Chapter 224

The next instant, several beams of heavenly light pierced through the sky. More than a dozen figures appeared high above, their presence radiating divine energy. Yet unlike Zhu Yan’s group of immortals, these figures were not dressed in immortal robes—they all wore pure white Daoist garments.

Each held a familiar Xuanmen artifact: ritual swords, horsetail whisks, Bagua disks, and other sacred instruments. Among them were both elders and younger faces, all solemn and dignified.

And somehow… strangely familiar.

“Zhu Yan Immortal Lord, such arrogance!”

Among the newcomers, a young man stepped forward, his smile calm yet sharp as spring sunlight. “You plan to destroy our Xuanmen and slaughter our disciples, and you didn’t think to inform your senior brothers first?”

“Se—seventeen… Seventeen Heavenly Immortals!”

Zhu Yan’s face changed instantly. Gone was his earlier arrogance. A flicker of unease crossed his eyes as he hurriedly stood from his golden wheel, forcing a strained smile.

“So it’s the esteemed immortals of the Eastern Celestial Court. Senior Immortal Yuanjiang, please don’t misunderstand. We were merely acting in haste to seek justice for Dragon Lord Feng Yi—my words earlier should not be taken to heart.”

“It’s… it’s our Xuanmen’s ancestral masters!”

Down below, the disciples of the Heavenly Master Hall finally recognized the newly arrived figures and gasped in awe.

Shock turned into ecstatic relief as they bowed and pointed upward.

“Yes, that’s Ancestor Wuyang! He looks exactly like his statue!”

“And Yuanjiang—that’s the Venerable Heavenly Lord Yuanjiang of Virtue and Enlightenment!”

“And next to him! That’s Ancestor Wenqing, the Pure One Who Banishes Evil!”

“It really is the ancestors! The ancestors have manifested—Xuanmen is saved!”

“It’s true!”

As they looked up at the seventeen ancestral immortals floating above, every disciple’s tension dissolved. Pride swelled in their hearts.

So what if the Upper Realm’s immortals came to oppress them? The Xuanmen also had their protectors—true immortals of their own!

The old master tugged at Yun Jiao’s sleeve and whispered, “Girl, did you call the elders?”

“No,” Yun Jiao shook her head. “Their transmission talismans stopped working long ago. I couldn’t have contacted them even if I tried. They must have been keeping an eye on Zhu Yan this whole time and noticed when he descended.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” the old man nodded. “After all, the Devouring Beast incident was also tied to him. Once Senior Yuan returned, he’d naturally keep a close watch.”

“By the way,” Yun Jiao glanced at him, “what about the people I asked you to notify?”

“Already done! Don’t worry,” the old man patted his chest proudly.

Yun Jiao turned her eyes back to the sky.

Zhu Yan was merely a Celestial Lord, his cultivation only at the level of a Golden Immortal. But the seventeen before him—each one was at least that, and some were even Supreme Immortals. Any one of them could crush him; no wonder he didn’t dare act rashly now.

The names of these seventeen immortals were thunderous across the Celestial Realm. Though all had ascended from the mortal world, their strength was equal to, if not greater than, those born of pure immortal blood. Every one of them was a legend—rumor even said that during the Great Rebellion ten thousand years ago, when an emperor had fallen, their hands were in it.

Most of them now resided within the Eastern Celestial Court and seldom appeared publicly. Yet this time… all seventeen had arrived together!

Even the immortals behind Zhu Yan began to waver, their earlier confidence fading into unease.

“Immortal Yuanjiang,” Zhu Yan forced a polite smile. “I know you and your fellow immortals hail from the mortal realm and share deep ties with Xuanmen. But the Dragon Lord of the Southern Court was slain by mortals. We only seek justice—nothing more. Surely your interference isn’t the stance of the Eastern Court against the Southern?”

Yuanjiang saw right through his attempt to drag politics into it and replied with an even gentler smile.

“Immortal Zhu Yan, you know our brotherhood originates from Xuanmen. If Xuanmen suffers calamity, it concerns us directly. This has nothing to do with the Eastern or Southern Courts.

Since you claim the Dragon Lord was slain here, and we are all present, why don’t we investigate thoroughly? Let us clarify the truth before passing judgment. Wouldn’t that be fair?”

“This—” Zhu Yan’s face darkened. If they investigated, the truth about the Soul Origin Pearl would surely be exposed.

“What’s wrong?” Yuanjiang’s smile deepened, his tone almost playful.

“Did you not come here seeking truth? Or… is my word as an Immortal not sufficiently authoritative for you?”

“Of course not!” Zhu Yan quickly denied it, his expression turning grim. “It’s just that this matter belongs to the Southern—”

“That’s settled, then.” Yuanjiang cut him off smoothly and turned to address the disciples below. His voice rolled down like thunder, firm and dignified.

“Disciples of Xuanmen, I am Qingyang Yuanjiang. Since Immortal Zhu Yan claims the Dragon Lord fell here, I shall personally preside over this matter and see the truth revealed.”

A cheer erupted below.

Their ancestor himself was speaking up for them—how could they not answer? Even the various sect masters bowed deeply, their voices rising in unison.

“Yes, Grandmaster!”

The sound thundered across the entire Heavenly Master Hall, echoing endlessly through the mountains.

Yuanjiang nodded approvingly, his gaze briefly flicking toward Yun Jiao before turning back to the matter at hand.

“Now,” he said, “is there anyone who can recount, in detail, how the Dragon Lord met his end?”

Hall Master Xu stepped forward. “Reporting to Grandmaster—”

“You may not!”

Before he could speak, Zhu Yan suddenly shouted, cutting him off. His eyes flickered nervously as he forced out,

“Immortal Yuanjiang, these mortals are your disciples—each of them guilty of slaying the Dragon Lord. How could their words be trusted? You and I come from different courts. If you listen only to their side, are you not simply condemning the Southern Court in advance?”

Yuanjiang frowned, about to reply—

When a clear voice rose from below.

“If our words can’t be trusted, then surely the Dragon Lord’s own words can, right?”

Yun Jiao stepped forward and activated the Soul-Sealing Talisman in her hand. With a flick of light, the dragon soul materialized once more.

“Little Yellow, your turn!”

“On it!” the dragon’s booming voice answered eagerly.

With a loud whoosh, Feng Yi’s dragon soul burst forth, expanding into a towering, translucent dragon that filled the sky.

Zhu Yan’s face turned deathly pale.

The dragon straightened its massive body like a pole, rising until it stood eye-to-eye with the immortals above. With claws on its hips and eyes wide, it began to roar furiously—words spilling out like a storm.

“It was all this bastard Zhu Yan’s doing! He gave me the Soul Origin Pearl and tricked me into coming to the mortal realm to nurture an immortal vein! I even sacrificed my own son, only to find out later that he was using human souls to feed the vein—swallowing tens of thousands of innocent spirits alive!”

“Thankfully, Immortal Yun saw through it all—so wise, so perceptive, sharp-eyed and pure-hearted, brilliant and fair—she exposed this bastard’s treachery and took the pearl away. Then he lied again, trying to get me to steal it back! They acted for justice and killed me because of him! So if anyone’s to blame—it’s that bastard Zhu Yan!”

“Now he’s here pretending to avenge me, when he’s really after the Soul Origin Pearl! Don’t let him fool you, Grandmaster Yuan! He’s hated me for eight hundred years—if not for the fact that I’m dragon-blooded and could expose his filthy secrets, he’d have killed me long ago! He pretends to love his immortal consort, but he’s dirtier than swamp mud—he doesn’t just seduce female immortals, he flirts with male ones too! That nine-tailed fox next to him—yeah, that one!—they were—”

And on it went.

At first, the dragon’s account was serious—focused on the Soul Origin Pearl—but soon it devolved into a full-blown exposé of Zhu Yan’s scandalous history, every sordid detail laid bare, down to nearly revealing the color of his undergarments.

Yuanjiang: “…”

Yun Jiao: “…”

Everyone: “…”

So this was what they meant by “complex celestial relationships”?

(￣△￣；)

(End of Chapter)