Chapter 726: Chapter 725: Gu Xie Who Could No Longer Hold Back Chapter 726: Chapter 725: Gu Xie Who Could No Longer Hold Back The fire came suddenly, and Gu Xie knew that things were not looking good.

If he burned to death here, there would be no need to talk about filial piety.

Moreover, he was a mortal now and couldn’t wield any magical powers.

Waiting for the fire to die out or someone to save him would be too late.

If he wanted to live, there was only one way: he gritted his teeth, adjusted his position, and jumped from the top of the barn.

He was lucky, only breaking his leg.

A day later, Gu Xie lay there, wishing for death, with not a single person at home to take care of him.

...

He didn’t even have the right to lie in a bed, but could only lie on a straw mat covered with a straw mat.

“Son, are you alright?” Gu Father asked, seemingly concerned.

In his heart, Gu Xie thought, I’m lying here, how can you ask if I’m alright?

If it weren’t for you starting the fire, would I have been burned?

If this were reality, he would have killed Gu Father several times over, but this was the test stage, testing filial piety, and he had to suppress the anger in his heart and force a smile, “Father, I’m fine.”

Gu Father sighed with relief, “I said there’s no need to have the doctor prescribe medicine, what a waste of money.

You’ve been strong since you were a child, you can get better without medicine.”

“Father is right.”

During mealtime, Gu Xie’s stepmother said in a shrill and delicate voice, “When will you be better?

The house can’t support a useless person.”

Three months later, Gu Xie finally recovered and could work on the ground.

After another three months, Gu Father came to Gu Xie and said that every other family had a well, and they should dig one for their own house too.

This task naturally fell on Gu Xie; Gu Father and Gu Mother didn’t want to let Gu Xie’s brother do the work.

Gu Xie was very strong, panting and swinging the shovel, and in half a day he had dug a well three to four meters deep.

Just as Gu Xie was about to take a rest, a shovel of dirt fell on his head.

Looking up, he saw his father and brother filling in the pit.

“What are you doing?

I’m still down here!”

Gu Father and his brother turned a deaf ear and increased the speed of shoveling dirt into the pit, intending to bury Gu Xie in the ground.

Gu Xie was furious, not even bothering to pretend anymore.

Fortunately, he had dug a few small holes in the well wall to serve as a ladder.

In no time, he climbed out of the well using the small holes, giving Gu Father and his brother quite a scare.

With a face full of dust and dirt, Gu Xie exclaimed, “What are you doing!”

Gu Father quickly calmed down, “We didn’t know you were down there.”

Gu Xie glared at Gu Father with hatred.

If it weren’t for the test, he would have buried this whole family in the ground!

Time passed, and Gu Xie seemed to have forgotten the two life-and-death crises and the hardships imposed by his family.

He was respectful to his parents and loving toward his brother, but unfortunately, the father fell seriously ill and ultimately couldn’t be cured.

The brother married into another family, went to the city, and never contacted his family again.

By contrast, Gu Xie appeared extremely filial, a paragon of filial piety in the village.

Latterly, Gu Xie’s filiality spread to the county town, and the magistrate, wanting to commend him, promoted him to constable.

Gu Mother, for some reason, developed a bad habit of gambling.

As a constable, Gu Xie saw his mother in the gambling dens many times during raids and always let her escape.

In time, the magistrate found out and dismissed Gu Xie.

Gu Xie married and had children, living with Gu Mother.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last.

Gu Mother gambled away the family fortune.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

It was winter at that time, and without any money, there wasn’t enough food for everyone.

Gu Xie’s wife suggested, “We can have another child if one is lost, but there is only one mother.

Let’s bury the son.”

Gu Xie agreed with his wife’s idea.

One night, the two of them went to dig a hole, and before digging very deep, they felt their shovel hit something.

“A jar?”

The couple opened the jar and found it filled with gleaming gold!

Overjoyed, with this jar of gold, not only did they not need to bury their son, but their family could become famous wealthy folk from miles around!

Kneeling on the ground, the wife believed their filial piety had moved the heavens.

With this jar of gold, Gu Xie’s family quickly began to live a life of luxury, moving into a big house.

Gu Mother enjoyed her twilight years and passed away peacefully.

Half a year later, the owner of the gold came to Gu Xie’s family, demanding the return of the gold.

Gu Xie’s family had long spent all of the gold and couldn’t return it.

Gu Xie was imprisoned.

The Illusionary Realm ended.

Gu Xie came to his senses and discovered that he was the last one to wake up; Gu Junye and the others had awakened much earlier.

Dai Bufan, upon seeing Gu Xie awake, shook his head gently, “You have failed.”

“I failed?” Gu Xie was astonished, wondering how he could have possibly failed when his filial piety was well-known far and wide.

“Not to mention that your family tried to murder you several times, yet you still treated them with utmost respect.”

“Let’s talk about how your stepmother gambled repeatedly; you not only failed to stop her but even abused your power to shield her from justice.

Not to mention when you wanted to bury your son, constituting attempted murder, and how you used the gold you found to provide for your stepmother’s comfortable old age, to the extent that you couldn’t return the gold, committing embezzlement.”

Among those who failed with Gu Xie were his trusted subordinates.

However, they lacked Gu Xie’s tolerance.

Under relentless difficulties posed by their family, they could bear no more, ultimately killing their entire family instead of making it to become constables.

Gu Xie pointed at Gu Junye and the others, asking, “So they all passed?”

“Of course, they passed.”

Dai Bufan felt that if Gu Xie were simply let go, he might react impulsively.

So he snapped his fingers and replayed Gu Junye’s Illusionary Realm experience.

After jumping off the roof and breaking his leg, Gu Junye immediately took his parents to the county magistrate, who deemed the parents guilty of attempted murder and sentenced them to ten years’ imprisonment.

Passed the trial.

“How does that conform to filial piety!” Gu Xie was furious, clearly remembering that the third trial was meant to test filial piety.

“Making parents aware that harboring ill intentions is unacceptable, and that wrongdoing must be punished, naturally conforms to the principle of filial piety.”

Dai Bufan replayed Daoist Xiantian’s Illusionary Realm experience.

While digging a well, Daoist Xiantian saw his father and brother trying to bury him alive.

He leaped out of the well and killed both of them.

Passed the trial.

“He committed murder, and that still counts as passing!” Gu Xie himself had thought about killing his father and brother but controlled himself.

“That was self-defense.”

Gu Xie angrily pointed at his failed subordinates, “Then why do their murders count as failures?”

Elder Brother Dai patiently explained, “Self-defense requires immediacy.

They were just harboring pent-up anger from being bullied over time, which eventually became unbearable, leading to an explosive retaliation.

At the moment they committed murder over a trivial matter, there was no immediacy, so it did not constitute self-defense.”

“Harboring anger with no outlet goes against the path of cultivation.”

Seeing Gu Xie’s emotion run out of control, Daoist Xiantian stepped forward to offer him some kind-hearted consolation, somewhat sheepishly, “Daoist Gu Xie, you are too kind-hearted.

When others want to kill you, how can you still endure it?

That’s not good.

You should be decisive in your actions, like me.”

Unable to suppress his anger any longer, since joining the trial, Gu Xie had faced humiliation after humiliation.

First, during the second trial, he was inexplicably struck by lightning eighty-one times.

Then, he was left broken and battered by Yun Zhi.

Later, in order to uphold filial piety, he withstood all manner of indignities.

And now, the Seek Dao Sect told him he had failed and called him too kind-hearted!

It was intolerably insulting!

“Too kind-hearted your ass!” Gu Xie wanted to slap Daoist Xiantian away with a sweep of his sleeve.

He had thought that by passing the trials, he would gain entry to the core area of the Seek Dao Sect and strike from within.

Who could have imagined nobody from the Great Yu Alliance would pass the trials, suffering a complete defeat!

Such a mortifying disgrace!

He could bear it no longer; they all had to die!

“How dare you attempt to harm others!”

The Vast Sea Daoist Lord sensed the impending danger as Gu Xie’s murderous intent rose, realizing that this person, Gu Xie, had hidden his true strength!

The Vast Sea Daoist Lord struck out boldly, colliding with Gu Xie’s sleeve.

The force of their clash spilled upwards, surging towards the heavens!

Thinking to kill an ancestor, he must be tired of living!