Chapter 726: Peak Acting Skills

Fan Yecheng's vision went black.

Yet, deep down, he still clung to a final shred of wishful thinking.

After all, he was an Elder of Martial Peak.

Even if his status in the Immortal Cloud Sect wasn't paramount, he had certainly put in the hard work if not the merit.

Although he had kicked a hornet's nest this time, it shouldn't cost him his life, right?

The worst-case scenario Fan Yecheng currently envisioned was having his arm severed to appease Ye Lin, followed by being stripped of his Elder status and demoted to a deacon.

At the very, very worst, being expelled from the Immortal Cloud Sect should suffice, right?

If he had provoked someone else, perhaps that would have been the worst outcome, but unfortunately, he had provoked Ye Lin.

Hearing Ye Lin's words just now, the already grim expressions of the nine Peak Masters turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

The killing intent in their eyes as they looked at Fan Yecheng was already palpable; they wished they could strike him dead on the spot.

But just as Fan Yecheng had thought, he was, after all, an Elder.

Although the nine Peak Masters were furious at the foolish thing he had done, they wouldn't go so far as to truly kill an Elder over such a matter.

After all, the Immortal Cloud Sect was a righteous sect of renown, though Fan Yecheng certainly wouldn't be able to survive in the Immortal Cloud Sect any longer.

"Ye Lin, the fault does not lie with you this time; you need not blame yourself. Regarding Elder Fan's issue, we will certainly give you a reasonable explanation. Follow me back to Pill Peak first, and have your arm..."

Before Danyangzi could finish his sentence, he was directly interrupted by Ye Lin.

"No!"

Ye Lin shook his head.

"The fault is mine. Elder Fan is silent now only because you are all here, forcing him to swallow his broken teeth along with the blood!"

Under Fan Yecheng's terrified gaze, Ye Lin did something that drove Fan Yecheng to absolute despair.

Thump!

Ye Lin knelt down before Fan Yecheng and remained there, his eyes brimming with hot tears.

"Elder Fan, I have realized my mistake. Please forgive me! From now on, if others want to hit me, I will never dare to resist again."

"If you do not forgive me, I shall remain kneeling!"

This scene left the nine Peak Masters utterly shaken!

Cultivation is an act of defying the heavens, which is why heavenly tribulations descend when cultivators break through realms.

A cultivator's life is spent struggling against the heavens, the earth, and all things in the world; therefore, they do not kneel to the heavens, the earth, or any worldly thing!

Even though they had taught Ye Lin various divine abilities and techniques, effectively acting as his masters, they had never once made Ye Lin perform the rite of kneeling.

Once a cultivator kneels, if not handled properly, it is easy for cracks to form in their Dao heart, or even for inner demons to sprout!

Physical wounds are easy to heal, but wounds of the heart are difficult to mend.

Danyangzi could heal the wound of a severed arm, but if cracks formed in the Dao heart or inner demons arose, even Danyangzi, the Master of Pill Peak, would be powerless.

This kneeling, while appearing to be Ye Lin bowing his head, was in fact cutting off all paths of survival for Fan Yecheng.

"This Fan Yecheng has caused too much psychological trauma to Ye Lin."

"How many years has it been? We finally found a seedling with Forbidden Spiritual Roots; if he is ruined by this Fan Yecheng, I will be the first to disagree!"

"In my opinion, just tie this Fan Yecheng up and hand him over to Ye Lin to deal with. You wouldn't want the Forbidden Spiritual Root you personally cultivated to betray the sect one day, would you?"

"You know I am a conservative, but I think Situ's idea is a bit too conservative!"

After a brief discussion, the several Peak Masters quickly decided how to dispose of Fan Yecheng.

Jun Chuanxiong raised two fingers and pointed them at Fan Yecheng several times from a distance; sharp sword Qi instantly bloomed into flowers of blood on Fan Yecheng's body.

At first, Fan Yecheng could still scream, but as his throat was sealed by a sword strike, he soon could make no sound at all.

Fan Yecheng lay on the ground like a dead dog, covered in blood.

As a cultivator at the fifth phase of the Seven Phases of Spirit, the Wheel-Turning Realm, he had no ability to resist before Jun Chuanxiong.

"Ye Lin, all the meridians in his body have been severed by me; he cannot exert even a fraction of his strength. He is yours to deal with!"

Jun Chuanxiong stepped forward quickly and very earnestly helped Ye Lin up.

"Your parents are already gone, and you possess Forbidden Spiritual Roots; in the future, you may even have the chance to step onto that supreme path of the Emperor."

"Remember, in this world, no one is worth you kneeling to. Not to mention an Elder, even a Peak Master, or even the Sect Master, is not worthy!"

Jun Chuanxiong had a fiery temper; whether he was teaching Ye Lin or just interacting with him, he would often strike Ye Lin if they disagreed.

This was the first time Ye Lin had seen him so serious, which made Ye Lin feel a bit embarrassed.

But there was no help for it; who told him he couldn't beat the Elder Fan Yecheng?

As for the idea that kneeling would cause inner demons, Ye Lin figured he would just walk on his knees in the future to make it easier for his Myriad Soul Banner to recruit new members.

"Old Man Jun, I'll remember that. I won't do it again!"

Ye Lin wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, his gaze becoming firm.

"We have already taught you all the skills we can; the road ahead is one you must walk yourself."

"You must remember, a truly powerful cultivator does not rely on so-called divine abilities or techniques, but on an invincible Dao heart! A heart that will not fall even if it is crushed a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand times!"

Jun Chuanxiong spoke with earnest concern.

As the Master of Martial Peak, he had seen too many peerless geniuses flash like a shooting star only to perish rapidly.

Talent is not the key to determining how far a cultivator can go.

The heart is.

Without an invincible Dao heart, even with the most top-tier talent, one might be devastated by a single failure.

"Understood, Ye Lin will take your teachings to heart!"

Ye Lin nodded very obediently.

"Go heal your arm first." Jun Chuanxiong patted Ye Lin's shoulder.

Ye Lin did not mess around this time; he first had Sang Yankai throw Fan Yecheng back to his own cave dwelling, then obediently followed Danyangzi back to Pill Peak to treat his arm.

As a master of the Pill Dao, reattaching a severed arm was naturally a simple task for Danyangzi.

After treating his arm, Ye Lin took the opportunity to get quite a few strange and potent poisons from Danyangzi.

Upon returning to his cave dwelling, Ye Lin felt the newly attached arm was a bit clumsy, so he tore it off, burned it to ashes, and grew a new one.

This caused Fan Yecheng, who was already ashen-faced, to widen his eyes in shock.

His throat was injured by sword Qi, making it impossible for him to speak, but his blood-red eyes expressed everything he wanted to say.

If he couldn't see by now that Ye Lin was deliberately framing him, he would have wasted his time as an Elder.

Ye Lin rubbed his hands in anticipation and looked at Fan Yecheng.

"Don't be angry, Elder Fan. I was forced into this. If I don't finish you off, what will I do if you take revenge on me later? You tell me, am I right?"

"A certain God King said it well: I forgot the beginning, I forgot the middle, I forgot the end, but anyway, you have already invited your own death!"