Huang Xiaoting scoffed, "Hmph, this must be some trick the lower-ranking men came up with to attract the Empress's attention."
Such a despicable scoundrel dared to lay a finger on the pure and innocent Empress; he must have read too many romance novels—he's gone way too far.
Upon hearing this, Liang Hao immediately retorted: "I advise you, you bitch, to stop talking nonsense. My brother would never do such a despicable thing."
Huang Xiaoting glanced at Liang Hao: "Yes, yes, your eldest brother is aloof and looks down on the high and mighty Empress. Who would believe that if he said that?"
Maybe your older brother is already fantasizing about crawling under the Empress's skirt and licking her toes like a dog. That's really shameless. I should make him drink the foot bath water first.
"I'm so rough!"
Liang Hao was about to explode on the spot, but fortunately Ding Bu'er held him back tightly.
Upon hearing this, Lü Baichuan calmly replied, "List my crimes? What a joke! What crimes could the Holy Son of the Heavenly Annihilation Holy Land possibly have!"
Mu Qiuyao also said, "You had better be able to provide concrete evidence, otherwise I will not let you off the hook."
Shen Zhao immediately pulled out a thick ledger and read it aloud, one entry at a time:
"On the third day of the fourth month of the thirteenth year of Huanglong, Lü Baichuan took a fancy to a respectable girl on the street, forcibly dragged her into his house, defiled her, and then brutally murdered her. Later, when the girl's family came looking for her, they were all beaten to death by the Lü family for trespassing."
"On the 18th day of the fourth month in the 13th year of Huanglong, Lü Baichuan and his cronies defiled and killed two female cultivators from the Ziyun Sect who were out on training at the shore of Xilan Lake. Afterwards, they framed the Wushan Sect for the crime, which led to a feud between the two sects and a bloody battle that resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries."
"On the ninth day of the fifth month of the thirteenth year of Huanglong, Lü Baichuan, together with the Lü family, forcibly seized the official spiritual vein south of Tianlan City. This action caused the people of twelve nearby towns to lose their livelihoods, and finally, a drought broke out the following year, leaving 100,000 people homeless."
"In the fourteenth year of Huanglong, on the sixth day of the sixth month, Lü Baichuan took a fancy to a rank-earth spirit sword. He did not hesitate to ambush the caravan halfway and impersonate a wicked cultivator to rob the caravan, resulting in the deaths of 107 rogue cultivators and 45 innocent civilians on this mission."
"The third day of the second month of the fifteenth year of Huanglong..."
As Shen Zhao publicly revealed Lü Baichuan's crimes one by one, the guests present were all shocked.
The crime committed is utterly heinous, even surpassing the actions of heretical practitioners.
After reading the last sentence, Shen Zhao looked at Lü Baichuan and asked directly, "The evidence is conclusive. What do you have to say in your defense?"
Lu Baichuan's face turned ashen, and he immediately denied it: "Nonsense, you made this up! I didn't do it!"
Ning Ruoxue also said, "Your Majesty, my disciple could not possibly do such a heinous thing. This Shen Zhao is a villain from the martial arts world, and he must be spreading rumors and misleading the public here."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiyan immediately stood up and said, "Sect Leader Ning, you are wrong to say that. The Court of Judgment is the maintainer of the order of the Xuanmen. How could it make up such nonsense? Your conclusion is too arbitrary."
Ning Ruoxue frowned: "What, why is the Empress of Dayin so protective of this outsider? Could it be that you have some kind of relationship with him?"
Yu Xiyan immediately wanted to shout, "This is my husband," but Shen Zhao beat her to it: "There is a Heavenly Oath Seal on it. If you don't believe it, the Empress can verify it herself."
After saying that, he threw the incriminating evidence directly at Mu Qiuyao.
Mu Qiuyao took it and glanced at it, then looked at Ning Ruoxue with an icy expression: "How did you teach your disciple?"
Ning Ruoxue was so frightened that she quickly knelt down: "Your Majesty, even if everything is true, most of these are the actions of Baichuan before he entered the Heavenly Absolute Holy Land. Since he entered the Heavenly Absolute Holy Land, his past evil deeds have not happened again."
Mu Qiuyao nodded upon hearing this and looked at Lü Baichuan: "Remove your identity as a Holy Son and go to the Cliff of Repentance to face the wall for fifty years to atone for your sins in the mortal world."
Lu Baichuan dared not refute, and immediately lowered his head and replied, "Yes."
But upon hearing this, Shen Zhao simply hummed in response: "Having committed such a grave crime, involving hundreds of thousands of lives, does the Empress intend to simply dismiss it with a mere resignation?"
Upon hearing this, the guests present felt their hearts leap into their throats.
How dare Shen Zhao question the Empress's decisions? Where did he get the audacity and confidence?
Yu Xiyan was also worried for Shen Zhao, thinking to herself, "You idiot, are you out of your mind? Why did you have to get involved in something like this? Do you like to invite trouble upon yourself?"
As expected, Mu Qiuyao's face turned cold when she saw that Shen Zhao opposed her decision.
"So how do you want to handle this?"
"The evidence is conclusive. Lü Baichuan should pay the price for his actions."
"Evidence?"
Mu Qiuyao sneered and then turned the evidence in her hand into dust.
"Now, where is the evidence?"
"Hmm~~"
Shen Zhao's eyes narrowed, and a murderous intent rose within him.
"Does the Empress truly intend to protect this wicked and calamistic child?"
Mu Qiuyao nodded slightly, her beautiful eyes wide: "So what if it is? You don't actually think that a mere judge like me would be taken seriously by me, do you?"
A gust of wind swept by, and Shen Zhao clenched his fist.
"With the evidence revealed, Lü Baichuan has no way out!"
"Then I want to see how you kill someone right under my nose."
Mu Qiuyao stood with her hands behind her back, completely ignoring Shen Zhao's words.
Seeing that the situation was almost out of control, Yu Xiyan began to plan how to rescue Shen Zhao from Mu Qiuyao.
But at that moment, Shen Zhao's voice echoed across the entire Heavenly Absolute Holy Land.
"Intrigue and treachery, murder and robbery—every single act is intolerable to Heaven. If this scoundrel is not brought to justice today, then justice will not prevail and humanity will be disgraced. Lü Baichuan, let your calamity be served."
The next moment, he focused his energy in his dantian, condensing it into a single point, and transforming spiritual energy into true essence.
In the instant he turned around, the sound wave was emitted.
Suddenly, a dragon's roar echoed across the sky, sweeping through the heavens and the universe.
"Ah~ that's~"
Lu Baichuan exclaimed in surprise.
But the next moment, the sound wave entered his ears, and his consciousness and body exploded together, causing him to die instantly.
"The Candle Dragon Tremors!!!"
Mu Qiuyao never expected that Shen Zhao would actually dare to kill someone in front of her.
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