Chapter 159 Questioning the Heart Gorge:

The Tianji Altar is located on the main peak of the Xuantian Sect and is a large, circular altar-shaped building. A black plaque hangs in the center, with the three large characters "Tianji Altar" written on it in dark gold.

Rong Xie had seen the building's shape in books and knew the weight it bore. Just as the Spirit Mirror Sect had the Worship Platform, the Heavenly Pivot Altar was the embodiment of the Xuan Tian Sect's highest power. It was not only a place to hold important ceremonies, but also contained the Valley of Punishment below, connected by the Heart-Questioning Gorge. With a single thought in heaven and a single thought falling to earth, its ultimate judgment function made the Xuan Tian Sect disciples both terrified of this altar and deeply yearning for it...

Elder Bai pulled Rong Xie along, flying from Zhilan Ridge to the front of Tianji Altar. Rong Xie trembled in the air, not daring to open his eyes. Fortunately, Elder Bai flew fast enough that this fear did not last long before Rong Xie was thrown to the ground.

Rong Xie was, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He quickly steadied himself, silently circulating his spiritual energy to gradually restore his body temperature.

At the same time, he was also looking around: on both sides of the wide steps leading to the Tianji Altar, there were more than a dozen Xuantian Sect cultivators, each with an expressionless face, as if they had not seen anyone flying over.

However, when Elder Bai pulled Rong Xie up the steps, they were stopped immediately.

"Tianji Altar is a sacred place of our sect, and no unauthorized persons are allowed to enter!" Several flying swords instantly flew in front of Elder Bai and Rong Xie, their gleaming blades crisscrossing, leaving no room for the two to pass.

"What! You're allowed to interrogate the people of my Ruthless Dao Palace, but I'm not allowed to bring my own people in! You juniors don't take Elder Bai seriously at all!"

Elder Bai roared, but the cultivators on both sides remained motionless, and the gleaming flying swords even approached Elder Bai a little closer.

"Elder Bai, these are the rules, and as an elder, you shouldn't break them!" The leading middle-aged cultivator stood at the top of the steps and said coldly.

Elder Bai was furious: "Fine, fine..."

He released Rong Xie's hand and waved his sleeve, saying, "I'll go in alone! Now you can let me through, right?"

The cultivators stared at Elder Bai, motionless.

Elder Bai had no choice but to turn around and say to Rong Xie in a low voice, "Wait here first, don't wander around. I'll go in and inform the sect leader, then I'll let you in."

"..." Rong Xie thought to himself, actually he didn't really want to enter the important territory of their Xuantian Sect either, "Alright."

Elder Bai's figure disappeared on the steps.

Rong Xie turned around, thinking that he didn't know how Shen Bing Si was doing, and quickly took out the communication jade pendant.

As if by telepathy, the communication jade pendant burst forth with golden light and vibrated, startling the cold-faced cultivators on the steps, who all turned to look at Rong Xie.

Rong Xie felt dozens of eyes focused on his back. He didn't care about anything else. He cleared his throat, took the communication jade pendant, and walked down to the platform.

"Rong'er, what's going on?" Shen Bingsi's anxious voice came from the jade pendant. "Why did Elder Bai take you away?"

"Well, Elder Bai brought me to Tianji Altar. Don't worry, he probably asked me to come and help..." Rong Xie hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to tell Shen Bing Si the truth about Elder Bai's words.

The words Elder Bai said before pulling him over, "Didn't you want to see if our Dao Palace's secret technique is really effective?" clearly meant that he wanted to show him the process of killing his wife to prove his Dao. And at this critical juncture, the only ones who could show him this process were Lu Yingqi and Xiaozhi.

Rong Xie shuddered; he hadn't expected the situation to escalate to such a critical point so quickly.

"Rong'er? What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?" Shen Bingsi's voice rang in his ears, pulling him back to reality.

"Well, I'm still waiting for Elder Bai's news outside the Tianji Altar. I don't know what happened inside. Lu Yingqi's troubles might be more serious than we imagined..." Rong Xie still didn't directly reveal the matter of killing his wife to prove his Dao. Firstly, there might still be room for reversal. Secondly, although Shen Bingsi guessed what the method of proving Dao Elder Bai had told him was, he couldn't reveal it directly. In case this method was really used on Shen Bingsi in the future, the less Shen Bingsi knew, the better.

"Is it that serious? Elder Bai didn't make it as bad as he claimed." Shen Bingsi's tone became much more relaxed after hearing that Rong Xie was not in danger.

"What about your side? Has no one broken in?" Rong Xie asked hurriedly.

"No, don't worry. Although I can't fly on a sword yet, dealing with a few lowly watchdogs is still a piece of cake." Shen Bingsi's voice was as arrogant as ever.

“That’s not just ‘a few’,” Rong Xie reminded him. “You should still have barrier talismans in your golden fish-patterned pouch, right?”

"Hmm? I think so." Shen Bingsi wasn't quite sure.

“That means there is,” Rong Xie realized. After he left, Shen Bing Si hadn’t tidied up the golden fish-patterned bag. “I used to put some talismans in there for backup. Take them out now and stick them on the wall of the study.”

"Isn't that unnecessary?"

Shen Bingsi wanted to slack off, but Rong Xie urged her from afar to find the barrier talismans and stick them on one by one. The moment the barrier was generated, a slight and unique sound crossed the distance between the two sound transmission jade pendants and reached Rong Xie's ears.

Hearing this voice, Rong Xie felt relieved.

A voice called from the top of the steps: "Who is Rong Xie? Is he down here?"

Rong Xie straightened up and quickly told Shen Bing Si, "Elder Bai is looking for me. I'll contact you later." He then ended the telepathic communication and walked up the steps, saying, "I'm here!"

The man on the steps waved to him: "Come in with me quickly."

Rong Xie quickly leaped up the steps and caught up with the man. The man glanced at Rong Xie and asked, "Have you reached the Foundation Establishment stage?"

"Yes." Rong Xie nodded.

"Well," the man explained, "that's good. The spiritual pressure in the Heart-Questioning Gorge is quite high. Without Foundation Establishment, it would be difficult to withstand it."

Rong Xie knew that the closer one got to the core of power of a major sect, the higher the required cultivation level would be, so it wasn't surprising. However, this person was actually willing to explain things to him properly, which made him seem quite different from the other cold-faced cultivators.

The guide led Rong Xie into the Tianji Altar and across a wide plaza. The situation inside the plaza was similar to that outside the Tianji Altar, with many cultivators quietly guarding both sides. The Xuan Tian Sect's strict order was much stronger than that of the Ling Jing Sect. Rong Xie had never seen such a scene before, and a sense of oppression followed him everywhere.

“Rong Xie, once we go inside, you don’t need to say anything. Just stand by and watch and listen,” the guide led Rong Xie across the plaza, through the main hall, and to a quiet, deserted passageway. Only then did the guide turn back and cautiously instruct him, “I heard you have a very good relationship with Senior Brother Lu, and also a close friendship with his attendant. Is that true? However, their fate is not something we ordinary disciples can decide…”

Rong Xie realized that the guide must be one of Elder Bai's men. It was rare for Elder Bai, with his volatile temper, to have such calm and composed confidants. On the way to pick Rong Xie up, the guide also told him what he should pay attention to next.

Rong Xie agreed: "Don't worry, senior brother, I won't say much. After all, this is your sect's internal affair, and I have no right to say anything. However, could you tell me what the situation is like inside? I'd like to have a better understanding of the situation."

"The sect leader and elders just interrogated Senior Brother Lu. With the evidence provided by Shang Gan, Senior Brother Lu did indeed violate taboos during his cultivation. His attendant, Xiao Zhi, has also been proven to have the 'furnace physique'," the guide said. "However, Elder Bai also argued that Senior Brother Lu was unaware of this. Ignorance is no excuse. If he had known, he wouldn't have reported his family to the Mirror Palace. The Mirror Palace solved such a major case that disrupted the balance between the cultivation world and the human realm. Senior Brother Lu's contribution is immense. Under no circumstances should we criticize him for this. It would be bad for the sect if word got out."

"Hmm, what were the sect leader's and elders' reactions?" Rong Xie asked.

"At first, they thought Elder Bai was right, but then Shang Gan said that although Senior Brother Lu might not have known about this matter, it did not affect the fact that he should be expelled from the sect. The main reason for expelling him from the sect was to protect the purity of the Ruthless Dao Palace. Senior Brother Lu's cultivation method was no longer the proper method, and his relationship with the servant boy was so close that it was hard to say what kind of scandal might occur in the future. Keeping him would only leave hidden dangers for the Dao Palace. Senior Brother Lu should be expelled just like Elder Hong was expelled back then."

"..." Rong Xie thought to himself, Shang Gan is really ruthless towards Lu Yingqi, he really intends to kill him completely, "What did Elder Bai say?"

"Elder Bai was furious, so he sent me out to find you," the guide said.

"I see..." Rong Xie thought to himself, Elder Bai probably also knew that it would be difficult to win the argument against Shang Gan this time, and with no way to retreat, he had already made the worst-case scenario plan. He called Rong Xie here to help Lu Yingqi and Xiao Zhi fight back - this really was a last resort.

As they spoke, the two had reached the end of the narrow passage. A fierce wind blew up from below, and before them lay a huge canyon with sheer cliffs on both sides, as if cut by a knife. The cliffs were iron-blue in color, making them look like a giant steel structure.

The powerful spiritual pressure rendered Rong Xie speechless. He was shocked by the magnificent scenery before him and didn't know where to look for a moment. Gradually, he noticed that there was a flat area extending outward from the cliff on both sides, where some cultivators in black Taoist robes stood. They looked very imposing. There were more people on the left cliff and fewer on the right.

Elder Bai stood on the right, and his voice, amplified by spiritual energy, reached Rong Xie's ears with exceptional clarity:

"So using a furnace and cauldron for dual cultivation makes one impure? Then I should be the first to be expelled from the sect! I knew quite a few old acquaintances back in the Hehuan Pavilion!"

Rong Xie was embarrassed, never expecting to hear such... direct words in such a formal debate setting.

The guide also covered his forehead: "What is Elder Bai doing? Why aren't your uncles and senior brothers trying to stop him..."

Rong Xie thought to himself, "If Elder Bai could be persuaded, he wouldn't be Elder Bai." Just then, he heard Elder Bai say, "Shang Gan, you little brat, you should also be expelled from the sect! You've all taken my cultivation lessons; you were all taught by me! What I learned wasn't pure, and neither are you! The Ruthless Dao Palace is full of filthy people; it should have been cleaned out fifty years ago! Junior Brother Hong, you're so smart; you saw through these people long ago—"

Elder Bai's words were suddenly cut off. On the left cliff, the Xuan Tian Sect Master, who was surrounded by admirers, finally couldn't bear to listen anymore and used his power to seal Elder Bai's mouth.

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This chapter also has [gold ingots] [poor thing]