The personnel from the Heavenly Court searching for missing personnel immediately recognized the identity of their opponents upon encountering the West Ox team. After all, most members of the West Ox team were demon cultivators, and they immediately assumed that the murders were committed by the West Ox team.
No amount of explanation from the West Ox team would help, nor would they attempt to explain. It's quite normal for the Battle of Great Pardon to involve killings.
The deaths of the personnel being pursued by the Heavenly Court meant that Niu Qian dared not treat Situ Zhen's capture lightly, and he secretly dispatched additional personnel to handle it.
Since there was already evidence proving that the Sky Splitting Sword was in Situ Zhen's possession, this matter became Niu Qian's utmost priority.
