The puppet master smiled meaningfully, "God of Nothingness came to my dream yesterday. He said that I would meet his incarnation. His incarnation is a young man who has obtained his golden core. He knows about the secret behind the demonic sect, and his surname is Han."

"You fit all that requisites."

…

Han Shun easily connected the dots here. The one who stayed with him the whole time was that mysterious man in a black-golden robe. He was also the one who told Han Shun about the secret of the demonic sect. 

But that man said they were the same person. Since the first time they met inside Han Shun's consciousness, that man had already told him they were basically the same person. Even their faces were basically 1:1 copy.

'Does that mean… he is the God of Nothingness, and I'm just like him?' Han Shun thought. When he heard about God of Nothingness and how this demonic sect puppet master described him, he was more of an evil than good. 

And he didn't want to be evil because Bai Gege hated all kinds of evil in this world.

…

The puppet master realized that Han Shun was unwilling to take the mantle, despite him being the chosen one, "You can't escape this fate. You're the one who will lead us all to domination. Because you're the God of Nothingness' incarnation."

"I don't want to," Han Shun refused firmly. "I have someone I hold dear in my heart, and he is an immortal sect leader. I don't want to stray from the righteous path!"

The puppet master chuckled. He looked at Han Shun like looking at a joke. 

"Doesn't matter. Even if you refuse now, the God of Nothingness will still follow you until you agree to take the mantle and control all these puppets."

…

Han Shun gritted his teeth. The puppet master seemed to be so sure that Han Shun wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of power. 

"You will be the vilest of them all, the most uncaring creature that's no less than a monster—"

"SHUT UP!"

"And you will realize that you're even viler than me--"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Han Shun screamed frantically. He knew deep down that he was basically a monster. He didn't care about other people's feelings and well-being. He also wouldn't hesitate to kill if it was necessary.

He was evil dressed up as a righteous cultivator.

He knew all that, but… 

"HAN SHUN!" 

Han Shun and the puppet master turned their heads and saw Bai Shijue at the door. Bai Shijue had Chinchin, who was leading the way to track his location. 

Bai Shijue looked at Han Shun and then the puppet master. He knew that man was a high leader of the demonic cultivation, just from his robe and mask. There was also that headless statue of their unknown God.

"What is happening here?!" Bai Shijue asked. 

Han Shun panicked. He didn't want Bai Gege to know that he was an evil incarnation of this evil God. He needed to weed out any suspicion from Bai Gege.

Han Shun glanced at the puppet master and pointed at him, "Bai Gege, this man kidnapped me when I was lost in the forest! He forced me to worship his evil god even though I refused! He threatened to kill me as well!"

"WHAT?!" Bai Shijue's eyes widened. He then glared at the puppet master, who only stared at Bai Shijue calmly, as if he had accepted his fate to die in the hand of the leader of the famous Plum Blossom Immortal Sect.

Bai Shijue didn't hesitate. He pointed his finger at the man's heart and unleashed his small but deadly attack, "Death Beam."

A small, purple beam launched from the tip of Bai Shijue's finger and pierced straight through the puppet master's heart.

The puppet master didn't even try to dodge. He just closed his eyes and turned to dust after that, leaving Han Shun and Bai Shijue alone. 

Han Shun was still shocked. He didn't expect Bai Gege to just kill that man without question. He just believed Han Shun's lie and executed that puppet master.

"Han Shun!" Bai Shijue hugged Han Shun tightly. He was so relieved that Han Shun was saved. "Why would you leave the marked tree? I was so worried that something might've happened to you!"

"I'm sorry, Bai Gege. I was just… worried about you. I heard your scream…." Han Shun replied. 

"It's alright. You know that I'm a powerful immortal sect leader. Heaven's punishment will not hurt me at all," Han Shun tried to play it down, knowing that Han Shun must've felt so guilty because he was the one who caused this. 

[Pupa: You should probably punish him more. I feel like you let him off too easily for hurting a mortal.]

[But he already apologized, and he said he regretted it so much. I don't think it's fair to punish him if he already admitted his fault.]

[Pupa: Just say that you really don't have the heart to punish him, right?]

[W—Well, that too…]

"Bai Gege…" Han Shun reciprocated the hug, and he held the back of Bai Gege's head. He pushed Bai Gege's head to his chest because he was already taller than Bai Gege. 

"I'm sorry, Bai Gege…."

"It's not your fault. It's mine for not teaching you well," Bai SHijue said. "Now, let's return to our home. I will bring you to the Immortal sect once you're already familiar with this forest."

"Yes, Bai Gege!"

After they were separated, Bai Shijue looked at the headless statue of the evil God right behind Han Shun. The statue was actually quite small, but there was a strong dark energy inside.

"Step aside, Han Shun. I will have to cleanse and destroy this statue first," Bai Shijue said.

Han Shun swallowed his saliva when he saw Bai Gege with his hostile eyes looking at the statue of the God of Nothingness. He asked, "Bai Gege, do you really hate this god they worshipped?"