"Esteemed colleagues, I am Bai Xinlian, the Vice Alliance Leader of the Formation Heaven Alliance. I will take full responsibility for what I am about to say.
Qiu Yuanfeng is not the leader of the formation path as you believe. He is a thoroughly despicable scoundrel. You think everything he has done is for the development of the formation path? Wrong! He is only acting for his own profit!
From the moment you joined the Formation Heaven Alliance, you have become his pawns. Think about how much spirit stone you have invested since you decided to join!
Purchasing manuals, participating in assessments, selling formation plates, all require money! In the end, whose pocket does all this money go into! Esteemed colleagues, please do not be deceived by him any longer! He is the cancer of the formation path, and everyone should slay him!"
Bai Xinlian knew better than Wang Yang how to stir up emotions.
The Formation Heaven Alliance constantly levied high fees, which had always drawn criticism.
What she needed to do now was to amplify this conflict and let everyone know it was unreasonable.
As expected, when their own interests were involved, the crowd, who could still maintain composure, became restless.
However, out of consideration for Qiu Yuanfeng's presence, they only dared to communicate with their eyes, their expressions filled with unspoken thoughts.
"Vice Alliance Leader Bai, I believe I have treated you well. Why would you slander me in such a manner? You have truly disappointed me." Qiu Yuanfeng sighed and shook his head.
"Qiu Yuanfeng, there's no need to pretend anymore. You relentlessly plunder others' legacies and favor your own faction. Do you think I joined the Formation Heaven Alliance just like that? I couldn't stand hypocrites like you!"
Bai Xinlian, who was a rogue cultivator without any sect in her early years, was extremely devoted to the formation path. Thus, she sought out and befriended many powerful formation cultivators, eventually becoming close confidantes with most of them.
But one day, she received a complaint from a formation cultivator friend.
That formation cultivator, lacking a formation cultivator's identification plate, found that the shops that had previously traded with him refused to purchase his formation plates. Subsequently, he encountered difficulties everywhere.
He later learned that the Formation Heaven Alliance had appeared in their city, and formation cultivators who had not joined it were forbidden from cooperating with the city's merchants.
That formation cultivator, unable to bear it, went to reason with the Formation Heaven Alliance, but he was never heard from again.
When Bai Xinlian went to investigate, the formation cultivator's whereabouts had already been completely erased.
She initially thought it was an accident, but similar incidents became increasingly frequent.
Her proud and forthright fellow cultivators were either forced to join the Formation Heaven Alliance or disappeared mysteriously.
Therefore, Bai Xinlian decided to join the Formation Heaven Alliance and find evidence of their persecution of formation cultivators. This investigation lasted for five hundred years.
During these five hundred years, she personally witnessed the Formation Heaven Alliance's increasingly distorted development and deeply realized its harm. Hence, she decided to completely reveal the Formation Heaven Alliance's true face at this exchange assembly.
"Bai Xinlian, since you claim to take responsibility for your words, please present evidence to prove that what you said is true. Otherwise, you will not be leaving today."
Qiu Yuanfeng's calm demeanor finally faltered.
He cast a cold glance at Bai Xinlian, his eyes filled with chilling intent.
"Of course, I have evidence." Bai Xinlian looked towards the seated guests and said in a slightly softer tone, "Brother Long, please present the evidence."
Her expression hinted at excitement; today, she would ruin Qiu Yuanfeng's reputation.
To her surprise, Tan Long looked bewildered and said, "Ah? Vice Alliance Leader Bai, are you talking to me? What evidence? I don't know anything about it."
Bai Xinlian's expression froze; she couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Brother Long, you..."
The rest of her words were caught in her throat, unable to be spoken, due to Tan Long's feigned look of astonishment and Qiu Yuanfeng's knowing, half-smile.
She understood.
The confidant she thought she had had long ago betrayed her and sided with her enemy.
She and Tan Long had known each other before joining the Formation Heaven Alliance, and after joining, they grew closer.
Until one time, Bai Xinlian discovered that Tan Long was also investigating the Formation Heaven Alliance. After repeated testing, she found that Tan Long shared her views, and they then confided in each other and became companions.
However, to better lull the other members of the Formation Heaven Alliance into a false sense of security, they had not announced their relationship to anyone.
Supporting each other, they gradually climbed from ordinary members of the Formation Heaven Alliance to the position of Vice Alliance Leader.
Bai Xinlian believed Tan Long understood her best, and she understood him just as well.
But now, it seemed she didn't understand Tan Long at all. If she truly did, she wouldn't be unaware that her companion had long since changed his mind.
"Vice Alliance Leader Bai, I truly don't know about the evidence you just mentioned. If you have it, you can present it for us to see." Tan Long said, pretending to comfort her.
Bai Xinlian's lips curved into a cold arc.
She did have evidence, but all of it had been tricked away by Tan Long under various pretexts. Because she trusted Tan Long too much, she hadn't kept any other evidence. Now, it seemed she had cornered herself.
"Why has Vice Alliance Leader Bai fallen silent? I am very much looking forward to it." Qiu Yuanfeng's expression held a hint of amusement.
Bai Xinlian's feigned aloofness had already attracted his attention. At the time, he had thought that if he eliminated Bai Xinlian, other Vice Alliance Leaders would come to divide the Formation Heaven Alliance's interests. So, it was better to let Bai Xinlian remain in her position.
However, he certainly wouldn't allow Bai Xinlian to cause trouble in secret. Therefore, he spent some effort and bribed Bai Xinlian's companion, Tan Long.
Tan Long, unlike Bai Xinlian, did not possess a pure Dao heart. He had desires and his own aspirations, so he defected.
"Tan Long, you truly disgust me. Take this thing back and feed it to the dogs."
Bai Xinlian ignored Qiu Yuanfeng and instead took a jade pendant from her waist and fiercely threw it at Tan Long's face.
For some reason, Tan Long did not dodge. Instead, he endured the pain, caught the blow, and then clenched the jade pendant tightly, not daring to look up.
The crowd was at a loss for words. Everything that had happened today was full of twists and turns, with a dramatic reversal of fortune.
However, after expecting Bai Xinlian to reveal some explosive material, it seemed to be an anticlimactic end.
Furthermore, if Bai Xinlian could not bring down Qiu Yuanfeng, then they should not harbor any further ambitions.
"Qiu Yuanfeng, I know that by falling out with you, I probably won't leave here alive. I have made all the necessary preparations. Make your move."
"Bai Xinlian, you first make groundless accusations, and now you say such things. It truly leaves me at a loss for how to proceed. I sincerely hope you can present some evidence, lest the formation cultivators of the world misunderstand me."
After gaining the upper hand, Qiu Yuanfeng did not forget to mock Bai Xinlian. His smug demeanor made Bai Xinlian want to vomit.
Zhang Tao, who had held back for so long, could no longer resist and said to Xu Yi, "Alliance Leader Qiu is too wronged. Senior Su, don't you think so?"
Xu Yi let out a soft snort. "Qiu Yuanfeng is not wronged at all."
Zhang Tao was startled and looked at Xu Yi in astonishment as he rose from his seat and sprinkled a dense cluster of light points into the air.
"Alliance Leader Qiu, the evidence you wanted is here."