Daoist Cangsong knelt on the ground and slammed his forehead against it, bowing until it struck the very bottom. His head hit the rubble-strewn earth. Thin streams of bright red blood slowly trickled down, seeped between the stones, and soaked into the ground.
"You!..." Daoxuan glared at Cangsong kneeling at his feet, his face blazing with fury and his eyes wide with disbelief. Cangsong was a proud man, yet now he was forcing Daoxuan to yield in this manner. How could Daoxuan not be enraged? What would become of their friendship after this?
Whether or not Daoxuan yielded today, there was no turning back for his relationship with Cangsong. Even if he did yield, Cangsong's proud nature might feel grateful for his magnanimity for a time, but one day he would surely reclaim the humiliation he suffered today.
"Please, Senior Brother, grant my request!" Cangsong choked out, his voice full of resolve and determination.
Daoxuan True Person took a deep breath, fighting the urge to strike him down with a single palm. Gritting his teeth, he spat out each word through clenched teeth. "You know the consequences of trespassing into the Forbidden Ground. I'll give you one last chance! Go back to Dragon Head Peak. Now!"
Cangsong did not retreat. He kept slamming his forehead against the ground. Some of the gravel had already embedded itself in the skin of his brow, and blood covered his face.
Even so, the only eyes visible on Cangsong's bloodied face still shone with determination and hope!
Today's matter was, one could say, his only chance at redemption, and the one thing he remained determined to see through! He did not want to retreat, could not retreat, and must not retreat! If he did, he would plunge into a place from which there was