Chapter 850: You Are the Culprit
Yan Lao couldn’t stop sneering.
If it weren’t for these people, how could the Volcanic Energy Core have been polluted!
Now these people are still pretending to be noble here.
Even trying to help me, what a joke!
Ye Qingchen heard the voice in Yan Lao’s heart.
His eyes suddenly widened, puzzled: "What? The Energy Core is polluted? How is that possible!"
Ye Qingchen couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
He also knew a few things about the Secret Realm.
These desert oceans and such, being so stubborn within the Secret Realm, are all supported by the Energy Core.
And the Energy Core of the volcano is the core strength of the volcano; any changes would lead to a great disaster.
Yet, such a powerful thing has been polluted?
Ye Qingchen tried hard to calm himself down, his expression growing solemn, but the shock in his heart was hard to hide.
He quickly turned to Yan Lao, carrying a tone of inquiry: "Yan Lao, did you just say the Energy Core has been polluted?"
Yan Lao heard Ye Qingchen directly mention the pollution of the Energy Core, and his face immediately changed, the flames in his eyes becoming intensely fierce.
His brows tightly furrowed, fists clenched, his whole body emitting a scorching anger. The surrounding air seemed to twist and deform in this fury.
"How do you know the Energy Core was polluted?!" Yan Lao’s voice was deep and angry, as if the volcano was about to erupt.
His gaze was as sharp as a knife, fixed on Ye Qingchen, full of suspicion and anger.
"It must be you! Otherwise, how could you know such a thing!" Yan Lao’s roar was deafening, he stepped towards Ye Qingchen, his body erupting with fiery breath, even burning cracks into the ground.
The anger in his eyes flashed, clearly seeing Ye Qingchen as the biggest suspect.
Ye Qingchen felt Yan Lao’s anger and oppressive momentum, couldn’t help but step back, brows tightly knit.
Ye Qingchen frowned, raised his hands to indicate he meant no harm, his tone urgent and sincere: "Yan Lao, you misunderstand! I just guessed it because someone as dedicated as you wouldn’t usually leave your territory easily; but now that you’ve left, doesn’t that mean there’s a problem?"
Yan Lao’s anger showed no signs of waning, he coldly looked at Ye Qingchen, his tone full of distrust and vigilance: "No matter how you try to smooth things over, you can’t change that you’re the biggest suspect! You humans, always self-righteous, recklessly polluting the Energy Core and dare to pretend here!"
Beside them, Xue Zhao had been shocked from the beginning.
Earlier, she heard Yan Lao mention the pollution of the Energy Core, her heart trembled. Her eyes widened instantly, brows furrowed, her face filled with surprise and disbelief.
"Pollution of the Energy Core?" Xue Zhao muttered to herself, her voice slightly trembling, clearly deeply shaken inside.
In her heart, countless thoughts swirled rapidly, the volcanic Energy Core being the source of endless fiery power, extremely strong and stable.
Polluting such a core’s power could not be achieved by ordinary means. Her mind flashed with numerous possibilities, but each one left her more shocked and puzzled.
Xue Zhao took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, yet still unable to completely hide her inner shock.
She looked at Yan Lao, with a trace of urgency and unease in her tone: "The volcanic Energy Core is so powerful; how could it be polluted? Who did this, who could have such power?"
Who could have such skill?
Even if their Family Head came, he wouldn’t be able to do such a thing.
Yan Lao ignored her and continued to stare at Ye Qingchen.
"It’s you people! No matter how much you argue, it’s useless now!"
Xue Zhao quickly stepped forward, speaking: "Yan Lao, don’t act impulsively. This is the first time we’ve heard of this matter. But look at us, do we look like we have the capability to pollute the Energy Core?"
Yan Lao’s anger was still unabated, his eyes sharp, staring at Ye Qingchen and Xue Zhao.
His face was ashen, as if he might explode at any moment: "Do you think a few words can clear your relationship? What tricks are you playing behind the scenes, how would I know? Besides, what evidence do you have to prove you’re not the culprits?"
Ye Qingchen took a deep breath, speaking earnestly: "Yan Lao, if we really had that kind of capability, do you think we’d be here arguing with you? If you insist we did it, what evidence do you have?"
Yan Lao laughed loudly in response to his questioning.
"Evidence? You being from the Xue Family is evidence enough!"
The next moment, Yan Lao pulled out a small piece of clothing style, and the style was exactly what the disciples of the Xue Family would wear!
Most importantly, there was a large snow character on it.
Xue Zhao saw that small piece of clothing and immediately understood what was going on.
"Yan Lao, are you saying the Energy Core was polluted by Demonic Qi?" Xue Zhao looked straight at Yan Lao.
Yan Lao nodded without hesitation: "You know so much, if it’s not you, who else could it be?"
Xue Zhao looked at Ye Qingchen: "It must be Xue Wei again! But why he would pollute the Energy Core is unclear to me."
Xue Wei wanted to deal with the two of them, why attack the unrelated Energy Core?
Ye Qingchen furrowed his brow and walked to the side to think deeply.
"Yan Lao, we can be sure this was not done by us, and we have a feud with the real culprits. There’s a high chance the real culprits wanted to frame us. If you act against us now, it won’t solve the problem, because the true culprits are not us!"
Yan Lao’s expression became complicated, he stared at Ye Qingchen, his eyes revealing scrutiny and doubt, but more so anger and helplessness.
"Yan Lao, we truly had no knowledge of this matter. But it’s up to you whether you believe us or not. If you trust us, we can help restore the polluted Energy Core; however, right now, the real culprits probably aren’t here. Even if we try to hunt them down, we won’t find them."
Xue Zhao stepped forward, slowly recounting the facts of the matter.
Yan Lao looked at them and couldn’t help but snort coldly.
Actually, when he first saw them, Yan Lao suspected they weren’t the culprits.
It was just that the girl looked like a member of the Xue Family, so he stopped them.
Yan Lao remained silent.
A moment later, he spoke coldly: "Since you’ve already found out, I won’t hide it. Yes, the Volcanic Energy Core was polluted by Demonic Qi. Furthermore, all creatures within the volcano have become very strange because of this pollution; I’m searching for the culprit to restore the Energy Core."
Ye Qingchen stepped forward and asked: "What exactly happened? How could the Energy Core, deep down and guarded by you, get polluted?"
