Chapter 107 Succession - 5 Under the bright moon, atop the white jade peak, Chapter...

Beneath the bright moon, atop the white jade peak, Zhanghua Terrace resembles a celestial palace floating in the clouds, solemn and magnificent, unlike anything on earth.

Meijianchi streaked across the sky above Zhanghua Terrace like a shooting star, without slowing down, and crashed straight into the main hall's gate.

Wu Chen's handsome face was as calm as an ice sculpture. With a casual slash of his sword, a beam of light crashed into the golden and jade-inlaid gate of the main hall. With a deafening roar, the gate shattered into pieces.

Caught off guard by the sudden commotion, the people in the hall barely managed to dodge, looking quite disheveled. After they had avoided the exploding jade and splinters of wood, they discovered a man and a woman standing in the dust at the entrance. The tall man was none other than Wu Chen, whom they had been "longing for" that evening.

Wu Chen's gaze swept around the magnificent hall, and many people avoided his eyes, not daring to look him in the eye.

Only a group of men standing before the priest's throne stared grimly at Wu Chen. One of them shouted, "Witch God Attendant, are you plotting a rebellion?"

Upon hearing this, the others in the hall began to chime in with trembling voices, "Wu Chen, you are outrageous! How dare you trespass into the High Priest's Hall!"

Wu Chen slowly raised the Taiyi Sword.

Immediately, the sound of swallowing saliva could be clearly heard in the hall.

Wu Chen chuckled and sheathed the Taiyi Sword with a backhand motion. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he calmly walked towards them.

Elder Yu and the others arrived one after another and followed Wu Chen in.

"Elder Zou," Wu Chen's voice echoed faintly in the hall, "you summoned me here by divine decree, what is the purpose of this summons?"

Elder Zou was Zou Buming's father, and his face resembled Zou Buming's, but his expression was much more gloomy. He stood at the front of the Zou family, saying, "Wu Chen, you know what you've done."

“I have always been aware of my words and deeds. My only regret is that I know very little about what your Zou family has done. If I had known earlier that the Zou family’s behavior was so outrageous and inhuman, I would never have associated with you.” Wu Chen’s speech was not fast, but by the time he finished speaking, he had already walked to the steps of the priest’s throne.

"You arrogant brat!" Elder Zou sneered. "You were nothing but an orphan beggar in the past. It was only through the grace of the Divine Palace that you have the glory you enjoy today. Now that you've gained power, you dare to spout such nonsense!"

“I will never forget the grace I have received from the Divine Palace. I have never neglected my duties as a divine servant.” Wu Chen looked at the throne with some emotion. “But neither the Divine Palace nor the Divine Official should ever belong to your Zou family. In the eyes of your Zou family, the throne of the Divine Official is merely the reins to control this behemoth that is the Divine Palace! If it were not, or if your Zou family cared even a little about the safety of the Divine Palace, how could you have done such a despicable thing?”

The elders behind Wu Chen who knew the situation looked at Elder Zou and the others with disappointment.

Elder Zou sneered, "Still dare to boast. Just from what you said, I know you have no concept of hierarchy, and you even dare to slander the High Priest's actions. How dare you interfere with the High Priest's actions? You all have no choice but to obey. Wu Chen, the High Priest has already found out that you were the one who instigated this winter hunt in the Western Wilderness, causing heavy casualties among the disciples of the Divine Palace. Your crime is heinous. Guards, seize him and interrogate him."

Many golden-armored guards rushed in, surrounding Wu Chen and Elder Yu. They also protected the Zou family members completely.

Wu Chen smiled, reached out and slapped the scabbard, and the Taiyi Sword soared into the sky, piercing directly through the roof of the main hall, shining brightly in the night sky and emitting a clear and melodious dragon's roar.

None of the golden-armored guards expected that the Taiyi Sword would not attack them, but would instead rush straight to the top of the palace. By the time they tried to intercept it, it was too late.

Elder Zou inwardly cursed his bad luck. His original plan for tonight was to strike first and kill Wu Chen without alerting anyone. He reasoned that, given the Yu family's nature, they wouldn't turn against the Zou family. Furthermore, if the Zou family were willing to offer some benefits, such as nominating Yu Jitang as the next high priest, the Yu family would undoubtedly remain on their side. As long as the Yu family didn't take the lead, which other elder of the Divine Palace would be willing to oppose both the Zou and Yu families for Wu Chen's sake?

Unexpectedly, Wu Chen had only just returned to the Divine Palace, yet so many elders were still on Nukun Peak at such a late hour. Moreover, Wu Chen had first smashed down the palace gate and now ripped off the roof; such a commotion must have alerted even the elders who hadn't come.

Elder Zou, his anger barely concealed, roared, "Wu Chen, what do you take this place for? How dare you behave like this in the High Priest's Hall..."

“Outrageous?” Lu Qingchao said for him crisply, “Elder Zou, you should use a different word! Smashing down the door is outrageous, tearing down the roof is outrageous, doing anything else is still outrageous. He’s done so much, and you’re just convicting him of one crime? It’s not worth it. Think about it again, otherwise when other people come later, seeing you going over and over again with nothing new to say, everyone will lose interest!”

"And who are you? How dare you be so arrogant and presumptuous!" The people next to Elder Zou dared not yell at Wu Chen, but they dared to be fierce towards Lu Qing.

Lu Qing grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, but his expression was somewhat sinister. "Who I am is something your Zou family probably doesn't want to know."

Her interruption indeed alerted some elders, who had already arrived at Zhanghua Terrace on their swords.

"What happened?"

"Who dares to be so insolent... Eh, is that the Taiyi Sword of the Witch God's Servant?"

When the elders saw the scene of swords clashing in the hall, they were all shocked. "Elder Zou, what exactly happened? What did the Witch God Servant and the Jade God Servant do to treat them like this?"

Now the temple only has two divine attendants left, Wu and Yu. Could it be that the Zou family wants to kill them and then promote a member of the Zou family to be a high priest? Is this the intention of the Zou family, or the intention of High Priest Zou?

Seeing that more and more elders and disciples of the Divine Palace were arriving, Elder Zou simply said, "The Divine Servant Wu Chen disobeyed the order and stormed onto Zhanghua Terrace with malicious intent. Everything you see before you is what Wu Chen said. By order of the Divine Official, Wu Chen shall be imprisoned and interrogated immediately. You can all be witnesses; if he acts arrogantly again, he may be executed on the spot."

The elders who arrived later were stunned. "Is there some misunderstanding?"

"What exactly happened?"

"We're all family. If there's any misunderstanding, just talk it out. Why make things so ugly?"

The elders who arrived later had all sorts of opinions.

Wu Chen stared directly at Elder Zou, "A so-called decree can only be called a decree by the High Priest. We've been here for so long, and the High Priest hasn't even shown his face. Elder Zou, where did your decree come from? Moreover, someone has been acting on this decree to intercept and kill me and Yu Shenshi from the edge of the Western Wilderness. In front of everyone, why don't you explain this to us?"

"You're making baseless accusations!" a member of the Zou family retorted. "Do you have any evidence?"

“Several hundred people attacked me on Nukun Peak just now, and their bodies are still lying on the summit. All the elders witnessed this. Doesn’t that count as evidence?” Wu Chen asked.

That person spoke recklessly, "The Yu family is now in the same boat as you, naturally..."

"Shut up!" Elder Zou quickly shouted. "Elders, do not listen to Wu Chen's empty threats. He is arrogant and smug now, and we must take him down. Tomorrow, when the priest appears, you can all attend the trial together."

Yu Jitang sneered, "If you really surrender tonight, you probably won't see the sun rise tomorrow. Elder Zou, you should ask the High Priest to come out and meet everyone. Otherwise, your actions will hardly silence public opinion."

Elder Zou's heart skipped a beat. Zou Gaoyang had lost contact with them for over a month, and the ambush of Wu Chen and Yu Jitang was also something Zou Gaoyang had planned in advance. Their attack on Wu Chen tonight was also because they couldn't contact Zou Gaoyang, so they decided to strike first. Now it seemed the situation was developing in the worst possible way. Elder Zou secretly gave his youngest son a wink. His youngest son then quietly slipped out.

“Attendant Yu, it seems that not only Attendant Wu, but now even you don’t take the High Priest seriously,” Elder Zou said. “Everyone knows the High Priest’s health condition, and no one has ever disturbed him in the middle of the night. If you really want to see the High Priest, we will wait until tomorrow morning to bother him.”

"Oh, how strange. You were just saying that Wu Chen had committed several crimes deserving of death, but now you're postponing it until tomorrow. Aren't you afraid Wu Chen will run away in one night?" Lu Qing said with a grin. "Or are you planning to slip away tonight?"

“You wild girl, this is not a place for you to spout nonsense.”

“Yes, yes, this is the place where you spout nonsense. Please, please.” Lu Qing grinned, completely unyielding.

Elder Zou was torn between the urge to roar to the sky and the urge to draw his sword and kill Lu Qing.

Wu Chen watched him silently, the Taiyi Sword still hovering above Zhanghua Terrace.

Elder Zou was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to change his target: "Elders, are you just going to stand by and watch him run rampant?"

His words only deepened the confusion among the elders. Elder Zou had always held a high position in the Divine Palace, and no one had ever dared to provoke him. After all, his elder was a High Priest, and his son was a Divine Servant. But just now he had been so arrogant, and now he had softened so quickly. What was going on?

Elder Yu spoke up, "Elder Zou, did the High Priest go to the Western Wilderness?"

An uproar immediately erupted in the hall.

Elder Zou's face flushed and paled in turns, his chest heaving. "Elder Yu, what are you saying?"

Elder Yu sneered, "The Fruit of Spiritual Connection is not actually a spiritual fruit, but a human body. Your Zou family harmed her, devoured her alive, and even used her flesh and blood to refine the Blazing Sun Pill, passing it down from generation to generation. Is that right or wrong?"

Before Elder Zou could speak, the outbursts of the Zou family members standing beside him spoke volumes.

Elder Yu could hardly contain his complex emotions. "Zou Gaoyang tricked three thousand disciples of the Divine Palace into going to their deaths in the Western Wilderness in order to obtain a new Spirit Fruit, just to increase the medicinal properties of the Spirit Fruit, is that right or wrong?"

"What?!" The elders and disciples were immediately in an uproar!