Many children, many blessings; the twelve ancestral witches forced marriages throughout the primordi

That soft sound, as if carrying some irresistible magic, instantly plunged the entire noisy, chaotic void into a deathly silence.

Whether it was the gloating Tongtian Sect Leader or Xingtian, who was preparing to drag the Six-Eared Macaque into the underworld, they both subconsciously stopped what they were doing and turned their gaze to the slowly opening gate of the Zixiao Palace.

The door wasn't fully open; it only revealed a crack just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Within the crevice lay a deep and boundless chaos, devoid of any form, except for an extremely ancient and weary sigh that seemed to carry the weight of the entire primordial era, slowly emanating from it.

That's enough.

These two words contain profound truths of the universe, and their words carry the weight of the law.

An invisible, gentle yet irresistible force enveloped the entire area, calming the turbulent chaotic air currents and temporarily suppressing everyone's murderous intent and anger.

"This matter ends here. Yuanshi and Zhunti, return to your palaces and reflect on your mistakes for one Yuanhui. Pangu Hall, you may also leave. The Journey to the West is a great calamity of Heaven's will; the overall situation is paramount, so let's not create any further complications."

Hongjun Daozu's voice was devoid of any emotion, like a sophisticated machine reciting a pre-set program.

His approach to the situation was a prime example of playing both sides.

They assigned equal blame to both sides, lightly characterizing this heinous case of a saintly conspiracy to frame someone as an "unexpected complication," and then dismissed everyone, letting the matter drop.

In the past, under the sage, who would dare to disobey?

However, today he was facing Lin Xuan.

"hehe."

A cold laugh filled with extreme contempt shattered the solemnity brought about by the Dao Ancestor's words.

On the flying boat, Lin Xuan showed no intention of backing down. Instead, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, he took two steps forward and stared directly at the crack in the door.

"Dao Ancestor, you make that sound so easy."

"Prioritize the greater good? My sons from the Pangu Palace have worked tirelessly to expand the Shang Dynasty's territory and uphold humanitarian order. Your two good disciples have stabbed you in the back, plotting and framing you. Now we've caught them red-handed, and you think you can just let it go with a simple 'prioritize the greater good'?"

Lin Xuan's voice suddenly rose, filled with undisguised sarcasm and questioning.

"So, in your eyes, the face of my Pangu Palace and the dignity of humanity aren't important? Or is it that in your Heavenly Dao script, only the faces of your two useless disciples count as respect?"

These words are utterly outrageous and blasphemous!

It's like pointing fingers at the entire prehistoric world and accusing Hongjun Daozu of favoritism and double standards!

The powerful divine thoughts hidden in the chaos trembled with fear, lest they be affected by the divine lightning of the Heavenly Dao.

This Lin Xuan is truly insane! He even dares to confront a Dao Ancestor head-on!

A long silence fell over the gates of Zixiao Palace.

Clearly, Hongjun hadn't expected Lin Xuan to be so disrespectful to him.

"Then what do you intend to do?" After a long while, the aged voice rang out again, its tone now carrying a hint of barely perceptible coldness.

"How about it?" Lin Xuan sneered, beckoning to those below, "Ze'er, Xi'er, come forward and settle accounts with our Dao Ancestor and those two Saints!"

"Okay, Dad!"

Lin Ze and Lin Xi, the two little money gods, had been waiting impatiently for a long time.

Lin Ze, with his short legs, solemnly held a huge jade abacus, like a little accountant.

Lin Xi, meanwhile, held her treasure-dropping coin, her big eyes sparkling with excitement at the sight of the treasure.

"Ahem!" Lin Ze cleared his throat, his small body standing straight, his voice childish yet incredibly clear as he loudly proclaimed towards the direction of Zixiao Palace.

"According to the 'Assessment Report on Property and Reputation Losses of the Great Shang Dynasty's Anti-Fraud Investigation Team,' the 'major case of impersonation and framing,' which was jointly planned and implemented by the Western Sect's Sage Zhunti and the Chan Sect's Primordial Heavenly Venerable, has had an extremely negative impact on the Great Shang Dynasty's investigation team."

"Firstly, compensation for emotional distress! Marshal Tianpeng and Ao Lie, members of the inspection team, suffered damage to their Daoist hearts due to malicious deception, and their Daoist temples urgently need repair. It is tentatively agreed that each of them will be compensated 500,000 top-grade immortal stones!"

"Secondly, damage to reputation! The reputation of Lin Dasheng, the deputy leader of the Great Shang Dynasty, has been damaged, and the prestige of the Pangu Palace has been tarnished. The provisional compensation is one million top-grade immortal stones!"

"Thirdly, regarding security deployment and lost wages! Pangu Palace deployed starships, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the Witch Queen, all the ladies, and tens of thousands of Great Witches personally attended the scene, consuming enormous manpower and resources. The tentative compensation is one million top-grade immortal stones!"

"Fourthly, the cost of damaging magical artifacts and obtaining evidence authentication! The [Lie Detector Jade Tablet] has suffered damage due to the influence of the Sage's Laws and needs repair; His Highnesses Lin Huang and Lin Dou have depleted their vital energy by activating their innate divine abilities and require a massive amount of spiritual fruits to replenish it. The compensation is tentatively set at two million top-grade immortal stones!"

Lin Ze's calculations were working rapidly, and in the end, he came up with a number that made everyone's scalp tingle.

"In conclusion, in this case, both sages must jointly compensate for a total of five million top-grade immortal stones! Payment must be made within three days. Late payments will incur interest calculated at the 'Nine Out, Thirteen Back' rate, and will be enforced by the Great Merchant Daoist Fortune Golden Dragon!"

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent!

Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhunti Daoist were so angry that their vision blurred and they almost spat out another mouthful of blood.

Five million top-grade immortal stones? Why don't you just rob someone?!

"Lin Xuan! You've gone too far!" Yuanshi Tianzun could no longer hold back. He pointed at Lin Xuan on the flying boat and let out a roar that shook the chaos. His remaining saintly aura suddenly erupted, and he was about to attack without regard for anything else!