"Zhuo Peak? Isn't that where Uncle Gu lives?"

"Shh, Uncle Gu has already used the Abandon Sect Covenant to leave the sect. We can't call him Uncle anymore; we must address him by name!"

"I actually think Uncle Gu is a good person. Even if he's left, there's no need to demolish Zhuo Peak, right?"

"Ah, don't you know the saying 'out of sight, out of mind'? Besides, it's not our decision, so we shouldn't speak out of turn."

The disciples gradually walked away, but Nian Chaoxi, who overheard the conversation, was suddenly frozen in place.

Gu Xiu's residence at Zhuo Peak...

Is it going to be demolished?

Coming to her senses, Nian Chaoxi quickly intercepted the two ordinary inner disciples.

"Master Uncle!"

"Nian Gezhu!"

The two disciples were startled and quickly bowed when they saw who it was. They were puzzled because this Master Uncle Nian was known for not being fond of socializing.

Even when they bumped into her before, she wouldn't initiate conversation. What was going on now?

While they were still confused, they heard Nian Chaoxi's voice, cold as frost:

"You said... Zhuo Peak's house is going to be demolished?"

Huh?

The two disciples were taken aback but quickly responded:

"Reporting to Master Uncle, yes... it is."

"Who wants to demolish Gu Xiu's residence?" Nian Chaoxi asked icily.

"Well..." The two disciples hesitated for a moment, "It's... Fifth Senior Sister and Seventh Senior Sister..."

"Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao?"

Nian Chaoxi immediately frowned. Seeing the two disciples' fearful expressions, she pressed further:

"They both have their own residences. Why would they want to demolish the house at Zhuo Peak?"

"Well..."

The two disciples hesitated, but under Nian Chaoxi's gaze, they finally confessed:

"Seventh Senior Sister said she needed a place to teach Junior Brother Jiang the Beast Taming Art, and since Zhuo Peak was vacant, she thought it would be convenient to use it..."

"Fifth Senior Sister is also involved, saying she wants to use the power of talismans to help Junior Brother Jiang create a perfect beast-taming area..."

These words were spoken with great difficulty, as they felt an overwhelming pressure that nearly forced them to their knees.

It was the pressure emanating from Nian Chaoxi!

Finally unable to withstand it, they knelt down immediately:

"Master Uncle, spare us. We dare not discuss Master Uncle's matters anymore!"

"We won't mention Gu Xiu's name again!"

They thought Nian Chaoxi was angry because of their earlier conversation, and as soon as they begged for mercy, the pressure around them suddenly eased.

They hurriedly expressed their gratitude, but received no response. When they looked up again, there was no sign of Nian Chaoxi.

They didn't know when she had left.

...

Meanwhile, Nian Chaoxi had no time to deal with these two ordinary disciples.

She was rushing towards Zhuo Peak with all her might.

Even though Gu Xiu had left the sect, Nian Chaoxi always hoped to find him and bring him back.

If even his residence at Zhuo Peak was demolished now...

How would she explain it to Gu Xiu?

How would she face him?

Unfortunately...

Even though she sped along, using all her cultivation to move at incredible speed, by the time she reached Zhuo Peak, it was too late.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, the modest wooden house on Zhuo Peak collapsed into ruins.

In the blink of an eye, it became a pile of debris.

In front of the collapsed wooden house, Gu Xiu's Little Senior Sister, Lu Qingyao, was jumping around joyfully, while Qin Moran, though not as exuberant, also wore a smile.

"Senior Sister, now that this shabby house is gone, can we proceed with our plan to prepare the beast pen for Little Junior Brother?"

"Let's first destroy these filthy things. Little Junior Brother's beast pen must be crafted with care, without any mistakes."

"You're right, Senior Sister. I'll go destroy all the debris now!"

"Why bother? I'll use a Fire Talisman to burn everything here."

As Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao spoke, Qin Moran took out a talisman from her robe and casually activated it.

Instantly, a merciless heavenly fire, as if to burn everything to ashes, surged towards the wooden house ruins.

Seeing this, Nian Chaoxi, who had been standing there in a daze, finally snapped back to reality and immediately stood in front of the wooden house:

"Stop!"

Her sudden action startled both Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao.

Qin Moran hurriedly controlled the talisman, diverting the heavenly fire that was about to incinerate the wooden house to an empty spot nearby.

"Senior Sister, why did you suddenly appear?"

"Senior Sister, it's a good thing I just used the talisman, or you might have been hurt."

Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao spoke in succession, a bit shaken.

But as they continued, they grew quieter, because they saw Nian Chaoxi staring at them with a frosty expression, which frightened them into quickly apologizing:

"Senior... Senior Sister... we're sorry, we didn't see you, so... we almost hurt you."

"Senior Sister, we didn't mean to..."

As the Senior Sister, Nian Chaoxi's reputation among her junior sisters was second only to their master, Guan Xuelan. Being stared at like this, Qin and Lu were both a bit scared.

Facing their apologies, Nian Chaoxi coldly asked:

"What are you two doing?"

Huh?

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The two were stunned.

But Nian Chaoxi asked again:

"Don't you know that Zhuo Peak belongs to Junior Brother Gu, and this wooden house is his residence?"

This...

The two hesitated, and Qin Moran was the first to speak: "Senior Sister, Gu Xiu has already signed the Abandon Sect Covenant. He's no longer part of Qingxuan Holy Land..."

"Yes, Senior Sister, Gu Xiu has left. It's not like he can occupy the place after he's gone, right?" Lu Qingyao nodded repeatedly.

Nian Chaoxi immediately said coldly, "Junior Brother Gu signed the Abandon Sect Covenant due to a misunderstanding with Master. He will naturally return. If you destroy his residence now, where will he stay when he comes back?"

"Even if he shamelessly returns, he can stay in the outer sect, can't he?" Lu Qingyao whispered.

"What did you say?" Nian Chaoxi was incredulous.

Qin Moran added, "Senior Sister, you might not know since you've been away from the sect. Master has already decreed that if Gu Xiu returns and wants to rejoin the sect, he will be placed in the outer sect as an ordinary outer disciple."

"Yes, he thought using the Abandon Sect Covenant to threaten the sect would make us value him more. That's just wishful thinking. When he returns, he won't even qualify for the inner sect!" Lu Qingyao nodded repeatedly.

Their words left Nian Chaoxi speechless.

She couldn't believe it.

She knew her master had a bias against Gu Xiu and was strict with him due to her uncompromising nature, which she could barely understand.

But...

But this was Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao!

"Weren't you two the closest to Gu Xiu before?"

"Moran, didn't you often pester Gu Xiu to practice calligraphy with you?"

"Qingyao, weren't you the one who always clung to Gu Xiu, seeking comfort from him after being scolded by Master, even asking him to help you weaken the spirit beasts you wanted to tame?"

Nian Chaoxi asked incredulously:

"When did you two become so heartless?"

Unfortunately, in response to her question, Qin and Lu merely frowned:

"Senior Sister, what you're talking about happened five hundred years ago. Why bring it up now?"

"Yes, Senior Sister, we were young and naive back then, unable to see through Gu Xiu's true nature. We were deceived by his facade. Why do you still remember that?"

Five hundred years ago?

Facade?

Nian Chaoxi was in disbelief.

She had always stayed in Wen Tian Pavilion, and though she vaguely knew her junior sisters had some conflict with Gu Xiu, she never imagined their attitude could change so drastically!

"Senior Sister, you usually stay in Wen Tian Pavilion and aren't aware of the outside world. Gu Xiu is no longer the same person he was five hundred years ago."

Qin Moran reminded Nian Chaoxi, seeing her expression.

"Yes, Senior Sister, you must not know the full story, which is why you're saying this."

Lu Qingyao nodded, "Since Gu Xiu returned, he's done countless bad things, so many bad things!"

"He killed my newly tamed spirit beast, and he even ruined the Tongtian Talisman that Fifth Senior Sister had comprehended, wasting her enlightenment!"

"The bad things he's done are too numerous to count. Such a person is a rotten scoundrel!"

"To be honest, all of us senior and junior sisters would be glad if Gu Xiu were dead!"

What???

Nian Chaoxi's eyes widened in disbelief. She glanced at Qin Moran, thinking that with her vast knowledge, she might have a different perspective.

But to her surprise...

Qin Moran nodded, "Although Lu Junior Sister's words are a bit extreme, we have indeed been dissatisfied with Gu Xiu for a long time."

This...

For a moment, Nian Chaoxi didn't know how to respond.

As she stood there speechless, Lu Qingyao suddenly exclaimed and ran to the wooden house ruins.

With a wave of her hand, she cleared away some debris, revealing the foundation of the house.

There, densely packed blood-red runes appeared, looking extremely eerie. Even under the bright sun, these runes sent chills down one's spine.

"Look, Senior Sisters, Gu Xiu must have done something, used some evil art to harm our Qingxuan Holy Land!"

"This formation looks very sinister!"

Lu Qingyao didn't understand formations, but she could sense the evil aura emanating from these runes, making her break out in a cold sweat.

However...

Seeing a corner of the formation, both Qin Moran and Nian Chaoxi frowned.

This formation is...