"Senior Brother!" Xie Peng was shocked upon hearing this. "I have cultivated for decades. If you were to abolish my cultivation, I would certainly not live for more than a few years. Rather than living in hiding, I would rather die!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Yanzhong sneered, "Then you should die!"

"Senior brother!" Xie Peng's eyes widened, and he said with great sorrow, "I am your junior brother. We grew up together since childhood. Can you really be so heartless, senior brother?"

“If you weren’t my junior brother, I would have killed you with a single blow and destroyed the entire Cloud Palace long ago,” Yu Yanzhong said coldly.

"Anyone who falls into evil ways should be punished by everyone. The disciples of Taiyi Sect take it upon themselves to uphold justice for all living beings and to subdue demons and monsters. You'd better think twice before you act!" After saying this, Yu Yanzhong was unwilling to stay in Yunxiao Palace any longer and rode away on his blue wolf.

He feared that if he stayed any longer, he would be unable to resist killing Xie Peng and the others.

Taiyi disciples place the greatest emphasis on cultivating their minds, especially in the first few years after joining the sect.

Only those who truly care about the world and possess a pure and innocent heart can become inner disciples of the Taiyi Sect.

They cannot tolerate evil and heretical practices.

Yu Yanzhong's actions had reached the limit of what he could tolerate.

"Master, what should we do?" Several disciples gathered around and asked in trembling voices.

In order to secure a place in the Taoist Grand Competition, the two disciples who had not originally embarked on the path of evil cultivation also absorbed evil spirits to strengthen their bodies.

This was also at Xie Peng's behest.

"I'll go and beg my senior brother again tomorrow, asking him to show leniency," Xie Peng said in a deep voice, clenching his fist.

He never expected that his senior brother would actually want to cripple their cultivation and expel them from the Cloud Palace.

How is this any different from forcing them to die?

He has been in charge of Yunxiao Palace for more than 20 years. If he really loses all his power, he might as well die!

...

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Taoist Grand Competition has come to a close.

Ultimately, it was Tao Zhixuan of Xuantian Temple who gained Yu Yanzhong's approval.

He ranked in the top ten in the competition, not only because he was young, but also because he passed the test of mental discipline and won first place.

Youth signifies potential, and coupled with his childlike innocence, this is exactly the kind of person Taiyi Sect desires.

Xie Peng knelt and begged Yu Yanzhong every day, but Yu Yanzhong had no intention of letting them go.

"The Daoist Grand Competition is over. I will select one disciple from those who have not fallen into evil ways and train him for a period of time before letting him take charge of the Cloud Palace. You can all abandon your cultivation and leave!" Yu Yanzhong waved his hand, somewhat impatiently.

"Senior brother!" Xie Peng still wouldn't give up.

"Say no more, or you'll be dead!" Yu Yanzhong said coldly.

Xie Peng and the others turned ashen-faced upon hearing this.

"The Immortal Master's righteous act of sacrificing family ties is truly a model for us all!" Feng Daozhi exclaimed loudly.

Fortunately, Yu Yanzhong did not protect Xie Peng and the others, which means that the Taiyi Sect still upholds justice!

Although Yu Yanzhong did not kill them directly, but instead made them cripple their cultivation and leave Yunxiao Palace, Feng Daozhi and the others felt that this was enough.

Humans are always selfish.

As long as Yu Yanzhong doesn't protect Xie Peng and the others, allowing them to remain in Yunxiao Palace, that's enough.

"Senior brother wants to uphold justice and even kill his own family, so junior brother can only obey senior brother's words, abandon his cultivation and go into seclusion in the mountains. However... that demoness Ye Xianya cannot get away with it. Junior brother heard that she is the same Ye Sect Master from your Taiyi Sect fifty years ago. Although her physical body was destroyed after she failed in her tribulation, her soul remained. The current Ye Xianya... is the one who has been possessed by her." Xie Peng shouted loudly.

Yu Yanzhong was stunned after hearing Xie Peng's words.

Sect Leader Ye!

Possession?

Is this true?

He quickly used mystical arts to calculate, but couldn't figure it out.

He only saw a hazy white light and an indistinct human figure.

"Master Feng, is what Xie Peng said true?" Yu Yanzhong turned his head and asked.

"In response to the Immortal Master, although I have heard such rumors, I have met that Miss Ye several times and have not found anything unusual. However... last time I fought with her, I found that this young lady's soul was extremely powerful, definitely no less than yours, Immortal Master. We Daoist people are not as powerful as the immortal masters of the Taiyi Sect. Even if she really possessed an ordinary person, I would not be able to tell."

After hearing their words, Yu Yanzhong frowned, unsure of what to do.

He paced back and forth for a while before finally asking, "Where is this Miss Ye now?"

He must test the waters himself before making any plans.

If she really was possessed by that sect leader, then this matter was not something he could handle; he had to report it to the sect.

“Replying to Immortal Master, Miss Ye spends her days cultivating and telling fortunes at Peach Blossom Residence to accumulate merit. It’s just past Shen Shi (3-5 PM) now, and Miss Ye happens to be at Peach Blossom Residence,” Feng Daozhi quickly replied.

They, the Taoists, knew Ye Xianya's whereabouts like the back of their hand.

After all, Ye Xianya had previously killed Fang Yuzhen, which caused a huge uproar in the Taoist sect.

Feng Daozhi was so afraid that he would be in trouble that he went into hiding for more than half a month.

This is no secret within the Taoist community.

"You will all come with me to Peach Blossom Abode," Yu Yanzhong said as he stepped off the arena.

"Yes!" Feng Daozhi and the others responded and quickly led the way.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Taoyuanju, Shen Dashan was clutching his daughter's sleeve, pleading desperately.

"Furong, come back with your father. I've sold all the family's land and ancestral home, and with some money from your great-aunt, it's a total of thirty taels. I've come to redeem you from your servitude. I'll take you back!"

Shen Furong forcefully pried Shen Dashan's hands apart, grabbed the broom by the door, and swung it forward twice, scaring Shen Dashan into quickly backing away.

"Get out of here!" Shen Furong shouted loudly, one hand on her hip and the other holding a broom, as she looked at Shen Dashan who was trying to dodge her.

"Furong, you, you, you... how could you lay a hand on your own father? He came to redeem you from your servitude. Do you expect to be someone's maid for the rest of your life?"

As Shen Dashan spoke, he began to wipe away tears: "To find you in the capital, your father couldn't bear to take the carriage. It took him four whole months. He got countless blisters on his feet and lost a lot of weight. Your father truly wanted to bring you back."

"Take me back, then sell me off?" Shen Furong couldn't help but sneer: "You drove my mother to her death, I'm no longer your daughter."

"That's nonsense! Your mother was clearly possessed and eaten by that evil spirit. Her death has nothing to do with me!" Shen Dashan said, somewhat agitated.

“Didn’t you marry that widow Zhang, and she even gave birth to a son for you? Everyone says that women’s lives are as worthless as grass. Ever since I was a child, you’ve looked down on me because I was a girl. Now that you already have a son, why did you travel all the way to the capital to bring me back? Shen Dashan, what exactly do you want to do? Who do you want to sell me to this time?” Shen Furong clenched her fists and asked in a deep voice.

“Furong, you don’t know this, but the child that Widow Zhang gave birth to wasn’t mine at all. She ran off with another man and took the thirty taels of silver I gave you when I sold you.” Shen Dashan trembled with anger as he spoke of this.