Scalegorge Waterscape, within the Vidyadhara territory.
Early in the morning, upon learning that Fu Zhu was coming, the Dragon Masters had called upon all their clansmen to wait outside, prepared to offer Fu Zhu ample respect.
Seeing Fu Zhu, Jing Yuan, and Dan Heng approaching from the ferry dock in the distance, the Dragon Masters immediately went up to welcome them.
"We humbly welcome Grandmaster Fu Zhu!"
Fu Zhu glanced at them sideways. He was already used to the Dragon Masters' ceremonial pomp. In fact, if they hadn't come to welcome him, he would have suspected the entire Vidyadhara clan were moles, afraid of being discovered and having fled.
"Thank you for the welcome. However, we have three matters to deal with in Scalegorge Waterscape today."
Fu Zhu turned his head to look at Jing Yuan beside him. Compared to his cooperation deal with the Vidyadhara, it was better to deal with the mole first; it would also be beneficial for his subsequent negotiations with the Vidyadhara.
Jing Yuan looked at the Dragon Masters with a beaming smile. "Dragon Masters, why don't we sit down first? I still have a key witness who hasn't arrived yet."
The Dragon Masters looked at Jing Yuan in unison and fell into silence. Last night, someone had delivered three items to the Vidyadhara: [Mara-Struck Remains], a [Map of Shackling Prison], and a [Dust-Returning Form-Preservation Talisman].
They weren't fools. Seeing those three items, they knew Jing Yuan had already obtained sufficient evidence and suspected the mole was among the Vidyadhara leadership.
"Naturally. General, Grandmaster Fu Zhu, please follow us." The oldest-looking Dragon Master stepped forward to express his stance to the three, then led them into the Vidyadhara territory.
---o---
Soon, Fu Zhu and the other two were led to the main hall. They were invited to sit in the seats of honor, while the remaining Dragon Masters sat on the sides.
After taking his seat, Jing Yuan glanced at the time. "My guest should be arriving soon."
As his voice fell, the sound of footsteps echoed outside the main hall. Lingsha walked in with several Cloud Knights. As soon as she entered, she bowed to the crowd, then looked at Fu Zhu and Jing Yuan in the seats of honor with a smile.
"Cauldron Master Lingsha, greetings to the General and Mr. Fu Zhu."
"Please take your seat, Cauldron Master."
Jing Yuan extended his hand with a chuckle, pointing to an empty seat beside him.
"Yes."
After Lingsha took her seat, the Dragon Master at the side finally spoke up to ask about the main issue.
"General, Cauldron Master, what was the meaning of the three items you two sent to the Vidyadhara last night?"
The Dragon Masters were somewhat uneasy. Although they already had guesses in their hearts, they still didn't want to face the reality, hoping those three things were just items Jing Yuan sent to ask for the Vidyadhara's help in verifying, rather than proof of a mole within their ranks.
Lingsha saw the Dragon Masters' unease, raised her hand to cover her mouth, and laughed lightly.
"Dragon Masters, does Lingsha really need to spell this out? According to Lingsha's investigation, whether it was the previous disaster of the Ambrosial Arbor or the Borisin infiltrating the Luofu this time, both events were secretly aided by the same mastermind. And the three items sent last night are the evidence pointing to that person."
Inside the main hall, the hearts of all the Dragon Masters sank. The worst-case scenario had happened.
Jing Yuan also spoke up at this moment.
"I wonder where Dragon Master Taoran went? Could it be that he's afraid to see people because of some problem with his appearance?"
Jing Yuan's words carried a hidden meaning. On the night Fu Zhu drove the Llamas to attack the Borisin, Jing Yuan had secretly noticed that among the Vidyadhara who came to assist, one person's appearance was starkly different from the other Dragon Masters.
The Dragon Masters of the Vidyadhara all had dragon horns on their heads, more or less. This was their proof of being Dragon Masters. But among the Dragon Masters that night, Jing Yuan noticed the horn on one person's head seemed strange.
Rather than a dragon horn, it looked more like a 'tree branch.'
Hearing Jing Yuan mention Taoran, the Dragon Masters knew they couldn't hide it anymore. One of them sighed, then waved to the Vidyadhara attendant guarding outside.
"Go call Dragon Master Taoran."
"Yes."
Not long after, Taoran, who had a strange dragon horn on his head, walked into the hall with an indifferent expression. He bowed respectfully to Jing Yuan and Fu Zhu in the seats of honor.
"Dragon Master Taoran, greetings to the General, Cauldron Master, and Mr. Fu Zhu."
Fu Zhu looked at Taoran and noticed the alternative dragon horn on his head. Because there were too many Dragon Masters present last night, he hadn't paid attention. Now that he saw it, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"Why does your dragon horn grow like a tree branch? You haven't been tainted by the Abundance, have you?"
Dan Heng, sitting on Fu Zhu's other side, couldn't help but make a sound when he saw Taoran's appearance.
"Taoran... Elder? When I was exiled, you were already approaching your reincarnation limit. How did you become like this now? Could it be that you really were tainted by the [Abundance] as Fu Zhu said?"
Everyone present was waiting for his defense, but unexpectedly, Taoran cupped his hands toward Fu Zhu with extreme honesty.
"Mr. Fu Zhu is correct. It is indeed because I dabbled in the [Abundance] that my physical form underwent such a change."
As he spoke, he extended his hand and rolled up his left sleeve, revealing an arm covered in dragon scales. However, those dragon scales now looked like tree bark. Seeing this, people couldn't help but frown.
Crack.
Sitting on Fu Zhu's other side, Jing Yuan narrowed his eyes. Applying a little force in his hand, the teacup he was holding instantly shattered.
"Taoran, can I interpret this as you confessing to everything without reservation?"
"Yes."
Even facing Jing Yuan's icy gaze, Taoran remained indifferent as he cupped his hands again.
"Whether it was the Ambrosial Arbor disaster or the Borisin infiltrating the Luofu, both have my assistance behind the scenes. Of course, that also includes Dan Heng inheriting Dan Feng's memories back then; that was also my handiwork."
Taoran's words caused the atmosphere in the hall to instantly fall silent. Fu Zhu narrowed his eyes, took the [Yamato] from his backpack, drew the blade with a shing, and stabbed it into the floorboards. He looked at Taoran with a faint, mocking smile.
"Taoran, I don't have a policy of leniency for confessions here. Originally, this matter should have been Jing Yuan and Lingsha's responsibility, but now that you're saying Dan Heng's memories were your doing... are you afraid you won't die fast enough?"
Taoran bowed to Fu Zhu again, his expression calm. "Since you have come to my door, it means you already hold conclusive evidence. Continued denial is futile."
"Heh."
Fu Zhu, Jing Yuan, and Dan Heng let out hollow laughs. Jing Yuan directly waved to the Cloud Knights who had come with Lingsha.
"Cloud Knights, take him down."
Those Cloud Knights were about to move when Taoran suddenly raised his hand to stop them.
"Wait!"
Jing Yuan squinted at Taoran and asked, "What else do you have to say?"
Taoran raised his head, crossed his arms, and said coldly, "According to the treaty between the Alliance and the Vidyadhara, no Vidyadhara may be harmed or bleed within the Vidyadhara territory. Are you all planning to break the treaty?"
These words caused Jing Yuan and Lingsha to frown, and the Cloud Knights hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to make a move on Taoran.
Seeing the situation, Taoran became even more smug. "Why don't I offer you a suggestion? Report this to the high command of the Alliance, let the Six Commissions conduct a public trial, sentence me to the Punishment of Molting, and let me be reborn into the world."
"Then you can manipulate things in the dark again to restore your memories? Truly a nice idea."
Fu Zhu pulled the [Yamato] out of the floorboards, stood up, and slowly walked in front of Taoran. He spoke with a fake smile.
"I have to say, your idea is pretty good. But did you forget there is someone here who isn't part of the Alliance? I am a Nameless. Who's wasting time chattering with you about rules?"
Saying that, Fu Zhu swung his blade directly, slashing diagonally across Taoran's body. Taoran was instantly heavily injured and fell to the ground. As he fell, a dragon-shaped phantom was left firmly in place.
The Dragon Masters present couldn't help but stand up in shock when they saw that dragon-shaped phantom.
"This is... the phenomenon of the Vidyadhara bloodline?! Grandmaster Fu Zhu, you... you separated the Vidyadhara bloodline from Taoran's body?!"
Fu Zhu also looked at the [Yamato] in his hand with some surprise. He originally just wanted to kill Taoran directly; he didn't expect the separation trait of the [Yamato] to be able to separate even the Vidyadhara bloodline.
"But this is just right. This completely cuts off that little scheme of Taoran's."
Fu Zhu sheathed the Demon Blade, turned his head, and smiled at Jing Yuan.
"He is no longer a Vidyadhara now, so the treaty between the Alliance and the Vidyadhara can no longer protect him, Jing Yuan."
Jing Yuan understood. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he waved to the Cloud Knights. "Cloud Knights, send him to the Shackling Prison to await trial."
"Yes!"
The Cloud Knights swarmed forward instantly, lifting the heavily injured Taoran from the ground. After being lifted, Taoran saw the Vidyadhara bloodline that had been stripped from his body. The smugness on his face was gone forever.
"No, Grandmaster Fu Zhu, I know I was wrong! You can sentence me to the Punishment of Molting, why must you do this!"
Fu Zhu looked at him, shaking his head with a look of refreshment.
"You don't know you were wrong; you just know you're really going to die this time. Hurry up and take him away; we still have other matters."
"Yes."
The Cloud Knights dragged the wailing and howling Taoran away. The Dragon Masters on the scene all lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu sat back in his seat, turned his head to scan the circle of Dragon Masters who kept their heads down and remained silent, and spoke jokingly.
"What's wrong? 'Keep the music playing, keep dancing'? Don't tell me you all also want to say you actually knew about Taoran's affairs, but were just helping him hide it?"
As soon as Fu Zhu said this, the Dragon Masters immediately shook their heads in denial.
"Grandmaster Fu Zhu, we truly didn't know. All these things Taoran did were done behind our backs."
Fu Zhu gave a hollow laugh. Seeing how things were now, he couldn't believe the other Dragon Masters were completely ignorant. However, he still took out the [Mob Spawner] to display to the other Dragon Masters.
"Originally, I planned to come and discuss cooperation with the Vidyadhara. This thing is called a [Mob Spawner]. It can solve the Vidyadhara's reproduction issue and can operate autonomously. But now that such a thing has happened with Taoran, it makes me suddenly not want to talk anymore. Let's forget it."
Saying that, Fu Zhu pretended to put away the [Mob Spawner] and got up to leave.
The Dragon Masters immediately became unhappy. They hurriedly stood up and bowed in unison to Fu Zhu.
"Please give the Vidyadhara a chance, Grandmaster Fu Zhu! We really didn't know about Taoran!"
"Whatever price you want us to pay!"
"Yes, whatever the price!"