qinglu Sect by the enemy sect He Shaogang belonged to. However, this agent had mysteriously vanished while on his way to pass information to Gu Mo. Despite He Shaogang's efforts, he had found no signs that any elder had apprehended the agent.
Eventually, he received word from his sect that the man's soul lamp had extinguished, confirming his death. He Shaogang then shamelessly used this fallen comrade as further "evidence" against Gu Mo.
As Gao Yunrui scanned through the detailed accusations, his expression grew increasingly grim. He was beginning to question whether he might have misjudged Gu Mo after all.
"Gu Mo, this seat is giving you a chance to prove your innocence," Gao Yunrui said, eyes fixed on him. The dossier was thorough—one could call it ironclad. But even so, Gao Yunrui found it hard to believe a mere Qi Refining disciple could deceive someone at his level.
"I'm willing to undergo inspection!" Gu Mo stepped onto the platform and bowed respectfully.
"Good."
Seeing that Gu Mo remained calm and composed, Gao Yunrui nodded. However, instead of probing Gu Mo directly like last time, he took out a special sect artifact—typically used to inspect core disciples.
This ancient jade talisman could detect karmic entanglement. In the cultivation world, while techniques to conceal aura existed, no method had ever been known to hide one's karmic retribution. If Gu Mo had truly practiced demonic arts, the talisman would reveal it.
"Take it."
Gao Yunrui handed the talisman to Gu Mo.
"Yes, sir."
Without hesitation, Gu Mo grasped it.
All eyes turned to the jade—especially He Shaogang, who was inwardly screaming. As long as the talisman changed color, Gu Mo would be doomed.
But second after second ticked by, and the jade remained unchanged.
Seeing this, a flicker of panic flashed in He Shaogang's eyes. No color change meant Gu Mo hadn't practiced demonic arts. But if that were the case, how had he successfully drawn spiritual energy into his body and reached a level where he could defeat a peak Qi Refining cultivator?
"Good."
With Gu Mo confirmed clean, Gao Yunrui nodded. His judgment had not failed him after all.
"How could someone like Junior Brother Gu Mo be a demonic cultivator? Brother Ye, you should conduct a more thorough investigation," He Shaogang chimed in with a smile.
Hearing his words, Ye Yuqi's eyes narrowed. This was He Shaogang signaling him to switch tactics—no matter what, they had to pin this on Gu Mo.
"Senior Brother He, I must disagree. A demonic cultivator isn't defined solely by whether they practice demonic arts. Even consorting with demonic cultivators is enough to make one guilty."
With that, Ye Yuqi made public all the "ironclad evidence" he had gathered.
The crowd turned to Gu Mo again with suspicious eyes. The evidence seemed far too detailed and comprehensive.
"Junior Brother Ye, are you suggesting that Junior Brother Gu Mo has been colluding with demonic cultivators and leaking sect information?" He Shaogang said mockingly.
"This time, Junior Brother Gu Mo participated in the core disciple trial as Senior Sister Yuan's assistant. He had the access." Ye Yuqi left the rest unsaid, letting others draw their own conclusions.
To their credit, Ye Yuqi and He Shaogang had done a masterful job of tag-teaming this smear campaign. Unlike direct demonic arts, accusations of collusion were difficult to disprove on the spot.
"Junior Brother Gu Mo would never collude with demonic cultivators!"
At last, Yuan Niya couldn't stay silent. She and Chu Feifei had initially stayed calm, confident in their knowledge of Gu Mo's character. But this relentless string of accusations was intolerable.
This sort of crime wasn't easily disproved, especially when the so-called evidence was so carefully arranged. If suspicion lingered, Gu Mo's ascension to Inner Sect would be in jeopardy. At the very least, the sect wouldn't promote him until his name was cleared.
"Senior Sister Yuan, how can you be so sure? Rumor has it that you and Gu Mo are quite close. Could it be that you, too…" Ye Yuqi began, his tone laced with malice.
"Junior Brother Ye, watch your words!" He Shaogang barked. "Senior Sister Yuan has passed the core disciple evaluation. Her background is beyond reproach. To question her is to question the sect itself—including all the other core disciples, yourself included."
Right now, He Shaogang was focused on eliminating Gu Mo. He didn't want to involve Yuan Niya, a Second Core Disciple, especially since her mentor was an Elder of the Disciplinary Hall.
"My apologies for the misstep."
Realizing his error, Ye Yuqi quickly bowed to Gao Yunrui and the other elders.
"It's fine. When it concerns the sect's safety, a little caution is warranted," Gao Yunrui said with a wave of his hand.
His neutral response made He Shaogang inwardly rejoice.
That one sentence signaled that Gao Yunrui's trust in Gu Mo had begun to waver. Under normal circumstances, such doubts might fade with time. But now, in Qinglu Sect's most vulnerable period, the timing couldn't be worse.
Most of the sect's outstanding disciples had perished recently. Their only hope now was to successfully refine the Infant Condensation Pill, allowing Gao Yunrui to ascend to the Nascent Soul stage.
To ensure the process went smoothly, the sect needed absolute security. Someone like Gu Mo, with so much circumstantial evidence tying him to demonic collusion, likely wouldn't be allowed to stay. He'd be assigned an external mission—only to be recalled after the pill was refined.
Besides being an outer disciple, Gu Mo was also a spirit herb specialist. That meant he had potential access to the ingredients for the Infant Condensation Pill. If he tampered with them and the pill failed, Qinglu Sect's final chance at resurgence would be lost.
As far as He Shaogang was concerned, sending Gu Mo away would count as a win. Within the sect, he couldn't touch him—but outside? He had plenty of methods to make Gu Mo disappear.
"Gu Mo."
Gao Yunrui turned to face him.
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Gu Mo bowed respectfully.
"You are now an Inner Sect disciple," Gao Yunrui began, which left everyone momentarily stunned. Gu Mo, who had been embroiled in the controversy of associating with demonic cultivators, was unexpectedly promoted to Inner Sect disciple.
"As an Inner Sect disciple, you are also required to contribute to the sect," Gao Yunrui continued. "Recently, there has been an ongoing disturbance at one of our resource points. You'll go there to defend it for a while."
As He Shaogang had anticipated, Gao Yunrui, in order to avoid any mishaps, decided to temporarily transfer Gu Mo out of the sect and elevate him to an Inner Sect disciple as a form of compensation.
"Yes!" Gu Mo knew there was no way to change this decision and nodded in agreement. At the same time, he understood that once he left the sect, he would be facing He Shaogang's most intense assault.
It must be said that He Shaogang had been thoroughly prepared, especially with the evidence he had gathered. It was undeniable proof that Gu Mo was hard-pressed to refute. The only mistake He Shaogang had made was that Gu Mo did not practice demonic arts. If he had, Gu Mo would undoubtedly be facing disaster right now.
However, the passive beating was not sitting well with Gu Mo.
"Sect Master, I have one more matter," Gu Mo took a deep breath and spoke.
"Speak!" Gao Yunrui gestured for Gu Mo to go ahead.
"According to the sect rules, Inner Sect disciples have the right to challenge the True Disciples. Now that I am an Inner Sect disciple, I would like to challenge the True Disciple." As he spoke, Gu Mo's gaze shifted toward Ye Yuqi.
He Shaogang had not intervened during this entire process and instead pretended to offer good advice. This made it difficult for Gu Mo to retaliate directly at He Shaogang. Moreover, Gu Mo also knew that He Shaogang was not so easily dealt with.
If he couldn't deal with He Shaogang, then he would first deal with Ye Yuqi, the lackey, and knock him off his True Disciple position.
"What!" Gao Yunrui was taken aback. He clearly hadn't expected Gu Mo to bring this up. Indeed, the sect had such a rule, but...
"Gu Mo, you wish to challenge me?" Ye Yuqi could not help but laugh when he heard Gu Mo was challenging his position as a True Disciple. Though his cultivation was at the peak of Qi Refining, it was on a completely different level compared to the old Qi Refining cultivator Gu Mo had previously defeated, who no longer had any potential.
"Ye Senior Brother, are you afraid of battle?" Gu Mo said lightly.
"Of course not. But duels can lead to unexpected accidents. I fear I might inadvertently harm Junior Brother," Ye Yuqi's tone grew cold.
"You needn't worry about that, Senior Brother Ye." Gu Mo made a gesture, inviting him to begin.
A challenge for True Disciple status could begin as long as both sides agreed. Of course, the challenge required the presence of two Gold Core Elders as witnesses; private challenges were not valid.
At this moment, there were not only two Gold Core Elders present, but also Gao Yunrui, the Sect Master.
"Do as you wish!" Gao Yunrui shook his head. The sect rules were clear, and since Gu Mo wanted to challenge Ye Yuqi, he could not stop him. It seemed Gu Mo had been slandered by Ye Yuqi and probably wished to vent his anger. That was completely understandable.
With him present, there should be no issues.
"This Gu Mo, what else is he planning?" Seeing that Gu Mo was about to be sent out, He Shaogang's plan to eliminate him was nearly a success.
This sudden challenge for True Disciple status made He Shaogang furrow his brows in concern. He was truly worried about any unexpected developments. However, given Ye Yuqi's strength, there should be no surprises in defeating Gu Mo, right?
The outer sect tournament suddenly turned into a True Disciple challenge, leaving everyone present a little dazed, but since there was a good show to watch, no one would miss it.
"Begin!" Gao Yunrui threw a spirit stone onto the ground. The moment the stone landed, the True Disciple challenge officially started.
"Hm?" Ye Yuqi's gaze fixed on the spirit stone as it fell rapidly. At this moment, he slightly twitched his nose, and then he smelled a hint of danger.
Just moments ago, Gao Yunrui and several Gold Core Elders were present, and the powerful aura of the Gold Core cultivators had affected Ye Yuqi's nose-based divine sense. Now that only he and Gu Mo were left, Ye Yuqi immediately detected a dangerous scent emanating from Gu Mo.
He couldn't understand why Gu Mo would give off such a dangerous aura, but Ye Yuqi had great faith in his nose-based divine sense, which had helped him avoid many crises in the past.
"Ding!"
As everyone watched, the spirit stone hit the ground.
Almost instantly, Ye Yuqi summoned his top-tier magic sword and charged toward Gu Mo, aiming to end the fight with a single strike.
Gu Mo calmly watched as the sword rapidly approached. His eyes flashed with a faint silver glow.
"Divine Sense!"
In an instant, all the foundation-building cultivators and above in the crowd felt a familiar wave—this was a fluctuation unique to those with divine sense.
However, at this moment, the divine sense was coming from a Qi Refining cultivator.
"This is bad!" Although Ye Yuqi could not detect divine sense, the moment Gu Mo released his, he immediately sensed a thick aura of danger. Almost instinctively, he pulled back his magic sword to defend.
"Ding!"
At that moment, a loud explosion rang out. Another top-tier magic sword appeared out of nowhere, clashing with Ye Yuqi's recalled sword.
"You actually blocked it!" Gu Mo cast a surprised glance at Ye Yuqi. It had to be said that this person did have some skill. Even after being locked onto by divine sense, he was able to block his attack.
However, this didn't matter. Once Ye Yuqi accepted the challenge, his defeat was already inevitable.
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