Escapism

"Help me?"

Gu Jinlai vaguely guessed what he wanted to say, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Do I need your help? Or do you think you can kill me?"

"I wasn't the one who killed you. In some ways, we are the same kind of people. So, even though you killed several of the out-of-control people you mentioned and helped Lan Yuxian capture Lei Jie and Chi Yan, no one has really made a move against you for the past half month."

Ding Zhongyuan paused slightly as he spoke, "You've spent most of the past two weeks in the outer city, with only a Martial King by your side. You should know that we have plenty of opportunities to make a move against you."

To ensure their safety, the previous Purgers often kept their identities hidden, instead hunting down out-of-control individuals and cultists on the Bounty Board in secret.

Now, the Purifiers of Wind and Rain City step forward. For security reasons, the Purifiers generally do not come to the outer city.

Even when they do come, it's usually to carry out a mission, and they travel in small teams.

Because...

The outer city area is too chaotic and has too many different people.

They are too far from the saints and martial saints who are the pillars of stability. When they are in danger, even if they send out a distress signal immediately, it often takes more than ten breaths to wait for rescue.

Like the purgers who openly mingled in the outer city areas Gu Jinlai...

He was also the deputy captain of a purge squad; one could only say he was highly skilled and daring.

"You talk as if you can kill me so easily. With my current abilities, unless a Martial Saint or a Saint intervenes, who among the out-of-control individuals or the Demon Cult members can do anything to me? And if a Saint or a Martial Saint were to make a move... are they mentally prepared to be discovered by City Lord Zhao Hua and his group, and to die here?"

Gu Jinlai, it has been said without making a sound.

Although Ding Zhongyuan is not a particularly vicious person, judging from the degree of Karma he carries, this does not mean that he would easily believe the one-sided words of others.

"I've said it before, it won't be us who kill you. On the contrary, the ones who will really kill you are the very people you think have high hopes for, such as Wu Tianya, the head of the Martial Saint Academy, and Zhao Hua, the city lord."

Ding Zhongyuan spoke with unwavering conviction.

"Are you trying to sow discord?"

This Gu Jinlai.

"That's not the case. Do you know what the true nature of someone who has lost control is?"

Ding Zhongyuan didn't keep them in suspense, stating directly. "It's undeniable that some of those who have lost control are indeed unable to subdue their desires, becoming dominated by them and wreaking havoc on the region, poisoning the lives of the people. However, the main reason why more than half of those who have lost control are called 'out of control' is that they refuse to collude with the higher-ups of Fengyu City, refuse to oppress the people with them, and are unwilling to see the Holy Dynasty, the last holy land of the human race, completely fall into ruin due to the greed of its internal personnel, just like the Holy Domain of yesteryear."

"You mean... they didn't lose control?"

"No, they were simply labeled as out of control because they were unwilling to do evil like the higher-ups of Wind and Rain City, and then they were all killed by you purgers."

Ding Zhongyuan said, looking at the Gu Jinlai: "Do you know about the Dragon Elephant Heaven?"

Dragon Elephant Heaven?

This name has been heard Gu Jinlai.

He is a disciple of Wu Tianya, the head of the Martial Saint Academy, and also the most powerful Martial King in the Martial Saint Academy in recent years.

He walked the path of heaven and earth, contemplating the great sun and stars, and developed invincible methods comparable to superior Divine Ability. He used the blazing and glorious way to illuminate the world, and it is said that he could not tolerate any darkness or evil in his eyes.

However, his insistence on "justice and light" went astray. Anyone who made even the slightest mistake would be brutally killed by him. Eventually, he gradually lost control and was purged by Wu Tianya, the head of the Martial Saint Academy, who killed him on the spot.

Ding Zhongyuan took out a document and handed it to Gu Jinlai: "This is what Long Xiangtian found out. You can take a good look at it. You haven't been in Fengyu City for very long, so you don't understand Fengyu City... or even the darkness of the upper echelons of the Holy Dynasty..."

His voice was somewhat deep. "Perhaps the Holy Dynasty was originally established with the intention of opening up a holy land for mankind, but now, the ruling class of the Holy Dynasty has long been completely corrupt. Now, all they want to do is to collect resources as much as possible, strengthen themselves, and then... escape."

At this point, he looked up at the sky outside. "Escape the Holy Land, even escape this world, and use the technology left over from the Celestial Master civilization to escape to a completely new world..."

Gu Jinlai, people have known where Dingzhongyuan refers to.

Blue Star.

According to Ding Zhongyuan, the high-ranking officials of the Holy Dynasty actually thought of escaping to Blue Star?

"You mean, the Holy Dynasty's higher-ups believe that humanity cannot defeat Demonic Beasts? They embrace escapism, only thinking about plundering the Holy Dynasty's resources and leaving this world, caring nothing for the lives of the people?"

"Good."

Ding Zhongyuan solemnly said, "These people can escape to other worlds to avoid the corruption of Demonic Beasts, but we can't. Under these circumstances, all we can do is save ourselves. It's because we are unwilling to give up this world and want to gather all the power of the Holy Dynasty to continue fighting against the Demonic Beasts that we have been labeled as out of control and as members of the Demonic Cult, and now everyone is shouting to kill us..."

"Self-salvation, saving the world... this is your doctrine, and also the real reason why you are called cultists?"

Gu Jinlai, people have interrupted each other.

Ding Zhongyuan remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Everything we do is for our future, for the future of our human race... Perhaps right now, my words and our actions cannot be understood by you, the world, because those people stand in the light, the intense light blinding many. But when I believe that when the rulers of the Holy Dynasty reveal their true colors, when the world truly dims, you will finally understand who the true light is and who the true darkness is."

After saying that, he took out another book and said, "These are the pieces of evidence we have of Zhao Hua, Wu Tianya, Jin Fantian, Cao Wudao and others in Fengyu City persecuting their own kind and even colluding with Demonic Beasts. Every single one of them is too numerous to count. I hope you can open your eyes, take a look and see the truth about them."

Gu Jinlai, they have remained seated in the same place, without making a move.

"They are just using you now. The city of Fengyu is in a state of chaos and resentment. Before the Holy Dynasty is ready to go into exile, they still need to maintain the stability of the Holy Dynasty. Therefore, Zhao Hua and his group need a knife, a target to promote the order of Fengyu City to deflect the questions from above and appease the expectations of the people. But when things are almost done, the first thing Zhao Hua and his group will do is deal with you."

Ding Zhongyuan stopped there and said, "That's all I have to say. You should still have some time. You can take this time to observe and think more. We really can't bear to see someone with a bright heart, who in some ways shares our ideals, lose his life in vain."

He handed Gu Jinlai a piece of jade-like material. "When you finally see the true colors of those people in Fengyu City and are willing to join us to make Fengyu City and the Holy Dynasty better, activate it. Someone will come and lead you to us then."

Having said that, he dared not linger there any longer. With a flash, he vanished like a gentle breeze, disappearing from sight of Gu Jinlai.

Gu Jinlai, no one has taken any further action after holding this piece of jade.

If he wanted, he could leave Dingzhongyuan behind.

But...

Considering the pitch-black, flame-like Karma surrounding Wu Tianya, and comparing it to the Central Plains...

Yellow Name!

It's utterly unbelievable that such a powerful Celestial Person being only has Yellow Name.

It should be understood that at their level, no matter how upright they are, their rise is inevitably accompanied by the decline of many other forces. Therefore, even if they never actively oppress others, the Karma they accumulate passively will still bring them to a level close to that of Light Red Name.

The current concentration of Karma on Ding Zhongyuan's body is even less than that of Light Red Name, which can only prove...

He is not only not a bad person, but can also be considered a good person in a broad sense.

When the two are compared, the differences become crystal clear.

"Holy Dynasty... Holy Dynasty..."

Gu Jinlai, people have uttered these two words with a heavy heart.

The Holy Dynasty was created by the opening up of the Six Great Grotto-Heavens.

Each of the forty-nine great cities has a sage who guards the nation.

There are dozens of illusory immortals entrenched in the capital and the six great grotto-heavens.

The six strongest among them even received divine weapons as their masters, and with the power of their celestial abodes, their combat strength rivaled that of mortal immortals.

Yet, faced with the invasion of Demonic Beasts, the leaders of such a powerful force were so desperate that they wanted to flee with their entire clan.

Just how powerful must that Demonic Beasts be?

"Back when the Demonic Beasts were still in power, the cultivators who absorbed the fallen essence of the Celestial Master civilization were known as the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens and Seventy-Two Holy Lands. How glorious and splendid they were! Yet they were still breached by the Demonic Beasts... Now, the Holy Dynasty, led by six Grotto-Heavens, is attempting to fight against the Demonic Beasts and transform them into a holy land for humanity..."

Gu Jinlai, people have been unable to help but sigh.

He's overthinking it.

Of course, this could also be Ding Zhongyuan's alarmist rhetoric, using words to intimidate people into joining the religion.

Perhaps the Demonic Beasts themselves were also severely weakened after breaching the sacred domain.

Gu Jinlai, people have never readily accepted the opinions of others and made a final judgment without having truly grasped decisive evidence.

The next morning, Gu Jinlai once again led his men to wipe out the Lineage on the blacklist, but...

The harvest was meager.

If this trend continues, unless he can disregard the evidence and kill based on the Karma on the other party, even if he cleans up all the other outer districts, he may not be able to achieve much cleanliness.

With the appointed time for meeting Qi Yunxiao approaching, he gave instructions to Qiao Muqi and the others. He would personally go to Haifeng City to arrest the criminals of the Ouyang family, and then take Zhao Yushu with him. They left Fengyu City and headed straight for Haifeng City.