Chapter 328: Court

The Immortal Court, also known as the Prison Law Tiangong, is a massive pyramid-shaped structure floating in midair, with four dark iron chains extending from each corner to connect with the ground.

At this moment, a large crowd of free cultivators gathered outside the Prison Law Tiangong, affiliated with news organizations such as the Nine Provinces Daily, the Dao Canon Evening Post, and the Spirit Realm Times, each holding xuan mirrors for photography.

"Here he comes! Xiao Shui Star Lord is here!"

Someone shouted out, and the previously scattered, languid free cultivators instantly perked up, rushing forward together, their xuan mirror cameras flashing nonstop.

Purple auspicious clouds descended from the sky; Li Cheng and others surrounded Xiao Shui Star Lord as they stepped onto the steps of the Prison Law Tiangong.

Compared to a few hours earlier, Xiao Shui's appearance had slightly changed—he looked weary, his gaze tired, and all extra ornaments on his head and hands had been removed.

"Star Lord, could you tell us which party initiated this divorce?"

"Star Lord Xiao Shui, how do you respond to Master Miao Yin's public newspaper statement accusing you of being a scumbag?"

"The public generally believes this divorce's asset division involves the entire Xiao Shui Sect, which will cause its status to plummet, falling out of the top ten in the Mortal Realm. What is your opinion?"

The tabloid reporters bombarded him with endless questions, but Xiao Shui Star Lord, having been warned by his lawyers, remained silent, lowering his head and swiftly ascending the steps into the pyramid.

This world's legal system closely resembles the civil law system of the real world, relying primarily on codified statutes rather than past precedents, and has no jury.

Deliberately appearing weary, exhausted, and vulnerable might somewhat influence the judge's attitude.

As the group entered the gates of the Prison Law Tiangong, the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped; Xiao Shui Star Lord sharply raised his head, fixing his gaze on the center of the hall.

In the center of the hall stood a beautiful woman in palace attire, seemingly in her thirties; she too looked haggard, her eye makeup smudged as if she had just cried—this was the other party in the case, Miaoyin Ju Shi.

Unlike the male party, beside Miaoyin stood not only four lawyers—Zhongtian Beiji, Howard, and others—but also a circle of elegant, gossiping female friends.

Upon seeing Xiao Shui Star Lord, Miaoyin immediately trembled her lips, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, as if she had suffered a great shock. Her circle of friends immediately surrounded her, offering comfort and casting sharp glares at Xiao Shui Star Lord.

"That bitch."

Xiao Shui's scalp prickled with rage, his qi surging erratically; Li Cheng quickly pressed his hand on Xiao Shui's shoulder. "Don't get angry—anger lowers your wisdom. She wants you to look like a defeated man."

"Endure it. Think of happy things—passing the imperial exams, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, wedding night bliss, drought-ending rain."

"Not 'wedding candles'? What's 'wedding career'? A ladybug?"

Zhang Wei couldn't help complaining: "And why did you stress 'rain'? You sound suspiciously like Ke Qing."

Xiao Shui had no time to attend to the two lawyers; he took a deep breath, maintained his composure, calmed his emotions, and swept his sleeve as he walked away.

Footsteps faded into the distance; Zhongtian Beiji watched the opponent's retreating back and exchanged a glance with Howard—everything was understood without words.

This court case is won.

——————

As both parties entered, the clerk rose to announce court rules; the judge verified the basic information of the parties and other participants; after all procedures were completed, the divorce case officially opened for trial: "Now proceeding to courtroom debate. First, the plaintiff's lawyer will speak."

Zhongtian Beiji stood up, holding documents, speaking calmly: "According to Article 1087 of the Immortal Court Civil Code, when spouses cannot reach an agreement on dividing marital property, the Immortal Court shall rule based on the specific circumstances of the property, following the principle of protecting the interests of children, the wife, and the non-at-fault party."

Three months ago, Xiao Shui Star Lord and Miaoyin Ju Shi, who had maintained their marital relationship for a hundred years, quarreled atop the Rain Curtain Peak of the Xiao Shui Sect; the fully cultivated Void-Exploring Xiao Shui Star Lord physically abused Miaoyin Ju Shi, a high-level Void-Exploring cultivator.

Causing multiple injuries to her face and neck.

Most importantly, this abuse inflicted irreversible psychological trauma on my client, damaging her spiritual state and causing her cultivation to plummet drastically to the Body Formation stage. Here is the evidence."

Saying this, Zhongtian Beiji picked up a stack of documents and suspended them in midair for display.

The documents included photographs of Miaoyin's injuries, medical records from the Hundred Flowers Valley, and testimonies from Xiao Shui Sect disciples who witnessed the battle atop Rain Curtain Peak that day.

"In summary,"

Zhongtian Beiji declared loudly: "We demand the defendant pay for medical expenses, emotional distress compensation, cultivation loss compensation, and 70% of the marital property—namely, the Xiao Shui Sect's spirit stone mines, spirit plants, pills, cultivation techniques, and spirit beasts."

Considering the Aquatic Golden Eyes Beast, jointly owned by both parties, went missing recently, the last item may be reconsidered."

The original Xiao Shui Sect was founded five hundred years ago, and was merely a small sect—barely more than a few cats and dogs.

By the time of Xiao Shui Star Lord's generation a century ago, it had dwindled to only him and a few Qi Condensation-level juniors.

It was only after meeting Miaoyin that their elemental roots proved extremely compatible—one ice-thunder, the other wind-fire—perfectly complementary. After becoming dao partners, their cultivation soared, advancing by leaps and bounds; thereafter, they encountered one miraculous fortune after another,

Opening ancestral secret vaults, accidentally obtaining primordial spirit herbs, discovering unclaimed spirit stone mines in the wild—within just a hundred years, they elevated the Xiao Shui Sect to its current stature.

In other words, aside from the five-hundred-year-old nameplate, everything the Xiao Shui Sect possesses today is jointly owned marital property.

And this wealth is astronomical.

The clerk faithfully recorded the court proceedings; the bald, white-bearded chief judge sat behind his high desk, calm and composed.

This chief judge is the oldest and most authoritative judge in the entire Prison Law Tiangong; it is said he is a Grand Cultivation cultivator who has long severed his three corpses—emotionless, unattached, as good as water. His rulings are unaffected by personal preference.

"Objection!"

Yuan Zhixia suddenly raised her hand and stood up: "The evidence submitted by the plaintiff is flawed. The events of that day did not constitute domestic violence—merely mutual shoving."

Otherwise, two Void-Exploring cultivators fighting to the death would have leveled the entire mountain peak.

As for the injuries, they are absurd—Void-Exploring cultivators have long mastered the ability to transform spiritual energy into formlessness and refine their spiritual awareness; surface wounds heal within a single breath.

Notably, the plaintiff presented medical records from the Hundred Flowers Valley, whose valley master is one of the plaintiff's close friend's lovers—currently seated in the gallery."

Yuan Zhixia implied the conflicting interests between both sides and continued: "Finally, and most crucially, the plaintiff has not mentioned—or deliberately ignored—the origin of the dispute—"

"Miaoyin Ju Shi has, over the past five years, maintained improper relationships with multiple Xiao Shui Sect members, including Elder Zhao, Guest Elder Dong, Chief Disciple Zhang, Enforcement Hall Chief Wang, and Clerk Qian."

Yuan Zhixia recited a long list of names, male and female, in rapid succession.

Although prepared mentally, hearing his own disciples have cuckolded him for years—publicly declared in court—still turned Xiao Shui's face green.

The court clerk, judges, and others all wore stunned expressions; even the bald old judge, who had been squinting, opened his eyes and spoke gravely: "Do you have evidence?"

"We do."

Zhang Wei stood up, holding several jade discs.

"We object!"

Howard immediately rose from the plaintiff's side: "Immortal Court law stipulates that all evidence submitted to court must be obtained legally—such as written admissions or public recordings."

"Any evidence acquired through illegal means—such as secret filming or wiretapping—is not admissible."

"So if you film openly, it's not secret filming, right?"

Yuan Zhixia spread her hands: "Your Honor, this first jade disc contains surveillance footage from outside the Xiao Shui Sect's Fallen Water Cave—a public space. It falls outside the scope of illegal evidence. May we play it?"

"."

The bald judge thought for a moment, then nodded. "The plaintiff's attorney's objection is overruled. Continue playing."

That's exactly what we were waiting for.

Yuan Zhixia gave a light tap, and a three-dimensional projection-like image immediately popped up from the center of the jade disc.

The image showed a time six months earlier. Master Miao Yin, the Lady of the Sect Leader, was walking and chatting with a group of junior disciples. When passing by Luoshui Cave, she suddenly found an excuse to send the others away, leaving only a pure-looking little girl with a bun, and with a light laugh, took the latter's small hand.

"Pingping, you know what to do later, right?"

"I-I know. But, Master, would what we're doing be unfair to the Sect Leader?"

"What's fair or unfair? As long as your cultivation advances, that counts as being fair to the sect and to the Sect Leader."

"But—"

"Do you still want to progress or not?"

"... Yes."

"Then come with me."

Having said that, she pulled the little girl into the empty Luoshui Cave, only emerging an hour later, her clothes slightly disheveled.

"Next is the second piece of evidence."

Yuan Zhixia continued to tap the jade disc, producing image after image, including but not limited to the Scripture Pavilion, the Alchemy Chamber, and the Merit Transmission Hall.

Although none of them captured any direct footage, the low, heavy panting sounds occasionally heard in the background were already enough to prove everything.

'Heh heh.'

Zhang Wei snickered inwardly. Generally speaking, an affair (such as an occasional extramarital sexual act) is not directly regarded as a "major fault" under the law.

Unfortunately, his side had too much evidence—multiple people, multiple times, long-duration affairs. No matter how you looked at it, it couldn't be counted as an occasional extramarital act. It was already enough to count as a major fault, which could affect divorce damage compensation.

"."

Sure enough, the clerk and the adjudicators, struggling to keep their expressions from breaking, simultaneously cast sympathetic glances at Lord Xiao Shui.

No matter what you said about this fellow, he was still a Void Realm cultivator, a leading figure in the cultivation world, handsome and talented, with assets worth close to a hundred million.

Yet Master Miao Yin had set him aside and gone out looking for a third, fourth, or fifth partner.

An affair was one thing, but at least pick someone of decent quality. How could she not even let go of the sect's doorman, Grandpa Qin?

Facing the sweeping gazes, on the defendant's side, whether it was Miaoyin Ju Shi or the lawyers like Howard, Heyer, and Zhongtian Beiji, all of them wore the look of being composed and having long anticipated this.

Hmm?

Something out of the ordinary must be fishy. Just as Zhang Wei was filled with suspicion, Miaoyin Ju Shi slowly stood up, first glanced at the gnashing Lord Xiao Shui, then turned to look at the judge. "My lord, all of this evidence is fake."

?!

Such a brazen lie not only made Yuan Zhixia raise her brow, but even the adjudicators on the bench threw a few extra glances.

"Heaven as my witness, in the more than one hundred years since our marriage, I have never betrayed Lord Xiao Shui. The reason those recordings appeared is because of some small oversights in my work."

Having said that, she took out a box from her ring. Li Cheng's information-integrating glasses clearly displayed the name of the wooden box—Pure Heart Treasure Mirror.

"This 【Pure Heart Treasure Mirror】 was dug out eighty years ago by Lord Xiao Shui and me personally from an abandoned cave-dwelling mountain gate of an ancient sage. Its effect is to create an illusion, allowing cultivators to cleanse their distracting thoughts, soothe their emotions, and promote their cultivation within the virtual illusion."

Miao Yin said: "Lord Xiao Shui and I built this sect with our own hands, and we treat newly initiated disciples like our own children.

Seeing them forget to eat and sleep for the sake of cultivation, exhausting their minds and even vomiting blood, my heart ached. I couldn't help but delay my own cultivation time, using the Pure Heart Treasure Mirror to help them calm their emotions.

I just didn't expect that at some unknown point, I adjusted the parameters incorrectly, causing the secret treasure's effect to deviate, turning the illusion that cleansed distracting thoughts into a flirtatious illusion of the Hehuan Sect. Hence these misunderstandings.

I have never betrayed Lord Xiao Shui."

Holy crap, there's such an operation?

Zhang Wei's eyes went wide, his mouth agape. Yuan Zhixia slammed the table and stood up. "Absurd! As a Void Realm cultivator, how could you possibly fail to notice that your own secret treasure had malfunctioned?

How could a normal person fail to notice such a serious misunderstanding for as long as five years?"

"Although it's unbelievable, the fact is exactly so."

Zhongtian Beiji rose, speaking unhurriedly: "All the image materials presented by the opposing side are not direct evidence, nor can they even be counted as circumstantial evidence.

If the judge above does not believe it, you may summon the Lord Xiao Shui sect members who appeared in the recordings and use the Soul-Searching Method to verify."

The Soul-Searching Method is a secret technique used specifically below the Jin Dan realm.

Lord Xiao Shui's face alternated between green and purple. Master Miao Yin had answered the question instantly, and with a look of being fully prepared, clearly she had come prepared.

He had been tricked! These pieces of evidence had been deliberately allowed to be discovered by him.

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, knowing there was no need to summon sect members to invite humiliation upon himself. Gnashing his teeth, he said to his former Dao companion: "You planned today's scene five years ago, didn't you? You deliberately leaked it to me while I was in seated meditation and closed-door cultivation,

If I had died from cultivation deviation, you could have obtained all the assets.

If I didn't die, you could still anger me into attacking you, allowing you to smoothly split off the majority of the property."

"How could that be? I have always loved you, and have been trying to explain it to you."

Master Miao Yin bit her lip lightly, saying bitterly: "But, domestic violence only has a first time and countless times after that. We... can't go back."

Having said that, she was on the verge of tears, collapsing into her seat on the plaintiff's side. The girlfriends' group in the back row hurriedly stepped forward to comfort her, handing her tissues to wipe her tears, and helping her curse the scumbag man.

"She only made you mistakenly think you'd been cuckolded dozens of times. How could you push her? Hitting someone is just wrong."

"Right? You're a Void Realm Completion cultivator, can't you just indulge her a little?"

"Setting aside the facts, don't you have any fault at all?"

"Uninvolved parties are prohibited from making noise!" The adjudicator struck the gavel to maintain order in the court.

But these words had already made Lord Xiao Shui so angry that he literally smoked from his seven orifices. The aura of a Void Realm Completion cultivator spread unconsciously. The level-30 Dark Falcon and Zhongtian Beiji were fine, but the other players, including the girlfriends' group behind Master Miao Yin, all showed expressions of suffocation on their faces.

"I can't breathe"

Li Cheng was suffocating and uncomfortable. He immediately activated 【Assembled Puppet · Modified】, plugging an oxygen tank onto himself, Yuan Zhixia, and Zhang Wei each, restoring their breathing. Before Lord Xiao Shui's emotions could fluctuate further, he spoke up first: "Wait, we still have a second piece of evidence here."