Forbidden area behind the mountain.
In the center of a huge platform, a precious sword was stuck.
Next to the sword, there was also a three-person-tall Xiezhi statue.
The Xiezhi was massive, with wide, angry eyes, and a sharp horn on its forehead.
"Do you see the horn on the Xiezhi's head?" Lin Qingling's clear voice rang out. "On the Heart-Searching Platform, every question must be answered, and every answer must be true. If anyone lies, the horn on the Xiezhi's forehead will turn towards the liar, and then, lightning will strike from the horn, and the liar will suffer divine punishment."
Lin Qingling's expression was calm.
Lightning striking from the horn.
Suffering divine punishment.
Ye Zhaozhao couldn't help but shiver.
When she looked at the statue again, her expression already carried a hint of fear.
"Junior Sister, don't worry. Only liars will be punished. You just need to tell the truth," Shen Yue whispered.
Ye Zhaozhao tried to suppress the panic in her heart. "I... I just feel that we don't need to go this far."
She still wanted to struggle a bit.
She absolutely did not want to step onto this Heart-Searching Platform.
"It has come to this; there's no turning back," Sheng Yuan said softly. "The Sect Master has already gone to activate the Heart-Searching Platform."
He glanced at Ye Zhaozhao and suddenly asked, "Junior Sister, is what you said about the snowy mountain truly accurate?"
Ye Zhaozhao instinctively said, "Of course it is!"
Sheng Yuan nodded. "Then there's nothing to be afraid of. Don't worry, the divine beast Xiezhi never makes mistakes."
Ye Zhaozhao couldn't help but purse her lips tightly. Her heart trembled, and she even wondered if she should just confess. But for some reason, a glimmer of hope remained in her heart.
It was just a statue, seemingly unremarkable. Did it truly possess the legendary power?
At this moment.
Meng Yifei had already opened the Heart-Searching Platform with the Sect Master's ring.
As the Heart-Searching Platform opened.
On the massive statue, the divine beast Xiezhi slowly opened its eyes.
The Xiezhi opened its mouth, its voice deep and resonant, "Humans, for what purpose?"
"Please, divine beast, distinguish right from wrong," Meng Yifei said, cupping his hands, and took out some items, offering them into the Xiezhi's mouth.
No matter what it was, the Xiezhi accepted it all.
After consuming many things, a satisfied expression appeared on the Xiezhi's face. "Agreed."
Meng Yifei's lips moved, seemingly saying something to the Xiezhi.
Subsequently.
The Xiezhi's gaze shifted, its sharp light falling upon Li Shuang and Ye Zhaozhao.
Its eyes seemed to see through all concealment.
Li Shuang stood openly and honestly, allowing the Xiezhi to scrutinize her.
Ye Zhaozhao tried to straighten her back, but her lips trembled incessantly.
Two beams of light shot out from the Xiezhi's left and right eyes, enveloping Li Shuang and Ye Zhaozhao.
Ye Zhaozhao felt as if everything about her was being seen through. A great panic surged, and Ye Zhaozhao cried out, "I confess, I..."
At this moment, the string in Ye Zhaozhao's heart completely snapped. Her voice was sharp; to avoid stepping onto the Heart-Searching Platform, she actually wanted to reveal the truth.
But it was too late.
The light flashed.
Li Shuang and Ye Zhaozhao were transported onto the Heart-Searching Platform out of thin air.
The two stood on opposite sides of the statue.
A phantom of the Xiezhi emerged, looking down at them from above.
"The price for this time is only enough to verify three questions. I will ask, and you shall answer. On the Heart-Searching Platform, every question must be answered, and every answer must be true, otherwise, you will suffer the punishment of lightning."
Li Shuang nodded.
Ye Zhaozhao, met with the Xiezhi's majestic gaze, felt her legs weaken and collapsed directly to the ground.
Ye Zhaozhao's reaction was too obviously guilty.
True Master Lingxu's expression became somewhat unpleasant. Was what his young disciple said truly the truth? He was already wavering a bit.
However, until the last moment, True Master Lingxu, like Ye Zhaozhao, was unwilling to give up hope.
Perhaps Zhaozhao wasn't guilty, but just scared by the situation?
Sheng Yuan and the others also stared intently at the Heart-Searching Platform.
Once the Heart-Searching Platform was opened, it would not close until these three questions were answered. Right or wrong, there would certainly be a result today.
Under everyone's gaze.
The Xiezhi's majestic voice rang out.
"First question: On the snowy mountain, who picked the Tianshan Snow Lotus? Respondents: Li Shuang, Ye Zhaozhao."
As the Xiezhi finished speaking, a strange power fell upon Li Shuang and Ye Zhaozhao.
Li Shuang answered calmly, "I picked it with my own hands."
On the Xiezhi statue, its left eye glowed red, indicating that Li Shuang's answer was true.
Ye Zhaozhao's lips trembled. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
The next moment.
A bolt of lightning struck directly from the sky, hitting Ye Zhaozhao.
Ye Zhaozhao screamed, her skin tearing open, instantly severely injured.
"On the Heart-Searching Platform, every question must be answered, and every answer must be true!"
The Xiezhi repeated coldly.
Ye Zhaozhao's lips trembled as she lay on the ground, unable to move for a long while.
"What Li Shuang said is true. Extract Li Shuang's relevant memories and reveal them to the world."
As the Xiezhi's voice fell.
An image appeared in the air.
Amidst the swirling snow, everyone watched Li Shuang climb steadily upwards, step by step. How biting was the fierce wind, how freezing was the heavy snow, yet she never thought of stopping for a moment. On the mountaintop, the snow lotus swayed. Li Shuang, despite her body being battered and bruised by the fierce wind, finally defeated the snow monster guarding the snow lotus, and only then, after a narrow escape from death, did she pick the snow lotus.
The moment she picked the snow lotus.
A glimmer of joy flashed across Li Shuang's face.
"Master's snow lotus, I have it!" She carefully placed the snow lotus in her embrace, her expression so precious.
The image ended there.
Below the platform.
There was a moment of silence.
Everyone couldn't help but look at True Master Lingxu.
True Master Lingxu's expression was somewhat dazed.
The image had disappeared.
But the blood on Li Shuang's white clothes seemed to still flicker before his eyes.
He saw clearly that the snow lotus was not easily obtained; even for Li Shuang, it was a near-death experience.
True Master Lingxu suddenly looked at Ye Zhaozhao.
But Ye Zhaozhao, Ye Zhaozhao hadn't said that.
She said that Li Shuang had sneaked off and hidden early, and that she, Ye Zhaozhao, had painstakingly picked the snow lotus.
At this moment.
Ye Zhaozhao lowered her head, already not daring to look at the expressions of the crowd.
True Master Lingxu's expression became slightly distorted, but he didn't want to appear too foolish, so he quickly controlled his expression.
Sheng Yuan and the others also had complex expressions.
In their hearts, they had indeed harbored doubts about Ye Zhaozhao's words.
However, for them at this moment, only if Li Shuang also had a moral failing could they justifiably forgive their own mistakes.
If even the matter of the snowy mountain was false.
Then what did their subsequent actions amount to?
Sheng Yuan and the others even started to panic a little.
"The snow lotus... the snow lotus might have been picked by Li Shuang. But, it must be true that she left Zhaozhao to die," Chang Le'an stammered.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes," Sheng Yuan quickly said. "This point, at least, cannot be wrong."
The Xiezhi opened its mouth and calmly asked the second question.
"Second question: On the snowy mountain, did Li Shuang leave Ye Zhaozhao to die? Respondents: Li Shuang, Ye Zhaozhao."
A strange power once again descended upon Li Shuang and Ye Zhaozhao.