Chapter 430 - Nailed to the Pillar of Shame!

Yun Xiao rose to his feet and pushed the door open. By then, Liu Yingying had already left, leaving only Lian Xi guarding the doorway alone.

"Are you spying on me?" Yun Xiao asked with a smile.

"Not at all," Lian Xi huffed.

"We've already kissed; why the shyness?" Yun Xiao chuckled.

"It's you who played the rogue, tarnishing my image," Lian Xi retorted.

With little time to spare, Yun Xiao stopped teasing her and instead inquired about materials related to metals and ores.

"Why do you need these? These are for cultivating the path of a Martial Immortal..." Lian Xi looked at him oddly. The key was, the materials he requested felt eerily familiar to her!

"Don't worry about it, I just need them. Do you have any?"

Yun Xiao's request was the epitome of a freeloader's mantra, the kind that asserted dominance for those who used it.

"I don't have any right now," Lian Xi pondered before explaining, "In the Primordial Ruins, the path of the Martial Immortal is held in high regard, consuming a vast amount of such metals and ores. For anything above the Yin grade, you might have to check the Jade Immortal Tower."

"The Jade Immortal Tower?" Yun Xiao asked.

"It's one of the largest trading houses in the Primordial Ruins, mainly dealing in metals, ores, and magic treasures, with mining operations across various worlds," Lian Xi explained.

"It's not run by the descendants of the Three Immortals?" Yun Xiao inquired.

"No, it isn't," Lian Xi looked at Yun Xiao and continued, "Whether outside or inside the Primordial Academy, the descendants of the Three Immortals are only a part of it. Most people in the Primordial Ruins are natives who have inherited their lineage from the era of the Martial Emperor, with ancestors from various worlds. The Jade Immortal Tower belongs to one of those clans."

"I see." Yun Xiao nodded.

"However," Lian Xi continued, "the original powers outside the Primordial Academy, compared to those inside, tend to submit more to the Three Immortals. Many have even integrated into the Three Great Ruins."

This was quite normal.

"Are the rumors about the Martial Emperor Clan true? You know, that by using the hearts of young girls for cultivation, they courted divine retribution, changing the Five Calamities Realm to the Five Decays Realm. So, now half of all cultivators die at each decline, and without exceptional talent, most would perish. And that's why the legacy of the Martial Emperor Clan is held in such disdain in the Primordial Ruins..." Yun Xiao looked into Lian Xi's eyes as he spoke.

"Mhm..." Lian Xi lowered her head, her voice trembling, looking as if she wanted to say more.

Yun Xiao said no more. He changed the subject and took her hand, "Come, take me to the Jade Immortal Tower."

"Now? But this Blood Bat Curse..." Lian Xi looked worriedly at his palm.

"It's fine, the Temple Head is monitoring my location, but hasn't restricted my travels," Yun Xiao said.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"But, buying these materials requires Immortal Jade. Do you have any?" Lian Xi asked.

"You having them is enough," Yun Xiao said with a smile.

"Alright..." Lian Xi couldn't help but smile through her frustration.

As they were about to leave, an elder in a white robe appeared beside them, speaking softly, "Young miss, we advise you not to leave the Primordial Academy in the next few days."

"Why?" Lian Xi asked.

The elder in the white robe glanced at Yun Xiao. "The matter of the Crown selection has spread, and some have added fuel to the fire in secret, stirring up public outrage within the Primordial Ruins."

Lian Xi thought for a moment and said, "They're just rumors and gossip; it's nothing. The hearts of the people are mostly good."

"Mm." The elder only offered a suggestion. If Lian Xi still wished to go out, he would arrange for vigilant protection. It had to be said, the level of protection the Primordial Academy provided for Lian Xi was of the highest standard. No one else received such treatment.

The moment she stepped out of the Divine Dawn Pavilion, she was almost always protected by a convoy of hundreds of powerful individuals, each at least at the level of a Crown like Dharma Crown Qin.

They protected her discreetly, hardly impacting Lian Xi's life.

"Crown Yun, Lady Lian Xi!"

As the two walked through the Primordial Academy, they were met with envious and respectful glances from the young disciples.

However, the moment they stepped out of the Primordial Academy, it felt as if they had plummeted from the heavens into the abyss.

Despite it being broad daylight, the streets before them were filled with a chilling cold.

Upon closer inspection, it was the icy gazes hiding behind doors and screens.

When Yun Xiao and Lian Xi appeared on a bustling street, the previously noisy street instantly fell silent, as if a snowstorm had swept through, coating every face in the ruins with frost.

This scene was even beyond Lian Xi's expectations. She was slightly confused and held Yun Xiao's hand even tighter.

Suddenly, a young girl standing in front of a tavern exclaimed indignantly, "Murderous devil! Child of disaster! Scourges of the ruins, hand in hand to hell with you!"

Once someone spoke up, the entire cold street quickly became restless.

"That's right! That's Yun Xiao! I heard that in the Primordial Academy, under the protection of Dean Yu, he killed over a dozen innocent disciples of the Pathseeker Society right in front of their grieving parents!"

"What over a dozen? He wiped out the entire Pathseeker Society! Their bodies are still piled up at the entrance of Mystic Zenith Temple..."

"Imagine being a parent, forced to watch as the child you raised for over a decade is brutally slaughtered by this demon. How much pain must they feel in their hearts?"

"Why hasn't the Primordial Academy executed him already!"

Some incredulously asked.

"Don't you see? He's the consort of this child of disaster. With Dean Yu covering the skies with one hand, who dares to touch someone she protects? The Mystic Zenith Temple is in a tough spot. Under the pressure of this she-devil, would they dare to convict this murderer?"

"Ridiculous! Truly, damn ridiculous! A sacred land of the immortal Dao tradition is trampled by a she-devil, a child of disaster, and a murderer, descending into such filth and squalor. I beg the Three Immortals to annihilate this wretched place at once!"

"You don't know the half of it. These so-called preceptors are filthy to the core. A friend of mine's brother was in the Primordial Academy. He personally witnessed Dean Yu and her disciples engaging in indecencies. We hardly believed it until my friend's brother died suddenly at home a few days later!"

"The Primordial Academy is too dark, too terrifying! Who would dare send their descendants there for cultivation in the future?"

"They're misleading the youth instead of teaching the Ascension Techniques!"

Thousands along the street watched Yun Xiao and Lian Xi pass by, arms folded, sighing in sorrow and anger.

"The morals of society are degrading, the world grows colder."

"Those who stand up for justice are slaughtered like dogs, the ungrateful are the literati... none involved in running these academies are good!"

These infuriated words buzzed around the young pair like mosquitoes.

"It seems the people hate us even more than the last time we went out," Yun Xiao said flatly.

"There's no helping it. Whoever holds the power of speech dictates right and wrong. In this world, proving one's innocence is the hardest thing. Even if one were to commit suicide in protest, they'd still slander the corpse." Lian Xi sighed.

"Are you saying, then, that the fault lies with those who stir the pot and slander? That the common folk, who join in the uproar without discerning right from wrong, and pin people to the pillar of shame, are blameless?" Yun Xiao stopped and looked down at her to ask.

Lian Xi paused. "If beings in cultivation are hindered, their eyes clouded, misled by evil demons, what fault do they bear? The fault lies with the saviors who failed to eliminate the evil, failing to create a golden age for all."

Yun Xiao smiled, "So, a person who wants to save everything must fight demons on one hand and be severely wounded by the very people he wishes to protect on the other, shouldering everything to build a golden age for all. That's correct?"

"What else? The world is a vast sea of suffering, and all beings suffer within it. We, who are uniquely blessed, must take up the mantle of salvation, even if the demons are strong and the slander vicious. We should bear no resentment, offering our lives in gratitude to the heavens..." As Lian Xi spoke, white flames ignited in her eyes—a flame of belief in her destiny that no one could extinguish.

Yun Xiao watched her, spellbound. It was as if he saw everything that Chen Xi had said to him on that night, seated upon the dragon throne.

Once, Yun Xiao thought the same. To achieve true greatness, one had to withstand everything, even if those one wished to protect stabbed them in the back. They had to accept it. And so, he set out like a madman to eradicate all demons.

But now, along this journey, he had witnessed far too many human hearts. In this regard, he was no longer as steadfast as Lian Xi. This wasn't a wavering of his Dao Heart. It was the birth of his new Worldly Dao Heart!

He wasn't that noble; he was selfish, greedy, angry, and foolish. So, when he killed in the Mystic Zenith Temple to save girls like Lil Xiu, and then heard these unimaginable yet accepted as true accusations, Lian Xi might not get angry, but he did.

"Murderer, child of disaster, vile couple! Kill me too, then!"

"I curse your parents, children, and descendants to die miserably! Their souls to scatter, doomed to be pigs and dogs for a hundred generations!"

The young girl in front of the tavern, seeing many joining in the uproar, shouted the loudest. Her words had barely fallen when a streak of azure light pierced through her throat!

THUD!

Her body fell, and the entire street instantly fell silent.

"W-what are you doing?" Lian Xi stared at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why would you kill someone so defenseless..."

"Defenseless?" Yun Xiao pointed at the girl. "A teenager at the Heaven Sanctuary Realm, in my hometown, is considered a supreme talent, an Overseer-level powerhouse."

"Uh." Lian Xi was stunned.

Yun Xiao grabbed her arm, his voice deep, "You need to understand, this is the Primordial Ruins. Everyone standing here is a talent of the Immortal path from thousands of worlds and peak powerhouses. There are no so-called commoners or ordinary beings. They, like you, are blessed by the heavens. Not everyone can claim the moral high ground by labeling themselves as common folk and justify murder and arson."

"Uh." Lian Xi was even more at a loss for words.

"Lastly, I can't stand being slighted. I don't want the person I care about to be slighted either."

After saying this, Yun Xiao pulled her along, walking away from the silent street.

"Yun Xiao..." Lian Xi looked at him, then tremulously asked, "If one day, everyone in the Primordial Ruins wants me dead, and I can't blame them, what would you do?"

Yun Xiao looked ahead. This was a world where beings were like ghosts under a golden celestial mist. Dark corners teemed with crawling serpents and laughing demons and devils. This was both the ruins and a den of monsters.

"Ah." Yun Xiao took a breath, then smiled at Lian Xi. "Kill them all! No explanations needed!"