Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Excitement Among the People
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That night, Meng Han, the Hall Master of Inner Guard for the Cloud Sun Sect, led three hundred Inner Sect cultivators in a sweeping search of the entire city.
In one fell swoop, they captured over a hundred disciples from the Purple Mansion families suspected of a major human hunting case.
The following day, the number of detainees in the case surged to nearly one thousand, and the involvement spread wider.
Five days later, Cloud Mountain City’s lockdown was lifted.
Sect Leader Ji Guantao issued a decree.
Seven Purple Mansions were implicated for crimes, and their entire family estates were confiscated. They were imprisoned in the Demon-Suppression Cavern for a hundred years without any chance of pardon!
At the same time, twelve Purple Mansions were ordered to join the Reclamation Camp, to serve for three years as atonement.
As for the family disciples directly involved in this case and the associated cultivators, those with grave crimes were executed immediately, while those with lesser crimes were condemned to hard labor!
In addition, the Inner Guard uncovered that the instigators behind the human hunting case were the death soldiers from Guiyuan Gate!
Two years ago, a group of Guiyuan Gate disciples disguised themselves as loose cultivators and infiltrated Cloud Mountain City. They used various means to get close to the Purple Mansion family disciples, gaining their trust and then inciting them into committing misdeeds.
This ultimately led to the human hunting tragedy.
The purpose was to tarnish the reputation of the Cloud Sun lineage and to shake the foundation of the Cloud Sun Sect!
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Most of these death soldiers committed suicide during the capture process, and a few who couldn’t withstand the torture revealed the truth.
The truth finally came to light!
Guiyuan Gate and the Cloud Sun Sect, one in the north and one in the south, have strength and influence nearly matched.
For thousands of years, the two have experienced friction, often erupting into conflict over hunting grounds and mineral veins.
Three sect wars had broken out in succession!
Although the Cloud Sun Sect achieved victory in all three battles, securing its reputation as the foremost sect of the Heavenly Clouds,
it didn’t manage to gain much advantage over its rival.
In recent decades, Guiyuan Gate had been peaceful and compliant in the north, yet no one expected them to pull such a stunt!
As soon as this sect announcement was made, it incensed everyone in the Cloud Sun Sect, up and down the ranks.
Attention immediately shifted from the human hunting case, with all anger directed at the northern arch-enemy.
The feud between the Cloud Sun Sect and Guiyuan Gate ran deep, and with little doubt in the truthfulness of the announcement, countless cultivators from both the Inner and Outer Sects were filled with righteous indignation, eager to seek justice from their wicked neighbor.
Calls for battle grew louder each day!
However, the sect’s upper echelons maintained a considerable level of calm and restraint.
As the saying goes, before one can deal with external threats, internal harmony must be achieved; how could one unite against external foes if internal affairs are unsettled?
Sect Leader Ji Guantao dispatched flying warships, sending the relevant evidence, including several death soldiers from Guiyuan Gate, to the Canglan Sect.
The matter would be negotiated by the wider sect authorities and Guiyuan Gate’s Upper Sect to secure justice for the Cloud Sun Sect and the innocent loose cultivators who were harmed!
With this, the sensational human hunting case that had shaken the sect inside and out was temporarily put to rest after half a month.
When Wang Chen returned to Cloud Mountain City once more,
he noticed that many shops along the street had changed their signs and the atmosphere in the city was vastly different from before.
It felt as though everything had changed!
Inside a teahouse, Wang Chen met with Wei Xiong.
Today was the day the two had agreed to meet here.
“Brother Wei,” Wang Chen said with a smile as he took a seat, “you look quite well.”
The last time the two had met was several months ago.
At that time, Wei Xiong was gravely injured, weak, and his foundation had suffered, a truly pitiable state.
Now, this Innate Martial Artist looked full of energy and glowing with health, not only fully recovered from his injuries but seemingly with an increased cultivation level!
Only the scar on his face remained, albeit less noticeable than before.
Wei Xiong touched the scar and also smiled, “Not bad, I suppose.”
Pouring a cup of Spiritual Tea for Wang Chen, he said, “Immortal Master Wang, how have you been recently?”
In fact, they had kept in touch through Crane Messages, so they were not unfamiliar with each other’s circumstances.
“Just getting by,” Wang Chen replied after taking a sip of tea. He then asked, “Has the Xie Family been implicated in this incident?”
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The person-hunting case caused such uproar that many Purple Mansion families in Yunshan City were involved.
The Xie Family, where the Wei Xiong siblings sought refuge, was one of the top Purple Mansion great clans in the city, boasting five Superiors!
“The Xie Family is still okay.”
Wei Xiong did not conceal the truth, “There’s some turbulence, but the impact isn’t significant; none of the direct descendants have been punished.”
He had a close relationship with Wang Chen and thus revealed a lot of what he knew.
With five from the Xie Family at the Purple Mansion level and three serving in the Inner Sect, their high-level connections were naturally very deep.
And Xie Yaoxiu was also a Golden Core disciple.
Out of respect for the Buddha, not the monk, even Meng Han, the Inner Guard Hall Master known for his stern disposition, wouldn’t be able to strike the Xie Family too fiercely.
Of course, there couldn’t be any serious issues within the Xie Family itself.
Otherwise, under the heavy pressure of the Sect Leader, who would dare to show favoritism and bend the law?
But no family is perfect and with the Xie Family having thousands of members, it was inevitable that some collateral branches would step out of line.
So, although the Xie Family weathered this storm, they still paid a small price.
However, compared to a few other deeply implicated Purple Mansion families, their situation was much better indeed!
Particularly the Yin Family, including the clan leader Yin Honghui and two other Superiors, who were sentenced to a hundred years of imprisonment in the Demon-Suppression Cavern and had almost all of their properties confiscated, utterly devastating the entire family.
His grandson, Yin Derong, who was most deeply implicated, would have also made his way to the Sins Execution Platform if he had not died in an accident!
Speaking of the disastrously fallen Yin Family, Wei Xiong’s words were laced with schadenfreude.
That was quite normal.
Because Wei Xiong himself was originally a Loose Cultivator, he naturally harbored a particular hatred for second-generation cultivators like Yin Derong who treated people as game.
A thousand cuts would be best!
“Good news, good news!”
Just then, jubilant shouts came from the street outside the tearoom.
Wang Chen, who was sitting by the window on the second floor, looked out to see a common-robed cultivator running and shouting, “By decree of the Sect Leader, the Outer Sect farmers’ rent is reduced by thirty percent this year, rice seeds are free from now on, taxes are levied by weight!”
Passersby on the street who heard were immediately stopped by a Spiritual Plant Farmer, “Is that for real?”
“How could the Sect Leader’s decree be false!”
The cultivator in common robes widened his eyes, “The announcement has already been posted outside the city gates; you’ll know if you go take a look!”
Several Spiritual Plant Farmers immediately sprinted towards the city gates.
Reduced field rent, free rice seeds, levied grain by weight!
These things did not concern cultivators inside Yunshan City.
But for those outside the city who relied on Spirit Fields to feed their families, this was like a pie falling from the sky.
How could they not be excited?
Wang Chen and Wei Xiong, witnessing this scene, couldn’t help but exchange glances.
When Wang Chen bade farewell to Wei Xiong and arrived at the city gates, he saw that the wall next to him was already surrounded by three layers inside and three layers outside of cultivators.
Among them were many Loose Cultivators from the Outer Domain.
All eyes were focused on a cloud-patterned, gold-bordered decree announcement!
Because it was posted high enough and was quite large, those standing on the outside could see it very clearly.
This Sect Leader’s decree wasn’t just for the Outer Sect’s Spiritual Plant Farmers.
The main focus was the compensation plan for the relatives of the victims of the person-hunting case!
Immediate family of the victims (up to five people) can move to the Cloud Sun Outer Gate, be granted thirty mu of land, and be exempt from rent for three years.
Plus, one additional Outer Sect Disciple spot!
And at the end of the announcement, there was also the arrangement for Zhao Huaian, the Loose Cultivator who asked for help on the road.
He was directly promoted to the Inner Sect and granted the treatment of a True Disciple!
Wang Chen felt as if people’s hearts were like the boiling water in a pot, violently churning!
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The first update is delivered.