Chapter 2643: Confucian Scum
“Hua Chunqiu, oh Hua Chunqiu, who gave you the audacity to demand that the Grand Palace Master compensate you with divine stones?”
Gongyang Mu stepped forward, his gait slow and deliberate, his tone contemptuous, a smile playing on his lips.
When he reached Lianxi’s side, he gave a slight bow and said, “Grand Palace Master, let me handle these two worthless cultivators from the Book Realm and the Painting Realm. You are a person of noble status—why bother with petty individuals like them?”
“Gongyang Mu!”
Shu Yong and Hua Chunqiu’s eyes darkened as they saw the approaching figure.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the cultivator named Gongyang Mu. He appeared to be a Confucian cultivator as well, dressed in a neat blue robe, looking to be around thirty years old, with a two-inch-long green beard on his chin, narrow eyes, and thin lips.
Without needing to deduce, one could guess he was a cultivator from the Confucian Realm.
However, Gongyang Mu’s cultivation was significantly higher than Shu Yong’s and Hua Chunqiu’s, having already reached the Demigod level.
Gongyang Mu looked at the mutilated corpses of Fu Gu and Mo Yang, his face showing sorrow, and he let out a long sigh: “Confucianism places benevolence first and virtue second. Even if they were assassins, as Confucian cultivators, you should not treat their remains this way. Where is the righteousness? Where is the morality? You… are truly the scum of Confucianism, a disgrace to the literary world.”
Shu Yong indeed felt that selling corpses on the street was not the act of a gentleman, and for a moment, he was quite ashamed, his face turning red.
Hua Chunqiu snorted coldly, “Full of talk about benevolence and morality, yet your actions, Gongyang Mu, don’t deserve those words. You’re nothing but a dog of the Paradise Realm. Back then, to join the Demigod Plan, you even offered your own wife to a certain deity of the Paradise Realm. Do I need to say more?”
Gongyang Mu’s gaze instantly turned icy, then shifted to anger. “Without evidence, you just slander people. Words have consequences. Insulting me is one thing, but insulting the deities of the Paradise Realm—be careful you don’t invite divine punishment.”
Seeing Gongyang Mu’s hypocritical demeanor, Hua Chunqiu felt only disgust and stopped speaking to him.
Gongyang Mu knew that Hua Chunqiu wouldn’t dare mention the deity’s name, and he chuckled inwardly, believing he had the upper hand. “Shu Yong, how about I trade a painting for those two mutilated corpses on the ground?”
“Your painting probably isn’t worth even one of Fu Gu’s fingers,” Shu Yong said coldly.
“Look at the painting first before saying that.”
Gongyang Mu smiled meaningfully, took a light purple scroll from his sleeve, and slowly unrolled it.
The painting depicted four peerless beauties, each exquisitely beautiful and lifelike.
Shu Yong recognized the four women in the painting as the “Four Beauties of the Blue Sea” from the Book Realm, his junior disciples in terms of seniority, famous in the Heavenly Court for their beauty.
Shu Yong flicked his sleeve and snorted, “Painting the younger generation of my Book Realm—you really have no shame as you grow older.”
“Look more carefully,” Gongyang Mu said with a smile.
Shu Yong thought of something, his expression changing slightly. He channeled spiritual power into his eyes and stared intently at the painting. Then, his robe fluttered without wind, and his hair stood on end in fury.
“You’re asking for death.”
Righteous energy instantly erupted from his body, transforming into a white heavenly river that surged and flowed with overwhelming force.
Standing at the center of the river of righteousness, Shu Yong reached out his hand and grabbed through the air, attempting to snatch the painting from Gongyang Mu.
Gongyang Mu’s lips curled upward. Holding the painting with one hand, he pressed his other palm outward.
Dense characters appeared in his palm, and lines of heaven and earth rules emerged between the characters.
“Boom!”
The river of righteousness was struck by the characters and palm force, surging back and crashing into Shu Yong.
Shu Yong was sent flying backward, sliding dozens of zhang before kneeling on one knee, his long hair disheveled. But in an instant, he charged forward again like lightning, roaring, “Release them!”
The roar carried powerful spiritual power.
Gongyang Mu’s eyes were mocking. He stepped forward with his right foot, and dense patterns appeared beneath him, once again sending the charging Shu Yong flying.
“Shu Yong, it’s not five hundred years ago anymore. With your current cultivation, you think you can fight me?” Gongyang Mu said.
Hua Chunqiu’s gaze was fixed on the lines swirling around Gongyang Mu. “You’ve actually cultivated the power of principle to the level of heavenly principle.”
Gongyang Mu was quite proud. “That’s right. With heavenly principle achieved, stepping into the divine realm is just around the corner. But you two haven’t even reached the Demigod level—you don’t even have the foundation to assault the divine realm.”
Heavenly principle was the highest level of principle.
“Preserve heavenly principle, extinguish human desire” was the founding principle of the Confucian Realm and the core of its ideology.
Legend had it that cultivating the power of principle to the level of heavenly principle would inevitably allow one to enter the divine realm and become a true Confucian deity. This was why Gongyang Mu had the capital to be arrogant.
Shu Yong approached Zhang Ruochen and said anxiously, “Brother Shu, my four junior disciples have been captured by Gongyang Mu and sealed in the painting. I must save them.”
“What? You want to use these two mutilated corpses to trade for them?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Shu Yong knew this request was difficult for the other party, his face showing bitterness. He gritted his teeth and bowed deeply to Zhang Ruochen. “From now on, Shu Yong will be your servant to repay the divine stones.”
The corpses of Fu Gu and Mo Yang were too valuable. He couldn’t afford to repay them, so he could only beg Zhang Ruochen in this way.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze shifted to Gongyang Mu.
Lianxi, worried that Zhang Ruochen might forcefully seize the painting, walked to Gongyang Mu’s side and held the Sword of Judgment in her hand.
A sword domain naturally manifested, protecting the two of them.
Seeing Shu Yong obediently submit, Gongyang Mu was in high spirits. “Earlier, I offered to trade, but you refused. Now, I’ve changed my mind. If you want this painting, not only must you give me the two corpses, but you must also kneel and apologize to Grand Palace Master Lianxi. I mean both of you.”
Gongyang Mu pointed at Shu Yong and Hua Chunqiu.
Xiang Chunan’s eyes were as wide as copper bells, and he glared angrily. “I’ve never seen someone as shameless as you. If you have the guts, take my punch.”
Gongyang Mu showed a look of wariness. “Young Master Xiang has received the true teachings of the Truth Divine Temple’s Hall Master and is unmatched in combat. How could I possibly be your opponent? However, I am confident that before your fist force reaches me, I can tear this painting to shreds.”
“You…”
Xiang Chunan didn’t strike, because Lianxi was blocking Gongyang Mu. Even if he did, he probably couldn’t do anything to the other party.
Gongyang Mu stared at Shu Yong. “What’s your decision? To be honest, I have no interest in the two mutilated corpses on the ground or the lives of the four Book Realm disciples in this painting. So my patience is limited.”
Shu Yong looked at Zhang Ruochen, since the two corpses belonged to him, and he had no right to decide.
Zhang Ruochen extended a hand to help Shu Yong, who was still bowing, and walked toward Gongyang Mu. “These two mutilated corpses are priceless. I really can’t give them up.”
“People must learn to let go. In the face of reality, you have to compromise,” Gongyang Mu said.
Lianxi’s sword intent remained locked on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, “How about this: you and Shu Yong fight another round. If you win, the two corpses are yours. As for kneeling and apologizing to the Grand Palace Master, the four of us should do it together.”
Hua Chunqiu and Shu Yong were both stunned.
Xiang Chunan, however, was quite forthright. “That’s right. Share the blessings, share the hardships. If we’re going to kneel, we’ll all kneel together.”
Gongyang Mu was overjoyed. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious,” Zhang Ruochen said. “But don’t celebrate too early. If you lose, not only must you give me the painting, but you must also kneel and kowtow three times to us.”
Afraid that Zhang Ruochen would back out, Gongyang Mu immediately agreed. “Fine, it’s settled!”
Lianxi looked at Zhang Ruochen with a puzzled expression, but thinking about the vast gap in cultivation between Gongyang Mu and Shu Yong, there was no way Gongyang Mu could lose. Her doubts dissipated.
She said, “Give the painting to me for safekeeping.”
Gongyang Mu, also worried about accidents, handed the painting to her.
Shu Yong bowed deeply to Zhang Ruochen again, his expression resolute. “Thank you, Brother Shu, for giving me this opportunity. Even if I can’t defeat Gongyang Mu, I will take him down with me.”
Hua Chunqiu’s face was full of worry. “Gongyang Mu is cunning. How could he not guard against your suicidal move? Don’t think about dying unless absolutely necessary.”
The most relaxed one was Zhang Ruochen, who patted Shu Yong on the shoulder. “Don’t be so tense. Just fight with all your strength. I have faith in you. Defeating him shouldn’t be difficult.”
The Heavenly Bin Divine General of the Red Dust Sea Market used divine power to manifest a space bubble a thousand miles in diameter on the sea.
Shu Yong and Gongyang Mu turned into two streaks of light and flew into the space bubble.
Shu Yong seized the initiative, using the Fox Purple Tip Brush to write a zhang-long character “Struggle” in the air and pressed it toward Gongyang Mu.
“A Hundred-Character War Letter? Don’t embarrass yourself with such sacred arts.”
Gongyang Mu didn’t take Shu Yong seriously at all. He pointed a finger, and lines of heavenly principle condensed into a straight line, striking the “Struggle” character.
In his expectation, this “Struggle” character would be easily broken.
But the heavenly principle lines failed to block the “Struggle” character. For some reason, the momentum and power of the “Struggle” character suddenly surged by a large margin, ultimately slamming into him.
Gongyang Mu was, after all, a Demigod. Faced with this sudden change, he reacted quickly. Although he was sent flying, he activated his domain and heavenly principle scroll, deflecting most of the attack.
Shu Yong never expected Gongyang Mu to be so easily defeated. His confidence surged, and he immediately wrote a second character, then a third…
The one helping him was, naturally, Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen’s Wuji Sacred Will was not inside his body but in the heavens and earth, distributed throughout every corner of the universe.
So when Shu Yong used his sacred arts, Zhang Ruochen directly mobilized the Wuji Sacred Will in that space and infused it into Shu Yong’s techniques. Naturally, the power of the sacred arts increased dramatically.
Thus, the cultivators in the Red Dust Sea Market witnessed a bizarre scene: Shu Yong, who had only cultivated eight trillion sacred dao rules, was overwhelming the Demigod-level Gongyang Mu.
Even the false god Heavenly Bin Divine General, standing in the sky, couldn’t see the trick behind it.
All they could sense was that every move Shu Yong made drew in a massive amount of heaven and earth power, compensating for the gap in their cultivation levels.