Chapter 574: Demon Emperor Seal (Part 1)
Yun Che’s words carried not a trace of the respect or deference a junior should show to an elder or the head of a Guardian Clan; instead, they were filled with profound contempt, disgust, and even hatred. Each scathing rebuke was venomous to the extreme. Lin Guiyan, who had lived for nearly two hundred years, had never been reviled so harshly in his life. His lips turned purple, his entire body trembled, and in the rage that assaulted his heart, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Yun Che sneered coldly, disdainfully shifting his gaze away from Lin Guiyan and fixing it directly on Bai Yi, the head of the Bai Clan: "Bai Yi! A hundred years ago, when the former Demon Emperor was in peril, what was the Bai Clan doing? Why did you not mobilize your entire clan’s strength to rescue him? And afterward, on what grounds did you suppress my Yun Clan? Explain yourself—give my Yun Clan, give the Demon Emperor’s lineage, give the entire Huan Yao Realm a reason that is sufficient to convince!"
Yun Che’s gaze turned toward him, causing Bai Yi’s heart to tremble uncontrollably. Clenching his teeth, he forced himself to remain calm and said, "Yun Che! You repeatedly exaggerate the loyalty of the Yun Clan, but you refuse to mention even a fraction of your clan’s crimes! If it weren’t for your Yun Clan losing the Demon Emperor Seal, the Little Demon Emperor would never have been so desperate that he rushed alone to the Tian Xuan Continent on his wedding night, cutting off the Demon Emperor’s bloodline forever! This is all thanks to your Yun Clan..."
"Hahahaha!!" Yun Che laughed heartily, as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world. As his laughter died down, his eyes instantly turned ice-cold: "Thanks to the Yun Clan? Bai Yi, you truly have the nerve to say that! A hundred years ago, the Little Demon Emperor was indeed desperate... but was he desperate over losing the Demon Emperor Seal? According to what my father told me, although the Little Demon Emperor was a man of passion, he was by no means impulsive. Moreover, he was young yet already displayed the bearing of an emperor. How could he have been driven to ‘desperation unto death’ simply because he lost the Demon Emperor Seal? If the Demon Emperor had such a weak character, how could the Huan Yao Realm have flourished to this day under his lineage’s leadership?"
"What made the Little Demon Emperor desperate were none other than you so-called Guardian Clans!" Yun Che roared. "When the former Demon Emperor fell into the Tian Xuan Continent and was in mortal danger, the only inheritor of the Demon Emperor’s bloodline, though eager to save his father, should never have risked his own life, nor did he need to—because the Demon Emperor’s lineage had the majestic Guardian Clans! They should have spared no effort to rescue him. But... among the Guardian Clans, bound by their protective duty, only our Yun Clan went all out to save him! Meanwhile, you were unwilling to take risks for the Demon Emperor, fabricating all sorts of excuses. Even before seeing the former Demon Emperor’s corpse, you declared his death certain and rushed to install the Little Demon Emperor... while quietly conspiring together to suppress our Yun Clan, which had lost its pillar!"
"The most trusted Guardian Clans turned out to be so despicable, revealing their selfish and base natures! How could the Little Demon Emperor not be disappointed to the point of despair? Why did the Little Demon Emperor rush alone to the Tian Xuan Continent? Because not a single one of you Guardian Clans went to rescue the former Demon Emperor! In his sorrow and despair, he had no choice but to go himself—because that was his father!"
Yun Che gnashed his teeth slightly, his gaze as sharp as a blade: "Who caused the Little Demon Emperor’s despair? Who forced the Little Demon Emperor to save his father alone? Who severed the last bloodline of the Demon Emperor? If you had united with our Yun Clan back then and gone together to the Tian Xuan Continent, even if we could not have rescued the former Demon Emperor, would the Little Demon Emperor have been so utterly disheartened? Bai Yi, as one of the chief culprits, how dare you say what you just said? How dare you accuse our Yun Clan? The Yun Clan owes nothing to heaven, nothing to earth, and nothing to the Demon Emperor! Even though our Yun Clan has been weakened by your century of despicable suppression, our hearts are upright and without guilt, and our backs stand as firm as mountains! As for your Bai Clan... even you, the head of the Bai Clan, are not worthy of a single glance from a Yun Clan disciple!"
The Little Demon Empress’s gaze flickered and did not settle for a long time. The atmosphere in the main hall shifted constantly. Every person’s expression and look changed subtly... Over the past century, everyone in the Huan Yao Realm knew that the Yun Clan had rashly gone to the Tian Xuan Continent to rescue the Demon Emperor, who had reportedly died. But not only did they fail to bring him back, they all perished there and lost the Demon Emperor Seal... Because the seal was lost, the Little Demon Emperor was so grieved and furious that, drunk on his wedding night, he impulsively went to the Tian Xuan Continent...
This was the version known to all in the Huan Yao Realm, and the Yun Clan had always been seen as a clan guilty of a grave crime—cutting off the Demon Emperor’s lineage, an unpardonable offense.
But Yun Che’s words, his curses, his seemingly impulsive yet clear and incisive accusations, caused the "crime of the Yun Clan" that everyone had believed for a hundred years to undergo a earth-shattering transformation.
Those who could enter the Demon Emperor’s main hall were all regional overlords, not ignorant commoners who would blindly follow the crowd without thought. Over the century, under the propaganda machine of the seven clans, people’s eyes were like a clear lake stained with oil. And Yun Che’s voice was like a boulder thrown into that lake, gradually making them see and think clearly about the truth and right and wrong—things that, upon careful examination, were not so difficult to discern.
"And you, Chiyang Bailie, and Nangong Zhi!" Yun Che could no longer be bothered to look at Bai Yi, turning his gaze to Chiyang Bailie and Nangong Zhi. "Ten thousand years ago, when your Chiyang and Nangong clans were on the verge of destruction, who saved your entire clans? Who allowed your families to survive to this day and enjoy such status and glory?"
"The Demon Emperor’s lineage not only bestowed on you the great grace of saving your clans and recreating them, but always valued and trusted you highly. The Blazing Sun Whip of your Chiyang family was bestowed by the Demon Emperor! The Sky-Shattering Sword of your Nangong family was also bestowed by the Demon Emperor! Chiyang Bailie, a hundred and sixty years ago, when you were out training and were poisoned by the Thunder Poison in your origin, teetering on the brink of death, do you remember who saved your life? Hah... it was my grandfather! To save you, he not only couldn’t use his Xuan Art for ten years, but also lost a Ray of Thunder Spirit that he had painstakingly cultivated!"
"Nangong Zhi, when you were young and hot-headed, you snuck out of the city to the outskirts and encountered a vicious beast. Who saved you from its claws? It was also my grandfather, Yun Canghai!"
Yun Che’s face twisted slightly, every word thundering with fury: "Both of your lives were saved by my grandfather, saved by my Yun Clan! Our Yun Clan has only shown you great kindness—have we ever owed you even the slightest grievance or enmity? Yet after my grandfather died, how did you treat our Yun Clan? How did you serve the Demon Emperor?!"
Chiyang Bailie and Nangong Zhi opened their mouths, then involuntarily lowered their heads, unable to say a single word.
"Think of the heaven-reaching grace the Demon Emperor showed you! Think of the guardian mission you have upheld for ten thousand years! Think of the first rule in your clan’s annals... and then think of your current deeds, schemes, and ambitions! Are you worthy of the Demon Emperor? Are you worthy of the title of Guardian Clan? Are you worthy of your ancestors?!"
"Think—when you die, will you have the face to meet your ancestors and the past Demon Emperors under the Nine Springs?!"
Nangong Zhi and Chiyang Bailie both staggered, their faces pale as death, their hands and feet ice-cold.
"And you... Helian Kuang!" Yun Che turned his gaze to Helian Kuang—the clan head who had once secretly poisoned and harmed Xiao Yun. According to Yun Qinghong, he was also the first to ally with the Huai King, his ambition plain to see.
"Shut up, you brat from the Yun Clan!"
As Yun Che’s gaze shifted, Helian Kuang’s heart gave a violent lurch. Xiao Xifeng, Jiu Fangkui, Lin Guiyan, Bai Yi, Chiyang Bailie, and Nangong Zhi had all been drenched in dung by Yun Che’s furious rebukes—and they were powerless to resist or retort. How could he not be afraid? So before Yun Che could curse him, Helian Kuang spoke first, roaring: "No matter how glib you are or how much you try to argue, you cannot hide the fact that your clan lost the Demon Emperor Seal! Such a heinous crime, even if your Yun Clan were a thousand times more loyal and your entire clan died, it could not atone! For us to make the world know your clan’s crime and to have the Little Demon Empress punish you is only natural and just!"
"Heinous crime?" Yun Che gave an icy laugh. "What is a crime? Your selfish disregard for the former Demon Emperor’s safety is a crime! Driving the Little Demon Emperor to despair and death is a crime! And some of you harboring treacherous intentions is an even greater crime! These were not accidents—they were caused by your ugliness! If back then, instead of only the Yun Clan going to the Tian Xuan Continent, all twelve clans had united and gone together, then what fear would the Four Sacred Grounds have been? Perhaps we could have rescued the Demon Emperor safely, the Demon Emperor Seal would not have been lost, and the Little Demon Emperor would not have died... The Demon Emperor’s lineage would not have withered to this point!"
"Who caused all this? Who committed the true heinous crime?"
"It is true that the Yun Clan lost the Demon Emperor Seal. But my grandfather went to the Tian Xuan Continent to save the former Demon Emperor! Losing the seal was never his wish; far from wanting it lost, he would have guarded it with his life. This is not a crime—it is merely a mistake! And a helpless mistake at that! You... you are the criminals!"
"No!" Yun Che’s voice suddenly paused. He slowly raised his head and said in a low tone: "My grandfather... did not even make a mistake!!"
As his words fell, Yun Che’s palm shot out, and in the center of his hand appeared a gentle white Xuan light: "Helian Kuang... open your dog eyes wide and see what this is!!"