85: Chapter 85 Nascent Soul Stage Powerhouse? I sentence you to treason!

Yunmeng City, Tiandao Plaza.

In the deathly silence, only the sound of the blood-stained half of the jade crown rolling on the ground could be heard.

"Chen'er..."

Ye Nantian looked at the piece of the jade crown; his originally majestic face instantly contorted, his eyes turned as red as blood, and a terrifying aura capable of destroying heaven and earth erupted from within him.

Boom!!!

The world changed color.

When a Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse rages, the wind and clouds surge backward.

Dark clouds instantly filled the sky above the entire Tiandao Plaza, and thunder roared.

The hundreds of thousands of spectators felt as if a giant boulder were pressing against their chests; those with low cultivation even knelt directly on the ground, trembling.

"Lin Que!!!"

"A life for a life!! No one can save you today!!"

Ye Nantian roared, his figure teleporting to appear directly upon the high platform.

Without any nonsense, he raised a withered palm and slammed it down toward the crown of Lin Que's head!

This palm strike contained the power of the complete Law of Space of the Nascent Soul Stage.

Before the wind from the palm even arrived, the space around Lin Que had completely solidified, like a fly trapped in amber, unable to move.

"It's over! Lin Que is dead for sure!"

"An angry strike from a Nascent Soul—even a Golden Core Great Perfection would be turned to ash!"

Everyone exclaimed in shock.

However, Lin Que, situated at the center of the storm, although his body was restricted, a trace of frantic mockery curled at the corner of his mouth.

"A life for a life?"

"Ye Nantian, before you kill me, why don't you listen to your precious son's... last words?"

Although Lin Que couldn't move, his Divine Sense could.

He abruptly activated the Recording Stone he had long held in his hand.

And turned the volume... up to the maximum!

"...My father is colluding with the Heavenly Demon Cult... he wants to use Su Qingyu as a cauldron... to blood sacrifice the Canglan Water Mansion... to help him Breakthrough to Soul Transformation..."

Ye Chen, Sacred Son of the Eternal Evergreen Sect's tearful and fear-filled voice, amplified by spiritual power, was like a thunderclap that instantly resounded throughout all of Yunmeng City!

Every word was like a heavy hammer striking the hearts of all the Righteous Path Cultivators present.

Uproar!!!

The entire audience exploded.

"What?! The Ye Family is colluding with the demon cult?!"

"Blood sacrificing the Canglan Water Mansion? That's to release the Ancient Heavenly Demon!!"

"Is the Ye Family going to betray the Human Race?!"

In mid-air, Ye Nantian's movements suddenly stiffened.

Immediately after, the killing intent in his eyes became even more frantic, even carrying a hint of panic.

The secret was leaked! He must silence him! This kid must die immediately!!

"Pure nonsense!! Die!!!"

Boom!

Ye Nantian no longer held back; the spiritual power on his palm increased tenfold. Originally just wanting to slap Lin Que to death, it now directly became "Soul Shattering and Trace Erasing"!

With this palm strike, the Recording Stone, along with Su Qingyu beside Lin Que, would all be reduced to ashes together!

Facing this certain-death blow intended to silence him, Lin Que still didn't dodge (nor could he).

He just used all his strength to look toward the main spectator stand at the Zhengdao Alliance Leader (Qingyun Sword Sect Master, Alliance Leader), who had been sitting there watching the show with an unfathomable expression.

"Alliance Leader, save me!!"

Lin Que let out a loud shout.

At the same time, the System activated!

[Detected Nascent Soul Stage rule-erasing attack!]

[Attributes: Spatial Lock + Soul Crushing.]

[Drawback Judgment: Certain death.]

[Transference initiated! Logic Reorganization—Forced Transposition (Better you die than I)!]

[Locked Target: Zhengdao Alliance Leader Alliance Leader (Middle Stage Nascent Soul)!]

[Multiplier: Full Transfer!]

"You'll take this fall for me!"

Buzz!

At the critical moment when Ye Nantian's palm was about to touch Lin Que's scalp...

Alliance Leader, sitting on the main stand, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

An inexplicable and extremely powerful spatial pulling force descended upon him without warning!

"What on earth is this?!"

Alliance Leader was greatly shocked.

Before he could react, his entire person actually teleported!

From the stand, he was "sucked" directly in front of Lin Que! He happened to block the path of Ye Nantian's palm wind!

"Ye Nantian! Have you gone mad? You even want to kill me?!"

Alliance Leader looked at that terrifying palm striking toward his face, his Soul nearly leaping out of his body in fright. Was he going to silence even the Alliance Leader?!

"Brother Li?! Get out of the way!!"

Ye Nantian was also stunned.

He was clearly aiming for Lin Que; why did Alliance Leader suddenly shove his face in the way?! But it was too late to withdraw the move now!

Boom!!!

The two Nascent Soul powerhouses, completely unprepared, slammed into each other head-on!

A terrifying shockwave swept outward.

The high platform instantly collapsed, with shattered stones flying through the air.

"Pfft!"

Ye Nantian spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward due to the backlash from forcibly trying to retract his power. Alliance Leader was also shaken back three steps, his face ashen, and his Alliance Leader robes were torn.

"Patriarch Ye, such grand authority you display!"

Alliance Leader straightened his clothes and crown, his gaze cold to the extreme: "Killing to silence someone right in front of me, even wanting to kill me as well?"

"It seems what was said in the Recording Stone is true... your Ye Family has truly rebelled?"

"No... it's not... Brother Li, listen to my explanation!!"

Ye Nantian was unable to defend himself, so anxious he was about to spit blood.

How could he have known Alliance Leader would suddenly teleport over to take the hit?!

The dust cleared.

Lin Que stood unharmed in the ruins, still maintaining that "crying for help" posture, patting his chest with an innocent and fearful expression:

"Thank you, Alliance Leader, for saving my life!"

"The Alliance Leader is indeed righteous, not hesitating to risk himself to protect an important witness!"

"This Junior is full of admiration! I prostrate myself in admiration!"

Alliance Leader: "..."

I saved your ass! I was forcibly pulled over!

But in front of hundreds of thousands of people, could he say he was set up by a Golden Core Cultivator? No! He could only bite the bullet and put on a majestic "Righteous Leader" front:

"Hmph! As the Alliance Leader, how could I tolerate a villain committing such acts!"

After saying that, he turned to look at Ye Nantian, his tone chilling: "Patriarch Ye, regarding the matter of colluding with the demon cult, what else do you have to say?"

Ye Nantian had completely calmed down by now.

He knew he couldn't kill Lin Que today. Moreover, if he didn't give an explanation, the Ye Family would likely immediately become the target of public criticism.

"Alliance Leader, please be discerning! That was just the incoherent rambling of my son after being tortured for a confession by this boy!"

Ye Nantian stubbornly refused to admit it, pointing at Lin Que: "This boy is cruel and ruthless, slaughtering my clan's prodigies in the Secret Realm, even killing Disciples of various Sects! He is the Devil Head!!"

"That Recording Stone is a forgery!!"

"A forgery?"

Lin Que laughed.

He pulled out that jade bowl (investiture fragment) from his robe. At the bottom of the bowl, there was still a trace of the residual aura of the Heavenly Dao backlash—left there when Ye Nantian previously attacked Ye Chen, Sacred Son of the Eternal Evergreen Sect's Restriction.

"Patriarch Ye, the 'Soul-Locking Restriction' in your son's Divine Soul was placed by you, wasn't it?"

"Just now you wanted to detonate the Restriction to silence him, but I blocked it back; you must be quite badly injured, right?"

Lin Que pointed at Ye Nantian's still slightly trembling right hand and the black blood at the corner of his mouth that hadn't been wiped clean: "If the Recording Stone is fake, why were you in such a hurry to detonate the Restriction?"

"If you didn't have a guilty conscience, why were you backlashed by your own Restriction?"

"Each of these points, every single one, the whole world is watching!"

Lin Que took a step forward, his Modao pointed directly at Ye Nantian, his voice powerful and resonant:

"Ye Nantian!"

"You collude with the demon cult, harm your Fellow Daoists, and harbor ill intentions!"

"Today, I, Lin Que, am not only acting on behalf of heaven but also cleaning house for the Zhengdao Alliance!"

"If you are not convinced, feel free to try and kill me again!"

"But the Zhengdao Alliance behind me, Alliance Leader Li behind me, and the justice of the world behind me..."

Lin Que suddenly slapped Alliance Leader’s shoulder (flattery): "Will never allow it!!"

Alliance Leader's mouth twitched; being put on the spot, he had no choice but to take a stance.

He took a deep breath, his longsword unsheathed and pointed directly at Ye Nantian:

"Patriarch Ye, to prove your innocence..."

"Please surrender and accept a Soul Search!"

"Soul Search?!"

Ye Nantian's expression changed drastically.

He was a Nascent Soul powerhouse; once subjected to a Soul Search, how would that be different from being dead? Moreover, if the secrets in his head were exposed, the Ye Family would truly be finished!

"Good, good, good! Alliance Leader, you would rather believe an outsider than me?!"

A flash of madness crossed Ye Nantian's eyes.

Since we've dropped the pretense, don't blame me for being ruthless!

"Heavenly Demon Guards! Where are you!!"

Ye Nantian let out a roar.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From within the crowd, over a dozen terrifying bursts of Devilish Qi from the Late Stage Golden Core or even Half-Step Nascent Soul levels erupted!

Those who had originally disguised themselves as Loose Cultivators or even Righteous Path Disciples now tore off their disguises, revealing their hideous demon Cultivator faces!

Heavenly Demon Cult infiltrators!

"Jie jie jie... Since we're exposed, let's kill everyone here! Blood sacrifice Yunmeng City!!"

Ye Nantian was covered in overwhelming Devilish Qi, completely fallen.

"Kill!!"

The great battle erupted instantly!

Lin Que stood at the center of the chaos, looking at the scene that had turned into a complete mess, a satisfied smile curling on his lips.

"They've started fighting?"

"That's more like it."

"Only by flipping the table can I take advantage of the chaos... to swipe that Heavenly Flame (the Ye Family Patriarch's Natal Fire)."

Lin Que glanced at Ye Nantian, who was currently in a fierce battle with Alliance Leader.

Inside that old geezer's body was the seventeenth-ranked [Three Thousand Blazing Flames].

"Qingyu, hide further away."

Lin Que pushed Su Qingyu to a safe area with a backhand, then gripped his blade and slipped into the chaotic battlefield like a ghost.

"Hunting time begins."