Chapter 1069: The Truth Behind the Misunderstanding

"Is this how the Beast Taming Sect treats its guests?" Mr. Bai's pleasant voice resonated through the air.

There was no hint of anger, yet it made the sect-guarding Azure Dragon feel an immense threat, causing it to glare furiously.

Driven by its defensive instincts, the Azure Dragon was about to strike. At this critical moment, a figure suddenly shot up from the ground.

"Ahhh!"

Accompanied by a cry of agony, the figure flew directly in front of Mr. Bai.

The tense and solemn atmosphere was instantly broken.

Countless eyes from all directions immediately focused on the small figure.

"It's Xu Ke..." Mr. Bai smiled.

Xu Ke, however, rubbed the back of his head, feeling uneasy.

Still, following Li Fan's instructions, he shyly asked, "Mr. Bai, why are you here? Are you here to see me?"

Before Mr. Bai could reply, a blue light flashed from the horizon, instantly positioning itself between him and Xu Ke.

"Brother Lu Ya!" Xu Ke was thrilled to see another familiar face.

Mr. Bai looked at Lu Ya, whose face was filled with wariness, and a hint of helplessness flickered in his eyes. "Lu Ya, long time no see."

Lu Ya said, "What do you want?"

His tone was cold and wary.

Mr. Bai didn't seem to mind. He slowly stated, "I have no ill intentions on this trip. I've merely come to the Beast Taming Sect because I require their assistance with something."

Lu Ya pondered his words, hesitating.

Just then, an ancient voice resonated, "One who comes from afar is a guest. It seems our Beast Taming Sect has been remiss in its hospitality."

An elderly man with white hair and white eyebrows appeared instantly.

"Grand Elder?" Lu Ya gasped in surprise.

Emperor Sanmo nodded in acknowledgment. Then, turning to Mr. Bai, he said, "Distinguished guest, please follow me. We will certainly cooperate if there's anything the Beast Taming Sect can assist with."

This overly courteous attitude left Lu Ya puzzled and somewhat unwilling to accept.

However, he still respected his elders and did not openly contradict him.

"Then I thank you in advance." As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face; Mr. Bai also reined in his aura.

He followed Emperor Sanmo and disappeared from sight.

"Huh? Why did he leave?" Xu Ke was momentarily vexed, having expected Mr. Bai to take him along.

"I told you not to get too close to Mr. Bai! And you foolishly rushed up to him the moment you saw him!" Lu Ya gently patted Xu Ke's head, admonishing him.

"He is not at all the person he appears to be in front of us," Lu Ya said, looking grimly into the distance toward the Beast Taming Sect.

"Brother Lu Ya, why do you say that? Mr. Bai truly is a good person!" Xu Ke said, confused but very earnestly.

"You... sigh..." Lu Ya let out a long sigh. "Never mind. At this point, I won't keep it from you any longer."

"After Ningyuan City was razed to the ground, we were under Mr. Bai's...

"...under his command, we urged the people to save themselves and helped transfer all the injured to the small, dilapidated temple."

"But that day..."

Lu Ya drifted into thought, his expression a little dazed.

"Suddenly, one of the injured suffered a relapse, and it seemed he wouldn't last much longer. Mr. Bai happened to be absent, and our skills were completely insufficient to save him..."

"So we had no choice but to split up and search for Mr. Bai throughout the city."

At that moment, Xu Ke also suddenly spoke. "Yes, I remember now, something like that did happen. Not long after, Brother Lu Ya, your attitude towards Mr. Bai changed completely. Why exactly?"

Lu Ya took a deep breath. "At that time, I searched everywhere for Mr. Bai but couldn't find him. Then I suddenly remembered that when I was seriously ill, he had taken me to his home for treatment. I vaguely recalled there being a basement in his house."

"I thought perhaps he was in the basement at that moment. After some effort, I finally found the entrance to the basement near Mr. Bai's house. Just as I was about to call out and ask, I caught a faint but distinct scent of blood wafting from within. I assumed Mr. Bai was injured, so I disregarded everything else and quickly entered. But what I saw was..."

"What did you see?" Xu Ke was captivated by Lu Ya's description.

"Corpses. The entire basement was filled with fragmented bodies. And he, holding a sharp tool, was dismembering them, performing some evil ritual. Do you remember Gouzi used to have several brothers? The ones who had dog bodies forcibly stitched onto them?" Lu Ya asked.

Xu Ke nodded.

"At the time, they mysteriously disappeared. I asked Mr. Bai about it, and he claimed he hadn't seen any trace of them. But..."

Lu Ya gritted his teeth. "I clearly saw them among those bodies in the basement!"

"This..." Xu Ke's eyes widened, utterly unable to believe any of it.

Lu Ya continued, "The scene in that basement was like something out of hell. Even now, when I recall it, a chill runs down my spine. Not only was the stench of blood nauseatingly strong, but the floor was also stained black and crimson with it. And in the innermost part of the basement stood an utterly bizarre, faceless statue!"

"Even though I only saw it for a moment, it constantly reappears in my nightmares. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you could never imagine the depths of its evil!"

"He seemed utterly shocked by my unexpected intrusion. But I reacted instantly, fearing he would kill me to silence me. Without a word, I scrambled out of that hidden room and fled like a madman back to the small temple, desperate to expose Mr. Bai's true nature. But he has always been too good at disguising himself! No one believed me!"

Lu Ya sighed deeply.

"If I continued to stay by his side, I would surely be in danger. I had to escape! Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried to convince others, you were the only one willing to escape with me."

"Fortunately, we met Master on our journey and finally found a home here in the Beast Taming Sect. But I never imagined he would be so persistent, following us even here."

Xu Ke looked at Lu Ya's deeply furrowed brows, his heart suddenly feeling conflicted.

"Perhaps there's some misunderstanding?" Xu Ke still tried to reason.

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding could there possibly be?" Lu Ya scoffed.

"You've seen him yourself now. He didn't even flinch when facing the sect-guarding Azure Dragon of the Dao Integration realm. You can imagine how terrifying his current power is! To cultivate to such a level in such a short time... I can't think of any way he could have achieved it other than by sacrificing to that evil power!"

"Furthermore..."

Lu Ya paused. "I also investigated that eerie faceless statue."

"It's the evil god worshipped by the ancient nefarious sect, the Profound Heaven Sect! The remnants of the Profound Heaven Sect—we cultivators must eliminate every single one of them!"

Xu Ke wasn't familiar with the Profound Heaven Sect.

However, he did know the reason why Mr. Bai had cultivated so rapidly.

But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered Li Fan's stern warning that "heaven's secrets must never be divulged," and he had no choice but to swallow his words.