Resolve

Run!

Keep running!

Run as fast as you can!

Qing Lin, Xin Xiaoye, and Ning Ye fled for their lives.

They didn't even dare take to the sky, and could only race along the ground.

Every time Xin Xiaoye tried to look back, Ning Ye stopped her.

Don't look back!

If she did, she would go softhearted—and she wouldn't be able to stop herself from turning around and fighting her way back!

Xin Xiaoye sobbed aloud, so Ning Ye simply carried her on his back and pulled Qing Lin along as they ran.

But even then, Qing Lin could barely keep going, as though something were dragging him back. His legs felt as heavy as if they'd been filled with lead.

He had already escaped, and was stronger and faster than Ning Ye, yet there he was, being dragged along by his junior brother.

They ran eight hundred li through the night.

By the time even their cultivators' bodies could run no farther, all three collapsed helplessly in the Apricot Forest.

"Master..." Qing Lin closed his eyes in anguish.

As for Xin Xiaoye, she had cried so hard she could barely breathe. Her face was wan, and her lovely eyes were swollen like peaches.

Ning Ye looked at them and sighed. Then he dragged his exhausted body to a nearby mountain spring and brought back some water. "Senior brother, senior sister, drink."

Qing Lin stared at the handful of spring water. Suddenly, he slapped Ning Ye's hand away and punched him in the face.

Ning Ye was stunned by the blow. Qing Lin pounced on him, raining punches and kicks down on him. "It's all your fault! All your fault! If it weren't for you, my Heavenly Mechanism Sect wouldn't have been wiped out!"

By contrast, Xin Xiaoye, who was consumed by grief, did nothing. She only watched as Ning Ye was beaten.

It wasn't because she liked Ning Ye. It was more that, with her heart dead and withered, the whole world had turned to ash.

They were both grieving. Qing Lin was consumed by rage, Xin Xiaoye's heart had withered, and only Ning Ye remained calm.

As Qing Lin beat him, Ning Ye didn't resist. He simply let him do as he pleased.

"If this makes you feel better, then go ahead," he said. "But remember, this is your one and only chance to vent."

What?

Qing Lin froze, and his fists and feet came to a halt.

"We still have a lot to do," Ning Ye said. "To achieve our goal, from this day forward, you must learn to set aside all personal feelings when considering a problem."

"Set aside all personal feelings?" Qing Lin shook his head. He grabbed Ning Ye by the collar and shoved him against a tree. "Are you even human? Do you have any feelings? What do you mean, set aside all personal feelings? Are you saying you want to give up on avenging Master?"

"Quite the opposite. If we don't, we'll never get revenge." Ning Ye looked at him.

His gaze was calm, yet Qing Lin could read a terrifying resolve in it.

He let go and stepped back several paces. "What are you planning?"

Ning Ye straightened his collar. "The Haotian Sect, Taiyin Sect, and Black and White Divine Palace are the Three Pillars of the Nine Continents. Each of them has dozens, even hundreds, of people at Master's level, let alone figures like Yue Xinchans and Ancestor Yanrong, who stand high above us, as unreachable as the stars and moon. Wiping out great sects like those isn't something we can accomplish by acting on impulse."

Qing Lin looked at him without saying a word.

A glimmer slowly kindled in Xin Xiaoye's eyes.

Ning Ye's words had lit a spark in her dead heart.

"There's only one way to deal with great sects like those," Ning Ye continued. "We infiltrate them and destroy them from within."

What?

Qing Lin stared at Ning Ye in disbelief. "You want to join the enemy sects?"

"I told you, this is about revenge," Ning Ye said. "I've been thinking it over on the way here. This is the only way."

Qing Lin gradually calmed down. "How do I know you're not deliberately siding with the enemy?"

Ning Ye suddenly slapped Qing Lin across the face.

The blow came abruptly and swiftly, catching Qing Lin completely off guard. It left him reeling.

Ning Ye's voice sank. "Senior brother, I've always respected you because you're my senior brother and you've treated me well. I understand how you feel, but from this moment on, you'd better learn to use your head! Love for our sect and our family isn't shown by wailing and throwing your life away. It's shown through action!"

Seeing the anger on Ning Ye's face, Qing Lin began to understand.

Though Ning Ye was weaker than him, at that moment he seemed more like the senior brother.

Wiping away his tears, Qing Lin nodded. "I let anger cloud my judgment and said things I shouldn't have. You were right to reprimand me, junior brother. So tell me, what exactly should we do?"

Ning Ye flipped his hand, and an object appeared in his palm.

It was an ancient, old-fashioned grand hall, though it looked damaged in many places.

Qing Lin stared in astonishment. "The Thousand Mechanism Hall?"

This was the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

It was also what had brought Ning Ye to this world and led him to the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.

Ning Ye said, "The main body of the Thousand Mechanism Hall is in my hands. With it, I can sense the scattered fragments. But most of those fragments are held by the various Immortal Sects..."

Qing Lin understood. "So you want to infiltrate the Immortal Sects and collect the fragments?"

Ning Ye shook his head. "The Thousand Mechanism Hall may be a divine treasure, but the Heavenly Mechanism Sect never truly perfected it. It isn't invincible, as the fact that it was shattered back then proves. We can't get revenge with it alone. But with it, we can grow stronger, rise to a higher position within the Three Immortal Sects, and ultimately restore the Heavenly Mechanism Sect."

Qing Lin shook his head. "That won't be easy."

"I told you before: staying alive—especially living with the burden of hatred—is harder than dying. If you and senior sister aren't afraid to die for the sect, then what's so hard about this?"

Hearing that, Qing Lin was overwhelmed by grief. "What am I afraid of? Even if they cut me into a thousand pieces, I'll chop those bastards to bits!"

Even Xin Xiaoye sprang to her feet. "As long as we can get revenge, I'll do anything!"

Her loved ones were gone. The only thing keeping her alive now was the desire for revenge!

"Good." Ning Ye put away the Thousand Mechanism Hall. "The people from the Three Immortal Sects should already know we escaped. They'll be searching for us with everything they have. Our first priority is to make Bai Yu, Qing Lin, and Xin Xiaoye disappear from the world completely."

"I can disguise myself..." Qing Lin began.

Ning Ye raised a hand to stop him. "Can your disguise fool someone in the Myriad Laws Realm? The Immaculate Realm? The Nirvana Realm?"

Qing Lin fell silent.

Of course it couldn't.

Qing Lin was at a loss. He felt as if his junior brother had already led him around by the nose. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Simple."

Ning Ye pointed, and flames sprang up. With a sweep of his sleeve, he sent countless branches into the fire. They blazed fiercely and gradually turned to charcoal.

At the sight of the charcoal, Qing Lin and Xin Xiaoye felt a chill in their hearts. They suddenly understood what Ning Ye intended to do and stared at him in shock. "You..."

Ning Ye said coldly, "What? You were willing to die for the sect, but you're afraid to ruin your faces?"

Qing Lin had a handsome face and had always considered himself a dashing gentleman.

Xin Xiaoye wasn't a peerless beauty, but she was still a pretty young woman, and, like most women, treasured her looks.

They could have died for their sect, but now, watching those flames, they were truly afraid.

Qing Lin stared at Ning Ye, trembling. "Isn't there any other way?"

Ning Ye replied, "There was definitely a traitor in the Heavenly Mechanism Sect. We don't know who it was or which side they joined. If we infiltrate an enemy sect and are discovered, you know what will happen."

Xin Xiaoye trembled uncontrollably. "We're cultivators. Even if our faces are ruined, they'll heal."

Ning Ye nodded. "I know. And I also know that we cultivate the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's techniques. Even if we disguise our appearance, we can't hide our cultivation method. They test people when they join. If the three of us enter with our cultivation intact, the moment we're tested, they'll discover who we are."

Qing Lin stared at Ning Ye in shock. "You mean you're going to..."

Ning Ye gave a soft hum. "Disperse our cultivation. Only by abandoning all our power, so that nothing of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect remains within us, can we fool them. And if we can manage it, we'll even have to change our builds and bones."

Xin Xiaoye cried out, "That's impossible! You're asking us to throw away years of cultivation. Do you know what it feels like to be cast back down to the mortal world?"

Ning Ye sighed softly. "I told you: living... is harder than going to your death!"

Qing Lin and Xin Xiaoye stared at the bonfire, their minds blank.

At last, they understood just how deep the hatred in their junior brother's heart ran. They understood the strength of his resolve—and how fragile they were beside him.

Disperse their cultivation, ruin their faces!

For revenge, they had to be willing to pay any price!!!

Gazing at the fire, Xin Xiaoye asked in a trembling voice, "Then in the future... will we have a chance to get our looks back?"

"Yes," Ning Ye replied.

His answer let Xin Xiaoye breathe a sigh of relief.

But in the next moment, Ning Ye's words plunged her back into hell. "That's why, no matter what, we have to prevent all of this from happening."