Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 202: Everyone, Have You Seen Enough?

It was only a screen toppling over.

A simple, wooden partition crashing to the floor. Yet, the moment it fell, the atmosphere in the main hall shattered. Whether it was Sect Leader Yi Zhiyin, Pavilion Master Wan Xiaobei, or the numerous powerhouse cultivators standing behind her, every face twisted in shock.

The instant the barrier fell, a thick, nauseating stench billowed out from the concealed passage behind it. It was the copper tang of old blood mixed with the heavy, cloying scent of rot.

And accompanying the smell was a shrill, desperate wail that pierced the air.

“What… what is this?”

“That stench… it’s blood. Thick blood. What is Awakening Spirit Valley doing in there?”

“Wait… why do I hear a child crying?”

Disciples from the various sects cried out in alarm, sensing something deeply wrong. However, before the crowd could fully process the horror, Yi Zhiyin moved. The Sect Leader, who had been sitting steadily on his throne a moment before, vanished in a blur of motion.

He reappeared directly in front of the secret passage entrance. His hands flew through a series of seals, the air humming as he desperately manipulated the stone mechanism to slam the door shut.

But he was not fast enough to silence the voices. before the heavy stone could grind into place, a chorus of agonizing screams echoed from the darkness:

“Don’t kill me! I beg you, don’t kill me!”

“You can’t do this! You can’t boil me! I am a person! I am a living, breathing human, not a candle! Do not kill me!”

“Senior Brother! Save me! Hurry!”

“Master! I’m down here! Save your disciple! Awakening Spirit Valley is a demonic sect! They are monsters!”

“They caught us all… they want to boil us into wax! Martial Uncle, save me!”

“I’m just a mortal… Immortal, please, spare me! Immortal!”

“…”

The pleas were abrupt, chaotic, and filled with a terror so raw it made the skin crawl. But it was the content of the screams that made the hearts of everyone in the hall sink like stones.

Demonic Sect.

Boiling people into wax?

A collective chill ran down everyone’s spine. Even Yi Zhiyin froze, his hand seals faltering in mid-air.

What in the world?

Yi Zhiyin was stunned. There should only be the Tantai mother and daughter inside that dungeon. Where were these other voices coming from?

While he was lost in bewilderment, a shadow flickered.

An expert from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion launched himself forward, attacking Yi Zhiyin with decisive, lethal intent. Caught off guard, Yi Zhiyin was forced to parry. His cultivation was profound, and he easily deflected the blow with a wave of his sleeve, remaining unharmed.

But the interruption was fatal. The spell to close the door shattered.

Yi Zhiyin’s expression darkened instantly. He stared coldly at Wan Xiaobei. “Pavilion Master Wan, you come to my sect as a guest, yet you allow your subordinate to attack me in my own main hall?”

“I have no intention of making an enemy of your esteemed sect,” Wan Xiaobei said, her voice calm but her eyes sharp as daggers. “I merely wish to ask… what is down there?”

“This is a restricted area of my sect. It is inconvenient to disclose,” Yi Zhiyin replied stiffly. “Does Pavilion Master Wan intend to use her influence to bully others? Do you claim the right to pry into another sect’s core secrets?”

It was an unwritten rule of the cultivation world: one did not pry into the secrets of another sect.

However…

“If this were a normal secret, this humble woman would naturally not force the issue,” Wan Xiaobei stepped forward, her aura flaring slightly. “But if… as the voices suggest, Sect Leader Yi is engaging in the practices of a Demonic Sect… then I am afraid this can no longer be considered a private secret.”

The sentiment rippled through the crowd. The experts standing behind Wan Xiaobei locked their gazes onto Yi Zhiyin, their hands drifting toward their weapon hilts.

“Sect Leader Yi, how do you explain those cries for help?”

“I swear I heard my own disciple’s voice just now.”

“I heard it too… it sounded like my martial nephew. He went out for experiential training months ago and never returned. Was he captured by Awakening Spirit Valley?”

“Sect Leader Yi, I advise you to step aside. Let us enter and investigate!”

To be honest, amidst the chaotic wailing, few could actually identify a specific voice. But the cries of “Master,” “Martial Uncle,” and “Senior Brother” struck a nerve. The fear of their juniors being captured and “boiled into candles” was too horrific to ignore.

Investigate!

We must investigate!

If this were a massive, ancient sect, they might hesitate. But this was merely Awakening Spirit Valley. They had the numbers. They had the moral high ground.

“There are indeed prisoners below, but they are sworn enemies of my sect! They have nothing to do with you!” Yi Zhiyin argued, his voice straining.

Unfortunately, no one believed him. The clamor only grew louder, the crowd demanding entry to verify the safety of their kin.

This mess…

Yi Zhiyin’s face turned an ugly shade of purple. Killing intent flickered in his eyes.

“Sect Leader Yi,” Wan Xiaobei interjected smoothly. “If they are truly your enemies, we will not interfere with how you choose to torture or execute them. However, we suspect members of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion may be among them.”

“Regardless, we must see for ourselves.” She paused, then played her trump card. “I am not trying to steal your secrets. I will make a promise here and now: if there are no unrelated parties below, we will drop the matter immediately. Furthermore, to apologize for this intrusion, I will personally offer 10,000,000 Spirit Stones as compensation!”

Ten million Spirit Stones!

The astronomical figure made the crowd gasp. It also solidified their resolve.

“Exactly! Sect Leader Yi, you claim they are just enemies. If so, why are you so afraid of us looking?”

“If our people aren’t there, we leave. We won’t leak a word about your secrets.”

“If you still block us, it only proves there is a ghost in the machine!”

They were roasting him over the fire.

Yi Zhiyin’s expression was dark as a thunderhead. “You come to my home with numbers, demand to see my secrets, and call it justice? Do you think Awakening Spirit Valley is a gathering of cowardly rats you can trample at will?”

He was furious. He wanted to scream. He wanted to order his disciples to slaughter these intruders.

But when he turned his head…

The disciples of Awakening Spirit Valley were shrinking back, eyes darting away, fearful and hesitant. They had no spine.

Yi Zhiyin felt a wave of bitter exhaustion. Relying on them was hopeless.

“Fine!” He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. “Since you want to see, then see!”

He stepped aside, fully revealing the dark, gaping maw of the tunnel.

The experts didn’t hesitate. Figures blurred as they dove into the passage. Wan Xiaobei signaled a portion of her guard to remain outside to watch for traps, then followed the main group into the depths.

Fortunately, Yi Zhiyin seemed to have surrendered to the situation. He did not attack.

The group moved quickly through the damp, oppressive tunnel. Soon, they arrived at the central chamber.

The layout was bizarre—a complex network of cells arranged like the veins of a leaf. The sight made the visitors mutter in confusion.

“What kind of formation is this? I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

“It feels… wrong. Every cell is connected. It gives me the creeps.”

“Focus. Search the cells. Look for our disciples.”

They knew a powerful array was active here, but their priority was the people. They swept through the area.

However…

Aside from a mother and daughter locked in two separate cages, and a few wooden puppets lying inert on the ground, the dungeon was empty.

Yi Zhiyin stood by the wall, his face a mask of ice. “Everyone… have you seen enough?”

The crowd exchanged glances. The momentum drained from the room. They turned to Wan Xiaobei.

She frowned deeply. “Sect Leader Yi, who are those two?”

“Enemies,” Yi Zhiyin said curtly.

“Enemies? They look like frail, pitiful mortals to me.”

“I believe that is none of Pavilion Master Wan’s business,” Yi Zhiyin cut her off. “I have allowed you into my sect’s forbidden ground. I have let you search. Is that not enough? Or is the Pavilion Master simply looking for trouble where there is none?”

Wan Xiaobei opened her mouth, then closed it. She had no retort.

The cultivation world followed the law of the jungle: the weak were prey to the strong. Sects wiped out clans and slaughtered enemies daily. As long as you didn’t massacre mortals on a mass scale or touch the disciples of other sects, no one cared. Even if the methods were cruel, outsiders had no standing to judge.

She looked at the Tantai mother and daughter again. They were dirty, ragged, but clearly not disciples of any major sect.

“Very well,” Wan Xiaobei sighed, bowing slightly. “It seems the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion has been discourteous. I will honor my promise. I will arrange for the 10,000,000 Spirit Stones to be delivered as an apology.”

“Keep your stones,” Yi Zhiyin said, waving his hand dismissively. “Just do not meddle in my sect’s affairs again.”

He kept his face impassive, but internally, he let out a massive sigh of relief. He had survived.

But…

Just as his shoulders began to relax, a trembling, broken voice drifted from the cage.

“Save… save my child…”

Hmm?

The cultivators, who were already turning to leave, froze. They spun around in unison.

The woman in the shadows, who had been cowering in silence, dragged herself to the bars. This woman, who previously seemed to have lost her mind, now spoke with articulate, desperate clarity.

“We are the Tantai Clan. My ancestor is Tantai Shi!” she cried, pointing a shaking finger at Yi Zhiyin. “These people… they are draining the Void Stone Wax from our bloodline! I beg you! Save my child!”

“If you help me… I will give you all the Void Stone Wax! Take it all!”

“SHUT UP!”

Yi Zhiyin roared. His composure snapped. He teleported to the cage, his fingers forming a cruel seal to strike the woman down.

The woman shrieked in agony as the seal hit her, choking off her words.

But it was too late.

Tantai Clan.

Void Stone Wax.

Wan Xiaobei’s eyes went wide. The greed in the room spiked instantly. Awakening Spirit Valley had imprisoned the legendary Tantai Clan to harvest Void Stone Wax?

Before the crowd could react to this revelation, something even more terrifying happened.

On the floor, a wooden puppet that had been lying lifeless suddenly sat up. Its jaw clacked open, and it shouted toward Wan Xiaobei’s group with a voice that had no business coming from wood.

“Master! Save me!”

The puppet turned its painted, unmoving eyes toward an elder in the crowd. “Your disciple was captured by them! They used my physical body as fertilizer! They stuffed my soul into this puppet! Save me, Master!”

The room went dead silent.

The puppet… spoke?

And it called him Master?

Body as fertilizer? Soul in a puppet?

Before the horror could settle, another puppet jerked awake.

“Martial Uncle! Save your disciple!”

Then another.

“Awakening Spirit Valley captures disciples! They refine us into fertilizer! Help us!”

“They are a Demonic Sect!”

“Senior Brother! It’s me! Look at me! Save me!”

“…”

A cacophony of familiar voices erupted from the piles of wood and metal scattered across the floor.

The scene was grotesque. It was a nightmare come to life. Even Yi Zhiyin stood frozen, his hand still raised toward the Tantai woman’s cell.

Puppets?

These were the puppets Xu Wanqing sent. Why are they speaking? Why are they claiming to be imprisoned souls?

“Not good!”

Yi Zhiyin’s heart stopped. He looked back at the crowd.

The suspicion in their eyes had vanished. Replaced by absolute, bloodshot rage.

“Everyone! Listen to me! I—” Yi Zhiyin tried to speak.

“Seize him!”

“Awakening Spirit Valley is a den of devils! Thoroughly investigate everything!”

“Attack together! Kill him!”

Boom!

The hall exploded into chaos. Qi flared as dozens of experts lunged at Yi Zhiyin. Some fought for their murdered disciples. Others fought for the Void Stone Wax. But the result was the same.

Yi Zhiyin was the enemy.

“Stop! Don’t be impulsive!” Yi Zhiyin screamed, dodging a lethal sword strike. “Someone is framing us! It’s a trap! Don’t fall for it!”

He retreated, parrying frantically. He realized with dawning horror that someone was manipulating this from the shadows, stirring the pot to ensure his destruction.

But it got worse.

As he fought for his life, a terrifying tremor rippled through the earth. A profound, ancient aura erupted in the distance—from the direction of the Blood Field.

Yi Zhiyin’s connection to the Blood Field Formation… vanished.

In that final split second before the connection was severed, he sensed it. Within the blood-soaked soil, the Dao Platform had been forged.

It was complete.

Which meant…

Xu Xiuyun had failed.

The Dao Fruit that Xu Wanqing had plotted a hundred years to create… had been plucked.