Volume Five: Emerging Prominence - Chapter 23: Uttering Wild Nonsense

Sighing softly, Li Chengzhu looked at the Holy Mother, whose triumphant mouth corners revealed her immense pride in her own authority. The boss grew furious, reached out, grabbed Shui Ruyan by the arm, and hoisted her straight up. Li Chengzhu’s cultivation level was a cut above Shui Ruyan's, and since he acted in anger this time, she had no time to offer any resistance whatsoever.

"Immortal Master, you..." Shui Ruyan looked at Li Chengzhu in terror. Seeing his fierce and menacing expression, she hurriedly swallowed the words that had reached her lips, feeling an overwhelming sense of grievance in her heart. A Saintess was strictly forbidden from having any physical contact with members of the opposite sex. Out in the open, the Holy Mother might not be able to see, but for this man to act so boldly right in front of the elders, her tragic days would surely arrive ahead of schedule. As these thoughts swirled in her mind, teardrops began to patter down.

Upon seeing Li Chengzhu make such a move, the Holy Mother was also stunned for a moment. She cast a reproachful glance at the grand boss, sighing inwardly: *Young man, do you even realize that by doing this, you have plunged this girl into a state of disloyalty and injustice, leaving me powerless to protect her even if I wanted to?* The other elders also wore furious expressions, glaring bitterly at Li Chengzhu. Yet, constrained by his terrifying strength capable of heavily wounding the sacred beast, none of them dared to act rashly, and they could only vent their lingering injustice upon Shui Ruyan.

One of the elders stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Holy Mother! As the Saintess, not only has Shui Ruyan failed to complete her mission this time, but she has also engaged in physical contact with a male of the opposite sex, violating the ancestral precepts. I implore the Holy Mother to see the truth clearly and impose a strict punishment!"

Li Chengzhu, who had been feeling that she was failing to meet expectations, paused inwardly as realization dawned upon him—so a Saintess was strictly untouchable. Glancing again at the indignant elder, he recognized him as the very same person who had glared at him with furious eyes earlier when he mentioned eliminating the nine-headed demonic flood dragon.

"Well, about this..." The old lady hesitated slightly, stuttering and faltering, her words evasive as her gaze shifted toward Li Chengzhu.

"Holy Mother! Shui Ruyan has violated the ancestral precepts twice and has long since committed an act of heinous treason. We cannot let this go unpunished!" Another elder leaped forward, demanding severe punishment for Shui Ruyan the Saintess. The boss took another look—ah, how convenient, it was yet another old man who had glared daggers at him moments ago.

Meanwhile, several other elders were either gazing at the sky, studying the ground, stroking their beards, or closing their eyes in deep meditation, turning a blind eye to the dispute unfolding before them.

Damn it, he had merely come to visit as a guest, only to walk right into a family feud. It seemed the Jade Rabbit clan was far from being a monolith.

With two elders jumping forward, the Holy Mother could no longer avoid responding. She glared angrily at Shui Ruyan and shouted, "Shui Ruyan!"

"Your disciple is here." The young girl was just about to kneel when the boss reached out and supported her, making it impossible for her body to drop. She could only cast a resentful glare at him.

"As the eighty-third generation Saintess, you failed to complete your mission in a timely manner and brought dishonor to the prestige of the Saintess. Do you acknowledge your crime?" The Holy Mother’s majesty was effortless, and her eyes flicked toward Li Chengzhu with a look of expectation.

"Your disciple acknowledges her crime," Shui Ruyan said with a trembling bow.

"Furthermore, you were touched by a male of the opposite sex in full view of everyone. Do you acknowledge this crime?"

Isn't this utter nonsense? The man's hand was literally supporting her waist right now! The grand boss curled his lip, realizing the old lady was playing political games too. While the elder had accused her of making contact with a male, the Holy Mother had artfully rephrased it as being touched by a male, subtly mitigating the severity of the offense.

Li Chengzhu looked at the Holy Mother with a beaming smile; the old lady was clearly biased toward the girl. The Jade Rabbit clan wasn't beyond saving; they simply lacked the strength to fight the nine-headed demonic flood dragon.

"Your disciple... acknowledges her crime!" Shui Ruyan’s voice began to tremble.

"Guards!" the Holy Mother shouted in a fury. "The eighty-third generation Saintess, Shui Ruyan, has violated the ancestral precepts. In accordance with precedent, strip her of her title as Saintess, drag her away, and feed her minced remains to the cultivation chambers!"

The two elders who had stepped forward cried out in unison, "The Holy Mother is wise!"

Wise your grandmother's head! The grand boss straightened his clothes and let out a resounding roar, "Hold on!" The back of Li Chengzhu’s white cloak was tattered with several large holes, but viewed from the front, it did not diminish his dashing demeanor at all. At this moment, letting out a righteous bellow to play the prince rescuing the damsel in distress could not have been more fitting.

As Li Chengzhu loosened his grip, Shui Ruyan slumped to the floor behind him with a dull thud. Hearing the sound, the grand boss looked back and thought: *Damn it, this girl is completely hopeless.*

Seeing this outsider aggressively meddling, the two elders who demanded severe punishment for Shui Ruyan felt their hearts skip a beat. Yet, constrained by his formidable strength, they stubbornly put up a front and snapped, "This is the internal business of the Jade Rabbit clan! Outsiders have no right to interfere!"

Abandoning his attempt to pull Shui Ruyan back up, Li Chengzhu turned around, smiled warmly at the two elders, and asked, "What might your esteemed surnames be, elders?"

"Zhou Dunru!"

"Li Xiuyuan!"

Seeing the guest inquire, the two elders had no choice but to cup their fists and reply, their faces as sour as vinegar. The Saintess coming into contact with a man was a grave disrespect to the sacred beast. If they didn't deal with it and the sacred beast found out, the two of them would be in deep trouble.

"Oh, we're practically family! I am Li Chengzhu. Brother Zhou, hello; Brother Li, hello." Li Chengzhu glanced at the surrounding elders who remained silent and expressionless, then at the smiling Holy Mother on her chair. *Well then,* he thought to himself, *I'll play the peacemaker today.*

"Well, logically speaking, this truly is the internal business of the Jade Rabbit clan, and it wouldn't be appropriate for an outsider like me to interfere. We have a saying in my hometown: 'Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes.' This means that no matter how astute you are, it is impossible to sort out right and wrong in a domestic conflict." Li Chengzhu casually ran a hand through his hair, flicking it back with swagger as he spoke eloquently. "We also have a saying in my hometown that every family has a scripture that is hard to chant. When the forest gets big enough, all sorts of birds show up. What makes a family? Only unity can forge a home. First you have people, then you have a family. But once family members multiply, it's inevitable that some disloyal elements will appear—sycophants cozying up to foreigners, defecting to enemies, or seizing power and dividing authority. Do you understand? Let me give you an example. Take you, Brother Zhou, for instance: you defected to that nine-headed giant snake, hoping to rely on its power to safeguard your own interests and ultimately seize control of this clan. Ah, Brother Zhou, don't panic! It's just an analogy, not the real thing, haha. Brother Li, your expression looks terribly grim; didn't you sleep well last night?"

Spouting nonsense, the grand boss utterly scrambled the original domestic dispute. As soon as this analogy was cast, apart from the unmoving Holy Mother, all the other elders flicked their gazes, casting probing, ambiguous looks at Zhou Dunru and Li Xiuyuan before quickly returning to their own business.

"Stop spouting nonsense and spreading rumors to slander us!" Li Xiuyuan’s beard quivered in panic as he pointed a trembling finger at the grand boss.

"Hehe, if you haven't done anything shady, you won't fear a knock on your door in the dead of night." Li Chengzhu smiled faintly and gently pushed down the finger Li Xiuyuan was pointing at him. "Of course, we are all practitioners of the Dao, so ghosts and gods are nothing to be feared. However, if you commit too many malicious deeds and sell out your ancestors for glory, you will have to undergo the Demonic Heart Tribulation when ascending to immortality. The Demonic Heart Tribulation is the most vicious tribulation in the world; a slight misstep, and you'll be reduced to ashes. Tsk tsk."

Although these spirit beasts did not divide their cultivation stages as meticulously as human immortals, the concept of undergoing tribulations still existed. Once a celestial tribulation was successfully overcome, a spirit beast would transform into an immortal beast and achieve the great Dao. Yet, not a single spirit beast present had any personal experience of surviving a tribulation. Hearing Li Chengzhu describe it thusly, they instinctively placed a hand over their hearts, wondering how many wicked deeds they themselves had committed in the past.

The complexions of the elders who had committed numerous misdeeds turned extremely unsightly. Zhou Dunru and Li Xiuyuan looked particularly ashen, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"Brother Zhou, Brother Li, fear not! From my observation, both of your glabella are full and your complexions are benevolent. You must surely be kind-hearted elders. I'm certain the brothers and sisters of the Jade Rabbit clan hold you in deep reverence, so the Demonic Heart Tribulation will surely bypass you." The grand boss smiled warmly to comfort the two elders.

Though Zhou Dunru's heart was pounding frantically, he was forced to squeeze out a trace of a smile, nod at Li Chengzhu, and resolve in his heart to do a lot more good deeds in the future.

Inside the grand hall, only Immortal Yuanmu and the Holy Mother still remembered the original purpose for which Li Chengzhu had jumped into the fray. Shui Ruyan kept her head lowered, pondering Li Chengzhu's words, thinking that if such a thing were true, the sacred beast would surely meet a wretched death when its tribulation arrived.

The Holy Mother offered the grand boss an appreciative, smiling nod. With the head of the household backing him up, Li Chengzhu grew even more uninhibited. His tai chi conversational sparring was formidable, twisting and turning in ways that scared the wits and scattered the souls of the surrounding elders. Relying on their positions, these elders usually lorded over the clan, hoarding cultivation resources, and some even devoured their own kin to boost their cultivation. Now, thoroughly terrified by Li Chengzhu's threats, how could they not be afraid?

Having talked until his mouth was dry, and seeing that the crowd had lost their wits with fear, the grand boss wiped his mouth, pulled a Profound Ice Fruit from his storage ring, and bit into it with a crisp crunch to moisten his throat. Before he could speak again, Zhou Dunru stared at him with wide, astonished eyes, pointing a trembling finger and stammering, "The... Saint... Fruit?" The rest of the elders were struck with utter dismay.

"You mean this thing? Ah, the nine-headed giant snake begged me to spare its life and gave this to me as a gift." The grand boss lied effortlessly, spitting it right out as he caught sight of Shui Ruyan lifting her head to look at him. He blinked his eyelids and made a silencing gesture. The young girl's face flushed red, and she quickly lowered her head again.

The Holy Mother shook her head upon her chair. Every single Saint Fruit had to be exchanged for the life of a Saintess, granting it supreme status within the clan, yet this man had just eaten it casually. Did this fellow simply not understand the value of the Saint Fruit, or did he simply not care?

"Ah, let's not talk about this fruit." The grand boss bit into it again with another crisp crunch, instantly triggering a chorus of heavy swallowing throughout the grand hall. The gazes of the elders locked onto him like those of ten-thousand-year-old lechers staring at a naked beauty, making Li Chengzhu feel thoroughly embarrassed. He hurriedly finished off the Profound Ice Fruit in a few bites, swallowing even the pit, which finally brought the elders back to their senses.

"Where was I?" The grand boss licked his fingers, watching the pack of famished wolves before him with amusement.

The elders swallowed hard once more. The Holy Mother was left torn between laughter and tears, wondering if the Jade Rabbit clan's encounter with this man was a blessing or a curse. If he ever turned against her clan, he would undoubtedly pose a far greater threat than the "sacred beast." She needed to think of a way to keep him under control.