Chapter 781: Stone Hammer, Counterattack

"This…"

The Golden Immortal Emperor was caught off guard and didn't know what to do for a moment.

He turned his head and looked at the other Immortal Emperors.

The Void Immortal Emperor said: "That makes sense!"

The other Phoenix Immortal Emperors said: "This Emperor thinks it's not impossible!"

The previous Phoenix Emperor's true form was slain by Qiao Hui Zhu!

Now, several Mahayana Immortal Emperors from the Phoenix Clan have arrived.

"Fine…"

"No problem!"

"If there's cheating, we won't tolerate it!"

Clearly, everyone was willing to support the Phoenix Clan's position.

Only Zhu Zhengyan, with a dark face, said: "Impossible… my son absolutely did not cheat—I guarantee it; don't act rashly!"

Feng Wanxi said: "Immortal Emperor Jinwu, rest assured—Zhu Xuanlun definitely did not cheat!"

"As far as I know, when refining elixirs of the same quality, they usually appear in pairs!"

"For example, two superior-grade, two supreme-grade, four superior-grade, and so on…"

"Zhu Xuanlun refined two supreme-grade elixirs—and if he had used the Nanke Immortal Spring, there would be no need to waste two drops in the second furnace; one furnace alone would have secured first place. So Zhu Xuanlun is definitely not at fault!"

After Feng Wanxi spoke, all the Immortal Emperors nodded.

Seeing that the matter no longer concerned him, Zhu Zhengyan burst into loud laughter: "Exactly, exactly… Feng Wanxi is absolutely right! Investigate… those who produced only a single supreme-grade elixir—investigate them all!"

He Pingsheng was on the verge of tears.

That's right!

What Feng Wanxi said made sense.

Under normal circumstances, elixirs of the same grade do indeed appear in pairs.

Someone like him, who produced only a single supreme-grade elixir, is exceedingly rare… not impossible, but utterly bizarre.

Even more absurd cases exist—such as producing one supreme-grade, three superior-grade, and eight middle-grade elixirs—that's simply impossible.

Because when elixirs are formed, they cannot span three grades simultaneously; supreme, superior, and middle grades cannot appear together.

Either all are one grade—supreme or superior—or a mix of superior and middle.

That's common knowledge.

Now, apart from Zhu Xuanlun, every other cultivator who produced a supreme-grade elixir violated this common knowledge.

In past competitions, this always happened, but no one pursued it; everyone let it pass.

But now the Phoenix Clan is refusing to let it go, making things difficult.

"This…" an elderly-looking elder spoke: "The Phoenix Clan's claim is indeed hard to refute, but according to my knowledge, once an elixir is formed, its composition cannot be examined to determine whether Nanke Immortal Spring was added… how can you be certain others used it?"

"Also!" the elder continued: "As for odd or even numbers of elixirs, this cannot be generalized—it's merely improbable, not impossible!"

"Indeed!" the Dalun Mingwang quickly agreed: "This Palace also believes the Black Tortoise Immortal Emperor speaks wisely—we must not unjustly accuse anyone!"

The Black Tortoise Immortal Emperor spoke up because one of his descendants had refined a single supreme-grade elixir.

He was defending himself.

The Dalun Mingwang was purely speaking up for He Pingsheng.

"Hehehe…" Feng Wanxi chuckled: "No need to worry… Immortal Emperors, this junior has further evidence!"

With a wave of her hand, Feng Wanxi produced a jade slip.

Poom…

With a crisp sound, Feng Wanxi crushed the jade slip.

Then, a projection appeared in the void.

The scene in the projection was He Pingsheng's cultivation hall.

Through the image, it was clearly the moment when Nan Qiqi presented He Pingsheng with the 【Nanke Immortal Spring】.

"It's not actually that precious—the Nanke Immortal Spring doesn't form one drop per thousand years, but one drop every hundred years. I collected the nine drops in between myself!"

"It's not that rare!"

"Other Immortal Domains may have little of it, but in our Zhu Que Immortal Domain, there's plenty!"

"Of course, my grandfather gave away many drops back then, so if you don't use yours, other prodigies might use theirs—and then we'd be at a disadvantage!"

Nan Qiqi's voice echoed from the projection.

Not only did Nan Qiqi's voice come through, but crucially, He Pingsheng was seen nodding—he said: "Alright, since it's allowed, I'll give it a try!"

The projection ended abruptly here!

Damn… this evidence was rock-solid.

"Damn it!" Below, Nan Qiqi stood up with a bang, glaring at her four maids: "Who betrayed me!"

When she went to discuss this with He Pingsheng, she hadn't come alone—she brought four maids.

The one who secretly recorded the projection was definitely one of these four maids.

"Hehehe…" Feng Wanxi chuckled: "Nan Qiqi, you've admitted it?"

"Correct—it was your maids who betrayed you!"

"Clap, clap, clap…" She lightly clapped her hands, and one maid stepped forward, directly accusing He Pingsheng.

The entire scene erupted like a boiling pot.

He Pingsheng and Nan Qiqi were utterly speechless.

"Immortal Emperor!" Feng Wanxi bowed: "Now everyone understands why He Pingsheng delayed the alchemy until night—so he could slip the spirit liquid into the furnace under cover of darkness, hiding it from everyone's eyes!"

"Now we have eyewitnesses, physical evidence, and the projection!"

"He Pingsheng's cheating is beyond doubt!"

"I beg all Immortal Emperors to revoke Zhu Que Immortal Domain's eligibility for this competition!"

Feng Wanxi was ruthless—not only did she want He Pingsheng disqualified, but the entire Zhu Que Immortal Domain as well.

"This…" The Golden Immortal Emperor took a deep breath and glanced around.

All the Immortal Emperors' expressions were uniform: revoke He Pingsheng's eligibility.

After all, if He Pingsheng was eliminated, it benefited many.

"Everyone!" At this critical moment, the Dalun Mingwang spoke: "From start to finish, the central figure here is He Pingsheng. Before revoking his eligibility, shouldn't we hear what he has to say?"

The Golden Immortal Emperor said: "That makes sense!"

The Phoenix Emperor added: "Correct—we should give him a chance; otherwise, others won't truly accept it…"

"He Pingsheng, speak!"

He wasn't afraid He Pingsheng would play tricks.

The ironclad evidence was right before them—how could he possibly overturn this?

At this moment, even the Phoenix Emperor believed He Pingsheng had used the Nanke Immortal Spring.

Yet He Pingsheng remained calm, saying softly: "Correct… the events in the projection were real… Nan Qiqi did give me one drop of Nanke Immortal Spring, saying that by convention, it was permitted, since many Immortal Domains do the same!"

"But…" He Pingsheng changed tone: "I did not use it!"

"Please look!"

He Pingsheng waved his hand, and a jade bottle flew out, hovering in the void: "That one drop of Nanke Immortal Spring remains inside the bottle—please have all Immortal Emperors examine it!"