Lin Mu hadn't expected that even High Elder Juxue wouldn't be free from the effects of the Slate Grey energy.
The energy had entered the old man's hand, but thankfully he was fast enough in withdrawing. Hence only a sliver of it was in his hand which was being suppressed by his Immortal qi.
"We need to probably get rid of Yao Changying to stop this energy, High Elder." Lin Mu spoke.
Hearing that the high elder's expression became cold.
"We were suspicious when the arrays stopped responding to our commands, but this just confirms it." High Elder Juxue said a hint of anger in his voice. "Yao Changying is behind it. Not only did she break the rules of the tournament by interfering with the working of the arrays, she has also used a unorthodox foul energy like this." He stated.
"Is that why the Spatial Plane collapse?" Lin Mu started to realize.
"Indeed. We had to forcibly break the arrays when they stopped responding to us." High Elder Juxue replied. "This has never happened before, and is a spit on the face of the Temple of the Four Guardians." The man was evidently not very pleased.
'Looks like Yao Changying's end is all but decided at this point.' Lin Mu reckoned but still felt doubtful.
He didn't know why Yao Changying would go to this extent as the gains from it did not seem worth it. Not only had see revealed her ploy to the Temple, she had also lost to Lin Mu. Granted the official declaration was yet to be made.
"Suppress her and seal her cultivation." High Elder Juxue gave out the order. "Yao Changying has committed and offense against the temple and its tournament's tenets. She has attempted to not only kill Daoist Mu Lin, but even used lethal techniques that can spread to others." He announced to the people his voice being heard all over the city!
"As such, I declare that Yao Changying is effectively disqualified and Daoist Mu Lin is the winner." High Elder Juxue declared. "Furthermore, the Holy Topaz Dynasty's representative is to report to me." He added, his eyes scanning the people in the audience as if looking for someone.
Uproar broke out among the audience as something like this hadn't happened before. Especially when it concerned someone of a very strong background like Yao Changying.
It wasn't even a case of someone being a n.o.ble, Yao Changying was the niece of the Holy Topaz Emperor!
This would be the same as someone accusing the Crown Prince Feng Shun of treason.
It was such a sensitive matter that it could very well lead to a war if not handled properly. Thankfully, the offended party this time was the Temple of the Four Guardian beasts instead of someone of another empire.
The Holy Topaz Dynasty needed to take the Temple of the Four Guardian beasts very seriously and even the Flourishing Flower Sword Sect will inevitably be pulled into this.
Some of the experienced people could also guess that the Huiqing empire and the Dao Wind Empire would be taking full advantage of this to suppress the Holy Topaz Dynasty.
~SHUA~SHUA~SHUA~
The elders surrounded Yao Changying and were about to carry out the High Elder's orders when suddenly she opened her eyes.
~HUM~
A chilling aura that inspired terror filled the area rising from none other than Yao Changying. Her pupils expanded until the whites of her eyes were all gone.
Her eyes turned into pitch black orbs as if made out of onyx.
~RUMBLE~
As if thunder was cracking, Yao Changying's body released a wave of slate Grey energy that pushed the elders away.
"You dare!" High Elder Juxue who saw this was enraged.
What Yao Changying was doing was basically the same as rebelling against the temple. Not even the Holy Topaz Emperor would be able to save her from the temple's punishment now.
"I'll cripple your cultivation!" High Elder Juxue was not one to stand an offense like this.
"AAHHHHH!!"
"NOO!"
But before he could act, hundreds of people cried out once. All of them had been hit by the wave of energy and were infected by it, their bodies developing Grey spots.
Those that had weaker cultivation bases felt their bodies aching and in the next moment they lost consciousness. They didn't even get to witness the rest of the symptoms, which might just be for the best.
The others that were a bit stronger, felt the full brunt of the infective energy. It entered their meridian and sc.r.a.ped them, making them feel intense agony.
High Elder Juxue who saw this knew the situation was grave.
"Save the people first!" He switched his orders.
"You… I'll kill you." Yao Changying pointed at Lin Mu, a deadly look in her eyes.
'That… isn't her voice.' Lin Mu felt like this wasn't Yao Changying speaking at all.
The behavior and aura had entirely changed for her to be the same person. Plus from what Lin Mu had learned about Yao Changying she wasn't one to make a large mess like this.
After all, there was no returning from this now.
Lin Mu too got ready to defend, as Yao Changying had threatened him openly.
~WHOOSH~
But much to his surprise, she flew up into the sky with great speed.
"The restrictions aren't working?" Lin Mu was confused as cultivators weren't able to fly in the city, other than a few chosen people.
He was sure that Yao Changying couldn't do that before either, and yet now she was flying easily.
"You dare run after all this?" High Elder Juxue had to pause his work and go after her, but she was simply too fast.
Her speed had long since exceeded what would be possible for a Fifth Tribulation Stage immortal. Lin Mu's immortal sense could no longer detect her after a few seconds, as she left his range.
The High Elder also found the woman disappearing from his senses, having successfully escaped.
"She really ran away…" Lin Mu muttered before feeling a change in his body.
The Slate Grey energy in his body faded away, and his body started to recover.
'Huh… wasn't I supposed to break the link for this to happen?' Lin Mu wondered.
"Yao Changying herself broke it." Xukong stated. "Looks like she too was running out of energy and couldn't spare to keep this active." He explained.
"Hmm, it worked in us favor but not for others." Lin Mu looked at the injured audience members who were having a hard time.
He sensed the Slate Grey energy disappearing from their bodies too, but the damage that was already dealt couldn't be reversed automatically.
"Dammit!" High Elder Juxue shouted, feeling immensely furious at all this.
Not only had Yao Changying managed to harm others, she had also managed to escape despite all of them being there. This was a great lapse in security by the Temple of the Guardian beasts and the elders that were here would all have to answer to the higher ups.
Of course, this was an internal matter and wouldn't be revealed to the public that easily.
The others would certainly have to answer though and the Holy Topaz Dynasty would be heavily scrutinized.
Things were bound to get tense and tiring in the coming few days. Even the status of the Tournament now hung in potential limbo.
"What do I do now?" Lin Mu questioned the high elder who returned.
"For now, you can rest and recover." High Elder Juxue stated. "Even I don't know how to proceed from here on. The temple will have to work with the Dao Wind Empire for this." The man said rubbing his forehead.
"Alright," Lin Mu was fine with that as well.
With the injuries that he had sustained, even he knew that his body would need a week to heal. And this was when he had his immense vitality to help him.
'The damage dealt by the Withering Dao isn't easy to heal at all… Even with the Grey energy gone it has still weakened me.' Lin Mu took a deep look at his body.
Even with the a.s.sistance of healing pills, it would still not be easy.
'If I have to fight the Third Prince soon, I won't be able to last that long. I definitely need more time.' Lin Mu hoped that the tournament wouldn't reserve till he was fully recovered.
With that done, he took his leave and left the Tournament grounds. The other people were also leaving, as the earlier scene had terrified most of them. Even if Yao Changying was gone, they didn't know if the danger still existed.
Moreover, since all this had happened while the elders of the temple were present the trust of the people in them had weakened.
Yao Changying had done a lot more damage to things that would be realized as things went by.
Lin Mu thought about all this, as he left the Tournament grounds.
"Brother Mu Lin!" But there, he heard several frantic voices.