558: Chapter 558 Nianyin, it's time to close the net, otherwise people will think they're the only ones scheming.

Sun Ping knelt on the ground, trembling all over, blood from his forehead streaming down the bridge of his nose.

The few people behind him also knelt, kowtowing like pounding garlic, their mouths incessantly shouting "we're on your side" and "we've wanted to defect for a long time."

The people of the Righteous Path Alliance stopped their actions; the shield-bearers lowered their shields, the swordsmen withdrew their blades, and the chanting Cultivators closed their mouths.

All eyes were focused on those few Hehuan Sect Disciples kneeling on the ground.

Ancestor Xuan Yin looked at Sun Ping, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

He didn't speak, but there was something in his eyes—a satisfaction like a hunter seeing prey walk into a trap of its own accord.

He was in no hurry to state his position, just standing there with his hands behind his back, looking down at the kowtowing people from a height.

He wanted to wait, wait for them to say enough, wait for them to spill every last secret of the Hehuan Sect.

Sun Ping finished kowtowing and looked up at Ancestor Xuan Yin.

His face was a mess of blood and mud, tears and snot smeared all over, looking utterly pathetic.

But his eyes were bright—not with the light of loyalty, but with the kind of light that suggested he would sell out anything just to survive.

"My Lord, we were the ones who spread the word about the Hehuan Sect's Grand Array lacking spiritual energy!

We also marked the locations of those Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

We've wanted to join the Righteous Path Alliance for a long time, we just never had the chance!

Please take us in, My Lord! We are willing to serve the Righteous Path Alliance, to go through fire and water without hesitation!"

A female Disciple behind him followed up, "Yes, yes, yes! Xu Ruyu didn't treat us like humans at all!

He led us around hiding everywhere; how much hardship did we endure? How much suffering? Why should we follow him to our deaths?

My Lord, we are willing to reveal all the secrets of the Hehuan Sect, as long as you are willing to take us in!"

The others also chimed in, talking all at once, scrambling to speak first for fear that being late would mean not being considered one of their own.

Some of what they said was true, some was fabricated, but regardless of truth or falsehood, they spoke with great effort.

Reaching a point of excitement, someone even stood up, pointed at where the Hehuan Sect Disciples were standing, and shouted, "They still have some High-Grade Spirit Stones hidden on the beams of the Main Hall! Xu Ruyu didn't tell anyone, but I saw it with my own eyes!

My Lord, if you go to get them now, there's still time!"

Among the Hehuan Sect crowd, there was dead silence.

The Grand Elder stood at the very front, his face expressionless, his eyes fixed on Sun Ping for a long time.

His eyes were bloodshot, but there were no tears.

His hands were trembling, but he clenched his fists tight so no one would see.

Hua Xunhuan stood beside him; her short sword had fallen to the ground, and she didn't move to pick it up.

She looked at Sun Ping, opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again.

Zhao Yan stood behind them, bare-chested, wounds all over his body still seeping blood, but he couldn't feel the pain.

His eyes held only those few people—the ones he had once called Junior Brother and Junior Sister.

He didn't understand.

He didn't understand why anyone would betray their own Sect, betray their fellow Disciples, betray those they had suffered and bled with.

His lips were trembling—not from fear, but from anger, a kind of inexplicable despair.

Leng Ningshuang didn't look at them.

Her sword had long since become dull, but she still held it in her hand.

Her gaze passed over those people, landing somewhere further away.

No one knew what she was looking at; perhaps she wasn't looking at anything at all, just not wanting to look at those people.

Ning Caihe didn't look at them either.

He crouched on the ground, picking up his sword.

His sword had broken into two pieces; he picked up both and bound them together tightly with strips of cloth.

He gripped the bound sword, tested it, and then let go.

He didn't want this sword anymore.

He picked up someone else's sword, held it in his hand, and stood up straight.

Qingyan stood in the crowd, her small face pale, her lips bitten until they bled.

Her tears had long since dried, leaving only tracks on her face.

She didn't look at those people; she was looking at Xu Ruyu.

Xu Ruyu was bound by the immortal binding rope, standing there motionless.

There was no expression on his face, and no emotion in his eyes.

He just watched those people as if watching something that had nothing to do with him.

Sun Ping finished speaking and looked up, waiting for Ancestor Xuan Yin's response.

The people behind him also looked up, gazing eagerly at the white-haired old man.

Their hearts were beating so fast they could hear them.

They didn't know what awaited them, but they knew they had no way back.

Ancestor Xuan Yin finally smiled.

The smile was faint, like a stone thrown into water, creating a small ripple before vanishing.

He nodded, his voice not loud but very clear: "Good. Since you are willing to abandon the darkness for the light, I shall take you in. Step over here."

Sun Ping felt as if he had been granted a grand amnesty and scrambled over to the Righteous Path Alliance crowd.

The people behind him followed, running so fast that someone tripped but scrambled back up to keep running.

They stood behind the Righteous Path Alliance's shield-bearers, gasping for breath as if they had just escaped the jaws of death.

A Tianxuan Sect Disciple patted Sun Ping on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother, those who recognize the circumstances are heroes."

Sun Ping nodded, forcing a smile, but his legs were still shaking.

Ancestor Xuan Yin looked at Xu Ruyu, the smile in his eyes deepening.

"Xu Ruyu, you didn't expect this, did you? It seems your Hehuan Sect is quite prolific in producing traitors.

Or rather, this is a true portrayal of how those who lose the Dao find little support.

Even your own people are selling you out. Why are you still guarding this broken Sect?"

He paused, took a step forward, and raised his voice: "I suggest you surrender peacefully.

Then, call Xiao Nianyin out.

We might even give your Hehuan Sect a chance to reform."

Someone in the Righteous Path Alliance crowd laughed—not loudly, but very gratingly.

The red-skirted female Cultivator from the Three Saints Gate crossed her arms and leaned against a stone pillar, looking at the bound Xu Ruyu and clicking her tongue twice.

"Tsk tsk, how pitiful.

A grand Sect Master, sold out by his own people.

Xu Ruyu, look at you, what have you become? Wouldn't it have been better to follow me?"

Xu Ruyu finally spoke.

His voice was not loud, but it was calm—too calm for someone who was bound.

"You want to see Xiao Nianyin that badly?"

Ancestor Xuan Yin's brow furrowed slightly.

He hadn't expected Xu Ruyu to counter with such a question, and even less expected that his voice would contain no fear, no anger, not even a ripple of emotion.

It was like a pool of stagnant water, or like something was brewing beneath the surface.

Xu Ruyu looked up at Ancestor Xuan Yin, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.

There was no bitterness or self-mockery in that smile, only an inexplicable something—like a hunter watching prey walk into a trap.

"Fine. It is indeed time for her to make an appearance." His voice remained soft, but every word was articulated clearly. "Otherwise, did you think you were the only ones who knew how to scheme?"

He took a deep breath, tilted his head slightly, and looked past Ancestor Xuan Yin's shoulder at a certain point in the Void Realm.

"Nianyin, it's time to pull in the net."

On the Martial Arts Arena, everyone's breath hitched for a moment.

Ancestor Xuan Yin's expression changed.

His Divine Sense surged outward, covering the entire Martial Arts Arena, the mountain gate, and the surrounding dozens of miles of forest.

He found it.

That blurred aura was right above the Main Hall; she had been there all along, from beginning to end.

It wasn't invisibility; she had merged into the Void Realm, like a drop of water into the ocean, such that even a Divine Sense like his could only barely capture a faint fluctuation.

Xiao Nianyin's figure slowly manifested above the Main Hall.

She stood in the Void Realm, her white clothes like snow, her long hair fluttering; there was no light around her, yet she stood there like an immovable divine statue.

Her gaze swept over everyone on the Martial Arts Arena, the besieged Hehuan Sect Disciples, the traitors kneeling among the Righteous Path Alliance, and finally rested on Xu Ruyu.

Her face was expressionless, but there was a fire in her eyes—a fire so cold that one dared not look directly at it.

At the same time, four figures appeared simultaneously within the Void Realm in the four directions.