Corpse of Heavenly Arts; The Lotus Flower's Transformation

Mount Henggao, Evil Warding Department, Heavenly Illumination Prison.

Heavenly Illumination Prison is the highest-level prison in the Evil Warding Department's Heavenly Prison. This cell is always brightly lit, as if the sun that illuminates the world and vanquishes evil is hidden here. No matter how well evil spirits can hide, they will have nowhere to hide in Heavenly Illumination Prison.

Therefore, only the most terrifying Evil Demon can be imprisoned in this cell.

A man lightly tapped the table made of dark glass with his fingertips, the crisp sound forming a melodious tune in the air above the Heavenly Illumination Prison; he seemed to be in a good mood.

He looked to be around forty or fifty years old, with a hooked nose, thick eyebrows, round eyes, and a vigorous and imposing presence.

He seemed to enjoy this time alone, but in reality, he was not alone. Before him was a transparent cage, like a crystal palace, containing several dark and eerie bones.

He examined the pile of bones with the same look he had of a familiar old friend.

But his time catching up with old friends was interrupted by an uninvited guest.

Give me the corpse of the Celestial Technique.

A dignified and indifferent female voice suddenly rang out, and a noble purple and a sacred silver appeared in the brightly lit cell.

The face of Hua Jing, First Seat remained shrouded in an inscrutable mist, making it impossible to discern her emotions from her expression. Only her exposed white eyes revealed a hidden, barely suppressed anger, making it impossible for anyone to meet her gaze.

"Hua Jing, you've crossed the line."

The Heng Lian First Seat stopped 'playing music' with his fingers, his thick eyebrows furrowing slightly.

The three chiefs of the Evil Warding Department Division each have their own duties, operating independently and checking each other. Each chief has their own business and influence, and they cannot overstep their boundaries, steal tasks from other chiefs, or set foot in other chiefs' territories without permission.

The Evil Warding Department was established with this system of separation of powers from the very beginning. The purpose was to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of a single head, which would taint the Evil Warding Department's original intention of eliminating evil and cleansing the five continents.

Hua Jing, First Seat's abrupt entry into the Heavenly Prison was clearly without the permission of Heng Lian First Seat, the prison's master. Furthermore, the fact that Hua Jing, First Seat was able to reach the Heavenly Illumination Prison indicates that she must have broken many rules along the way, perhaps even killing Heng Lian First Seat.

Therefore, it is only natural that the Heng Lian First Seat would be displeased.

"The one who can punish me is now in your cell."

Hua Jing, First Seat's voice remained unchanged; in fact, one could detect a hint of arrogance in it.

In the history of the Evil Warding Department overstepping his bounds, and the task of punishing the transgressors usually falls to the third chief. However, the Evil Warding Department of the Central Yuan Continent no longer has a third chief.

Strangely, Hua Jing, First Seat's provocation did not anger Heng Lian First Seat, as if his earlier frown was merely feigned. He sat up straighter, his tone becoming calmer:

"If people had no limits, they would really do whatever they wanted..."

He shook his head with a sigh, then looked up and asked, "How did you know his body was here?"

"The Drum-Skin Demon has occupied this prison for ninety years, and you've always been proud of catching it, yet today you're willing to let it go. This means that Heavenly Illumination Prison, you've placed something you like even more in your collection."

Hua Jing, First Seat, simply stared directly at Heng Lian First Seat, his white eyes trying to discern something from his face.

Upon hearing this, the Heng Lian First Seat nodded as if he understood.

"He is the person I admire most in this life, and the elder I respect most, so I should reserve the best cell for him."

Don't you find the word 'prison cell' particularly jarring in your words?

Hua Jing, First Seat, did not move forward; she simply stood in front of the door.

Even though she knew the remains of the Heavenly Arts First Seat were inside, she didn't enter. The Heavenly Illumination Prison, the most secure prison in the entire Five Continents, possessed a protective barrier forged with over a hundred years of effort and countless treasures by her ancestors. And the key to this barrier was possessed only by the Heng Lian First Seat, who controlled the Heavenly Prison.

"I only wish to clear his name." The Heng Lian First Seat stood up and examined the black bone before him.

"If you truly wish to clear his name, you should hand over his body to me, and I will prove before everyone that his remains have no connection to Evil Demon."

Hua Jing, First Seat, spoke with anger. The Heavenly Arts First Seat had sacrificed his life to buy a chance for the people of the Central Yuan Continent and even the entire Five Continents to survive. But the remembrance of this martyr had not lasted long before doubts about him arose. Moreover, these doubts grew stronger and stronger until today, when someone found the remains of the Venerable Tian Shu, and they finally erupted.

This situation is truly disheartening. The first thing Hua Jing, First Seat did upon learning of this was to search for his remains in an attempt to clear the name of Heavenly Arts First Seat, but his remains immediately vanished from the place where they had appeared.

"This is outside your scope of responsibility; I will not hand him over to you." The Heng Lian First Seat shook his head. "Hua Jing, you only concern yourself with the living; matters concerning the dead..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hua Jing, First Seat interrupted him, slightly raising his head, "You deliberately hid his body here?"

The Heng Lian First Seat turned his head, his eagle-like eyes sharp and unstoppable:

"This concerns the reputation of our Evil Warding Department for five thousand years! How could I treat this lightly! Whether he is righteous or evil, I will investigate to the end!!"

"What's the point of investigating?! It's impossible for him to have made a deal with Evil Demon! You should know that as well as I do!"

The Hua Jing, First Seat was furious. Her voice shook the barrier in front of her, and ripples faintly spread through the transparent air.

"He was the only one who survived that acid rain disaster! In the Evil Warding Department, he was the only one who advocated making the most of everything and using it to enslave Evil Demon! Countless vicious evil spirits were taken from the Heavenly Prison by him and became his subordinates! Haven't you seen his final move, 'Boundless Emptiness'?! When did a ring of Black Tendrils appear around him?!"

The series of questions posed by Heng Lian First Seat were like cannonballs, exploding in the sealed cell with deafening echoes:

"Only Evil Demon could have such disgusting tentacles! Even his bones were completely stained black!"

The black sun that annihilated everything was surrounded by a ring of tentacles, a moment witnessed by many. Some even recorded the scene with precious Imprint Stone, which became the greatest evidence used to question the Venerable Tian Shu's original intentions for sacrifice before the remains were discovered.

Beneath her wide purple robes, Hua Jing, First Seat's chest heaved. After a long silence, she finally spoke:

"You fear them."

The Heng Lian First Seat was somewhat bewildered by this seemingly random question and was taken aback.

"You are in charge of the Heavenly Prison, and you enjoy torturing and ravaging evil spirits. Even the most terrifying evil spirits would willingly beg for death under your command, earning you the reputation of 'the one who makes evil spirits tremble.' But I can see that it's not because you are fearless, but because you are seeking revenge. I don't know what kind of trauma you have suffered in the past, but I know that you are simply venting your fear of them on these weaker evil spirits, so you don't deserve such a title at all."

Hua Jing, First Seat, spoke without reservation about her assessment of Heng Lian First Seat, her white eyes able to see things that others could not.

Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?

Heng Lian First Seat turned around, his hands behind his back. This was the first time he had faced Hua Jing, First Seat completely directly since she appeared.

Hua Jing, First Seat, gently shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is that if you're looking for someone in this world who is least afraid of them, it's only him. You can torment these evil spirits to your heart's content in the safest place because he has worn down their claws and fangs. Therefore, you have no right to question him, and no one in the entire Five Continents has that right."

Within the Evil Warding Department, she is in charge of the inner affairs, and her main responsibility is to find evil spirits and traces of them; the Heavenly Arts First Seat is in charge of the outer affairs, and his responsibility is to capture and kill evil spirits; while the Heng Lian First Seat is in charge of the Heavenly Prison, responsible for controlling and researching evil spirits.

Judging from the division of labor, the position of the Heavenly Arts First Seat is indeed the one that requires the most effort and is also the most dangerous.

"Absurd! Why can't anyone question matters of principle? I told him long ago that he shouldn't try to control evil spirits! How is this any different from that of Evil Cultivator?!"

"A matter of principle?" Hua Jing, First Seat retorted coldly. "The Evil Cultivator's methods of controlling evil stem from their worship of power; essentially, they crave power from a more powerful being. But his method of controlling evil treats Evil Demon like livestock, aiming to make people view evil spirits as if they were their own pigs or dogs, thus eliminating their fear. You've worked with him for so many years, and you still haven't understood this?!"

The expression on Heng Lian First Seat finally shifted. His lips trembled slightly, and he no longer met the gaze of the aggressive Hua Jing, First Seat. Instead, he turned his attention to the black bones within the Crystal Palace. Suddenly, he clenched his fist and let out a long, mournful sigh:

"How could I not see it? But he was wrong. He was the only one in this world who could treat Evil Demon as livestock... To make people regard tigers and leopards as cats and dogs is something that should not be done and is impossible..."

The man placed his hand, lost in thought, on the transparent surface of the Crystal Palace, as if trying to touch his old colleague through the cage. "He deserved a glorious end, but he had to touch those filthy things..."

His words were full of regret for his old friend, as if the Venerable Tian Shu's rapidly declining reputation after his death was all his fault for not being able to dissuade him.

Unfortunately, at their level, everyone has their own ambitions, and their will is as firm as gold. Changing the mind of a Void Sovereign Lord is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Hua Jing, First Seat, remained silent, observing the emotions revealed by Heng Lian First Seat.

She and the Heng Lian First Seat both seemed to be high-ranking figures on par with the Heavenly Arts First Seat, but no one in the Evil Warding Department dared to say that they had not received help and guidance from the Venerable Tian Shu, and absolutely no one could say that they had no feelings for that stabilizing old man.

"You think it's because I don't want to believe him? It's because I can no longer trust him!!"

The voice of the Heng Lian First Seat was filled with immense sorrow, and the Hua Jing, First Seat was somewhat puzzled by his words.

What do you mean by 'cannot be trusted'? Could it be that the Heavenly Arts First Seat really did something he shouldn't have...?

She suddenly sensed something, hesitated, and stepped into the cell. The restriction on her was actually lifted.

She moved with light, graceful steps, and in an instant, she arrived in front of the Crystal Palace.

She bent down slightly, trying to examine the pile of black bones more closely.

Sudden!

A thick, black liquid was injected into her eyes!

She reacted instantly!

She tilted her head slightly to the side, just enough to let the incoming liquid miss her.

Its speed was unbelievable, but when it stopped, she realized that the liquid could not possibly reach her eyes, because there was a crystal made of a special material between it and her eyes.

The pool of liquid was shot onto the inner wall of the Crystal Palace, then fell down like candle tears. Upon closer inspection, however, it was discovered that this was not liquid at all, but rather countless tiny black aphids, much smaller than ants. They swarmed together, densely packed without a single gap.

The culprit that fired them was none other than the remains left behind by the First Elder.

The Heng Lian First Seat watched all this silently from the side, his face grim, and he said sorrowfully:

"The person who found his remains died immediately after the news spread, a gruesome death. I went to great lengths to clean up the traces in a short time, and then took his remains and placed them here. It's not that I don't want you to take him out to prove his innocence, but that he has no innocence left to speak of. The malevolence of his remains surpasses anything I've ever seen in my life; anyone who sees them will die! Do you expect this thing to salvage his reputation?!"

Hua Jing, First Seat was speechless for a moment. "This should have been dyed after death. The Evil Demon wanted to slander him, so they didn't even spare his bones."

"Once ink gets on white paper, it can never be wiped clean again..." The Heng Lian First Seat sighed, looking up.

Hua Jing, First Seat, remained silent upon hearing this, but Heng Lian First Seat, waved his hand.

"Let's go... Only we can preserve his last shred of dignity..."

Beyond the clouds and mist, the Hua Jing, First Seat lightly furrowed her brows.

The more you argue, the more confused you become—that's the logic. Rather than doing so, not revealing the truth is actually a way to protect the Venerable Tian Shu.

She no longer persisted in trying to clear the name of the deceased, but left in silence.

Outside the prison, Tao Yaoyao looked worried, the familiar joy gone from her brows.

"My lord, You Su really a bad person...?"

Hua Jing, First Seat, did not answer, but simply walked into the sea of clouds on his own.

The death of the Venerable Tian Shu temporarily secured the coastline, but it also directly led to a major upheaval in the two largest powers of the Central Yuan Continent.

The position of head of the Evil Warding Department Heavenly Arts First Seat is unassailable, and affairs can only be handled by two heads. But the most stable thing in the world is a triangle, while the easiest thing to be opposed is a binary state. The open and covert struggle between the two heads, and the factional struggle between the radicals and the conservatives, have quietly begun.

The doubts about the First Elder were ultimately limited to a small group, after all, he was a hero who saved the Five Continents, and there were many sects that supported the Xuanxiao Sect. However, it was an undeniable fact that You Su was a ruthless Evil Demon, and the Xuanxiao Sect Master protected himself by cutting off Lotus Peak. The crowd's anger was directed at the Lotus Sword Venerable, who had failed to properly guide his followers, and even extended to the mysterious Wangshu Fairy always kept her face hidden behind a mask.

Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the gates of the Xuanxiao Sect demanding an explanation, as if the once-glorious sect had lost all its prestige. But when the people, eager to vent their hatred, rushed to Lotus Peak, they found it deserted.

In the eternally frozen Northern Ao Continent, a young boy opened his eyes.