He Zhibai didn’t try to persuade anymore. He and Wen Weili were both at the Golden Core stage, so he could naturally see that this ill-intentioned uncle was already on the verge of going berserk. Perhaps with just a little provocation, even his already unstable Golden Core might shatter.
Moreover, his descent into madness didn’t mean he was turning to the demonic path. To be blunt, not everyone can cultivate the demonic path. The seven emotions and six desires are too much to bear under the Heavenly Dao’s laws. To switch to cultivating the demonic path requires enough willpower and determination to endure the pain of being skinned and having one’s tendons pulled, to cleanse the immortal power and allow demonic power to take root.
In Wen Weili’s case, reaching an emotional peak would most likely result in his Golden Core shattering with a “pop,” followed by bleeding from his seven orifices and death. Falling into the demonic path was simply impossible.
The Peak Master of Transformation Peak went mad for a while longer before he quickly opened the door and left—he was going to find those outer disciples and bring them over.
By the time he left, Lou Shuangzui had already hidden behind a large tree nearby. The boy held his breath, even consciously steadying his heartbeat, minimizing any noise he might make.
Even as Wen Weili disappeared at the end of the path, Lou Shuangzui was still pondering why he wanted to bring people over. Was it to gather them together and kill them? But what would be the point of that?
Regardless, He Zhibai’s role was crucial. If Wen Weili wanted to kill him, as long as they weren’t so cautious as to still be acting at this point, Lou Shuangzui would have a way to gather more intelligence. If they were indeed acting together, it didn’t matter. On Sword Peak, the only one who could be harmed was Lou Shuangzui himself.
—Lian Chaoxi was in seclusion, and his closed cave wasn’t easy to open. Earlier in the day, before going to class at the Suspended Mirror Platform, Lou Shuangzui had already instructed Qian Mo and the others to send Liu Qing and the others away in batches, hiding them in the caves of Magic Peak. After Lou Shuangzui returned, Qian Mo and the others were also sent down the mountain.
With no burdens and no weaknesses, Lou Shuangzui was fearless.
The cold wind swept through the mountains at night, and the cries of unknown birds, like weeping, added to the eerie atmosphere.
When he entered the desolate cave that still bore traces of past use, He Zhibai immediately looked over in alertness at the sound. Seeing it was Lou Shuangzui, a hint of astonishment appeared on his face.
The senior brother of the Beast Taming Path on Sect Leader Peak was now in a sorry state. His golden-brown clothes were already dirtied with mud and bloodstains, and one of his legs seemed broken, awkwardly positioned on the ground.
Not far away lay an unconscious young boy, looking even younger than Lou Shuangzui, about five or six years old, with a pale face, appearing sickly.
He Zhibai’s brown eyes widened, making the scratches on his baby face look even more pitiful. He opened his mouth, “Lou… Lou Shidi?!”
Lou Shuangzui smiled at him, but his eyes couldn’t hide the coldness and sharpness. He went straight to the point, not intending to beat around the bush, “Why does he want to bring people over to kill them together, instead of killing you first and then going after them?”
He Zhibai was shaken, his expression dazed. He looked at Lou Shuangzui, “Shidi, have you been listening outside all this time?”
“Yes, since I detained people, I had to be prepared. I’ve added things to all the formations on Sword Peak. If the people from Transformation Peak use their previous tricks to break in, I’ll know,” Lou Shuangzui said, reaching out to tug at the rope binding He Zhibai, finding it unsurprisingly unopenable.
—For a tool meant to restrain a Golden Core cultivator, it’s perfectly normal that a Foundation Establishment cultivator can’t open it. Lou Shuangzui hadn’t held much hope from the start.
He Zhibai, after hearing the explanation, still looked shocked. He hesitated, “Actually… privately detaining people is not encouraged, and you were just outside. Your uncle’s cultivation is a level higher than yours, yet he didn’t notice. It seems he’s really close to going berserk…”
Lou Shuangzui just smiled without speaking, watching He Zhibai until the senior brother’s voice grew smaller, realizing that his junior brother seemed to have asked a question earlier.
“Don’t look at me like that… it’s quite scary,” He Zhibai blinked, his tone seemingly a bit aggrieved, but he quickly remembered he was a senior brother and shouldn’t lose composure in front of his junior brother. So he cleared his throat and straightened up.
“He wants to use the lives of the outer disciples as a sacrifice to break the rules and strip my spiritual root. This method is heretical. Immortals are nourished by the primordial immortal power, naturally born with spiritual roots. Each person’s spiritual root is unique, and it might not work if transferred to someone else.”
As he spoke, He Zhibai glanced at the boy beside him, his expression showing regret but more indifference.
The Heavenly Dao is unkind, treating all things as straw dogs. Immortals follow the Heavenly Dao, so they can only walk their own path within the rules. A mantis cannot stop a chariot. To have compassion and offer a bit of leniency is already commendable, but that’s all.
“That’s an inner disciple of Transformation Peak, Wen Shishu’s son, Wen Yifeng. He has three spiritual roots, one of which is wood attribute, so Shishu thought of stripping mine to replace his.”
He Zhibai sighed, a bit helpless but not fearful, “I never guessed he had such an idea. Shidi, my combat power isn’t high. I couldn’t beat a sword cultivator, let alone now when I’m restrained.”
“Why don’t you leave first, send a message to Sect Leader Peak, or find any nearby elder or peak master for help.”
He Zhibai said this with genuine goodwill—his own actions were too reckless, possibly leading to an inescapable disaster. He couldn’t drag his junior brother down with his injured body, could he?
Besides, to strip a spiritual root, He Zhibai would be the last to die. As long as he could wait for rescue before then, it would be fine. In such a situation requiring complex secret techniques, even if Wen Weili noticed something was wrong, he couldn’t move He Zhibai immediately.
And spiritual roots, as long as there’s enough time and resources prepared, can be nurtured again. Time is something immortals never lack, and resources, for someone with a sect leader as a master like He Zhibai, aren’t hard to come by.
So seeing Lou Shuangzui unmoved, he even urged anxiously, “Go quickly, it’ll be bad if Shishu returns. Wen Shidi is missing two wood spiritual roots.”
But Lou Shuangzui still didn’t turn around. He looked at He Zhibai, pursed his lips, and his pale fingers lightly rested on his senior brother’s broken leg, suddenly applying force.
With a “crack,” the bone was set back in place, though the sprain and swelling would still need time to heal or effective spiritual medicine. Healing techniques could also work, but…
The boy gave He Zhibai a complex look, preferring to leave behind two healing Suiyang Immortal Herbs. “If I’m not mistaken, the wood spiritual root Shishu initially targeted wasn’t yours, but mine.”
“But saying this is useless. I can’t do anything now, being only at the Foundation Establishment stage. So you should act accordingly. Those outer disciples have long been sent away by me. He won’t find them, so I can’t be sure what Shishu will do if his plan fails.”
As he spoke, he bit his finger, then tore open He Zhibai’s already tattered pants, drawing two strokes on the skin. The formed array quickly merged into the flesh.
Before He Zhibai could ask, Lou Shuangzui explained considerately, “It’s for tracking. I’m going to find the sect leader to save you. It shouldn’t take too long, if I’m not mistaken.”
With that, he stood up, gave He Zhibai one last look with his golden eyes, and left decisively, not looking back.
Waiting alone for judgment is undoubtedly long, with the guillotine hanging overhead, refusing to fall. Thirst, fatigue, pain—He Zhibai kept his eyes open, bloodshot.
But he didn’t dare rest. He thought of Lou Shuangzui’s audacity in privately detaining outer disciples, then of the boy’s deep thoughts at such a young age, possessing the ability to make others unable to discern truth from falsehood…
His mind was heavy, a bit painful, noisy yet hazy.
“…What are you thinking?” someone suddenly asked.
He Zhibai instinctively answered, his voice a bit hoarse, “I’m thinking about Lou Shidi. At such a young age, he must have gone through many unpleasant things to be so mature.” More like a qualified leader than his senior brother.
Growth comes at a price. Those spoiled beyond measure, no matter how clever and quick-witted, shouldn’t be like Lou Shuangzui.
The questioner also fell silent. After a moment of quiet, a sudden fit of heart-wrenching coughing came. The awakened Wen Yifeng covered the lower half of his face, “Such a good relationship, even at the brink of death, you’re still concerned about others… or is it because you’re an immortal?”
Immortals, demons, humans—one is radiant, one is filthy, one is mediocre and dirty, separated by a world of difference at birth.
He Zhibai turned his head to look at him. Wen Yifeng was actually quite good-looking, his delicate features not hidden by his youthful face, unlike Wen Weili, likely inheriting from his outer disciple mother.
But different from Lou Shuangzui’s kind of delicacy, Lou Shuangzui was the extreme of white and gold, gloomy and thorny, a bleeding landscape, while Wen Yifeng was like a weak wind supporting a willow, frail and soft, without any aggression.
Wen Yifeng drooped his head, coughing intermittently, looking at the scenery outside the tree cave, watching the shadows sway. For a moment, He Zhibai thought he saw a hint of coldness flash in those eyes.
The physically weak boy wrapped his sleeves around himself, shivering as if extremely cold.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, he spoke again, “Senior brother, I seem to remember how to unlock this thing. I’ll unlock it for you, you should leave quickly. I can’t let my father continue down this wrong path…”
As he spoke, Wen Yifeng leaned over, placing his hand on the iron chain, seemingly about to unlock it.
At that moment, a burst of maniacal laughter came from outside the tree cave. It was Wen Weili, somehow covered in blood, stumbling in.
“Leave? Where do you think you’re going?! Disaster, hahaha, disaster!”
The sword instantly unsheathed, covered in black patterns, looking in poor condition, almost about to shatter. But the sword energy, filled with anger and spiritual power, was still something He Zhibai couldn’t block.
He broke out in a cold sweat, but before he could react, Wen Yifeng suddenly turned his body, using himself to shield him—
At the critical moment, two attacks simultaneously shot from the cave entrance, piercing Wen Weili’s heart and wrist.
The one aimed at the heart was from the sect leader Wen Shunian, whom Lou Shuangzui had found. The nine-tailed white fox guarding the mountain beside him also wore a cold face, full of anger.
The other came from Lian Chaoxi, who had been in seclusion for a long time. He didn’t know why he suddenly emerged, holding the renowned Yuan Shen Sword—Bu Min, standing at the tree cave entrance, exuding cold air.
Author’s Note:
Shuangzui sent people away not out of concern for their lives. Qian Mo and the others are Sword Peak’s servants, so Shuangzui would have a bit of conscience. As for Liu Qing and the others, it was purely because if something happened to the privately detained people, it would be hard to explain. He could take risks himself, but affecting his future wouldn’t be good.