Chapter 425 - A Life for a Life
The lower layer of the Infernal Soul Barrier was scorching, and it was practically impossible for earth saints to stay here for long. This showed that the Infernal Soul Race had only managed to survive by either changing their const.i.tution or using heavenly pattern barriers to decrease the temperature. Although the Infernal Soul Barrier had burned their souls for the past twenty thousand years, they still had the foundation of patternscribes.
Bai Zijin could only see black smoke and flames in the lower layer, making the volcano look like a cauldron, and her scalp went numb. She couldn’t imagine how the Infernal Soul Race managed to survive under this environment. Moreover, she had been calling out to Tianming for a long time, but there wasn’t any response. There was no way her voice could transmit to the lower layer.
“Can the lower layer be opened?” Bai Zijin asked with a cold face. Upon hearing that something happened to Tianming, several exalted ones came over, along with more than twenty Qilin Kings. The one who suppressed Yun Feiyao earlier was one of them.
“That’s impossible. Only the Primeval Autarch can unlock this layer,” said Chong Yang with an uncertain expression.
“Then how did Tianming go down?” Bai Zijin said with a headache.
“We also find it unbelievable. From what I heard, Tianming used his Ancient Devil Arm to tear apart the Infernal Soul Barrier,” said Chong Yang. He then turned to look at Yun Feiyao. After all, Yun Feiyao had personally witnessed everything.
“Can Li Muyang’s black arm also tear apart the barrier?”
“Our Manor City wasn’t here at that time. We were previously living in the heart of the Divine Capital, so he shouldn’t have come here,” said Chong Yang.
“Then what are we supposed to do now?” Bai Zijin grew anxious. She had no idea if Tianming could withstand the volcano, and she was also worried that he would come across the Infernal Soul Race. She was so anxious that tears were welling up in her eyes.
“There’s nothing we can do about it, even if your father comes here. We can only wait and see if Tianming can come up by himself. Since he’s able to go down, he should be able to come back up as well,” Mo Yu sighed.
“It’s all because of these two fools!” Bai Zijin was trembling with anger.
“What the h.e.l.l are you talking about! He killed my daughter, and even death cannot erase his crime! It’s best to let him taste the suffering of the Infernal Soul Race for a lifetime!” Yun Feiyao said with bloodshot eyes.
“Silence! Someone is already looking into this matter, and Baili Zhuixing has been found. The truth will come out sooner or later,” rebuked an exalted one of the Thunder Qilin Branch, Lei Xun. As bystanders, they could maintain their reason. Tianming might be the son of a sinner, but it made no sense for him to take revenge against Yun Zhenzhen by killing her, not to mention that Bai Zijin was also around. So how could Tianming kill Yun Zhenzhen?
“There’s clearly something fishy about this matter. Someone must be trying to get Yun Feiyao and Yun Yuanfeng to do the dirty work. After all, the two of them were Yun Zhenzhen’s grandfather and father. But you two are really humiliating, losing your reason like this,” Lei Xun reprimanded.
Yun Feiyao’s face was pale. He wasn’t afraid of being scolded, but he was still depressed about his daughter’s death. When he calmed down, he finally realized that there was indeed something fishy about this matter. “No matter who it is, I’ll make them pay the price for killing my daughter!”
Right at this moment, someone reported, “Exalted ones and Qilin Kings, three Hall Kings came from the Decimo Dao Palace.”
“Let’s go out together,” Chong Yang spoke out.
“We can’t stop them. They’re already coming in!” The upper and middle layers had already been unlocked, and the three Hall Kings came down and stood beside Bai Zijin. They were the South Hall King, Future Hall King, and a woman dressed in plain clothes with an ethereal temperament. She might already be middle-aged, but she still looked elegant. With just a glance, anyone could tell that she wasn"t someone simple. But even someone like her had rage on her face at this moment. She was the Decimo Dao Palace’s Sky Hall King.
“Zijin!” The Future Hall King turned to look at Bai Zijin.
“Father, listen to me!” Bai Zijin was growing anxious and immediately explained what just happened.
“He can tear apart the Infernal Soul Barrier?” The three Hall Kings had a shock on their faces when they heard about it from Bai Zijin. The South Hall King asked, “How is that possible? Does that mean that Li Muyang was also able to do the same?”
“I don’t know. I never heard about him coming here,” said the Sky Hall King.
“The Infernal Soul Barrier is the Infernal Soul Race’s strongest heavenly pattern barrier, and no one can create a second one in the Theocracy of the Ancients. It seems that there’s really something special about his arm.” The Future Hall King narrowed his eyes into slits.
“What’s the use of talking about that? Find a way to save him!” Bai Zijin said.
“Hall Kings, can you try to attack the barrier and attract Tianming’s attention to call him up here?” Chong Yang said without any confidence.
“We can’t do that. It’s more likely that we’ll alert the Infernal Soul Race instead,” said the Future Hall King.
“Then we can only wait. Honestly speaking, there’s not much hope,” said Chong Yang.
“And you still have the cheek to say that? I suspect that you Qilin Kings are the ones behind it,” the Future Hall King said coldly.
“You’ve misunderstood us. There’s no benefit for us to kill Tianming. The Theocrats still haven"t given us their reply, nor have we found Li Muyang. So why would we kill the bait?” Chong Yang explained. For the past two months, they had been doing their best to advertise Tianming’s miserable state and the fact that he was currently in the Infernal Soul Barrier. But judging from the Cyclic Barrier, Li Muyang had gone even further away instead.
Right at this moment, someone spoke out, “Exalted ones, the real culprit has been found.”
“Let’s go and take a look. The rest of you, continue waiting here,” said Chong Yang. He then immediately left with everyone from the Ancient Qilin Clan.
“I want to see who the real culprit is!” Bai Zijin followed right behind. When they arrived at the Infernal Soul Barrier’s upper layer, they saw Ning Wushuang and Baili Zhuixing.
“Wushuang?” The exalted one of the Moon Qilin Branch, Jing Yue, was stunned when he saw Ning Wushuang. After all, she was his great-granddaughter! Even her name was given by him. Ning Wushuang’s face was pale and she was clutching her clothes. Her eyes were red and she didn’t dare to look at the exalted ones. As for Baili Zhuixing, he could only sit on the ground; he was still in pain from the beating.
“Ning Wushuang?” Yun Feiyao and Yun Yuanfeng were both dumbfounded when they came out.
“They’re the real culprits? What about the evidence?” Chong Yang asked.
“According to the clues from Bai Zijin, we first found Baili Zhuixing, who refused to admit it in the beginning. But when we questioned a few clansmen, they said that Yun Zhenzhen had recently been close to Ning Wushuang. With the difference in their ident.i.ties, it made no sense for them to be together. So we captured Ning Wushuang and found this in her spatial ring with everyone here as witnesses.” The one who reported then took out a Thunderfiend Chain.
This person was also from the Thunder Qilin Clan, and was a good friend of Yue Yuanfeng’s. That was the reason why Yun Feiyao and Yun Yuanfeng could leave this matter to him. Sure enough, he pulled Ning Wushuang out without any hesitation. The Moon Qilin Branch was the second biggest branch in the Ancient Qilin Clan, while the Thunder Qilin Branch was only ranked fourth.
Just the Thunderfiend Chain alone was enough to prove everything. In addition to the fact that Tianming had previously fought with Baili Zhuixing, thus it made sense that Baili Zhuixing would have a dragon scale. Right now, the truth was out.
“Wushuang, it’s all your fault! I already told you to get rid of the Thunderfiend Chain, but you said that no one would suspect you as long as Li Tianming died!” Baili Zhuixing yelled. Putting it bluntly, Ning Wushuang couldn’t bear to throw the Thunderfiend Chain away because it had thirty saint heavenly patterns.
“Shut up!” Ning Wushuang looked at Baili Zhuixing coldly.
“Elders, it was Ning Wushuang who forced me to do it! This has nothing to do with me, and I’m only responsible for taking the dragon scale! She’s the culprit that killed Yun Zhenzhen! She hated Li Muyang because her father—” Baili Zhuixing immediately started fearfully explaining.
“Shut up!” Ling Xing roared, leaving Baili Zhuixing trembling in fear. Ning Wushuang’s father was Jing Yue’s grandson, and based on his relations.h.i.+p with Jing Yue, it would only make the whole thing more awkward if Baili Zhuixing pushed the blame solely onto Ning Wushuang.
“What a coward, trying to push the blame immediately. Didn’t you kill Yun Zhenzhen’s lifebound beast? Moreover, are you not the culprit for the wounds on her body?” Ning Wushuang sneered.
“You’re the one who forced me to do it!” When Baili Zhuixing spoke, it affected his injuries and left him in deep pain. Ning Wushuang’s injuries from her fight with Tianming weren’t serious, but he had been beaten up twice in a row. By now, the truth was clear—clansmen of the Ancient Qilin Clan were murdering each other, trying to get Yun Feiyao and Yun Yuanfeng to do their dirty work. This was simply a scandal for the entire Ancient Qilin Clan! Throughout this incident, Yun Feiyao was the one who felt the worst.
“Ning Wushuang, how can you be so ruthless at such a young age! Zhenzhen never offended you, yet you took her life! You’re worse than a dog!” Yun Feiyao’s intention to kill Tianming s.h.i.+fted to Ning Wushuang, and he was even more furious now.
“Zhenzhen might be sacrificed, but I’m not in the wrong! The wrong is with Li Muyang, with you cowards! You guys don’t even have the guts to kill his son! All of you are cowards! Why bother calling yourselves the Ancient Qilin Clan?!” Ning Wushuang yelled out hysterically.
“What do you know?!” Jing Yue suddenly appeared before her and slapped her on her forehead. Ning Wushuang still wanted to speak, but she was instantly knocked out.
“I’ll bring them back first, so we won’t be embarra.s.sing ourselves before outsiders,” said Jing Yue.
“Wait! A life for a life, not to mention that Ning Wushuang killed a fellow clansman!” Yun Yuanfeng locked his brows together. Everyone in the Infernal Soul Purgatory was here looking at this awkward scene.
“Ning Wushuang might be in the wrong for killing Yun Zhenzhen, but she wasn’t wrong for wanting to kill Li Tianming.”
“That’s right. Now that the Decimo Dao Palace came, the elders are going to cower again.” The entire younger generation of the clan had reluctance on their faces. There weren’t many who sympathized with Yun Zhenzhen.
“Be lenient with her! The Ancient Qilin Clan has already declined, and she only did this for everyone!”
“Yeah, that’s right….”
“How can you say that? Have you ever put yourself in Yun Zhenzhen’s position and thought about what she felt before she died?!”
Suddenly, Yun Feiyao rushed toward Ning Wushuang, but sadly for him, Lei Xun stopped him. As Yun Feiyao struggled like a beast, he yelled, “Exalted one, a life for a life!”
“Let’s just calm down for now. We’ll discuss how to deal with Ning Wushuang when the Decimo Dao Palace is gone. Don’t take the matter into your own hands. Yun Yuanfeng, bring your son back first. Zhao Kongyuan, keep watch over them,” Lei Xun said. Zhao Kongyuan was the Qilin King who first made an appearance, and he was tasked with watching over Yun Yuanfeng and Yun Feiyao.
“Yes, exalted one!” Zhao Kongyuan stood up. Lei Xun patted Yun Feiyao, who was kneeling on the ground weeping. He briefly hesitated, then sighed.