Chapter 893: Who Will Stand Before Him?
"All the evidence now points to Cinnabar."
Bie Yanghong looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "I request that His Holiness the Pope hand her over to me. I wish to question her."
Cinnabar was the name Wang Zhice had given the little black dragon many years ago.
It was also the name by which Bie Yanghong and these other mainland experts commonly referred to her.
"Bie Tianxin was not killed by me, and certainly not by Cinnabar."
Chen Changsheng said to Bie Yanghong, "This is a conspiracy. The last time I saw Bie Tianxin was in Hanqiu City. If you are still willing to trust me, you might as well investigate who Bie Tianxin has been with these past few days."
Bie Yanghong gazed at him quietly, uncertain if he had taken in the words.
Gou Hanshi said, "Indeed. Senior Brother is exceptionally talented, and with the divine soul brands personally planted by the two predecessors, he could not be harmed by ordinary means—unless attacked by someone close to him or if a Sacred Domain expert severed all spiritual perception. And it is said that Cinnabar has yet to break through Lord Wang Zhice's restrictions, so she should not be capable of this."
Wujiong Bi's eyes were bloodshot. She could no longer listen to any of this and roared, "That vile dragon may not be able to do it, but don't forget that our Pope still holds the Divine Staff! Who else but you harbors such deep hatred for this old woman and my poor son! I ask you now: will you hand over that vile dragon today or not!"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid I cannot comply."
Wujiong Bi laughed in fury and shouted, "Then don't blame me for being rude to you today!"
The Archbishop of the Southern Heavenly Dao Sect changed color at this, stepping forward to the edge of the platform and bellowing, "How dare you! Who dares to show disrespect to His Holiness the Pope!"
Wujiong Bi roared back, "For personal grudges, he lets a vile dragon secretly murder the innocent. What virtue or worth does such a man have to be Pope!"
At these words, the entire assembly erupted in uproar. Everyone understood her intent.
Wujiong Bi had insisted all along that Chen Changsheng hand over the black dragon. If he refused, she would use this matter to attack him.
In her eyes, the black dragon was the true murderer of her biological son, and Chen Changsheng was the real culprit. How could she let him go!
Even if it meant opposing the state religion and the billions of believers in the world, she would kill Chen Changsheng today to avenge her son!
"Let me see who can protect you today!"
Wujiong Bi stared into Chen Changsheng's eyes, venomously saying, "If you won't hand over the black dragon, then you will take her place. I'll strip your tendons, flay your skin, grind your bones, and scatter your ashes!"
If two Sacred Domain experts attacked simultaneously, the sheer force would be terrifying.
If he were in the Li Palace, protected by the state religion's heavyweights and treasures, Chen Changsheng might not fear them. But here on Saintess Peak, the gap between the Archbishop of the Southern Heavenly Dao Sect, Hu Sanshier, and other state religion experts compared to Bie Yanghong and Wujiong Bi was too vast to be of much use. Of course, if the Prince of Xiang and the experts in the imperial delegation were willing to step forward, the situation might change. But the question remained: was the imperial court behind this? And even if it wasn't, why would the court stick its neck out for the Li Palace?
"Wang Po! Come out!"
Wujiong Bi looked up at the gray, cold sky, searching for some unknown point, and shouted, "Can you still protect him today! Do you even have the face to protect him!"
Hearing this, the cultivators on the cliff terrace were startled again. Was Wang Po here too? Where was he now?
Wujiong Bi was attacking Chen Changsheng to avenge her son's death. Given Wang Po's usual conduct, what would he do?
After a long silence, the sky remained gray and cold. No one appeared, and no one answered.
It seemed Wang Po had not come to Saintess Peak today. For many on the cliff terrace, this was good news.
If he had come but chose not to appear, that was even better news.
Because it meant that, in Wang Po's view, Chen Changsheng should first hand over that vile dragon.
Countless gazes withdrew from the gray, cold sky and once again fixed on Chen Changsheng on the platform, each carrying a different emotion.
Some were secretly pleased, some tense, some indifferent, and a few were angry.
Wujiong Bi walked toward Chen Changsheng, her eyes icy to the extreme. The horsetail whisk in her hand stirred without wind, whipping up countless turbulent currents, making her appear utterly terrifying.
Hu Sanshier, the Archbishop of the Southern Heavenly Dao Sect, and over a dozen priests had already gathered beside Chen Changsheng.
But how could these people stand against a Sacred Domain expert?
The Huaiyuan disciples remained silent, the Lishan disciples exchanged wordless glances, Gou Hanshi seemed lost in thought, and Tang Thirty-Six stared at Bie Yanghong, his mind unreadable.
Was it really as Wujiong Bi said—that no one could protect Chen Changsheng today?
This was Saintess Peak. If anyone had the power to change the current situation, it would be the Nanxi Zhai.
The state religion had split into northern and southern branches, but on matters concerning the dignity of the Daoist faith and external affairs, they had always advanced and retreated together.
In the past, the Nanxi Zhai would certainly have protected Chen Changsheng's safety, as he was the Pope. But earlier, due to the merger dispute, the argument had been fierce, and Chen Changsheng's stance had been unprecedentedly tough. It was likely that the Nanxi Zhai—at least the three grandmasters—would have changed their attitude.
Sure enough, just as Pingxuan and Yichen were about to speak, a cold snort rang out.
"Since she is a murder suspect, that vile dragon should come forward and explain herself, even if she is the guardian of our state religion."
Huaibi looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "If His Holiness the Pope insists on shielding her, it inevitably raises suspicion... that the vile dragon was acting on your orders. If that is true, your virtue is lacking. How can you still be qualified to sit on the papal throne? How can you still be qualified to interpret the religious law and meddle in the affairs of my Nanxi Zhai?"
Her words were harsh, even venomous. They directly removed the Nanxi Zhai from the equation while placing Chen Changsheng in an extremely passive position.
After hearing this, Ye Xiaolian could no longer hold back. She regarded Chen Changsheng as her idol and would never believe such accusations. Sword in hand, she leaped to the front of the platform and shouted angrily at the crowd on the cliff terrace, "His Holiness the Pope is not that kind of person!"
Huaibi was furious and roared, "Disobedient disciple, what do you think you're doing!"
Ye Xiaolian did not look back.
Wujiong Bi advanced slowly, carrying an indescribable pressure.
She was now at the upper level of Tongyou, which was quite impressive given her years of cultivation. But how could she face a Sacred Domain expert head-on?
Even though she was still over a hundred zhang away, and Wujiong Bi was not deliberately using her pressure to suppress her, Ye Xiaolian's small face instantly turned pale, and the hand gripping her sword trembled slightly.
But she did not retreat. In the next moment, several more Nanxi Zhai maidens leaped in front of Chen Changsheng.
Seeing this scene, even Pingxuan, who had remained silent and bowed her head during the merger debate, finally looked up.
She knew very well what the Saintess would do if she were here.
Calmly, she said, "Form the sword formation!"
Countless sounds of air being split rang out.
Countless beams of sword light illuminated the gray, dark sky.
Dozens of maidens swept in front of Chen Changsheng, forming the world-renowned Nanxi Zhai sword formation.
Just as they had done back in Hanshan, and just as they had done at the National Academy.