“Senior Brother, do you plan to kill all these people?”

“The opportunity in this Falling Rain Valley should belong to our Azure Mystic Sacred Land,” Bian Yifei replied, his voice devoid of warmth. “If they hadn’t come, they would be safe. But since they are here, they should prepare to be buried.”

He shot Ding Daoan a strange look. “This was your suggestion, Junior Brother Ding. Have you grown soft-hearted?”

“Not soft-hearted,” Gu Xiu answered calmly. “I just think if they all die, it might be difficult to explain once we leave.”

“Explain?” Bian Yifei laughed heartily. “Our Azure Mystic is a grand Sacred Land! Who do we need to explain ourselves to? Let alone dying in a secret realm, even if we slaughtered them in front of their Sect Masters, would they dare utter a word?”

He shook his head, his gaze hardening. “Junior Brother Ding, you hesitate too much. My Master said, in this world, the one with the bigger fist holds the truth. Without strength, one is an ant. If you worry about stepping on a few ants, what meaning is there in cultivation?”

“Ants should have the awareness of being stepped on!”

“But five hundred years ago, these Sects had ties with Azure Mystic,” Gu Xiu reminded him. “Despite the competition, there have been kindnesses and entanglements.”

“So what?” Bian Yifei scoffed. “Cultivation requires severing emotions and cutting off attachments. Yielding because of so-called kindness will only drag you down.”

“Senior Brother Bian truly lives up to being an Azure Mystic direct disciple,” Gu Xiu praised, his tone unreadable.

Just then, a shout echoed from afar. “Senior Brother Ding, someone is looking for you!”

Gu Xiu turned.

A woman in a white dress stood at a distance, her expression cold and aloof, her lips pressed into a thin line. It was Yu Xueqing, the leading prodigy of the Bibo Sect.

She was looking for him? Did she have a relationship with Ding Daoan?

“Tsk tsk, Junior Brother Ding is impressive!” Bian Yifei chuckled beside him. “Just a few days ago you said this Yu Xueqing was pleasing to the eye, and already she comes obediently. Admirable!”

Gu Xiu raised an eyebrow but walked towards her. As he passed the other Azure Mystic disciples, he noticed their lecherous grins directed at him.

His frown deepened.

Stopping before Yu Xueqing, he spoke. “Fairy Yu, is there something?”

“Can we speak privately?” she asked, her voice tight.

Gu Xiu nodded.

They walked into the rainforest, putting distance between themselves and the camp. Gu Xiu remained silent, wary of revealing his ignorance about her relationship with Ding Daoan.

Fortunately, Yu Xueqing didn’t seem suspicious. After a moment of silence, she spoke, her voice trembling slightly. “Is what Fellow Daoist Ding said before true?”

Gu Xiu didn’t answer.

She bit her lip. “I can agree to your request… but I need you to swear a Dao oath. Afterwards, Senior Xu from your Sect’s Jade Pill Peak must help my Master heal.”

Gu Xiu raised an eyebrow, still silent.

His coldness seemed to break her. Her face turned deathly pale. “Tonight I will… attend to you…” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “And I will bring my Bibo Sect’s Dinghai Pearl… I only beg you to keep your word… save my Master…”

Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the falling rain. Her eyes were devoid of life, filled only with despair.

Gu Xiu frowned imperceptibly.

He knew the sect he once protected had rotted to the core. He had severed ties with no regrets. Yet, witnessing the depths of their depravity still shocked him.

This was Azure Mystic.

He looked at the broken woman before him and finally spoke. “I was lying to you.”

Yu Xueqing froze. Then, the dam broke. She cursed him, screaming her hatred and despair into the rain.

Gu Xiu turned and walked away, her screams fading behind him.

He was pondering something.

Was his decision to cut ties enough?

He had signed the Sect Severance Treaty, believing he could leave the past behind. To him, his former sect members were strangers.

But could he really stop there?

The sect he had poured his blood and soul into, hoping to build a beacon of righteousness, had become a demonic sect in all but name.

His efforts had been wrong.

Did he need to correct that mistake?

“I am not wrong! I cannot possibly be wrong!”

“I am the Peak Master of Ink Scroll Peak! I am Qin Meran, the paragon of reason in Azure Mystic! It is Gu Xiu who is wrong! It is Yin Wenshu who is wrong! I cannot be wrong!”

In her residence on Ink Scroll Peak, Qin Meran paced like a caged animal. She had sealed herself in, activating every killing array to prevent entry or exit.

She was trying to slay her Inner Demon.

Although she had technically “won” the Heart Debate thanks to Shi Siling, the victory was hollow. The Inner Demon hadn’t vanished; it had taken root, feeding on her doubts. When her Master and Sixth Junior Sister suspected her of stealing the Earth Cloud Sprout, the demon seized the chance to counterattack.

She had to kill it. Now.

But the voice in her head wouldn’t stop.

“If you are wrong, admit it. If you dare not admit your mistakes, what kind of gentleman are you? How can you claim to follow the sages?”

“The sages teach goodness, not how to become a glib-tongued hypocrite who finds excuses for every sin!”

“Qin Meran, have you forgotten your principles? Have you forgotten what you did to Gu Xiu?”

“You are not a sage. You are a sinner!”

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” Qin Meran roared, clutching her head. “You are an Inner Demon! You are here to break my Dao heart!”

“I am not wrong! Get out! GET OUT!”

She clung to her denial like a lifeline. She could not be wrong.

Finally, through sheer force of will, she suppressed the voice. But it was only suppression. The demon lurked, stronger than before, shaking the very foundations of her belief.

“He’s dead! Gu Xiu is dead!” she muttered, trembling. “Why does this damn demon obsess over a dead man?”

“I can’t go on like this.”

She deactivated the restrictions. She couldn’t slay the demon alone. She needed help. Perhaps her Senior Sister…

She stepped into the air, flying towards the main peak.

But she hadn’t gone far when voices drifted up from below.

“You people of Ink Scroll Peak! Mouths full of benevolence and righteousness, but in reality, you’re all hypocritical cowards!”

Qin Meran’s face turned ice-cold.

Who dared insult her peak within the sect?

She looked down. Two groups of disciples were facing off. One group wore Ink Scroll Peak robes. The other belonged to Spirit Beast Peak.

The Spirit Beast disciples, unaware of her presence, continued their tirade.

“Exactly! You’re a bunch of selfish, self-serving hypocrites who refuse to admit it!”

“Don’t talk about your talismans. The trash you make now isn’t even as good as what I bought in Cloud Firmament City! You’re disgracing the Azure Mystic Sacred Land!”

“Useless at talismans, useless as people!”

The Ink Scroll disciples turned red with shame and anger.

Qin Meran descended like a storm cloud.

Her arrival energized her disciples, while the Spirit Beast group paled, bowing hurriedly and trying to slink away.

“Did I say you could leave?”

Her voice was bone-chilling. A powerful aura slammed down, freezing them in place.

“Azure Mystic Sect rules,” Qin Meran recited coldly. “Maliciously insulting fellow disciples. Slandering teachers and elders. What is the punishment?”

The Spirit Beast disciples fell to their knees, begging for mercy.

Qin Meran raised her hand, cold light flashing in her eyes. She was already on edge from the accusations and her Inner Demon. These juniors daring to question her peak was the final straw.

Just as she prepared to strike, an Immortal Spirit Crane swooped down, landing between her and the disciples.

A lively, innocent voice drifted from its back.

“Fifth Senior Sister. Some junior disciples spoke out of turn. Is there a need to be so angry?”