Even if Lan Chang were to say, "The one who killed my people is you," it wouldn't be more shocking than what she just said.

Xie Lian was almost struck dumb on the spot, exclaiming, "Me?!"

Jun Wu, sitting on the throne above, seemed to have his hand slip from his forehead. The gods were silent for a moment, then all turned to look at him. Jun Wu adjusted his hand back to its original position, maintaining a deep and thoughtful pose. The gods then turned their gaze back to Xie Lian.

Is it finally happening, the much-anticipated third demotion?

Xie Lian felt as if his entire heart and soul were trembling, and he swallowed back the habitual phrase that was about to burst forth, "I am not impotent."

It was just a casual excuse, not something to bring up at a time like this.

Moreover, there was a widely circulated joke in the Heavenly Court about the martial gods' attitudes towards "women": Feng Xin keeps a respectful distance; Lang Qianqiu blushes at the sight of women; Mu Qing refuses to look at ugly women; Pei Su shows no expression, leaving people unsure of his thoughts; Quan Yizhen doesn't have women in his mind at all; Pei Ming is full of thoughts about women.

If he shouted it out, this summary might just add him to the list. Xie Lian earnestly said, "Miss Lan Chang, please calm down. There is absolutely no such thing."

Lan Chang's eyes were as wide as copper bells, saying, "There is. It's you, the Crown Prince of the Divine Joy Kingdom!"

"......"

Although the time of this woman's death was later than his ascension, roughly matching up, Xie Lian knew whether or not he had ever seen her. Amidst the whispers around him, Xie Lian composed himself and said seriously, "Miss, I may not be a saint, but I know how to be devoted.

If I don't truly love someone, I would never do anything inappropriate with them. If I did, even if I had to sell everything I own and perform on the streets to support my family, I wouldn't let that person suffer any grievance. This is the Divine Martial Hall, please don't speak recklessly."

Shi Qingxuan also said, "If the Crown Prince really did such a thing, why would he bring this ghost lady up here to confront him? And why would Miss Lan Chang only recognize him now? It's obviously not right."

It was clearly not right. However, when there's a spectacle to watch, people don't care if it's right or not, and everyone maintained a reserved attitude. Some gods even speculated wildly, "Could it be that the Crown Prince lost his memory and doesn't remember what he did?"

"Honestly, I find it more believable that he was bold enough to think that after eight hundred years, people wouldn't recognize him."

Xie Lian was speechless, reminding them, "Isn't it a bit dangerous to prove one unbelievable thing by making up another even more unbelievable thing?"

Feng Xin seemed to want to say something but hesitated, ultimately not speaking. Jun Wu lightly coughed and said, "Divine Joy, how many golden belts did you have before?"

Xie Lian covered his forehead, saying, "…That would be too many. At least ten…"

Mu Qing said calmly, "Over forty. Each one had a different pattern and color."

As soon as he spoke, he realized it was inappropriate and stopped, because someone immediately remembered that Mu Qing used to be Xie Lian's personal attendant, responsible for his daily life, which is why he knew such details so well.

The gods thought, just the golden belts alone numbered over forty, this Crown Prince was truly extravagant and pampered back then. Not only others, but Xie Lian also felt embarrassed recalling it.

Back then, he changed into a new set of luxurious clothes every day, with the belt matching the outfit, unlike now, where he has only three sets of clothes to rotate throughout the year, and they all look the same, making it seem like he only has one outfit. Jun Wu asked again, "Do you remember where you put them?"

Xie Lian and Feng Xin both felt a bit choked.

Xie Lian rubbed his temples and said, "Ahem, I don't quite remember. After all, they're things from over eight hundred years ago, who knows where they ended up."

Not only because of forgetfulness, but mainly because he and Feng Xin often pawned things when they were short on money. They pawned so much that they really couldn't remember if there were any belts left. Although Feng Xin was also reluctant to discuss this topic, he still said, "If someone got their hands on this golden belt, it might not have been given to them, it could have been picked up."

Jun Wu didn't seem to have much hope that Xie Lian would remember, saying, "Divine Joy, I recall that the technique you practice requires maintaining a pure body. Otherwise, your spiritual power would greatly diminish."

Xie Lian replied, "Yes."

Shi Qingxuan casually said, "Wow, just by looking at the Crown Prince, I felt he must be practicing something like that, and it turns out to be true. If that's the case, let alone having a child with someone, he probably hasn't even held hands with anyone."

Xie Lian was about to say "yes," but suddenly a pale, slender hand appeared in his mind, cold as jade under a red bridal veil, with a thin red string tied around the third finger. The word "yes" got stuck in his throat and wouldn't come out. Everyone in the hall was watching him closely, and it was clear that this hesitation meant "no"!

However, "never held hands" was too low a bar, even if he had, it was nothing. Shi Qingxuan immediately corrected himself, "Even if he held hands, he definitely hasn't kissed anyone."

Xie Lian wanted to say "yes" again, but this time, a series of crystal-like water bubbles rose in his mind, and behind them was an extremely handsome face with closed eyes, a small beauty mark on the forehead, very attractive.

This time, not only did he fail to utter a word, but his entire face turned red.

"……"

The gods in the hall instantly understood, and there was a chorus of dry coughs. Shi Qingxuan began to regret, tapping his fan on his head, and secretly communicated with Xie Lian, "Crown Prince, I'm sorry. I just wanted to convince everyone that you're really pure-hearted, but it turns out you're not. I didn't expect you to have such experiences, you can't tell!"

The phrase "didn't expect you're not" shattered Xie Lian's resolve. He replied with difficulty, "Stop talking, that was an accident…"

Jun Wu clenched his hand into a fist and coughed again, saying, "That's good. You haven't broken the rules all these years, have you?"

Xie Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Yes."

Jun Wu said, "Then it's easy. I have a sword here called 'Yan Zhen,' which has a peculiar method. If virgin blood flows over it, it leaves no trace, the more you wash it, the brighter it becomes. Just take a drop of blood, and you'll know."

Although everyone knew about Jun Wu's long-standing hobby of collecting all sorts of strange and bizarre swords, the gods still thought to themselves, "Why do you have so many random swords, what do you collect them for…"

Xie Lian found the situation inexplicable and just wanted to end it quickly. As soon as Ling Wen brought the slender 'Yan Zhen' sword, he immediately scraped his hand on the blade. Countless eyes were fixed on this side, and Shi Qingxuan clapped his hands, saying, "Alright. Case closed!"

The blood bead slid over the blade, indeed leaving no trace. With irrefutable evidence, everyone had to disperse, saying, "Ah, I see." "Then who is it?" They were all somewhat uninterested and slightly disappointed.

Ling Wen politely said, "Miss, please honestly confess which god it is. If the fetus spirit in your womb continues to be restless, and you lack spiritual power, I'm afraid only the father with a blood connection can gently educate it. I…"

Unexpectedly, before she finished speaking, Lan Chang pointed at Ling Wen and said, "You! That person is you!"

"……"

Ling Wen: "???"

Ling Wen, who had probably just rushed from the temple to attend the meeting, was in male form at the time. Suddenly being identified by Lan Chang as the father of the child, he looked bewildered and shocked. The gods burst into laughter. Pei Ming said, "Jie Qing, did you finish your paperwork before going down to find a girl to have a child with, hahaha…"

This was probably what they call karma. Ling Wen shook his head, declined Shi Wudu's kind gesture of giving a "red envelope" to his "nephew," and regained his composure, saying, "Not finished, no time."

With all the commotion, suspecting several people, naturally, no one believed it anymore. Feng Xin couldn't stand it and said irritably, "I get it. This ghost lady is completely crazy, making a fuss and biting everyone indiscriminately, deliberately causing trouble."

Lan Chang giggled, looking more and more like a madwoman from the mortal world. If this continued, who knew if she would accuse someone else next, so the gods changed their tune, saying, "Yeah, who knows if that golden belt was stolen by her…"

"Honestly, I have more than one golden belt, and I can't be sure how many I have, nor can I remember if they're all properly kept."

Lan Chang, however, was relentless, putting her hands on her hips and saying, "What, trying to clear your name now? Too late! No way! It's you, it's you, it's still you!"

With this stance, it seemed she was pointing randomly without even looking, even forcing Ming Yi, who was quietly standing in the corner, chewing something with an indifferent yet focused expression, to be recognized as a father. The hall was in chaos, with everyone trying to escape: "Take her away, take her away!" "Don't let her talk nonsense!" "Sister, the girl I like isn't like you, don't slander me!" "This is really out of order!"

Jun Wu waved his hand, and a minor god entered to escort Lan Chang out. As she was dragged out of the Divine Martial Hall, she continued to laugh shrilly, and only then did the gods return to their positions, feeling a lingering fear.

Initially, everyone thought it was none of their business, just watching the excitement, but now they didn't know if a pot of trouble would suddenly be dumped on them.

Perhaps next time, when their new play was staged in the mortal world, they would inexplicably have a heavily made-up ghost lover and countless murderous ghost children, feeling a sense of crisis, they all threw up their hands, saying, "This can't be investigated!"

"I think she's just mentally unstable. No need to investigate, it's a waste of time, just lock her up and be done with it."

"It's also very likely that she was sent by the ghost realm to stir up trouble."

Xie Lian, however, disagreed, saying, "On the way here, Miss Lan Chang was clearly very normal and clear-headed, how could she become like this as soon as she arrived at the Divine Martial Hall? I'm afraid it's not something that can be explained by just saying 'she's crazy.'"

Thus, they were once again divided into two factions, and after much debate, the conclusion was the perennial "wait and see." After the meeting was dismissed, having said goodbye to Shi Qingxuan and verbally agreeing to go down and play in a few days, Xie Lian left the Divine Martial Hall, sighing in his heart, "They say the Ling Wen Hall is inefficient, but there's no helping it. Every time a meeting is held, the discussions are scattered and numerous, and the final handling is mostly moderate and lukewarm, how can the Ling Wen Hall act decisively?"

At this moment, he felt someone following him from behind. Turning around, he saw it was Feng Xin, slightly surprised. Before he could greet him, Feng Xin quickly said in a low voice, "Be careful of Mu Qing."

Xie Lian also lowered his voice, "Mu Qing?"

Feng Xin said, "When he entered the hall, that ghost lady's expression changed, as if she was a bit afraid of him. I don't pry into others' private affairs, just be on guard." With that, he hurried off. Xie Lian stood there for a moment, then slowly started walking again.

Although it wasn't obvious on the surface, Xie Lian had been secretly observing the subtle expressions of each god and Lan Chang's reactions, naturally not missing Mu Qing's.

However, he believed that the father of the fetus spirit was unlikely to be Mu Qing. Xie Lian couldn't imagine Mu Qing doing such a thing. In fact, Mu Qing was entirely focused on martial arts, cultivation, expanding his followers, and territory, and he practiced the same path as Xie Lian, which wouldn't involve women and ruin his cultivation. But Mu Qing knowing Lan Chang seemed to be true. With too few clues, shaking his head, Xie Lian descended from the Heavenly Court.

Although the fetus spirit had been subdued, Lang Ying and Gu Zi were settled in a wealthy merchant's home, with food and drink, there was nothing to worry about. But he had been away for a long time, which wasn't good. If he stayed away too long, the wealthy merchant might start to worry about not seeing him.

So, as soon as Xie Lian descended, he headed straight for Puqi Town. The wealthy merchant, upon seeing him, tightly grasped his hands, excitedly saying, "Daoist! You're a high person, a high person!

You slept in my wife's room last night, we locked the door, and in the morning, you were gone without a trace! High, truly high! How did it go?

Did you catch the monster?"

Xie Lian said, "Caught it, rest assured, it's all settled. How are the two children I brought?"

The wealthy merchant, as if granted amnesty, was overjoyed, saying, "Very well-behaved, very well-behaved! They don't eat much! Daoist, where is your Thousand Lantern Temple? I want to donate, fulfill my vow! From today, I want to be a named disciple in your temple, no one can compete with me!"

Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh. But in any case, he had developed a follower, and a wealthy one at that, feeling very gratified. He preached to the wealthy merchant, advising him not to indulge in women, to be devoted, and to cherish his wife and family. Finally, he invited him to visit Puqi Temple someday, and then left gracefully with Lang Ying and Gu Zi.

The three returned to Puqi Village, and upon reaching Puqi Temple, Xie Lian placed the sign asking for donations for the temple's renovation in a more prominent spot, hoping the wealthy merchant would see it at a glance when he came. However, as soon as he pushed the door open, he felt something was different inside.

Entering the temple, it was indeed very different. The floor had been swept, the altar and chairs had been wiped, the dust had been removed, and the dirty waste in the corners had been cleaned up. It was as if the Snail Girl had visited, it was too clean.

Because even Qi Rong was gone!

With him gone, the whole room seemed suddenly spacious and bright, as if even the air was fresher. Gu Zi, holding the meat pie Xie Lian had specially brought back from town, poked his head out and didn't see anyone, anxiously asking, "Big brother, where's my dad?"

Xie Lian immediately turned around. Before he could step out the door, he felt a dangerous cold light approaching, and he reflexively drew his sword, Fang Xin, to strike. With a "clang," the cold light was sent flying high, landing dozens of feet away.

He drew his sword like lightning and sheathed it just as quickly. Fang Xin returned to its place, and he exhaled lightly, feeling puzzled: why was there no follow-up move after that cold light?

Looking at the cold light, it had been knocked away and was now stuck crookedly in the ground far away. Seeing that curved silver light from afar, Xie Lian found it increasingly familiar. He took the two children over, squatted down, and said, "This… isn't this E Ming? What's wrong with you?"

Talking to a sword, asking what's wrong, was indeed a bizarre scene. The passing farmers gave Xie Lian strange looks, secretly nudging each other, "Look, look at this person, he's talking to a sword…" "I see, don't mind him, let's go…" However, Xie Lian had to ask because E Ming's entire blade and the eye on the hilt outlined in silver thread were trembling uncontrollably, as if suffering from a terminal illness, shaking more and more violently. Xie Lian couldn't help but reach out, saying, "Did I hurt you with that strike just now?"