HSSB91: Direct Confrontation!
The Shadow Shrinking Pouch was a unique treasure, not amongst the ranks of artifacts or spirit artifacts.
Its materials were extremely hard to come by and its production was also not easy. Therefore, it was extremely rarely seen in the Eight Extremities World.
Retrieving the surrounding households of a thousand li from within a pouch-its meaning was similar to that of an infinite world being contained within a mustard seed.
The Shadow Shrinking Pouch contained a large self-formed space within, being able to accommodate a large amount of things, also allowing living beings to temporarily reside within.
As Shi Tie’s cultivation was high and his senses extremely acute, while Yan Xu tried his best to hide it from him, he was still found out.
“While this subordinate was rushing over here, he happened to discover a disciple of our clan who had gone missing earlier-Ye Jing,” Yan Xu’s expression was as usual as he said candidly, “At that time, he had already lapsed into unconsciousness. Thus, this subordinate saved him. Because I was in a rush to get over here and assist, I didn’t dare to waste any time, therefore temporarily settling him within the Shadow Shrinking Pouch.
As he said thus, Yan Xu took out a small pouch.
This pouch was black in colour, a golden rope tied around its opening, its exterior not betraying any signs of its uniqueness at all.
But as Yan Xu untied the golden rope and the pouch opened, a golden qi flow instantly gushed out from within.
Accompanied by the golden qi flow, a figure appeared before the eyes of Yan Zhaoge and the others.
Yan Zhaoge began laughing soundlessly. Currently still unconscious, revealed on the back of that person’s hands outside of his sleeves as well as his face and neck, were flamelike patterns.
Who was it if not Ye Jing?
Shi Tie’s gaze fell on Ye Jing. While his gaze merely swept past the latter once, Ye Jing instantly awakened slowly.
The Ye Jing who had just woken up initially had a blurry look on his face, but he quickly regained his mental faculties as he observed his surroundings warily.
When he saw Yan Zhaoge, his eyes instantly turned red as blood as though there were flames blazing within, a ‘boom’ sound resounding as he was about to leap off from the ground.
Shi Tie knit his brows slightly. Without any visible movement of his, Ye Jing was instantly frozen on the spot, unable to move. He could only stick up his neck, staring furiously at Yan Zhaoge.
“My name is Shi Tie. As a disciple of our clan, you should know who I am, “Shi Tie said calmly, “I am the First Seat of our clan’s Disciplinary Hall, in charge of the law as well as punishment in our clan.”
“If you believe that you have suffered an injustice, you can lay it all out on the table before me now. If logic lies with you, I will not let you be wronged.”
Heaving out deep breaths, Ye Jing glared at Shi Tie, exclaiming loudly, “The people of Broad Creed Mountain, are all in cahoots with the Yan father and son!”
“His father is a First Seat Elder just like you; how can you not show favouritism towards him and uphold justice for me instead, offending his father in the process!”
Staying silent by the side, as Yan Xu saw Ye Jing’s reaction, he could not help but secretly shake his head, “If this weren’t Elder Shi, just that attitude of yours would have first got them offended.”
As Yan Xu had expected, Shi Tie paid no heed to Ye Jing’s attitude at all.
With seemingly no fluctuations in his tone whatsoever, he said, “I will not offend junior apprentice-brother Yan for you or for anyone else, but for the sake of upholding justice for our clan, for the sake of upholding justice in the hearts of men, I do not mind offending anyone.”
“Yes, I watched Zhaoge growing up, but it is precisely because of that even more so, I would not be able to tolerate him straying off the path.”
“But if it is determined that he has been falsely accused and framed, that person will be treated as though he had performed the same crime.”
Shi Tie said calmly, “I, only look at the truth of a matter.”
As he stood there calmly, his aura was as heavy as the mountains, as deep as the sea, as Ye Jing was intimidated back into silence.
While those words were said in a peaceful manner, each of them seemed like they weighed a thousand kilograms, beating down on the hearts of everyone present.
Ye Jing sucked in a deep breath, staring at Yan Zhaoge angrily, “That year, when I had still yet to enter the clan, he came to the Eastern Tang and stole away my lover whom I grown up together with since young!”
“Afterwards, when I entered Broad Creed Mountain, he viewed me as a thorn in his flesh.”
“Previously in the Sealing Dragon Abyss, he wanted to kill me, yet did not want to leave any traces of his misdeeds behind. Thus he devised a cunning scheme, wanting to make use of another to kill me, cutting off the grass directly by its roots!”
“Failing in his first scheme, he devised yet another, throwing his Internal Crystal Furnace into the Sealing Dragon Abyss in an attempt to ensure my death!”
“I was lucky, and managed to survive. But in the Glacial Dragon Icy Pond, he tried to kill me yet again!”
“Harming me time and time again; it is impossible for us to exist together under these same heavens!”
Yan Zhaoge stood calmly by the side, neither happiness nor anger in his gaze which was currently on Ye Jing.
Shi Tie looked over, “Zhaoge, what have you to say?”
Yan Zhaoge said calmly, “That year, it was junior apprentice-sister Lin herself who made a choice. I did not break up the two of them on my own accord.”
“That time with the Glacial Dragon Bone Soul, it was because he couldn’t tell right from wrong and heavily injured our fellow disciple, junior apprentice-brother Lan, that I gave him a lesson; that was indeed intentional on my part.”
“As for previously in the Sealing Dragon Abyss, I handed over a detailed report to the clan-I believe you, eldest apprentice-uncle, should have seen it too.”
Shi Tie nodded, as Yan Zhaoge continued, “The person whom the Crimson Spirit Flag Master wanted to kill was me; I had no way to predict or manipulate his actions.”
“Even if I had known of it beforehand, the Crimson Spirit Flag Master had depended on the seed of Li Yan True Fire to determine our position in the Sealing Dragon Abyss, hereby setting up his trap…” Yan Zhaoge looked towards Ye Jing, “You snatching the seed of Li Yan True Fire, was not something that I could have predicted or manipulated.”
“That you were interested in my goal, the seed of Li Yan True Fire, I had been completely unaware of-how then could I have schemed against you?”
As Ye Jing stared at Yan Zhaoge, his breathing getting heavier and heavier by the second, Yan Zhaoge shook his head, “Of course, I do not deny that if the incident with the Crimson Spirit Flag Master had not happened, I would have taught you a lesson to get you to behave more sensibly afterwards.”
“However, at that time, there was no reason for me to kill you at all-you were simply not worthy.”
Ye Jing momentarily stopped his breathing, the flames of anger within his gaze instantly blazing even more strongly than before.
Yan Zhaoge calmly met his gaze, his own gaze having gradually become cold as ice, “As for when you fell into the Sealing Dragon Abyss afterwards, that’s simple. The two of us can just perform a Blood Soul Recollection Ceremony.”
“Playing back the scene of what happened then, with eldest-apprentice uncle as the judge.”
“I don’t mind at all-do you dare?”
The words immediately shot of Ye Jing’s mouth, “Do it then!”
Yan Zhaoge shrugged, turning and bowing towards Shi Tie, “Eldest apprentice-uncle, please.”
Shi Tie did not say anything, directly flicking out with his finger as a streak of light flew up into the horizon, forming a light pillar within the sky, completely enveloping Yan Zhaoge and Ye Jing within.
Yan Zhaoge punctured his own finger neither hurriedly nor slowly. A little fresh blood dripped out, forming a line of blood that flew up into the sky.
Led by that line of blood, Yan Zhaoge vaguely felt as though his soul had left his body and ascended to a higher realm.
On the other side, under Shi Tie’s guidance, Ye Jing did the same.
Shi Tie said, “Silently think back on that instant within your heart, not focusing on what you saw, but rather calibrating to return to the scene of that time.”
“The ceremony will naturally get rid of the falsehoods caused by the influence of your personal emotions, as well as resurface the truths that you intentionally overlooked.”
The next moment, in the sky above their heads, a mirror of light slowly descended.
Within the mirror of light, images were impressively being played out that accurately displayed the past events of the Sealing Dragon Abyss once more.
Yan Zhaoge’s expression did not change.
Yan Xu shook his head slightly.
Ye Jing’s eyes became even more bloodshot.
Shi Tie was focused on that terrifying aura that had surged up from the dark red ring worn by Ye Jing as well as that giant illusory figure of flame behind him as he momentarily fell into a slight trance.
After a moment, Ye Jing regained his wits, letting out an enraged howl, “Fraud, trickery, deceit! As I thought, you are indeed the same kind of person as Lan Wenyan, Lin Yushao and the others, leaning towards and protecting this dog Yan Zhaoge!”
“It was definitely that he intentionally threw down that Internal Crystal Furnace to do me in!”
Shi Tie’s expression gradually turned stern as with a sweep of his gaze, Ye Jing was pressured to the point where he was completely unable to move.
“The Blood Soul Recollection Ceremony can indeed be falsified,” Shi Tie said quietly, “But there is only one way that can be done, and that is when both parties had colluded to do this beforehand.”
“Ye Jing, did you collude with Zhaoge to reproduce a false scene?”
Hearing his words, Ye Jing was left staring wide-eyed, speechless tongue-tied as he breathed out heavily, the fiery light within his eyes growing stronger and stronger, all traces of reason and clarity having already vanished from within.
The flamelike patterns on his body grew even more dazzling as they looked as though they were going to erupt into real, blazing flames.
Looking at him calmly, Yan Zhaoge suddenly asked, “Ye Jing, how did junior apprentice-sister Lin die?”
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