"Fine, since you feel that way, let's do as you suggest. We'll have the Clan Chief judge this matter."
"But don't blame me for speaking plainly. If the Clan Chief suspects anything foul, I will personally seize both Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Ruoshi and interrogate them using the methods of our Punishment Hall to force the truth out of them."
Chu Xuan Zhengfa said.
Hearing those words, both Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Ruoshi felt their hearts lurch. A look of fear surfaced in their eyes.
They knew what the Punishment Hall's methods entailed. If they truly fell into the Punishment Hall's clutches and were subjected to their interrogation techniques, they would not be able to endure it.
"My Lords, what we have said is the truth. Please, you must deliver justice for us," Chu Ruoshi hurriedly stepped forward before the two Supreme Elders.
"Rest assured, Ruoshi. The Clan Chief will give you a proper account. You will not be wronged," Chu Zhiyuan's grandfather said.
Thereafter, the two Supreme Elders, along with Chu Xuan Zhengfa, led the three juniors — Chu Zhiyuan, Chu Ruoshi, and Chu Lingxi — toward the innermost depths of the Chu Heavenly Clan.
The place they arrived at was a wondrous land.
Jagged mountains rose on all sides, thrusting upward like gleaming blades that pierced through the clouds and reached straight into the heavens.
Atop the mountain peaks, waterfalls cascaded down like white dragons descending to the mortal world, surging and tumbling with tremendous force.
Flocks of white cranes, shimmering with a silvery luminescence, danced through the air in great numbers.
The occasional cry of a crane drifted down, soothing to the ear and refreshing to the spirit, as though one had stepped into a celestial realm.
This place truly deserved to be called a celestial paradise, for even the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was exceptionally rich and dense.
It was for this reason that the place bore a name fitting of such a realm — the Chu Heavenly Clan's Celestial Realm.
This was the place where the Clan Chief and the Supreme Elders of the Chu Heavenly Clan went into seclusion to cultivate.
Training here was not merely a matter of one's strength in cultivation — it was also a symbol of status. Without sufficient standing, one was not permitted to cultivate here.
And at the very heart of this Celestial Realm stood the tallest mountain, and atop that peak sat an ancient pagoda. This was the place where the Clan Chief of the Chu Heavenly Clan secluded himself to cultivate.
Seated before the entrance of that pagoda were two old men.
One of them was plump, the other gaunt. One wore black, the other white — this was their most striking feature, for beyond that, apart from looking extremely aged, they appeared rather ordinary.
It was not until the two Supreme Elders and Chu Xuan Zhengfa's group drew near that the two old men suddenly opened their eyes, each releasing a piercingly sharp gaze.
In that instant, heaven and earth themselves trembled. The spiritual energy in the surrounding area shifted and churned in response to the two of them.
These two old men were both Second Rank Exalted.
Yet despite possessing such formidable strength, neither of them was actually a Supreme Elder of the Chu Heavenly Clan. In truth, they were not even members of the Chu Heavenly Clan at all.
With their identity, they should never have been permitted to appear in a place as sacred as this. The reason they had been allowed to be here was that they were the two individuals whom the Clan Chief of the Chu Heavenly Clan trusted above all others.