Chang'er Is Dead. What About You Instigators?

This letter.

Was Jade Emptiness Pure?

As Zhao Xuan's voice fell,

the area before the hall fell silent.

The Yuqing Talisman Letter hung in midair.

Its clear light was faint,

yet it made the Jade Emptiness disciples' faces stiffen.

Just moments ago, he had been questioning the Jie Sect.

Questioning Ma Yuan.

Questioning Chang'er.

Questioning whether Golden Turtle Island knew.

Now it was his turn.

The jade register in the Heavenly Court official's hand halted in midair.

He could neither continue reading

nor bring himself to do so.

The Jade Emptiness disciple stared at the talisman letter.

After a moment, he spoke.

"The authenticity of this letter has yet to be determined."

Holy Mother Guiling sneered.

Zhao Xuan did not smile.

He only asked two words.

"Fake?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple's throat tightened.

He did not dare call it fake.

The Yuqing Talisman Letter bore the Yuxu Dharma Seal.

The seal could be forged.

Its Dao aura could not.

If he called it fake,

it would not just be his own face he lost.

It would be Jade Emptiness's.

In a deep voice, he said, "The talisman letter is real."

"But it may not mean what you claim."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"As long as it's real, that's enough."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's face darkened.

"Zhao Xuan."

"Jade Emptiness is a Sage's sacred ground."

"The Jie Sect's internal affairs are the Jie Sect's business."

"Golden Turtle Island has no right to judge Jade Emptiness's affairs."

The fury in Holy Mother Guiling's eyes surged.

Just as she was about to speak,

Zhao Xuan raised a hand.

Gui Ling stopped.

Zhao Xuan looked at the Jade Emptiness disciple.

"I am not judging Jade Emptiness."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's gaze eased slightly.

The next moment,

Zhao Xuan said, "I am judging the hand that reached into the Jie Sect."

The air before the hall turned icy.

The Jade Emptiness disciple's face sank completely.

Holy Mother Jinling gripped her sword.

"You just used Ma Yuan to question the Jie Sect."

"You used Chang'er to question the Jie Sect."

"You questioned us so thoroughly."

She raised her eyes.

"Now it is Jade Emptiness's turn."

"And with one sentence, you say you will not judge?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple said coldly, "Senior Sister Jinling, this matter concerns Jade Emptiness. Watch your words."

Holy Mother Jinling looked at him.

"I just slew Chang'er."

"My sword has not even cooled."

"And you tell me to watch my words?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple's expression changed.

The Heavenly Court official immediately stepped forward half a pace.

"Everyone."

"Since the Jie Sect has already cleared itself of Ma Yuan and Chang'er's crimes,"

"Heavenly Court will report this matter to Your Majesty."

"For today, let us first—"

"You need not be in such a hurry either."

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

The Heavenly Court official's voice stopped.

Zhao Xuan said, "Just now, you read the charges."

"You read them very clearly."

"Ma Yuan's crimes."

"Chang'er's crimes."

"Whether the Jie Sect knew."

The Heavenly Court official's expression shifted slightly.

Zhao Xuan pointed at the Yuqing Talisman Letter.

"Now this letter"

"is also evidence of a crime."

"Will Heavenly Court investigate?"

The area before the hall grew even quieter.

The Heavenly Court official clenched his jade register.

The Jade Emptiness disciple cast him a cold look.

That look was like a blade.

The Heavenly Court official's throat went dry.

He could not say they would investigate.

Nor could he say they would not.

He had brought that measuring stick to Golden Turtle Island himself.

Now Zhao Xuan had handed it back to him.

Would he use it to measure Jade Emptiness?

Zhao Xuan did not press him.

He merely looked at the Yuqing Talisman Letter.

"Chang'er is dead."

"But the one who delivered the letter is still alive."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's expression finally changed.

"Zhao Xuan!"

"You intend to forcibly pin Chang'er's crimes on Jade Emptiness?"

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"Didn't Jade Emptiness send it?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple froze.

Zhao Xuan said, "Then who did?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple fell silent.

Zhao Xuan asked again, "Wasn't it the Yuxu Pure Tranquil Body?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple's expression turned even uglier.

Zhao Xuan's voice was very soft.

"Then who gave him the Pure Tranquil Body?"

Three questions.

Each shorter than the last.

The Jade Emptiness disciple had no answer.

The talisman letter was real.

The Pure Tranquil Body was real.

So was this hand.

All he could do was grit his teeth and say, "This letter was merely meant to test his Dao heart."

"Test?"

Holy Mother Guiling laughed in fury.

Zhao Xuan did not get angry.

He merely repeated it.

"Test his Dao heart."

The Jade Emptiness disciple immediately said, "That is correct."

"Chang'er Dingguang Xian's temperament was unstable."

"Jade Emptiness discovered that his heart harbored other thoughts."

"That was why this letter was used to test him."

"If he were truly loyal to the Jie Sect, he should have handed over this letter."

"He did not hand it over."

"Then that is his own problem."

By this point, his voice had steadied somewhat.

"So what this proves is not that Jade Emptiness was at fault."

"It proves that Chang'er had always been wicked at heart."

"The Jie Sect purged him."

"And rightly so."

The expressions of those Outer Sect disciples before the hall slowly changed.

Jade Emptiness had sent the letter.

Chang'er had received it.

Yet in the end, it had become Jade Emptiness testing his Dao heart.

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"What happened after the test?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple was stunned.

Zhao Xuan asked, "Who would the Pure Tranquil Body belong to?"

The area before the hall fell silent again.

The Jade Emptiness disciple's lips moved.

He did not answer.

Zhao Xuan continued, "If Chang'er had truly swayed the hearts of the Outer Sect disciples,"

"would that mean his Dao heart was unstable,"

"or that Jade Emptiness had tested him well?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple's face went pale.

Holy Mother Jinling said coldly, "Jade Emptiness tested people."

"And tested them all the way to the Seven Attendant Immortals of our Jie Sect."

Holy Mother Wudang raised her eyes.

"You even tested out the Yuxu Pure Tranquil Body."

Holy Mother Guiling stared at the Jade Emptiness disciple.

"The Dao hearts of your Chan Sect disciples—

"Are they tested like this too?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple finally failed to contain his anger.

"Impudent!"

Holy Mother Guiling stepped forward half a pace.

"Say that again."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's breath caught.

He had dared to pressure the Jie Sect just now.

Because he held Ma Yuan's and Long-Eared's crimes in his hands.

Now the evidence of guilt was pressing back against him.

If he said one more word, it would no longer be an accusation.

It would be defending the letter.

The Heavenly Court immortal official standing to the side had completely lost any desire to speak.

But Zhao Xuan looked at him anyway.

"Heavenly Court."

The Heavenly Court immortal official's heart sank.

Zhao Xuan said, "You said just now that if the Jie Sect found it inconvenient to investigate, the Heavenly Court could do it on their behalf."

He pointed at the Yuqing Talisman Letter.

"Now it's Jade Emptiness's turn."

"Will the Heavenly Court act on their behalf?"

The Heavenly Court immortal official's expression stiffened.

The Jade Emptiness disciple abruptly turned to look at him.

That look was like a blade.

All the Jie Sect disciples before the hall turned to look at him as well.

The laws of the Heavenly Court.

They had just been pressed down upon the Jie Sect.

Now they were pressed back into his own hands.

The Heavenly Court immortal official remained silent for a long time.

"This matter—"

"Must be reported to Your Majesty."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"Fine."

The Heavenly Court immortal official had just breathed a sigh of relief.

When Zhao Xuan added, "Then make sure you record this clearly."

He raised his hand.

Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger slowly opened.

There was no thunder.

No celestial omen.

Only the rustle of turning pages.

Yet everyone before the hall felt their hearts sink.

The Jade Emptiness disciple stared fixedly at the General Ledger.

Zhao Xuan did not look at him.

"The sect's accounts."

"First entry."

"Ma Yuan committed evil. The Jie Sect has already executed him."

"Second entry."

"Long-Eared betrayed the sect. The Jie Sect has already dealt with him."

He paused.

The Yuqing Talisman Letter slowly descended above the General Ledger.

Zhao Xuan said, "Third entry."

"Jade Emptiness sent a letter."

"Luring the Jie Sect's attendant into leaving himself a way out."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's expression changed drastically.

"Zhao Xuan!"

Zhao Xuan raised his eyes.

"Did I write it wrong?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple's words caught in his throat.

Was it wrong?

The talisman letter was real.

The Pure Tranquil Body was real.

And Long-Eared had indeed treated it as a way out.

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"If you think it's wrong."

"Correct it now."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's face turned livid.

To correct it was to admit it.

Not to correct it meant it would be entered into the ledger.

The silence before the hall was terrifying.

Zhao Xuan did not press him further.

He sealed the Yuqing Talisman Letter into a supplementary page of the General Ledger.

Then he looked at the Jade Emptiness disciple.

"Take a message back."

"Tell Antarctic Immortal."

"Long-Eared's crime has been dealt with by the Jie Sect."

"This hand of Jade Emptiness—

"Will you clean it up or not?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple gritted his teeth.

"You want Senior Brother Antarctic to give you an explanation?"

Zhao Xuan said, "Not to me."

He looked at the Jie Sect disciples before the hall.

"To the Jie Sect."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's chest rose and fell.

He wanted to speak.

But could not get the words out.

The Heavenly Court immortal official stood right beside him.

The Yuqing Talisman Letter had already been entered into the ledger.

And every Jie Sect disciple had heard those words about "testing Dao hearts."

This matter could no longer be suppressed.

Zhao Xuan looked at the Heavenly Court immortal official again.

"You should take a message back as well."

The Heavenly Court immortal official's heart tightened.

Zhao Xuan said, "The Heavenly Court wants to investigate the Jie Sect."

"Fine."

"The Jie Sect has already cleared itself for you to see."

He pointed at the General Ledger.

"Then Jade Emptiness."

"Will you investigate them or not?"

The Heavenly Court immortal official lowered his head.

He gave no answer.

Nor could he.

Zhao Xuan did not look at him again.

He raised his hand.

And closed the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger.

His voice was calm.

"Long-Eared is dead."

"The one who sent the letter is still alive."

The wind before the hall seemed to stop at that moment.

Zhao Xuan looked at the Jade Emptiness disciple one last time.

"The next entry."

"Will Jade Emptiness settle it themselves?"

"Or will the Jie Sect settle it for you?"