Slowly, the Earth Immortal Ancestor opened his eyes.
"The experints began decades ago."
A tremor ran through the crowd.
"They were initiated under the proposal of the current Sect Leader-Wen Haoyu."
The words struck like a hamr.
Wen Haoyu's head snapped upward.
"Ancestor! What nonsense are you spouting?!"
But the Ancestor continued calmly.
"At the ti, our Sect faced stagnation. Talent declined, and we were losing our position as a top sect."
His voice was steady, but heavy.
"But we discovered the Sun Dao, a treasure we believed could change our Sect."
There were a lot of murmurs, discussing just what kind of treasure it was for them to think that it could help the whole Sect.
So even had greed in their eyes, probably thinking about taking it once everything settled down, while others glanced at the Bai Clan, thinking that it might be in their hands.
"However, we soon learned that cultivating using the Sun Dao-even with our cultivation technique-was more than we could handle. That was when Wen Haoyu proposed the experint."
A cold ripple passed through the hall.
"If fragnts could be integrated into the body, then accepting the energy from the Sun Dao would beco possible. With the agreent of almost all
higher-ups, it began."
Gasps erupted.
"The underground chambers were constructed with his authorization"
The Ancestor's gaze shifted slightly.
"Every stage of developnt was reported directly to him."
Wen Haoyu staggered back.
"Lies!"
He pointed a shaking finger.
"You are being coerced! Mind-controlled by Bai Zihan!"
"Yes! That must be it!"
His voice grew shrill.
"He has been manipulated by the Bai Clan!"
But the Earth Immortal Ancestor did not react.
Instead-
He lifted a hand slowly.
From his spatial ring, a stack of jade slips and scrolls appeared.
They hovered in the air.
"These are the official authorization letters."
He spoke without emotion.
"Signed personally by Sect Leader Wen Haoyu."
The docunts unfurled.
The Emperor gestured.
An attendant caught several and delivered them upward.
The hall waited.
The Emperor examined one.
Then another.
His face darkened further with each passing breath.
The signature was unmistakable.
The Sect Leader's seal was clearly imprinted.
Spiritual Qi embedded within the docunts confird their authenticity.
There was no forgery.
No manipulation.
It was all real.
The Emperor lowered the scroll slowly.
His gaze fell upon Wen Haoyu coldly.
Since he was now useless, there was no need to be rciful.
(This is the result of your own foolishness!)
The Emperor thought.
With even the Ancestor of Azure Sun standing on the Bai Clan's side, there was
no way for Wen Haoyu to wiggle his way out.
Perhaps he could have helped him, but the backlash would be too great
compared to any potential gain.
Wen Haoyu's lips trembled violently.
"This... this can be forged!"
He looked around desperately.
"Li Jianhong! Zhao Wutian! Say sothing!"
Li Jianhong didn't say anything.
"Wen Haoyu, you made the decision, so you had better take responsibility for
it!"
Zhao Wutian said.
He too knew that Wen Haoyu and Azure Sun were done for. Since that was the case, it was better to earn so moral points and distance themselves from
Wen Haoyu.
With his reply, it would convey that he had nothing to do with Wen Haoyu's
experints.
The final nail had fallen.
There was no loophole left.
No distortion to twist.
No scapegoat to construct, since the Ancestor had already admitted to the
cri and nad him directly.
The Earth Immortal Ancestor spoke one final sentence.
"The responsibility lies with almost all the elders and grand elders-and especially Sect Leader Wen Haoyu. Here are the nas of the people involved."
And with that-
Wen Haoyu's last path of escape vanished.
Everyone looked at the nas, and it was almost every elder of Azure Sun who
was involved.
Of course, there were still a few newly promoted elders who had yet to learn
about it.
Then there was a list of disciples who were also aware, but it was mainly because they were once those who had been experinted upon and survived.
They were mostly innocent-victims rather than perpetrators.
A suffocating silence followed the revelation of nas.
Then-
It exploded.
"How vicious!"
"To treat living cultivators as experints?!"
"This is no different from demonic cultivation!"
Voices rose one after another, sharp and furious.
So leaders slamd their palms against the armrests of their seats.
Others stared at the list in disbelief, then in disgust.
"Decades... this has been going on for decades?"
"And they dared to call themselves a righteous sect!"
The condemnation spread like wildfire.
"They even used their disciples!"
"They used their own people as experintal materials!"
"And the Sect Leader dares to stand here and pretend innocence?"
Wen Haoyu's face turned ashen.
He tried to speak, but the noise drowned him out.
"You initiated it and still tried to push the bla onto others!"
"You lied through your teeth! Yet you have the guts to accuse Young Master Bai
of lying."
"Such a person deserves death!"
Even mbers of the Li-Zhao Alliance did not remain silent and condemned
Wen Haoyu openly.
To experint on fellow cultivators under the banner of righteousness... that is
sothing only demonic sects would do.
How could they, as righteous cultivators, tolerate such things?
Though the biggest point was that none of them wanted to be associated with
committing such acts.
If they defended Wen Haoyu now, they would be equated with him.
No one was willing to bear that stain.
The voices gradually unified.
"Behead him!"
"Make an example of him!"
"Execute all who were involved!"
"Cleanse the rot!"
The hall that had once leaned against the Bai Clan now burned with righteous
fury against Azure Sun.
Wen Haoyu staggered backward as if struck repeatedly.
"You-you hypocrites!"
He pointed wildly at the crowd.
"You all seek power! You all covet treasures! If you had found the Sun Dao first,
you would have done the sa!"
His words only made things worse.
"How shaless!"
"He still refuses to repent!"
"Silence him!"
The Emperor, who had remained still upon the Dragon Throne, finally raised his
hand.
Instantly-
The entire hall quieted.
"Wen Haoyu!"
His voice echoed with imperial might.
"You authorized forbidden experintation upon cultivators of your own sect.
You have done so for decades."
"You attempted to mislead this Court. You even sought to manipulate
judgnt."
Each accusation struck like a decree of heaven.
Wen Haoyu's knees trembled. He knew that now even the Emperor had
abandoned him.
"This Emperor rules the Desolate Heaven Empire under the mandate of order
and righteousness."
He paused.
"If such acts are tolerated-then what distinguishes us from demonic forces?"
The Emperor's voice grew firr.
"To demonstrate that the Empire does not condone such evil-"
"Wen Haoyu shall be publicly executed."
The words rang like a bell of finality.
"His execution will be carried out before the capital's main plaza."
"Let all under Heaven witness it. Let it be known-"
"That no sect, no matter how powerful, may violate the moral foundation of the
Empire."
A collective exhale swept through the court.
"And as for the elders and grand elders listed-" "They shall be detained imdiately and await further judgnt."
Armored imperial guards stepped forward.
Their boots echoed sharply against marble.
Wen Haoyu's face was drained of all colors.
"No... no..."
He looked desperately toward Li Jianhong.
Toward Zhao Wutian.
Toward anyone.
No one wanted to help him.
His cultivation base, once formidable, now felt aningless beneath the weight
of imperial authority and unified condemnation.
Two guards seized him.
He struggled.
"Ancestor! Say sothing!"
But the Earth Immortal Ancestor remained still.
Eyes lowered.
As if already mourning a sect that had dood itself long ago.
Wen Haoyu's final scream echoed as he was dragged out of the hall.
The doors shut heavily behind him. Silence returned.
And in that silence-
More than one person glanced at Bai Zihan.
The storm had begun with him.
And it had ended exactly where he wished.
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