# Chapter 3040: A Silver Tongue That Turns Black Into White
Even though Xuanyuan Qing had cultivated for many years and had seen countless treacherous and shameless individuals, upon hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, she was stunned on the spot, her spiritually imbued eyes becoming dazed.
Too much!
Standing before her, the daughter of the Heavenly Venerable, and he could still so "frankly" frame and slander someone.
Did he think she didn't know his background?
If Shang Hong had truly released Xue Tu, would he have made such a big fuss, putting on the posture of wanting to slay a god with limitless potential?
Feng Xuan, Feng Xi, and Old Man Mo, these Wind Clan deities, had completely different expressions—shock, deep thought, fear, and of course, mostly anger.
How could they not believe Qing Pingzi?
Not to mention what Qing Pingzi had done in the Heavenly Beginning Civilization Great World, just earlier, if he hadn't fought desperately, how many of those present would still be alive?
But how could this not be shocking and terrifying?
Shang Hong was not Lan Jun; he was Shang Tian's direct grandson, a brilliant new generation great god, someone who would most likely enter the Boundless realm in the future.
If even he had betrayed the Heavenly Court, one could hardly imagine how massive the repercussions would be behind this.
Not only would Paradise Realm experience a great earthquake, but even the Heavenly Court would become unstable.
Once the Heavenly Court became unstable...
At that time, the Hell Realm army would charge straight in, sweeping through all realms, and when the nest was overturned, no egg would remain intact.
Xuanyuan Qing stared at Zhang Ruochen, feeling both angry and amused, yet unable to be angry or amused, having to put on a calm and scrutinizing demeanor.
She had known early on that Zhang Ruochen was this troublesome, that he would cause such a big mess for her. If she had known, she should have agreed to him back then and conveniently released Xue Tu.
Why had it come to this?
A mere Xue Tu—whether alive or dead—she wouldn't have cared about.
But Xuanyuan Qing had precisely wanted to contend with Zhang Ruochen, to suppress him, to prevent him from taking all the advantages and being so smug.
Suppress him she had, but she never expected Zhang Ruochen to turn over and cause such a huge incident.
Feng Xi had just lost her father and was feeling deeply distressed, hating traitors like Qingkong Jianwang to the bone, so naturally she had no reservations. She said, "I've long heard that a hundred thousand years ago, when all the gods of Kunlun Realm fell and it declined into obscurity, it was because when competing with Paradise Realm for the Western Dominator World, they were betrayed by Paradise Realm. I never believed that the great figures of Paradise Realm could be so ignorant of the bigger picture, but today, I've seen it with my own eyes!"
Feng Xuan was more steady than Feng Xi, knowing this matter was extraordinary and had enormous implications. He said, "I request that Great God Xuanyuan investigate this matter and uphold justice."
The title "Great God Xuanyuan" was already very formal.
Old Man Mo's gaze moved back and forth between Zhang Ruochen and Shang Hong, releasing his spiritual power to form a domain.
This was both to prevent another divine battle from breaking out and damaging the Xufeng Divine Ship.
And also to prevent anyone from escaping.
Xuanyuan Qing naturally didn't believe Zhang Ruochen's nonsense, but she had to suppress her emotions and ask, "Daoist Qing Pingzi claims that Shang Hong released Xue Tu. Do you have evidence?"
There was a hint of threat in her eyes.
If Zhang Ruochen said he had no evidence, she could say a few fair words, and everyone could take a step back. This matter could be lightly brushed aside. Afterwards, even letting him take Xue Tu away—what would it matter?
Zhang Ruochen said, "The formations and divine patterns outside the divine prison could only be broken by a great god. Earlier, Feng Yan and Old Man Mo left the divine ship. On the ship, only I, Daoist Qing, and Shang Hong were great gods."
"But I and Daoist Qing have been together the entire time. So who else could have made the move to release the Ice King's son and the Rakshasa Clan Ancestral Realm World Lord?"
Xuanyuan Qing, wearing her veil, took a deep breath, her already full chest heaving violently.
Fine. Ruthless enough.
Not only did he not retreat, but he also dragged her out as a shield.
Zhang Ruochen seemed not to see Xuanyuan Qing's eyes, which had already turned green. He spoke righteously and continued, "At the very beginning, I naturally didn't believe there could be such a traitor among us. I only thought that the previous great god-level clash had damaged the divine patterns and formations in the divine prison, allowing the Ice King's son and the Rakshasa Clan Ancestral Realm World Lord to break free and escape."
"But upon deeper reflection, I found it inconsistent."
"If the Ice King's son could escape, why couldn't Xue Tu, who is Feng Tian's disciple and has cultivated to the Upper-Level God realm, break free?"
"Clearly, someone must have deliberately damaged the divine patterns and formations, releasing the Ice King's son and the Rakshasa Clan Ancestral Realm World Lord. That person must have sensed Old Man Mo's return and, lacking time to release Xue Tu, immediately stopped."
"With suspicion in my heart, I planned to enter the divine prison and wait, just in case. But unexpectedly, when I arrived at the divine prison, I found that Xue Tu had already been released. As I was about to pursue, I was blocked by Shang Hong, leading to the scene you all witnessed. By now, Xue Tu has probably escaped far away... Sigh!"
Shang Hong's three divine bodies had all been shattered by Zhang Ruochen with overwhelming force. Not only had his physical body suffered tremendous damage, but even his divine soul had become extremely weak.
But in the end, he had preserved his divine source.
His primordial energy was damaged, but his foundation was not harmed.
Shang Hong merged his three corpses, integrating all blood qi and divine soul fragments into his body. His gaze was cold and heavy, but he laughed heartily, facing the gazes of everyone present, and said, "Do you all think that this Qing Pingzi standing before you is really some kind of Daoist? Don't mistake a great villain for a kind person."
The Wind Clan gods all shouted angrily, summoning their war weapons.
Even if the other party was a great god, a heavenly grandson, he could not so humiliate the Wind Clan's benefactor.
Even the two surviving true gods of the Radiant Divine Temple frowned repeatedly, feeling that Shang Hong had run out of moves and was preparing for mutual destruction.
Feng Xi's divine light surged as she said coldly, "What does the Heavenly Grandson mean by this?"
Shang Hong pointed angrily, unleashing his great god's might, and said, "A bunch of ignorant fools, open your eyes wide and see clearly. He is Zhang Ruochen! The Eon-level great villain who caused the Heavenly Court army to suffer a crushing defeat at Xinghuantian!"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and laughed, then became extremely indignant, saying, "So the Heavenly Grandson releasing those Hell Realm gods was with the intention of killing two birds with one stone."
"You Paradise Realm people truly stop at nothing to suppress the rise of Kunlun Realm. I had only just broken through to a new realm, and you already want to put me to death. But your words are full of holes. Do you really think there isn't a single clear-eyed person among those present?"
Feng Xuan had originally felt that this matter might be a misunderstanding, since Daoist Qing Pingzi couldn't produce substantial evidence either. But upon hearing Shang Hong's words, he became deeply suspicious.
He said, "The whole world knows that Zhang Ruochen's martial path has been crippled. Heavenly Grandson, isn't speaking such slanderous words the same as confessing without being asked?"
Feng Xi nodded, saying, "Even if Zhang Ruochen's martial path hadn't been crippled, does the Heavenly Grandson think he could have cultivated to such a powerful realm as Daoist Qing Pingzi in such a short time?"
Feng Xuan and Feng Xi were naturally not short-sighted individuals. It was just that Qing Pingzi's actions made them feel that even to suspect him would be a sin.
Moreover, Paradise Realm's suppression of Kunlun Realm had indeed been relentless.
Xuanyuan Qing was mentally exhausted but couldn't speak openly.
Now she could only hope that Shang Hong would put up a fight and clear himself of suspicion, not letting Zhang Ruochen take him down like this.
Shang Hong had long anticipated that if he couldn't produce substantial evidence, this would be his fate—no one would believe him. But after all, he was someone who had lived for nearly a hundred thousand years, and he quickly calmed down.
He laughed and said, "Zhang Ruochen, no matter how silver-tongued you are, no matter how you turn black into white, you've still revealed a flaw."
"You said that it was with suspicion in your heart that you entered the divine prison to wait. But this is the Xufeng Divine Ship. What right did you have to enter the divine prison? If you were waiting, wouldn't it have been enough to wait outside the divine prison?"
"Then did I have the right to enter the divine prison?"
As this voice sounded, Shang Hong's expression changed dramatically.
Feng Yan walked out from the divine prison, holding the Pure Yang Divine Sword, and said, "Daoist Qing Pingzi came to the divine prison with me. When we discovered that all the guards outside had disappeared, we immediately rushed inside to check."
Xuanyuan Qing asked, "Was Xue Tu really released by Shang Hong?"
"That, I wouldn't know," Feng Yan said.
Zhang Ruochen felt very grateful that Feng Yan could step forward. Although they were sworn brothers, this matter involved not just him and Feng Yan.
The entire Wind Clan would be implicated.
This was something that would offend the Shang Clan, even the Paradise Realm faction!
It would cause rivers of blood.
Even though Feng Yan hadn't directly targeted Shang Hong, what difference did it make?
"Shang Hong, do you have anything else to say?" Feng Xuan asked in a deep voice.
Shang Hong's gaze locked onto Feng Yan, and he said, "As expected of Zhang Ruochen's sworn brother. Doing this, Fourth Master Feng Yunba will probably die with his eyes open."
Feng Yan drew his sword and pointed it angrily, saying, "Say that again if you dare."
The Wind Clan gods all revealed cold expressions.
Xuanyuan Qing sighed inwardly.
She knew that Shang Hong must be nearly exploding with rage; otherwise, why would he lose his composure and bring up Feng Yunba?
Feng Yunba had extremely high prestige within the Wind Clan and had just fallen. To say he would die with his eyes open—even if she could save Shang Hong's life, where would there be any place for him on the Xufeng Divine Ship?
Xuanyuan Qing knew Shang Hong was being wronged, and she also knew his talent was extremely high with limitless potential. Naturally, she couldn't let Zhang Ruochen scheme him to death like this.
Moreover, if Shang Hong were executed like this, how could the Shang Clan let the matter rest?
Xuanyuan Qing said, "Shang Hong, you keep insisting that Qing Pingzi is Zhang Ruochen. Do you have evidence?"
Shang Hong said, "Of course I do! I dare to assert that Xue Tu is still in his divine realm world right now. A single investigation will confirm it."
"Investigate a divine realm world? Who has the right to investigate a great god's divine realm world?" Zhang Ruochen said in a thunderous voice.
Shang Hong laughed and said, "Zhang Ruochen, there's no need to be so nervous. I can also open my divine realm world and submit to investigation. Others might not have that right, but Miss Qing is the daughter of the Heavenly Venerable. She does."
Investigating a great god's divine realm world was absolutely a humiliating matter.
If it were someone with a fiery temperament like Feng Yunba, they would dare to self-detonate their divine source to prove their innocence with death.
Feng Xi knew what kind of person Qing Pingzi was, so she said, "All the secrets of a god are hidden in the divine realm world. Even the daughter of the Heavenly Venerable probably doesn't have that right."
The other Wind Clan gods found it difficult to speak.
After all, Shang Hong was also willing to open his divine realm world and submit to investigation.
Even two of the true gods secretly glanced at Zhang Ruochen, a hint of doubt arising in their hearts.
If Shang Hong didn't have some certainty, why would he be willing to open his divine realm world for the Heavenly Venerable's daughter to investigate, just to force Qing Pingzi to open his divine realm world?