Chapter 225

“Nonsense!”

Zhu Yan’s face turned from red to black with rage as Feng Xiaohuang’s words hit him like hammer blows. Humiliation and fury twisted his expression. He snapped harshly, his voice trembling slightly despite his effort to sound composed.

“Where did you find such an insolent dragon soul? How dare it impersonate Dragon Lord Feng Yi and slander this Immortal!”

“Bah!”

Before anyone else could speak, Little Yellow spat furiously.

“You shameless old bastard! Now you pretend you don’t know me? Don’t make me expose that little affair of yours with the Heavenly Consort—don’t think I won’t—”

“Silence!”

Killing intent flashed in Zhu Yan’s eyes as he turned toward Yuanjiang. “Immortal Yuanjiang, I’ve worked alongside Dragon Lord Feng Yi for many years. I know his temperament well. This dragon soul is clearly a fraud! These mortals must have found some random dragon spirit to frame me.”

“Lies,” Hall Master Xu stepped forward, his tone cutting.

“Immortal, you addressed him by name moments ago. And now you deny it?”

“How should I know where you found a dragon soul that looks and sounds so similar? I merely mistook it for a moment,” Zhu Yan said stiffly, stubbornly clinging to his denial.

“You—!”

The crowd seethed. How shameless could one be? The proof was before their eyes, yet he refused to admit a thing.

“So, Immortal Lord,” Yuanjiang asked calmly, “you’re suggesting this dragon soul is not truly Dragon Lord Feng Yi?”

“Of course,” Zhu Yan replied firmly. “If Feng Yi truly perished here, he would harbor deep hatred for these people. How could he be standing with them? Clearly, they’ve used some trick to conjure an illusion to defame me.”

“Bah! This is called redemption! I turned over a new leaf, you idiot!” the dragon soul retorted, wings twitching in outrage.

“If the Immortal has doubts,” Yuanjiang said with a serene smile, “then it’s easily resolved. I can cast a Soul-Origin Spell—it will reveal who this dragon soul once was. Or, if you prefer, we can visit the Mirror of Rebirth in the Underworld. It will display every past life and every death in full. What do you say?”

Zhu Yan stiffened, his expression darkening to pitch black. The disdain in his eyes twisted into something venomous. Seeing that denial was futile, he dropped the pretense altogether. A cold smirk curled his lips as he said,

“So what if it’s true? I was merely acting on the Celestial Emperor’s command to cultivate an immortal vein. The souls absorbed by the Soul Origin Pearl—well, that was their misfortune. They strayed into the spell’s range, so their fate was sealed.”

“Immortal Zhu Yan,” Yuanjiang’s brows knitted as anger entered his tone, “you and your ilk used countless mortal souls to nourish an immortal vein. Are you not afraid of karmic retribution? Of Heaven’s wrath?”

“Immortal Yuanjiang, you exaggerate.” Zhu Yan sneered.

“I only harvested some mortal souls, not immortal ones. Mortal lives are fleeting, like blades of grass—they wither easily. To die for the sake of an immortal cause… should be considered an honor.”

He laughed coldly, as if he weren’t speaking of slaughtered men, women, and children, but insects beneath his feet. His gaze swept across the seventeen Daoist immortals, his tone dripping with disdain.

“Since you insist on protecting these Xuanmen disciples, I’ll let it pass and won’t hold them accountable for the Dragon Lord’s death. But the souls gathered by the Pearl weren’t yours. Tell me—why should you meddle in the affairs of the Southern Celestial Court?”

Yuanjiang’s face darkened further. Zhu Yan had completely discarded all pretense of decency.

“Have you all forgotten?” Zhu Yan continued mockingly. “This is a matter of our Southern Court. It has nothing to do with the East. Will you truly turn against us over a few insignificant mortal souls? This is the human realm, not the Eastern Court’s domain. Since when did mortal spirits fall under your jurisdiction? If you wish to strike me, you’d best first seek the Celestial Emperor’s permission!”

Fury rippled across the faces of the seventeen Daoist immortals.

He wasn’t wrong—technically. They could defend Xuanmen, but the mortal souls consumed by the Pearl fell under the Southern Court’s authority. If they intervened, it would escalate into a full conflict between the Eastern and Southern Celestial Courts.

“What need have we to waste words with such filth!”

A man wielding a longsword stepped forward from behind Yuanjiang, his sharp voice slicing through the tension. “You hesitate because you fear the courts—but I do not!”

“Thirteenth Junior Brother!” Yuanjiang turned, alarmed. “Don’t act rashly.”

“You can cower if you wish, but I won’t!” the swordsman—stern-faced, his aura fierce—shook Yuanjiang’s hand off and strode forward, sword gleaming.

“What are you doing?!” Zhu Yan’s body tensed as he stepped back warily. “I act under the Celestial Emperor’s decree! Would the Eastern Court really declare war on the South?”

“Bah!” the swordsman snorted. “I am Di Hai, and I bow to neither court! I can’t stand hypocrites like you!”

“Di Hai… the Immortal Lord Di Hai?!”

Zhu Yan’s subordinates paled. Even Zhu Yan’s eyes flickered with fear. He steadied himself after a moment and said coldly,

“They were mere mortals. Their lives were insignificant. I never harmed your Xuanmen disciples, so why would you draw your sword for those whom no one cares about?”

“Are you sure no one cares?”

Before Di Hai could answer, a calm yet sharp female voice rose from below.

Yun Jiao stepped out from the crowd, her expression grave as she looked up at Zhu Yan.

“I think what the Immortal Lord just said makes a certain sense,” she said evenly. “You are immortals. You govern immortal souls, not mortal ones. Naturally, you owe no explanation to them—or to us mortals.”

Zhu Yan’s eyes brightened, satisfaction flickering across his face.

“Hmm, a mortal who understands the order of things.”

“Master Yun!” Hall Master Xu called out anxiously, fearing she meant to yield.

But Yun Jiao didn’t look at him. Her expression only grew sterner as she swept her gaze over the sky, her tone ringing like iron.

“The Soul Origin Pearl concerns thousands of souls. The Celestial Realm won’t intervene, and the mortal realm has no power to. So then—let the ones who can take charge.”

Everyone froze.

Who could?

Yun Jiao lifted her head toward the heavens, still calm and resolute.

“By my estimation,” she said softly, “those who can intervene… should be arriving right about now.”

The moment her words fell, the radiant sky suddenly dimmed. Even the immortal light brought by the celestials was crushed under a wave of darkness.

An overwhelming chill swept through the air—dense, suffocating yin energy twisting the heavens.

A colossal black gate materialized in the sky, spanning half the horizon. Its surface was pitch-dark, carved with writhing phantoms. From it came a piercing, bone-deep wail—the cries of countless spirits echoing through the air.

The sound sliced through every soul present. The Xuanmen disciples within the formation were shielded, but the immortals outside were not so lucky. Their faces went pale; even among the strongest, their divine essence wavered. The lesser celestials behind Zhu Yan trembled violently—their spiritual energy scattered, and it felt as if their souls might be ripped straight from their bodies at any moment.

This…

“The Gate of the Underworld!”

(End of Chapter)