The atmosphere in Loyalty Hall was so tense that a fire could ignite at any time. The disciples of Sisheng Peak and the disciples of various sects of the upper cultivation world stood opposite each other, neither side giving in to the other.

     The bowstring was already pulled taut. If it were pulled back any further, the string would either break or the arrow would fly forward.

     At this moment, someone suddenly stood out from the crowd. It was the Palace Master of Taxue Palace, Ming Yueluo.

     Ming Yueluo’s gentle voice broke through the dangerous silence. “Please wait a moment. The written order is a lifeless thing, but the person is alive. Please put yourselves in his shoes and think about it. There is no real evidence to prove that Sisheng Peak refined chess pieces, and forcing the dispersal of the sect is indeed a bit too much. How about this? Let’s temporarily collect the remnant forbidden scrolls of Sisheng Peak and make a decision after careful consideration.”

     Master Xuan Jing shook his head. “Palace Master Ming and Sect Leader Xue have a deep personal friendship, so you are somewhat biased. Sisheng Peak has already violated the taboos of the cultivation world, so why do we need to be cautious?”

     “The abbot is wrong. Many sects have violated this order.” Ming Yueluo spoke softly, but her position was firm. She said in a gentle voice, “If you want to make an assessment, I have not forgotten your sect’s Master Huaizui.”

     “You—!” Xuan Jing’s face darkened, then he flicked his sleeve and recovered his solemn expression again. He folded his hands and said, “How can the art of saving people be compared to the Zhenlong Chess Formation?”

     “Then does the art of saving people count as one of the three forbidden techniques?”

     The person who spoke was Xue Zhengyong. By this time, several people close to him had noticed that something was wrong with Xue Zhengyong. This usually domineering and awe-inspiring man’s breathing was unusually sharp, and his lips were even paler.

     Xuan Jing said, “...Of course it counts.”

     Xue Zhengyong closed his eyes and took a breath before staring at Master Xuan Jing again and saying hoarsely, “If that’s the case, then how can Master exclude the Rebirth Technique from the rules just because it can save lives?”

     Xuan Jing hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to explain. He said stiffly, “It’s not the same thing.”

     The disciples of Sisheng Peak stepped forward angrily and questioned, “How is it not the same? There are many people in the upper cultivation world who have practiced forbidden techniques, but just haven’t succeeded. If our sect is to be severely punished for this rule, shouldn’t you all be imprisoned as well?”

     Tanlang Elder said grimly, “Wubei Temple has Huaizui, and Guyueye has Hua Binan. Why are you only discussing Sisheng Peak? If Sect Leader Jiang wishes to disband Sisheng Peak, why not set an example by announcing the dispersal of Guyueye?”

     Unexpectedly, they were outmaneuvered just like this. The various sects all felt a little guilty, and those who had been loudly causing a racket just now also quieted down at this moment, not wanting to bring trouble to their own doorstep.

     Xue Zhengyong coughed softly a few times and lowered his eyelashes, silently covering up the blood on his palms. He raised his eyes and said with a forced smile, “Since all the sects have done the same thing, there is no truth to the supposed secret refining of chess pieces at Sisheng Peak in an attempt to overturn the upper and lower cultivation worlds. Then, please forgive me for my rudeness—everyone, please leave immediately.”

     “This…”

     They had originally come in a murderous fury, with the intention of disbanding this shady sect. But they didn’t expect that they would end up in such an awkward situation. The faces in the crowd were unsightly for a moment.

     Jiang Xi had no intention of forcing Sisheng Peak to disband, but he had no choice but to do it in such a situation. Seeing that everyone was silent, he closed his eyes and directly said, “Let’s go first.”

     Hearing this, Xue Zhengyong finally felt relieved. He sighed imperceptibly, his tense back relaxing. However, a sudden pain shot through his ribs. He looked down and saw blood stains seeping out from the waistline of his dark blue robe.

     The injury from yesterday was truly too severe. I must have Tanlang Elder take a look later…

     Before he could finish his thought, disciples of Tianyin Pavilion suddenly barged through the hall, swords in hand. All of their faces were ice-cold, and they approached threateningly. As soon as they entered, they shouted loudly:

     “Xue Zhengyong, you are so shameless. How can you say that you have never secretly refined chess pieces at Sisheng Peak?”

     The crowd wasn’t expecting anyone from Tianyin Pavilion, so they turned around with a start. However, they saw dozens of common people in cloth clothing behind them, some of whom looked extremely familiar and appeared to be the chiefs of some small villages in the middle Shu region.

     “What’s going on…?”

     The head disciple of Tianyin Pavilion’s group said grimly, “Don’t you want proof? Is this enough?”

     Another disciple even said to the crowd, “Sisheng Peak is a filthy place, and the Sect Leader is filled with wolfish ambition. He has cast a wide net in Sichuan over the years, forcing ordinary people to sacrifice young boys and girls to practice the Zhenlong Chess Formation. These are all witnesses. What else do you need for proof?!”

     Xue Zhengyong stood up suddenly, his eyes blazing with fury as blood rose in his throat. “Nonsense!”

     “It’s not for you or me to say whether it’s nonsense or not. Ask them yourself.”

     The dozens of villagers huddled together like a flock of frightened ducks, cowering with lowered heads and submissive eyes. No one dared to speak first.

     Xue Meng’s eyes were sharp, and he immediately recognized a familiar face. He asked in dismay, “Village Chief Liu?”

     That Village Chief Liu shuddered violently and, after a trembling glance, tried to swim away like a slippery fish.

     “What are you doing here?” Xue Meng was unable to react for a moment. He seemed somewhat naïve and innocent, even though this sort of innocence seemed so pitiful at the moment.

     “I…” Village Chief Liu swallowed his saliva and pinched the corner of his robe with his withered fingers. He kept staring at the ground as he shifted his feet.

     The man from Tianyin Pavilion said in a forceful tone, “Tell the truth. If you tell a lie, Tianyin Pavilion will always be just and never tolerate it.”

     Village Chief Liu shuddered and knelt down fiercely, banging his head on the ground. “I… I, I’ll say it! All these years, Sisheng Peak has been using the guise of exercising demons and defending the way, saying that they don’t charge a penny, but in fact, they have actually been coercing us to give them the boy and girls from the village…”

     Xue Zhengyong was furious. He slapped the table and stood up. “Bullshit!”

     Tianyin Pavilion’s voice was even louder than Xue Zhengyong’s. “Continue. What do they want the girls and boys for?”

     “I, I don’t know either.” The village chief’s forehead was covered with beads of sweat. He swallowed his saliva, his shoulders trembling. “They said they were brought to the mountains to train, but they were never seen again. Xiao Huzi, Xiao Shitou… Them and the other children, none of them came back.”

     The people from Tianyin Pavilion then turned to ask the cultivators of Sisheng Peak:

     “Are there any among you who know the children mentioned by the village chief?”

     “...”

     Of course not.

     Xue Meng’s blood was boiling all throughout his body. Xiao Huzi and Xiao Shitou… had already been devoured into the belly of the demon by the time he rushed over to save the imperiled little village.

     “Lies!!!” Xue Meng was so angry that he almost vomited blood. “You bite the hand that feeds you! How can your conscience be clear?!!”

     Village Chief Liu appeared dejected as tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. It was unknown what Tianyin Pavilion had used to coerce him, but he still insisted: “Sisheng Peak is not a good sect… They, before everyone’s eyes repeatedly… and behind everyone’s eyes repeatedly… have engaged in countless matters to offend the heavens and reason… in the middle Shu region…”

     Tears streamed down his cheeks, but he no longer dared to look at anyone anymore, only touching his head to the ground and wailing:

     “Sisheng Peak is oppressing the lower cultivation world!”

     There was an uproar in the crowd.

     Normally, the cultivators wouldn’t directly believe the words of these dozens of common people. But most of the people here had originally come with the intention of disbanding the sect of Sisheng Peak and already had their own judgment in their hearts. So, when they received such evidence, they immediately accepted it completely and became furious.

     “I told you they’d never do good deeds for nothing!”

     “Xue Zhengyong, what other arguments do you have?”

     Whether it was Xue Zhengyong, Xue Meng, or the disciples of Sisheng Peak, all of them were stunned.

     Before this, when many sects joined forces to attack them, they still felt angry and could wave their arms while shouting out their grievances and injustices.

     But at this moment, upon one glance, they could see several village chiefs and dozens of civilians of Shu… They were all people who had once offered eggs and flour and expressed gratitude with tears in their eyes, thanking the heroes for saving their lives and saying that they would never be able to repay them.

     These dozens of wolves in the mountains plunged their knives into the red heart with their own hands.

     It was so painful and cold.

     It was like falling into an icy cave, chilling the entire body.

     The witnesses came forward one by one. The first still had guilt in his eyes, and the second was still trembling. The third was able to look directly at the crowd, and the fourth began to speak righteously. The fifth learned to add fuel to the fire… the rest following the leader like a flock of geese.

     As the saying went—a concurrence of words could melt gold. As they continued talking, they grew impassioned; as they continued talking, they actually believed they were speaking the truth.

     Xue Meng felt his blood run cold and his teeth chill.

     He once thought a person’s character had a spine that could not be broken. He never expected that dogs could drink shit in order to live.

     “Yes, it’s the chess piece…” It was the Jia Village matchmaker’s turn. She had also come to testify. “They forced us to give them our children as payment for exorcising demons. Sisheng Peak does not take money, only children. This is a rule we all know in the lower cultivation world.”

     Jiang Xi frowned and asked, “If you know this, why do you still want to seek them out?”

     The matchmaker wiped her tears with a peach-powder handkerchief and said, “There’s no other choice. We’re too poor. We can’t afford to hire a cultivator from the upper cultivation world, so we can only send children from the village… They said they were sending them to Sisheng Peak to cultivate, but everyone knows the truth. Ah… those poor children that are sent there won’t survive.”

     After saying this, she beat her chest and stomped her feet in anguish, then wailed.

     A few scholars also came to testify. “It’s true. Sisheng Peak accepts children, but not money. We still have to make a living, so we dare not speak out. Fortunately, the heavens has eyes, and those who do evil will eventually perish. Sisheng Peak has finally revealed its fox tail. Righteous cultivators, please do what is right for the people of the lower cultivation world!”

     Someone from Jiangdong Hall immediately stood up and said, “Don’t worry, the upper cultivation world is upright and honest. Those present today are from prestigious and renowned sects with a history of a hundred years and will definitely act impartially.”

     The villagers who had come to testify were moved to tears and came forward to lament about the evil deeds of Sisheng Peak.

     They knew that since they had given false testimony, there was no turning back. If Sisheng Peak did not fall today, they would definitely settle it with them one day.

     For a moment, there were no living people in the hall, only evil spirits hovering and opening their bloody mouths to bite the dilapidated wooden pillars of the hall, to bite the simple roof tiles and walls… and bite the “Loyalty Hall” door plaque, which had never been repaired due to the lack of funds.

     Dripping with blood.

     Xue Meng was trembling. He closed his eyes, and tears rolled down his face as he said hoarsely, “You… how can you say that?”

     Did Tianyin Pavilion promise glory?

     Or threaten them with their lives?

     How could they say it? How could they do it…?

     The matchmaker’s scarlet lips were still opening and closing, and bits of her poisonous words fell into Xue Meng’s ears like snake venom—secretly refining chess pieces at Sisheng Peak, taking human lives lightly, kidnapping young boys and girls.

     Every word was twisted into a hideous nightmare.

     “They bully the lower cultivation world.”

     “Beasts in human clothing acting sanctimonious!”

     “That Chu Wanning and Mo Ran are the most disgusting. They harmed so many innocent people to refine chess pieces…”

     His bones were filled with hatred, and his hands shook.

     His rationality crumbled.

     “You—how can you say it?! How can you do it?!!”

      Anger was like an ant’s nest, destroying the last dam in his heart. Xue Meng snapped his dislocated elbow back into place with a crack, then drew his blade, Longcheng’s tiger-like roar resounding. Before anyone could react, his scimitar was already stained with blood.

     The matchmaker, who was making up a story about “the disciples of Sisheng Peak raping young girls,” was stunned. She looked down at her chest, then coughed up blood and fell to the ground with a thud before even having the chance to say a word.

     Dead silence.

     Strangely, the members of Tianyin Pavilion were standing right next to the group of villagers but didn’t make any move to stop him. Was it because they were surprised, or did they simply not intervene? The answer was unknown, and no one would think deeply about it.

     All eyes were focused on Xue Meng as blood dripped down the tip of Longcheng’s blade—one drop, two drops, until it accumulated into a dark red pool.

     The young phoenix couldn’t escape falling into the abyss.

     “AHH!” Suddenly, someone screamed, and the toll of doomsday finally sounded. “Murder, murder…”

     “Xue Meng heedlessly killed a witness! Xue Meng is crazy!”

     The hall suddenly became even more chaotic. No one knew who moved first, but the long-suppressed flames of anger ignited. The bowstring snapped, and the members of Sisheng Peak and the people of the upper cultivation world finally came to blows!

     Personal enmity, fear, and dissent.

     There was too much selfishness involved in this battle, and the situation instantly grew out of control.

     Amidst the flurry of swords, Xue Zhengyong endured the severe pain from his wounds and roared, “Stop fighting! All of you stop!”

     The people of Sisheng Peak listened to him, but those of the upper cultivation world did not stop. The fight could not be stopped. Xue Meng’s heart was already shattered to pieces, so much so that his eyes turned moist and red. While holding the scimitar to hack away at the evil spirits, he couldn’t stop sobbing and crying.

     Perhaps it was only at this moment that the Son of the Phoenix truly understood what Mo Ran had felt as a child.

     In the House of Drunken Jade, when the machete killed all the people in the building, he felt despair, disgust, excitement, and self-loathing. Nothing mattered anymore; rage burned in his heart, and only blood could quench it.

     Suddenly, a sword blocked his attack. The sword emitted a bright blue light and looked extremely familiar—but Xue Meng couldn’t place it at the moment. He just yelled at the hideous Taxue Palace member, “Get out of my way! Don’t stop me!”

     “Stop fighting. You’ll really get into trouble if you continue. Calm down.”

      A familiar voice reached his ears.

     Who is it?

     Xue Meng couldn’t remember and didn’t want to think about it anymore.

     Pain and hatred battered his heart to the limit of what a man could endure. Once a person reached that point, even gods turned into ghosts and saints turned into asuras.

     One thought of Buddha, one thought of a devil.

     His pupils burned red, and at that moment, there was only hatred, endless hatred. The hatred that had been burning since Tianyin Pavilion finally burst forth with an overwhelming force, swallowing him up in an instant.

     “Scram!”

     Longcheng and that blue sword clashed, but that hideous man wasn't inferior in the slightest. He fought against him, his blue eyes staring at Xue Meng’s face.

     “If you don’t calm down, it will only cause Sisheng Peak more harm.”

     “Who do you think you are? Is it your place to care?!”

     The sword slashed harder and harder, while the other sword remained calm and unhurried as they collided with each other.

     The blue eyes looked into the black, such a familiar pair of eyes.

     …Who is it…?

     “Ziming, stop fighting.”

     A low, steady voice sounded in his ear, without much emotion but still revealing a hint of anxiety and sympathy.

     Xue Meng’s frenzied and chaotic mind seemed to flicker with a trace of clarity. His fierce and fiendish attacks stopped for a moment, but his chest was still heaving violently.

     At this moment, his face was covered in blood, and his hair was in disarray as he glared fiercely at the hideous stranger. “You…”

     Before he could finish his words, he felt a sudden gust of wind behind him.

     Xue Meng suddenly turned around, but it was already too late to lift Longcheng. His arm was cut open into a gruesome, bloody gash straight to the bone!!

     “Meng-er!!”

     When Xue Zhengyong saw that his beloved son was injured, he swept down the long steps to save him.

     The ten or so elites of Tianyin Pavilion were all Mu Yanli’s trusted death soldiers. As soon as they made eye contact with one another, they lunged towards Xue Meng to kill him.

     The individual strength of these people was similar to that of the elders at Sisheng Peak. They all launched their killing blows towards Xue Meng, who was already injured, about to take the Son of the Phoenix’s life.

     “Meng-er… Meng-er!”

     But the distance was too far, and Xue Zhengyong couldn’t make it. Then more people encircled him, trapping him within. Xue Zhengyong was so desperate to protect his son that he was injured and bloodied under the force of the attack.

     Xue Meng gritted his teeth and swung his blade forward. With one strike, he pushed two people back, but his arm was bleeding profusely, and his entire arm was shaking.

     Suddenly, a red light flashed—

     “Be careful!”

     In a flash, it was the blue-eyed man he had just been fighting who blocked a fatal blow for him.

     The Tianyin Pavilion disciple narrowed his eyes. “A traitor has emerged from Taxue Palace? You want to stand together with Sisheng Peak?”

     The blue-eyed man didn’t answer, but his sword was frosty and firm. He turned around and said to Xue Meng, whose face was pale and eyes were fierce, “Go to Uncle. Hurry up.”

     “I…” Xue Meng covered the wound on his arm, but he really couldn’t cover it all. The white bone beneath the bloody flesh was exposed to the air, and his entire arm was drenched with hot blood.

     His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he did not. His gaze moved to Xue Zhengyong.

     With just this one glance, the last bit of color on Xue Meng’s face faded.

     He cried out miserably as he ran towards Xue Zhengyong, regardless of the danger. He yelled, “Dad!!!”

     Xue Zhengyong’s eyes flashed, and he reacted immediately. He raised his hand and blocked the attack from a man behind him with his steel wristguard, then slammed the man into the ground. Xue Meng first breathed a sigh of relief, then squeezed to his father’s side as if he didn’t care about his life.

     He suddenly grabbed Xue Zhengyong’s arm, feeling both grief and joy. “That’s great, dad. You’re okay… you’re okay…”

     Xue Zhengyong, however, had an old wound that was torn open by the blow just now, and large streams of blood gushed from his waist. But his body was already covered in red, so Xue Meng didn’t notice. He grabbed his father’s hand and said, “Dad, I want to take revenge. Today, I want the lives of these people. They have to die. I—”

     “Cough, cough…”

     The voice suddenly stopped.

     Xue Meng saw Xue Zhengyong abruptly kneel on the ground, a large mouthful of blood gushing from his throat.

     “Dad…?” The Son of the Phoenix was stunned. He had never seen his father injured so badly in his life. His mind was buzzing. “Dad, what’s wrong with you? You…”

     Xue Zhengyong’s blood stained lips opened and closed. He held Xue Meng’s arms and said hoarsely, “Stop.”

     “…What…?”

     Xue Zhengyong stared at Xue Meng’s face, but his eyes scanned the surroundings for any signs of trouble.

     Was this a battle he wanted?

     There were shouts all around. Red blood and white brain matter splattered everywhere. The mastermind had not yet been found, but the major sects had already started killing each other…

      Xue Zhengyong said, “Tell everyone of Sisheng Peak to stop.”

     “But they—”

     “What will happen if we keep fighting like this?” Xue Zhengyong’s face was ashen. “Who can have their wish fulfilled? Is it more painful to disband the sect or for the sect to be destroyed?”

     Xue Meng remained silent, but his eyes were red, and even his fingertips were trembling.

     “Go…” Xue Zhengyong gently pushed him, and Xue Meng’s tears immediately fell. He staggered to his feet, then stood in front of his father and shouted:

     “Truce! Stop fighting!”