Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 330 Joint Trial by the Four Sects
The loud shout under the cover of night was like a thunderclap.
The once tranquil Zhu family mansion suddenly became noisy.

The Zhu family members on night watch, their faces contorted with anger, opened the mansion gates, glancing around as they angrily demanded:
"Who is making a scene in front of the Zhu residence?"

The moment they finished speaking, one after another, malevolent spirits quietly emerged from their bodies, their deep eyes scanning the surroundings.

The void responded with a cold snort, and then a huge crowd floated in front of the Zhu family mansion.

The crowd, gazing at the lurking evil spirit, was filled with even greater indignation, and a furious voice echoed from within the crowd:

"Others may fear your Zhu family, but we don't. You've used hundreds of living infants to refine evil spirits. Your Zhu family has openly defied the Great Venerable's decree. Just how many lives do you have?"

"that is.!"

"The Zhu family has a lot of nerve!"

The crowd began to chime in with their own opinions, while the other factions who had been watching the spectacle behind them looked on with surprise and doubt, as they began to understand what was going on.

Did the Zhu family use hundreds of infants to perform evil spirit rituals?
Children are naturally yang in nature and have always been excellent "talents" who are applicable in many fields.

Each family has touched upon this dish to some extent, but they all do so secretly, and no one dares to do it on a large scale.

The reason is simple: Fubo Domain has a prohibition on this matter.

That means you are not allowed to use children who are not even as tall as a wheel to practice evil spirit cultivation!

Although the Great Venerable governs the Fubo Domain with a policy of non-interference, there is a prerequisite: the Fubo Domain must be prosperous in terms of humanity.

Who dares to drastically reduce the population? Especially through such a destructive act as harming children?
This is also why forces like the Blood Buddha Temple have to travel to distant seas to spread their teachings; none of them dare to violate the Great Venerable's prohibition.

Does the Zhu family have such audacity?
Well, it's hard to say, after all, the Seven Star Chamber of Commerce is no small force.

But even if the Zhu family did it, how did it get exposed? And why did it cause such a huge uproar?

They always felt something was off!
Meanwhile, the Zhu family members standing in front of the mansion were also stunned by the public's condemnation.

They weren't sure if some ancestor in their family had given in to this, and while they wanted to refute it, they didn't have much confidence.

Especially seeing the crowd's indignant expressions, they gradually came to believe it themselves.

It's probably true!

Otherwise, why would so many powerful people rush to the Zhu family?
During the stalemate, the commotion in front of the Zhu family's gate finally attracted the attention of the True Lord stationed at the Zhu residence.

Its imposing aura soared into the sky, instantly silencing the clamor and noise of the crowd.

Ripples spread through the void, and a figure draped in a gray robe with jet-black eyes emerged silently from the ripples. The lifeless eyes swept across the scene, sending a chill down the spines of everyone present.

"Hiss! It's the Spirit Soul True Lord of the Zhu family!"

A gasp rang out from the crowd, revealing the identity of the newcomer.

Suppressing his anger, the Spirit Soul True Lord asked in a chilling voice:
"What has the Zhu family done to provoke so many fellow Daoists to come to their door and condemn them? The Seven Star Chamber of Commerce, run by the Zhu family, is not a charity. If there is no evidence to support these false accusations, the Zhu family will never let this go!"

Anyone would be reluctant to give a friendly look if someone barged into their home, let alone the Zhu family of the Seven Stars Chamber of Commerce. This is already a serious offense. If the Zhu family doesn't speak up, won't everyone be able to take advantage of them in the future?

Just as everyone was stunned by the Spirit Soul True Monarch, a soft hum echoed through the night once more:
"Hmph! I also want to hear whether the Zhu family actually did such a thing!"

Lingpo Zhenjun's eyes narrowed as he looked to the side of the crowd. He wanted to see who had the audacity to do such a thing, but what he saw shocked him greatly.

He quickly bowed and said respectfully:

"The spirit greets the three guardians of the East Sea, the North Sea, and the South Sea."

Upon hearing Lingpo's words, the crowd's previous oppression turned into an uproar.

They all turned around and looked to their sides, where they saw the primordial spirits of the three guardians standing silently in the void.

Among them, the garrison commander of Jinchuan was carrying a True Lord in his hand.

This True Lord was none other than the True Lord of the Deng family, who had come to the Zhu residence to deliver the message before them.

Everyone was overjoyed and paid their respects to the three garrison commanders.

At this moment, Luo Xuan, who was suspended in mid-air, also noticed something was wrong. Although these people were attacking the Zhu family, why did they talk about things that sounded so much like those lowly people from Tangjia Village?
This cast a shadow over his mood. What a coincidence!
Seeing that Jin Chuan and the other two had begun to intervene in the matter, he also appeared slowly on the scene in a flash, but he did not stand with the three garrison commanders, but was located on the right side of the crowd.

Upon seeing him, everyone bowed again in respect.

With all four garrison commanders of Zhenhai City now gathered, the various forces that had come to watch the spectacle were all excited.

It's only been a few days since the Four Directions Pavilion incident? And the four guardians have already gathered again?
And it seems like something big has happened again?
One by one, True Monarchs quietly appeared on the scene, and three Nascent Soul cultivators also appeared. One of them was Deng Jiuyou, the True Monarch stationed by the Seven Star Merchant Guild.

The Spirit Soul True Lord, who had been under immense pressure, felt a sense of relief the moment he saw Deng Jiuyou.

Facing four garrison commanders alone was proving difficult, and he still didn't know where their accusations came from.

Deng Jiuyou should be around the same age as the Great Venerable, but she looks like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl.

She was draped in a black robe, her aura completely concealed. Yet, none of those present, including the four garrison commanders, dared to underestimate her. Deng Jiuyou glanced at the Deng Family True Lord in Jin Chuan's hand, but instead of being annoyed, she said rather cheerfully:

"The Seven Stars Merchant Guild has always abided by the Grand Venerable's decree. I also understand the origin of today's accusations. If the situation is true, there is no need for the garrison commanders to take action. The Seven Stars Merchant Guild will clean house and give everyone an explanation."

Her voice was clear and melodious, and not only her appearance but also her voice was exactly like that of a young girl.

Upon hearing this, Jin Chuan nodded slightly, awakened the True Lord of the Deng Family in his hand, and with a flick of his sleeve, sent the other party to Deng Jiuyou's side.

"Since Fellow Daoist Jiuyou has spoken, we naturally trust him. Let's take advantage of the presence of all of you fellow Daoists and get to the bottom of this matter. I want to see who has the audacity to do such a thing!"

Although Sang You and Yuan Xuan did not speak, as soon as Jin Chuan spoke, they instantly sealed off the Zhu family's outpost inside and out.

Luo Xuan, standing to the side, did not move, but his heart sank even further.

The unfolding events made him increasingly uneasy. Regardless of whether it was a coincidence or not, it was not a good thing for the Western Sea Vein to have the entire Fubo Domain publicly watching this matter.

On the other side, under Jin Chuan's organization, several representatives were selected from the crowd that had just been verbally attacking and criticizing.

They recounted the scene in the valley outside the Western Sea in detail.

When they heard that someone was using over a hundred infants and a dozen men and women to perform a ritual to ward off evil spirits, the later arrivals all looked at each other with strange expressions.

As powerful figures in their respective regions, they were naturally not shocked by such a scene.

But they still thought to themselves, "That's some guts!"

That valley is so close to Zhenhai City, yet someone actually dared to do such a thing. What else could it be but courage?
Upon hearing about the infant corpse in the shrine and the body that had been split in two and was lying upside down on the ground, everyone turned their attention to the Zhu family's Spirit Soul True Lord.

Even Deng Jiuyou looked over expressionlessly.

Lingpo Zhenjun's heart tightened, and he thought to himself, "Oh no!"

Based on their descriptions, it really is the Zhu family's art of exorcising evil spirits and controlling yin.

Furthermore, it involves the formation of Yin energy, which is clearly not something for beginners.

He's at least at the Foundation Establishment stage, but not quite at that level. The formation technique is too crude; at most, he wouldn't surpass the Golden Core stage.

This made him curse inwardly, wondering which idiot dared to commit such a thing outside Zhenhai City!

The group quickly recounted what they had seen and heard in the valley, and finally added:
"The manager on the airship at Dengjiadu witnessed this event along with us."

Upon hearing this, Deng Jiuyou lifted the steward who had followed behind and brought him in front of him, saying softly, "Tell me the truth!"

The steward of the Deng family quickly spoke up, saying, "What you fellow Daoists have said is not an exaggeration."

Deng Jiuyou nodded slightly, and in the next instant, his figure appeared behind Lingpo Zhenjun. With a flick of his finger, nine vortexes of Yin energy suddenly appeared on Lingpo Zhenjun's body, firmly nailing to him like nails.

Lingpo Zhenjun groaned, a look of pain on his face.

“Ancestor Jiuyou, I truly know nothing about this matter, nor was it done arbitrarily by the Zhu family. However, this method is indeed the Zhu family's technique for refining evil spirits and controlling yin. I am willing to go to the valley to observe the traces and find out who cast the spell. The Zhu family will not tolerate this. I beg the Ancestor and all the Guardians to see the truth!”

Upon hearing this, Deng Jiuyou ignored the spirit and instead turned to the True Monarch of the Deng family, instructing him:
"Retrieve the list of Zhu family members who have entered and left Zhenhai City within the last ten days!"

Without waiting for Deng Family True Monarch's feedback, he addressed Jin Chuan and the others:

"I would like to trouble you, my garrison commanders, to accompany me to the valley. Now that it has been confirmed that the Zhu family was behind this, the Seven Stars Merchant Guild will not tolerate it."

If the spirit cannot find out later, then execute all the people who have entered and exited during this period.

If it is discovered that it was done by any branch of the Zhu family, the Seven Star Chamber of Commerce will exterminate all cultivators of that branch as a warning to others!

Upon hearing this, the Spirit Soul True Lord turned pale.

Although he felt that the punishment from the Nine Nether Ancestor was severe, he knew that if the Zhu Family Ancestor were here, he would very likely make the same decision.

Tonight's scene will surely alarm the Great Venerable. If we don't act decisively now, it won't be just a matter of one person once the Great Venerable takes action.

The others who came to criticize him also showed expressions of shock.

They never expected that the Nine Nether Ancestor would impose such a severe punishment.

At this moment, many people are already feeling regretful. They are no longer naive young people, so why did they get involved in this kind of thing?
After today, there's no guarantee that the Seven Stars Chamber of Commerce won't hold a grudge against us.

How did I end up here?

This made everyone feel uneasy.

Jin Chuan and the others remained expressionless upon hearing Deng Jiuyou's words. Although their anger had not subsided, they accepted the proposed solution and replied to Deng Jiuyou:
“Fellow Daoist Jiuyou is fair in his dealings, so we will follow your advice.”

The moment they finished speaking, Jin Chuan and the others turned to look at Luo Xuan and urged him on:
"We would like to trouble Garrison Commander Luo to open the Western Sea border so that we may go and take a look!"

(End of this chapter)