Chapter 74: A Sincere Heart

He knew that although they appeared composed, if any one of them were released, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"What’s wrong? Are you afraid?" Gu He asked.

Bai He deliberately raised his voice. "Fourth Senior Brother, don’t underestimate me. I’ve already reached the Golden Core stage."

Gu He nodded. "Yes, you’ve improved indeed. But you still need to keep working hard."

Although Gu He was somewhat surprised, he was not overly shocked.

After all, aside from Bai He, even the weakest of the elders had already reached the Nascent Soul stage.

At last, they arrived at an empty cell.

Gu He opened the door and locked Sima Qian inside.

"For those you have killed, repent here for a hundred years. After a century, you may leave. I hope you will have changed by then."

Sima Qian looked at him and asked in return, "Have any of the great demons imprisoned here ever truly had a chance to leave?"

"Not yet," Gu He replied calmly. "Lingguang Sect was established less than a hundred years ago. And the crimes committed by great demons are never less than a century in weight."

After saying that, Gu He closed the cell door.

He then left with Bai He.

Almost subconsciously, Bai He asked, "Fourth Senior Brother, where is Pan Yi?"

"Over there."

Gu He pointed toward one of the cages.

As Bai He passed by, he instinctively glanced inside.

Pan Yi did not look at him. Or perhaps he had seen him, but he simply did not wish to face him now.

He sat with his back turned, his clothes torn and ragged, his appearance utterly disheveled.

"Senior Brother is keeping him here. Did he say when he would be released?" Bai He asked.

"Pan Yi committed his own mistakes. He has no one else to blame. This place is very close to where the great demons are imprisoned, so every day is a form of mental torment for him."

Pan Yi’s strength was not great to begin with.

Facing the overwhelming aura radiating from the nearby great demons, how could he possibly not be afraid?

"In a few days, he’ll probably go mad."

Although there was something pitiful about it, when Bai He recalled how he had been bound and how Pan Yi had tried to take his life, any of those sympathy immediately faded away.

He even felt that Pan Yi had brought this upon himself.

It was nothing more than reaping what he had sown.

"Oh, right," Gu He added, "Senior Brother has spoke to me again about Ye Shiyuan."

Bai He’s heart skipped a beat. "Senior Brother still hasn’t given up on Shiyuan?"

"Bai He, do you really think Senior Brother would give up on Ye Shiyuan? With his current strength, surpassing all of us is only a matter of time. He no longer has any bottlenecks restricting him. It’s only right that he resume his position as the Sect Master’s chief disciple."

A sense of indignation rose within Bai He on Ye Shiyuan’s behalf. "Fourth Senior Brother, do you think the same way? From the very beginning, this matter was Senior Brother’s fault. At first, Shiyuan respected him so deeply. Now that things have turned out like this, how could he possibly go back and continue being his disciple?"

A shattered mirror, even if pieced back together, would still be marked by cracks.

What Bai He did not know was that Ye Shiyuan had already been summoned to the main hall by Yao Xiangli.

From Gu He, Yao Xiangli had learned that Ye Shiyuan was now far more formidable than he had been during the last inter-sect competition.

"Disciple Ye Shiyuan greets the Sect Master."

"In those years, you entered my sect and became my disciple. And now, you are unwilling even to call me ’Master.’ Shiyuan, are you truly unwilling to address me as Master ever again?"

Ye Shiyuan lowered his eyes. Although his manner remained respectful, there was unmistakable distance in his tone.

"This disciple is no longer your disciple. It would not be appropriate to call you Master. I will remember the kindness you once showed me for a lifetime. However, I will not return. I am doing very well at Baize Peak. My Master treats me well and I am still a disciple of Lingguang Sect."

Yet even so, to be Bai He’s disciple and to be Yao Xiangli’s disciple were entirely different matters in Yao Xiangli’s eyes.

"Why? I don’t understand."

Yao Xiangli truly did not understand.

What could Bai He possibly offer Ye Shiyuan?

Why would Ye Shiyuan rather remain by Bai He’s side than return here?

"Sect Master! This disciple has always believed that being a Master is not merely about teaching a disciple how to cultivate, but about teaching him how to be a person. Search your heart, if I had not broken through my bottleneck, would you have kept me?"

Yao Xiangli did not think this was a problem at all. "But you have already broken through, haven’t you?"

"My Master is different from you. Even if I were a waste, he would never drive me out of Baize Peak! Sect Master, I know that by following you, I would gain everything. For my future development, what you can provide is not something my Master can compare to. But what Shiyuan seeks is only a sincere heart."

Ye Shiyuan spoke with complete sincerity.

After entering Lingguang Sect, all he had seen was hypocrisy, strength above all else and not the slightest trace of genuine feeling.

Especially in Yao Xiangli’s Yaoxing Peak, this situation was the most severe.

"A sincere heart? What is a sincere heart? Can sincerity be eaten as food? Ye Shiyuan, I will give you one more chance. Return immediately. Otherwise, even if you regret it in the future, I will never give you another opportunity."

Ye Shiyuan replied solemnly, "Sect Master, this disciple’s thoughts will never change. Because I know exactly what can be learned at Yaoxing Peak, I understand better than anyone the gap between here and Baize Peak. But no matter how great that gap is, I still choose to remain at Baize Peak."