Within the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation, gazing upon the shattered twelfth-grade Merit Golden Lotus, Tongtian Sect Hierarch's face showed a faint cold smirk.

"You think you can compete with this Hierarch by relying on a few innate treasures?"

"How naive!"

Having said that, Tongtian Sect Hierarch turned and left.

The murky Chaos Qi slowly enveloped the area, turning it into a land of deathly stillness.

And Saint Jieyin just stood there alone, motionless.

"How could this be…"

Saint Jieyin stood stunned on the spot, unable to regain his senses for a long time.

After a while, Saint Jieyin finally recovered and began to murmur to himself.

"Neither empty nor existent, neither cause nor effect…"

"All of this, after all, is my attachment!"

As Saint Jieyin spoke, he suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

But that laughter was full of desolation, helplessness, and rage.

He drew out all the Power of Faith gathered from the Three Thousand Great Worlds and infused it into the shattered twelfth-grade Merit Golden Lotus.

Soon, the twelfth-grade Merit Golden Lotus quietly underwent a transformation.

The fractured parts were slowly mending and healing, and at the rate of recovery, it would not take long for it to become a brand-new twelfth-grade Merit Golden Lotus.

However, the price was the complete depletion of the Power of Faith that had been accumulated over countless years.

At this moment, Saint Jieyin let out a gentle sigh.

After today's battle, he had come to a new understanding of Tongtian Sect Hierarch's Dao Xing.

Unfortunately, it was now too late for regrets.

All Saint Jieyin could do now was to minimize his own losses as much as possible.

At the Summit of Sumeru, Tongtian Sect Hierarch suddenly appeared before an ancient and mysterious Bodhi Tree.

Saint Zhunti of the Western Sect was sitting in meditation beneath the Bodhi Tree, his hands joined in prayer as he looked up at him with a compassionate and tranquil smile.

Tongtian Sect Hierarch glanced at him and indifferently said, "Fellow Daoist, your elder brother has been defeated by my hands; now it's your turn!"

Saint Zhunti knew he could not escape, so he slowly stood up, took a deep breath, cupped his hands and bowed, "This poor Daoist pays respect to Fellow Daoist. I am well aware that I am not your opponent; let us dispense with this duel."

Tongtian Sect Hierarch's lips curled up in a light sneer, looking at Saint Zhunti with an ironic gaze, and said, "At least you have some self-awareness, which is a slight improvement over your brother..."

Saint Zhunti's hands hung down as he stood quietly in place, silent, letting Tongtian Sect Hierarch mock him.

After a round of face-to-face mocking, Tongtian Sect Hierarch saw that Zhunti did not argue back.

Even when some of his words were unpleasant, the other party still smiled and nodded.

This scene left him feeling somewhat bored.

He initially wanted to see the other party's defiant attitude, and then without any mercy, shatter it to make them experience the taste of powerlessness.

But unexpectedly, the other party chose to concede so straightforwardly.

Tongtian Sect Hierarch said impatiently: "Today, I shall spare you all. Now hand over that foreign demon promptly!"

Saint Zhunti calmly looked at him and asked solemnly, "Is the foreign demon Fellow Daoist speaks of your disciple, Yu Yuan, the Primordial Chaos One Qi Immortal?"

"Who else could it be if not him?"

Tongtian Sect Hierarch was getting impatient.

This evil corpse didn't have much patience to start with.

Saint Zhunti smiled and said, "By the time Fellow Daoist arrived, Yu Yuan had already left the Pure Land through the Chaos Bell."

"Left?"

Tongtian Sect Hierarch suspiciously looked at Saint Zhunti, "Is that true?"

Naturally suspicious, that was one of the characteristics of this evil corpse.

Saint Zhunti took note of this discovery, then replied solemnly, "It's absolutely true! As soon as Fellow Daoist arrived at Sumeru Mountain, young friend Yu Yuan had already used the Chaos Bell to escape."

"Then why didn't you stop him?" Tongtian Sect Hierarch stared at Saint Zhunti, questioning him.

"He's your disciple, why would I stop him?" Saint Zhunti countered.

"You did it on purpose!"

Tongtian Sect Hierarch snorted coldly, staring at Saint Zhunti, "But I fail to understand why you would protect that foreign demon. Could it be that you have connections with the Demon Path?"

In ancient times, the Immortal Path started in the East, while the Demon Path emerged from the West.

Jieyin and Zhunti initially had dealings with Demon Ancestor Luo Hou but in the end abandoned the darkness to follow the Taoist Ancestor.

Now, the words of Tongtian Sect Hierarch were meant to charge them with having an underhanded connection with the Demon Path.

Saint Zhunti's heart was clear as a mirror, well aware of the other's intentions, and he said gravely, "Fellow Daoist, your words are mistaken. My bringing your disciple back to the Pure Land had no intention of sheltering him; he was captured because he had slain our Sect's protector, Dharma Protector Heavenly Venerate, and was to be publicly punished.

I did not expect that he would use the chaos caused by you, Fellow Daoist, as a chance to flee.

Even if this matter were taken to the Zixiao Palace, I would have justifications to present. Fellow Daoist, it's better not to speculate without basis!"

After hearing his explanation, Tongtian Sect Hierarch gave him a hard glare, and snorted coldly: "I'll let today's incident pass, but if you dare to hide any secrets from me again, it won't end so easily next time!"

Saint Zhunti smiled faintly, bowed slightly, and said, "I will keep Fellow Daoist's words in mind!"

Tongtian Sect Hierarch issued another warning, then packed up the Slaying Immortal Formation and released the trapped Saint Jieyin. After that, he mounted his Kui Niu and promptly left.

Soon, the entire Sumeru Mountain returned to its appearance of days past.

Everything seemed as if it had never changed.

At the Summit of Sumeru, Saint Jieyin silently watched the receding figure of Tongtian Sect Hierarch, the look of worry on his face deepening, his eyes flickering with an indecipherable light.