252: Chapter 252 Taking the opportunity to stir up trouble, the spearhead is aimed directly at Madam Qingli.

Crack... crack crack...

Before the crowd could even recover from the shock of the first crack, more dense and clear sounds of shattering rang out in succession!

Under the watch of countless horrified gazes, that initial silver-gray crack on the surface of the spirit testing stone seemed to come alive, rapidly spreading and branching out!

In just two or three breaths, countless fine cracks covered the entire surface of the crystal like a spiderweb!

Inside the crystal, the nebula that had been slowly rotating began to twist violently!

Starlight flickered and dimmed frantically; the miniature Universe within was undergoing a cataclysmic apocalypse!

"Not good!"

Elder Lan Yi was the first to react. Her expression changed drastically as she cried out in alarm. With a wave of her sleeve, a soft water-blue light barrier instantly expanded, enveloping the entire spirit testing platform and the nearby clansmen!

Almost at the exact moment the light barrier formed—

Boom!!!

A dull explosion that made everyone's hearts stop sounded!

The spirit testing stone, which had been passed down for ten thousand years and was regarded as one of the Taihu Clan's sacred objects, shattered... right before everyone's eyes!

It didn't just split into a few pieces; it completely turned into countless tiny, crystalline powders!

The crystalline powder didn't fly in all directions but formed a small cloud of starlit mist where it stood, slowly drifting away and eventually dissolving completely into the air, leaving nothing behind.

Only a smooth groove remained at the top of the stone pillar where the spirit testing stone had been embedded, silently telling of what once existed there.

Silence!

A silence even more deathly than before!

The wind blew across the Starfall Stone Platform, rustling a few fallen leaves with a soft sound that nevertheless struck everyone's hearts like a thunderclap.

Everyone, including Elder Mo Feng, Elder Lan Yi, Lady Qingli, and the hundreds of Taihu clansmen below the platform, were all petrified, frozen in place. Their expressions were frozen in extreme shock, bewilderment, horror, and incomprehension.

The spirit testing stone... broke?

It was touched once by a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator... and it broke?

A Legacy of ten million years... just like that... gone?

What... what the hell is going on?!!

Xu Ruyu himself was stunned. He had anticipated many possibilities—the spirit testing stone having no reaction, emitting a strange light, or even vibrating due to energy conflict—but he never expected this thing to... just shatter?!

Was it because the 'Origin Activation' trait within his Haotian True Qi had inadvertently triggered some forbidden Law of the spirit testing stone?

Or was it that the spirit testing stone attempted to forcibly analyze his vastly different energy pattern, leading to the overload and collapse of its ancient structure?

He didn't know.

But he knew that the trouble... might have just gotten bigger.

Sure enough, after a brief deathly silence, a wave of even more intense and sharp accusations erupted like a volcanic eruption!

"It's broken! The spirit testing stone is broken!!"

"It's that outsider kid! He broke it!"

"How is that possible?! He's just a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator; how could he have the power to destroy the spirit testing stone?!"

"He must have used some sinister evil technique! Or he's carrying some forbidden object!"

"Yes! It must be Elder Qingli! She conspired with an outsider and intentionally brought someone to destroy our clan's sacred object!!"

"Sinister motives! Her heart deserves execution!!!"

The finger was instantly pointed away from Xu Ruyu and toward Lady Qingli!

And it was even more malicious than before, escalating directly to the level of 'colluding with outsiders, destroying a sacred object, and plotting ill intent'!

Elder Mo Feng recovered from his initial shock. A flash of horror first crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by wild joy and ruthlessness!

This was simply a god-given opportunity!

Not only could he cement Xu Ruyu's reputation as a 'waste' or a 'scourge,' but he could also cast Lady Qingli completely into the abyss!

He spun around abruptly, his face ashen. Pointing at Lady Qingli, he roared with severe intensity, "Qingli!! What do you have to say for yourself now?!"

His voice, infused with spiritual power, spread in all directions: "All clansmen have seen it!

This Xu Ruyu touched our clan's sacred spirit testing stone, and not only was there no reaction—proving he is a Spirit-Severing Waste Body with zero value—"

"But after he touched it, it inexplicably shattered and turned into dust!"

"A sacred object passed down for ten million years! Destroyed just like that!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, spittle flying everywhere: "This could never be the unintentional act of a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator!

It was certainly premeditated!

It's you, Qingli!

You must have conspired with this Xu Ruyu, using some unknown sinister method with the intent to destroy our clan's sacred object and ruin our clan's Foundation!

You brought a wolf into the house; you harbor evil intentions. Your crime deserves death!!"

Following Elder Mo Feng's accusation, many clansmen who were already dissatisfied with Lady Qingli bringing in an outsider, or those belonging to Mo Feng's faction, began to clamor along:

"Elder Mo Feng is right! There is definitely something fishy about this!"

"Elder Qingli, you need to give the entire clan an explanation!"

"Destroying a sacred object is an unpardonable sin! Arrest her along with this outsider kid!"

"We ask the Grand Elder and the Clan Elders to severely punish Qingli and expel the scourge!"

The waves of sound grew higher and higher; the crowd was boiling with rage and Killing Intent.

Many people had already summoned their Magic Treasures, their auras locking onto Lady Qingli and Xu Ruyu, looking ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

Elder Lan Yi's brow was tightly furrowed. She looked at the empty top of the stone pillar, then at the pale Lady Qingli, and finally at Xu Ruyu, who was unnervingly calm. She was also caught in a difficult position.

The spirit testing stone was shattered; the evidence was right there. It was indeed extremely bizarre. Although Mo Feng's accusation was intense, it wasn't entirely without reason.

Facing the accusations of a thousand people, Lady Qingli felt both shock and anger, as well as endless grievance.

She retorted sharply, "Absurd! Mo Feng, stop your baseless slander!

My heart for the clan is known to heaven and earth!

I brought Sect Leader Xu here only to repay a debt of gratitude; I have no ulterior motives!

The shattering of the spirit testing stone happened suddenly and the cause is unknown. How can you arbitrarily blame Sect Leader Xu and me? Perhaps... the spirit testing stone was simply too old, and today it just happened to..."

"Just happened to?" Elder Mo Feng interrupted sharply with a series of cold laughs. "It was fine for ten million years, yet as soon as he arrives and touches it, it 'just happens' to shatter?

Qingli, do you even believe that yourself?!

It's clear that you two have a guilty conscience and did this intentionally!

If there is no severe punishment today, how can we appease the ancestors? How can we settle the hearts of the clan?!"