Want to Use All Beings to Suppress the Jie Sect? Write the Heavenly Court First!

"Come down."

The two words fell.

The figures in the clouds froze.

They had intended to retreat.

But Zhao Xuan's gaze had already locked onto them.

Outside Golden Turtle Island.

Three stone steles stood upon the surface of the sea.

The steles were wordless.

Yet they felt like three mountains.

They pressed down so heavily that the Southern Wilderness envoy dared not lift his head.

They also pressed down so heavily that the Heavenly Court officials in the clouds could neither advance nor retreat.

Holy Mother Guiling lifted her eyes to look.

"Still hiding?"

"Do you need me to invite you?"

The aura above the clouds turned chaotic.

A moment later.

Three Heavenly Court officials descended from the clouds.

The leader wore the official robes of the Heavenly Patrol Bureau, his expression grim.

He cupped his hands toward Zhao Xuan.

"Greetings, Exalted Immortal Zhao Xuan."

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"Who sent you?"

The official fell silent for a moment.

"This subordinate was patrolling nearby."

Zhao Xuan said:

"Write."

The official was startled.

"Write what?"

Zhao Xuan pointed to the second stele.

"Write why you were patrolling outside Golden Turtle Island."

"Write why, just as the Heavenly Court issued orders for all regions to seek aid, you followed the Southern Wilderness envoy here."

"Write whether you came to observe the disaster, or to see if the Jie Sect would save them."

The Heavenly Court official's face turned pale.

"Exalted Immortal, that is going too far."

"This subordinate is merely following orders to patrol."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"Whose orders?"

The Heavenly Court official opened his mouth.

He could not answer.

Zhao Xuan did not look at him again.

He turned his head to look at the Southern Wilderness envoy.

"You write first."

The Southern Wilderness envoy stood before the stele.

He gripped the jade brush Zhao Xuan had given him.

His knuckles were white.

He looked at the first stele.

Where does the disaster come from?

These four words had already manifested.

His throat bobbed.

"Exalted Immortal."

"The toxic miasma in the Southern Wilderness is erupting; we truly cannot afford to wait."

Zhao Xuan said:

"So, write it clearly."

"Only by writing it clearly will we know how to save them."

The envoy from the Southern Wilderness lowered his head.

Finally, he set pen to stone.

The first stroke landed.

The stone tablet gave a slight tremor.

The toxic miasma of the Southern Wilderness had shown signs of unrest three months ago.

The local Mountain God had reported it to the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court did not respond.

The second stroke landed.

The miasma erupted seven days ago.

Three human tribes fled.

The Jie Sect disciple who originally suppressed the miasma had been summoned back to the mountain.

The local Earth God and Mountain God could not contain it.

The third stroke landed.

The Heavenly Patrol Bureau of the Heavenly Court sent word.

They were told to go to Golden Turtle Island to seek help themselves.

BOOM!

The first stone tablet suddenly lit up.

The surface of the sea shook.

The envoy from the Southern Wilderness looked up abruptly.

The expression of the Heavenly Court immortal official changed on the spot.

Once these words were written, they could not be changed.

Because this was not a mere deposition.

This was karma.

Where the disaster originated.

Who neglected their duty first.

Who pushed the people away.

It was all carved into the tablet.

Zhao Xuan looked toward the second tablet.

"Continue."

The envoy's hands were trembling.

"Who was supposed to be in charge..."

He gritted his teeth.

He continued to write.

The toxic miasma of the Southern Wilderness fell under the jurisdiction of the local Mountain God and Earth God.

After being reported, it fell under the dispatch of the Heavenly Patrol Bureau of the Heavenly Court.

If the miasma expanded, it required the joint suppression of the Thunder Department, Water Department, and Plague Department.

For the past three thousand years, it had been suppressed with the assistance of the Jie Sect disciple, Daoist Qingyi.

He wrote the final line.

The second stone tablet lit up.

BOOM!

In the distance, the sea of clouds surged.

Several rogue cultivators hiding further away had their expressions change drastically.

They had originally come to see if the Jie Sect would open its gates to save the people.

But now, seeing the inscription on the tablet, they realized something was wrong.

The toxic miasma of the Southern Wilderness had been reported to the Heavenly Court all along.

There was a sense of belonging.

Jie Sect disciples had helped in the past, but only as assistants.

Now, the Jie Sect disciples were returning to the mountain.

The Heavenly Court could not suppress the situation.

So, they let the human race beg the Jie Sect.

What kind of logic was this?

Holy Mother Guiling sneered.

"Well written."

"Continue writing on the third tablet."

The Southern Wilderness envoy looked toward the third tablet.

Who would bear the credit and the karma?

This time, he hesitated to put pen to paper.

Because he did not know how to write it either.

Zhao Xuan said:

"Heavenly Court immortal official."

"You write it."

The Heavenly Patrol Bureau immortal official looked up abruptly.

"Me?"

Zhao Xuan said:

"The disaster in the Southern Wilderness was reported by you."

"You also watched the people come to Golden Turtle Island."

"If the Jie Sect takes action, to whom does the credit go?"

"To whom does the karma go?"

"If the toxic miasma backlashes later, who is held responsible?"

"If someone claims the Jie Sect was slow to save them, who bears that burden?"

The Heavenly Court immortal official's face turned pale.

"This matter... this matter must be reported back to the Heavenly Court."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"Then write this."

"The Heavenly Court has yet to assign responsibility."

"The Heavenly Patrol Bureau dares not put it in writing."

"The living beings of the Southern Wilderness have already reached the outskirts of Golden Turtle Island."

"The karma of the plea for help is temporarily suspended."

The Heavenly Court immortal official's eyelid twitched.

"Immortal, if it is written this way, where will the Heavenly Court's face be?"

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"When hundreds of thousands of people from the Southern Wilderness were fleeing, did you think about the Heavenly Court's face?"

"When the Mountain God reported the situation and no one paid attention, did you think about the Heavenly Court's face?"

"When you made the human race come to Golden Turtle Island to beg for help, did you think about the Jie Sect's face?"

The Heavenly Court immortal official's lips trembled.

He could not utter a single word.

Zhao Xuan said:

"Write."

The immortal official did not move.

Holy Mother Guiling took a step forward.

The surface of the sea collapsed by an inch.

"My senior brother told you to write."

"Do you not understand?"

The Heavenly Court immortal official's fingers trembled.

In the end, he took the jade brush.

He set the first stroke upon the third stele.

The Heavenly Court had yet to assign blame.

The Heavenly Patrol Bureau dared not set the words down.

BOOM!

The third stone stele suddenly flared with light.

All three steles vibrated in unison.

Where did the disaster originate?

Who was supposed to manage it?

Who would bear the merit and the karma?

Three beams of light shot up into the clouds.

The East Sea trembled.

The Southern Wilderness trembled.

Countless rogue cultivators of the Primordial World who were watching felt their hearts skip a beat.

They saw it.

And not just them.

Mountain Gods and local deities everywhere saw it too.

Many immortal officials in the Heavenly Court saw it as well.

The words on those three steles transformed into a curtain of karmic light, hanging over a corner of the Primordial World.

The Southern Wilderness envoy stared blankly at the steles.

He suddenly understood.

Zhao Xuan had not saved the people immediately.

But he had not driven them away either.

Zhao Xuan had made them write.

Write where the disaster came from.

Write who was supposed to manage it.

Write who had pushed them toward Golden Turtle Island.

Once these words were written, the human race of the Southern Wilderness would no longer be the blade in the Heavenly Court's hand.

They had become witnesses.

Zhao Xuan looked at the Southern Wilderness envoy.

"Now."

"You may beg."

The Southern Wilderness envoy was stunned.

Then, he kowtowed heavily.

"I beseech the High Immortal of the Jie Sect to save the human race of the Southern Wilderness."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

He immediately turned to look at Holy Mother Jinling.

"Jinling."

Holy Mother Jinling stepped forward.

"Senior Brother."

"Pass my order to Daoist Qingyi."

"Go to the Southern Wilderness."

"Suppress only the poisonous miasma."

"Do not accept orders from the Heavenly Patrol Bureau."

"Do not be driven by the Mountain Gods or local deities."

"All losses incurred shall be tallied jointly by the Heavenly Court's Heavenly Patrol Bureau, the Southern Wilderness Mountain Gods and local deities, and the human tribes."

"If anyone refuses to acknowledge it, the three steles shall serve as proof."

Holy Mother Jinling said in a deep voice:

"Yes."

The envoy from the Southern Wilderness had reddened eyes.

He kowtowed once more.

"Thank you, Immortal."

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"You are thanking the wrong person."

The envoy from the Southern Wilderness was stunned.

Zhao Xuan continued:

"You should thank the Jie Sect disciple who spent the last three thousand years suppressing the poisonous miasma for your people."

"And you should also go ask the Heavenly Court."

"Why is it that the moment he returned to his mountain, you were forced to flee for your lives?"

The envoy from the Southern Wilderness stiffened.

After a long while, he slowly turned his head.

He looked at that Heavenly Patrol Bureau immortal official.

In that gaze, something new had emerged.

The fear was still there.

But now, there was also resentment.

In the distance.

Several Heavenly Court immortal officials turned deathly pale.

They finally realized just how ruthless these three steles were.

The Heavenly Court wanted to use the common people to pressure the Jie Sect.

Zhao Xuan had countered by forcing the common people to see the Heavenly Court's dereliction of duty.

In this round.

The Heavenly Court had lost even more disgracefully.

Just then.

The third stele suddenly shuddered again.

A pale golden light of merit flew in from the direction of the Southern Wilderness.

It did not descend upon the Heavenly Court.

It did not descend upon the Heavenly Patrol Bureau.

Nor did it descend upon the Mountain God or the local deities.

It bypassed everyone and fell directly into the first stele.

Following that, a wisp separated and flew toward Golden Turtle Island.

The expressions of all the immortals changed.

Holy Mother Guiling's eyes widened abruptly.

"Merit?"

Zhao Gongming was also stunned.

"These three steles actually attracted merit?"

Zhao Xuan watched that wisp of merit, his eyes flickering slightly.

The next moment.

From the direction of the Heavenly Court.

A thunderous roar of fury rang out.

"Zhao Xuan!"