428: Chapter 36: Causing a Ruckus and Strutting Away 428: Chapter 36: Causing a Ruckus and Strutting Away Even Huayang was stunned at this moment.
He wasn’t unprepared for a life-and-death struggle; being killed over a dispute regarding the Way was expected.
Huayang still remembered when he initially planned to send a life-saving magic treasure to Gu Wen—facing many elders of the Upper Pure Sect trying to stop him, he said,
“The Lord Emperor’s power is mighty, and he controls Daqian; Gu Wen can be abandoned.
Conversely, if Gu Wen achieves the Ninety-Nine Dao foundation, this venerable can be abandoned as well.”
Then, his own master volunteered to take on the duty, sacrificing himself so he could turn danger into safety.
But gratitude did not offset debt, and merit did not offset enmity.
What Huayang hadn’t expected was that Gu Wen would kill him under such a charge, which was so cursory it was practically sabotaging the authority of the Daoist Sect and breaking the laws established over eight hundred years.
Huayang frowned, pacing indecisively, looking at Gu Wen ten zhang away, his plain face devoid of any murderous intent.
Was this a joke?
Ridiculous!
Fury crept onto Huayang’s face, angrier than if Gu Wen had simply killed him.
It would have been better if Gu Wen had come to his door and killed him; at least it could be said to be a personal grudge without involving the laws of the Daoist Sect.
Snap!
Chi Yu Zi smacked the sounding wood again and said, “Criminal, kneel!”
“What crime have I committed?”
“Because you entered the hall with your right foot first.”
“There is no such crime in the laws of the Daoist Sect.”
Huayang, with his hands behind his back and standing tall, fearlessly faced the presence of the Saint and said, “Please find another charge.
As long as it adheres to the laws of the Daoist Sect, this venerable is willing to accept punishment.”
“Gu Wen says it’s a crime, then it is a crime!” Chi Yu Zi huffed coldly and said, “Are you the current Three Pure Venerable, or is Gu Wen?
Kneel quickly, or you will be flogged.”
The cultivators witnessing the scene from the Daoist Sect were all ashamed.
Until now, most did not believe Huayang would die; perhaps he would be locked away by the Yuqing Heavenly Venerate, but he would certainly not be beheaded.
After all, there would come a time for Huayang Venerable to rise to power; did Chi Venerable not care about leaving himself a way out?
From now on, one might as well just follow Yuqing Heavenly Venerate.
“Please change the charge.”
“Quit your squawking.
Forty strokes of the plank!”
Two monks wielding wooden staffs stepped forward, somewhat confused about where to start.
If it were a common man, they would have already pinned him to the ground, and even a True Monarch who misbehaved would have to endure the beating.
There was a rumor in the Investigation Bureau that someone had been expelled from their sect for flogging their own master.
As a result, he was exceptionally promoted by Huayang Venerable to the main vein, instantly becoming a disciple of the true transmission, and now he was one of the high ranks of the True Martial Palace.
But should the Three Pure Venerable also be flogged?
Gu Wen whispered something into Chi Yu Zi’s ear; the young girl’s red pupils fluttering, she said, “Whosoever acts without right, shall receive forty lashes.”
Huayang’s expression immediately darkened.
To act without right meant acting without a specific provision in the law, yet doing something that inherently shouldn’t be done.
He had established this, mostly to suppress those who caused disturbances in the market and knew the law well.
Otherwise, once the laws were constantly exploited, it too would be a form of disruption.
Soon, a stool was placed before him; no doubt, a more dignified way to be flogged.
But for a Venerable, merely being summoned was already a loss of face, and being flogged in public was unheard of.
Silence settled on all four sides, everyone holding their breath in focus.
Would a generation’s Three Pure Venerable be publicly flogged?
Suddenly, penetrating Grotto Heaven, the eighty-one seals of Heavenly Prison confined, and thirty-two layers of Grotto Heaven isolated.
Golden characters congealed in the void, one by one blazing like the sun.
[Daoist Sect laws cannot be overstepped.]
The Qingcang Immortal had made his move!
The crowd was exhilarated; Chi Yu Zi’s official cap tilted, showing a hint of fear.
“Gu Wen, maybe we should just take off these clothes and tokens, and settle the private grudge.”
She wasn’t naive and could understand the Qingcang Immortal’s intentions; settling a private grudge was acceptable, but not in this garb.
Gu Wen raised his hand and struck through the air, a breeze scattering the golden characters, shocking the onlookers.
They couldn’t see the trick, for both the characters and the breeze seemed like nothing out of the ordinary to them.
But this was the first time someone had opposed the Qingcang Immortal; perhaps this Yuqing Heavenly Venerate was becoming too arrogant.
A cold snort came from the void, and doors of Investigation Bureau shuttered closed.
Everyone thought Yuqing Heavenly Venerate was finished; if there were no punishment now, it would be like the Old Immortal was still alive.
Inside the bureau, only three remained.
“Continue, either get flogged or die.”
The calm voice, like needles falling on the ground, silenced every corner.
Huayang said, “The command of a Venerable depends on whether one is flogged or not?”
He looked up at the Qingyi Daoist, whose demeanor matched the Qingcang Master exactly, yet for some reason, seemed even more detached and aloof.
Everyone knew the Qingcang Immortal was strict, but they didn’t know that Qingcang’s severity was more like a mother’s, simply to protect weaker children.
Yet the Saint before them wasn’t strict, just chillingly indifferent.
Like the great sun hanging high in the Nine Heavens, his divine majesty unfathomable.
Rules, laws, order—all useless to him.
The Qingyi Daoist nodded slightly; Huayang advanced two steps, stood before the stool, and lay across it; Chi Yu Zi raised her hand, and two streaks of golden light turned into human form, picking up the magic artifact wooden staff, and then, without any delay or hesitation, brought it down sharply.
Crack!
It struck Huayang’s backside, ringing out like a clap of thunder.
The second strike, the third, the fourth, the staff came down again and again, without any hint of mercy.
Even though Huayang was a Venerable, he could only crawl atop the stool to endure the beating.
This Venerable, the most renowned figure beneath the Immortals, could only clench his teeth and endure.
Thirty strokes of the punitive plank were soon over.
Gu Wen asked, “How does it feel?”
Huayang rose from the stool, unharmed, yet his expression was extremely grim.