Gui Delun turned toward him, and in that instant, pressure slammed into Hui’s shoulders. He fell to his knees, unable to stand upright. Deep in Gui Delun’s eyes, a golden spark flickered, igniting into a flame, a golden flame that burned with the power of life itself. Hui felt a golden flame wrap around him as well, burning hot. His eyes widened. He coughed blood, then fell flat on the floor, instinctively killing his qi.

The cultivators beside Gui Delun stared, wide-eyed. One gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Another looked at Gui Delun, confused.

Gui Delun stared, dumbfounded. His jaw gaped slightly, his upright and stern demeanor showing cracks for the first time.

A long, silent moment passed. Lan Taijian sighed and put his face in his hands.

Hui stirred, coming back to life. Slowly, he climbed back to his knees, though the pressure permitted him to climb no higher. He let out an awkward cough and brushed down his robes, patting at the fresh bloodstain. “Ah… haha, I er, tripped?”

Gui Delun harrumphed. He crossed his arms and frowned. “Your proof.”

Hui lifted his limbs. Gold flames danced over his whole body, not devouring it, but merely sitting atop it. He patted his arms, but still felt no heat.

“If you speak untruths or omit truths, the flames will devour you. Until then, they are harmless,” Gui Delun intoned.

It’s like Li Xiang’s ability, but much more powerful. After all, she can only detect lies, not instantly kill liars! Though I wonder, if she refines her lie-detection skill… will she become this powerful in the future?

Hmm… and, too… I can evade Li Xiang’s skill if I’m careful. I wonder if I can evade this skill as well? I don’t want to admit to the exorcist that I used demonic skills, after all.

Hui glanced at Weiheng Wu, hovering overhead. Master, will you be able to intervene? he wondered silently.

Weiheng Wu stared back at him. After a second, he inclined his head, but slowly.

Mmm. So with difficulty, and only if the other option is my death, I suspect. Then… I’m on my own!

“Speak. I have little patience,” Gui Delun said.

Hui bowed low, kowtowing to Gui Delun. “Honorable Gui Delun, this small disciple… on the behest of my sect, I traveled into the mortal world, then infiltrated the demonic sect that Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect conspired with in order to frame these three righteous sects!”

Lan Taijian stared, wide-eyed. From overhead, Weiheng Wu nodded silently, as if he’d known all along. Hui snorted under his breath. Knowing Master… he probably did!

The flames grew hotter, but did not yet burn him. Hui’s eyes flashed. Aha! So I can ‘fool’ the flames! I did travel into the mortal world on the behest of my sect, then, afterward, infiltrated a demonic sect! The way I worded that made it sound as if I infiltrated the demonic sect at the behest of my sect, which isn’t true, but because I told two truths back to back in a way they could be misunderstood, I got away with it!

Ah… not that it would be too harmful if I admitted I entered the demonic sect accidentally, rather than intentionally. Rather, it was a simple way to test the limits of the flames and Gui Delun’s lie-detection abilities, and relatively harmless in case the flames did react and I was forced to clarify myself!

“Oh?” Gui Delun asked, raising his eyebrows.

Hui reached into his storage ring and drew out the jade he’d been given by Black Asp Sect, along with a pair of their robes. He set them on the ground before him as evidence. “My fellow disciples knew me as Xie Hao. I was invited into the sect alongside a retinue of Black Asp disciples, and shown the various traps Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect had set up to destroy the righteous disciples!”

Murmurs sounded through the Mysterious Heavenly Forest disciples. They glanced at one another. The triplets, in particular, stood on their tiptoes to see, brows furrowed in disbelief.

“Around you are the remains of Qi Seed plants. If you have a botanical expert, investigate the roots that remain in the ground, I’m sure they can confirm my words! Likewise, behind you is the ashen remains of a Lotus Pill lotus, a fearsome plant that, like Qi Seeds, can infect with no symptoms, spread rapidly through cultivators, and ultimately destroy many disciples. In the worst case, the disciples would return to their sects without knowing they were infected, and inadvertently spread the infection to their entire sect. There is no cure for the Lotus Pill infection, and as for the Qi Seeds… as far as this small disciple knows, the only one in this era who knows the cure for them… is myself.”

“The Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect is a plant-cultivating sect. It’s no surprise they cultivate a few dangerous plants,” Gui Delun said, uninterested.

Hui bit his lip. Dammit. He wants to ignore this, go the easy route, allow Sect Master Mu’s testimony to stand and leave here without having to invest effort into actually investigating. I have to force him to face the truth. But how?

His eyes lit up. “Honorable Gui Delun, when it comes to demonic sects… that is, what is a hallmark of a demonic sect?”

“There are many. Your point?”

“When it comes to demonic cultivation techniques, the basics are, naturally, sacrificing disciples to treasures, and killing mortals and disciples alike to feed their demonic constructs. Do you not agree?” Hui said, gesturing.

Gui Delun shot a sharp gaze at him. “Do you speak from experience, as one who has ‘infiltrated’ a demonic sect?”

Hui sighed. He shook his head. “Unfortunately, those tragedies I speak of… I saw here, in Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect!”

Sect Master Mu jumped up, forgetting his injuries. “He speaks lies!”

“If he lies, the flames will consume him. Calm yourself, Sect Master Mu.” Gui Delun nodded at Hui, prompting him to continue.

Hui took a deep breath. All at once. Quickly. Too quickly for anyone to sense anything! He reached into his storage ring and withdrew the red gem. A bloody aura welled up from it, an aura Hui threw all his strength against and quashed. The gem barely left the ring before he sent it back in, but in his hand he now held a smoke-colored ball, immaterial and impossibly fragile. It wisped gently in his palm, not fully physical.

“Ding Bo,” Hui said, and breathed a breath of qi into the ball. The qi met the death qi inside and corrupted to death qi. Only a tiny iota of death qi emerged from the conversion, not enough that Hui had to truly worry about it infecting his qi, but it was enough. The ball stirred. A blank-faced young man formed from the mist, staring blandly into the middle distance.

From within the Mysterious Heavenly Forest disciples, Ding Lao took a deep breath. “Ding Bo? Ding Bo! Answer me!” He ran toward Hui.

Sect Master Mu gestured. Other disciples reached out and grabbed Ding Lao, preventing him from getting too close.

“A captured soul? Truly, you spent too long amongst demonic cultivators,” Gui Delun commented.

“Not at all, not at all. I have not once used this soul for any magic technique, nor to advance my cultivation! In fact, the one who did… was Sect Master Mu! I rescued this soul from a tablet expressly designed to convert souls into wraiths. Honorable Gui Delun, answer me—is this the act of a righteous sect?” Hui demanded, slapping his other hand on the ground.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Ding Bo blinked. He looked around, eyes still hazy.

“This—this is insanity! Gui Delun, he clearly has strayed on the path of cultivation and cowardly captured a Mysterious Heavenly Forest disciple for his own purposes! He’s been corrupted by the demonic sect he himself admitted he entered! You can’t believe a word he says,” Sect Master Mu shouted, then spat a mouthful of blood dramatically and sagged backward.

Gui Delun narrowed his eyes at Sect Master Mu. “You doubt my Trial By Fire technique?”

Sect Master Mu staggered back, startled. “I—of, of course not…”

“And that’s not all!” Hui shouted. I’ve started. I might as well finish everything I have to say! There’s no point doing things halfway! “Elsewhere in their forest, they have a… they call it the garden patch! The plants there are fed on the flesh and blood of cultivators. If I hadn’t come along and purified them, the yin energy dwelling in their roots would have doubtlessly given birth to some great calamity!”

“You… purified it?” Gui Delun asked. For the first time he looked interested, and quirked a brow at Hui. His eyes glowed with golden light, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Despite not being a member of our All-Heavens Sect, you’ve cultivated life qi?”

Ah—should this small disciple have not mentioned that? Panicking slightly, Hui glanced at Weiheng Wu.

Weiheng Wu nodded again, reassurance in his eyes.

Hui took a deep breath. That’s right. Master’s here. I can speak with confidence. “I—”

Ding Bo’s eyes suddenly cleared. He looked around, and his eyes alit on Sect Master Mu. Immediately, he threw himself into a kowtow. “Master, this disciple has done wrong. I’ve reflected on it. I understand, now.”

“Silence!” Sect Master Mu howled.

Ding Bo crawled toward him. His eyes glowed with obsession and malevolence, rationality gone. “Master, I understand why you killed me. I’m truly incompetent. I’ve learned my lesson. Please, set me free. Send me to hell. Anything would be better than this! Anything!”

“Get away! I don’t know who you are!” Sect Master Mu snarled. He waved his hand.

The mere motion sent Ding Bo’s ethereal body into disarray, and yet he crawled closer. In his soul, his flesh split, revealing bones. A hollow skull stared at Sect Master Mu. His teeth chattered, his joints creaked, and he reached out. “Master…”

“Enough!” Gui Delun waved his hand. Golden motes of light surrounded Ding Bo’s soul. The gruesome transformation reversed, leaving Ding Bo as he’d been in the moment of death. As his form returned, the rationality returned to his eyes.

“Ding Bo!” Ding Lao shouted.

Ding Bo turned. His eyes met Ding Lao’s, and he smiled. The motes of light glowed brighter, and he vanished.

Hui pointed at Ding Bo as he vanished. “All this was part of the Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect’s cowardly plot to attack our righteous sects’ retinues! There’s no other way to explain it!”

Gui Delun turned to Sect Master Mu. “What do you have to say?”

“Lies, all lies!” Sect Master Mu slashed out with his hand. A beam of light hurtled from his hand toward Hui’s neck.

Hui let the pressure of Gui Delun’s technique slam him to the ground. The beam shot over his head.

Sect Master Mu grimaced and raised his hand to slash.

Weiheng Wu appeared between him and Hui and caught his hand before he could slash. He clenched his hand. A crack rang out, and Sect Master Mu’s hand flopped down, broken at the wrist.

Gui Delun snapped his fingers. The fire and pressure around Hui dissipated. Hui sat up, patting himself down. So light!

“I’ve heard enough. As of this moment, the entirety of Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect is under house arrest. Everyone in the sect is to touch nothing under investigation, under the penalty of death,” Gui Delun declared, throwing a hand out. A gold light shimmered over everything. On the chest of every Mysterious Heavenly Forest disciple, a gold rune appeared, glimmered for a moment, then faded away.

“As for the rest of you… return home. All-Heavens Sect will be by soon to investigate your sects fully.” His eyes rested on Hui for a moment, but in the end, he looked away.

Lan Taijian scowled for a mere moment, but quickly hid his expression. Like the other representatives, he bowed to Gui Delun.

Oh? Hui thought, tilting his head. Interesting, interesting!

The other sects quickly gathered their disciples and took to the skies. Lan Taijian nodded and hopped atop his sword, and the others followed suit.

“Xiao Hui, do you need help?” Li Xiang asked, tipping her head.

“Ah, I… thank you,” Hui said, stepping toward her.

“Hui,” Weiheng Wu said quietly.

Hui froze. He grimaced. “It… seems my Master needs me.”

“I understand,” Li Xiang said with a pure smile. She turned away.

“Wait! Wait. Er, could you… help my friend here? He’s… he was once a Starbound Sect disciple,” Hui said, gesturing at Gu Tian.

Gu Tian smiled and shifted in place, nervous. “Oh… that’s fine. I don’t, I couldn’t—”

“Once… a Starbound Sect disciple?” Li Xiang asked, frowning.

“He was unjustly abducted by a member of a demonic sect,” Hui said.

Li Xiang’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “Of course. Come with me.”

Gu Tian glanced at Hui, who smiled and nodded. He took a deep breath, then stepped atop Li Xiang’s sword.

Hui joined Weiheng Wu atop his sword. Weiheng Wu hurtled upward, and for a time, they both travelled in silence.

Unable to bear it any longer, Hui coughed awkwardly. “Master, did you ascend to another realm?”

Weiheng Wu glanced at him, then turned away.

That’s a yes, that’s definitely a yes! Hold on, didn’t you say it would take you another few years to achieve a Sect Master’s level? Master… what happened to that? Was your comprehension so great even you couldn’t comprehend it?

Ah… Hui’s eyes blurred over, and he stared into the distance. Why does that feel like the most likely answer?

“Aha, Master, all that talk about demonic sects and—”

“I don’t mind.”

“I—eh?” Hui asked, blinking.

Weiheng Wu scoffed. He tucked his hands behind him, gazing into the distance, and a scholarly aura enveloped him. “Demonic and righteous are labels people put on things after they are created. Nothing is inherently demonic, nor inherently righteous. It all depends in the way one uses an art.”

“Er… I guess?” Hui said, frowning. I feel like corpse cultivation is pretty… but no! This small cultivator cultivates corpses righteously, after all. It’s as Master says! It’s all in how one uses the art!

Weiheng Wu nodded. “Not all cultivators share the same level of comprehension as myself, so mind that you do not reveal any ‘demonic’ arts too lightly. As long as your heart does not waver, there’s no need to let a label hold you back.”

“Disciple hears and obeys!”

Silence. The wind rushed by, loud in Hui’s ears. He stared back, watching as they passed over the limits of Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect.

Weiheng Wu stopped abruptly. He gazed into the heart of the sect.

“Master?” Hui asked, confused.

“The word for immortal is made up of two characters: man and mountain. Weiheng Hui, have you ever felt… that the second character looks like two mountains?”

“N…no?” Hui said. Where’s Master going with this?

Weiheng Wu reached out a hand and made a grasping gesture.

A huge purple hand gripped Mount Mu, the giant tree at the heart of Mysterious Heavenly Forest, and pulled upward. A horrible tearing sound roared out as the earth itself shifted. The tree screamed, releasing waves of green and gold light.

The light slammed into the purple hand, and the light dissipated! The tree wriggled, but the hand was unmoved. It wrenched again, and this time, yanked Mount Mu directly out of the ground.

Hui stared, eyes wide as dinner plates. He turned slowly to his Master.

Weiheng Wu gestured, and the tree flew to his side, diminishing in size until it was no bigger than a bonsai. He nodded then, satisfied, and sent it to hover after him.

“Weiheng Wu!” Sect Master Mu howled, bursting out of the forest. He barely passed a dozen meters into the air before he slammed into an invisible barrier. The golden symbol appeared over his heart and pulsed, burning veins of golden light through his entire body. Blood boiling, veins standing out on his flesh, he glared at Weiheng Wu.

All around him, the other Mysterious Heavenly Forest disciples rose out of the forest. Some gaped, some glared in anger, and some simply watched, eyes dead.

“I accept the compensation you’ve offered me for injuring my disciple,” Weiheng Wu said evenly. With that, he turned and flew away.

“Weiheng Wu! If you leave with Mount Mu today, our Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect will spare no cost to end your life! It doesn’t matter what corner of the earth you hide in, we will hunt you down! You might be powerful, but you aren’t all powerful! There are still heavens above you!” Sect Master Mu screamed.

“What corner… of earth?” Weiheng Wu asked, pausing in midair.

“That’s right! No matter where you hide—”

Weiheng Wu smiled. “Then… what about heaven?”

Sect Master Mu gaped. “You—even you cannot ascend to heaven so quickly!”

Saying nothing more, Weiheng Wu turned and flew away again.

“You—Weiheng Wu! All of Mysterious Heavenly Forest swears an oath, this day, to hunt you down! We will not rest until your death!”

Hui shifted nervously atop the sword. Er, Master, can I get off? I don’t want to be caught between you, and whatever blood enmity you want to provoke!

“Weiheng Hui, hear my words. When it comes to fearing and being feared… naturally, the powerful are feared, and the weak fear!” Weiheng Wu said loudly, refusing to look back. “Between myself and Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect… I wonder who it is that should fear?”

Hui caught his breath. He stared at Weiheng Wu, his eyes wide. Ah. That’s right. It’s Master, after all. It’s Master, after all!

Sect Master Mu’s howls of rage faded into the distance. Huddled atop Weiheng Wu’s sword, Hui glanced back one last time. The entire Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect glared back at him, gold symbols glowing on their chests, unable to pursue them one step further.

This—is the definition of domineering! Hui swallowed and gazed up at his Master, then shook his head. Until the day I die, I don’t think I’ll be this incredibly overwhelming!

The day I die? Never! This small disciple… will become immortal! Even if I die today, I will never die forever! Hui grit his teeth and clenched his fist, determination welling up from his soul.