Chapter 584: I'm Going to Join Your Older Brother, Take Care of Yourself

BUZZ!

The inscriptions of the Projection Orbs activated and replayed the scene captured within. Each orb of light and shadow held the same content!

One by one, figures seated on the ground appeared, aging rapidly. They looked utterly lost, as if their minds had deserted them, using their own lives to practice a certain technique.

"Could this place be the mortal realm?"

"What are they doing?"

As people watched, confusion spread among them.

"It seems to be a bewitching art, someone is devouring the life essence of the living!"

Soon, someone recognized the method.

"Indeed it is!"

"Who's behind this?"

"The recording shows it’s a calamity for everyone, doesn’t it?"

Following the perspective of the recorder, the tragedy shifted views until it finally settled before a peach blossom formation! From it emerged the young Immortal, Tao Shuo!

"Who is this?"

At first, no one recognized him. But out of hundreds of thousands, there were some who did!

"That's one of the servants of Gu Sutao! Lightning Duchess Gu Suwan once paid a visit to Sky Soaring City with her, and I saw that young boy following the pair!"

"Was this the work of Gu Sutao?"

Clearly, Gu Sutao was well-known in Sky Soaring City, otherwise Lu An wouldn’t have recognized her at a glance!

After exposing Gu Sutao, Sky Soaring City was shaken! The Projection Orb had recorded everything too clearly! One could say the evidence was irrefutable.

"Commander Liu!"

Suddenly, the crowd was stirred, looking towards Liu Mumu.

"Are you leveraging the influence of us common folk to expose the misdeeds of Gu Sutao?"

"No problem! Although Gu Sutao is powerful, we are many and we have the evidence!"

The people were filled with righteous indignation, barely able to believe that such evil could exist in the world.

Their hatred for evil was as deep as a personal vendetta, and Liu Mumu saw it all. Perhaps, to her, the people's reaction meant that there was still hope for the Celestial Court...

At the height of the crowd's fury, however, Liu Mumu turned her gaze towards the Skyruler Immortal Manor and spoke with a trembling voice, "No... I am not here to expose Gu Sutao's misdeeds."

"What is it then?" the people hurriedly asked.

Liu Mumu tensed up completely. She clenched the last Projection Orb in her hand, as if using all her strength, and uttered a statement.

"I am here to tell all the common folk of the Celestial Court the cruelest truth of this world from Lu An!"

With these words, everyone was stunned. Those who didn’t understand, truly didn’t understand. Those who did, felt a chill creep up their scalp!

"Lu An?" Many recalled the Rank 9 Arbiter, always busy with his duties!

Such an ordinary man was no better than anyone present. What truth could he possibly know?

From the moment Liu Mumu spoke those words, her time began to count down!

It was undoubtedly the most desperate act of burning one's bridges!

She knew better than anyone what she was confronting!

She was acutely aware that if this truth spread widely among the lower ranks of the Celestial Court, it would cause an upheaval never seen before!

These Heavenly Officers, feeding off the life force of the mortal realms and monopolizing the hierarchy... What would the lower Immortals think?

She knew all the consequences! But, she had made her decision!

Yun Xiao was fighting against the colossal beast of the Celestial Court for the sake of fairness.

She too wanted to do something!

It started at this moment!

"I want to tell you all a story about the Ascension Pool… about how there have been no Ascenders in the Celestial Court for a very long time… about how the celestial law forbidding Immortals from descending to the mortal realms has been repeatedly broken, even if it's a grave crime punishable by death!

"This story has been spread only through whispers among Rank 6 Heavenly Officers and their families. Anyone who dares to openly talk about it is to be met with the harshest punishment for them and their entire clan!

"And today, I have decided to stake my life to tell this story to all truth-seekers of the Great Dao Celestial Realm!"

Hearing this, someone already began recording anew with another Projection Orb.

Upon the path of the Immortals, none were fools, and they already sensed that Liu Mumu's forthcoming words would shock the world.

The crowd looked up, invigorated.

In their eyes, this woman, born of a distinguished family, who should have been aloof and domineering, now held a look of determination and a divine light that truly made her seem like an Immortal...

It started with the Ascension Pool, and then with the offerings of incense…!

Liu Mumu was always a girl of outstanding talent, and for her to summarize a tragic story in concise words was no difficult task.

Her words were restrained. Yet from the beginning, people could hear immense sorrow in her speech.

As tears welled up in her eyes once again, many among the crowd also felt an overwhelming pain amidst their confusion.

What, after all, was the meaning of life?

Were the lives of those in the mortal realms regarded as human, or were they deemed no more than beasts or mere dust?

As the truth spread through Sky Soaring City, many saw their aspirations for the Immortal path shattered right then and there.

What Liu Mumu spoke of was a dark veil looming over the mortal realms, the most merciless story ever told in the history of the Celestial Court!

And what was recorded in that Projection Orb was just a fragment of this dark canopy!

From the small, one could glimpse the greater picture!

How could the truth be known unless one were to descend to the mortal realm and see for oneself?

When the story ended, the common folk of Sky Soaring City fell into utter silence.

Heavy clouds of despair hung over everyone’s heads.

The people felt suffocated, struggling to breathe under the oppressive weight.

Everyone looked up once again at the woman clad in Arbiter armor! She seemed relieved, having done everything she possibly could for the world.

In that moment, as if she saw Lu An, a slight smile appeared on her lips, a relaxed smile that was profoundly beautiful.

But everyone knew, after telling that story, she could not possibly survive!

She wasn't just exposing Gu Sutao or Gu Suwan; she was challenging the entire Thunder Department, even the whole Celestial Court!

She even spoke of her older brother Liu Chaochao's recent descent to the mortal realm.

She was simply avenging Lu An...

“Commander Liu...”

Hundreds of thousands of gazes fixed upon her, the woman who had dared to speak the truth.

Her final carefree smile was etched into memory, destined to be remembered by those who witnessed it for a lifetime.

"Everyone, the story is told, now go!" Liu Mumu roared.

The people stared back with red eyes, shaking their heads.

"Go!" she yelled.

Only then did they start to move, each step reluctant, looking back thrice.

What would become of her?

"Liu Mumu!!!"

A thunderous roar erupted from the direction of the Skyruler Immortal Manor.

Swords of celestial light hurtled towards her.

The anger in the roar was palpable.

BOOM!

Judicial Immortal Liu Zongyu crashed to the ground, towering and formidable. His eyes blood red, his face was pale, and his massive frame trembled.

Next to him, Liu Chaochao could barely stand. He knew the worst had befallen their family.

No matter the outcome, father and son were doomed.

Liu Zongyu, heart quaking, pointed at Liu Mumu and declared, "Arbiter Commander Liu Mumu, for fabricating evidence, deceiving the public, and slandering the celestial laws… Strip her of her Arbiter status and take her into custody for punishment!"

KLANK!

Liu Mumu unclasped her Arbiter armor and threw it to the ground. With a smile and her chin up, she said, "Liu Zongyu, kill me."

"Take her into custody!" Liu Zongyu roared, overcome with fury.

Behind him, thousands of Arbiters stood staring at Liu Mumu, their faces pale.

?ι══????????══ι?

It was late at night in the Thunder Department's Hall of Soaring Thunder…

Jiang Taiping was pacing within the Eight Symbols Guard Pavilion.

"Governor!" Someone entered hurriedly, handing over a flying talisman. "Madame Lu sent a message! There’s been a major incident in Sky Soaring City!"

"What?" Jiang Taiping immediately tensed upon seeing the flying talisman's script. After reading it, he staggered, nearly collapsing, his face turning ashen on the spot.

"It's over! It's all over!" His fear, even with his high status, indicated the severity this news represented.

"Find General Cao!" With a trembling voice, Jiang Taiping quickly dashed off.

Inside the Cao Immortal Manor, General Cao Sheng and his wife, Gu Suwan, were playing chess in the courtyard.

"General Cao!" Jiang Taiping burst in, disregarding formalities, and kneeled to present the talisman to Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng and Gu Suwan glanced at it a few times.

Both took a deep breath.

Cao Sheng suddenly slapped Jiang Taiping on the head, his voice deep, "Get up, what’s the panic?"

"This news will surely shake the entire Celestial Court, causing chaos under the heavens..." Jiang Taiping blurted out incoherently before handing the flying talisman to General Cao.

Gu Suwan chuckled softly. "You underestimate the Celestial Court’s ability to control public opinion."

"But what about the hundreds of thousands of people?" Jiang Taiping said with a trembling voice.

Cao Sheng shrugged. "It's been many years, and there have been many foolishly righteous figures like Liu Mumu. Blow-ups like this aren't new, have you seen any news spread until now?"

"That’s true." Jiang Taiping thought about it more carefully and it seemed to make sense.

This involved the core interests of the Celestial Court's top officials; how could they let nobodies stir up trouble?

Because the matter touched upon himself, Jiang Taiping panicked.

Cao Sheng glanced at him with irritation and said, "You don't even have the sense of a woman!"

"General Cao, then I..."

"Just do as Madame Lu said. Doesn't she have a Truth Gu? Feed it to Liu Mumu, take control of her body, and have her publicly confess, admitting she fabricated lies to retaliate against her father and brother," Cao Sheng said indifferently.

"What about the hundreds of thousands of people?" Jiang Taiping asked.

"You overestimate the anger of the commoners. In a few days, some new news will emerge, and they'll forget all about this," Cao Sheng shrugged.

"Jiang Taiping, you need to understand something," Gu Suwan said with a smile. "The offering of incense, it doesn't burn the ordinary Immortals. If it doesn’t concern them, they ultimately won't exert themselves. There’s a reason they only mingle at the lower levels of the Celestial Court."

"I understand!" Jiang Taiping finally relaxed and smiled, speaking righteously, "I'll return to Sky Soaring City right away, make Liu Mumu eat the Truth Gu and confess, then parade her to the marketplace for a public beheading!"

...?ι══????????══ι?

It was deep into the night. Yun Xiao wasn't with Cao Shuo.

After leaving Cao Sheng's control, he walked away with a cold face, wandering the corners of the Thunder Department.

For some reason, he felt increasingly irritable. Just then, he received a flying talisman. Only Commander Liu and he shared parent-and-child talismans.

Yun Xiao took the talisman, and his eyes immediately reddened.

It read—

「

I'm going to join your older brother now, take care of yourself.

」

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