No Dodging

It was like the high and mighty princes and nobles of the Mortal Realm, who thought that tossing the common people a little charity would turn them into tools they could wield to command wind and rain. The moment the people failed to do as they wished, they cursed them as unruly and uncivilized, never once thinking to look for fault in themselves.

"But those men were the ones who were awful! It was their fault!"

"Pah! Then you were the tool that helped those tyrants do evil!" Bian Chunchou spat twice. At first, he had felt some sympathy for the giant tree, but the more he thought about it, the clearer it became: it bore the title of the village's protector while doing nothing at all. Only after the women had been persecuted to this point had it begun its hypocritical attempts to make peace. "When you get right down to it, you coveted the faith of those scumbags, didn't you? You were afraid that if you took too harsh a stand, their faith in you would change. And because the women were powerless, you thought a little charity would make them fall over themselves thanking you!"

"And you still say you did nothing wrong! You'll take faith from anyone, won't you? You could stomach the faith of those filthy beasts? You really were starving! No wonder you failed your tribulation. Heaven has eyes after all! You showed us those Illusory Realms hoping we'd help you purge your resentment, didn't you? Dream on!"

With a boom, the Illusory Realm shattered in an instant. The shimmering water overhead suddenly fell away, and firelight shone down.

The sect's rescuers had arrived!!

And the giant tree seemed to have had its hidden thoughts laid bare by Bian Chouchou's words. The depths of