"Senior brother."

A splash of white caught Lu Zhaozhao's eye. She looked at the man in front of her; he possessed an ethereal and untouched air, but unfortunately, his sickly appearance was hard to conceal.

"Junior sister."

Ying Che smiled softly, as if relieved, and walked towards her.

"I couldn't believe it when someone told me you were back, but now I can finally put my mind at ease."

After saying that, he seemed to want to pat Lu Zhaozhao's head as usual, but she dodged it without leaving a trace. Ying Che's hand froze in mid-air, and an awkward expression appeared on his face.

"I'm relieved to see that you're alright, Senior Brother. I heard that Master is in seclusion and only sees you, Senior Brother. I wonder if you could take me to pay my respects to Master?"

Lu Zhaozhao got straight to the point and didn't intend to linger.

Ying Che concealed his unnatural expression and regained his usual demeanor, saying, "You should naturally pay your respects to Master upon your return, but Master is currently in a state of unease and may not wish to see anyone."

Lu Zhaozhao did not refute, but asked, "Senior brother, could you tell me what Master's current cultivation level is?"

Ying Che looked at her with some confusion and said, "Junior Sister, why are you asking this?"

Lu Zhaozhao smiled: "A teacher for a day is a father for life. Isn't it only natural for me to care about my master? Or is it that you still have reservations about me, senior brother?"

"Junior sister is overthinking it." Ying Che frowned and quickly denied it.

He knew that Lu Zhaozhao was angry because of his previous favoritism towards Nian Zhi, but before that... he didn't know why he had believed Nian Zhi from the bottom of his heart. It wasn't until her identity as a demon was exposed that Ying Che realized how wrong he had been.

So he stopped hiding it and replied, "Master suffered divine punishment and his cultivation regressed. He should be at the Nascent Soul stage now, probably in the middle to late stage."

Lu Zhaozhao lowered her eyes, secretly calculating in her heart, and then raised her head to Ying Che and said, "I am really worried about Master. Please take me there, Senior Brother, just for a brief meeting."

Ying Che frowned, somewhat embarrassed, but seeing Lu Zhaozhao looking into his eyes, he finally nodded.

The two remained silent as they walked until they reached a secluded cliff on the main peak.

Cliff of Repentance.

Lu Zhaozhao frowned as she looked at the place where Emperor Huizong of Qing imprisoned his most guilty disciples. She thought to herself that this incident had hit Yunxian harder than she had imagined, to the point that a sect leader had actually delegated his official duties and come to this place himself.

Ying Che walked to a stone chamber, knocked on the stone door, and said respectfully, "Master, Zhao Zhao has returned and wants to see you."

For a long time, no one answered.

Ying Che knocked again, but there was still no response.

He looked helplessly at Lu Zhaozhao and said to her, "Junior sister, you've seen it too. Master doesn't want to see anyone. You should go back first. Maybe he'll agree later."

Lu Zhaozhao sneered, ignoring Ying Che and heading straight for the stone chamber.

"Junior Sister!"

Ying Che was a little anxious and tried to reach out to grab her, but Lu Zhaozhao brushed him away with her sleeve.

She stood at the door and shouted, "Master, do you think that confining yourself is atonement? The entire Qinghui Sect is deathly silent. The disciples see no hope, and the elders are constantly retreating. All of this is caused by your mistakes, Master. Now that things have come to this, you've hidden yourself away, but what about all the people in the sect? Can they also hide away?"

"Junior sister! Shut up." Ying Che was startled by her actions and quickly went up to pull her, trying to make her stop.

Lu Zhaozhao frowned, her voice growing louder.

"Back then, when Master was at the Void Returning stage, no one dared to speak out. Even though you never handled any affairs and only entrusted everything to Senior Brother, no one dared to question you. Now, however, you have regressed to the Nascent Soul stage for the sake of this love affair. Master, you probably don't know that your disciple has already reached this level. Looking at the miserable state of the entire sect now, doesn't Master feel even a little shame?"

"Enough!" Ying Che reached out to cover her mouth, but Lu Zhaozhao broke free.

"Master, please don't be angry, Junior Sister has lost her mind!" he said as he tried to take Lu Zhaozhao away.

The stone door in front of him suddenly opened, and Ying Che paused in his movements.

Lu Zhaozhao broke free from him and walked straight inside.

Ying Che realized what was happening and was about to follow when a voice came from inside.

"Ying Che, you stay outside and only let Lu Zhaozhao come in."

Although he didn't understand, Ying Che still complied.

The stone gate closed. The Cliff of Repentance was simply furnished. It was originally a place to imprison serious criminals, so it was naturally desolate. The surrounding area was full of rubble, and being on a mountaintop, the cold wind chilled to the bone.

As Lu Zhaozhao walked inside, she could see the entire stone chamber at a glance.

The room was dimly lit, containing only a stone bed, and the environment was extremely harsh.

A person stood with his back to her, looking at a painting hanging on the wall. It was the only decoration in this stone chamber, and it was the same one that Elder Cangjiong had seen—a portrait of the Heavenly Gang Immortal.

He looked very young from behind, except that he had a full head of white hair.

Lu Zhaozhao was somewhat hesitant to recognize him, and simply stood there, asking, "Master?"

"Weren't you quite bold outside? I thought you'd changed your ways. Why are you so reserved here?"

The person turned around, and Lu Zhaozhao's eyes widened. It really was Yun Xian!

She was somewhat shocked; in just two short years, her hair had turned gray prematurely, and even her face looked much more haggard.

"Why did Master get himself into this state?"

She frowned, looking at Yunxian disapprovingly. Yunxian noticed her gaze and simply said, "Thinking too much will disturb your peace of mind, hinder your cultivation, and make you age faster."

It's ridiculous. Yunxian is in his prime. If he says he's old, then all the old men in the cultivation world would be dead and buried.

“Master often admonishes his disciples to be careful in their words and deeds and to set an example for all fellow disciples. The disciple has always taken Master as an example, but seeing him today, his heart is shaken.”

Lu Zhaozhao's tone was sarcastic, and Yun Xian was well aware of it, but he was exhausted both physically and mentally and did not want to think about it. He simply asked, "Why did you come here today?"

"Originally, I wanted to ask Master to regroup and make a comeback, but it seems that's not possible now. In that case, why doesn't Master abdicate?"

Lu Zhaozhao said calmly, as if asking about three meals a day.

"What did you say?" Yun Xian couldn't believe what Lu Zhaozhao said. His eyes were still filled with doubt, as if he thought he had misheard.

"I say, why doesn't Master abdicate?"

Lu Zhaozhao repeated herself and added, "As the head of a sect, the sect leader's words and actions have a great influence on the disciples. In the current state of Master, it is clearly not suitable for him to continue in this position. Fortunately, the affairs of the sect have always been handled by my senior brother, so the handover will not be too complicated. In addition, Master's cultivation has now declined, and he has no heart for the sect. I think it is better to step down as soon as possible."

"Insolence! You've only just returned and you're already thinking about seizing the throne! Where has your respect for teachers and elders gone?!"

Yunxian was furious and roared at Lu Zhaozhao.

Lu Zhaozhao didn't back down and continued, "At least I won't belittle myself in front of the ancestral portraits, nor will I blindly trust foreigners and bring about my own defeat! The capable should act, that's what you taught me, Master. I don't believe that Nianzhi has truly had no flaws all these years. Since that's the case, you still broke your vows and succumbed to temptation. Now, the outside world is in turmoil, and Qinghui has lost the protection of its sect and is suffering from the ravages of war. Master hides here day after day, thinking it's punishment, but what about those innocent people who lost their lives? They don't even have a place to hide. Do you really think you're completely without fault?"

After the conversation, Yunxian was stunned. He stared at the disciple in front of him, as if he had never truly seen her.

Lu Zhaozhao's eyes were sharp. She had thought about the purpose of her visit long ago, but to her disappointment, Yun Xian, the protagonist of a book, was completely ignorant of worldly affairs.

“Master can stay here as long as you want. After all, even if you suffer a backlash, your cultivation level is still higher than that of ordinary people, so they naturally wouldn’t dare to do anything to you. But the sect disciples and the people under Qinghui’s protection still need to make a living. You cannot repay your mistakes, so we disciples will take over. If you want to indulge in love, I will not advise you.”

"You..." Yunxian calmed down and asked, "How long have you kept these words buried in your heart?"

"The moment I met you. Before this, I still held a sliver of hope for you."

Lu Zhaozhao replied, her eyes filled with disappointment.

Yunxian sighed, glanced back at the portrait hanging on the wall, remained silent for a long time, and finally took off the sect leader's seal hanging on his waist.

He held it in his palm until it ached so badly his bones hurt before he finally let go.

A curved arc flashed by, and Lu Zhaozhao caught it steadily.

"Today I entrust this seal to you. You will discuss matters within the sect with Ying Che. As for matters outside the sect... Cang Jiong is more familiar with them, so you should discuss them with him more often."

After saying that, he turned around, closed his eyes, and stopped talking.