Duobao and the others went through a flurry of activity, finally rescuing Dingguangxian from the relentless pursuit of the ferocious beasts.
Dingguangxian's face was as pale as paper, and his aura was weak and withered, making it painfully obvious that he had suffered severe injuries. His eyes shifted slightly, landing upon Luoxuan. He saw Luoxuan flash him a thoroughly "benevolent" smile.
Dingguangxian instantly blew his top. His handsome face twisted in rage, his eyes practically spitting fire as if he were looking at the murderer of his father. Pointing a trembling finger at Luoxuan, he shrieked at the top of his lungs:
"It was you!"
"It must have been you scheming in the shadows, which is why those beasts hunted me down!"
Even though Dingguangxian had no proof, his intuition screamed that this matter was somehow tied to Luoxuan.
His furious roar left everyone looking utterly stunned. Subconsciously, they turned their gazes toward Luoxuan, who managed to put on an appropriately bewildered and innocent expression, feeling not a single trace of panic in his heart. He had long since destroyed every last trace of the spiritual fruit, wagering that Dingguangxian could never produce any evidence.
Seeing that Dingguangxian actually dared to slander his good brother, the hot-tempered Zhao Gongming was the first one unable to sit still. He leaped forward and cursed furiously:
"What nonsense are you spewing!"
Seeing Zhao Gongming support him without a second thought, Luoxuan felt a sudden surge of warmth. It was just that the phrasing was entirely too crude!
Duobao frowned, his tone laced with displeasure:
"Junior Brother Dingguang, you can eat your words, but you cannot speak recklessly."
"Clearly, you were the one hunted by the beasts. What does that have to do with Junior Brother Luoxuan? I know you two have your differences, but you cannot simply go around slandering a fellow sect member."
Dingguangxian fumed with rage:
"That octopus beast was clearly charging right at Luoxuan! Why else would it suddenly turn around and attack me? He must be behind this!"
Hearing this, the onlookers felt it made a certain amount of sense. The octopus beast's behavior certainly had been quite abnormal.
Luoxuan smiled faintly.
"Beasts lose their minds to tribulation Qi, making their strange behavior entirely normal. How can one judge them by ordinary logic?"
"How could I possibly control the actions of a wild beast?"
"Furthermore, Senior Brother Dingguang speaks with empty words and no proof. Just because of past grievances between us, you resort to such reckless slander against a fellow disciple. I'm afraid this stunt of yours won't win over the crowd, will it?"
His words were logically coherent and thoroughly reasoned. The surrounding disciples nodded in agreement one after another.
Zhao Gongming chimed in:
"That's right."
"If you have the ability, Dingguangxian, bring out some proof! Otherwise, don't blame me for reporting you to the Master for the crime of slandering a fellow disciple."
Dingguangxian was instantly struck dumb. If he actually had any evidence, he would have brought it out long ago.
Seeing Dingguangxian stand there in silence, Duobao knew he had no proof. His expression grew stern as he said:
"Junior Brother Dingguang, since you have no evidence, how can you casually slander others? Hurry up and apologize to Junior Brother Luoxuan."
Apologize?
Dingguangxian's face flushed a deep, furious red. Asking him, a dignified inner sect disciple, to apologize to an outer sect disciple—where would he put his face? How could he possibly maintain a footing in Jiejiao from now on?
With a ferocious expression and veins bulging on his forehead, he said desperately:
"Even without proof, this matter is definitely connected to Luoxuan!"
Luoxuan sighed and said:
"Well said."
"Leaving aside the facts entirely, Senior Brother Dingguang being hunted by beasts is indeed my fault."
At these words, the crowd burst into roaring laughter. Even Yunxiao, usually so poised and graceful, could not help but smile.
Leaving aside the facts entirely? What a brilliantly absurd thing to say! Once you throw the facts out the window, what on earth is left to discuss?
Listening to the mocking laughter all around him, Dingguangxian turned the color of a pig's liver. He trembled violently, completely unable to utter a single word.
Suddenly—
*Puff!*
Consumed by a raging fire of fury, Dingguangxian instantly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and collapsed heavily to the ground, unconscious.
Duobao sighed, summoned a pair of disciples, and instructed them to carry Dingguangxian back to Jin'ao Island to recuperate and heal his injuries.
Walking over to Luoxuan, Duobao said:
"Junior Brother Luoxuan, I will report this matter to the Master. Rest assured, you will receive a fair verdict."
Seeing that Duobao was not blindly favoring Dingguangxian but handling the matter impartially, Luoxuan's opinion of him rose quite a bit. He thought to himself: *Though there are a few troublemakers floating around, the vast majority of people in Jiejiao are actually quite decent.*
"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother!"
With that settled, the group resumed their slaughter of the beasts.
Luoxuan chose not to join in this time. For one, he was currently maintaining the appearance of having suffered "heavy injuries," and for another, he had already killed a vast number of beasts earlier; he had to leave a few scraps for the others. Hogging all the rewards would only invite resentment. Since he had no plans to leave Jiejiao anytime soon, maintaining good relations with his peers was only natural.
Elsewhere, the two disciples carried the unconscious Dingguangxian away.
A cold glare flashed in Luoxuan's eyes. *Hmph!* This time was merely collecting a bit of interest; next time wouldn't be so cheap.
A few days later, all the ferocious beasts had been thoroughly cleared out.
The once-azure sea was stained red with blood. Shattered carcasses of beasts littered the water everywhere, the air thick with a nauseating stench and an overwhelming murderous aura.
Luoxuan flicked his sleeve, sending a sheet of flames plunging into the sea. Instantly, roaring fires swept across the surface of the water.
Within moments, every single carcass was reduced to ash, and the blood was completely evaporated by the searing heat, restoring the ocean to its former clarity and beauty.
Zhao Gongming teased:
"Junior Brother, a spell technique like that is truly convenient for murder and destroying the bodies afterward."
With the beast threat dealt with, everyone received Merit rewards—some more, some less, but the person who harvested the most Merit by far was still Luoxuan. There was simply no helping it; he had killed far too many. Even while he idled away the time later, the sheer number of beasts he had slaughtered still surpassed a thousand, exceeding even Duobao, who ranked second, by several hundred. Such was the terrifying power of area-of-effect attacks.
...
Fire Dragon Island.
Luoxuan and Zhao Gongming sat facing each other directly on the ground. Ever since Zhao Gongming had publicly backed him, their relationship had transformed from ordinary fellow disciples into genuine friends. Zhao Gongming frequently visited Fire Dragon Island, and the two often sat together discussing the Dao, roaming the mountains and rivers, and enjoying wine and leisure.
Zhao Gongming laughed and said:
"Junior Brother, yesterday when Master came out of seclusion and learned about the incident with Dingguangxian, he flew into a towering rage and sentenced him to suppress the East China Sea eye of the vortex for three thousand years."
"Oh?"
"Suppressing the eye of the vortex?"
Hearing this, Luoxuan wore a look of genuine surprise.
"Indeed."
Zhao Gongming seemed to warm up to the topic, speaking with great animation:
"That eye of the vortex is an extremely malevolent place. Located deep within the ocean, it has endless underwater turbulent currents surging through it."
"If one uses their physical body to suppress it, not only does the flesh have to endure the battering of those currents—feeling as though it's being sliced by a thousand blades in endless torment—but the primordial spirit must also constantly resist the turbid Qi of the deep sea, making any progress in cultivation utterly impossible."
"Tsk tsk!"
"Such a brutal punishment—three thousand years is not something an ordinary person can endure."
At this, Zhao Gongming couldn't help but look somewhat gleeful.
Luoxuan sneered coldly:
"He brought this upon himself; there is no escaping it."
...
In the East China Sea, at a depth of hundreds of millions of zhang.
Dingguangxian's entire body was wedged directly into the eye of the vortex, enduring the ceaseless impact of the deep-sea currents and turbid Qi every single second. It was a torment a million times more agonizing than being carved by a thousand blades.
His figure was withered and emaciated, resembling a stray dog. Not a single trace of his former elegance as one of the Seven Attendants remained.
Within Dingguangxian's eyes, a blazing fire seemed to burn, an endless torrent of hatred erupting from the depths of his soul as he gritted his teeth, squeezing out each word:
"Luoxuan..."
"I swear I will kill you!"
His venomous voice echoed through the dark ocean depths, venting the overwhelming hatred festering in his heart.