From ten thousand zhang in the air, they watched the children below. After a brief spell of panic and confusion, the children gathered together again, hopping and skipping back toward the village.
Only then did Su Shi'er and the others turn their gazes back to Lin Hezhuo.
Before any of them could speak, Lin Hezhuo lowered his head dejectedly.
"I had thought I could harden my heart, gather the souls of those steeped in extreme yin, and suppress the power of that Half-Immortal Artifact. But... when I saw the innocent, untainted eyes of those children, I ultimately could not bring myself to do it!"
Han Yu spoke up. "Fellow Daoist Lin, there is no need to be discouraged. You and I are not Evil Cultivators by nature. How could such a thing possibly come easily to us?"
"That's right! Now that Fellow Daoist Wang has come as well, he has found a lead on the Nine Nether Blood Lotus. As long as we can locate the Nine Nether Blood Lotus, it can likewise help us obtain the Half-Immortal Artifact. Moreover, Fellow Daoist Wang's words just now also left me enlightened, as though clouds had parted and the moon had appeared. The so-called Dao Fa Nature..."
Xiao Yue promptly spoke up, recounting what Su Shi'er had said earlier at Bai Zhang Market to counsel her and Han Yu.
Xiao Yue spoke neither hurriedly nor slowly. As Lin Hezhuo listened to her account, the dejection on his face gradually faded. He stood there blankly, his face equally filled with deep reflection.
"Dao Fa Nature... No wonder Martial Uncle did everything in his power to bring Elder Wang into the Ancient Immortal Sect. Judging from this insight alone, Elder Wang's state of mind far surpasses Hezhuo's."
In the next instant, Lin Hezhuo's gaze