Determination

Run!

Keep running!

Run as fast as you can!

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

They didn't even dare to take to the skies, forced to sprint across the ground.

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

Don't look back!

If you look back, your heart will soften, and you won't be able to stop yourself from turning back to fight to the death!

Xin Xiaoye wailed at the top of her lungs, so Ning Ye simply hoisted her onto his back and dragged Qing Lin along as they ran.

Yet even so, Qing Lin couldn't keep up; it was as if something were pulling at him, his legs heavy as if filled with lead.

He had clearly broken free from his restraints, possessed greater strength than Ning Ye, and was faster than him, yet he was being dragged along by Ning Ye just like this.

They ran eight hundred miles in a single night.

Until even as cultivators they could run no further, the three of them collapsed powerlessly in the Apricot Forest.

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

As for Xin Xiaoye, she had cried until she was nearly breathless, her beautiful face pale and haggard, her lovely eyes swollen into peaches.

Ning Ye looked at them, sighed softly, and dragged his exhausted body to a nearby mountain spring to fetch some water: "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, drink."

Qing Lin looked at the cupped handful of spring water, then suddenly slapped Ning Ye's hand away and punched him square in the face.

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

In contrast, the grief-stricken Xin Xiaoye did nothing, merely watching as Ning Ye was beaten.

It wasn't because she disliked Ning Ye, but rather because her heart had died and turned to ash, leaving everything feeling gray.

Though both were grieving, Qing Lin was filled with rage while Xin Xiaoye was hollowed out; only Ning Ye remained calm.

Facing the assault, Ning Ye did not resist, simply letting Qing Lin have his way.

He said: "If this makes you feel better, then do it. But remember, this is your only chance to vent."

What?

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

Ning Ye said: "We have many things to do. To reach our goal, from today on, you must learn to cast aside all personal emotions when considering our path."

"Cast aside all personal emotions?" 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 at all? What do you mean by casting aside all personal emotions? Do you want to give up on avenging Master?"

"Quite the opposite. It is precisely because we must do this that we can achieve revenge," Ning Ye said, looking at him.

His gaze was calm, yet Qing Lin read a terrifying, resolute meaning within it.

He let go and took a few steps back: "What do you want to do?"

Ning Ye straightened his collar: "The Haotian Sect, the Taiyin Sect, and the Black and White Divine Palace are the three pillars of the Nine Provinces. Within them, one could find hundreds of people at Master's level, not to mention figures like Yue Xinchan and Ancestor Yanrong, who stand high above like unreachable stars and moons. To destroy such great sects, mere righteous indignation will not suffice."

Qing Lin looked at him, saying nothing.

A glimmer of light gradually ignited in Xin Xiaoye's eyes.

Her dead heart had been sparked by Ning Ye's words.

Ning Ye continued: "There is only one way to take down such powerful sects... and that is to infiltrate their ranks and dismantle them from within."

What?

Qing Lin looked at Ning Ye in disbelief: "You want to defect to the enemy?"

"I said, this is for revenge," Ning Ye replied: "I thought about it on the way here; this is the only way."

Qing Lin gradually calmed down: "How do I know you aren't defecting to the enemy on purpose?"

Ning Ye suddenly slapped Qing Lin across the face.

The blow was sudden, swift, and completely unexpected, leaving Qing Lin dazed.

Ning Ye said in a low voice: "Senior Brother, I respect you as my senior and you have always been kind to me, so I have always treated you with deference. I can understand your feelings, but from now on, you had better learn to use your brain! Love for one's sect and family is not shown by wailing and throwing your life away, but by action!"

Looking at Ning Ye's furious expression, Qing Lin began to understand.

Although Ning Ye's cultivation was lower than his, at this moment, he seemed more like the senior brother.

Gently wiping away his tears, Qing Lin nodded: "I was blinded by rage and spoke without thinking. You are right to rebuke me, Junior Brother. Tell me, what exactly should we do?"

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

It was an ancient, ornate hall, though it looked damaged in many places.

Qing Lin was stunned: "The Thousand Mechanism Hall?"

This was the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

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

Ning Ye had already said, "The main body of the Thousand Mechanism Hall is in my hands. With it, I can sense the fragments of the Thousand Mechanism Hall. However, most of the fragments are held by the major immortal sects..."

Qing Lin understood what he meant: "So you want to infiltrate the immortal sects to retrieve the fragments?"

Ning Ye shook his head: "Although the Thousand Mechanism Hall is a divine object, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect never truly perfected it back then, so it is not invincible. The fact that it could be shattered is proof of that. Relying on it alone is not enough to take revenge. But with it, we can grow stronger, thereby gaining a higher status within the three immortal sects, and ultimately restore the Heavenly Mechanism Sect."

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

"I said it before: living, especially living while burdened with hatred, is harder than dying. If our senior brothers and sisters were not afraid of death for the sake of the sect, then what is there to fear about hardship?"

Hearing this, a surge of sorrow rose in Qing Lin's heart: "What do I have to fear? Even if I am sliced into a thousand pieces, I will still hack those bastards to death!"

Even Xin Xiaoye stood up at once: "As long as I can take revenge, anything will do!"

Her loved ones were gone; the belief that kept her alive now was vengeance!

"That's good." Ning Ye put away the Thousand Mechanism Hall: "The people from the three great immortal sects must already know that we have escaped, and they are surely doing everything in their power to find us. Our primary task now is to make the three of us—Bai Yu, Qing Lin, and Xin Xiaoye—completely disappear from the world."

Qing Lin said: "I can use illusions..."

Ning Ye raised his hand to stop him: "Can your illusion techniques deceive those in the Myriad Laws Realm? Can they deceive those in the Immaculate Realm? Can they deceive those in the Nirvana Realm?"

Qing Lin was speechless.

Naturally, they could not.

Qing Lin felt helpless, feeling as though he were being led by the nose by his junior brother, and said: "Then what method do you have?"

"It's simple."

Ning Ye pointed his finger, and a patch of flames ignited. He flicked his long sleeves, and countless branches were tossed into the fire, burning fiercely and gradually turning into charcoal.

Seeing that charcoal, Qing Lin and Xin Xiaoye felt a chill in their hearts. They suddenly realized what Ning Ye's method was, and they looked at him in shock: "You..."

Ning Ye said coldly: "What? Those who are willing to die for the sect are afraid of being disfigured?"

Qing Lin had a handsome appearance and had always considered himself a dashing man.

Although Xin Xiaoye was not a great beauty, she was still a pretty girl, and as a woman, she cherished her looks even more.

They could be willing to die for the sect, but at this moment, looking at the fire, they were truly afraid.

Qing Lin looked at Ning Ye, trembling: "Is there no other way?"

Ning Ye replied: "There must be a traitor in the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, and we don't know who it is or which side they have defected to. Once we infiltrate the enemy's sect and are discovered, you know the consequences."

Xin Xiaoye trembled uncontrollably and said: "We are cultivators; even if we are disfigured, we can recover."

Ning Ye nodded: "I know, and I know even better that since you and I practice the mental cultivation methods of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, even if we hide our appearance, we cannot hide our cultivation techniques. There are tests upon entry; if the three of us enter with our cultivation intact, we will be exposed the moment we are tested."

Qing Lin looked at Ning Ye in shock: "Are you saying you want us to..."

Ning Ye gave a soft hum: "Disperse our cultivation. Only by dispersing all our cultivation and ensuring that nothing of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect remains on us can we deceive them. If we can do that, even our body shapes and bone structures must be altered."

Xin Xiaoye cried out: "That's impossible! You are asking us to destroy years of cultivation in one go. Do you know what it feels like to be cast down into the mortal dust?"

Ning Ye sighed softly: "I said it before: living... is inherently harder than dying!"

Qing Lin and Xin Xiaoye looked at the bonfire, their hearts filled with confusion.

At this moment, they finally understood how deep the hatred in their junior brother's heart truly was, understood how resolute he was, and understood how fragile they were in front of him.

Disperse cultivation, disfigurement!

For the sake of revenge, one must be willing to pay any price!!!

Staring at the fire, Xin Xiaoye said in a trembling voice: "Then in the future... will we still have a chance to restore our appearance?"

"Yes," Ning Ye replied.

This answer made Xin Xiaoye breathe a sigh of relief.

But the next moment, Ning Ye's follow-up plunged her back into hell: "So no matter what, we must avoid all of this from ever happening."