Chapter 87: Two Choices

"Ah, Master is really something. At the slightest disagreement, he locks me up here in confinement. Who knows when this will end." In a stone room built entirely of massive rocks, a girl in green robes, with skin like snow and a face like a flower, rested her delicate jade hand on her fair chin. Her limpid, translucent eyes, like sparkling gems, stared blankly at a pitch-black stone bed not far away.

"Master said that if someone suddenly appeared on this bed, I could avoid punishment. But that's obviously fake. How could someone appear out of thin air? Besides, according to the sect's records, no one has appeared here in a thousand years." Mu Xiaoqiao had a caring old master, but the old master was rather rigid. Whenever she made a mistake, she was confined here.

This stone room was once a forbidden area long ago. Later, for some unknown reason, it became a place of confinement for disciples who had erred.

It was spacious and airtight, with rough stone walls all around. Apart from the stone bed in the middle, there was nothing else.

Just as Mu Xiaoqiao was wondering how to get through a month of confinement, the space above the stone bed suddenly seemed to twist. A figure fell down, lying motionless on the stone bed.

Mu Xiaoqiao immediately stood up, dumbfounded. What was going on? How could someone appear out of thin air?

Mu Xiaoqiao swallowed hard. She hadn't seen clearly just now. She moved her feet and quietly crept over to see who this person was.

"Drip."

"Drip."

Mu Xiaoqiao's crystal-clear eyes suddenly widened. She felt a chill run down her spine. What was that sound?

"Ah..." When Mu Xiaoqiao saw the figure on the stone bed, she screamed in terror, then immediately covered her mouth, staring in disbelief at the scene before her.

So much blood.

So many wounds.

There was even a hole pierced through the shoulder, revealing ghastly white bone, filling Mu Xiaoqiao with horror.

"He's not dead, is he?"

Mu Xiaoqiao's terrified eyes slowly scanned the figure. When she saw the thing between his legs, she blushed and screamed.

"Master, help!" Mu Xiaoqiao turned and ran out, too terrified to stay.

The stone room had a door, which was not locked, allowing free exit. But for sect disciples, no one dared leave before the confinement period ended.

...

No one knew how long passed.

Lin Fan felt his consciousness like a small boat on the sea, battered by a violent storm, drifting unsteadily, on the verge of being swallowed at any moment.

Darkness, not a glimmer of light.

Am I dead?

Now the storm grew fiercer. The boat capsized. Lin Fan closed his eyes, sinking helplessly into the seawater, gradually descending.

No sensation, no strength. Perhaps he would sink into oblivion.

"Junior Brother Lin, you can do it."

"Junior Brother Lin, hang in there, live."

"Swim upward with all your might. Don't sink down."

...

At this moment, faces familiar to Lin Fan appeared before him, each one wearing a smile.

"Senior brothers..." Lin Fan murmured.

"Ah..."

Then Lin Fan shouted, straining with all his might to climb up from the seawater, but each step became more difficult than the last.

...

"Sect Leader, he's awake."

At this moment, Lin Fan felt some noise around him; a ray of light stung his eyes, making it impossible to open them for a while. After adapting for a moment, several figures appeared before him.

"Senior brother, Sect Leader..." Lin Fan looked at the blurry eyes before him, struggling to open his mouth, but when he clearly saw the figures, he lowered his head.

They were not his senior brothers, nor the Sect Leader.

"Now that you're awake, rest well. You must be thinking about many things, but don't worry, it's safe here. No one will harm you. Let's go out first and let him have some quiet time."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

...

After these people left, Lin Fan looked at the unfamiliar surroundings, not knowing where he was. Where had the Sect Leader finally sent him? What place was this? Had the sect really been destroyed?

...

At this moment, in a great hall.

"Sect Leader, this is the only disciple of Grandmaster Heiyan. I think we should take him in." Standing in the hall, a dignified middle-aged man spoke with a desolate expression.

A man standing at the head of the hall held a token, which the Holy Demon Ancestor had used to send Lin Fan here, consuming all his vital energy.

It recorded the destruction of the Holy Demon Sect and Lin Fan's situation.

In the token, the Holy Demon Ancestor begged this sect to save Lin Fan, take him in, and let the Holy Demon Sect's sole inheritance survive.

"I have considered this matter thoroughly. Grandmaster Heiyan is an elder of our sect. Now that his sect has been destroyed, it is only right that we take good care of his only disciple. Later, go ask him whether he wants to return to our sect or continue the inheritance of his own sect. If he chooses to continue the inheritance, give him the Nameless Peak in the northwest." Saint Sect Leader Yan Hongyu sighed and shook his head as he spoke.

This was the Sect Leader's way of fulfilling his duty to the grandmaster.

Although a thousand years had passed since Grandmaster Heiyan went to Cangling Continent to establish a branch sect, as the main sect's leader, he could not simply ignore it.

"Sect Leader, this may not be appropriate. This disciple's talent is shattered, and he likely has no hope for the future. Giving him the Nameless Peak might cause discontent among others in the sect."

"My mind is made up. If anyone has objections, they can come to me. From now on, Nameless Peak will be renamed Holy Demon Peak, subordinate to the Saint Sect as a branch sect. This disciple will be the sixth-generation Sect Leader of the Holy Demon Sect. All junior brothers should help him as much as possible." Having made his decision, Sect Leader Yan waved his sleeve and left.

"Senior Brother Wuyan, why do you think the Sect Leader did this? There was no need to give away Nameless Peak." Yan Zhanwen asked, puzzled.

Wuyan shook his head and smiled. "Junior Brother Yan, you probably don't know this, but Grandmaster Heiyan once saved the ancestors of Senior Brother Yan and helped them join the Saint Sect. That is a great kindness. And Senior Brother Yan is a man of deep loyalty and righteousness. Besides, what does it matter to give away Nameless Peak? This disciple's talent is already shattered; he has no hope of reaching higher realms. In a hundred years, he will turn to dust."

"Alright, enough talk. Let's go see how that boy is doing. The hatred of sect destruction—who knows when he will get over it. It's a pity, such a good seedling." Wuyan shook his head regretfully.

From the information in the token, they had learned that this disciple had swallowed the essence of a fierce beast to forcibly enhance his strength, and the side effect was that he had injured himself, becoming mediocre from then on.

For a disciple who would live and die with the sect, they had no doubts about him and even felt admiration.

For a sect to have such a disciple was indeed a blessing.