The Only Thing Worth Following

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.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***