...
"Not once did I see him, from start to finish..."
"He wouldn’t even go down with the Sect—truly a traitor!"
...
Elder You!
Suddenly, a spark of light flickered in Li San’s eyes. He could no longer hear anything after that; only those few words resounded in his mind:
"Elder You isn’t dead!"
Not dead...
Li San’s face was ashen, his thoughts racing, and then suddenly, his pupils narrowed:
"I understand!"
"At last I understand why Elder You sent me to the Taoist Prison..."
"He foresaw that the Demon Sect would meet with disaster! He foresaw that so many fellow disciples would perish!"
"That’s why! He schemed to have me sent into the Taoist Prison!"
"This was to protect me—to let me escape this great calamity! And wait, in the future, for the Demon Sect’s restoration... its return from the ashes?!"
"If that day comes, wouldn’t I be the ’pillar of the Demon Sect’?!"
"The mere title of Elder would be nothing!"
Li San’s formerly dead heart blazed anew from the ashes.
His expression grew resolute, and his faith in "Elder You" only solidified further.
"Elder You didn’t deceive me—everything was according to Elder You’s plan!"
"Everything he did was right! Such far-seeing wisdom—Elder You must have grand ambitions."
"And Elder You’s ambition needs me... Now, I must bide my time, and in the future offer him my very life..."
In the dark prison cell, Li San slowly lay himself down on the ground, closing his eyes. No one saw the raging fire of faith and ambition burning deep within them.
...
Meanwhile, in a pitch-black secret chamber within a forbidden ground.
Pale-green candlelight flickered, ghastly sheep bones looming in the gloom.
Covered in cuts and bruises, skin and bones separating, tormented nearly beyond recognition by "Divine Punishment," Mr. Tu let out a hoarse, vicious roar:
"Sooner or later, I’ll see your Taixu Gate... wiped from the face of the earth!!"