407 The Girl Kneeling Before God (2/2)

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There was a gap in the cliffs of the Peach-Mountain of West Hill that looked as if it had been cleaved by a divine ax. And between that cliff, there was a large Taoist temple made from several large black rocks. A figure clad in blue stood on the stone steps before the temple which made him particularly small.

Ye Hongyu no longer wore those bright red and beautiful dresses after returning from the Wilderness. Perhaps she had tired of the red that was the color of blood, or she wanted to hide the two terrifying wounds on her shoulders. Instead, she wore the greed taoist robes that the lowly taoist servant women wore.

The deacons of the Divine Hall Judicial Department watched her with a myriad of expressions. Some were scornful, dismaying, pitying, mocking, disdainful and even angry. They were mostly negative.

She used to be the Grand Master of the Judicial Department, second only to God. Everyone in the Haotian Taoism spoke highly of her. She was proud and cold. Even though she handed over the tasks of the Judicial Department to Prince Long Qing, she would punish the deacons mercilessly should they commit any mistake.

Everyone in the Judicial Department respected her due to her coldness and strength. However, now everyone had found that the Tao Addict was no longer the same person, and that she was neither cold nor strong anymore, no one respected her. Some even looked at her with deliberately mocking expressions.

The West-Hill Divine Palace had sent most of their powers into the Wilderness last year for the ”Ming” Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane. The Judicial Department was in charge of it, or in other words, Ye Hongyu was in charge.

The Judicial Department had planned for a long time, but eventually failed. The general of the cavalryman of Divine Hall was punished, two deacons had mysteriously disappeared, Prince Long Qing had been ruined, they had failed at stealing the Tomes of Arcane. The Judicial Department that had once been cold and powerful now seemed weak.

No one in the Divine Hall would have cared about the competing of the ”Ming” Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane before. What had originally been something between cultivators had turned into a matter between the World Wayfarers of the Academy and other Unknown places. Ye Hongyu was no longer qualified to participate in a battle of that level, and she shouldn't. Everyone thought that since she was the Grand Master of the Judicial Department, the failure was her fault.

The West-Hill Divine Palace believed in the light of Haotian. But it was complete darkness in Temple Taoism. The ability of the Judicial Department to work in the dark was a revered ability. That was why all those things that had happened would not have affected her should she still be the strong Tao Addict of the West-Hill Divine Palace.

The issue was, Ye Hongyu wasn't strong anymore.

She had encountered the terrifying Master Lotus at the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine during her trip to the Wilderness. Master Lotus had used the practice of Taotie to devour her flesh. She had unleashed a secret sect skill to decrease her state just as she was on the brink of death to exchange for a momentary light. She had managed to escape death and return by working together with Ning Que and Mo Shanshan.

However, she had just entered the Knowing Destiny State at the snow cliff and her State was unstable. A fearful backlash had occurred when she forced her State to decrease. It continued falling and did not even manage to stay in the upper Seethrough State.

Judging from the current trend, her State might fall to even below the lower Seethrough State before stabilizing. What was scarier was, she might never return to the Knowing Destiny State.

Was the Tao Addict still the Tao Addict if she was no longer strong?

Those from the Judicial Department who only respected power no longer respected her as before. However, Ye Hongyu became more silent and calm in the face of these changes. She moved into a quiet and secluded stone house as if she had wanted to convey a message to the masses through this act.

However, it led to more people feeling that she no longer had the right to be respected.

The emotions in gazes of those people in the West-Hill Divine Palace turned even more complicated. The mocking expressions in their gazes turned more and more plain, and a saying begun to spread in the Judicial Department.

Prince Long Qing was dead, so was the Tao Addict.

The girl standing before the temple in green was just a useless person called Ye Hongyu.

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A deacon walked out of the Judicial Hall and invited her in with a warm expression.

Ye Hongyu nodded slightly, and then walked into the black hall.

It was wide and open in the black hall. There was a curtain woven with jade beads in the deepest part of the hall.

Ye Hongyu walked very slowly and it took her a long time to reach the curtain.

Behind the curtains was a divine throne carved from an entire piece of South Sea ink Jade. The color of the jade was like that of congealed blood.

The God of Judgement held his head in his hands and sat on the throne. He looked as if he was resting and did not speak.

Ye Hongyu stood behind the curtains quietly and did not speak as well.

The air was still in the empty hall, and the silence dragged on.

She seemed to comprehend something.

Then, she lifted the front of her green taoist robes and knelt before the God behind the curtains.

Everyone in the Judicial Department had to kneel before the God of Judgement to show their respect and obedience.

Only the Tao Addict did not have to do that in the past because she was proud and strong.

But she was no longer the Tao Addict. And that was why she had to kneel, and she had to kneel more respectfully than the others.

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