Years ago, Ruan Zheng, Laughing Monk, Shentu Hong, and the others had rashly slain an overseas Loose Immortal by mistake. The Dragon-Slaying Abbess had caught them, stuffed them into a sack, and delivered them to Qi Shouming at Turtle-Fishing Rock in the Eastern Sea.
The Dragon-Slaying Abbess, Shen Xiu, had herself once been accused by Chan Master Xiaoyue of violating the sect's rules because of her excessive bloodlust. Elder Longbrow had taken the opportunity to expel her and send her to become a nun under Divine Nuns Xinru.
This time, Qi Shouming could not shield them either. He expelled them from the sect, requiring them to undergo tribulations outside for more than eighty years. Ruan Zheng, in particular, had to reincarnate three times before he could return.
Over those three lifetimes, sometimes he recovered his memories and sometimes he did not. Sometimes he and Mingshu loved each other, while at other times he wanted to keep his distance.
The vows sworn before seas and mountains that Shibi Old Man spoke of belonged to his previous life, or even the one before that. Now that Ruan Zheng had fully recovered his memories, his heart was set solely on heavenly immortal attainment, with no desire for romantic attachments. Shibi Old Man could not accept this. In his fury, he had imprisoned Ruan Zheng here to torture him to death.
When he saw Shi Zhu, he knew that he was Old Man Withered Bamboo's reincarnation, possessed powerful magic, and most likely had the means to escape. But the relationship between the Emei Sect and Shi Feiyang was complicated, making it difficult for him to ask for help.
In truth, he felt considerable gratitude toward Old Man Withered Bamboo. In his previous life, when he had helped Zhuge Jingwo go to Heaven Beyond Divine