Words and Deeds

For the sake of the common people?

That sounds noble, but if Ink Bamboo Mountain doesn't count as common people, what about the innocent villagers who were killed on Tiantai Mountain? Do they not count either?

Could this have really been orchestrated by Li Country itself? That's incredibly cruel. Or is it another lie?

Lu Xing could see that Li Fan was still suspicious, so she just smiled and said, "The Grand Master said, 'What is spoken must be acted upon.'

Junior Brother Li, you don't have to believe me. Just watch what they do next, and you'll know if they're just spewing nonsense or if their words and actions align."

With that, she turned and left, far more gracefully than Li Fan, who had his hands tucked into his sleeves, secretly gripping his saber defensively.

Li Fan's eyes flickered. He hadn't believed Lu Xing in the first place, and he still didn't much now. In fact, after witnessing Zhang He's fate, he hardly dared to believe anyone anymore.

The most annoying thing about talking to intelligent people is that whether they speak the truth or a lie, they've clearly thought it through, and it all sounds convincing.

Idiots are easier in that regard. They speak without thinking, so they're usually telling the truth. But idiots usually don't talk much; they prefer to act...

'Profound Heaven Sword Intent, hmm? Host, don't be so sarcastic!'

Tch... But then again, it's no wonder everyone says the Great Dao of Taixu is easy to cultivate.

At least those Devil Form monsters are ugly and straightforward, only wanting to eat and kill. They're simple and clear, and you can tell at a glance they're not human. As long as they don't have explosive sound effects when they appear, you can at least be prepared.

But what about people?

A seemingly kind person who speaks softly and shows great concern might turn around and stab you in the back.

Ink Bamboo Mountain, Immortal Palace, the court, Luo Sect, Lou Guan, the Nangong Immortal Family, Tiantai Mountain – they all have their own grand principles, talking about the Great Dao, the common people, and their own legacies.

But what's the reality? Who is telling the truth, and who has ulterior motives? If they don't show it through their actions, how can anyone believe them based on their words alone?

In the end, after all this talk and scheming, if they don't act, won't they just resort to the old ways of fighting and dueling to solve problems?

'What is spoken must be acted upon.' That old Grand Master was right.

After a bout of pointless musing, the sky had brightened, and the magic array had been broken.

The disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain who were trapped in the small building in the backyard were finally rescued. Seven had died from their severe injuries, and eight had survived, though all were wounded and stumbled out of the array, their steps unsteady.

Li Fan couldn't concern himself with Lu Xing's matters for the moment. He saw Yuan Xuanbao in the distance and stepped forward, intending to help him heal. However, he was stopped by Master Yao.

Then, Real Person Wei let out a furious roar, "You bunch of scoundrels!"

The eight disciples who had escaped knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, not saying a word.

Master Yao sighed, "Rotten wood cannot be carved."

Li Fan frowned as he watched from the side.

He saw that Yuan Xuanbao and Lu Qi were among them, covered in blood and still holding their swords. Their faces were etched with exhaustion, but their eyes were wide open, nervously watching their kneeling companions. Senior Brother Gao was nowhere to be seen, likely dead inside.

Li Fan frowned again, looking at their wounds and the scene within the magic array. The joy of seeing his companions survive vanished, and his heart sank.

The cuts and bloodstains were fresh. This wasn't the look of disciples whose spiritual senses or magic treasures were damaged by external forces. The disciples inside must have been harmed by their own sect members... killed by their own kin.

How could this be...

"You couldn't even hold out for three days before resorting to murder! What kind of righteous path is this!" Real Person Wei strode into the magic array, pointing, "Look! Look! He's dead! And you'll all be dead too!"

The eight disciples remained prostrate on the ground, their faces hidden.

Li Fan glanced over and saw a disciple sitting with his back against a bronze pillar, pointed at by Real Person Wei. The disciple had his eyes closed, his head bowed, a cut on his neck, and had bled to death. The other six were likely killed near the other nine bronze pillars, probably fighting for positions near them, killed by their own sect members.

"You could recognize this formation and even devise a way to counter the Nine Dragon Fire Pillars, so you're not entirely stupid," Yan the Real Person, still injured, walked over slowly, speaking as if to critique or explain the situation. "Using a formation within a formation could indeed resist the sinking speed of the magic treasures, and it's not impossible to break out.

However, with the addition of two layers of fire arrays, it must have been unbearably hot inside. The person in the center of the formation couldn't hold on and tried to seize the 'life' from the edges.

If you truly had camaraderie, you would have rotated positions, cooperating for mutual benefit. That would have been ideal.

If you didn't have that kind of bond, you should have gone all the way. Since you decided to set up the counter-fire array, you should have fought it out from the start and chosen nine people to live. That wouldn't have been impossible.

But look at you, hesitating and wavering!

You probably started with the camaraderie of drinking buddies, wanting to live and die together. But after three days of rotation, someone couldn't take it anymore, and you panicked, dropped the pretense, abandoned your brotherhood, and started killing each other for survival, right?

And the result? Nine array eyes, and one is missing. With your remaining eight disciples and your current level of cultivation, how can you possibly set up a counter-fire array? None of you will survive!"

The eight survivors remained kneeling on the ground, silent. It seemed everything had been exposed, and they had accepted their fate, awaiting judgment.

Master Yao waved his hand, not even looking at the useless disciples. "Alright, it's done. Nothing more can be said.

You disobeyed your sect's orders to come to Tiantai Mountain, and it wasn't a righteous act. You came for selfish desires, to plunder other sects and kill people. You were also greedy for life and feared death, harming your fellow disciples. Return to the sect and face punishment from the Disciplinary Hall. Now, go to the ship and reflect on your actions."

Hearing the words of the supervising elder, Yao Xuanzhou, the other two real persons said no more.

Real Person Wei shook his head, waved his sleeve, and collected the remains of the Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples from the ground. He then said, "Junior Brother Yao, the matter of refining corpses is of great importance. I received instructions earlier that once this is concluded, I am to return to the mountain immediately and report the reasons to the Sect Master."

Master Yao nodded. "Senior Brother Wei, you may go. Yan the Real Person, your injuries are also not light. Why don't you return with Senior Brother Wei? As for these disciples, Xuanzhou will escort them back. Oh, and this Chi Qiu has been stained with a lot of foul blood. It needs to be washed clean as soon as possible to avoid defiling its divine light. Please return it to Qin Jianshi on your way."

Yan the Real Person thought for a moment. Traveling by boat would only take a day or two, and he felt pained that his flying sword had lost its divine light. He accepted the precious sword and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Yao."

Thus, the two real persons, Wei and Yan, flew away. Yao Xuanzhou remained to look after the disciples. Yuan Xuanbao and the other seven, having committed offenses, were naturally confined to the ship's cabin for solitary reflection. As for the other disciples brought by Lu Xing, they were divided to search the temple for treasures, collect nearby corpses, and gather the spoils plundered from Tiantai Mountain onto the treasure ship.

Li Fan looked at Yuan Xuanbao, covered in sweat and blood, his expression grim. He knew that Yuan Xuanbao had truly had a terrible time this trip. Not only had he expended great effort, but he had failed to seize any magic treasures and had instead turned his brothers against each other. He would surely be severely punished upon his return to the sect, and his mood must be terrible.

However, seeing that his injuries weren't severe, it was likely that those people knew Yuan Xuanbao was powerful and didn't want to fight him for a position, so they didn't bother him when he was in such a disgraceful state, asking him questions and bothering him.

Suddenly, Profound Heaven Sword Intent emerged from his sleeve, drifting like a silver leaf towards the ruins.

Li Fan jumped in surprise. Fortunately, Master Yao hadn't looked this way, so he followed, wondering what trick the guy was up to now.

Tiantai Mountain had accumulated quite a bit of wealth over the years. Most of the thirty-odd disciples Lu Xing brought had scattered to 'seek opportunities', so no one noticed Li Fan's movements.

"What's this? Do you want it?"

Profound Heaven Sword Intent circled the scattered fragments of various magic treasures. Li Fan understood its meaning and picked up the items within its circle. There was quartz, ceramics, gold, and jade. Oh, not gold, but jade. In short, Profound Heaven Sword Intent selected a lot of stone materials from a pile of junk. Li Fan also seemed to gain some insight.

"Is this for forging swords?"

Profound Heaven Sword Intent drew a hook in mid-air, then led Li Fan to continue circling in the ruins, like an auntie shopping at a market, grabbing a bunch of green onions here, a clove of garlic there. In the end, they collected a large pile, which Li Fan wrapped in a bundle and stored in his jade pendant.

'Profound Heaven Sword Intent states, "I originally wanted to wait for the host to reach Golden Core first, but seeing as Ink Bamboo Mountain has too many enemies, if a calamity strikes again, I can't guarantee when the mountain gate will be attacked. It's better to prepare early.

It's much more convenient to recycle the fragments of other people's magic treasures than to mine and purify stones from a mine pit myself. However, forging swords this way will result in too many impurities, and the items will be of low quality. We'll have to make do with them."'

Li Fan agreed. The human world was truly too dangerous. He was becoming numb to death. Even the young Zhang He only evoked a slight sigh. If this continued, he might develop PTSD...

They spent about two hours cleaning up like this. The disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain also returned to Fuling's large treasure ship to gather, returning fully loaded.

Spiritual materials and immortal treasures belonged to whoever found them. The Divine Essence money was pooled and divided equally. Some merchant goods like silk were settled on deck with Fuling on the spot. According to Lu Xing, they had come purely out of friendship to help the Lu Family and the Jiang family, then out of righteous indignation to punish the villains of Tiantai Mountain. After the incident, they didn't flee privately but stayed to fight and rescue their trapped comrades.

On the other side, those who followed Lu Qi, initially harboring thoughts of plunder, not only failed to gain anything but suffered losses. Being trapped in the formation showed their true colors; many died fighting each other. Forget being brothers, they might not even be able to face each other without becoming enemies.

Could this also be called the cycle of heaven and the unyielding retribution?