Chapter 1961 - Brutal Reality
The last rune took shape beneath Liu Wuxie's hand and flowed into the inscription. Before him, the completed Truth Talisman hung suspended in the air.
Its grade was not particularly high, but creating it demanded a mind free of impurity. Only in that state could its creator commune with heaven and earth, draw upon truth, and bind spoken words to laws.
That was what had stunned the three elders. By successfully inscribing the Truth Talisman, Liu Wuxie had already demonstrated his innocence.
Others attempting such an inscription risked provoking heaven and earth into a backlash that would pierce their souls.
Yet the Truth Talisman's classification did not make it a low-grade immortal talisman. At the very least, a mere Profound Immortal should never have been capable of creating one. That alone gave the elders another reason to marvel.
"Such exquisite work on a Truth Talisman!" Elder Kong remarked, beckoning it into his hand. Life seemed to stir in every rune, as though truth itself inhabited each stroke.
Elder Hai and Elder Wu nodded, their admiration for Liu Wuxie's craftsmanship matching Elder Kong's. Few would have believed that dignified Immortal Venerables would hold a Profound Immortal's Truth Talisman in such regard.
"You three will swear an oath before this Truth Talisman. Speak a lie, and heaven and earth will turn their backlash upon you," Elder Kong instructed, holding it before the Ji Clan disciples.
If the talisman bore witness to an oath affirming their innocence, it would prove that they had never stolen the immortal rice. Responsibility would then rest with Liu Wuxie and Huang Zechang.
The name alone sent all three Ji Clan disciples to their knees. Their cultivation had reached only the eighth level of the Divine Immortal Realm, but they had known about the Truth Talisman for a long time.
"You dare steal immortal rice?! Surrender your tokens and leave immediately!" the two inner disciples snapped, rushing to speak before the elders could intervene.
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Liu Wuxie and Huang Zechang looked at one another. Disgust passed through their eyes at the pair's sudden change of allegiance.
"We made a mistake! Please, give us one more chance!" the Ji Clan disciples pleaded, kowtowing again and again. Their guilt made swearing an oath unthinkable. The instant they did, the Heavenly Dao's backlash would descend upon them. Such was the authority of the Truth Talisman.
At that moment, an elder with a sinister countenance arrived.
"Grand Elder, you have to help us!" The three Ji Clan disciples begged, scrambling to their feet and rushing over to seek his intervention.
His appearance brought a frown to each of the three elders' faces.
"Explain yourselves. What's happened here?" he demanded of the Ji Clan disciples.
The three gave him an account of the incident, afraid to hide anything. Even then, they maintained that they had collected the immortal rice out of curiosity alone, never intending to steal it.
"All this over a little immortal rice? They merely collected some grains. I'll explain the matter to the Elders Hall myself," the newcomer declared. His aura overshadowed that of Elder Kong and his companions. He stood at the pinnacle of the Immortal Venerable Realm, whereas the other three had reached the seventh level of the Immortal Venerable Realm.
With that reprimand, he dismissed their conduct as needless fuss. When his gaze fell upon the Truth Talisman, a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"That would violate the rules, Elder Ji," Elder Kong objected.
"You presume to lecture me about the rules?! Even if they stole immortal rice, they've already knelt and kowtowed in apology. What else do you want from them? You won't grant me even this much respect?!" Elder Ji roared.
He showed the three elders no consideration whatsoever.
"No one means to disrespect you..." Elder Kong began, still attempting to reason with him.
Elder Hai and Elder Wu promptly held him back. Elder Wu stepped forward to take over the exchange.
"With Elder Ji taking responsibility, we'll consider the matter closed."
There could be no mistaking Elder Ji's superior standing. Elder Hai and Elder Wu had stopped Elder Kong to prevent the argument from becoming an outright conflict.
Only their concession eased the severity of Elder Ji's expression.
The dispute had veered from one reversal to the next. Just when Huang Zechang thought the three thieves would finally face consequences, Elder Ji had arrived.
In the Celestial Realm, strength decided whose voice carried weight. Respect belonged to the powerful, while contempt fell upon the weak. Elder Ji had used his standing to bury the incident, and dragging it out would achieve nothing. Nor would the elders turn him into an enemy for the sake of an outsider. Reality allowed no kinder resolution.
"Come along!" Elder Ji commanded, beckoning the three disciples after him. No one moved to stop them.
A faint smile rested on Liu Wuxie's lips as he watched them leave.
"They stole the immortal rice, and they get to walk away? This is outrageous! He's openly disregarding the rules!" Huang Zechang protested, trembling with indignation. In shielding the three from punishment, Elder Ji had plainly violated the Azure Jade Palace's rules.
"Rules protect the weak. They don't restrain the strong. The strong are the ones who write them, so why would they write rules to bind themselves?" Liu Wuxue replied. Apart from the faint smile, his face remained impassive.
Huang Zechang released a sigh. He understood the law that governed the Celestial Realm, where the strong preyed upon the weak, and only the fittest survived.
Had Liu Wuxie been an Immortal Venerable, would Elder Ji have dared behave so arrogantly? From the beginning, he had considered both Liu Wuxie and Huang Zechang no more significant than ants.
"Elders, we'll return to our patrol," the two Azure Jade Palace disciples said, directing resentful glares at Liu Wuxie and Huang Zechang. Those two had nearly brought punishment down upon them. Without Elder Ji's arrival, Elder Kong would certainly have called them to account.
"Put this behind you and concentrate on the assessment. The Azure Jade Palace isn't as dark a place as you may now believe. Take my Communication Talisman. Should you need anything in the future, contact me," Elder Kong said, handing Liu Wuxie the talisman with a sense of obligation.
Liu Wuxie's expression softened at the sight of the Communication Talisman. No prior ties bound him to Elder Kong, and he already appreciated how much the elder had done on his behalf.
The three elders left, and only Liu Wuxie and Huang Zechang remained beside the rice fields.
"We should head back," Liu Wuxie said, stowing the Communication Talisman. The confrontation had extinguished his desire to explore.
The Truth Talisman reached the end of its duration. Its form unraveled into laws, scattering across heaven and earth.
By then, the Ji Clan disciples had returned to the platform. The crowd had begun to think Liu Wuxie and Huang Zechang would never return when the two appeared.
"They're back? Then did the Azure Jade Palace punish no one at all?" the onlookers asked one another, following the pair with puzzled gazes.
Most likely, Elder Ji had ordered the three Ji Clan disciples to keep silent, fearing that the incident would tarnish the clanβs reputation.
Liu Wuxie and Huang Zechang had little to gain from recounting the incident, while the two Azure Jade Clan disciples were unlikely to reveal how they had sheltered the guilty while falsely accusing the innocent.
With everyone involved choosing silence, the incident quietly faded from attention.
"Come to the Huang Clan's region, Brother Liu. You'll be safer with us," Huang Zechang suggested. Countless people pressed together on the disorderly platform, where arguments over space frequently turned into deadly fights. With two Immortal Kings watching over the Huang Clan's region, no one would dare cause trouble there.
"No, thank you. Go back without me," Liu Wuxie replied, turning elsewhere.
"I owe you an apology on behalf of the Huang Clan," Huang Zechang said. He knew that the elders' decision to pull him away and abandon Liu Wuxie during the confrontation had affected his companion.
"Your Huang Clan did nothing wrong. Anyone in their position would have made the same choice," Liu Wuxie assured him, patting his shoulder to put him at ease. He was not petty enough to hold that against them. All he wanted now was a little peace.
Huang Zechang sighed as Liu Wuxie walked away. Despite Liu Wuxieβs assurances, he could not imagine forgiving an ally who had abandoned him at a crucial moment. Had their positions been reversed, he knew he would never have accepted it.
Liu Wuxie made his way through the throng until he reached a comparatively secluded corner. He sat there, letting the wind wash over him.
Darkness settled in, but lights kept the platform illuminated.
"Elder Brother, why don't we kill him? He's the reason we ended up looking so pathetic," the Ji Clan disciples muttered to one another, their eyes fixed on Liu Wuxie.
"He got us reprimanded by the grand elder and nearly cost us our qualification for the recruitment assessment. I won't be satisfied until he's dead," another of the three said from inside the tent, malice contorting his face.
"Be patient. The grand elder warned us not to do anything unnecessary before the assessment. Cause more trouble now, and even he won't be able to shield us," the eldest cautioned.
"Then we won't do it ourselves. We'll find someone to do it for us," the other two insisted. They would not relinquish their desire to kill Liu Wuxie and let go of their anger. Remembering how they had knelt and kowtowed in front of everyone only made that anger flare hotter.
Night gave way to dawn. Fresh arrivals streamed onto the platform until the participants filled it to capacity. This year's expanded recruitment had attracted countless hopefuls, while previous assessments had drawn no more than tens of thousands.
Liu Wuxie remained in his corner, shutting out the noise as he cultivated in silence. Huang Zechang came to see him once during the day.
Another night slipped past, leaving just one day before the assessment. More than fifty thousand people now crowded the lively platform.
Profound Immortals made up only a small portion of them. Those who had come with such cultivation wanted merely to try their luck.
On the final night, the moon hung high among the stars. Moonlight spread across the entire Jade Lake, giving it the beauty of a painted scene.
Liu Wuxie had sunk deep into cultivation when a powerful blade ray suddenly tore toward him.
He had already left the platform and chosen a place no one would visit. The unexpected blade ray wrenched him from his cultivation.
"You have a death wish!" Liu Wuxie roared, driving his palm outward and knocking the attack aside.
Two men stepped out of the darkness and approached at a measured pace, each with a blade in hand. Both possessed cultivation at the pinnacle of the Origin Immortal Realm.
"Quick reflexes, brat," the men remarked. Neither had thought he could evade the attack.
"The Ji Clan put you up to this, didn't they?" Liu Wuxie asked. He had never met either man and held no grudge against them. The only plausible explanation was that the Ji Clan had sent them.