Chapter 739
At the city gate, a dozen disciples of the Haori Sect were casting glances at Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa returned their gaze, only to see them all turn their heads away, refusing to look at him.
The gatekeeper, a Golden Core disciple, took a couple of steps back, as if he had encountered a plague god.
It seemed that Shi Nandang had become a well-known jinx in the minds of the Haori disciples.
When Yun Zhenxian summoned him back to the mountain, it was clear that it wouldn’t be for anything good.
He paid no mind to their stares and walked straight through the archway into the city.
Interestingly, the city was arranged in concentric circles, with larger cities enveloping smaller ones, like a set of Russian nesting dolls.
Zheng Fa had heard Shi Nandang explain the reason behind this.
The Haori Sect had stood tall for several epochs, and this city, under its protection, had remained largely stable despite some upheavals.
Most of the inhabitants were relatives of the Haori disciples, and as generations passed, the population grew, causing the city to expand.
Initially, the city became too crowded.
So, those of lower status built an outer city.
When that outer city became overcrowded, another was constructed, turning the previous outer city into an inner one.
This cycle continued, with the city growing larger and the walls being built one after another.
Now, it had reached nearly eleven rings.
At first, Zheng Fa didn’t quite understand why the Haori Sect needed to build walls—after all, for cultivators, no matter how high the walls, they only served to test one’s morals.
But here, it became clear:
Crossing another wall meant being one step above the rest.
The ten-odd zhang high walls didn’t separate enemies but rather… the lower classes.
The three inner circles naturally belonged to the Lu, Yun, and Luo clans.
However, it was said that the Yun and Luo clans had some disputes.
The distinctions of family and status were everywhere in the Haori Sect, far beyond Zheng Fa’s imagination.
In this place, who wouldn’t envy the three clans?
No wonder Shi Nandang had been so eager to gain a Lu surname.
Unfortunately, based on Zheng Fa’s experiences, the hope was slim:
As he passed through one gate after another, the scene upon entering the city would almost repeat itself identically.
No matter how crowded the gates were, once Zheng Fa announced Shi Nandang’s name, everyone would respectfully clear a path.
It was evident how heavy the burden of blame was on Shi Nandang.
Though Zheng Fa was not Shi Nandang, the pressure was still considerable as he walked through.
…
After passing through the last gate.
The Haori Mountain loomed before Zheng Fa.
He observed it more closely, memorizing details while cross-referencing with Shi Nandang’s previous explanations to avoid any mistakes.
Looking up, Zheng Fa’s first thought was—wealth!
A wide staircase of gold and jade extended from the foot of the mountain to its midsection.
According to Shi Nandang, this staircase had a total of 9,999 steps, wide enough for twenty-four people to walk side by side.
The most outrageous part was that the material of the staircase wasn’t just ordinary jade, but a rather expensive spiritual material—though not the most expensive, such a large project would have consumed a significant amount of spirit stones.
As Zheng Fa walked up the steps, he sensed that Haori Mountain wasn’t merely a display of wealth.
There must be formations embedded within the staircase.
He couldn’t discern the specifics, but from some symbols, it was clear that the staircase at least had some illusionary effects, capable of confusing one’s sense of direction.
The wealthy were indeed wealthy, but they also valued practicality.
After climbing the staircase, Zheng Fa arrived at the largest structure on Haori Mountain: the Three Palaces.
The Three Palaces naturally referred to the three ancestral masters of the Lu, Yun, and Luo clans.
The walls of the palaces were all white, with the main palace topped in gold, the left palace in purple, and the right palace in red.
At that moment, only the door to the left palace was open.
Zheng Fa took a deep breath, stepped up to the door, and cupped his hands, calling out loudly:
“Disciple Shi Nandang requests an audience!”
The people inside turned their heads, their gazes varied.
“Come in.”
Yun Zhenxian, seated high in the hall, showed no change in expression, his eyes devoid of warmth.
Zheng Fa stepped over the knee-high threshold and entered the hall.
Inside, there were about a hundred people, more than half of whom were above the Transformation stage.
They stood in three groups, all wearing the white robes of the Haori Sect.
However, the colors at the edges of their sleeves differed.
The Lu clan favored gold, hence their robes were embroidered with golden threads.
The Yun clan preferred purple, while the Luo clan revered red.
At that moment, the group with red-embroidered edges looked at Zheng Fa with the least friendliness, their eyes burning with anger.
The members of the Yun clan also wore cold expressions.
As for the Lu clan, their disdain was even more pronounced than that of the Yun clan.
Shi Nandang’s master stood among them, but he kept his head down, not looking at Zheng Fa at all.
No one spoke in the hall, but the anger, disdain, and indifference in their eyes could crush anyone.
Not to mention the cold gaze of Yun Zhenxian from his elevated position—his look at Zheng Fa was equally frigid.
“Shi Nandang? Do you know your crime?”
Zheng Fa lowered his head and cupped his hands, saying, “Disciple knows his crime!”
An elder from the Luo clan shouted, “Yun Zhenxian, this Shi Nandang is incompetent in sword forging, has destroyed two-tenths of our Haori Mountain’s spiritual veins, and even caused the death of the Holy Ancestor! His crime is unforgivable!”
“Please, Ancestor, strip him of his cultivation and send him to the bottom of the Li Huo Peak to suffer the punishment of being burned by the fierce fire!”
Zheng Fa knew that this was one of the harshest punishments in the Haori Sect; generally, only disciples who killed their masters or betrayed the sect faced such a fate.
Of course, considering the losses caused by the incident with the Xian Sword: the Xian Sword, Luo Sanxian, and so many spiritual veins.
Haori Mountain would probably be more than happy if Shi Nandang had truly killed his master.
Thus, when the elder spoke, no one in the hall opposed him; some even nodded in agreement. Even a few from the Lu clan who were close to Shi Nandang remained silent.
It was clear that the blame was too heavy for anyone to bear.
Yun Zhenxian looked at Zheng Fa and asked:
“Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
“Disciple dares not; regarding the Xian Sword incident, I cannot absolve myself of blame.”
Upon hearing this, the gazes directed at Zheng Fa were as if they were looking at a dead man.
“Then speak.”
Yun Zhenxian took out the Xian Sword produced by the Nine Mountains Realm and slammed it down in front of Zheng Fa, coldly saying, “Explain how this sword ended up like this!”
“Explain how it destroyed our sect’s spiritual veins!”
“What went wrong with the Heavenly Spirit and Evil Formation?”
Yun Zhenxian, who was known for his gentle demeanor according to Ni Chang Yu, spoke with such fury that his voice echoed, shaking the very roof of the palace.
“Otherwise, you will face a thousand deaths for your crimes!”
A pressure emanating from the True Immortal enveloped the hall.
Everyone’s faces turned pale, and they trembled slightly.
“Disciple has nothing to say; I only seek to be sent to Li Huo Peak.”
“I want you to speak!”
Everyone in the hall stared at Zheng Fa, who was caught in a storm.
“Disciple dares not speak!”
A profound silence fell over the hall.
Even Yun Zhenxian was momentarily taken aback, his gaze at Zheng Fa shifting slightly.
Not to mention the others.
“Dare not?” After a long pause, Yun Zhenxian suddenly spoke, “What do you mean by dare not?”
“Disciple… fears offending the Luo Ancestor.”
An even deeper silence enveloped the crowd.
“Bold!”
The elder from the Luo clan pointed at Zheng Fa, shouting, “Are you saying it’s the Holy Ancestor’s fault?”
“Disciple dares not.”
Not saying it wasn’t, just saying he dared not.
Everyone understood that he truly did dare.
Even the members of the Yun clan, who were merely bystanders, were shocked, buzzing with discussion despite Yun Zhenxian’s presence.
As for the Lu clan, especially those who had some connection with Shi Nandang, they looked at him as if they had seen a truck about to explode, filled with fear.
In a hierarchy as strict as that of the Haori Sect.
For Shi Nandang, who was not of the three clans, to accuse a direct descendant of the Luo clan was already audacious.
Let alone Zheng Fa’s words directly pointing to one of the three ancestral masters, the Luo Ancestor!
Zheng Fa kept his head down, his face pale with fear, but his heart remained calm.
This was the only chance that Senior Sister Zhang had deduced for Shi Nandang:
Rather than trying to prove his innocence, it was better to turn the tables.
To put it bluntly, Shi Nandang had been responsible for refining the Xian Sword, making it hard to shift the blame— even if he had done nothing wrong, the immense losses to Haori Mountain would still be a death sentence.
Thus, there was no angle from which to defend his innocence.
“What do you want to say?”
“Disciple has thought long and hard about this.” Zheng Fa recited his prepared lines, “The Heavenly Spirit and Evil Formation encountered such a significant issue; a Transformation stage cultivator… simply cannot manage it.”
This statement didn’t mention Luo Sanxian, but every word pointed to him.
Coincidentally, what Zheng Fa said aligned perfectly with the common knowledge of the Xuanwei:
The Heavenly Spirit and Evil Formation, the Xian Sword, and even the numerous spiritual veins were not something a Transformation stage cultivator could alter or even destroy.
Destruction was also a form of power.
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