Chapter 915: Turmoil in the Thatched Hall
As the green-robed man suddenly made his move, the Great Western Continent's conspiracy was exposed. Wang Po and Bie Yang Hong joined forces to unleash a thunderous strike, making Huai Bi's actions less noticeable.
But many had not forgotten.
For instance, the disciples of Nanxi Zhai, and Xu You Rong.
She looked at Huai Bi calmly and asked, "What exactly did Shang Xing Zhou give you to make you do such a thing?"
Huai Bi knew she was in the most troublesome situation and gritted her teeth, saying, "I don't understand what you mean."
Xu You Rong stopped questioning her and turned to Chen Chang Sheng, saying, "I ask His Holiness the Pope to interpret the rules."
Earlier, on the cliff platform, when Chen Chang Sheng prevented Nanxi Zhai from merging, he had relied on his authority as Pope to interpret the rules.
By asking him to speak now, Xu You Rong was both leveraging his influence and proving to the Nanxi Zhai disciples that he indeed had that power.
Even as the Saintess, she was still a woman at heart, with many subtle thoughts too numerous to detail.
Regardless of what considerations Huai Ren had for wanting Nanxi Zhai to merge, Huai Bi's actions on the cliff platform were unacceptable.
In any sect or school, her behavior would be intolerable, and the sect rules naturally had clear provisions for this.
"Either her cultivation is abolished, and she is expelled from the sect."
Chen Chang Sheng recalled the Daoist scriptures he had memorized as a child and said, "Or she is sentenced to confinement for reflection."
Huai Bi's face instantly turned pale. She looked at Huai Ren, wanting to speak but stopping herself.
Huai Ren wanted to plead for her, but suddenly remembered that she, Huai Shu, and Huai Bi, the three fellow disciples, had traveled the world for many years. They had only been found by the Daoists of Chang Chun Temple and brought to the capital to meet Dao Zun Shang Xing Zhou. This stirred some doubts in her mind, and her thoughts wandered.
Xu You Rong looked at Huai Bi and said, "Yuan Yue Qin, which do you choose?"
Seeing Huai Ren silent, Huai Bi thought her senior sister had abandoned her. Hatred rose in her heart, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "Confinement? How many years do you plan to lock me up?"
Xu You Rong said, "The day you understand your mistake, you will be released."
Huai Bi let out two cold laughs, her voice sharp as she shouted, "You just want to keep me on Saintess Peak for life! How could I let you have your way!"
Xu You Rong's expression remained unchanged as she calmly said, "It seems you want to choose the former?"
The former meant abolished cultivation and expulsion from the sect, the same punishment Mu Jiu Shi had suffered in the Li Palace back then. However, that princess of the Great Western Continent still had her own family's techniques to protect her even after her national religion's cultivation was abolished. Huai Bi, on the other hand, had cultivated entirely in Nanxi Zhai's Daoist methods. If all of it were abolished, what difference would she be from a useless person?
Huai Bi's face grew even paler, and her gaze turned extremely venomous. She said, "What if I choose neither?"
Xu You Rong said calmly, "Then I will have to enforce the sect rules on behalf of the past patriarchs."
Hearing this, Huai Shu's expression shifted slightly. She stepped forward, placing herself between Xu You Rong and Huai Bi.
This hot-tempered Daoist nun did not intend to cross swords with the current Saintess; she just subconsciously didn't want to see what might happen next.
The Nanxi Zhai disciples reacted differently. A clear, sharp sound of swords rang out, and sword intent surged in all directions. Hundreds of disciples stood scattered in various positions, yet they had formed an extremely complex sword formation. Its momentum was vast and imposing, yet chillingly stern, blocking all paths down the mountain.
Seeing this scene, Huai Ren sighed and looked at Huai Bi, advising, "If your conscience is clear, then go reflect for a few days. I'll wait for you at the foot of the mountain."
"Senior Sister, how can you be so… foolish!"
Huai Bi's expression was filled with pain as she said, "It's obvious the Saintess wants to use me to establish her authority. Where is the need for evidence or reflection?"
Seeing her sincerity, Huai Ren wavered. She took a step forward, intending to say something to Xu You Rong.
Suddenly, a cold wind rose in the thatched hall. Sword intent swirled but remained restrained. An extremely sharp and desolate aura enveloped the space.
It was a sword—a very thin, very long, very straight sword. Its blade was pitch-black, its surface smooth and glossy like black jade.
This black jade-like sword was held in Huai Bi's hand.
The sharp and icy blade rested against Huai Ren's neck, just a hair's breadth from her throat!
Huai Bi had taken advantage of the moment Huai Ren stepped forward to launch a sneak attack and subdue her!
Huai Ren's face was somewhat pale, whether from internal injuries caused by the sword's intent or from the pain of being betrayed by her junior sister.
A burst of arrogant laughter rang out in the thatched hall.
Huai Bi looked at Xu You Rong and Chen Chang Sheng, her face full of smugness. But her smile gradually faded, and her voice turned icy cold.
"That's right, you're right. All of this was indeed my arrangement. Dao Zun promised me that if Nanxi Zhai merged for ten years, I would become the Saintess."
Chen Chang Sheng asked, "What if You Rong broke through the wall and emerged?"
Huai Bi sneered and said, "Do you think if I succeeded in all this, she would have any chance of emerging normally?"
If she couldn't break through the wall on her own, then Xu You Rong could only await death.
"I really didn't expect that you would abandon the Great Path for a man and break through the wall like this."
Huai Bi said, "As for the rest, it was actually very simple. Convincing my stubborn-as-a-rock senior sister with the argument of Nanxi Zhai's eternal survival wasn't hard, and tricking this hot-tempered but simple-minded senior sister was even easier."
Only then did Huai Shu understand what had really happened. She was furious, her body trembling slightly, but she dared not do anything.
That icy black sword was still pressed against Huai Ren's throat.
Huai Ren's face grew even paler, her gaze dimmer, with a faint trace of sorrow deep in her eyes.
With several crisp sounds, Huai Bi's fingers moved like the wind, sealing several meridians on Huai Ren, and most critically, locking her most important Dantian.
Gasps of shock rang out in the thatched hall: "Tian Xia Xi Shen Zhi!"
"That's right, I used Tian Xia Xi Shen Zhi. Senior Sister has no chance to fight back now."
Huai Bi said harshly, "You juniors dare to disrespect me? If I could, I'd make you feel the pain of ten thousand ants gnawing at your flesh!"
As her words fell, Huai Ren's face turned from pale to green, showing extreme pain. It was clear she was suffering the torment of Tian Xia Xi Shen Zhi.
Seeing this, Nanxi Zhai disciples like Ping Xuan and Yi Chen were furious and alarmed, but they dared not approach, fearing the black sword.
"Of course, I don't expect this to force you to abdicate."
Huai Bi looked at Xu You Rong and said coldly, "You are the most ungrateful and ruthless person from the Zhou Dynasty, aren't you? Just let me leave."
Xu You Rong ignored her. Instead, she looked at Huai Ren, who was being held hostage, and said, "You see, your intentions might be good, but this world has always been bad."
Huai Bi didn't understand her meaning. Her expression grew fiercer as she shouted, "Hurry up and disband the sword formation!"
Xu You Rong still ignored her, simply gazing at Huai Ren.
Huai Ren's expression grew even more desolate.
The pain from Tian Xia Xi Shen Zhi was nothing compared to the pain of being betrayed by a junior sister she had cherished for centuries.