The heat of the flame made the place feel small, in front of her an alchemical cauldron was releasing greenish and sparkling drops.

"1867..1868..1869.." Drops of sweat covered her forehead, she had her eyes closed while on her temple, an unusual stone shone with intensity.

Internal energy flowed from the tips of her fingers. She separated and crushed the herbs, placing them into the cauldron.

"1872..1873..1874.." she continued whispering so as not to lose count.

"Keep going, the alchemical body is in process. If you stop now everything will be over." a voice appeared in her head while she refined 2000 different plants.

"1878..1879..1880.." the woman's thin brows furrowed, she was almost at her limit but forced herself not to stop.

In the enclosed space, the sounds of drawers opening and closing were the only things that could be heard in the closed room.

When she reached the number 2000 she collapsed onto the floor, she could not do anything more.

"You did well." the voice in her head encouraged.

Zi Yuexi let out a dry laugh, shook her head and stood up, she approached the cauldron using her internal energy and moved the steaming lid.

Inside, the body of a 13–14 year old boy was in a fetal position with his eyes closed.

Zi Yuexi's eyes lit up. "I really did it.." she whispered before letting out a small cry of triumph and starting to dance in joy.

"Why are you celebrating so quickly, little one?" the voice in her head asked in a mocking tone. "Take him out of there. You will need him sooner than you imagine."

Zi Yuexi let out a snort but the smile remained persistent on her lips, she did not say anything else and took the body out.

"It is a great vessel." she whispered, taking from her sleeve a vial full of greenish blood and placing it on the boy's temple.

"Place him on the floor." the voice in her head ordered. "The Jing will create itself."

Zi Yuexi nodded, placing the boy on the floor, while the green and viscous blood from the vial spilled across the boy's forehead.

She waited for some time. She did not know how long she had really waited, maybe several minutes or maybe hours.

The muscles and veins on the boy's forehead began to protrude, it was a painful process but he continued with his eyes closed.

"Sister..?" another voice came from outside the door, Zi Yuexi paid no attention and continued observing the boy.

After receiving no response, a tall man with an imposing physique approached the woman, observed the boy and then her.

He wanted to say something but the words would not come out, he crouched beside her and watched as the Jing on the boy's temple was being created.

Neither of them spoke for a long time, they were immersed in the process.

"Do you really think it will work?" he finally asked.

"It will work." Zi Yuexi said without taking her eyes off the boy.

The man remained silent. The newly born gem continued forming on the boy's temple. Fine luminous lines traveled across his skin like roots spreading beneath the flesh.

It was impossible to know whether that could be considered life.

"If it fails…" he murmured.

"It will not fail."

The answer came immediately.

For the first time, the man turned his head to look at her.

Zi Yuexi's hands were trembling. Not much. Just enough for someone who knew her to notice. She was afraid too.

After years of research, countless failed attempts, and consuming enough resources to ruin several minor sects, this was her last opportunity.

"Do not despair, the Jing in his mind has already formed. It most likely worked." the voice in her mind said, reassuring her.

Two years later, Zi Yexue was dead.

Two years ago, a demonic cultivator had taken revenge upon a small city in the southern regions, protected by the orthodox Cloud Heaven Sect.

It was a bloody battle of thirteen years against the demonic cultivator named Zi Yexue.

He was a cold-blooded and inhuman demon, killing more than nine million people to refine his Jing.

One day, Su Tiayu managed to break through his defenses and behead him.

After the battle, Su Tiayu headed toward Zi Yexue's residence, searching for some clue or some secret he might have hidden.

After searching for a long time, he found a map folded very carefully inside a drawer in the corner of a desk.

The map was a representation of the southern region, deep within it, on a mountain not far from the Cloud Heaven Sect, there was an X crossed out in a rushed manner, almost desperate.

When Su Tiayu saw it, he felt a bad premonition, he searched for other maps, geographical ones, and discovered there was an ancient dungeon in that place.

"Why would a genocidal man need a dungeon? To escape?"

These questions circled in Su Tiayu's mind throughout the entire day, even knowing the villain had died, he did not feel safe. He would have to go and see it with his own eyes.

It was a strange feeling, it was one as if something was wrong, but he could not understand why. That same day he searched for his ally Lin Xianhe and headed toward the dungeon.

In the back hills of Jinling City…

Su Tiayu stood before the entrance of the dungeon, the wind blew over the trees and dry branches, the smell of burned stone persisted in the air.

Su Tiayu's robe shone faintly in the dimness, at his side walked the senior disciple Lin Xianhe, a cultivator of the orthodox sects and his martial sister.

Without wasting much time, they attempted to enter the dungeon, but strangely there was a barrier covered with inscriptions, although worn down, they caused the persistent feeling that something was wrong to grow inside Su Tiayu's chest.

Su Tiayu placed his fingers against his lips and called his sword in a whisper, Suiren.

BOOM!

With a loud explosion, the entrance, the dungeon, practically exploded, but what surprised Su Tiayu was that the dungeon, far from being completely damaged, contained an entrance with a vertical staircase leading downward.

The echo of their footsteps resonated through the cold and empty corridors, the farther they advanced the stranger everything appeared.

Lin Xianhe looked toward the walls and they were covered in inscriptions and traces of blood. She frowned slightly, feeling a chill run down her back.

"Something feels wrong, this place is very strange." she said, hugging her arms to dispel the cold. "What do you think is in here?"

They descended the spiral staircase downward until they arrived at a blackened door engraved with inscriptions and iron chains.

A growing discomfort formed in the hearts of the two disciples.

"Ancient inscriptions, they probably did not want anyone to leave nor enter either." Lin Xianhe said while touching the door and noticing layer after layer of inscriptions. "Do you think someone might be imprisoned in there?"

Su Tiayu frowned, raised his hand, causing the gem on his temple to shine while internal energy began concentrating in his fingers, he forced an inscription over another inscription. A wave of internal force destroyed the runes and the door groaned as it opened.

The smell of confinement and something dirty hit their faces, they did not care about the smell and entered.

Inside the area, it felt cold, unsettling, a solitary figure was chained to the wall farther away, with iron links sinking into her wrists and neck, ankles and torso.

Her clothing was made of rags and her skin, pale from years without sunlight, slowly, the figure raised her head, surprised that there would be someone in that place.

At first glance it could be seen that she was a thin woman, her black, jet-black hair spread across the floor, her cheeks were sunken and her ink-black eyes gave the image as if she were a specter in the dungeon chamber, it was a common appearance, one could even call it ugly.

But what shocked them the most was the gem on her temple, a purple gem the size of the tip of a thumb. It was not an ordinary gem, it meant it was an immortal gem, a Jing, but the woman appeared extremely weak so that, instead of looking like a threat, she looked more like a corpse.

Lin Xianhe covered her mouth in horror, but Su Tiayu had a much stronger internal conflict, because she looked very similar to the demonic cultivator they had just killed.

He called his sword once again, Suiren, pointing it at the chained woman's neck.

Lin Xianhe sharply drew in a breath, taking a step backward.

"It can't be, Brother Tiayu, what are you doing?" she asked in alarm.

Su Tiayu ignored her, intensifying the internal energy through his sword. His gaze was fierce, noticeably irritated by seeing that familiar face.

"Speak before I pierce your neck," he demanded while threatening her. "You are granted only a single breath to justify your existence before judgment falls upon you."

The words echoed through the dungeon chamber like a restrained roar.

"Young man, you are too hasty, why are you attacking me all of a sudden?" she asked in a hoarse voice because of the chains. "Who are you people? Where is my brother?"

The place fell into absolute silence for several more seconds, interrupted only by her strained breathing.

Su Tiayu showed not the slightest trace of doubt or pity toward the woman's questions. His golden eyes, devoid of any human warmth, while the tip of his blade pressed firmly against the skin of Zi Yuexi's neck.

"Your brother has been judged and executed for his crimes against Jinling," Su Tiayu declared with an icy voice that cut through the atmosphere like a knife. "His soul no longer inhabits this plane, and his bloodline is a stain that Light and justice demand be erased."

Zi Yuexi seemed to understand something, and her eyes narrowed. She said nothing more, she simply remained sitting there. After all, she could not move because of the chains.

Su Tiayu took a step forward, reducing the distance until his white robe almost brushed against Zi Yuexi's tattered clothing.

Behind him, Lin Xianhe kept her fingers near her lips, ready to summon her sword at any moment.

Divided between duty and the horror of seeing a prisoner so similar to the monster they had just destroyed. Su Tiayu, however, did not share such moral conflicts; to his logical mind, she was not a victim, but a dangerous remnant of a darkness that had to be eradicated at its root.

"Was it you who killed him?" she asked, completely serious. "Who are you?"

Zi Yuexi did not wait for any answer from him. The woman extended both hands and presented her chained neck.

"Free me," she ordered without the slightest shame.

Su Tiayu's jaw tightened, a display of his contempt toward the woman's audacity.

It was not common for a captive, standing at the edge of execution, to dare give orders to a disciple of the Cloud Heaven Sect, much less after confirming the death of a family member.

The glow in his golden eyes intensified, showing an imperceptible but genuine surprise.

"Your brother died beneath my sword because he is a genocidal monster, and the justice enforced by my sect recognizes no personal ties," he responded coldly. "You are not in a position to demand freedom. After all, you are imprisoned for a reason."

Su Tiayu did not withdraw his sword, but he allowed Lin Xianhe to step closer.

"Why should I free you?" he asked with cutting coldness. "How do I know that if I free you from here, you will not commit murder outside?"

Zi Yuexi's black eyes were expressionless, completely calm.

"I have no desire to fight, the only reason I am here is for my own cultivation." her voice was being forced to answer the disciple's questions, it was not comfortable at all to speak with chains on. "My brother's crimes have nothing to do with me."

Lin Xianhe was not convinced by what the prisoner was saying.

"If he is your brother, then why didn't you help him? It makes no sense." She paused for a moment. "How do we know you are not his accomplice?"

"Massacring, killing, don't you think that is very boring?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "It is too troublesome, it would be of no use to me."

Su Tiayu did not lower his weapon; the tip of the steel remained steady, although his logical mind processed every word the woman spoke.

Her answer was quite common, so common that it was unusual, her logic was simple, she did not want to get involved in trouble because she saw it as something "troublesome."

But his mind classified her in another way. After all, indifference was often the precursor to the most absolute cruelty. Or at least that was what he told himself.

Su Tiayu lowered the sword slightly, but did not sheath it; instead, with a quick and precise movement, Su Tiayu struck the shackles with the pommel of his weapon, imbued with spiritual energy.

The metal, forged with containment inscriptions, cracked apart and fell to the floor with a metallic crash that echoed through the stone walls.

"You are free from your physical chains." he said, taking a step back to give her space, although his hand remained firmly gripping the hilt of his sword. "If you truly have no interest in the affairs of men, you will walk out of this tower under my custody."

Zi Yuexi rose with inhuman effort, staggering and nearly falling several times. After all, it was difficult, even for her, it was not easy to stand in that condition.

"Simple mortals, giving me orders, it is quite amusing." she said, holding onto the wall, her breathing uneven from the effort. "Do not misunderstand me, it is simply not common."

Su Tiayu did not react to the dismissive comment about his mortality.

"You may find humor in our existence, but it is that same 'simplicity' that brought down your brother and the same one that today holds the blade that decides your fate." Su Tiayu replied with a direct and emotionless voice.

He made an imperative gesture toward the exit of the chamber while positioning himself behind her.

Zi Yuexi looked at him over her shoulder while leaving the dungeon chamber, holding herself against the walls until she reached the spiral staircase. A crooked smile appeared on her lips.

The Jing stone on her temple glowed faintly and internal energy seeped from her fingers into the walls, creating cracks until, upon reaching the threshold, the dungeon collapsed completely.

Zi Yuexi turned around once she was outside and stood at the front, signaling for them to lead the way. After all, the dungeon was located in the back hills of the city.

While the dungeon disintegrated into a cloud of fine dust beneath their feet, Su Tiayu maintained his position. It was a display of brute force, a silent warning that the woman before him was not a simple prisoner, but a force of nature restrained only by her own will.

"The destruction of property does not alter your status here, Zi Yuexi. It only confirms that the danger you represent is as great as I suspected from the very first moment I saw you." Su Tiayu said while looking at the road ahead.

He remained a few steps behind her, watching as the sunlight struck her malnourished figure.

The resemblance to Zi Yexue was disturbing; seeing her face was like looking at the ghost of the man he had just killed, but with an elegance and a coldness that the demonic cultivator had never possessed.

"Your power is a debt that you now owe this kingdom," he continued, pointing toward the horizon where the towers of Jinling City stood against the sky. "Lin Xianhe, fetch the horses. Our guest will ride alongside us."

Zi Yuexi nodded without saying many words. In her mind, it was unnecessary.

Su Tiayu narrowed his eyes as he looked once more at the destroyed place. She was an injured, malnourished woman and, apparently, one with a bad temper.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and took a step forward, invading her personal space without showing the slightest trace of fear toward the woman's nature.

His internal energy suddenly became dense, and a faint golden glimmer appeared at his temple.

Zi Yuexi noticed how Su Tiayu's Jing shone with a golden light and raised an eyebrow.

Even though Su Tiayu was trying to intimidate Zi Yuexi, she was far more interested in his Jing. She was an alchemist. Awakening the Jing of other cultivators was, in fact, her profession.

'Without a doubt, an extremely pure internal energy. Very few people would possess a Jing like this,' she thought.

Su Tiayu was not unaware of the woman's sudden attention. She certainly resembled a specter or a vengeful spirit.

He was a vessel of a will greater than any individual desire. To Su Tiayu, she was nothing more than a dangerous variable in an equation he had yet to solve.

"You have nothing tying you to this place. Correct? We will move now," he ordered without giving her another glance.

Zi Yuexi also looked away and absentmindedly played with the tips of her fingers.

She could barely remain standing and was extremely anxious. A severe headache pounded in her skull, but she ignored the discomfort as something beyond her control.

"Disciple, tell me. Did your Sect Master send you here to seal me?" she asked casually.

'My body is indeed very weak because of the Immortal Jing. If they could seal it and leave me with nothing, I could rebuild my cultivation with a stronger foundation, though with far fewer resources.'

To Zi Yuexi, her question regarding the Grand Sect Master seemed like the most precise question she could ask in her current situation.

Nevertheless, Su Tiayu did not allow her to guess that it was, in fact, the order he had received.

"The Grand Master is the Herald of Peace, and his will is absolute. If he decides that your veins shall never again channel the flow of spiritual energy, then so it shall be," he replied with a solemnity that bordered on religious devotion.

Yet while she questioned him, she was also analyzing Su Tiayu.

She could tell that his orders were to seal her, but not only had he failed to do so, he was merely escorting her instead.

'This is the man who killed my brother. But he does not possess enough power to seal an Immortal Jing, which means he was probably at the same level as him.'

However, Zi Yuexi noticed that something else was very wrong with his answer.

'If he decides spiritual power cannot flow through my veins, then it shall be? Impossible. I suppose he's more ignorant than I thought.'

Even so, she merely raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile lingering on her lips.

"Jings can only be sealed until they become a stone without spiritual power. In other words, I would be almost like a civilian," she replied, her arms crossed over her chest.

Su Tiayu did not answer. He continued giving the woman his back.

Zi Yuexi's expression became strange when the disciple said nothing, arriving at the conclusion that, indeed, something was wrong with him.

"You cannot seal me, destroy, or harm my Jing. It is basic knowledge. At most, you would merely empty my spiritual stone," she said at last.

At that moment, Lin Xianhe returned with three horses that had been tied to a nearby tree.

Su Tiayu observed the arrival of the sect's steeds with the same impassive focus as a marble statue.

The woman's arrogance was rooted in a kind of power that he considered irrelevant compared to the fulfillment of duty.

"Your distinction between being sealed, destroyed, or reduced is irrelevant to the safety of Jinling," Su Tiayu replied, mounting his horse with a fluid and mechanical movement.

He gripped the reins firmly, making his mount square itself before her.

The air between them vibrated with a tension that even the horses seemed to perceive, for they neighed nervously in the woman's presence. Su Tiayu offered no hand to help her, nor did he show any courtesy whatsoever; his hospitality was strictly limited.

"If the Grand Master decides that you must walk among us as an equal to mortals, then so it shall be. Now move," he ordered.

Zi Yuexi did not complain. In fact, she did not complain at all. She was completely absorbed in thought.

'He is like a child who cannot distinguish between good and evil. To him there is no middle ground. It only shows how innocent he is.'

A cold smile devoid of humor appeared on her lips. She said nothing more and mounted the horse, which creaked in protest the moment she climbed onto it.

She settled herself upon the horse, which trembled beneath her grip as she forced it forward. Suddenly, she looked up toward the sky.

'My defenses are weak. My body does not have much time left. If I do not arrive in time, my head will probably explode,' she thought.

She casually looked ahead toward the Senior Disciple. Her gaze traveled from the woman's back to the nape of her neck, more specifically to the cockroach-shaped mole there.

The look Zi Yuexi fixed upon Lin Xianhe's neck did not escape Su Tiayu's notice. To him, it was the gaze of a predator studying a small and curious prey, a malicious amusement that caused him to tighten his grip on his reins.

Lin Xianhe, though brave, visibly tensed beneath Zi Yuexi's attention.

Su Tiayu immediately moved to the side, placing himself between the two women.

"Stop looking at her like that. Do not make me lose my patience. Even before we reach the Grand Master," Su Tiayu warned in a voice that admitted no argument.

Zi Yuexi wanted to laugh at the disciple's stupidity, but merely shrugged and looked away.

The group began their descent along the steep path leading away from the ruins of the dungeon.

The silence was broken only by the rhythmic clatter of hooves against stone and the creaking leather of the saddles.

Su Tiayu did not relax for even a second; his vigilance was absolute. His golden eyes scanned both the horizon and every movement made by the woman at his side.

To him, this journey was not an escort mission, but the transportation of a living weapon that could explode at any moment.

Although he was not wrong, it was not exactly as he imagined. The fact that she was a living weapon capable of self-detonating was, indeed, a problem Zi Yuexi possessed.

He gently spurred his horse forward to remain alongside her, his profile carved from stone beneath the intense midday light.

"You say you do not kill for the sake of killing, yet your indifference toward the destruction of your own place of cultivation and the death of your blood suggests that, to you, life is a disposable resource," he continued, his golden eyes shining with relentless judgment.

"Do not misunderstand. I never said I was a good person, much less that I did not kill for the sake of killing," she replied almost immediately.

She was not in a good mood, and this child seemed intent on annoying her over and over again by forcing conversation.

"Your honesty is the only thing I respect so far, Zi Yuexi," Su Tiayu declared, his voice cutting through the air like an icy blade.

As they continued forward, the imposing gates of Jinling City began to materialize through the spectral whiteness.

Su Tiayu did not allow himself to be distracted by the beauty of the marble spires rising toward the heavens. Instead, he maintained his vigilance over the woman.

"We are almost there," he added, his tone becoming even more severe. "Before the Grand Master, your lineage and your power will be nothing more than shadows before the midday sun."

Zi Yuexi nodded. Her fingers began moving in small circles, materializing her internal energy in an attempt to relieve the tension within her dantian.

But the disciple knew nothing of that. Noticing the subtle movement of her hands—so slight that most people would never have noticed it—his jaw tightened.

To him, the frivolous use of arcane energy was a profanation of the natural order, a display of the arrogance that defined her.

"Stop playing with forces you do not respect," he ordered with cutting dryness.

Zi Yuexi froze momentarily, a trace of genuine astonishment crossing her eyes.

Since time immemorial, alchemists had given rise to the Jing, a technique perfected by the disciples and their founder.

She needed to release internal energy or she would simply explode. She could not escape because her body was weak at the moment, and without strength or power, freedom was nothing more than a dream.

As they crossed the threshold of the inner walls, the city's architecture began to glow with a radiance of its own.

Su Tiayu spurred his horse forward, guiding her directly toward the Temple of Eternity, where she would meet the Grand Master.

The sect's outer disciples brought an animal cage to escort her.

"We have arrived," he announced, dismounting with impeccable precision before positioning himself beside her horse. "Get down."

Zi Yuexi did not get off the horse. On the contrary, she looked at the cage with narrowed eyes. They had no evidence against her; they probably had not even known of her existence until now.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked dryly.

"It is a containment measure for your kind." Su Tiayu remained serious as he spoke. "Get in."

With a sudden and decisive movement, Su Tiayu seized the reins of Zi Yuexi's horse.

He walked with a firm, martial stride, dragging both the animal and its rider toward the containment cage while the other disciples standing guard watched the scene with a mixture of astonishment and distrust.

He grabbed her firmly by the arm. She was weak, so she allowed herself to be dragged without complaint, allowing herself to be locked inside.

The cage door shut with a click.

The cage was small and narrow. She could see what was happening outside, but she could neither see nor hear the people beyond it clearly.

The townspeople began throwing stones, demanding the death of the woman who resembled a genocidal monster.

The insults grew louder and louder, but she could not hear them. Instead, she focused on creating little figures out of internal energy once again.

The headache persisted. More precisely, the spot on her forehead pulsed with a faint violet light, indicating that she had reached her limit.

The echo of the disciples' boots against the stone floor was the only sound that preceded their arrival at the Grand Hall, where the monumental doors of gold and silver were already beginning to open, revealing the immense silhouette of the Sect Grand Master.

Zi Yuexi's fingers began to tremble softly. The people outside the cage could see her shaping strange little figures from her internal energy, and the shouting intensified.

Su Tiayu clenched his teeth even harder because she continued to ignore everything he said, but he kept moving forward.

He had an order to carry out, and it would be done.

Upon arriving at the gates of the Temple of Eternity, Zi Yuexi was in complete silence. Her expression was neutral, as if she were very thoughtful.

Su Tiayu, who was next to the cage, opened it with a sudden movement. He had reached his patience's limit with this woman.

"Get down," he ordered in a deep voice. "Before I throw you out myself."

He was deeply irritated by her attitude, but how could they blame him?

"You are a disgrace to the world. A disgrace that I will eliminate at any cost." He crossed his arms, waiting for a weakened Zi Yuexi to come out of the cage.

Zi Yuexi did not waste saliva arguing with him. She clenched her teeth and stumbled out of the cage.

She had a severe headache from the gem on her forehead.

"Who are you to give me orders? Not only are you bold, but you act like an elephant when you are an ant."

Zi Yuexi's words were meant to be poisonous, but there was no real annoyance in her voice.

"Your analogy is as old as it is flawed, Zi Yuexi," he replied, his voice echoing across the platform.

"An elephant can crush an ant without noticing, that is true. But a single ant, carrying the right poison, can bring down the largest beast from within."

Without realizing it, Su Tiayu had already placed Zi Yuexi as an elephant, despite how weak and malnourished she was.

Zi Yuexi let out a laugh, choked by what the disciple was saying.

"My analogy is not old, you are just too naive to understand it."

Su Tiayu took a step to the side, pointing to the void that led directly to the Great Master.

"You can laugh. But in the face of justice, you will be nothing."

As she walked toward the Great Master, Zi Yuexi remembered something that had happened just a few minutes before.

The streets were filled with people who had lost their homes, their parents, their children, their families, or someone close to them.

Upon seeing Zi Yuexi and noticing her resemblance to the man who caused all their disasters, they were shocked, regardless of the actual facts.

It was not a matter of knowing who the culprit was, whether she had anything to do with it, or whether she had anything to say. All they cared about was having someone to blame.

They shouted things like: "You wretched woman, my family is dead because of you," "You are a cursed demon," or "You will suffer a fate worse than death."

Zi Yuexi also did not care about what those people felt. At first, she could not even see them, much less hear them.

Su Tiayu was aware of the situation. Not only did he not calm the crowd, but he made sure to break Zi Yuexi's will with public hatred.

With a surge of internal energy, he broke the seal that kept Zi Yuexi separated from the crowd.

Hearing the curses, she naturally raised her head to look at the people who were cursing her.

Her hands never stopped making little figurines. She observed each one, watching how stones were thrown at her, without hitting her thanks to the protection of the cage.

The whole situation brought a cold smile to Zi Yuexi; to her, it was curious that no matter the era, evolution, or change…

Collective hatred would not change. The ignorance caused by hatred flooded their hearts and, from what it seemed, their brains as well.

It was a double standard that mortals justified in their own way: killing and being killed, loving and being loved, being kind and they will be kind to you… but it was all a surreal ideology.

What they call "just" or "morally correct" are excuses to let out their true selves.

For Zi Yuexi, none of that made sense. Because the only thing worth following in this life was eternal life.

They walked to the center of the hall, in front of the enormous doors. These opened slowly, and a blinding light flooded the place.

On the other side lay the judgment hall. More than two hundred people occupied the stands, each wearing the uniform of their rank: elders, senior disciples, inner disciples, and outer disciples. On the throne at the front sat the old sect master.

Su Tiayu dragged Zi Yuexi with unnecessary force, throwing her to the ground, making the cold marble floor involuntarily make her shiver.

The Great Sect Master looked like a young man, approximately in his thirties.

Zi Yuexi looked at the Jing immortal gem on his forehead, which was the same as hers. Which meant that his appearance was deceptive.

Jing immortal masters stop aging at a certain point when they reach a certain cultivation level.

So, although he looked to be in his thirties, he could be over hundreds of years old.

"Do you know why you are here?" asked the Great Sect Master.

The man rested his elbow on the wooden armrest, while his hand held his face in a lazy position.

His legs were crossed, as if to say he was comfortable.

His long golden hair fell over his shoulders, giving him a harmonious and serene appearance.

If it were not for the stiffness in his shoulders, he might have seemed bored.

Zi Yuexi raised her head completely calmly. Her eyes scanned the man, noticing the stiffness in his shoulders and how clearly uncomfortable he looked. But what did that have to do with her?

"I know perfectly well," she replied dryly.

The Great Sect Master observed her more closely, or rather, the gem that faintly glowed on her forehead.

He was not stupid. There was no way a Jing immortal master would allow themselves to be captured without apparent evidence of guilt.

He narrowed his eyes upon noticing increasingly unusual details. Such as that, despite being malnourished and disheveled, it could be seen that she was in her twenties.

He could easily deceive mortals into believing it was because of the Immortal Jing that she appeared young.

But he could see it; she truly was no more than thirty years old.

"Since you know…," he dragged out the word, pointing with his pale, slender fingers at Zi Yuexi's forehead.

"You are going to explain to me how you became an Immortal Jing master without even being 30 years old."

He straightened up and tilted his head slightly to the side, confused.

"Normally, when you enter the Immortal Jing stage, you stop aging, but only after you have spent at least more than a hundred years…"

He let out a cold laugh that had nothing amusing about it. He was deeply shocked.

"How many lives did you and your brother sacrifice for such an anomaly?"

The murmurs in the hall erupted. It was truly strange; even if it was a serious accusation without proof, it would not surprise anyone.

Zi Yuexi also tilted her head to the side, only that in her case it looked very terrifying.

"I don't need to kill people. I am an alchemist… I can advance on my own with the necessary resources."

Upon hearing her response, the Great Sect Master slammed the armrest, making the hall fall into absolute silence.

"Are you saying you reached Immortal Jing master without even being thirty years old just through alchemy?" He let out a dry laugh as he rose to his feet.

"In ancient times, according to what historians say, the founder Bai Xue explained that alchemists are as valuable as life."

He descended the stairs with slow but steady steps. His white robe dragged across the steps.

He stopped until he was right in front of her, leaning slightly to be at her level.

"If Immortal Jing could be achieved only through alchemy, alchemists would be far more highly demanded."

His hands rose again, but this time directly touching the Immortal Jing gem on the young woman's forehead.

Zi Yuexi felt a vein throbbing in her temple. It was not irritation, but pure pain.

"Wow…," the corner of his mouth curved slightly upward. "Quick to act, Great Sect Master."

She had allowed herself to be captured precisely because her body could not withstand the Jing energy in her head.

The Great Sect Master tilted his head again upon hearing her words.

"Since it is true that we have no evidence against you and, indeed, we were not yet aware of your existence…"

The Sect Master's internal energy began to circulate until it reached the tips of his fingers.

"I cannot let you go until we carry out a full investigation."

Zi Yuexi's head jerked backward, her teeth clenched. An intense pain appeared in her temple as her cultivation was drained by the Sect Master's internal energy.

The pain was such that her nails could only dig into the floor. Her small body trembled until she could no longer endure it and passed out.

But passing out did not mean it was over.

The Sect Master frowned even more upon seeing that she truly was a pure Immortal Jing.

Beads of sweat ran down his temple, and his breathing became slightly heavier.

Sealing an Immortal gem was absolutely not easy. Seeing that the gem was becoming smaller and smaller, the Sect Master finally released her.

He took two steps back, panting, while Zi Yuexi's body finally collapsed onto the floor.

He sighed heavily. "That… that is all." He gestured to Su Tiayu and several other disciples. "Take her away."

He smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in his robes and glanced sideways at the young woman's body, which was being chained even in unconsciousness.

He watched as they dragged her toward the depths of the sect's water dungeon.

He massaged his temples, turning away without giving her another glance.