Punishment Cloud Cliff was a place where criminals were confined, and the conditions inside were extremely harsh.
As Lin Luochen walked out, the wounds on his body reopened, and fresh blood flowed out once again.
“Junior Brother Lin, let me take you away,” Yu Youwei said with deep concern.
“No need,” Lin Luochen replied coldly.
Hearing this, Yu Youwei felt as though something was being torn from her, slipping beyond her control, leaving her utterly lost.
Throughout the journey, Yu Youwei had been listening to Lin Luochen’s inner thoughts. Her stomach turned with pain.
She had thought about talking to Lin Luochen, but all she received were cold, perfunctory replies. It was clear he was completely disappointed in her.
Lin Luochen kept his eyes forward, but his heart was filled with sighs.
[According to the timeline, in ten years, Ye Chen will offend a family in the Northern Sea that once produced an Emperor. He’ll be hunted down. Yu Youwei will risk her life to save him, only to be betrayed.]
[How pitiful. In the past life, she was deceived by Ye Chen’s affection, thinking she had found her perfect man, but he turned out to be nothing more than a despicable scum.]
“Junior Brother Lin, I don’t think Ye Chen’s injuries are serious. You don’t have to apologize. Let me help you heal.”
Yu Youwei couldn’t stand it anymore. She was now certain that this was Lin Luochen’s true voice. The heart doesn’t lie, and what he thought matched reality.
After hearing the pain and tragedies awaiting Lin Luochen, her mind was a mess and her eyes welled with mist.
Lin Luochen paused and looked at Yu Youwei in disbelief. Then, as if realizing something, his voice turned icy. “Why?”
[She was like this in the past life—always offering comfort, yet hurting me the deepest. How can I trust her again?]
[If I don’t dig out the Supreme Bone and hand over my Life Sword today, the punishment tomorrow will be even crueler.]
Yu Youwei trembled, her chest aching as she listened to his thoughts.
Do you really trust me so little?
…
The Cloudveil Sect.
This was the most powerful orthodox sect in the Eastern Wilderness. Within it resided a Saint—Yun Wangshu. The sect’s foundation was deep and terrifying.
Two figures walked toward them.
The girl was breathtakingly beautiful, nearly equal to Yu Youwei, so cold and pure, as if sculpted from ice and jade. She was just like her name—Leng Qingqiu, Lin Luochen’s second senior sister.
The boy beside her had ordinary features and followed behind with undisguised greed and desire in his eyes.
Ye Chen…
Lin Luochen glanced at Ye Chen, then looked toward the beautiful Leng Qingqiu.
But what he saw on her face was only disgust and impatience.
“Junior Brother Lin, you finally admit your mistake.”
“You just need to kneel and apologize to Junior Brother Ye, kowtow one hundred times, then dig out your Supreme Bone and offer your Life Sword. Then this matter will be over.”
Leng Qingqiu looked coldly at the celestial-looking Lin Luochen, her tone full of disdain and authority.
“Senior Sister, don’t blame Senior Brother Lin. It’s all my fault… I was too weak. If I were stronger, I wouldn’t have failed to block his sword…”
Ye Chen’s voice sounded aggrieved, but his eyes toward Lin Luochen were full of provocation.
As if to say, see? No matter how close you were with Senior Sister for ten years, you still can’t compare to me.
Once you’re gone, the three senior sisters and Master will all become my cauldrons.
Thinking of this, Ye Chen’s eyes burned with desire. He licked his lips as he recalled Yun Wangshu’s divine beauty.
“Junior Brother, the harm you’ve suffered—I will make sure justice is served. The Cloudveil Sect doesn’t need someone who bullies others like him,” Leng Qingqiu said gently to Ye Chen. Her voice was sweet like a heavenly song, stirring the heart.
“Senior Sister…”
Ye Chen was stunned. Though he had known countless women, none compared to Leng Qingqiu’s celestial beauty.
The more divine she was, the more he longed to conquer her, to defile her flawless body.
“Senior Sister, don’t you think this is too much? Junior Brother Lin just came out of Punishment Cloud Cliff. His body can’t take such torment,” Yu Youwei said softly.
On the way, she had been hearing Lin Luochen’s inner thoughts, and her opinion of him had subtly changed.
“Too much? Ye Chen’s muscles and bones were injured by him and still haven’t healed after two months. What about that?” Leng Qingqiu replied coldly. “If we don’t punish him, how do we maintain our authority as senior sisters?”
“But… without the Supreme Bone and Life Sword, Junior Brother Lin will be crippled. He’s one of the strongest youths in the Eastern Wilderness, with hopes of attaining the Dao…”
“Enough!” Leng Qingqiu cut her off with a sharp tone.
“Senior Sister Leng, Senior Sister Yu, please don’t be angry…”
Ye Chen forced out a few tears. “It’s all my fault. I wasn’t strong enough to spar with Senior Brother Lin. To suffer such humiliation—I deserve it.”
Leng Qingqiu felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked at Ye Chen and said softly, “Lin Luochen relied on the fact that his cultivation was two realms higher than yours to bully you. I will ensure justice is done.”
“Lin Luochen, did you hear that? Kneel and apologize, then offer your Supreme Bone to Junior Brother Ye as compensation!”
She no longer called him Junior Brother Lin, but by full name—revealing her contempt.
“Junior Brother Lin, why don’t you just give your Supreme Bone to Junior Brother Ye? Even without it, you’re still our junior brother,” Yu Youwei said, unable to bear seeing Ye Chen wronged.
Lin Luochen looked at the two echoing each other, and sneered inside. He glanced coldly at Yu Youwei.
[Didn’t you say just now you’d help me heal? Now you want me to dig out my bone and kneel in front of everyone.]
Yu Youwei suddenly lost all confidence.
[And Leng Qingqiu, you’re disgusting. When you fell off that cliff and were near death, I risked everything to find the divine medicine that saved you. Yet you always thought Ye Chen was the one who stayed by your side and took care of you.]
[Ye Chen even dared to lie that he used his own blood to refine the Nine-Turn Soul-Severing Pill to save you, leaving behind a hidden affliction.]
[You felt indebted and begged Master for months to take him in as a core disciple.]
Leng Qingqiu’s beautiful eyes widened in shock. Her heart trembled.
Why am I hearing his voice when he hasn’t spoken aloud?
But soon she focused on something else.
That cliff incident—I never told anyone. How did Lin Luochen know? And he said he was the one who saved me?
No… impossible. It can’t be Lin Luochen…
She remembered those days when she was blind, being cared for by a gentle man. After losing her parents, that was the first warmth she’d felt in twenty years.
That man… was so gentle, so meticulous. Could it really be Lin Luochen?
But thinking about all of Lin Luochen’s recent behavior, she grew confused.
Did I mistake someone all along?
[My Life Sword was nurtured with my heart’s blood and will become a holy weapon in the future. The Supreme Bone has accompanied me for years—its divine power speaks for itself.]
[Unfortunately, if I don’t hand them over, they won’t let me off.]
Lin Luochen gave Leng Qingqiu a disappointed glance. Her chest clenched in pain as she sensed something ominous.
He turned to the smug Ye Chen. “I can give you the Supreme Bone and the Life Sword.”
“Really!?” Ye Chen said in surprise, clearly ecstatic.
Then he quickly composed himself and said pitifully, “Senior Brother, I don’t need your Supreme Bone or Life Sword to forgive you.”
“You’ve suffered in Punishment Cloud Cliff. Let’s just let this go.”
Lin Luochen sneered inside and said coldly, “Stop pretending. I said I’ll give them to you, and I will.”
Ye Chen looked at Leng Qingqiu with a pitiful expression. Leng Qingqiu exploded, “Lin Luochen, what kind of attitude is that!?”
Lin Luochen ignored her and continued, “A man kneels only to the heavens and his parents. As for kneeling to you—that’s never going to happen!”
“Senior Brother, I understand… I’m sorry. I was the one who acted out of line,” Ye Chen said with a pitiful look. “You’re so powerful, it’s natural that you look down on me.”
“Junior Brother Ye, don’t degrade yourself like this,” Yu Youwei said gently, her pretty face filled with pity.
Though she had heard Lin Luochen’s thoughts, she lacked solid proof, so she still stood by Ye Chen’s side.
“Junior Brother Ye, no matter what, I’ll always stand behind you,” Leng Qingqiu said, her phoenix eyes glaring at Lin Luochen. “Kowtow one hundred times. Not one less!”
Lin Luochen looked straight into her eyes. The disappointment in his gaze grew stronger.
He had already died once. He would never value these people again.
Leng Qingqiu felt her scalp tingle under his gaze. Her chest throbbed in pain. She could feel something slipping away—something important.
Yet even with the truth in front of her, she couldn’t believe the one who saved her, who gave her light, was Lin Luochen.
“If you don’t kneel and apologize, I’ll force your head down myself!”
Leng Qingqiu released a faint trace of aura. As a cultivator in the Immortal Platform Realm, even a sliver of her aura was something Lin Luochen couldn’t resist.
The immense pressure bore down on him. He felt his limbs and bones crack as the force tried to crush him into kneeling.
He looked at Leng Qingqiu in disbelief, then quickly calmed.
He had experienced this too many times in his past life. His heart had already died.
“I won’t kneel!” Lin Luochen roared through gritted teeth, eyes bloodshot as he glared at Yu Youwei and Leng Qingqiu.
Memories of betrayal and abandonment surfaced. His heart turned cold.
[The pain of the previous life is still vivid. This life, it ends here. My mortal ties are severed. I will leave the Cloudveil Sect and devote myself fully to the Dao.]
Both Leng Qingqiu and Yu Youwei felt a chill from his icy, desperate gaze.
That gaze held sorrow, despair, anger, resentment—and finality.
After hearing his thoughts, panic overtook their faces.
Leave the Cloudveil Sect… leave them…
That was something they absolutely didn’t want to see—and it shocked them.
In their minds, Lin Luochen had always been that gentle junior brother. Even if wronged, he never complained.
How could he look at them like this? How could he speak of leaving?
Leng Qingqiu’s chest pain worsened. Her hands couldn’t even lift anymore.
She withdrew her aura, her phoenix eyes still cold, though laced with panic.
She wasn’t used to this sudden defiance from the once-obedient Lin Luochen.
“You only need to kneel and apologize. I’ll make the decision—no need to give Junior Brother Ye your Supreme Bone or Life Sword,” she said softly, voice tinged with condescension.
Yu Youwei’s eyes lit up. “Junior Brother Lin, just kneel and apologize. This matter can end here.”
After hearing his thoughts, she couldn’t bear seeing Lin Luochen suffer any longer. But their master was in seclusion, and the eldest senior sister was away. Everything in the sect was under Second Senior Sister’s control. She had no choice.
“Senior Sister…” Ye Chen’s face twisted. He had orchestrated all this just to get the Supreme Bone and Life Sword.
“Shut up!” Leng Qingqiu snapped, no longer showing Ye Chen any warmth.
Lin Luochen’s words and thoughts lingered in her heart, making her deeply uncomfortable.
The obedient junior brother from before seemed to be fading away…
Lin Luochen hadn’t expected Leng Qingqiu and Yu Youwei to change so quickly—so unlike his past life.
But he wouldn’t accept it.
If he knelt, his path would collapse and his Dao heart would shatter.
“I refuse,” Lin Luochen said coldly.
“What!?” Leng Qingqiu hadn’t expected such a blunt refusal. Her face darkened. “I’ve already made the biggest concession. What more do you want?”
Yu Youwei also tried to persuade him. “Junior Brother Lin, kneeling and apologizing won’t hurt. It’s not a big deal.”
“I will not kneel. I’ll give Ye Chen the Supreme Bone and the Life Sword,” Lin Luochen interrupted impatiently. “As for kneeling a hundred times…”
[So what if I don’t agree? My cultivation is still too weak. Obedience is the only way to escape for now.]
With that, Lin Luochen took off the jade pendant from his waist and tossed it to Ye Chen. “You’re not unfamiliar with this jade pendant, are you? I know you’ve always wanted it.”
“Then let this jade pendant replace that unreasonable demand.”
Ye Chen caught the pendant, glanced at it, and couldn’t suppress his joy. He then looked at Lin Luochen with a strange expression.
This jade pendant held divine energy and greatly aided cultivation. But more than that, he knew Lin Luochen’s temperament.
No one was ever allowed to touch it. It was his reverse scale.
Because the jade pendant had been personally given by Yun Wangshu—a Saint. Even if it was just an ordinary stone, its value couldn’t be measured.
Seeing Ye Chen remain silent, Lin Luochen took out a long flute. “If that’s still not enough, I’ll give you this as well.”