High in the sky, Chief Elder Bian had just appeared. Despite Sun Liao's array formations, the commotion got heard pretty far. Some disciples who were going to the Coiling Silk Faction residence warned the disciplinary pavilion. When they claimed to have seen both Mei Hua and Sun Liao in front of the residence, the information was brought to Chief Elder Bian himself. Both of them were prominent outer disciples and direct disciples of elders. As such, the matters pertaining to them had to be handled with care.
But when he heard the news, Chief Elder Bian automatically thought about Cao Yun. He was known to be friends with both of them. On the other hand, there was no account of Mei Hua and Sun Liao being affiliated in any other way. His resentment for Cao Yun shined through. In his mind, this boy was deceiving everyone. Even though the trial had not yet been held, he was convinced that Luduo Bu's death was not as simple as the other elders believed.
Chief Elder Bian was convinced to be the only one to see the truth of this boy. Immediately, he sent a telepathic communication to the guards before his room. They got surprised and obeyed at once.
They erupted inside the room. Apart from Huang Cixi, they found nothing. Understanding that they would be severely punished, they gripped a jade pendant they had. If Chief Elder Bian was able to send them a telepathic message, it wasn't just because he was a Spirit Warrior. There were array formations around the Wubei Sect to enhance the range of telepathy. However, he still needed to know where the person he wanted to talk to was. That was the role of those jade pendants. Another role of them was to allow even Mortals to send their thoughts back.
Inside the jade pendants was a small array formation connected to another one within the disciplinary pavilion.
As soon as the guards gripped their pendants and focused on their thoughts, the message got sent. Chief Elder Bian was right in the middle of the reception array formation. Hearing that Cao Yun had fled, he disappeared in a flash. This time, he was the one who flew over the Wubei Sect. He pushed his speed to its limit and arrived in a matter of minutes.
The moment he floated above the Coiling Silk Faction residence, he perceived everyone down there. There were many array formations all around. Sensing that they had been set through arrows, Chief Elder Bian surmised that Sun Liao was responsible. And in the southeast of the courtyard, Cao Yun was launching a powerful attack against Lu Meihan.
Chief Elder Bian had no problem with the Coiling Silk Faction. To the contrary, he had a very good opinion of them. Despite the rumors of improper conducts, every time he had looked into it, he had realized that they were perfectly proper. Being himself adept of arts, he even enjoyed their performances and their devotion to the different crafts. Seeing that Lu Meihan was in danger, he could not stay idle.
Chief Elder Bian simply sent a small surge of Qi and annihilated the attack of Cao Yun. The next instant, the boy felt a tremendous force pushing him down. He immediately recognized the feeling he had from his great-grandfather. A Spirit Warrior was converging his spiritual senses on him. But then, it got even more intense, the spiritual pressure was subduing him completely. All around him, he could feel as though the air was arid and ten thousand eyes were watching his every movements. In fact, he felt absolutely bare as though his entire life was being judged by those eyes.
Cao Yun fell on the ground, forcefully kneeling. Even by supporting himself with his 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear', he could not get up at all. He only managed not to fall flat on the ground. But the pressure was slowly intensifying. The scene should have been positive for Lu Meihan as her life just got saved, but it really wasn't. If Cao Yun was captured and judged, she would never be able to use him in her 'Reversing Two Universes Dance' dual cultivation and she would end up dead.
Nevertheless, she couldn't quite expose herself before an elder, let alone a chief elder from the disciplinary pavilion. She cupped her fists and bowed.
"Thank you, Chief Elder Bian."
The moment she spoke, she heard a voice in her mind. At first, she thought that Chief Elder Bian was talking to her, but the voice was strange.
"Lay all the blame on Chen Guo. Do not worry. If he's sent to the Devil's Jail, he's as good as yours!"
Surprised, Lu Meihan understood rapidly. This was probably the master of the demonic cultivator who was helping her. But then, it meant that they were infiltrated even deeper than she thought. Then, she remembered the case of Luduo Bu. After he left the Devil's Jail he was even stronger than before. Most likely, they had the control over this jail. So if Cao Yun was sent there, she could get to him with even more ease.
"I thought I was going to die... I don't know what took him over. Brother Chen attacked us out of the blue..."
Cao Yun heard everything but he could not deny. In fact, he couldn't say anything at all. All his efforts were used just so that he wouldn't lay face down on the ground.
Chief Elder Bian was now touching the ground. A small ivory tablet appeared in his hand. It was a ritual scepter in the form of a narrow tablet held from the broad end. He waved his hand and all the array formations of Sun Liao just ceased to be. To begin with, they were very temporary as Sun Liao could not produce self-sustained array formations. Only a Mortal Warrior could imbue his own Qi in his creations. And even if they were, Chief Elder Bian was a Spirit Warrior, controlling the surrounding Qi was an easy feat for him. As long as the array formations were weak enough, he could easily destroy them without understanding a thing related to this occupation.
"Chen Guo!" Chief Elder Bian's voice was echoing throughout the courtyard as well as in Cao Yun's mind.
"You violated your house arrest!" The pressure intensified once more and the skin of Chief Elder Bian seemed to become red from anger. All around him, the image of a terrifying reddish figure was slowly forming.
"You trespassed in the Coiling Silk Faction residence!" The figure appeared almost tangible. It was a gigantic man with red skin. On his face, a heavy beard circled all his mouth, up to his ears. And on his head was a judge's cap with a golden character on it.
"You tried to kill Lu Meihan!" All around Cao Yun, nine other similar figures appeared. And this time, he could not control his body. He fell face down on the ground. His body even sank a little into the ground.
"Prepare to face trial!" With this last word, the water from the pond turned into a gigantic horse. It trampled on the nine judges circling Cao Yun before facing the one behind Chief Elder Bian. The old man stepped back in shock.
"Chief Elder Baishen! What are you doing?!" Raising his eyes, he saw the old woman flying over the residence. By her side were other chief elders, such as Chief Elder Suxian and Chief Elder Luoming.
The horse made of water was obviously from Chief Elder Baishen. Chief Elder Bian was not a fighter at all whereas his senior sister was a genius in this domain. She knew tens of Spirit rank martial arts. The one she had used, the 'Vibrant Wave Stallion' was only a minor art among the ones she practiced. Yet, this small display of her prowess was enough to suppress Chief Elder Bian's technique in an instant.
The old woman was the first to talk, in order to answer her comrade. "What am I doing?! What are you doing?! You're unleashing your full art against a junior! Aren't you ashamed?"
Chief Elder Bian slowly took in the situation. He realized that he had indeed gone a bit overboard. His fury had taken over, however he was hard-pressed to admit it. Slowly, the red figure behind him dissipated. Then, so did the horse. The water peacefully flew back to the nearby pond.
"Sister Baishen, this boy tried to kill his fellow disciple. Such a crime must be thoroughly punished. If not, our entire Wubei Sect will fall into disarray and anarchy. But, do not worry. I shall adhere to the rules of our sect. Chen Guo will stand trial before the judges of the disciplinary pavilion."
"I object!" This time, Chief Elder Suxian was the one who talked. "The accusations you made against Chen Guo are extremely severe. I believe that a public trial before all the chief elders is the best thing to do."
All the elders present were shocked. This kind of trial was exceptional because only great offenses could justify it. But it also meant something else. Chief Elder Suxian did not trust the disciplinary pavilion. Chief Elder Bian's face was sour. Such a proposal was a direct attack against his probity. Implicitly, Chief Elder Suxian was saying that his court and his judges would not be fair against Cao Yun.
Before he could retort back, Chief Elder Baishen seconded the proposal.
"Brother Suxian is right. If the crime is indeed as you claimed, then such a trial would be necessary. We can't let such a matter in the hands of the disciplinary pavilion."
She was even more direct with her words.
"Brother Suxian, Sister Baishen, my disciplinary pavilion is perfectly able to handle such a matter. There is no need to trouble our fellow chief elders. And do not forget, three chief elders have to agree for a public trial to be held." Even if Xiao Xuefeng had been there, her vote would not count as she was only a guest elder.
"Brother Bian is right." Chief Elder Luoming started to speak and immediately, the angry eyes of both Chief Elder Baishen and Chief Elder Suxian fell on him. He was unfazed and kept talking. "Three votes are indeed necessary. But if two of my fellow chief elders believe it to be necessary, I see no reason to oppose this."
And as simple as that, the public trial was decided. As soon as Chief Elder Luoming had spoken in public, there was no going back on his word. Chief Elder Bian's face was blushing from humiliation and anger. His reputation would be sullied because of Cao Yun. More and more of his brothers and sisters were turning on him.
A public trial would be under the administration of nine chief elders. And they would vote on the culpability of the disciple. Usually, unless the crime was treason, the disciplinary pavilion would handle all matters of justice. The fact that three chief elders had asked for a public trial was a slap in the face for the entire disciplinary pavilion and their chief elder foremost.
Chief Elder Suxian was rather surprised by his friend's actions. Usually Chief Elder Luoming did not intervene in the politics of the Wubei Sect at all. He was the chief elder of the art pavilion. It entailed all kinds of arts and had very good relations with the Coiling Silk Faction.
"Brother Luoming, thank you for your support."
He waved his sleeve. "My friend, no need for such formality. If both you and Sister Baishen support Chen Guo, I do believe he deserves a fair trial. I have to admit that the attitude of Chief Elder Bian is a bit overbearing. Using his full martial art against an outer disciple who did not even reach the Mortal Warrior realm is concerning. Chief Elder Bian has always been too strict concerning the rules. I fear that his pride has bested him."
Chief Elder Baishen got down to the ground and walked toward Cao Yun to help him up.
"Thank you, Chief Elder." Calming his mind, Cao Yun truly felt the terror of a Spirit Warrior. Against such a strength, he was only an ant ready to be crushed depending entirely to someone else's will and whim. This feeling was absolutely horrifying. Chief Elder Bian had a grudge against Cao Yun, but today Cao Yun forged a grudge against him as well. He had already a terrible opinion of the disciplinary pavilion. However, he now believed that there was a real possibility of demonic cultivators intrusion within.
As everything was unrolling in such manner in the courtyard, two elders came back with Mei Hua and Sun Liao. They presented them to Chief Elder Bian.
"You two seem to have helped Chen Guo in order to sneak inside the residence."
"How dare you?!" Chief Elder Suxian erupted and appeared before the elders holding the two disciples. With a single thought of his, they were pushed back and the youths released. "Sun Liao is my direct disciple. If he needs to be arrested, this is my role, not yours!"
He sent his spiritual senses over his disciple. Satisfied that he was unharmed, Chief Elder Suxian looked back.
"Brother Bian, is my disciple accused of anything?"
"For now, he's suspected to have willfully helped Chen Guo in his crimes. The trial of Chen Guo will decide everyone's contribution."
"Then, just tell us the date and we'll be there. But if you dare to arrest my direct disciple without me, do not blame me for being ruthless!"
Chief Elder Suxian looked at Chief Elder Baishen. "Let's go for now!" He turned back toward Chief Elder Bian. "Unless our word is not enough for you?!"
"It is enough. I will send you a notice to know when and where the public trial will be held. It won't even be a week."
Just after that, the two chief elders left with the outer disciples. They all traveled back to the martial art pavilion. In the courtyard, Chief Elder Bian was still there with Lu Meihan and the two other elders. In the air, Chief Elder Luoming scanned one last time the place with his spiritual senses and left as well.
The disciplinary pavilion had been utterly humiliated and now they really needed a win against Cao Yun. However, during the public trial, two of the nine chief elders would be Chief Elder Suxian and Chief Elder Baishen, both sympathetic to Cao Yun. Of course, Chief Elder Bian would also be a judge, and the main prosecutor as well. Then, he had to convince four other chief elders to vote with him against Cao Yun.