My Scales Can Make Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 940 - 770: One Word Determines the Destiny of a Clan

Chapter 940: Chapter 770: One Word Determines the Destiny of a Clan

For a second-rate faction, Xinghe Valley was quite decent, and it could be said that they lived up to its years of development.

Unfortunately, the issue was not just the absence of a Celestial Immortal, but the impossibility of having one—all were of the Earth Immortal rank.

Therefore, except for the Patriarch of Xinghe, there was no one with the potential to become a Celestial Immortal, which was also the reason for their decline after the Patriarch of Xinghe’d closed off and disappeared.

"Inspection? Huh?!" Wang Zijia looked over the crowd with an indifferent expression, his gaze pausing on two of them, "What, wasn’t your sect planning to capture Xinghe Valley?"

"Now that I have arrived upon invitation, how has it turned into an inspection? Where’s the arrogance from back then?"

The cold and slightly chilling words made all the disciples tremble in unison, their faces turning pale. Even those who did not know the specifics realized something was amiss.

It was clear that a force had come to seek retribution!

The Earth Immortals who had been hoping for good fortune now saw their hopes shattered, and some couldn’t help but glance at the two among the crowd—Sun Xiangnan and Ruan Yunxi, who’d gone to the Spirit Suppressing Realm before.

The two seemed to know they couldn’t escape and must have been prepared. Showing some responsibility, they did not shrink back but stepped forward and said, "We were ignorant of proper conduct back then and offended the Exalted Immortal, we hope the Exalted Immortal can forgive us."

"Ignorant of proper conduct? How could you not know how to act properly? It seems I was the one who failed to give the proper respect and couldn’t call myself your fellow Daoist. Isn’t that right, Senior Sun?" Wang Zijia replied coldly.

"And this Senior Ruan Yunxi, I must have been too ignorant back then, allowing the Li Family Ancestor to search for me for nearly seven years, yet I never took the initiative to offer up my own head for your exploitation. I even made you come to ask for it and caused your ancestor to stoop so low as to make the trip in person, for which I truly deserve death."

With Wang Zijia’s icy words, the entire sect fell silent. Beneath the oppressive might of two Celestial Immortals, all disciples felt panicked. The Magnificent Heavenly Might weighed heavily on their chests, making it hard to breathe.

Sun Xiangnan and Ruan Yunxi trembled, dropped to their knees, and said, "We little immortals acknowledge our sins!"

"How could you have sinned? It is I who have sinned. Back then, I should not have had the strength to resist, should have let you capture me to facilitate your ancestor’s soul-extracting and body-refining, possessing me for rebirth!" Wang Zijia said icily.

"We little immortals are willing to Pluck our Immortal Bones, smash our Dao, and sever our path to immortality, only asking that the Exalted Immortal doesn’t let our mistake affect the disciples of the sect—they are innocent," Sun Xiangnan knelt in mid-air, his face pale and his body trembling as he spoke.

The immortals of Xinghe Valley exchanged glances, and the leading elder spoke decisively, "Junior Brother Sun, Junior Brother Ruan, your offense against the Exalted Immortal is indeed unforgivable, and even a thousand cuts would not suffice. But we beg for the Exalted Immortal’s clear judgment—the rest of us are innocent."

Sun Xiangnan and Ruan Yunxi, as if deaf to everything else, simply knelt in silence, taking responsibility for it all.

As the few of them spoke, even though it remained deathly quiet below, some disciples who felt a strong sense of belonging inexplicably experienced humiliation.

"Huh, how righteous of Xinghe Valley, to sacrifice family for principles so readily, twisting the narrative to make it seem like I’m the one abusing power and acting like a devil," Wang Zijia said with a cold face and a flip of his hand.

"Well then, I won’t talk about our personal grievances for now. Do you recognize this person?"

"Thud!"

The next moment, a mummy as hard as gold and iron dropped to the ground. Everyone recognized that it was none other than their ancestor, the Patriarch of Xinghe.

This thing, Wang Zijia had tried extracting the inheritance from it, but to no avail, not only because the Xinghe Valley’s teachings were protected against outsiders but also because it had become impossible to enter the coffin—no extraordinary strength could be extracted from it.

It was clearly caused by the Blood Cicada. As a Rule Life being, the body it parasitized had undergone unknown changes.

Instead of calling it a corpse, it had essentially become a puppet, which was why Wang Zijia had kept it.

Upon seeing the mummy, everyone fell silent.

"It seems you do recognize him. While you’re playing the card of sacrificing your kin for the greater good and blatantly waving your moral flag, let me also talk to you about righteousness," Wang Zijia said with an icy expression, emotionless in his speech:

"This Patriarch of Xinghe colluded with demons to seize my body. After failing, he even wished to bring about an apocalypse. Moreover, due to him, the Blood Rain that affected all of Shen Hong was triggered, causing rivers of blood across the Ten Thousand Realms and untold suffering for all living creatures."

"I’d like to ask you all who uphold righteousness and sacrifice kin for justice, what do you think such crimes deserve?"

The many Immortal Venerates on the ground looked up in shock at Wang Zijia.

The disciples below also turned deathly pale, their faces drained of color.

They knew the bottom line of Taiching, and they understood that under normal circumstances, Wang Zijia would not annihilate their sect. Their words had been merely a show of weakness, a ploy to dodge some of the blame.

However, having witnessed various moral coercion in his previous life—expecting others to give way, and so on—how could he not understand their tactics?

Now, if the accusations Wang Zijia brought forward were to be addressed, even if he were to eradicate the entire Xinghe Valley, no one could object.

"What, do you think I’m trying to deceive you? Should I convene a Taoist council and invite the sages from the Three Sects to bear witness? To verify everything?" Wang Zijia continued to speak coldly, maintaining his expressionless face.

The Immortal Venerate leading Xinghe Valley jolted back to reality, offering no further explanation. Like Sun Xiangnan and Ruan Yunxi, he immediately knelt down and said:

"We little immortals are unforgivable and are at the mercy of the Exalted Immortal’s judgment. We only ask that you consider the disciples of the valley who are unaware of the situation and show them leniency, leaving them a way to live."

The surrounding Immortal Venerates also came to their senses, some reluctantly, some with faces full of despair, yet all followed in kneeling and said, "We little immortals are at the Exalted Immortal’s disposal!"