Master Puhong's gaze fell upon Zhang Xiaofan, filled with compassion and pity.
"Junior Brother Pu Zhi saw that Xiaofan's aptitude was poor, but his resolve was extraordinary and his heart exceptionally kind. So he decided to take him as his disciple."
"He wanted to fulfill through Xiaofan the dream he had been unable to achieve in his lifetime."
"So he entrusted Xiaofan with both the supreme secret art of our Heavenly Sound Temple, Great Brahma Prajna, and the most vicious object in our Buddhist sect, the Blood-Devouring Bead."
"He taught Xiaofan the true art in the hope that he would join Qingyun, combine the cultivation methods of Buddhism and Daoism, and forge a path the likes of which had never been seen before."
"He gave Xiaofan the Blood-Devouring Bead in the hope that Xiaofan's pure and kind heart could quell the fiendish aura of this sinister object, thereby ridding the world of a scourge."
"But..."
Master Puhong's voice turned unbearably pained and hoarse.
"But my junior brother ultimately underestimated the Blood-Devouring Bead's vicious nature, and overestimated his own ability to resist his inner demons."
"After passing on the true art, his mind and spirit were utterly exhausted. The Blood-Devouring Bead's fiendish aura invaded him, clouding his mind, and he committed... committed a monstrous crime!"
By this point, Master Puhong could no longer control his emotions. Tears streamed down his aged face.
"The Grass Temple Village massacre was not the work of Demon Sect fiends."
"The murderer who slaughtered those 247 innocent lives was none other than my junior brother from the Heavenly Sound Temple, Pu Zhi!"
Boom!
Those final words struck everyone like a bolt of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, crashing down upon their heads.
The entire Jade Purity Hall sank into deathly silence.
Everyone was utterly stunned by this