The Yuxu Brush Held in Abeyance; Next Is the Western Sect!

Chapter 39: The Yuxu Brush Held in Abeyance; Next Is the Western Sect!

Will Jade Emptiness clear itself?

Or will the Jie Sect clear it for them?

Zhao Xuan's voice fell.

Before Golden Turtle Island, the wind stilled for a moment.

The Jade Emptiness disciples stood before the hall.

Their expressions had turned utterly ugly.

The two Jade Emptiness disciples behind him had also lost the indifference they had shown upon arriving on the island.

No one dared answer.

If they answered,

they would be acknowledging the debt.

If they refused to answer,

the debt would be entered into the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger.

The Heavenly Court immortal official held the jade register.

His fingers had gone white.

He did not dare speak either.

He had been the one to say, "If the Jie Sect finds it inconvenient to investigate, the Heavenly Court can do so on its behalf."

Now it was Jade Emptiness's turn.

That Ruler had fallen back into his hands.

Zhao Xuan did not press him.

He looked at the Yuqing Talisman Letter.

The quieter it became, the more oppressive it felt.

At last, the Jade Emptiness disciple spoke.

"Zhao Xuan."

"Do not take things too far."

Holy Mother Guiling sneered.

"Too far?"

"When Long-Ears used our Jie Sect to barter for a way out, why did none of you say that was going too far?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple gritted his teeth.

"Long-Ears was guilty, and you have already dealt with him."

"As for the Yuqing Talisman Letter, I will take it back to Kunlun.

"I will have Senior Brother Antarctic investigate it."

Zhao Xuan raised his eyes.

"How long will that take?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple paused.

Zhao Xuan said, "The letter was sent three hundred years ago."

"Long-Ears hid it for three hundred years."

"Will Jade Emptiness need another three hundred years to investigate?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple's expression darkened further.

"Jade Emptiness has its own rules for Jade Emptiness affairs."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"Fine."

He looked toward the General Ledger.

"Write."

The supplementary page of the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger trembled softly.

A line of words emerged in the blank space.

[Jade Emptiness sent a letter into Golden Turtle Island.]

The Jade Emptiness disciple's pupils shrank.

"You!"

Zhao Xuan did not look at him.

"Keep writing."

A second line appeared.

[When the Jie Sect sought accountability, Jade Emptiness claimed it had its own rules.]

A third line.

[Jade Emptiness claimed it would take the matter back to Kunlun and investigate it itself.]

There were not many words.

Yet each line was colder than the last.

When the Jade Emptiness disciple had arrived, he had brought the Heavenly Court's jade register to hold the Jie Sect accountable.

Now, every word he had spoken was being entered into the ledger.

The Heavenly Court immortal official's throat tightened.

For every word he said,

Zhao Xuan recorded a line.

Whether Jade Emptiness acknowledged it

did not matter.

The debt would be entered first.

The Jade Emptiness disciple stared at the General Ledger.

"This ledger cannot record Jade Emptiness."

Zhao Xuan finally looked at him.

"Write again."

The General Ledger moved once more.

[A Jade Emptiness disciple claimed: This ledger cannot record Jade Emptiness.]

Silence filled the space before the hall.

The Jade Emptiness disciple's face froze completely.

He did not dare say another word.

Holy Mother Jinling looked at him.

"Why have you stopped talking?"

The fingers hidden in the Jade Emptiness disciple's sleeve clenched tightly.

If he said nothing,

it would seem like acquiescence.

If he spoke again,

it would only add more entries to the ledger.

Holy Mother Guiling sneered.

"So a ledger can flay people too."

Zhao Xuan did not smile.

He looked at the Jade Emptiness disciple.

"I will ask one last time."

"Will Jade Emptiness clear itself?"

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

The Jade Emptiness disciple remained silent.

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"Then I will answer for you."

The General Ledger turned a page.

The paper was very light.

Yet everyone before the hall felt their hearts grow heavy at the sound.

Zhao Xuan raised his brush.

The first line.

[The debt of Jade Emptiness sending the letter shall remain unsettled for now.]

The Jade Emptiness disciple's expression changed.

The second line.

[The sender has not been produced.]

The third line.

[The one who gave the order remains unknown.]

The fourth line.

[The promise of the Yuxu Pure Tranquil Body has not been revoked.]

By this point,

the Jade Emptiness disciple could no longer endure it.

"Enough!"

Zhao Xuan stopped writing.

"Which line is wrong?"

The Jade Emptiness disciple's chest rose and fell.

Which line was wrong?

The sender had not been handed over.

The one who gave the order had not been identified.

And the promise of the Pure Serenity Body was indeed still there.

He could not refute a single word.

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"Change even one word."

"And you may amend it."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's face turned ashen.

He could not amend it.

To amend it, he would have to hand over the person who sent the letter.

To amend it, he would have to state clearly who had promised the Pure Serenity Body.

To amend it, he would have to admit that Jade Emptiness had reached into the Jie Sect.

Zhao Xuan waited a few breaths.

"Since you will not amend it,"

"then it shall be entered into the ledger."

The brush descended.

The final line emerged.

[This debt shall hang over Jade Emptiness.]

There was no thunder.

There were no omens.

Only those few words quietly settled upon the General Ledger.

Yet before Golden Turtle Island, every Jie Sect disciple raised their head.

This debt shall hang over Jade Emptiness.

This was not an argument.

It was a verdict.

The Jade Emptiness disciple's face went pale.

He wanted to flick his sleeve and leave.

Yet his feet seemed nailed in place.

Once those words reached Kunlun,

the Antarctic Immortal would certainly question him.

Yuanshi Tianzun would certainly learn of it as well.

And he, the one who had personally come to Golden Turtle Island to demand accountability, had failed to stop any of it.

The Heavenly Court immortal official was not much better off.

He had watched this debt be entered with his own eyes.

How was he supposed to report this when he returned?

That the Jie Sect had slain Ma Yuan,

dealt with Long-Ears,

and then, before his very eyes, entered Jade Emptiness's debt for sending the letter into the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger?

What about the Heavenly Court?

The Heavenly Court had asked so loudly just now.

Were they going to investigate now or not?

Zhao Xuan seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Heavenly Court."

The Heavenly Court official immediately lowered his head.

"Immortal."

Zhao Xuan said, "Did you see this debt?"

The Heavenly Court official's throat went dry.

"I saw it."

"Take it back."

"The exact words."

"The exact characters."

"Do not leave out a single word."

Sweat beaded on the Heavenly Court official's forehead.

"Yes."

Zhao Xuan said, "Do not add anything."

"Do not delete anything either."

The Heavenly Court official's body stiffened.

"Yes."

Zhao Xuan looked toward the Jade Emptiness disciples again.

"You too."

The Jade Emptiness disciple said coldly, "Zhao Xuan."

"Jade Emptiness will remember what you did today."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"Good."

"I've recorded it too."

After saying that, he raised his hand and closed the General Ledger.

Smack.

The sound was not loud.

Yet the Jade Emptiness disciple's heart lurched.

Zhao Xuan said, "Go back and tell Antarctic Immortal."

"Three days."

"Within three days."

"Hand over the one who delivered the letter."

"State clearly where the promise of the Pure Serenity Body came from."

"Withdraw this hand you have extended into the Jie Sect."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's gaze darkened.

"What happens after three days?"

Zhao Xuan looked at him.

"After three days."

"I'll write down the second debt."

The Jade Emptiness disciple sneered.

"You dare?"

Zhao Xuan said, "Watch me."

Three words.

No anger.

No shouting.

Yet they weighed more heavily than a threat.

The Jade Emptiness disciple's chest rose and fell.

In the end, he said nothing.

He turned and left.

Two Jade Emptiness disciples followed behind him.

Just as they reached the mountain gate.

Holy Mother Guiling suddenly spoke.

"Wait."

The three halted.

Gui Ling looked at Bi Xiao.

"How should the mountain gate open?"

Bi Xiao understood.

She raised her hand.

Golden Turtle Island's mountain gate did not open at once.

Instead, a layer of clear light lit up.

Several lines of words emerged within that clear light.

[Jade Emptiness disciples came to the island to demand accountability.]

[Ma Yuan has been slain.]

[Long-Ears has been purged.]

[Yuqing Talisman Letter entered into the ledger.]

[The debt for Jade Emptiness's letter delivery is temporarily suspended.]

Every line was perfectly clear.

Carved upon the mountain gate.

And carved for the East Sea to see.

The Jade Emptiness disciple abruptly turned back.

"What are you doing?"

Holy Mother Guiling said coldly, "Seeing guests off."

She paused.

"And letting those outside see."

"What you came to demand."

"And what you took away."

The Jade Emptiness disciple's expression changed completely.

The mountain gate finally opened.

The sea wind poured inward.

Outside, many auras had long since gathered in the distance.

Independent cultivators.

Heavenly Court watchers.

Jade Emptiness spies.

And several strands of deeply hidden Western Sect Buddhist light.

They all saw it.

No one spoke.

When the Jade Emptiness disciple left Golden Turtle Island, his back looked rigid for the first time.

He had arrived carrying a jade register of accusations.

He left with another debt of Jade Emptiness on his back.

The Heavenly Court official left as well.

He was even more silent.

Because he knew.

After this return, the Heavenly Court would not be able to avoid it.

The mountain gate closed again.

The hall remained quiet.

Holy Mother Guiling looked toward the mountain gate.

"Will they admit it?"

Zhao Xuan said, "No."

Holy Mother Guiling frowned.

"If they won't admit it, why give them three days?"

Zhao Xuan looked at the General Ledger.

"The three days are not for them to admit the debt."

"They are for the Primordial World to see."

Holy Mother Jinling's gaze shifted.

Zhao Xuan said, "If Jade Emptiness comes clean."

"This debt ends with the one who delivered the letter."

"If Jade Emptiness does not come clean."

"This debt will go higher."

Daoist Duobao finally raised his head.

"How high?"

Zhao Xuan did not answer at once.

His gaze fell beside the table.

A golden letter still hung there.

The Western Sect Golden Letter.

Its golden light was faint.

Yet it had never dispersed.

The immortals before the hall all looked over as well.

Holy Mother Guiling's eyes turned icy.

"Western Sect."

Zhao Xuan lifted his brush.

On the next page of the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger, he wrote four words.

[Western Sect Golden Letter.]

The instant the words fell.

That golden letter trembled lightly.

Within its golden light, a phantom Lotus Throne slowly emerged.

The atmosphere before the hall instantly turned freezing cold.

Holy Mother Jinling drew her sword half an inch from its sheath.

Holy Mother Guiling took a step forward.

A voice seemed about to emerge from within the phantom Lotus Throne.

But Zhao Xuan spoke first.

"Don't rush."

"That Jade Emptiness debt is still suspended."

"Now."

"It's your turn."