The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun muttered to himself, then asked the other disciples, all of whom had been with the sect for more than twenty years.

Looking at these disciples whom he had practically raised from childhood, Yue Buqun couldn't help but sigh again and asked.

"You've been with the Huashan Sect for so long, what are the sect's rules?"

Dai Weiqi quickly replied.

"Master, our sect's rules are: first, no one should deceive their master or betray their ancestors; second, no one should bully the weak; and third, no one should be greedy or lustful..."

After he finished speaking, Yue Buqun looked at them calmly.

“I have been teaching you diligently since you were young, and you can recite the principles fluently. Why have you come to this point?”

Dai Weiqi begged for mercy again.

"Master, your disciple truly knows his mistake."

"This disciple has been bewitched. I beg Master and Sect Leader to spare my life."

Yue Buqun's expression turned cold.

“If I spare you, and if the sect leader spares you all, where will that leave the rules of the Huashan Sect? How will the Huashan Sect manage its other disciples in the future? And how will we face Liu Fusheng’s deceased parents?”

Upon hearing this, Dai Weiqi said repeatedly, "Master, I know I was wrong. I am willing to be expelled from the sect, I only beg you to spare my life."

"Yes, Master, we are also willing to be expelled from the sect."

“Master, we didn’t force Liu Fusheng’s parents to their deaths. It was Jiang Tao who did it. It has nothing to do with us. We didn’t ask him to force Liu Fusheng’s parents to their deaths. Master, please forgive us.”

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun's expression turned cold.

"You've been shirking responsibility until now? If it has nothing to do with you, why are you using the sect leader's name to try and cover up the truth?"

They were momentarily confused, and Yue Buqun was genuinely angry. He was somewhat reluctant to kill them, but as soon as this disciple uttered those words, Yue Buqun flew into a rage, his aura dissipating, leaving the disciples speechless.

Yue Buqun looked at them, and finally his imposing aura dissipated. He came to Dai Weiqi and reached out to pat his head.

"Wonderful."

Yue Buqun sighed.

"The disciple is here."

Dai Weiqi immediately knelt down, took two steps forward, and bowed respectfully.

"Some mistakes cannot be made, and are absolutely not allowed to be made."

Yue Buqun said.

“If we do not punish you today, we will not only be letting down the ancestors of the Huashan Sect, but also Liu Fusheng’s parents who have passed away.”

"Go in peace."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yue Buqun tightened his grip, and Dai Weiqi, who was still begging for mercy, had his pupils tremble, his expression instantly stiffen, and then he slowly fell to the ground.

When the Huashan disciples who were watching saw that Yue Buqun had actually killed Dai Weiqi, they were in an uproar.

They all knew Dai Weiqi, one of Yue Buqun's personal disciples and the sect leader's senior brother. They thought that Dai Weiqi and the others had made a mistake and would at most be punished, or at most expelled from the sect. They never expected that they would be killed without mercy.

After killing Dai Weiqi, Yue Buqun closed his eyes, a tear sliding down his cheek, but when he opened his eyes, his expression turned cold again.

"Master, spare my life!"

Seeing that Yue Buqun had even killed Dai Weiqi, the others were even more terrified and quickly begged for mercy.

But Yue Buqun showed no mercy and killed them one by one.

After killing these disciples he had raised since childhood, Yue Buqun's heart trembled, but he still forced a straight face, looked at the surrounding Huashan disciples, and spoke.

“Dai Weiqi and the others violated the sect rules and were expelled from the sect today. The Huashan disciples who drove Liu Fusheng’s parents to their deaths were executed. As for the other Huashan disciples involved in this matter, those with serious offenses will suffer the same fate as them, while those with minor offenses will have their martial arts skills abolished and be expelled from the sect.”

When Yue Buqun said this, everyone was in an uproar.

They never expected that Yue Buqun would go to such lengths to punish dozens of people at once because of Liu Fusheng's family. The lightest punishment was the stripping of their martial arts skills and expulsion from their sect. Such severe punishment made them tremble.

At this moment, Jiang Ning also came out. He glanced at the corpses of Dai Weiqi and the others, then looked at everyone and spoke.

"Our Huashan Sect is a prestigious and righteous sect, and we will never allow anyone to bully the people or do evil."

"After this incident, the Huashan Sect will conduct a thorough investigation, and anyone with similar circumstances will suffer the same fate."

Jiang Ning's voice was cold, and all the Huashan disciples present couldn't help but feel a chill.

"I hope you understand that being a disciple of the Huashan Sect does not give you the right to oppress the people and act tyrannically."

The disciples' expressions varied upon hearing this, but they all quickly responded.

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Regardless, today's events will be etched into their hearts.

Over the next few days, the Discipline Peak conducted a thorough investigation, personally overseen by Jiang Ning. They discovered that many more people had done similar things, and their fates were all the same, without exception. Among them were even some of the earliest disciples, all of whom were Jiang Ning's senior brothers, and Jiang Ning showed no mercy.

Jiang Ning's ruthless approach made the other Huashan disciples tremble with fear.

Those Huashan disciples who violated the sect rules finally understood how the Demonic Sect felt when facing Jiang Ning back then.

Chapter 806: The Path of Ruthlessness

"Senior brother."

Ning Zhongze arrived at Yue Buqun's side at some unknown time.

Yue Buqun glanced back, but said nothing, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ning, who was standing on the edge of the cliff, staring intently into the distance.

“Ning’er, he…”

Since the last major investigation at Mount Hua uncovered many disciples, Jiang Ning has had much less time to practice. In the past few months, he has often come here alone, lost in thought. Ning Zhongze is very worried about his condition.

"Ugh."

Yue Buqun sighed, unsure of what to say.

He knew that many disciples had been investigated and punished, including many of Jiang Ning's senior brothers who had grown up with him. Now they had gone astray, and Jiang Ning was in a bad mood. Yue Buqun knew that Jiang Ning was not feeling well.

"Senior brother..."

Ning Zhongze then spoke up again.

“Wei Qi and the others went astray. Ning’er did nothing wrong in cleaning them up, but Ning’er is so ruthless. Doesn’t she have any feelings for her fellow disciples?”

Ning Zhongze was puzzled. She could understand Jiang Ning's ruthlessness towards evil sects in the past, but why was he so cruel to his fellow disciples? Even though those people had made mistakes, some of them didn't deserve to die. Yet Jiang Ning insisted on purging them all. She didn't understand Jiang Ning.

"Ugh."

Yue Buqun sighed. How could he not know Ning Zhongze's doubts? In fact, not only Ning Zhongze, but also Liang Fashi, Dai Zi and other Huashan disciples of the same generation as Jiang Ning were very puzzled, to the point that they dared not approach Jiang Ning now.

“Ning’er isn’t without feelings for his fellow disciples; it’s just that he’s choosing the path of ruthlessness.”

Yue Buqun shook his head and said.

"The Path of Ruthlessness?"

Ning Zhong was taken aback.

"Does he intend to sever all emotional ties? Is he truly like a god devoid of all feelings?"

"The Way of Ruthlessness is not truly ruthless."

Yue Buqun shook his head.

"On the contrary, those who walk the path of ruthlessness are the most compassionate."

"The Way of Ruthlessness is not about severing emotions and love, but about severing personal feelings while loving all living beings. It cultivates the Great Way and treats all living beings equally without bias."

Jiang Ning is not without feelings or love; it's just that his feelings and love are never limited to any one person or group of people.

Only at this moment did Yue Buqun truly understand Jiang Ning and the path he was about to take.

Jiang Ning loved the people. He did have a deep affection for Dai Weiqi and other disciples of the same generation from Huashan. If he had selfish motives, he could find countless reasons to exonerate them or to punish them leniently, and no one could say anything about it.

But he couldn't do that.

Right is right, wrong is wrong.

"This……"

Hearing Yue Buqun's explanation, Ning Zhongze couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

People in the martial arts world now call Jiang Ning a terrestrial immortal, but he is, after all, a human, not a real immortal. He cannot truly sever his seven emotions and six desires. When he made this choice, he must have struggled and suffered in his heart, but he still did it. Even if others did not understand him and his fellow disciples distanced themselves from him, he still did it.

Ning Zhongze could already imagine that Jiangning would probably always be lonely in the future.

Yue Buqun couldn't help but sigh.

"Let's go."

Yue Buqun did not disturb Jiang Ning and left with Ning Zhongze.

Jiang Ning noticed Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze's arrival and departure, but he never looked back.

At this moment, Jiang Ning stared blankly at the surging sea of ​​clouds in the distance.

To say that he has no feelings for Dai Weiqi and the others would be an understatement; after all, they grew up together on Mount Hua for so many years.

But when what they did went against the right path, Jiang Ning felt even more pain than they did.

Jiang Ning stared blankly into the distance, muttering to himself.

"The Way is impartial, and that is the ultimate emotion..."

As Jiang Ning murmured those four words, he entered a state of sudden enlightenment.

After breaking through to the Innate Realm in Jiangning, he had been thinking about creating his own cultivation method and establishing his own system. In the first few years, the cultivation method that Jiangning wanted to create was gradually improved, but he always felt that something was missing and that it could not reach the perfect state.

So Jiang Ning did not choose to continue, but instead perused the Daoist canon. Over the past three years, he has read many Daoist scriptures.

At this moment, many contents of Taoist scriptures flashed through Jiang Ning's mind, and Jiang Ning fell into a state of enlightenment.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Ning remained in the same place without moving an inch. Worried about Jiang Ning's condition, Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze came here again.

"Senior brother, what's wrong with Ning'er?"

Ning Zhongze looked at Jiang Ning with concern.