Feng Shao glanced at Lu Qingyuan and said calmly, "It seems that we can only accept defeat this time. It's a pity that without the Bifang Flame, the reconstruction of the Alchemy Pavilion and the Foundry will be delayed for a while."

Lu Qingyuan couldn't help but tremble.

Feng Shao noticed Lu Qingyuan's reaction, but said nothing, turned around and walked back. Lu Qingyuan followed behind him, feeling confused.

After learning that the thief had escaped far away, all the disciples started cursing.

They risked their lives to come to Bifangyuan, and took great pains to get the Bifang Flame, but it was intercepted by a guy who came out of nowhere. How could they not hate him? But everyone was injured at this time, and Feng Shao, the strongest, was even more wounded. It was obviously impossible for them to get the Bifang Flame back.

Everyone felt extremely depressed, but there was nothing they could do.

Feng Shao found a secluded corner and began to treat the wound. Although the shadow of Bifang was only a shadow and its strength was much weaker than the real Bifang, it was not something he could easily deal with. In fact, everyone was very lucky to be able to exit Bifangyuan intact.

As one of the ten forbidden areas, it is indeed not an easy place to visit.

After treating the wounds, Feng Shao began to help others regulate their breathing.

Lu Qingyuan sat in a secluded corner, feeling mixed emotions and feeling confused.

As everyone was exhausted, they could only stay here for the night. Under Feng Shao's arrangement, everyone started to cook and set up tents. While eating, everyone thought of their hard work in the past few days and was interrupted by others, and they cursed again.

Feng Shao was the calmest among the crowd. He just ate his meal in silence, without saying anything, and looked like he was wandering in the sky. After finishing his meal, Feng Shao continued to meditate and regulate his breathing. From beginning to end, Feng Shao was silent and taciturn, and it was obvious that he was in a very bad mood.

Everyone saw this and hated the man in black even more.

At night, everyone went into their tents to sleep. Lu Qingyuan and Han Biyun lived in the same tent, so she went in early. But as soon as she lay down, Han Biyun came in and said, "Junior sister, Senior Brother Feng wants to see you."

Lu Qingyuan's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she felt vaguely uneasy. But she said nothing, and just quietly got out of the tent.

Following the direction pointed by Han Biyun, Lu Qingyuan found Feng Shao hundreds of meters away from the camp. At this time, Feng Shao was facing away from him, looking at the silent wilderness.

Lu Qingyuan approached Feng Shao and was about to speak, but Feng Shao said indifferently: "Junior Sister Lu, don't you have anything to say to me?"

Lu Qingyuan's heart suddenly began to beat violently. She suppressed her anxiety and said in a calm tone, "Junior Sister doesn't understand what Senior Brother Feng meant."

silence.

After a long while, Feng Shao finally spoke: "Junior Sister Lu, if my calculations are correct, you have been a disciple of the sect for seven years. How has the sect treated you during these seven years?"

Lu Qingyuan replied: "Master treats me like a father and a mother, and the sect treats me with kindness as deep as the sea."

Feng Shao nodded and said, "In that case, if the sect needs you, are you willing to devote your life to the sect, even at the cost of your life?"

Lu Qingyuan didn't understand why, but still answered: "Of course. The sect is like my home to me, and I can't repay you even a little bit even if I die."

Feng Shao sighed deeply and whispered, "Everyone can say nice things, but how many people can really do it?"

Lu Qingyuan couldn't help but ask, "Brother Feng, what exactly do you mean? Just speak frankly."

Feng Shao turned around, looked at Lu Qingyuan with a pair of piercing eyes, and said, "Junior Sister Lu, let me ask you, if someone did something that was detrimental to the sect, how would you treat it?"

Lu Qingyuan was about to answer, but Feng Shao sneered: "Maybe for Junior Sister Lu, the damage to the sect's interests is not something she needs to care about at all? Maybe some people are far more important to Junior Sister Lu than the sect."

Lu Qingyuan's heart sank immediately, but at this moment she could only pretend to be calm and said, "Junior sister, don't you understand what Senior Brother Feng means?"

"Don't understand? I think you are pretending not to understand?" Feng Shao looked at Lu Qingyuan and said in a grim tone, "What is the origin of the thief who stole the Bifang Flame? Junior Sister Lu, do you really not know?"

At this moment, Lu Qingyuan's heart sank.

Since Feng Shao could say such a thing, then there was basically no point in quibbling. Lu Qingyuan was breathing rapidly, at a loss, and didn't know how to answer for a moment. Feng Shao said coldly: "Junior Sister Lu always said that she was willing to contribute to the sect, but why did you hide the identity of the person who stole the Bifang Flame? Do you know how important the Bifang Flame is to the sect? Do you know that with the Bifang Flame, we can truly have our own alchemy pavilion and foundry, and our fellow disciples can use better-effect pills and better-quality weapons?"

"I didn't!" Lu Qingyuan cried out, "I didn't hide that person's identity! I don't even know who he is!"

"You're lying!" Feng Shao said calmly, "Junior Sister Lu, you still refuse to tell the truth even at this point. Do you really want me to explain the situation to the head master and expel you from the sect?"

Lu Qingyuan couldn't help but be stunned.

Since she entered the sect, Feng Shao had taken good care of her, so much so that she once suspected that Feng Shao had some unspeakable intentions towards her. Later, Lu Qingyuan learned that Feng Shao did this because she had excellent qualifications and hoped that she could grow quickly to develop the sect. But even so, Lu Qingyuan felt that Feng Shao's feelings towards her should be different from those towards others.

But now, Feng Shao said that he would expel her from the sect. How could she not be horrified?

Feng Shao continued, "Junior Sister Lu, you have the best talent in the sect, and few people of your generation can match you. I teach you earnestly, hoping that you can stand on your own as soon as possible and help me share the pressure. But if you can't distinguish between public and private, right and wrong, then if I continue to train you, wouldn't I be training a huge disaster for the sect?"

Lu Qingyuan felt her hands and feet were cold, and her heart was dead. She never expected that Feng Shao, who was always tolerant and generous, would use the word "scourge" to describe her.

This made her feel sad and ashamed.

At the same time, there was also a vague feeling of dissatisfaction.

Feng Shao said coldly: "Junior Sister Lu, let me ask you one more question, who is the thief who stole the Bifang Flame?"

There was already a hint of murderous intent in Feng Shao's tone, as if he no longer considered Lu Qingyuan as his fellow junior sister.

Lu Qingyuan looked at Feng Shao, who was speaking sternly, gritted her teeth, hesitated for a long while, and finally shook her head slowly.

Feng Shao looked at her for a long time, then suddenly snorted and laughed at himself.

"I never expected that the sect would train a disciple for seven years, but in the end he would be a person who could not distinguish between public and private affairs and could not understand grudges. Do you think that if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't know who that person was? All I want is your attitude, and I just gave you the last chance, but unfortunately you didn't want to seize it."

Lu Qingyuan's heart skipped a beat and she immediately had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, she then heard Feng Shao say indifferently: "After returning to the mountain, I will report everything to the master. Ye Chen, a disciple of the three branches, robbed and stole the sect's things, and you, Lu Qingyuan, protected him."

Lu Qingyuan cried out, "You have no evidence, you can't wrongly accuse me like this!"

"Unfair? Haha, everything will be clear after Ye Chen returns to the mountain. Lu Qingyuan, take care of yourself!"

After Feng Shao said this, he turned away, leaving Lu Qingyuan at a loss as to what to do.

Feng Shao was actually very reluctant to go this far, but he had no choice but to let Lu Qingyuan know right from wrong and actually want to protect Ye Chen, a traitor. It is true that the Bifang Flame was not stolen by Lu Qingyuan, but her failure to report it was equivalent to putting her personal feelings above the interests of the sect. If this continues, sooner or later the entire Taiwei Sect will be sold out by someone like her, and Feng Shao, as the sect's saint, will not tolerate her.

Of course, a traitor like Ye Chen cannot stay in Taiwei Sect.

What a pity, after so many years of careful training and so many years of friendship.

On the way back to the mountain, Lu Qingyuan was silent and Feng Shao was also serious, which made the atmosphere of the whole team become quite solemn. The other disciples noticed this, but no one dared to ask Feng Shao, and they could only discuss it privately.

Three days passed in a flash.

When Taiwei Mountain loomed on the horizon, Lu Qingyuan felt a sense of fear. For the first time in her life, she dared not look directly at the sect that she once regarded as her home. She suddenly wanted to find an excuse to stop, but how could Feng Shao, who was flying in the front, give her this opportunity?

Seeing Taiwei Mountain getting closer and closer, Lu Qingyuan's fear grew bit by bit. Just when Lu Qingyuan was almost completely occupied by her fear, Feng Shao's fierce shout suddenly came from the front.

"Who are you? Get out here!"

In the surprised eyes of the crowd, a ball of black mist appeared in front of them. The black mist twisted in the air, and after a moment, it condensed into a human shape.

The man was wearing a black robe, and his face was hard to discern in the black mist. But just by looking at the way he appeared and his red eyes that were shining through the black mist, anyone could tell that he was a demon cultivator.

Feng Shao stood with a sword in hand, looking at the other party, and said coldly: "Where did this demon cultivator come from? How dare you block my way!"

The demon cultivator laughed a little creepily and said sinisterly, "I've heard for a long time that Feng Shao, the Holy Son of Taiwei Sect, is a man of great talent and bearing. Seeing him today, I can see that his reputation is well-deserved!"

Feng Shao snorted coldly and said, "Did you stop us just to say this kind of nonsense?"

"Of course not!" The demon cultivator laughed, "Under your leadership, Feng Shao, the Taiwei Sect has gradually grown in power over the years and has now become a second-rate sect in Dongzhou. It's a pity that your Taiwei Sect lacks foundation and is still far inferior to the real second-rate sects. For us, the demon sect, isn't a sect like this equivalent to a feast? And we came here today, of course, just to eat this feast of yours!"

"You guys?" Feng Shao was startled at first, then he shouted to Han Biyun: "Junior Sister Han, quickly take everyone back to the sect! I'll cover your retreat here!"

Han Biyun was immediately shocked: "But Senior Brother Feng..."

"Stop talking nonsense and go!"

When Feng Shao urged everyone to leave, the demon cultivator laughed sinisterly: "Want to leave? Sorry, none of you can leave!"