The opening scene reveals the story of Yao Lao, alarming the Soul Emperor.

Hunyu took a step forward.

The sole of my shoe stepped over the edge of the black liquid next to the dried corpse, leaving a faint half-mark on the stone slab.

He wasn't in a hurry; he walked slowly and steadily, the hem of his white robe brushing against the broken stone chips on the ground, making a soft rustling sound.

None of the Dou Zun kneeling on either side of the main hall dared to raise their heads, but everyone's peripheral vision followed the white shadow as it moved.

Hunyu walked to the center of the main hall and stood still.

No kneeling.

There was no fist-and-palm salute.

He did not bow his head.

He stood there straight, holding a white feather fan in his hand, the fan closed, the golden feathers at the end hanging between his fingers.

His gaze passed over the steps, over the white bone handrail, over the dark gold table broken in two, and landed on a pair of blood-red vertical pupils deep in the black mist.

"Lord of the Palace."

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, neither too fast nor too slow.

"Three days is too long."

"I have a plan that will only take half a day."

These two sentences were thrown into the deathly silent hall, and the hall remained quiet for about three breaths.

Then a furious voice burst out from the left side of the platform.

"presumptuous!"

Hun Yue stood up from his kneeling position, his aura surging so violently that even the stone slabs beneath his feet began to crack.

"Your Highness, what right do you, a worthless member of a collateral branch from the Northwest, have to speak?"

Hun Yue's voice was so loud that it made the entire hall buzz.

"You won't even kneel. Where do you put the rules of the Heavenly Gang Hall?"

Before he finished speaking, a second voice rang out from the back row of the platform.

"Hun Yue is right."

It was a male voice whose age was hard to discern, deep and muffled.

"The Palace Master is holding a meeting. What right does an unregistered passerby have to interfere in the internal affairs of the Heavenly Gang Palace?"

The third sound was faster.

The gray-robed celestial being on the right side of the front row raised his head, his tone urgent.

"Take it."

"Your Highness, this ignorant junior is spouting nonsense. He's not worth your trouble. Let me handle him for you."

Three voices came crashing down one after the other, layer upon layer.

A commotion arose among the kneeling Dou Zun on both sides of the main hall. A few of the bolder ones secretly raised their eyelids and looked at the white-robed youth standing in the middle.

There was something mixed in their eyes.

It wasn't hostility, it was relief.

Finally, someone stepped forward to take the blame.

The temple master's anger was burning so fiercely that everyone present knew that whoever was targeted at this moment would be the next to be sacrificed.

Now a reckless and arrogant member of the collateral branch has jumped out, which is perfect for sharing the burden of the firepower.

Hun Yue had reached the second step, his palms outstretched, black battle qi swirling into a vortex within them.

"Lord, this brat dared to use an array to trap me down there, and now he's speaking rudely to you."

"Regardless of what the clan leader's decree says, since we are on the territory of the Heavenly Gang Hall, he should abide by the rules of the Heavenly Gang Hall."

"Let me teach the bishop a lesson about hierarchy first!"

His gaze was fixed on Hunyu's back.

Hunyu didn't turn around, nor did he even twitch his shoulder.

"The Five Heavenly Venerables".

He spoke, his tone very flat.

"You just said I was presumptuous."

"I have a question for you."

The vortex in Hun Yue's palm spun even faster.

"What right do you have to ask me that?"

"Answer first, then I'll tell you what qualifications I have."

Hunyu then tilted his head slightly, revealing a small portion of his profile.

"The temple master said that if the traitor cannot be found within three days, all forty-seven people will have their souls extracted."

Is your name among those forty-seven?

The vortex of Soul Mountain paused for a moment.

The commotion in the main hall also paused for a moment.

"...So what if I am?"

Hun Yue's voice was lower, but he was still trying to keep it up.

"I, Hun Yue, have acted uprightly and honestly, what do I have to fear from investigation?"

I didn't say you were afraid.

Hunyu turned his head back and continued to look at the platform above.

"I'm just telling you a fact."

"You are among those forty-seven people, but I am not one of them."

"Whatever the result is in three days, it has nothing to do with me."

"And you?"

Hun Yue opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.

The vortex in his palm wasn't spinning as fiercely as before.

Hunyu gently tapped his left palm with the rib of his fan.

"The people in this hall were desperately trying to push me out to take the blows, simply because everyone was afraid of being the next one when the hall master got angry."

"But I'm the only one who doesn't have to be afraid."

His voice wasn't loud, but the echo in the hall carried every word to every corner.

"That's why I can speak."

"Not because of qualifications."

"It's because I have no standing."

The muffled voice from the back of the platform rang out again.

"rhetoric."

"Whether you're among those forty-seven people or not, what makes you, a useless member of a collateral branch, capable of investigating cases for the Heavenly Gang Hall?"

"With that lousy fan of yours?"

This remark drew a few deliberately suppressed snickers, the sounds were very soft, but they were particularly jarring in the hall.

Hunyu turned around, facing the high platform, and twirled the tail of the fan a little over her fingertips.

"I would like to ask you a question."

"You are the Celestial Venerable of the Heavenly Gang Palace, holding a high position and wielding great power. People and information all pass through your hands. It's been three months; have you found anything yet?"

The deep voice from the back seat paused for a moment.

"...This matter will be decided by the Palace Master."

"Yes, the Palace Master will decide."

Hunyu nodded.

"The Palace Master's decision is that all forty-seven people will have their souls extracted three days later."

"You were one of those forty-seven, weren't you?"

The people in the back row fell silent.

Hun Yu didn't give chase. He turned his gaze back and glanced down at Hun Feng's dried corpse, which was three steps away from his feet.

The mummified corpse's hollow eye sockets faced the ceiling, and its open mouth contained only a row of blackened teeth. It was still wearing the dark red robe of the Heavenly Gang Palace, and the silver insignia on its shoulder was intact.

The gray-robed celestial being on the right side of the front row spoke again, this time at a faster pace than before.

"Your Highness, this man is all talk and no action. He's just using the words 'soul extraction' to scare his colleagues and create an opportunity for himself to show off."

"In my opinion, it would be better to capture him first, so as not to disturb the Lord's peace of mind."

"What's your hurry?"

This wasn't said by Hunyu.

It is the Abyss of Souls.

He stood on the platform above, his gray eyes glancing at the gray-robed celestial being.

"Let him finish speaking."

The gray-robed celestial being's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something more, but Hunyuan had already looked away.

Hun Yue was still standing on the steps, most of his black battle aura had dissipated, and his clenched fists loosened and tightened again.

"Hun Yuan, are you taking his side?"

"I didn't take sides."

Hunyuan's tone was indifferent.

"The Palace Master hasn't even spoken yet, but you're all getting more and more eager."

"Are you in a hurry to shut him up, or are you in a hurry to shut something else up?"

Upon hearing this, Hun Yue's face changed, as did the deep voice from the back row, and the gray-robed Celestial Venerable's fingers tucked into his sleeve.

The hall fell silent again.

Everyone was waiting for the voice from the throne.

The black mist tumbled twice.

"explain."

It was just one word, but it was enough.

Soul Extinguisher's blood-red vertical pupils fell on Soul Feather, showing no anger, no interest, only a cold indifference as if scrutinizing prey.

Hunyu raised her head and met that gaze.

"What would the Palace Master like to hear?"

"You've talked enough. Now tell me, on what grounds?"

"Based on one point."

Hunyu pointed his fan in the direction of the dried corpse.

"Just because you killed the wrong person."

When those words were spoken, it was as if a layer of air had been sucked away from the hall.

Hun Yue stopped.

The muffled sounds from the back row stopped.

The gray-robed celestial being's fingers, which had been tucked into his sleeves, froze halfway through.

Even Hunyuan's eyelids twitched.

"Hun Feng is not a traitor."

Hunyu pointed the fan bone in the direction of the dried corpse and spoke word by word.

"He's a good-for-nothing. He investigated for three months and couldn't find anything. I'm not defending him."

"But incompetent people and traitors are two different things."

"The Palace Master killed him because he was an incompetent person, not someone who deserved to die."

The black mist above the throne stopped.

Soul Extinction's vertical pupils narrowed.

"You mean, I killed the wrong person?"

"If the lord wants to kill him, then he deserves to die. I understand that principle."

Hunyu's tone remained unchanged.

"But the mole must be relieved to see Hun Feng dead."

"Because the person most likely to find him has become a dried-up corpse."

"The temple master killed the soul to vent his anger, and the traitor couldn't have asked for it more."

He pulled the fan back and clasped it in his palm.

"That's why I say, the wrong person was killed."

"The mistake wasn't that we shouldn't have killed him, it was that we killed him too early."

The main hall was completely silent.

Soul Extinction's vertical pupils stared at him, their brightness increasing even further than before.

"You dare to say that."

"Those who dare not speak have had nothing found out in three months."

Hunyu raised his fan and gently clapped his palm.

"The Palace Master gave me three days, but I only need half a day."

"Half a day later, I wrote the traitor's name on this fan and personally handed it to the Palace Master's desk."

"What if I write it wrong?"

"Wrong, I'll give my life to the Palace Master."

He stood very straight as he spoke, his white clothes spotless, and the dried corpse was just three steps away, yet he didn't even glance at it again.

"If I write it correctly, the Palace Master only needs to give me one thing."

"What?"

"A position where one can stand and speak in the Heavenly Hall."