Chapter 1166: This Crime, I Dare Not Bear
Gu Linfeng’s strike was simply too decisive; Earth Origin Dharma King had no chance to intervene. Even Hongyuan Saint probably never imagined, before his death, that Gu Linfeng would be so bold as to actually kill him.
Earth Origin Dharma King trembled with rage. Two streams of icy cold air surged from his nostrils, causing every cultivator present to shiver.
“Divine Son, do you know what crime it is to kill a Saint of the sect?” Earth Origin Dharma King’s voice carried boundless killing intent, yet he tried his best to suppress the fury within.
Zhang Ruochen descended, landing outside the Return Origin Divine Palace, standing beside Hongyuan Saint’s corpse. Fearless, he said, “What crime?”
“A capital crime,” Earth Origin Dharma King said.
“Oh.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded casually and asked, “So what?”
Zhang Ruochen’s actions made many cultivators feel dissatisfied. Even some Half-Saints and Saints who had no grudge against him thought he had gone too far.
Hongyuan Saint had only wanted to capture him and throw him into the Iron Prison Dungeon.
Yet he had directly killed Hongyuan Saint.
That was a Saint. How many Saints did the Blood God Sect have in total? How many resources were needed to cultivate a single Saint? How could one kill them just like that?
Every Saint was a titan standing at the very pinnacle of the cultivation world, capable of deterring other forces.
Even the Sect Leader, if he wanted to kill a Saint, had to provide a reasonable explanation.
“His temperament is too violent. If he ascends to the position of Sect Leader, the Blood God Sect will never know peace,” said a Saint-level Elder.
One of the six Saint Elders, Yuan Gui Elder, showed an angry expression and said, “Killing a Saint is definitely a grave crime. Now, the Elder Council should take a stance—strip Gu Linfeng of his Divine Son title and abolish his cultivation. What do you think?”
Yuan Gui Elder looked toward Yuan Xing Elder, seeking his opinion.
As long as the six Saint Elders voted unanimously, they could still depose the Divine Son.
Now, it all depended on Yuan Xing Elder’s stance, as he held the highest prestige in the Elder Council.
Yuan Xing Elder let out a soft sigh, his expression complicated, finding it hard to make a decision.
In truth, he still favored Gu Linfeng, because he saw a glimmer of hope in him. He believed that once Gu Linfeng grew up, he might lead the Blood God Sect out of its predicament, or even bring it greater glory.
That was the only ray of hope for the Blood God Sect now.
But now, it seemed Gu Linfeng’s character had flaws—too violent, not suitable for heavy responsibility.
Could it be that the last glimmer of hope was gone?
Just as Yuan Xing Elder was hesitating, Gu Linfeng let out a loud laugh and said, “Yuan Gui Elder is so eager to depose this Divine Son—could it be that you have a better candidate for Divine Son?”
Yuan Gui Elder said, “The Blood God Sect cannot tolerate a Divine Son who slaughters his own fellow disciples. Someone like you, once you grow up, will only bring disaster to the sect.”
“Slaughtering fellow disciples? This crime, I dare not bear,” Zhang Ruochen said with a shake of his head and a smile.
“The facts are right before our eyes, and you still dare to quibble?” Earth Origin Dharma King roared, no longer wanting to waste words with Zhang Ruochen, ready to personally suppress him.
Many Half-Saints present wore expressions of schadenfreude. Having angered both a Dharma King and a Saint Elder at the same time, how could Gu Linfeng possibly survive today?
Zhang Ruochen said calmly, “I don’t see any facts. I only see that you all haven’t seen the truth at all.”
Then, Zhang Ruochen crouched down, tore open Hongyuan Saint’s robe, and began feeling along the corpse’s back with his fingers.
“What is he doing? Trying to destroy the evidence?”
“Are you stupid? What’s the point of destroying evidence now? Could the Divine Son have discovered some secret?”
...
Everyone showed curious expressions, staring at Hongyuan Saint’s corpse, eager to know what Gu Linfeng was doing.
“Found it!”
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly. With a single finger strike to the spine of the corpse, the body convulsed violently.
With a whoosh, a pair of enormous blood wings tore through the skin on the corpse’s back.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the cultivators in the Return Origin Divine Palace and laughed, “Now do you all see the truth?”
“Boom!”
The entire upper echelon of the Blood God Sect felt as if struck by lightning. An uproar erupted, and no one could remain calm—including the Saint Elders, Dharma Kings, and Palace Masters.
“Undying Blood Clan... Hongyuan Saint was actually an infiltrator of the Undying Blood Clan.”
“Heavens! How is that possible? Hongyuan Saint was the Punishment Elder of the Blood God Sect—how could he be Undying Blood Clan?”
“In charge of punishment, yet he was Undying Blood Clan. Then how many disciples of the Blood God Sect have died unjustly at his hands over the years? Those dead disciples were probably all drained of their blood by him.”
Every cultivator felt a chill of fear.
At the same time, they were filled with rage. After thinking it over, they realized that many Blood God Sect disciples had died unjustly in the Punishment Hall over the years, most likely turned into blood food by Hongyuan Saint.
“Thank goodness the Divine Son exposed him, or the Blood God Sect would have suffered even greater losses.”
At this moment, the tide turned. Those who had remained neutral now looked at Zhang Ruochen with new eyes.
No one in the sect had discovered that Hongyuan Saint was an Undying Blood Clan infiltrator, yet Gu Linfeng had identified and eliminated him—didn’t that prove Gu Linfeng’s ability?
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was as sharp as a blade. “Earth Origin Dharma King, shouldn’t you give everyone an explanation?”
Being questioned by a Quasi-Saint, Earth Origin Dharma King felt quite irritated. However, he could see that this Gu Linfeng was a tough opponent and had to be handled carefully, lest he capsize in a ditch.
Earth Origin Dharma King suppressed his emotions and said in a deep voice, “Although Hongyuan Saint was my disciple, I was unaware of this and was kept in the dark by him. What, do you suspect that I am also an Undying Blood Clan infiltrator?”
“That’s not impossible,” Zhang Ruochen said lightly.
At this moment, Sea Nether Dharma King finally opened his eyes and let out a laugh. “This child Lin Feng is indeed a bit rude, but what he said is not without reason. As far as this Dharma King knows, Hongyuan Saint’s rise to Punishment Elder was entirely due to Earth Origin Dharma King’s support. How can Earth Origin Dharma King shake off suspicion?”
“That old bastard Sea Nether Dharma King really knows how to pick his moment, attacking me now,” Earth Origin Dharma King thought, his eyes narrowing as he sensed trouble.
Zhang Ruochen naturally knew that Sea Nether Dharma King was using this opportunity to strike at Earth Origin Dharma King. Even if he couldn’t kill him, he would at least make him lose his chance to compete for the Sect Leader position.
Might as well add fuel to the fire.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Earth Origin Dharma King’s cultivation is unfathomably deep, and he spent day and night with Hongyuan Saint. There’s no reason he couldn’t see that Hongyuan Saint was Undying Blood Clan, is there?”
Earth Origin Dharma King let out a deep roar. “In the entire Blood God Sect, besides you, who saw that Hongyuan Saint was Undying Blood Clan? Speaking of which, this Dharma King would like to ask—with your level of cultivation, how could you see through Hongyuan Saint’s identity?”
Zhang Ruochen had indeed learned some secret techniques from the “Blood Clan Secret Volume,” but he hadn’t reached the level where he could identify an Undying Blood Clan Saint at a glance.
He had made his judgment by noticing some subtle flaws in Hongyuan Saint’s behavior during their earlier confrontation.
However, Zhang Ruochen believed that the Undying Blood Clan infiltrators present would be very eager to know the answer to Earth Origin Dharma King’s question.
So, he fully released his spiritual power, observing the expression of every cultivator present. Anyone whose expression was unusual, he noted down.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen said unhurriedly, “This Divine Son does indeed possess a secret method to identify Undying Blood Clan infiltrators.”
“Is that so? Then please, Divine Son, share that secret method so that in the future, we can guard against Undying Blood Clan infiltrators,” Earth Origin Dharma King said coldly.
“That secret method is...”
Zhang Ruochen deliberately dragged out his words, observing everyone’s expressions. After a long pause, he said, “You must observe with your heart.”
“Observe with your heart?”
What kind of secret method was that?
All the cultivators present felt that Gu Linfeng was mocking them and not telling the truth.
The Undying Blood Clan’s influence in the Blood God Sect was vast. If Zhang Ruochen really revealed the “Blood Clan Secret Volume,” a great battle would likely break out immediately.
Even if the Blood God Sect could purge the Undying Blood Clan, it would be severely weakened.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t sure just how extensive the Undying Blood Clan’s power was in the Blood God Sect. What if the Undying Blood Clan turned around and destroyed the Blood God Sect instead?
Zhang Ruochen didn’t dare take such a risk, so he had to use the method of boiling a frog in warm water, gradually reducing the Undying Blood Clan’s influence step by step.
Yuan Xing Elder finally spoke again. “Regardless, Earth Origin Dharma King cannot escape involvement in this matter. For the time being, I hope Earth Origin Dharma King will stay in the Elder Council for a few days. Dharma King, do you have any objections?”
Earth Origin Dharma King naturally understood that “staying for a few days” was a euphemism for house arrest, preventing him from contacting the outside world.
Given the current situation, Earth Origin Dharma King had no choice but to agree.
“Damnable Gu Linfeng, I will tear you into a thousand pieces sooner or later,” Earth Origin Dharma King thought, clenching his fists tightly, his hatred reaching the heavens.
Once he was locked up in the Elder Council, he would lose his chance to compete for the Sect Leader position.
Next, Yuan Xing Elder issued another order, dispatching ten experts to arrest all cultivators who had been in contact with Hongyuan Saint, sparing no one.
Hongyuan Saint’s exposure set off a chain reaction that was nothing short of a major earthquake for the Blood God Sect. This showed just how immense the influence of a single Saint could be.
Zhang Ruochen dug out the Sacred Source from Hongyuan Saint’s body and also retrieved the Fire Bone Demon Chain, wrapping it around his right wrist.
Then, he looked at the Saint corpse on the ground, his eyes lighting up as he muttered, “This can be used as material for refining Blood-Suppressing Talismans.”
Zhang Ruochen extended a palm, pressing it onto Hongyuan Saint’s corpse. He released flames, refining the Saint corpse down to a skeleton.
Carrying this headless Saint skeleton, Zhang Ruochen strode into the Return Origin Divine Palace. “Don’t just stand there. If you want to continue the Elder Council meeting, go ahead. If you want to continue sanctioning this Divine Son, that’s fine too.”
Watching Gu Linfeng walk into the venue carrying a headless Saint skeleton, Shangguan Xianyan’s fair forehead broke out in fine beads of sweat. She felt that Gu Linfeng was warning her, or perhaps already preparing to kill her.
As Gu Linfeng drew closer and closer, Shangguan Xianyan’s heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat. Her jade-like hands were clenched tightly, and she felt as if she was about to collapse.
Even she didn’t know why she was so afraid of Gu Linfeng.
Perhaps Gu Linfeng’s decisive killing of Wei Longxing and Hongyuan Saint had left a deep impression on her, planting the image of a ruthless and merciless person in her heart.