Ten years had already gone by, but Mo Zhiyuan had yet to show any inclination to change his heretic ways.
While Zhang Xukai harbored nothing but deep respect for his shizun, he could not help but wonder if Shen Ruizhe was somewhat naive.
Then again, this was Shen Ruizhe he was thinking about.
Shen Ruizhe was not one to make a wrong move. Before he decided on any course of action, he usually thought everything through, starting from the complexity of the action down to the greatest consequences in the long run.
That being said, just what did the grandmaster have in mind for the unrepentant scum by the name of Mo Zhiyuan?
Zhang Xukai was dying to know, but he did not dare to ask.
Shen Ruizhe had made it clear that he didn't want Zhang Xukai to interfere in his affairs with Mo Zhiyuan.
That day, Shen Ruizhe stepped out of the crystal cave after spending barely a quarter shichen inside. Zhang Xukai did not ask why; he was simply happy to have his shizun back at his side. The Seven Sky Pillars Sect, upon its rebuilding, relied on him as the only surviving elder a lot.
As usual, Zhang Xukai dropped Shen Ruizhe at his bamboo cottage atop the Jinlian Peak.
As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by a flurry of elder disciples from other peaks.
"Shen-Shishu, you are finally back!"
Shen Ruizhe glanced at the little disciples with a smile. These were the youngsters they recruited as soon as the sect was back on its shaky feet.
"En, what is it?"
"A wild boar attacked some disciples of Wuchang Peak when they were hunting in the forest today."
"A shimei got sick from ingesting poisonous mushrooms. She is having feverish nightmares."
"Shishu, we are installing the curtains for the Hall of Repentance. Would you like to see if the color matches your preference?"
One by one, they came up with a bunch of trivial matters that put Zhang Xukai to shame.
The six other Peak Masters were yet to be appointed, let alone their deputies. In other words, Shen Ruizhe, this great grandmaster, had to take care of the entire sect all by himself.
"Shizun, you should rest," Zhang Xukai gently suggested. "Let me handle these matters."
"That won't do," Shen Ruizhe said with a smile. "Xukai, focus on Jinlian Peak. I will handle the rest."
Zhang Xukai watched with a growing ache in his heart as Shen Ruizhe allowed himself to be dragged toward other peaks by these little disciples.
He had not even set foot in the bamboo cottage, and he was already off solving problems at other peaks.
Zhang Xukai went about taking care of unfinished business at Jinlian Peak. With Shen Ruizhe around, the disciples felt safe and secure. Everything was well.
It was almost as if they were back at the time before Mo Zhiyuan left the path of righteousness and began dabbing in demonic cultivation.
When they were all happy together.
The sweet memories of his childhood filled Zhang Xukai with tender warmth, but they were quickly wiped out by the other dark, sinister memories.
Zhang Xukai shook his head repeatedly and gnashed his teeth in fury.
He was never going to forgive Mo Zhiyuan, no matter what.
After Zhang Xukai finished the last chore of the day, he dropped by the bamboo cottage to see whether Shen Ruizhe was back.
A soft sigh of relief escaped him when he saw Shen Ruizhe sitting in the lotus position at the small pavilion near the lotus pond, clearly in the middle of meditation.
He did not want to disrupt Shen Ruizhe, so Zhang Xukai sat down some distance away, watching Shen Ruizhe from afar.
Grandmaster Shen's fiftieth birthday was approaching, but he looked as young as a twenty-year-old man. That was the time his cultivation reached the stage where his aging process stopped, allowing him to retain his youthful and beautiful appearance indefinitely.
This alone was enough to make Shen Ruizhe the subject of both envy and admiration for many, many cultivators, inside and outside of the Seven Sky Pillars Sect.
But one should not gaze upon Shen Ruizhe's gentle appearance and dismiss him as nothing but a foolish beauty, destined to meet a tragic end just like many other legendary beauties.
Shen Ruizhe, with eyes the color of the darkest nights and skills as sharp as a blade, was the most formidable exorcist that the cultivation world had ever seen.
One swing of his spiritual weapon could redeem a thousand souls or vanquish a thousand demons, depending on the circumstances.
A cultivator of Shen Ruizhe's caliber should be able to enjoy a glamorous life, sitting atop the golden seat in the largest sect of the cultivation world, but his compassionate heart forced him to take up a position at Seven Sky Pillars Sect, acting as Jinlian Peak Master.
He even rejected the position of sect leader, citing that he was too busy watching out for the Gate of Hell, located conveniently at the foot of Tianhe Mountain.

Ah, what a pity.

Zhang Xukai was loyal to the Seven Sky Pillars Sect through and through, but he was even more loyal to this shizun, who shone brighter than the sun and yet was unable to take its rightful position in the sky.

He snapped back from his reverie when the silent surrounding was disrupted by a series of violent coughs.

Zhang Xukai's eyes widened in shock as he saw Shen Ruizhe lean forward slightly, blood trickling from his lip.

"SHIZUN!"

Zhang Xukai grabbed Shen Ruizhe's swaying form and let him lean against his chest. Shen Ruizhe's eyes were closed, his eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings on the eve of a storm, and he was biting into his lower lip so hard that blood began to well up.

All signs pointed toward the start of qi deviation!

"Shizun, forgive my rudeness," Zhang Xukai hurriedly said before he tapped on several specific acupuncture points on Shen Ruizhe's body, locking his meridians temporarily. The chaotic surge of spiritual power, previously crashing around like unruly waves, was suppressed in an instant.

Shen Ruizhe's body fell limp in Zhang Xukai's arms. Zhang Xukai carefully lifted Shen Ruizhe's fragile form into his arms and hollered for help.