47: Chapter 47: The Righteous Alliance's Confusion and the Court Verdict Declared with a Copy of the Criminal Law
The next morning.
Outside the mountain gate of the Heavenly River Sword Sect, black clouds pressed down on the city.
That was not the gray mist of the abyss.
Rather, it was the "Righteous Alliance," composed of thousands of spiritual ships, Flying Swords, and various types of flying magical treasures.
In order to eradicate this legendary evil den where "everyone has fallen into demonhood, colluded with the abyss, and even sacrificed the Libationer of the Jixia Academy," the elites of the seven great Sects of the Southern Wilderness had come out in full force.
At the very front of the alliance, an old man with a gloomy face, clad in a black robe, stood suspended in the air.
He was none other than the Shadow Sect's sub-branch leader, "Gui Ying," who was currently disguised as a powerful Loose Cultivator who had lost his beloved Disciple, conducting the final pre-war mobilization.
"Ahead is the Tianhe Demonic Sect!"
Gui Ying's voice was hoarse and filled with emotion as he pointed toward the mist-shrouded main peak, acting as if he were driven to madness.
"I saw it with my own eyes! That Gu Canghai forced his Disciples to eat Tentacle Monsters raw! That Kong Mengchang was stripped naked and hung from a tree to be tortured! That place has long since become a living hell!"
"Today, we shall act on behalf of Heaven and leave neither chicken nor dog alive!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!!"
"Kill!!!"
Tens of thousands of Righteous Path Cultivators were incited until their eyes turned blood-red, their Killing Intent converging into a pillar that shot straight into the clouds.
"Charge! Rescue Libationer Kong!"
"Eradicate the demonic Cultivators! Restore the clear skies of the Southern Wilderness!"
At Gui Ying's command, the massive alliance turned into a torrent, surging toward the mountain gate of the Heavenly River Sword Sect.
However.
When they aggressively broke through that outer layer of mist and saw the scene within clearly.
The originally earth-shaking battle cries were suddenly choked off, as if by an invisible giant hand.
They stopped abruptly.
There was no river of blood.
There was no dense Devilish Qi.
There wasn't even a single person holding a sword.
What met their eyes was a massive red banner spanning two mountain peaks, with two lines of eye-catching gilded characters on it:
[A Warm Welcome to Colleagues from All Circles of the Southern Wilderness to Visit and Guide Our Work]
[The First "Abyss Creature Domestication and Sustainable Development" Achievement Trade Fair]
On the plaza below the banner, there was no evil altar either.
In its place were rows upon rows of neatly arranged... stalls?
"Come take a look, come have a see! Freshly produced 'Peach Blossom Squid'! Improved through 'Botany,' it's non-toxic and harmless. Placing it in your Immortal Cave will not only purify Spiritual Qi but also help catch mice!"
"Don't miss it as you pass by! Special abyss eyeball 'Spirit Pupils'! Wear it, and you too can possess the wise Dharma Eye to see through Heart Demons. Your Dao Companion will never lie to you again!"
Gu Canghai, wearing a festive red robe with a wooden plaque labeled "Gold Medal Salesman" hanging on his chest, was enthusiastically waving to this group of murderous alliance members.
"Oh! Isn't this Sect Master Wang of the Ziyang Sect? You've graced us with your presence and even brought so many people to support us? You're far too kind!"
Gu Canghai took a step forward, his figure flickering as he arrived before the alliance, the smile on his face so brilliant it was dazzling.
"Quick, quick, please come inside! Libationer Kong is currently brewing tea in the 'Academic Exchange Zone,' just waiting for everyone!"
The leader of the alliance, Sect Master Wang of the Ziyang Sect, felt the Flying Sword in his hand trembling slightly.
He looked at Gu Canghai's weirdly enthusiastic face.
Then he looked at the nearby stall, where a Tianhe Sect Disciple was holding a baby bottle and feeding a small Tentacle Monster.
His worldview was currently being restructured.
"Gu... Gu Canghai?"
Sect Master Wang's Adam's apple bobbed as he squeezed out a few words with difficulty, "You... haven't gone mad?"
"Mad?" Gu Canghai was stunned, then burst into laughter. "Brother Wang, you really know how to joke! I've never felt so lucid! Come, come, have a cup of tea. Our newly developed 'Spore Spirit Tea' is absolutely refreshing!"
As he spoke, he handed over a cup of tea that emitted a weird fluorescent green glow.
Sect Master Wang was so frightened that he retreated three steps along with his sword.
In the crowd, Gui Ying's disguised old face was completely distorted.
The script was wrong!
What happened to everyone falling into demonhood? What happened to the bloody sacrifices?
How the hell did this turn into a farmers' market?!
If he really let these Righteous Path Cultivators go in for a "visit" and they discovered that the Heavenly River Sword Sect had not only not gone mad but had instead mastered some supreme secret method to counter the abyss, wouldn't his Shadow Sect's plot become a giant joke?
"Don't be deceived by appearances!"
Gui Ying suddenly raised his volume, pointing at the Disciple feeding the monster and screaming, "That's an illusion! It's a deceptive trick! My Heavenly Eye sees clearly—that baby bottle is filled with human blood!"
"Right! It must be a disguise of the Demonic Path!"
"Everyone, charge in! Tear off their masks!"
Under his incitement, the already wavering alliance became restless again. Several hot-tempered Sword Cultivators could no longer restrain themselves, their sword light flickering.
"Heh."
Just as the situation was on the verge of exploding.
A flat and somewhat lazy voice passed through the noisy crowd and rang clearly in everyone's ears.
"What?"
"You want to force your way in without buying a ticket?"
"This doesn't quite fit the construction spirit of 'Harmonious Cultivation, Civilized Southern Wilderness'."
Everyone followed the sound.
They saw the second floor of the legendary Scripture Pavilion, with its windows wide open.
A young man in green was leaning against the window, leisurely flipping through a thick, blue-covered classic, looking down calmly at the tens of thousands of Cultivators below.
Behind him stood the legendary Kong Mengchang, who was supposed to have been "stripped and tortured."
At this moment, Libationer Kong was neatly dressed—though that pink scholar's robe was a bit of an eyesore—but his face was glowing with health, he looked energetic, and he was even holding a megaphone Magical Artifact.
"Fellow Daoists!"
Kong Mengchang raised the megaphone, infusing it with Vast Righteous Qi, his voice booming like a great bell.
"I, Kong Mengchang, guarantee it with my character and reputation as the Libationer of the Jixia Academy!"
"The Heavenly River Sword Sect is the light of the Righteous Path! There are no demonic Cultivators here, only a group of 'researchers' who forget to eat and sleep to protect all living beings!"
"Whoosh—"
The whole place went into an uproar.
The Libationer of the Jixia Academy personally came out to endorse them?
How could they possibly fight now!
Watching this scene, Gui Ying's heart sank to the bottom. He knew that the situation was lost.
He had to act!
As long as he killed that young man in green who seemed to have no cultivation, or killed Gu Canghai to create chaos, today's situation could still be salvaged!
A fierce light flashed in Gui Ying's eyes, and he gave a subtle look.
In the shadows of the crowd, a ripple invisible to the naked eye fluctuated slightly.
The Shadow Sect's gold-medal assassin, "Xue Ying," at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, had already activated the Shadow Sect's secret technique, [Void Walking].
He instantly passed through the Heavenly River Sword Sect's practically non-existent "welcoming" formation and lunged straight for Li Mo on the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
He was close!
Ten zhang! Five zhang! One zhang!
The poisoned dagger in Xue Ying's hand could already feel the temperature of Li Mo's neck skin.
He could even see that the young man was completely off guard, his gaze still lazy.
Fool!
A surge of wild joy rose in Xue Ying's heart.
He had succeeded!
However, just a split second before the dagger was about to pierce in.
The thick book in Li Mo's hand closed with a "snap."
He didn't even look up; he just lightly flicked the spine of the book with his finger.
Buzz—!
An invisible yet supreme power of rules instantly enveloped Xue Ying.
The dagger, which was inches away, was frozen in mid-air, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch.
Immediately following that, a cold, majestic, and emotionless mechanical voice exploded directly in Xue Ying's mind:
[Illegal behavior detected.]
[Nature of the case: Assault with a weapon in a public place, attempted murder.]
[Applicable Law: "Cultivation World Public Security Administration Punishment Law (Tianhe Sect Revised Edition)".]
Xue Ying discovered in horror that he could no longer move.
Not only could his body not move, but even the Nascent Soul inside him was firmly locked by an unreasonable power of rules, as if it had been cast in cement.
The blue-covered book flew up with a rustle, expanding as it met the wind until it became as huge as a small mountain, hovering over Xue Ying's head.
On the cover, two gilded characters written in a bold, flowing style emitted a heart-palpitating majesty—
"Criminal Law."
Who am I? Where am I? What happened?
Xue Ying's mind went blank.
Before he could figure it out, two giant handcuffs made of legal text suddenly stretched out from the pages, and with a "clack," they shackled his wrists.
[According to Article 232 of this Law, for the crime of intentional homicide (attempted), the sentence is three hundred years of fixed-term imprisonment.]
[Given that the defendant is a repeat offender and committed acts of provocation and disrupted commercial order during the "Trade Fair," the sentence is increased.]
[The judgment is as follows: Life-long deprivation of the capacity to commit crimes, confiscation of the tools of the crime, and immediate exile to the "Abyss Creature Breeding Zone" to be responsible for... postpartum care for high-tier demonized sows.]
[Execute immediately!]
As the last two words fell.
That massive "Criminal Law" book suddenly transformed into a gavel that blotted out the sun, and it struck down heavily toward Xue Ying's head!
"Bang!"
There was no scream.
As a top-tier assassin at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, Xue Ying didn't even make a sound before he was directly pounded into the ground by that irresistible power of rules, leaving only a human-shaped crater.
The next second.
Several pink tentacles emerged from underground, skillfully wrapping around the unconscious Xue Ying in the pit and dragging him toward the distant breeding zone with a huffing sound.
The entire field fell into a deathly silence.
Tens of thousands of Cultivators were speechless.
Someone's magical treasure fell to the ground with a sharp "clang," but no one dared to pick it up.
What had they just seen?
A book?
A book had sentenced a top-tier assassin at the Nascent Soul Late Stage?
And it even exiled him to... give sows postpartum care?!
"Is... is this the power of knowledge?"
A young Cultivator murmured to himself, feeling like his decades of cultivation had all gone to the dogs, his worldview shattered into pieces like dumpling filling.
At the second-floor window.
Li Mo picked up the "Criminal Law" book that had flown back, blew off the non-existent dust on the cover, and closed it with an elegant motion.
His gaze fell upon Gui Ying, whose legs had already gone soft and who was barely able to stand among the crowd, and he revealed a kind smile.
"That old gentleman in the black clothes, you said earlier... that you saw us drinking human blood?"
"The crime of defamation, according to the latest judicial interpretation, carries a sentence starting from three years, you know."
Li Mo's finger tapped lightly.
Whoosh!
The "Criminal Law" book that had just finished its enforcement, as if it had caught the scent of a new case, excitedly turned around and transformed into a blue light, lunging straight for Gui Ying.
"No! I didn't! I haven't!"
Gui Ying was scared out of his wits, and he turned around, wanting to transform into black smoke and flee.
But where was this?
This was Li Mo's Domain, the "mental hospital" covered by his rules.
"Where do you think you're going!"
The "Criminal Law" book instantly disintegrated in the air, turning into billions of sheets of paper covered in legal articles, like a blizzard, instantly wrapping Gui Ying into a giant white paper cocoon.
[According to Article 246 of this Law, for publicly fabricating facts to defame others, where the circumstances are serious... the sentence of 'reciting the full text from memory' is hereby imposed!]
[Immediately, in this place, recite the "Sect Spiritual Civilization Construction Convention" ten thousand times! For every word missed, one electric shock!]
Zzzzt—
From within the white paper cocoon, Gui Ying's pig-slaughtering screams immediately rang out, along with intermittent recitation.
"Ar... Article one... Love... love the Sect and be dedicated... Ah!! It's shocking me to death... Inte... integrity and friendliness..."
On the plaza.
The tens of thousands of members of the Righteous Alliance watched this scene and swallowed their saliva in unison.
Too brutal.
Too terrifying.
Is this the Heavenly River Sword Sect's way of "convincing people with reason"?
They couldn't afford to provoke them! Not in this lifetime!
"Ahem."
Gu Canghai broke the silence at the right time, still wearing that gold-medal salesman smile, as if everything that had just happened was merely an entertaining firework display.
"Fellow Daoists, that little interlude has ended."
"Come, come, don't be shy! Our 'Achievement Trade Fair' now officially begins!"
"Want to learn how to use 'Criminal Law' for self-defense? Want to know how to use 'Euclid's Elements' to set up a sure-kill sword formation?"
"The Heavenly River Sword Sect Correspondence Refresher Course is offering a limited-time discount today! Take a full set of knowledge home!"
Trembling, Sect Master Wang picked up his Flying Sword from the ground.
He glanced at the paper cocoon where someone was screaming while reciting the convention, then looked at the young man on the second floor whose smile was more brilliant than the sun.
Finally, he took a deep breath and, using all his strength, gave a grand wave of his hand.
"Buy it!"
"Sign up every single one of my Ziyang Sect's Personal Disciples for a 'Criminal Law' correspondence course!"
"This, damn it, is the true path of the Immortal Dao!"