87. Natural Barrier (Fifteen)

◎"Why be like him?"◎

Lou Guan's fingertips were icy cold as they touched Lou Tinglan's burning forehead, and spiritual energy flowed into her like a gentle stream.

Lou Tinglan was completely restrained and unable to move. He looked up at Lou Guan and seemed to feel a sense of unfamiliarity with the usually gentle Lou Guan.

In the end, he resigned himself to the situation and simply replied, "Yes."

Lou Guan's voice was unusually calm: "I will use my spiritual power as a guide to reshape your Dao Heart Tribulation Seal."

Lou closed his eyes, and the spiritual energy around him began to circulate, gradually condensing into countless tiny runes.

"Heaven follows the laws of nature, and the Dao heart remains steadfast." She murmured, and the tiny runes began to flow orderly toward Lou Tinglan's forehead.

The moment the first rune touched his mind, Lou Tinglan groaned, veins bulging on his forehead. The rune, like a red-hot iron, burned into the depths of his consciousness.

Then, the second, the third... with each additional one, his body began to tremble violently as he struggled to endure the excruciating pain emanating from the depths of his mind.

Those who have fallen from the Dao will almost never choose to plant the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal again. They have lost their Dao Heart, are tempted by external things, and believe that the Tribulation Seal is a cage that binds them.

Lou Guan knew that Lou Tinglan was different. As the chief disciple of the Discipline Hall, he had always been a role model among the disciples, upright, honest, and polite.

Even if Lou Tinglan goes astray for a time, there are people who will help him correct his mistakes.

The runes had all sunk into Lou Tinglan's forehead, and Lou Guan breathed a slight sigh of relief; the rudimentary form of the Calamity Mark was complete. She increased her spiritual power output, attempting to deeply implant the mark into the depths of her spiritual platform.

However, a sudden change occurred.

Deep within Lou Tinglan's mind, an indescribable force suddenly surged forth.

Lou Guan felt a strange sense of familiarity and was suddenly startled. But in that instant, the pure and violent power shattered the runes that Lou Guan had carefully infused into the runes.

Lou Guan let out a muffled groan and spat out mouthfuls of blood.

"Second Elder!"

Lou Tinglan struggled to her feet and tried to support Lou Guan, but was unexpectedly pushed away by her.

She stared at her hands in disbelief, and was horrified to find that all her spiritual power had been repelled, and the aura was strangely familiar.

"Impossible..." she whispered, her fingers trembling as she reached for Lou Tinglan's forehead again.

Within that spiritual platform, where the calamity seal was located, remained completely empty.

Not only that, that familiar spiritual energy even formed a barrier within the spiritual platform.

"How could this be?" Her voice was unusually trembling with a hint of loss. "Does even you... want to stop me?"

Lou Tinglan felt that her words were cryptic, but she didn't think much of it and simply said, "Second Elder, this disciple..."

"Don't call me Second Elder!" Lou Guan suddenly raised his voice, his out-of-control emotions startling even Lou Tinglan. "Why? Why do you insist on taking this path? Why do you want to be like him?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lou Guan herself froze. She released her grip, took a step back, and her face turned pale.

Lou Tinglan, however, keenly noticed the word "he".

"Like whom?" He slowly approached, his gaze piercing as he looked at Lou Guan. "Like your father?"

The room fell into a deathly silence. Dusk had fallen outside the window, and the last ray of light had disappeared below the horizon. There were no lights on inside, and only the faint breathing of the two people could be heard in the darkness.

"Second Elder," Lou Tinglan's voice grew deeper, "how much do you actually know about Father?"

Lou Guan turned around, her back to him, her body tense. After a long while, she let out a soft breath, and when she turned back, her face had regained its usual calm.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She looked directly at him without any hesitation. "It's the consensus of the entire sect that Lou Yunya has fallen into the Dao, his whereabouts are unknown, and his fate is uncertain."

"Yeah?"

But his Tranquil Sword doesn't lie.

That day, after Ran Qinghe destroyed dozens of Qingxiao spiritual veins, his Tranquility Sword suddenly appeared from the Discipline Hall, as if it had been summoned.

But in this world, only three people can draw the Tranquil Heart Sword: him, Ran Qinghe, and... Lou Yunya.

The Tranquil Heart Sword was originally Lou Yunya's gift to him as his natal sword. When it arrived, a large amount of spiritual energy began to surge into his body, making up for every level of cultivation he had lost.

What he told Qianzhong was not false; at the moment the Tranquil Mind Sword severed the binding golden net, he did indeed regain his Nascent Soul realm.

At first, he thought it was caused by the spiritual energy surging out after the spiritual vein broke, but now it seems that this is not the case.

Even Lou Guan reacted violently to the spiritual power within his spiritual platform, and the air between the two seemed to freeze for a moment.

Until one of the disciples broke the silence.

"Second Elder, the Hall Master requests your presence."

Lou Guan glanced at Lou Tinglan indifferently, then turned and opened the door.

"What is it?"

The disciple replied, "The hall master said it was about Ran Qinghe of the Feifeng Sect destroying the Qingxiao Spirit Vein, and that if Senior Brother Lou wakes up, he should also be summoned."

*

"How is the situation?" Lou Guan walked into the hall and casually set up a soundproof barrier.

Lou Yi glanced at Lou Tinglan before saying, "The matter is more complicated than we imagined. The spiritual energy from the dozens of spiritual veins that Ran Qinghe destroyed has already leaked out on a large scale and is flowing into the Mortal Valley."

Lou Tinglan's heart tightened: "What about Mortal Valley?"

"How is it?" Lou Yi was furious. "Countless low-level cultivators have suddenly been surrounded by such dense spiritual energy, and their cultivation levels have increased dramatically in a short period of time. Now, all the cultivators in the Mortal Valley are protesting and demanding the release of Ran Qinghe."

"What?" Lou Guan frowned.

Lou Yi said in a deep voice, "The reason is very simple. They believe that spiritual veins belong to heaven and earth. The Qingxiao Sect has monopolized spiritual veins for thousands of years. Ran Qinghe's destruction of the spiritual veins has allowed the spiritual energy to return, which is a 'great merit'."

"Currently, hundreds of monks have gathered at the Discipline Hall, demanding an immediate response."

"But on the other hand, all the cultivators from the Mortal Valley under the Qingxiao Sect have returned to Mortal Valley. Sect Leader Qian has benefited, but he is unwilling to let it go and insists that we deal with Ran Qinghe."

Lou Guan chuckled lightly: "It's us, the Discipline Hall, who are caught in the middle, in a dilemma."

She said thoughtfully, "Without someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, it would be impossible for Mortal Valley to gather such a large number of cultivators in such a short time."

Lou Yi said, "Perhaps it's Fei Feng and Xuan Shui; the two of them have always disagreed with Sect Leader Qian."

"Moreover, Ran Qinghe's explosion of the spiritual vein was extremely precise, precisely directing the spiritual energy towards the Mortal Valley instead of dissipating in all directions. This is no coincidence."

Lou Tinglan stood weakly to the side, her heart trembling upon hearing this.

He suddenly remembered that when he was in the Crimson Maple Sect, those disciples who came and went from Listening Maple Garden... they must have been instructed by Lin Ge to cooperate with Ran Qinghe in this way.

"How is she in solitary confinement?" Lou Tinglan couldn't help but ask.

Lou Yi gave him a look of exasperation, "What else can you do? You're living a life of unparalleled comfort!"

“Tinglan, now you should understand that you two are not on the same path. She chose subversion and destruction, while you…”

“And I should maintain order, shouldn’t I?” Lou Tinglan chimed in, a hint of sarcasm in her tone that she herself didn’t even realize.

Lou Yi was momentarily speechless, then said firmly, "You are the head of the Discipline Hall, this is your responsibility!"

That evening, the council chamber was brightly lit.

The five elders of the Discipline Hall gathered together, and the atmosphere was solemn.

Lou Yi sat in the main seat, his face ashen.

"The Valley of Mortals has gathered nearly a thousand cultivators, of whom a hundred have already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"They demanded the release of Ran Qinghe, otherwise they would seek justice from the Discipline Hall."

"Seeking justice?" The Grand Elder scoffed. "A bunch of rabble, do they even deserve to speak such words?"

"We must not underestimate our enemy," Lou Yi replied.

"Although they are not individually strong, they are numerous, and... it seems that the Feifeng and Xuanshui sects are pulling the strings behind the scenes."

Lou Guan sat in the corner, quietly listening to the elders' debate. Her gaze occasionally swept over Lou Yi, noticing his furrowed brows, clearly indicating that he was also weighing his options.

The Third Elder went even further, proposing: "In my opinion, it would be better to execute Ran Qinghe directly, to make an example of her..."

"Absolutely not!" Lou Tinglan refused sternly. Seeing that all the elders were looking over, he softened his tone and said, "This disciple believes it is not acceptable. Firstly, Ran Qinghe's crime is still too minor. Secondly, she is now a disciple of Feifeng Sect, and her fate must be decided by Sect Leader Feifeng."

"We can't just let her go, can we?" Elder Lou Feng, who had been standing aside, said with a smile.

Seventh Elder Lou Hu nodded in slight agreement, "If we let Ran Qinghe off lightly, I'm sure everyone will want to go to Qingxiao and blow up the spiritual veins. If this goes on for too long, won't Qingxiao Sect be razed to the ground? Hahaha."

After he finished laughing, he seemed to realize the dull atmosphere and awkwardly stopped laughing.

Lou Guan then asked, "I wonder what the Hall Master's preparations are?"

Lou Yi said, "According to the rules of the Discipline Hall, Ran Qinghe's crime should be punished with the Spirit-Locking Whip, with eighty-one lashes, followed by imprisonment in the Tower of Heaven, and a sentence of one hundred years in prison."

Lou Guan glanced at Lou Tinglan beside him, "Then the hall master should just handle this impartially."

Lou Yi hesitated and said, "But the Valley of Mortals..."

Lou Guan said, "If they are just a bunch of bluffing rabble, then the hall master should deal with them according to the law."

She stood up, seemingly tired of the topic, and said, “If they really have the guts to resist, then abolish the flogging and only sentence them to imprisonment in the Tower of Babel.”

After all, compromise is always the most effective approach.

*

Meanwhile, in the solitary confinement room of the Discipline Hall.

Ran Qinghe sat cross-legged, her spiritual energy subtly circulating around her. This Discipline Hall was originally set up to imprison the spiritual energy of cultivators, isolating them from external spiritual energy. Ironically, this allowed her to absorb the spiritual energy shock when the spiritual vein was destroyed.

Qi Feng, who was guarding the gate, had been replaced. The new disciple was taciturn and simply stood guard outside the gate dutifully.

Suddenly, an almost imperceptible fluctuation of spiritual energy came from the wall. Ran Qinghe opened her eyes and a smile appeared on her lips.

On the wall, a line of writing slowly appeared:

"The matter entrusted to you has been investigated and clarified, so please do not worry."

The writing quickly disappeared, as if it had never appeared.