Tianyan Sect, inside the main hall of Tianyan Peak.
Chu Xingchen reached out and caught the silver coin he had flipped.
He didn't open his palm — he clenched it tight.
Yan Yun stood behind him, looking at Chu Xingchen's face.
It was calm, yet his eyes held extraordinary resolve.
To Yan Yun, Chu Xingchen's current demeanor wasn't all that surprising.
She had her own judgment of Chu Xingchen.
A truly shameless person could never have gathered such a group of brilliant geniuses to build a sect around him as their core.
On the contrary, though Chu Xingchen could be somewhat shameless at times, he had never made any major missteps in his affairs.
Yan Yun's gaze shifted to her master.
Chu Xingchen gripped the silver coin tightly.
With deliberate intent, let alone heads or tails — making the coin stand on its edge would take no more than a single thought from him.
Elder Bai hadn't told Chu Xingchen, which clearly meant she didn't want him to know.
Lü Xuan stood his ground and didn't look at the coin in Chu Xingchen's fist.
He met Chu Xingchen's gaze directly.
"Bai Xuanling's temperament may be fierce, but she is no murderer."
"The legends about her are partly exaggerated. She may have stained her hands with innocent blood, but it shouldn't be many."
"I won't say that accidentally killing innocents is without fault."
He paused.
"But for Bai Xuanling to reach the Tribulation Transcendence realm, her soul must be resolute beyond doubt. Those mistakes wouldn't taint her with a murderous aura."
"Her current state is, in truth, her own choice."
"It was a choice she made back when she was only at the Mahayana realm."
Lü Xuan sighed softly and raised a hand, taking out a pale purple illusion artifact.
He channeled spiritual energy into it, and the surroundings began to shift.
The center of the hall slowly crumbled, the grand architecture dissolving into glowing particles.
Lü Xuan gestured for Chu Xingchen to look outside.
Chu Xingchen turned to look.
Most of the Tianyan Sect within his view had been transformed by the illusion into a landscape of ruins and rubble.
The mountain protection array flickered dimly, looking as though it was on its last legs.
Lü Xuan studied the Heavenly Derivation Arts; illusion techniques were only a passing familiarity for him.
He couldn't alter Chu Xingchen's spiritual perception — he could only convey things through illusionary imagery.
Chu Xingchen's gaze swept across the scene.
Beyond the great array were multiple layers of blockades.
Lü Xuan's eyes grew hazy as he looked at the figures standing outside the array.
Among them were many familiar faces — ones that would never be seen again.
He spoke in a calm voice.
"Tianyan Sect has had, at most, about five hundred years of stability. But those centuries of peace were bought with countless years of slaughter."
"Or rather, this world has only been at peace for a hundred years."
"Since the Great Calamity ended and Xuanqing Heavenly Sect took sole control of one of the Eighteen Spirit Veins, the upheavals in this world have never truly ceased."
He looked away.
"They've only given people barely enough room to catch their breath."
"There is no world without conflict. The only differences are in what is fought over, and how fiercely."
"When the calamity ended, the demons within hearts took its place."
"I won't claim that Tianyan Sect is pure and flawless. What was done had to be done."
"Once you've stepped onto the Immortal Path, who would willingly be another's meat on the chopping block — waiting to be eaten at someone else's convenience?"
"In an age of great conflict, whoever wants to live better must be more ruthless than the rest."
"Tianyan Sect originally took root in the Southern Continent. During the Great Calamity, that region was a major battlefield."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"The Heavenly Derivation Arts are said to be about divination — seeking fortune and avoiding misfortune. But at their core, they are about seizing others' luck and claiming treasures first."
"Whatever exists under Heaven belongs to Tianyan first."
"This was the foundation upon which Tianyan Sect was built."
He let out a short breath.
"In the beginning, those who walked this path weren't so different from bandits. But it was the Great Calamity — no one had the luxury to judge."
"There are only eighteen Spirit Veins. Simply occupying one doesn't mean a sect's destiny is fulfilled."
"Xuanqing Heavenly Sect was originally the number one sect in the world. Setting aside their deterrence, they had also shown favor to many sects."
"When they first moved to seize a Spirit Vein, they actually had considerable support."
"At the very least, before Xuanqing Heavenly Sect made their move, they contacted Tianyan Sect."
"Tianyan Sect maintained a tacit attitude of acquiescence toward their actions."
"Moreover, Xuanqing Heavenly Sect initially carried the mandate of Heaven. A great deal of mortal world luck was also held in their keeping."
"Even so, Xuanqing Heavenly Sect paid a grievous price."
"Tianyan Sect, naturally, fared no better."
"Occupying a vein doesn't guarantee survival."
"Only by surviving can you claim to have stood your ground."
Lü Xuan pointed toward the human formations beyond the great array.
He pointed at the phantom image of Bai Xuanling standing at the very front.
"In truth, during the age of great conflict, some discovered that remnants of the Demonic Race were stirring the pot."
"The more chaotic the world became, the more easily they could breathe and recover their strength."
"Demonic remnants have always existed — this was something all Eighteen Immortal Sects knew."
"But at that time, the demons were no longer a real threat. Even if they recovered, it would take a thousand years."
He shook his head.
"The immediate rewards, however, were worth a millennium — there for the taking."
"I don't know how Bai Xuanling came to Tianyan Sect. But the battle that etched her into my memory was this very one."
Lü Xuan's eyes were calm as he watched a thread of cyan light churning the heavens and the earth.
"At that time, I was merely a Body Integration cultivator. Though I had some talent, I was far beneath a genius like Bai Xuanling."
Lü Xuan raised his hand, but it stiffened slightly. In the end, he lowered it.
The next moment, the layered formations, each made of human bodies, shattered one after another.
In an instant, the entire Tianyan Sect was reduced to ruins.
Lü Xuan suddenly chuckled.
"The original Bai Xuanling was somewhat like the Lingyu of today — few words, an aloof demeanor, but a fiercely passionate heart."
"Later on, her appearance grew cold — and so did her heart."
"In truth, no one hated the Demonic Race more deeply than Bai Xuanling."
"Because the time Tianyan Sect came closest to destruction was when it was sold out by a demon."
"The demons had some unknown method of infiltrating Tianyan Sect. During a critical assault on the sect, they tore open a fatal breach from within."
"Only later did we learn that many other sects had also been annihilated in the same way. It was deliberate."
Lü Xuan sighed softly, and the scene before them shifted endlessly.
There stood Bai Xuanling, half her clothes soaked in blood, silent before a cluster of lonely graves.
Lü Xuan looked at that lone silhouette and spoke softly.
"Bai Xuanling's only remaining blood sister died in that battle."
"Her friends. Her master. Her colleagues."
"At her Mahayana level of cultivation, those closest to her naturally had high cultivation as well."
His voice dropped.
"And those with high cultivation — most of them stayed behind to cover the retreat."
"Bai Xuanling might not have wanted to fight. Perhaps to her, whether they had a Spirit Vein or not was irrelevant."
"But she had no choice."
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