Inside the hall.
Lü Xuan's expression was one of regret. He gently stroked the illusion artifact in his hand, and all the surrounding phantoms dissipated.
He spoke.
"The killing intent in her heart has become bound to her cultivation. The higher her cultivation rises, the more ferocious that killing intent becomes."
"So suppressing her cultivation also suppresses the killing intent that ceaselessly surges within her."
"I've also joined forces with elite experts from various factions to research solutions."
He shook his head.
"There simply isn't any approach that can satisfy both objectives — nor even one that's remotely reliable."
"Even the sealing method is merely the best option available under desperate circumstances."
"But ultimately, blocking is never as effective as channeling."
Chu Xingchen listened quietly to everything. Only then did he ask.
"If Elder Bai doesn't suppress the killing intent in her heart, what would happen? Would she turn into a monster that knows nothing but slaughter?"
He paused.
"But when I saw Elder Bai this time, she seemed to have suppressed her killing intent quite well."
Lü Xuan gave a light chuckle at these words.
"In my view, Bai Xuanling might not necessarily become a mindless god of slaughter."
He stroked his chin.
"I suspect she could regain her calm after sating the urge — but the higher her cultivation, the shorter those periods of clarity would become."
"To regain clarity and find yourself surrounded by mountains of corpses and seas of blood — and know that you caused it — is something no one desires, save for depraved evil cultivators."
"After all, the person you were happily chatting with one moment could have their head in your hand the next."
"Setting aside whether Bai Xuanling could accept it, the other great sects would hardly tolerate such an unstable and overwhelmingly powerful Bai Xuanling."
"Of course, these are all conjectures. Perhaps she might even explode or something — hard to say."
He shrugged slightly.
"Bai Xuanling has never been very cooperative. She isn't particularly willing to let us study her condition."
"As for suppression... given the strength of her soul, she's already shown that suppressing it is difficult."
He met Chu Xingchen's eyes.
"You don't seriously think she can succeed every time, do you?"
Lü Xuan nodded slightly, gesturing for Chu Xingchen to take a seat.
Chu Xingchen acknowledged and sat in the chair below.
Lü Xuan adjusted his sleeve cuffs, then chuckled lightly.
"You may have your own methods. I won't try to verify anything with you here."
"You understand Bai Xuanling's temperament. Being the Sect Master of Tianyan Sect is truly... hard to put into words."
He stood and turned.
"Everything I've told you — once I walk out that door, I won't acknowledge a word of it."
"But if — hypothetically — you truly can solve Bai Xuanling's problem..."
He faced Chu Xingchen directly.
"...I would thank you on behalf of the entire Tianyan Sect."
"Bai Xuanling has, in one way or another, given nearly everything for Tianyan Sect. As Sect Master, I naturally won't shortchange such an elder."
"Whatever materials or intelligence about Bai Xuanling you need, just ask Yan Yun."
At this point, Yan Yun snapped back to reality. She looked at her master with disbelief.
Lü Xuan didn't meet Yan Yun's eyes. He simply spoke with a warm smile.
"There are dark undercurrents surging lately. I have many matters to attend to. Make yourself at home, Nephew Chu."
He walked toward the door.
"Bai Xuanling should emerge from seclusion in a few days."
With those words, Lü Xuan immediately strode out.
This wasn't Lü Xuan speaking nonsense.
As evidence became increasingly clear, information exchange among the major sects had naturally increased.
Each faction's interests and acceptable boundaries needed to be negotiated, along with Tianyan Sect's next moves.
Even Chu Xingchen's residence at Tianyan Sect was no small news to the outside world.
At the very least, Xuanqing Heavenly Sect had sent inquiries about the situation.
Yan Yun understood all of this. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
She sighed inwardly and shifted her gaze to Chu Xingchen.
Did her master truly not understand Chu Xingchen's nature?
If Chu Xingchen asked for Tianyan Peak next, should they give it or not?
Chu Xingchen observed Yan Yun's expression and leisurely stood up.
"Your eyes tell me your thoughts are rather presumptuous."
Yan Yun's eyes became calm.
"Then you must have seen wrong."
"Your master just said — whatever you need, you can ask for. You heard that, didn't you?"
"What did he say?"
"He said whatever you need, you can ask for."
Yan Yun was tempted to retort — "Whoever said it is who you should ask."
But she merely repeated this extremely satisfying line to herself a few times.
In this moment, she gained some appreciation for just how difficult her master's position as Sect Master truly was.
At the very least, her master's temper was genuinely good.
Yan Yun replied in an even tone.
"I heard. Do you need anything right now?"
"There's a gathering tonight. If you're free, you're welcome to join us at the One Big Happy Family Peak."
Chu Xingchen stood up.
"You've looked rather on edge lately. You could use some relaxation. Even in cultivation, one should balance work and rest."
He glanced back at Yan Yun.
"As for Elder Bai's matter, we should at least wait until she emerges from seclusion before discussing further."
Chu Xingchen finished speaking and turned to leave without waiting for Yan Yun's answer.
After all, whether she came or not was her own choice.
Forcing someone to enjoy themselves only breeds resentment — in which case, it would be better if they didn't come at all.
Yan Yun didn't offer a reply. She simply watched Chu Xingchen walk out of the hall.
——————
Eastern Victory Continent. Nightfall.
Heavy black clouds blanketed the moon and stars completely.
Only the faint glow of lanterns hanging from distant manor houses could be seen.
Wu Kong silently regarded Donggua beside him. He held back for a long time before finally asking.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
It wasn't that Wu Kong was dissatisfied with Donggua's attitude.
Ever since meeting Xu Linglong, Donggua's attitude had shifted — he was no longer just drifting through each day.
He had gone from needing Wu Kong to chant Buddhist sutras just to motivate him into doing things of unclear purpose, to roaming around almost without sleep or rest of his own volition.
At least in recent days, Wu Kong had genuinely seen Donggua locate the positions of the marker points he'd mentioned before.
Instead of pointing at a rotten tree stump and making things up.
But a change in attitude didn't necessarily mean things were on the right track.
At the very least, Wu Kong hadn't seen any useful information.
Donggua seemed to have simply gone from being forced to wander to wandering willingly.
But one thing was clear — wandering around wasn't going to solve anything.
Wu Kong looked at Donggua's slightly furrowed brow, his expression suggesting he was pondering some grand undertaking and meticulously plotting something earth-shattering.
"Your wandering tactics will probably only work on me."
Wu Kong continued.
"With your level of intelligence, I'd think you would have figured things out the moment you saw her casually slaughter the Pig Mask."
"Tell me honestly — do you have any leads at all?"
Donggua looked at Wu Kong but didn't answer.
Wu Kong's expression was sincere.
"At the very least, my stated mission is to keep you all alive. The risk of telling me the truth is the smallest."
Donggua took a deep breath. His voice was slightly hoarse.
"I naturally have leads. But actually investigating them would be no different from walking to my own death."
His eyes were hollow.
"Those above... perhaps they intend for us to die."
"If I don't say anything, I might live a bit longer."
Wu Kong frowned. "What leads?"
"Naturally, the people involved who are still alive."
Donggua let out a slightly manic sneer.
"Cui Hao. Chu Xingchen. Yuyang Daozi. And Tianyan Sect and Xuanqing Heavenly Sect."
"Tell me — which of them do you think we can actually investigate?"
Donggua's gaze was locked on Wu Kong.
He wanted to see the foolish monk's face mirror his own expression of despair.
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