Chapter 534: The True Arbiter (Part 2)

Chapter 534: Chapter 534: The True Arbiter (Part 2)

"Next... Zhou Zheng." Chen Xuan’s gaze shifted to the merchant from Pei State.

The latter found he couldn’t faint even if he wanted to; the tentacles had small spikes that pricked him awake whenever his consciousness wandered, forcing him to face this terrifying scene that chilled him to the bone.

Li Mo, that damned swindler!

What nonsense about Lord Taboo being kind-hearted, effortlessly gaining superior spells and eternal life—it’s a trap!

Blame it on my greed clouding my vision, leading me to Baihe Village in search of answers.

Now he’s about to die.

The most hateful thing is that he can’t die unconscious, nor can he make a sound.

"You discovered you had Qi Sensing abilities at the age of fifteen, have never killed anyone to this day, nor spent a romantic night with your beloved... Hmm?" Chen Xuan frowned, "Don’t think of what you shouldn’t be thinking."

Unwilling! Zhou Ping lamented in his heart, what does he mean by not thinking, isn’t this my greatest regret in life!

"The worst thing you’ve done was passing off inferior goods as quality, six months ago mixing five bags of old grain into a batch of rice sold to Kun Mountain." Reaching this point, Chen Xuan glanced at Li Mo.

Li Mo twitched his mouth and muttered softly, "Scoundrel merchant, good thing I seldom buy food from the camp."

"You have faults, but they don’t warrant death; you may receive a boon."

Zhou Ping’s twitching expression suddenly calmed.

What? I don’t have to die?

"That’s right, from now on, bear my power and live well."

Chen Xuan raised his hand, and Zhou Ping was also wrapped by tentacles, pulled underground.

"Next, it’s your turn." He turned to the Nine Department Judges, "By the way, if you accept the boon, you must follow me; worldly positions will lose their meaning, and there’s no need for you to return to the Royal City."

The three became quiet at this moment.

They’d realized that all struggle was futile; in the face of taboo, their proud skills and Dharma artifacts were insignificant, and the oppressive gap far exceeded any Demon Fiend they’d encountered before.

Even standing in broad daylight, under the sun, they felt no warmth, as if they were soaked in an ice cave.

"By the way, before the review, I have a few extra questions for you." Chen Xuan said nonchalantly, "Why did you come to Baihe Village?"

The three stammered without making a sound.

But he didn’t need to hear their verbal answer.

Only professionally trained individuals can suppress their thoughts’ response to external stimuli, and they clearly were not one of those.

Chen Xuan quickly found the answer from their inner thoughts.

"Received a Demon calamity warning letter?"

Did it really point to Baihe Village?

He’d heard Li Mo mention that some people in the folk would relay Demon calamity news, and the Lotus Cloud Sect received news of Demon Fiends causing trouble in Yongtang City from this organization.

No... not Baihe Village, instead vaguely indicated within Pei State. Chen Xuan searched through their thoughts for answers: they had stopped in Yongtang City and had connections with several Loose Cultivator gathering places in Pei State, so it wasn’t hard to notice anomalies happening in Baihe Village.

"I see." Chen Xuan pondered, "Do other cultivators in the Royal City know about this? Did you come on your own, or were you sent by the Immortal Master of the Lotus Cloud Sect?"

Gao Gang and others began to sweat profusely.

Earlier, when they heard the self-talk in front of the Xu brothers, they became aware of something fishy, and now it confirmed their worst fear—they couldn’t hide their thoughts from him.

"Others don’t know because you didn’t inform them after receiving the letter..." Chen Xuan nodded, "The Immortal Master himself hasn’t been in the Royal City recently, so he couldn’t possibly know this either."

Of course, what he "heard" was much more than that.

The Nine Department Judges weren’t, as the three claimed, representatives of Prince Luo’s authority; they were more akin to a security force formed by the powerful and influential in the Royal City, preventing any person or force from using Loose Cultivators to upset the balance or sabotage rivals.

Demon hunting wasn’t their primary job.

The reason these three came to Pei State was partly because Royal City cultivators rarely received Demon calamity letters; they were curious. Another reason was Lan Qin had moved into the Imperial Palace, appointed as the Imperial Advisor Immortal Master by Prince Luo, overwhelming other Loose Cultivators. They used this as an excuse to leave the Royal City, avoiding the Immortal Master’s spotlight, to not become the target for the Lotus Cloud Sect’s show of power.

Admittedly, the relationship between Sect disciples and Loose Cultivators was somewhat delicate.

Chen Xuan remembered Liu Shuyue saying she generally wouldn’t meddle with Loose Cultivators, but if any Cultivator used their strength to oppress commoners, she wouldn’t hesitate to exterminate them, even hunting them more fiercely than Demon Fiends.

"By your cognition, you don’t seem like someone who’d easily believe in the boon rumors." He remarked lightly.

The three showed expressions of despair.

They were struggling to control their thoughts, but at the moment of inquiry, corresponding memories involuntarily floated to mind.

Gao Gang, Xiao Yue, and He Xiahe certainly couldn’t have been motivated by the benefits Li Mo trumpeted; they didn’t believe a word from the start.

Simply, if the Immortal Masters and kings couldn’t achieve immortality, why would a bunch of country bumpkins get it for free?

Such an absurd claim was only enough to deceive those who’ve never seen the world.

After observing Baihe Village for a while, they concluded that while villagers indeed gained Qi Sensing abilities, it had nothing to do with the taboo. Everyone’s Spiritual Qi level was ordinary, and the boon was a mere sham. The likeliest scenario was the leader had luckily obtained a set of Ancient Spiritual Treasure or Cultivation Technique, allowing ordinary folks without talent to start cultivating.

A person is innocuous, yet having a treasure invites his ruin. Even if they found no evidence of villagers being harmed, with Baihe Village thriving, they decided to apprehend the mastermind—even if it was treasure or Dharma Transmission Technique, they could figure out the purpose after interrogation.

"I’ve roughly understood the situation." Chen Xuan said contentedly, "Next is the review... Hmm, though you’ve all killed, each had your own reasons. Thieves... bandits... and merchants and nobles from the Royal City, was it because they attempted to rebel by colluding with Loose Cultivators?"

"You’ve also caused the death of innocents; during a capture mission, your spell shattered the house pillar, causing the roof to collapse and kill a couple, leaving behind a wailing infant girl..."

Chen Xuan paused slightly here.

He looked at the woman called He Xiahe, while the other two’s peripheral vision also fixed on her at this moment—even unable to turn heads, they were straining their eyes, as if wanting to see her a bit more in their final moments.

This infant girl was later adopted and raised by Gao Gang and Xiao Yue, becoming the "Eight-sided Exquisite" of the Nine Department Judges.

"In short, even if the blood on your hands can be forgiven, your crimes driven by greed, aiming to seize treasure, cannot be." Chen Xuan cleared his throat, "I declare the review failed; you will not receive the boon and will be sealed for a period. When you will be released depends on my mood."

As the words fell, the tentacles expanded instantly, engulfing all three completely.