29: Chapter 29 Evidence

Everyone in the great hall looked at Yun Che together. Some were gloating, hoping his lies would be exposed, while others were worried for him.

At this moment, even Peacock Divine Concubine looked at Yun Che with worry. She certainly believed in Meng Jianyuan, but she was worried about the strength of his opponent. Divine Son Meng Jianxi himself was at the first level of the Divine Extinction Realm, one major realm higher than Meng Jianyuan.

Furthermore, in addition to Chief Elder Meng Nanxian, the opposing camp had two other elders, three protectors, and many Divine Guards. Over the years, Divine Son Meng Jianxi had secretly cultivated a not-insignificant force.

Meanwhile, Meng Jianyuan had been missing for over a decade, and his original forces had disintegrated. During the debate just now, only Third Elder Meng Youyi and a few of his confidants dared to speak up for justice.

The more she understood the strength of the opposition, the more she worried about how difficult the path ahead would be for Meng Jianyuan. Even with Meng Kongchan's protection, she feared it would be fraught with danger.

Yun Che, however, was not the least bit panicked. He replied calmly:

"Father God above, it is not that I have no evidence. I was merely worried that bringing it out openly in the great hall would incite others' covetousness, bringing unnecessary trouble, or even fatal disaster."

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Divine Son Meng Jianxi, making Divine Son Meng Jianxi's heart jump with fear, terrified that his plot to harm Meng Jianyuan would be exposed.

Meng Kongchan was a ruler of his generation and very shrewd. He knew full well that Meng Jianyuan and Divine Son Meng Jianxi were at odds; infighting among brothers was inevitable. He did not oppose competition between princes; only through competition and the survival of the fittest could the strength of their bloodline be maintained.

Knowing Yun Che's concerns, he said loudly:

"Jianyuan, speak freely. Should anyone act against you, they are an enemy of this Divine Venerable and a traitor to the Zhimeng Divine Kingdom!"

Hearing Meng Kongchan speak this way, Divine Son Meng Jianxi was shocked and even felt a surge of hatred. Father God was too biased toward Meng Jianyuan. If this continued, not only would his status as Divine Son be lost, but his life might also be in danger.

Yun Che took out a strange-looking warship from the sky poison pearl. It was about the size of a palm and a deep vermilion color. The hull bore extremely ancient patterns; it was the primordial profound ark he had obtained on the Blue Pole Star.

"This is the spatial divine artifact where I have been hiding for the past ten-plus years!"

Yun Che held the primordial profound ark high, turning in a circle to show everyone.

Looking at the small boat that resembled a toy, Divine Son Meng Jianxi sneered:

"This is your evidence? You spent over a decade inside this?? Ha—ha—, Little Brother Jianyuan, this joke of yours is really not funny, you know?"

Yun Che glanced at him with disdain and said:

"I traversed the edge of life and death, endured darkness, pain, calamity, and destruction to return to this world, not to argue about these meaningless things with a fool."

Divine Son Meng Jianxi was incensed upon hearing this and was about to lash out, but Chief Elder Meng Nanxian pressed his shoulder and whispered via sound transmission:

"Divine Son, calm down! Do not act rashly!"

Yun Che turned his face, scanned the surroundings, and asked:

"Does anyone recognize this ship of mine?"

Everyone looked at each other. Although they couldn't tell its origin, their intuition told them that this ship was definitely not simple.

Finally, a Divine Guard couldn't help but ask:

"Isn't this ship a bit too small?"

Yun Che did not speak. With a thought, the primordial profound ark immediately grew several times larger, appearing before everyone like a pavilion. Then, the primordial profound ark actually flew rapidly around the great hall.

Before everyone could react, it shrank back to the size of a palm and returned to Yun Che's hand.

At this moment, Third Elder Meng Youyi's eyes lit up, and he sighed with emotion:

"Although everyone may not recognize this ancient ship, you must surely know of the Qiankun Needle, one of the Seven Great Profound Heavenly Treasures!"

Even Meng Kongchan, seated on high, was shocked and said slowly:

"The Qiankun Needle was possessed by Creator God Ni Xuan, one of the Four Great Creation Gods of the God Race. Creator God Ni Xuan once used its power to create two spatial divine artifacts. One of them is a ship—the Qiankun Spirit Realm!"

Immediately, there was an uproar in the great hall.

Meng Kongchan continued to explain:

"According to ancient records, the Qiankun Spirit Realm contains a Qiankun space within it, forming a world of its own. As you can see, what is in Jianyuan's hands should be the Qiankun Spirit Realm!"

At this point, few in the hall questioned the authenticity of Yun Che's story; there was more envy, jealousy, and hatred!

Although they didn't know the origins of the Qiankun Spirit Realm, the fame of Creator God Ni Xuan and the Qiankun Needle was enough to shock everyone. If not for Meng Kongchan's prior warning, many would likely already be thinking about how to seize and possess the Qiankun Spirit Realm.

Some couldn't help but sigh secretly in their hearts:

"Comparing people to others is infuriating; some struggle to the death for a tiny abyss crystal, while others gain such a great opportunity from a trial of life and death!"

A Divine Guard continued to ask:

"It's just that I don't know who the Prince's master is, and how they guided the Prince into the Qiankun Spirit Realm? They must be a very powerful senior; may we know their name?"

To this request, Yun Che refused flatly:

"Apologies, that person has passed away. My master is not of this current age, and does not wish to be remembered by people of this age!"

The more Yun Che said his master was deceased and did not want to be known by the world, the more uneasy Divine Son Meng Jianxi and Chief Elder Meng Nanxian became. They could not guess who the person behind him was who could kill Meng Duanli, Meng Haitian, and Meng Dayi.

Yun Che had already put the primordial profound ark into the sky poison pearl. He looked at Divine Son Meng Jianxi and Chief Elder Meng Nanxian, then turned to Third Elder Meng Youyi and asked loudly:

"May I ask Elder, according to the laws of the Zhimeng Divine Kingdom, what is the punishment for harming a Prince?"

Third Elder Meng Youyi replied thoughtfully:

"Murdering a Prince of the Divine Kingdom is a capital offense, punishable by extermination of the nine clans!"

The moment Third Elder Meng Youyi's voice fell, everyone in the great hall fell silent. Although Divine Son Meng Jianxi forced himself to remain calm, his heart was in chaos, and he felt a vague sense of impending doom.

Yun Che then looked at Divine Son Meng Jianxi and said with conviction:

"Since the Divine Son likes to speak with evidence so much, it just so happens that I also have a piece of evidence that I'm sure you will like."

With that, an Immortal Sound Stone appeared in his hand. He activated it with profound energy, and scenes appeared before their eyes.

It was the scene of Meng Duanli, Meng Haitian, and Meng Dayi intercepting Yun Che outside the Huanmeng Divine City.

[ ... Meng Haitian laughed, "Former Divine Son, we are indeed here to see you, but not to welcome you; we are here to kill you!" ... "Ha! Ha! Ha! I guess he is Divine Son Meng Jianxi!" ... Yun Che's voice. ... "So what if I am, so what if I'm not? You are a dying person anyway, so telling you doesn't matter? I am here on the orders of my master, the Divine Son, to take your life, satisfied?" ... Meng Haitian's voice. ]

As these scenes played out, everyone in the great hall was astonished, and even Meng Kongchan furrowed his brows in fury.

Peacock Divine Concubine's face turned green and purple as she watched. She had just learned that Meng Jianyuan's journey back had been so arduous; Yun Che had not told her before.

Third Elder Meng Youyi finally understood why Yun Che had asked him to explain the laws earlier. The battle for the position of Divine Son had begun days in advance. He had had a premonition after seeing Meng Jianyuan, but he hadn't expected the storm of conflict to arrive so quickly.

At this moment, Divine Son Meng Jianxi's face was extremely ugly, and he kept looking uneasily at Chief Elder Meng Nanxian. Ever since Meng Jianyuan appeared at the north gate of the Zhimeng Divine Kingdom, things had spiraled out of control step by step. Everything indicated that he and Chief Elder Meng Nanxian had severely underestimated Meng Jianyuan; this was definitely a dangerous enemy.

Meanwhile, Chief Elder Meng Nanxian remained silent and expressionless. He hadn't expected Meng Jianyuan to start fighting back so quickly.

However, he was not afraid; after all, he and Divine Son Meng Jianxi had operated for many years, and their power was already vast. He believed that unless Meng Kongchan disregarded father-son ties and killed Divine Son Meng Jianxi, the situation should still be under his control.

Yun Che turned his gaze to the high-and-mighty Meng Kongchan and said with grief and indignation:

"Father God above, ever since I stepped back onto the soil of the Zhimeng Divine Kingdom, I have been hunted and intercepted. First there was Meng Weizhi and Meng Yiduan, then Meng Duanli, Meng Haitian, and Meng Dayi. If I hadn't been lucky, I would have long since been unable to see Father God and Mother Concubine. I ask Father God to uphold justice for me!"

Although Meng Kongchan doted on Peacock Divine Concubine and also favored Meng Jianyuan, this involved a struggle between two Divine Sons, so he was undecided for a moment.

At this moment, the great hall was silent, and no one dared to speak. Murdering a Prince, and the former Divine Son Meng Jianyuan whom Meng Kongchan loved the most—the severity of this matter was self-evident.

After a long time, Chief Elder Meng Nanxian stood up and said with a bitter face:

"This matter is all my fault; Divine Son Meng Jianxi was unaware."

It wasn't just Yun Che; everyone in the great hall was shocked.

Was this old man going to take all the blame for Divine Son Meng Jianxi?

He really loved Divine Son Meng Jianxi deeply! He wasn't worried about implicating his family at all?

Chief Elder Meng Nanxian continued:

"If you must blame someone, blame me alone. When Prince Jianyuan entered the north gate of the Divine Kingdom, he specifically requested not to disturb the Divine Venerable in advance. Therefore, after I received the information, I only told Divine Son Meng Jianxi and a very small number of people, including Meng Duanli."

The more he spoke, the more guilty he felt, and he even burst into tears:

"Little did I know that this Meng Duanli, 'eager to perform meritorious service,' would take the initiative to offend Prince Jianyuan. Fortunately, Prince Jianyuan has great fortune and was helped by capable experts, who killed the chaotic officials and thieves, so that an irreversible situation did not occur. Otherwise, even if I were hacked into ten thousand pieces, it would not be enough to redeem my sins."

"Now that the Prince has returned safely, it is the greatest blessing for our Zhimeng Divine Kingdom, which is worthy of celebration. But even so, it cannot be a reason for me to escape punishment, so I implore the Divine Venerable to impose judgment."

"This old fox!"

Yun Che cursed inwardly. Only someone as shrewd as him could come up with this tactic of shedding one's skin like a cicada.

At this moment, Eighth Elder Meng Tengying, who had long since submitted to Divine Son Meng Jianxi, jumped out:

"Chief Elder, you must not! You were also unintentional in this matter. If you want to punish, you must find the culprit; you cannot harm the innocent, and you certainly cannot implicate yourself!"

Immediately, a crowd of sycophants and cohorts of Divine Son Meng Jianxi echoed each other, wanting to push all the blame onto the few dead people; anyway, there was no proof left.

What was particularly unexpected was that Peacock Divine Concubine also pleaded for Divine Son Meng Jianxi and Chief Elder Meng Nanxian. She parted her jade lips, and her voice sounded like heavenly music:

"Divine Venerable above, this concubine believes that the Chief Elder's words make sense. This matter was indeed Meng Duanli's audacity, taking matters into his own hands, and his crime is unforgivable! But Divine Son Meng Jianxi and the Chief Elder were both unaware; in this regard, they can be considered victims, so they should not be punished."

Once Peacock Divine Concubine spoke, Third Elder Meng Youyi and others also quickly agreed. Since the Divine Concubine herself was unwilling to offend anyone, the few of them were weak and could not pursue it further.

Yun Che had no feelings for others, but this fake mother really surprised him. Even though she was favored by thousands and had a noble status, she still spoke insincerely and lowered herself to plead for the enemy who had tried to kill her son.

Yun Che couldn't help but sigh. He looked at Peacock Divine Concubine, only to see her looking at him too. Her gaze conveyed a meaning that couldn't be clearer:

"We, mother and son, are weak and are currently no match for Chief Elder Meng Nanxian and Divine Son Meng Jianxi. If we offend them completely now, I fear you and I will soon die unnatural deaths. Taking a step back now and not provoking them before your wings are full is not a sign of weakness, but a way to buy time and wait for a better opportunity."

After a long discussion like a chorus of frogs, Meng Kongchan finally spoke:

"Meng Duanli, Meng Haitian, Meng Dayi, Meng Yiduan, and Meng Weizhi colluded and conspired to murder Prince Jianyuan; their hearts are hateful, and their crimes deserve death. Although they are already dead, their guilt cannot be exempted. From today onwards, their clansmen shall all be expelled from the Zhimeng Divine Kingdom, never to return."

"Chief Elder Meng Nanxian, for leaking the Prince's whereabouts and nearly causing a great disaster, the death penalty is exempted, but the living punishment is inevitable. From today onwards, he is to be confined for three months and fined three years of cultivation gem resources."

"Although Divine Son Meng Jianxi had nothing to do with this matter, it was all caused by him. Furthermore, he privately formed cliques and failed to discipline his subordinates. He shall be punished by facing the wall in reflection for three months, and his daily cultivation resources will be halved."

Meng Kongchan certainly knew that Chief Elder Meng Nanxian and Divine Son Meng Jianxi were the real masterminds, but he could only do this. There were some things he had to consider, weighing everything.

Yun Che could only sigh in the end. Toppling the deep-rooted power of Divine Son Meng Jianxi was really not a simple matter.