His words calmed the enraged individual, who then cast a doubtful glance at the person opposite him, eyes still sparkling with distrust.

"Aside from making the Jade Emperor hate us even more, what good does blowing up the Peach Garden do? Do I look like an idiot to you?" he asked, pointing at his own nose.

The Immortal of the Heavenly Court glanced at him and said nothing, but his expression had softened significantly.

Having worked with these people for some time now, he was acutely aware of their characters—they were a group coveting the Heavenly Emperor’s throne, viewing everything in the Heavenly Court as their future possessions.

Therefore, they would naturally be unwilling to destroy items like the Peaches; on the contrary, they would want to protect them well.

But if these people weren’t the perpetrators, then there was only one other answer: another organization had infiltrated the Heavenly Court, and the obliteration of the Peach Garden was their handiwork.

The Immortal, upon this realization, sighed and said, "I always thought the Heavenly Court was impossibly strong, destined to rule the Three Realms forever. I never expected to see a time when just anyone could enter."

Indeed, this was how many of the Celestial Beings of the Heavenly Court genuinely felt. Accustomed to the supremacy and might of the Heavenly Court, its current chaos gave them a surreal feeling.

The Heavenly Court was not as invincible as they had imagined.

Lin Fang’s illusory butterfly quietly perched on a large tree in the Heavenly Court, silently observing the destruction of the Peach Garden.

Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, one could faintly hear cries that resembled those of a baby. These blood-soaked peach trees appeared to have lives of their own.

The heart-wrenching screams that emanated from within were terrifying. To destroy the Peach Garden, Lin Fang had planted more than enough explosives, and the power of the blast had certainly lived up to his expectations.

Now, the Peach Garden lay in ruins, the surrounding walls having been reduced to ashes by the terrible explosion, and the Peaches, accumulated over countless years by the Heavenly Court, had vanished into smoke and ash, leaving only a withered tree swaying in a sea of fire.

Through the eyes of the Illusory Butterfly, Lin Fang quietly savored this brilliant scene. He seemed to see countless wronged spirits dancing within the flames, as if thanking him for their release.

A pleased smile crossed his lips as he guided the Illusory Butterfly away, slowly flying towards the Gate of the Southern Heavens.

The escape was simpler than he had imagined. With the cover of a breath of transcendence, Lin Fang’s Illusory Butterfly became even more concealed. Even though the Heavenly Court had locked down all four gates and was heavily guarded, he still managed to leave with ease.

Glancing back at the resplendent Heavenly Court, Lin Fang felt no nostalgia for this place he had once greatly aspired to.

Behind its glittering façade lay bloodshed and ugliness; all that was beautiful was built upon the suffering of all living beings. "Heavenly Court" was indeed a beautiful term, but for the common folk at the bottom, it didn’t bring happiness.

Compared to the Heavenly Court, Lin Fang preferred Luzhou in the North. Despite its backwardness and ignorance, it was brimming with vitality.

Lin Fang left unscathed, while the person who had stolen the Core of the Immortal Transformation Pond remained in hiding. The destruction of the Peach Garden had thoroughly enraged the Heavenly Court.

For many Immortals who depended on the Peaches for longevity, these were their lifeline. And now that their lifeline had been severed, how could they not be furious?

At this moment, Taoist Qingyun was in a state of total disarray. As the Peach Garden collapsed, countless angry Celestial Beings almost turned the Heavenly Court upside down in search of their whereabouts.

He couldn’t fathom what kind of madman would choose to blow up the Peach Garden. Didn’t they know how important that place was to the Heavenly Court? Didn’t they covet the legendary Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root at all?

Just like that, it was destroyed. Taoist Qingyun still had the scene of the previous earth-shattering explosion in his mind—the Peach Garden, no less. The mere thought caused him a surge of heartache.

Without the Peaches, how would the Heavenly Court win over the Immortals of the Three Realms? Even if he and his people could overthrow the Heavenly Court and take its place, without the Peaches how could they secure their footing?

At this moment, Taoist Qingyun had already grown to hate these people intensely.

If he had the chance, he would surely tear the one responsible to pieces.

However, the current situation didn’t allow him the luxury of regret or anger—more and more Celestial Beings were joining the investigation, and it wouldn’t be long before their hiding place was discovered.

This feeling, as if caught in a spider’s web, struggling only to become more entangled, left the Taoist utterly desperate.

"Damn it, you better not let me find you," Taoist Qingyun cursed vehemently.

He realized he had seemingly fallen into an extremely dangerous situation; in the original plan, they were not supposed to face such an intense search.

Although the Immortal Transformation Pond was powerful, for many Celestials, it was not indispensable— its destruction would not affect them greatly.

Even some Celestial Beings loathed the treasure deeply, wishing nothing more than for it to be destroyed. Because of this, the scrutiny on them would have been much laxer.

This would have given them a chance to escape unhurriedly, but everything had been ruined. That bastard had blown up the Peach Garden, offending all the Celestial Beings, and now, they were the ones with the blame squarely on their shoulders.

At this moment, Taoist Qingyun truly wanted to burst out and shout, "I didn’t do this!"

But he estimated that no one in the Heavenly Court would believe him anyway. Everyone urgently needed a scapegoat, and unfortunately, they had wandered into the line of fire.

Taoist Qingyun paced back and forth anxiously, only to hear some noises outside the door. Startled, he quickly hid himself.

Then, he saw a few people sneak in, looking around before they let out a sigh of relief.

"Why have you come?" Taoist Qingyun asked, frowning.

The few who had entered were the same people who had previously split up to carry out their tasks. Now, they had all crammed themselves into this small courtyard.

"Brother Dao, you are not in the know, the Heavenly Court has already sealed the four gates and is guarding them at every level. Furthermore, the Celestial Beings are frantically searching for us everywhere, leaving us no place to go except here," they promptly explained.

Listening to their statements, Taoist Qingyun felt even more worried, fearing that this time, escape would be impossible.

"Then why have you come here? Huddling a group of people here is like asking the Heavenly Court to capture us all at once," Taoist Qingyun complained.

"Brother Qingyun, don’t pretend. I’ve heard that your master participated in the establishment of the Heavenly Court, and even many of its buildings were constructed by him. If anyone among us has the best chance of surviving this, it must be you, Brother Dao," one of them said.

As the sounds of the searching party drew closer, the group was unwilling to maintain their pretenses any longer and showed their true colors.

Taoist Qingyun’s face darkened. This had been a secret, and he had no idea how these people had come to know it.