Li Fan walked within the Grand Dao Sect, his mind swirling with countless thoughts.

The sect was decorated everywhere with lanterns and banners, finally lightening the gloomy atmosphere caused by the recent calamities.

Whenever disciples encountered Li Fan, they would stop in their tracks and bow in respect.

Li Fan nodded in return each time.

As the Dao companion of the Sect Master, Li Fan had gained access to an abundance of cultivation resources—something that most cultivators could only dream of. Even if the respect shown to him wasn’t always sincere, it was a necessary pretense.

However, at this moment, Li Fan had already made up his mind. He needed to find an opportunity to escape from the Grand Dao Sect as soon as possible.

"Senior Sister Zhao has just been promoted to Sect Master and is busy handling various matters within the sect. Representatives from other sects are also visiting to offer congratulations, and she has to make time to meet them," he thought.

"Right now, she's at her busiest, so she’s less likely to notice me."

"If I miss this opportunity, when she has more free time…”

As this thought crossed his mind, Li Fan resolutely made his decision.

Two days later, he seized a moment when no one was paying attention and quietly made his way to the sect's exit, alone.

Looking back at the Grand Dao Sect, Li Fan’s mind flashed with memories of Senior Sister Zhao, with whom he had spent more than a hundred years side by side. He hesitated for a moment.

But in the end, he gritted his teeth and flew away.

He raced eastward at full speed until he finally left the boundaries of the Grand Dao Sect.

The ominous feeling of danger that had been weighing on Li Fan's heart finally began to fade.

"My intuition was right!" he thought to himself.

Just as he was feeling secretly relieved at having escaped, two beams of light suddenly appeared behind him, catching up in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the lights landed in front of Li Fan, blocking his path.

"Where do you think you're going, junior nephew?" an elderly man with long eyebrows smiled as he looked at Li Fan.

"Uncle Dong, Uncle Jiang..." Li Fan's face darkened.

These two were elders of the Grand Dao Sect, part of the sect's seventeen core cultivators who had reached the Dao Integration stage.

It seemed that his plan to escape had already been discovered.

Despite this, Li Fan wasn’t ready to give up.

"Haha, well, let me explain to you two elders. Although I am honored that Senior Sister has been promoted to Sect Master, I've been feeling a bit troubled."

"Senior Sister Zhao's status is now exalted, and her power is growing every day. As her Dao companion, I'm still only at the Soul Transformation stage, and people are bound to gossip. The pressure has been unbearable."

Feigning a look of deep distress, Li Fan slowly approached the two elders. "The sect is rebuilding, and everyone has their roles. But I find myself idle every day, which is truly..."

Without warning, a chaotic gray light shot out from Li Fan’s eyes, striking Uncle Dong and Uncle Jiang directly in the face.

It was an attack from the sinister technique Li Fan had mastered, the Soul-Cutting Divine Light, part of the 'Soul-Severing Divine Radiance Art'.

This technique directly targeted the divine soul of a cultivator, and even though his opponents were at the Dao Integration stage, Li Fan was confident that, caught off guard, they would suffer greatly.

Without waiting to see their reactions, he immediately activated the 'Godlight Escape Technique', attempting to flee at top speed.

But to his horror, Li Fan quickly realized that the space around him had been completely sealed at some unknown point.

Even though his escape technique was swift, it had no place to work.

Uncle Dong and Uncle Jiang had anticipated Li Fan’s sneak attack. Each held a treasure mirror in their hands, which reflected the Soul-Cutting Divine Light and nullified its effect.

As they looked at Li Fan, their eyes filled with ridicule.

"How the Sect Master treats you, junior nephew, is clear to the entire sect. And yet, you still chose to betray her..."

"If the Sect Master were to hear of this, I wonder how heartbroken she would be."

Before Li Fan could attempt anything else, the two elders combined their strength to subdue him, leaving him unable to move.

"My life is over!" Li Fan thought, despair flooding his mind.

When they brought him back to the sect, he didn’t see Senior Sister Zhao.

Instead, his cultivation was sealed, and he was thrown into a secluded chamber—essentially a prison.

Although called a "secluded chamber," it was no different from a cell.

At first, Li Fan thought he would soon meet with Senior Sister Zhao, and he rehearsed countless words in his mind, hoping his eloquence could save his life.

But what he hadn't anticipated was that Senior Sister Zhao—and indeed the entire Grand Dao Sect—seemed to have completely forgotten about him.

No one came to visit him.

In the isolation of the chamber, there was nothing—nothing but Li Fan himself.

He couldn't cultivate. Every time he tried to focus his mind or contemplate divine abilities, mocking and derisive voices would echo from the walls, breaking his concentration.

This, it seemed, was to prevent him from breaking free from his sealed cultivation.

At first, Li Fan maintained his composure. But as time passed, even his resolve began to waver.

Eventually, boredom gave way to agitation and anger.

In the end, he went mad.

He threw himself at the hard walls of the chamber, over and over again, his body becoming a bloody mess. But it was futile.

Finally, Li Fan’s eyes grew dull and lifeless.

He sat motionless on the floor, as though he were a soulless statue.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed, but one day, the long-sealed door of the chamber suddenly swung open.

For a long time, no one entered.

Li Fan, however, acted as if he hadn’t seen it. He remained unresponsive, ignoring the open door.

It wasn’t until more than ten days had passed that a flicker of life returned to his eyes.

With great effort, he pushed himself up, his body trembling as he took shaky steps toward the exit.

Because he hadn’t walked in so long, his body was weak, and he immediately fell to the ground.

He struggled to stand up and took another step, only to fall again.

In this manner—crawling and stumbling—he finally made his way back outside.

The Grand Dao Sect before him looked exactly as he remembered.

Disciples wandered between the mountain peaks, cultivating.

It was even more lively than before.

But...

It was eerily quiet.

Not a single voice could be heard within the entire sect.

It was as if all the cultivators living within had become mute.

Or perhaps...

They all shared the same thoughts and no longer needed the "lowly" method of communication known as speech.

Not even eye contact or divine sense was required. They understood each other perfectly without such means.

Li Fan stumbled through the sect.

After being imprisoned for who knows how long, his appearance had become utterly disheveled.

Yet no one seemed to notice him.

They simply carried on with their own tasks as if he didn’t exist.

The feeling of being rejected by everyone around him gnawed at Li Fan’s mind.

Eventually, after wandering through the entire sect and still not finding the person he sought, Li Fan couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Senior Sister!"

"Where are you, Senior Sister?!"

It took him a long time to remember how to speak.

Then, with a hoarse voice, he roared in anger.

His voice grew louder and louder, echoing throughout the entire sect.

And then, every single cultivator in the sect turned to look at him.