"Yue Xianshi has promised to explain everything to our Laoye. He will find out who killed Miss, even if it means probing into Fu Gongzi's soul."

A rustling conversation could be heard coming from outside the door; it was muffled and hardly audible, like the voice was underwater.

Who is speaking? Fu Changling was quite confused. Slowly opening his eyes, he heard the person outside continued, "Laoye should have had Miss Yuemin under control long ago because she was always haughty and stubborn. Perhaps this wouldn't have happened if Miss Yuemin hadn't made fun of Fu Gongzi for being mute."

Yuemin? Upon hearing this name, Fu Changling felt it was somewhat familiar. He shook his head and propped himself into a sitting position.

He felt that he had most likely been beaten.

His whole body hurt, including his head and face.

He huffed and raised his hand to examine the wound, feeling a little enraged and on the verge of cursing when he realised that something wasn't right as soon as his lips parted.

He couldn't make a sound.

This feeling of being unable to speak was one he was all too familiar with. A Mute Spell was cast on them all prior to Jindan since their Fu Clan was endowed with the spiritual power of speech, and it was intended to stop them from speaking indiscriminately and causing trouble. They weren't able to speak until after Jindan, when they had mastered the art of word-transforming to break this Mute Spell.

But he was eighteen when he formed his Jindan and lifted the Mute Spell, so how come... This isn't right!

All of a sudden, the fact that he was still awake struck Fu Changling. He had clearly died at the Reincarnation Bridge.

Thinking of this, he quickly glanced around, only to find that this was a ramshackle wing room, without even a quilt in it. He had been enjoying years of comfort and luxury as the leader of the Immortal Alliance and had never stayed in such a room before.

Fortunately, there was a bronze mirror in the room, despite its poor condition. He frantically rushed to the mirror and saw himself in it.

In the mirror, he still looked like a teenager, with modestly defined facial features and some adorable baby fat. He was very good-looking, with a smile that seemed to embody the radiance of spring in the third month.

Then he heard whispers outside, "But isn't Yue Xianshi a servant of Fu Gongzi's clan? Does he really dare to probe into Fu Gongzi's soul?"

"You don't know this," the person outside said with a lowered voice, "but this Yue Xianshi is Madame Fu's dowry immortal servant, and Fu Da Gongzi is Fu ZhenJun's illegitimate son. Before Madame Fu joined the household, he was brought back home to be raised by Fu ZhenJun, and Madame Fu is eagerly anticipating his death."

Yue Xianshi, Yuemin, Mute Spell... This string of words reached Fu Changling's ears. He slowly pieced together the origin of these words from his distant memory, and he finally realised—this was forty years ago!

At the age of seventeen, forty years ago, under the arrangement of his stepmother, Yue Sihua, he followed Yue Mingsi, Yue Sihua's immortal servant, to Baishui Town to exorcise evil spirits.

Baishui Town was the domain of the Fu Clan, and nearly a hundred people had gone missing in the past two years. Such issues rarely had been of concern to the Immortal Sects, until one of the Fu Clan's collateral branch juniors also went missing here, and only then was the Fu Clan alarmed.

This shouldn't have been a matter for Fu Changling to handle, but Yue Sihua took advantage of his father's absence to compel Fu Changling to go under the pretence of training. Fu Changling didn't realise that the training was a ruse and that the harm to him was real until he arrived.

The Shangguan family of the local cultivation clan hosted them while they were in Baishui Town. This Shangguan Clan once had a Jindan cultivator by the name of Shangguan Hong, but his cultivation had gone awry and his Spiritual Root was damaged. He therefore had no chance of advancing to the next level and was now doomed to die at home.

Fu Changling got into a verbal argument with Shangguan Yuemin, the Shangguan family's eldest daughter, on the day they arrived at the clan. As Shangguan Yuemin was discovered dead next to him early the following morning, Yue Mingsi decided to hold a trial and publicly conduct a soul-probing of him without further delay.

Because soul-probing involves touching the Sea of Consciousness, even the slightest carelessness could result in the other person's Sea of Consciousness being damaged, which would put an end to their cultivation means. It was obvious that Yue Mingsi was looking for a chance to eliminate him by wanting to probe into his soul for such a matter.

However, Yue Mingsi was unable to take advantage of this chance. The Shangguan Clan was haunted by an evil spirit that night, and Fu Changling had intended to use the opportunity to flee, but he ended up entering the Xuanji Secret Realm just as he was about to leave the gate. He learned that the Shangguan Clan, the Fu clansmen who had visited as guests, a total of two Jindan and thirty Zhuji cultivators, plus hundreds of common people, had perished that night when he came out of the secret realm.

For a while, this case remained unsolved. Fu Changling began looking into the origins of the demon cultivators of the Karma Prison when he later rose to become the leader of the Immortal Alliance and a cultivator who had overcome the heavenly tribulations. He visited the Shangguan Clan ruins.

The Shangguan Clan was identified as one of the first locations where demon cultivators appeared, and there, he found traces of the Zhenxue Sword.

The Zhenxue Sword was Qin Yan's weapon; he later defected to the demon cultivators of Karma Prison.

Therefore, it was most likely that Qin Yan was responsible for the extermination of the Shangguan Clan.

Fu Changling couldn't help but feel a little anxious when he thought about this.

Qin Yan was Fu Changling's worst nightmare throughout his entire life.

The chief disciple of the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace and a paragon for youth engaged in cultivation, Qin Yan was a young man of his own age. Due to Qin Yan being so outstanding, Fu Changling's father would frequently point at his nose and reprimand him, "Take a look at Qin Yan, and take a look at you." He had nightmares every night as a result of this, constantly dreaming of Qin Yan winning the cultivation assessment yet again.

Later, Qin Yan defected to the Karma Prison, killed his master and betrayed his sect, and became Sui Yan MoJun of the Immaculate Palace. He killed the entire Fu Clan with his own hands and nearly killed Fu Changling as well, leaving him with nightmares and making it impossible for him to close his eyes without seeing Qin Yan holding a bloody sword in his hand.

Finally, Fu Changling killed Qin Yan to exact his vengeance, believing that this would end their dispute once and for all. However, it turned out that just before he died, Qin Yan actually tore out a love thread from his heart and crushed it in front of Fu Changling, scaring Fu Changling into dreaming of him every night from that point forward. Fu Changling even had the presence of mind to head straight for the Reincarnation Bridge and die in the only place where they had any connection to one another before he finally died.

Fu Changling experienced a headache, distress, and physical pain all over at the mere mention of this person.

He didn't want to remember Qin Yan, but right now, his life was at stake, and he had no choice but to remember.

He now had to face Qin Yan; would he be able to prevail in battle?

Fu Changling gave it some serious thought.

He recalled that when he was seventeen, Qin Yan was known as the number one cultivator below YuanYing level. However, Qin Yan always maintained a low profile. If the outside world appreciated the fact that Qin Yan was below YuanYing, his strength would most likely be superior to that of a YuanYing.

Fu Changling is only at Zhuji level right now. Judging by Qin Yan's ability, despite having a comparable level of cultivation, he had never been able to prevail before, but given how far behind his current cultivation level was, if the two of them met... he would undoubtedly perish.

Fu Changling immediately jumped to his feet in shock after these words came to his mind and started packing his things.

He was lucky enough to enter the Xuanji Secret Realm early in his previous life, but would he still be as lucky in this one?

Having to confront Qin Yan, who was on his way to kill, he was unconcerned about the lives of Yunze's common people or the Karma Prison's energy channels. Right now, escaping was the most crucial thing he needed to do.

While Yue Mingsi hadn't yet conducted the trial and Qin Yan hadn't yet arrived at the Shangguan Clan, he needed to flee right away, as soon as possible, as soon as he could.

Huayang Jun had superb mobility. He gathered his magic tools and quickly checked his entire body with his spiritual energy running. After confirming that there were only a few flesh wounds, he placed the bottom of the golden fan he was holding upside down against his forehead and started to recite a long, silent incantation from memory. He immediately felt some sort of invisible shackles being lifted off of his body after the incantation and coughed a few times in a low voice, clearing his throat. After confirming that the word-transforming incantation had taken effect and he could speak, he then went to the door, held the golden fan to his lips, and whispered, "Sleep!"

The two people guarding the outside suddenly stopped talking, and a brief moment later, the sound of them collapsing to the ground could be heard. When Fu Changling reached out to touch the door, he sensed a spiritual power securing it from the outside.

Yue Mingsi must have been the one who put the barrier on the door from the outside. Once Fu Changling broke the barrier, Yue Mingsi would probably know right away.

He was now up against Yue Mingsi, a Jindan level, and despite the fact that it was also somewhat of a hassle, he would still rather fight Yue Mingsi than take on Qin Yan.

As soon as Fu Changling thought of Qin Yan, he immediately felt slightly more courageous to flee. He quickly mapped out his route, bit his fingers, tore off his own sleeve, and drew several formations on the cloth. Then, after tucking the formations away, he kicked open the door and dashed straight out.

Just as he rushed to the corridor, the Courtyard Guard Formation of the Shangguan Mansion lit up. It was undoubtedly activated by Yue Mingsi upon detecting that he had broken through his barrier. A Zhuji cultivator flew into mid-air and yelled loudly, "Fu Changling has escaped. Find him!"

Following the utterance of these words, everyone started searching for Fu Changling. Fu Changling couldn't have possibly been seen by the hundreds of Shangguan clansmen; the only way they could have identified him was from the typical Fu Clan attire he was sporting.

This is bad, thought Fu Changling. He hastily leapt onto the beam as soon as he heard sounds of people coming from both the front and back of the corridor. A group of guards hurried past a moment later, followed by a lone boy servant. Fu Changling looked around when he saw the boy servant approaching. He hung upside down from the beam and patted the boy servant's head with his hands as he passed beneath the beam where he was and lifted the boy, who had passed out, onto the beam.

There wasn't much space on the beam, but fortunately, he had been chased quite a lot in his previous life and had gotten very good at changing clothes with people extremely quickly in this narrow space. He changed the boy servant's clothes with his own and let the boy lie on the beam. He took a quick look around before jumping down.

He cast a spell to conceal his spiritual energy before picking up a stick, lowering his head, and mingling with the crowd, trailing the other manservants and hurriedly chasing them outside the estate.

The estate was already in a state of chaos as Zhuji cultivators circled in the air on their swords. Fu Changling clenched his stick tightly and noticed that he was about to head out of the estate when suddenly, a shrill bellow could be heard in the air. "All stop!"

Everyone stopped moving, and Fu Changling looked up slightly to see a man suspended in mid-air. The man was wearing a blue tunic and black robe, with a dark blue tall hat on his head, and a powder-coated youngster was sitting on his shoulder. The youngster had the stature of a five- or six-year-old and was wearing a light blue tall hat. He had the face of a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old, was painted dreadfully pale with white powder, and had a bright red blush on both cheeks, which looked extremely bizarre.

A closer look revealed that the youngster's back was covered in extremely fine silk threads, and as he moved with his mouth open, it also became apparent that his body was pieced together out of wood, much like a puppet.

The one who showed up was none other than Yue Mingsi.

For many generations, the Yue Clan's puppetcraft was well known. Yue Mingsi could make his puppets resemble humans by as much as eighty percent, even if he was just a servant.

As Yue Mingsi surveyed around, the puppet sitting on his shoulder commanded in a sing-song voice, "Everyone, raise your heads."

Fu Changling didn't dare not to look up, but he could only tilt his head slightly before secretly casting a Disguise Spell.

When blending in with the crowd, this Disguise Spell would go undetected, but if one got close, they would be able to sense the fluctuations of spiritual power.

Yue Mingsi had obviously thought of this as well, so he raised his hand as his divine sense swept through the crowd, and then the youngster on his shoulder flew off. The youngster flew towards Fu Changling and examined each of the clan's manservants standing at the entrance one by one. Fu Changling couldn't help but clutch the formation in his hand as he noticed that the puppet was flying towards him.

He feared he would have no chance of escape once the puppet got close.

As this battle with Yue Mingsi was inevitable, Fu Changling pondered that it needed to be fought swiftly and effectively.

With this in mind, he chose the Kun Fire Formation from the many spell formations stashed in his sleeve. Fu Changling hurled the spell formation in his hand directly at the puppet as soon as it came closer, and then sprinted erratically outside without stopping!

The spell struck the puppet head-on, and it immediately burst into flames and screamed. Meanwhile, Yue Mingsi cast a water-control tactic onto the puppet and led dozens of cultivators to lunge straight at Fu Changling.

The golden Qinggu fan slid down from Fu Changling's sleeve as he hurled the spell formation in his hand. The Qinggu fan was able to block Yue Mingsi's sword as it was coming straight at him, and Fu Changling then took a step back. As a dozen cultivators attacked, the fan's tip sliced through his palm as quickly as a knife blade, spattering blood. Fu Changling glided like a feather through the crowd, and despite his movements appearing to be extremely slow, they were precisely timed as the tip of the blade slashed past him, seemingly unable to touch him in any way.

Seeing this, Yue Mingsi became enraged and raised his right hand. The puppet that had previously been scorched by Fu Changling's raging fire shrieked, lunged, and bit at him.

The puppet moved fast—extremely fast. As soon as Fu Changling sensed that the time was almost right, his divine sense swept to one side. After confirming where his blood had spilled, he clasped his palm in the air and then darted towards the puppet.

One human and one puppet came towards each other. Fu Changling's hand was clenched into a fist at his side, as if ready to strike at any moment, and the puppet opened its mouth wide, revealing its beast-like fangs.

The puppet was about to bite Fu Changling's neck as the two drew closer and closer to each other at an accelerated pace—that was the moment!

A long sword with an exquisite glow to it descended from the sky and stabbed the puppet with a clang. The sword carried a sword Qi that Fu Changling was very familiar with, and it made a loud crash impact on its surroundings as soon as it landed in the centre of the circle.

Everyone present was sent flying by the sword Qi. Fu Changling was the one who was in closest proximity to the sword and suffered the most severe impact. He knocked down two walls as he flew all the way backwards before hitting the ground hard.

A sudden, piercing pain shot up to his head, and he felt like he must have broken a rib. In a trance, with his consciousness somewhat hazy, he felt as if everything had slowed down.

A familiar figure was revealed as the dust gradually cleared. That person was donning a jade guan and a white robe with wide sleeves and crane embroidery. As the sun slowly dipped behind the hills, the afterglow enveloped him in a delicate, exquisite radiance.

Each step he took was clearly audible, making it seem as though he were treading on the path of reincarnation. Slowly, step by step, he approached the white jade long sword that had landed in the centre of the formation and came to a stop in front of it.

His wide-sleeved, white robe with crane embroidery flowed with his movements as he withdrew the sword in a stance Fu Changling was familiar with. A sparkling stream of afterglow formed on the surface of the unique Hongmeng Heavenly Palace's annular jade pendant as it gently swayed around his waist.

The person then turned his face sideways and looked over at him. His brush-painted-like features gave off a slightly juvenile vibe, and his phoenix eyes were as joyless and devoid of sorrow as he had remembered them to be.

Qin Yan!

Fu Changling's eyes widened as he finally confirmed—Qin Yan has arrived!

Qin Yan's arrival was too much of a shock for Fu Changling. In his shock, he fumbled, clutched his broken rib, turned around unconsciously, and attempted to flee outside.

Among the group of people who hadn't yet reacted, his actions were too conspicuous. Before Qin Yan could return the long sword in his hand to its sheath, he flung it once more. The long sword flew in Fu Changling's direction before abruptly turning around and hanging in front of him. Fu Changling was stopped in his tracks and unable to move any further when the sharp tip of the sword was aimed directly in front of his neck.

"Don't... don't move!" A youngster's gasping voice could be heard from a short distance away at this precise moment. Everyone scanned the area in search of the sound and soon spotted a youngster panting and running in their direction.

With a round face that was distinctly pleasing to the eye, he appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen. Similar to Qin Yan, he wore a white robe with wide sleeves, and a jade ring hung from his waist. However, a hairband was used to secure his hair instead of a jade guan, and instead of white cranes, flowering straws were embroidered on his wide sleeves.

He trotted all the way to Qin Yan, raised his hands in front of him, and saluted with a gasp, "Shi... Shixiong!"

Qin Yan kept nodding while extending a hand to the side. The sword that had come to a stop in front of Fu Changling hurried back like a summoned spirit pet and landed steadily in Qin Yan's hand. Qin Yan cast a quick glance at Fu Changling. Fu Changling couldn't help but freeze as he felt as though he had been stared at for very long without reason, despite the fact that it was only a fleeting glance. Before he could react, Qin Yan turned away and began walking towards Yue Mingsi.

Fu Changling stared blankly at Qin Yan's receding figure, at which point the youngster came up to Fu Changling and saluted respectfully, saying, "Fu Gongzi, I am Yun Yu, a disciple of Hongmeng Heavenly Palace. My Shixiong, Qin Yan, and I were passing through this area when we noticed you were trapped, so we decided to come and help."

Fu Changling was jolted back to his senses by the youngster's voice, and he turned his head to stare at this "Yun Yu".

What is this—exterminating an entire clan and bringing his own Shidi here?

Could this be another potential demon lord?

Fu Changling gave it some thought but couldn't really recall this "Yun Yu", assuming that this person either died too soon or was incompetent, which explains why he had no memory of him at all.

Fu Changling loosened up a little when facing such a petty subordinate whose name couldn't even leave an impression, so he gave Yun Yu a grateful nod. Yun Yu was also aware of the Fu Clan's speaking prohibition, which applied to anyone below Jindan, so he smiled and rummaged through his spirit pouch for some bottles and jars and handed them to Fu Changling, saying, "Fu Gongzi, please go to the side to apply some medicine first. Shixiong has gone to negotiate with Mister Yue and will take you away later."

These words left Fu Changling a little perplexed. He wrote a sentence in the air while being helped to the side by Yun Yu: "Why are you taking me away?"

His writing radiated a golden glow in the air. Yun Yu took a glance at them and patiently explained, "To save lives until the very end. You're in distress here right now. We won't just leave you here after saving you."

"Why save me?" Fu Changling was further baffled by these words. Given that he was neither a relative nor a friend, why be so kind to him?

That was actually a little offensive, but Yun Yu didn't take it personally. He helped Fu Changling sit down, gave him some medicine, and then started using his spiritual power to treat Fu Changling's injuries.

While tending to Fu Changling's injuries, he clarified, "The Fu Clan and the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace have always been on good terms. It would have been fine if we hadn't noticed that you were in trouble, but since we did, we won't disregard you."

For no other reason than that this reason was too bogus, Fu Changling refrained from asking any more questions. This "Yun Yu" would not tell him the truth, no matter how many questions he asked.

That person, Qin Yan—even if you were to perish right next to him, he wouldn't even give you a glance, let alone do such a thing as passing by and taking a look and then flinging his sword to help?

Since when did he have so much time to spare?

Furthermore, why was the Yue Clan in bad standing with the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace while the Fu Clan was in good standing?

One palace, three sects, and four clans made up the top forces of Yunze.

The "one palace" was the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace, which housed the most extensive collection of ancient books in Yunze. From the Palace Leader to the Elders, they were unanimously chosen from everywhere, and through the selection process, all young disciples could be accepted into the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace and learn under them. It was Yunze's most prestigious, authoritative, and slick sect.

With whom did such a sect have a poor rapport? On what grounds should they favour him, Fu Changling?

As Yun Yu treated his injuries, Fu Changling stopped asking questions. Then Yue Mingsi was led back by Qin Yan, and beside Yue Mingsi stood a middle-aged man, who looked to be in his forties, with decent features, clad in a white tunic and blue robe, and with somewhat red eyes.

Fu Changling recognised that this was Shangguan Yuan, the head of the Shangguan family and father of Shangguan Yuemin.

"They claimed that you killed someone," Qin Yan spoke, his voice unperturbed, "but is it true?"

Fu Changling froze in response to this voice. In contrast to the Qin Yan he had known in his previous life, Qin Yan's voice was much clearer now. In his previous life, Qin Yan had never spoken loudly. Every time he spoke, his somewhat raspy voice felt as though it were grating on the heart.

But Fu Changling realised the reason right away; Qin Yan was only seventeen at this time. Later, at the Golden Light Temple, Qin Yan made himself a scapegoat and had sixty-four nails driven into his bones, one of which was nailed to his throat. His throat was injured, probably because of this.

"Fu Gongzi?" said Qin Yan again, bringing back Fu Changling's awareness. Fu Changling's thoughts returned to the present when he heard Qin Yan's call, and he frantically shook his head in response. He raised his hand and started writing golden words in the air: "When I woke up, the person was already dead beside me."

"Full of lies!" Shangguan Yuan yelled furiously, "Yuemin and you had an argument yesterday, and today she was dead in your bed, yet you dare to claim that you had nothing to do with it?!"

Fu Changling grinned mockingly, looking at Shangguan Yuan with all the clarity in his eyes. This look made Shangguan Yuan can't help but clench his fists, appearing to be a little anxious.

Fu Changling didn't bother to say too much.

The fact that he wasn't responsible for Shangguan Yuemin's death was very good proof. It was just that in his previous life, he did not know what benefits Yue Mingsi had promised Shangguan Yuan. Simply seizing the opportunity, Shangguan Yuan killed his daughter and also presented numerous false witnesses and fabricated evidence, so that Fu Changling didn't have the slightest idea how to defend himself against this blatantly false accusation.

In any case, the odds are... none of these people will survive tonight.

Fu Changling's heart sank at this thought. He gazed up at the sky and sneakily cast a glance at Qin Yan.

He had to find an opportunity to escape this place rife with trouble.

After mulling it over, Fu Changling outlined a fresh plan in his mind.

According to what he recalls, whether or not Qin Yan had come to wipe out the clan in the first place, there was indeed an evil spirit present on this night. Qin Yan was unable to be defeated by that evil spirit, but the Shangguan Clan would undoubtedly be in chaos for a while. His best chance was to use the teleportation array to flee during the chaos that ensued the moment the evil spirit suddenly appeared.

Just setting up the teleportation array required time and effort, and the evil spirit wasn't going to appear right away. What he had to do now was put off the setting up of the array and wait for the ideal time to do so.

Fu Changling made up his mind and smiled anew. He held up his hand and was ready to write. Seeing this, Yue Mingsi immediately stepped forward and said, "Da Gongzi, you don't need to..."

"Let him speak," Yue Mingsi's words were interrupted by Qin Yan, who raised his hand, and the look on Yue Mingsi's face was a little unpleasant. Being able to witness Yue Mingsi's embarrassment made Fu Changling quite pleased. Leaning against a tree, he scrawled three words in the air: "Examine the body."

He had no idea how Shangguan Yuemin had died, but in any case, a person's death would leave more or less some traces on their body.

Yun Yu immediately spoke in favour of Fu Changling's suggestion, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, examine the body. If we examine the body, everything will become clear."

Qin Yan nodded and turned his head to look at Shangguan Yuan and Yue Mingsi, saying, "Let's examine the body first."

Neither of them look very pleased. After holding back for quite a while, Shangguan Yuan finally yelled curses aloud, "My daughter is already dead! She must be allowed to rest in peace after her death! Nothing needs to be examined! Fu Changling is the killer! He was already seen dragging my daughter into the room last night!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Yu immediately blurted out, "Someone saw Miss Shangguan being dragged into the room in the Shangguan Mansion? Why didn't that person call for help?"

Fu Changling turned his head away and chuckled inaudibly. Shangguan Yuan appeared embarrassed and was about to explain when Qin Yan spoke calmly, "I'll take him away if you don't dare to examine the body."

Shangguan Yuan's expression grew uglier upon hearing these words, and the two sides were in a deadlock when a youngster's timid voice rang out from the crowd, "Father..."

Everyone turned to look when they heard this call and saw a youngster, either fifteen or sixteen, wearing a blue tunic, having seemingly mustered the courage. He swallowed and controlled his trembling voice as Shangguan Yuan's furious gaze fell upon him, "Mother said... it's better... it's better to make a thorough investigation into sister's death."

Fu Changling looked up and pondered for a while. In hindsight, this would be Shangguan Yuan's eldest son, Shangguan Mingyan.

Shangguan Yuan glared at Shangguan Mingyan after hearing this. Shangguan Mingyan didn't dare to look at him, but he raised his eyes to Qin Yan and gestured "please". "Xianshi, my mother invites you all in."

Qin Yan nodded, turned his head, and glanced in Fu Changling's direction. Yun Yu noticed the expression in Qin Yan's eyes, and without waiting for Fu Changling's consent, he helped him stand up, saying, "Shixiong, let's go!"

Qin Yan nodded. Fu Changling rolled his eyes as he leaned on Yun Yu, then Yun Yu assisted him in following Qin Yan to the backyard.

Fu Changling was sluggish, as if every bone in his body were broken, as he leaned on Yun Yu, leaving no one even the slightest bit on guard. He quietly scanned the entire courtyard of the Shangguan Mansion with his divine sense, secretly nicking his finger using his tiny fan, and extremely quickly flinging a bead of blood onto the ground whenever he reached a suitable spot.

He arrived at the backyard with the others while secretly musing over the layout of the entire Shangguan Mansion.

In the backyard, a mourning hall had been set up, and Shangguan Yuemin, who hadn't yet been placed in the coffin, was lying at the back. At the entrance of the mourning hall, a woman dressed in white stood in front of the main door with red eyes, seemingly waiting for everyone.

She appeared to be in her early forties, with a slim figure and the kind of supple beauty that is unique to women from the South. Qin Yan approached the woman and greeted her with a respectful salute, "Madame Shangguan."

"Xianshi," Madame Shangguan respectfully returned the salute before turning to look at Yue Mingsi and Shangguan Yuan. "Yue Zhenren, Laoye."

"What are you doing?" Shangguan Yuan's expression did not appear to be particularly pleased. "I told you to take care of the mourning hall properly, didn't I? Why do you feel the need to meddle in the affairs of the front yard?"

"Min'er is gone," with tears welling up in her eyes, Madame Shangguan lowered her head. "I'm always curious as to how she died, and it's always appropriate to let the cultivators from the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace help and investigate more while they are here."

Madame Shangguan seemed to anticipate Shangguan Yuan's response when she said this. Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned sideways and addressed Qin Yan, "Please come inside, Xianshi."

Fu Changling and Yun Yu followed Qin Yan to the back of the mourning hall, while Yue Mingsi and Shangguan Yuan exchanged a glance. Unobtrusively shaking his head, Yue Mingsi then followed Qin Yan inside.

When the group reached the back of the mourning hall, Madame Shangguan suppressed her emotions and stepped forward, pulling the white cloth from the top of Shangguan Yuemin's head down to her chest, and saying in a low, hoarse voice, "Xianshi, come and have a look."

Qin Yan nodded as he stepped forward and slowly swept his gaze over the corpse.

Shangguan Yuemin was wearing a long pink skirt, her hair had been combed, and her hands were resting on her stomach as she was lying flat on the bed board. Her eyes were tightly closed, her face appeared bluish-pale and in pain, and there were visible finger marks on her neck, but other than that, there were no other injuries.

"Min'er was found in Fu Gongzi's room this morning. She was lying in bed with Fu Gongzi when she was found. She had no clothes on, and her neck was the only part of her body with any bruises. The coroner said she was strangled to death..."

Next to him, Madame Shangguan was talking about how Shangguan Yuemin was discovered. Qin Yan raised his hand to open Shangguan Yuemin's eyelids while he listened. Shangguan Yuemin's eyes were rolled up, and there was nothing else unusual. He then pulled off Shangguan Yuemin's clothes and examined the limbs carefully. After confirming that there was no problem, he looked at Shangguan Yuemin's sash.

Shangguan Yuan noticed his gaze and grew a little anxious when he appeared to be hesitating a bit, roaring angrily, "What do you want to do?!"

Qin Yan remained silent as he quietly observed Shangguan Yuemin's stomach.

Fu Changling's expression changed to one of instant shock as soon as he followed Qin Yan's gaze.

Shangguan Yuemin's stomach was gradually bulging slightly, with an extremely faint, barely perceptible vibration to the ***** eye.

Under her clothes, the vibration was so slight that it gave the impression that a snake-like creature was slowly slithering through her belly. An ordinary person's ***** eye would likely not be able to detect such a movement if they weren't an expert like Qin Yan, who had been practising martial arts for years.

Fu Changling nudged Yun Yu, who was standing next to him. Yun Yu turned around, somewhat bewildered, and Fu Changling scribbled the words: "Yin Detector."

Despite not understanding what Fu Changling meant, Yun Yu took the Yin Detector out of his sleeve and handed it to him, saying somewhat bemusedly, "What do you want this for... what's going on?!"

When Yun Yu took out the Yin Detector, he noticed that its compass-like pointer was spinning erratically. The pointer continued to spin after he tapped on the Yin Detector. He was compelled to glance up at Qin Yan in front of him and quickly uttered, "Shixiong, there appears to be a problem with the Yin Detector. It's spinning very fast and has no direction at all!"

While silently drawing his sword out of the sheath by half an inch, Qin Yan kept his attention fixed on Shangguan Yuemin's stomach.

Fu Changling closed the small fan he had been fanning himself with, took a half-step forward without making a sound, and looked at Shangguan Yuemin, who was lying on the wooden board.

As the sun slowly set over the hills, birds were soaring off in alarm, and dark Qi in the forests began to rush erratically in the direction of the Shangguan Mansion; everywhere it passed, the grass and trees withered.

"I think," Qin Yan stared at Shangguan Yuemin, his calm voice tinged with a hint of alarm, "that it wasn't Fu Gongzi who killed Miss Yuemin."

"Then who was it?" Madame Shangguan displayed an unusual level of composure. She tucked her hands in her sleeves and stared intently at Qin Yan. Fu Changling's blood-dripping hand twirled a spell as he peered outside with his divine sense.

The moment the sun completely set and darkness engulfed them, a shriek suddenly erupted from outside. Qin Yan swept his long sword across and calmly uttered, "Here it comes!"

Immediately after he finished his words, Qin Yan abruptly whirled around and swung his long sword fluidly towards the courtyard's exterior, instantly tearing down the courtyard wall with his sword Qi and directly slashing through the dark Qi outside. The dark Qi let out a piercing, terrifying shriek as it backed away. Meanwhile, Fu Changling dashed over to Shangguan Yuemin, cupped her chin, and forced open her mouth before anyone could react. A foul-smelling dark Qi immediately shot out as soon as Shangguan Yuemin's mouth opened, but Fu Changling was even quicker. He raised his hand, and a lengthy chain of charms materialised from his fingertips. Then, he fiercely poured them into Shangguan Yuemin after slamming them hard on her mouth.

Shangguan Yuemin's stomach immediately bulged as the dark Qi was unable to exit her mouth, but Fu Changling appeared to have foreseen this. The Qinggu fan with talismanic scripts slashed across Shangguan Yuemin's abdomen as soon as her stomach bulged, instantly suppressing the dark Qi. Then Fu Changling threw Shangguan Yuemin upward, and Shangguan Yuemin flipped and rose into the air. Another talismanic script struck Shangguan Yuemin before her back could bulge, completely sealing that dark Qi inside of her.

He completed all of this in a matter of moments, very quickly, and before anyone could witness the actions, Shangguan Yuemin slammed heavily back onto the bed board, face down. It was at this precise moment that Fu Changling suddenly noticed some bizarre talismanic scripts, which were faintly visible on her back.

Fu Changling was very perceptive of talismanic scripts. He raised his hand and sliced the back of Shangguan Yuemin's garment open with his tiny fan. Seeing this, Shangguan Yuan immediately roared in anger, "What are you doing?!"

Fu Changling didn't bother to pay attention to him as he continued to focus on the black talismanic scripts. The lengthy string of talismanic scripts was written from the neck all the way to the sacrum and ended with a black Thousand-leaf Lotus. Fu Changling couldn't place where he had first seen the characters on the talismanic scripts, but they appeared to be familiar to him. The only thing he was certain of was that these were not Yunze's commonly used talismanic scripts.

"Don't go too far!" When Shangguan Yuan saw Fu Changling ignoring him, he hurried over. He hastily covered Shangguan Yuemin up and glared at Fu Changling indignantly, saying, "You still won't let her go even though she is dead?!"

"Yes," the puppet on Yue Mingsi's shoulder said in a shrill voice, "Da Gongzi, let's forget it because the person is dead."

Fu Changling was thinking about the charm he had just cast as he stood on the edge of the bed board and paid them no mind.

Yun Yu approached him and cautiously called out, "Fu... Fu Gongzi."

Fu Changling turned his head as Yun Yu glanced at Yue Mingsi and lowered his voice, whispering, "Don't worry, Shixiong and I are not talkative people and won't spill your secret!"

Fu Changling was a little puzzled and cast an inquiring glance.

Yun Yu winked at him and said, "I understand that you are keeping a low profile and biding your time, impersonating a pig to entice the tiger. I can relate to your struggles, and I support you! It's written in the narrative books that people like you are going to have a great future! Don't worry. Let me know what plans you have, and I will definitely assist you. Just remember me later, after you've achieved fame and success..."

As Yun Yu babbled on and on, Fu Changling understood that this was probably another one of those people who read narrative books like a fool. He turned his head away with a faint smile, not bothering to pay attention to this junior at all.

Qin Yan had already set up the enchantment by this point. When he came back, he walked straight to Fu Changling's side, looked at Shangguan Yuemin, who was lying on the bed board, and said, "What is it?"

Fu Changling looked up at Qin Yan. There was something strange about him. This should be the first time Qin Yan and he had met, and yet he had placed such high trust in him.

Or was it that the original Qin Yan trusted the Fu Clan so much back then?

By all accounts, he has a bad reputation out there today.

At seventeen, he was still the infamous good-for-nothing rich boy of the Fu Clan, with his status as an illegitimate son, Zhuji-level cultivation, and untamed reputation. Whereas today's Qin Yan ought to be a promising young man who was in the limelight in the immortal realm of Yunze and should have despised people like him. But not only did Qin Yan not look down on him; he even asked him in a tone of voice that was devoid of any doubt. It seemed that Qin Yan believed everything he said.

Fu Changling was baffled by Qin Yan's attitude and surmised that it might be the result of a promising young man's personal cultivation.

He also thought no more of it. Qin Yan's life prior to becoming a demon cultivator was essentially unknown to him anyway. In his previous life, he also only met this person after Qin Yan became a demon cultivator and recognised him as an enemy, so whatever Qin Yan did now didn't surprise him.

He gave Shangguan Yuan a quick glance, and without any uncooperative attitude, scribbled three words straight away: "Wushi Luo."

Wushi Luo was a type of fierce ghost—those who suffered injustice prior to death, died tragically, and whose remains were never laid to rest. They could easily turn into this kind of thing after death if Heaven and Earth, by chance, catalysed them. Wushi Luo was easy to eradicate but also difficult. The easy part was that Wushi Luo would have a request, and as long as this request was met, Wushi Luo could free its own soul of suffering. The difficulty, however, comes from the fact that Wushi Luo's request was to kill all of its enemies and be laid to rest.

The second one should be no problem, but the first one—it would depend on who its enemies are.

If the Wushi Luo's request wasn't fulfilled, it would continue to devour people and absorb their spiritual energy before eventually catalysing itself to take physical form and exact revenge. All living things in his immediate vicinity would be killed when it returned.

Now, it was clear that this Wushi Luo had taken shape after absorbing Shangguan Yuemin and was extremely dangerous because it had dared to come seeking vengeance when two Jindans were in charge. It would be nearly impossible to protect the Shangguan Clan if only one Jindan, Yue Mingsi, was in charge. Luckily, Qin Yan was still here, so the chances of winning were much higher.

Thinking of this, Fu Changling's heart suddenly felt a tiny bit of relief.

So was it Qin Yan who exterminated the entire Shangguan Clan back then? Why were there traces of the Zhenxue Sword at the scene if it wasn't Qin Yan who exterminated the clan? When exactly did Qin Yan join the Karma Prison?

Fu Changling flipped his little fan open and shut. Qin Yan gazed at Shangguan Yuemin, who was suppressed by Fu Changling's talisman, and then said, "Is this her body?"

Fu Changling nodded and pointed outside: "It is harmful if it merges into one."

With that, he thought for a moment, gazed up at the sky, and then scribbled in the air again: "At midnight, the Yin energy is at its strongest; it is tough to fend off."

"Then what should we do?" Yun Yu became a little anxious. "That Wushi Luo outside—doesn't seem to be easy to deal with."

When Yun Yu posed this question, everyone was a little on edge. Everyone looked at Fu Changling, who had imperceptibly become the main backbone of this place. Fu Changling leaned against a pillar on the side, crossed his arms, and raised his chin towards Qin Yan and Yue Mingsi.

It was clear what this meant—only the two of them here were above Jindan level. The others weren't much help against such a deadly creature because they were only at Zhuji level and could only rely on the two of them for protection.

It didn't matter if Qin Yan and Yue Mingsi fled to save themselves. The battle would be bloody if they actually fought hard, and the decision to put up this effort for the Shangguan Clan would depend on those two Jindan cultivators' consciences.

"Yue Xianshi..." As soon as he realised this, Shangguan Yuan immediately looked at Yue Mingsi and pleaded, "You see..."

"Shangguan Zhuangzhu," Yue Mingsi obviously knew what Shangguan Yuan was going to say, and the puppet on his shoulder spoke up right away, rather regretfully, "This Wushi Luo poses a very great danger. I'm afraid that with my low cultivation level, staying would be pointless. How about I leave first, go to the Fu Clan, and ask the Elders to come over?"

"How does that work?!" Shangguan Yuan immediately saw that Yue Mingsi was attempting to flee and exclaimed, "Can't you see how dangerous that thing is out there when you've gone and left the rest of us here? Will we still have any remaining bone fragments when you come back?"

"Aren't Qin Daoyou and Da Gongzi still here?" Yue Mingsi looked at Qin Yan, and the puppet swung its wooden arms in a decent manner and drawled in a joking tone, "I had no clue Da Gongzi was that skilled. He seems to have been keeping things a secret for quite some time. Since Da Gongzi and Qin Daoyou are both young and skilled, I hope that you two will persevere for a little while longer—at most one night. I'll be back shortly."

"Yue Mingsi!" As Shangguan Yuan saw that Yue Mingsi was adamant about leaving, he stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve, saying angrily, "Don't blame me for what you and I agreed upon if you insist on leaving!"

The corners of Yue Mingsi's mouth curled up at these words.

"Are you threatening me?" the puppet asked mockingly, his eyes a little frigid.

Shangguan Yuan's expression froze, and he was about to say something to save the atmosphere when Yue Mingsi's figure vanished into the air. Above, only his laughter could be heard, as well as the puppet's shrill voice yelling, "Only if you manage to survive!"

"Yue Mingsi!" Shangguan Yuan dashed after him and yelled angrily, "You get back here!"

However, Yue Mingsi's figure had entirely vanished into the black mist. Shangguan Yuan wanted to give chase again, but when he saw the black mist peeping outside Qin Yan's enchantment, he immediately came to a complete halt.

He gritted his teeth, turned around, and walked over to Qin Yan, who was standing nearby, where he instantly knelt down and said, "Qin Xianshi, I have heard of the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace's reputation of benevolence and righteousness. Right now, nearly four hundred members of the Shangguan Clan rely on Qin Xianshi. As long as Qin Xianshi is willing to help save the Shangguan Clan today, the Shangguan Clan will repay the favour in the future. My clan's youngsters will become slaves and servants, and I will make offerings of spirit stones and valuables every year. I beg you to save me, Xianshi!"

"Xianshi!" With these words, all of them fell to their knees, anxious and panicked, saying, "Xianshi, please save us!"

Only Madame Shangguan remained standing among this group of people, and she was gazing at the enchantment with tears in her eyes. The dark Qi grew thicker and thicker beyond the enchantment, appearing to be gradually taking shape. It resembled a large serpent circling around the perimeter of Shangguan Estate, and the outline of a human face was faintly revealed in that black mist, appearing as though a pair of eyes had sprouted on that large serpent, which was terrifying to see.

Fu Changling cast a thoughtful glance towards Madame Shangguan, his Qinggu fan resting against his lips.

Qin Yan pursed his lips as he gazed at these folks kneeling on the ground, as though contemplating a difficult decision. And Yun Yu looked at Qin Yan nervously, waiting for him to give the order whether to leave or stay, but now he couldn't wait any longer.

Qin Yan was silent for far too long that Fu Changling couldn't help but glance at him.

Qin Yan's hesitancy didn't surprise him. Even if Qin Yan hadn't taken action today to exterminate the Shangguan Clan, he was, after all, still a demon cultivator. It seemed absurd to preach moral righteousness to a demon cultivator.

Yue Mingsi, too, had fled. If Qin Yan was staying, he might have had another plan.

Fu Changling was mentally calculating while his fingers kept drawing the teleportation array under his sleeve. Everyone else was whispering around him, and he could faintly hear the sound of little boys crying. Inadvertently, he looked up and swept his gaze over Shangguan Mingyan, seeing the youngster flanked by two boys who appeared to be his younger siblings. As Shangguan Mingyan lowered his head to console them, they gripped his sleeves.

Fu Changling paused in what he was doing and couldn't help but be a little stunned.

Compassion is in everyone's heart. He was furious at first that the Shangguan Clan was out to kill him back then, but now that he thinks about it, although Shangguan Yuan and Yue Mingsi worked together to harm him, the rest of the Shangguan Clan was innocent.

Fu Changling turned his head with a sudden tinge of interest in Qin Yan's decision.

Qin Yan, who was next to him, thought about it for a while before looking at Fu Changling, who was sizing him up. His gaze fell on Fu Changling's, as if inquiring.

Fu Changling panicked and quickly turned his head away. After a brief moment of consideration, Qin Yan seemed to have made some kind of decision before turning to Yun Yu and saying, "Take the swift boat out. I have a sword tactic from my Shizun here. You escort Fu Gongzi and the rest of the Shangguan Clan out first."

Jiang Yebai, the Leader of the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace and the present-day number one sword cultivator, was Qin Yan's master. Now, he was one of the four cultivators who had overcome the heavenly tribulations, so escorting a swift boat out using one of his sword tactics was no problem at all.

Fu Changling didn't understand why Qin Yan was so bent on protecting him and sending him out, but his teleportation array was nearing completion, and Qin Yan's intentions were unclear. Plus, it was essential that they save as many people as possible, so he shook his head.

He lifted his hand and scribbled: "Send the ordinary people out first."

Yun Yu, who was watching from the side, hurriedly remarked, "Fu Gongzi is right. Let's send the ordinary people out first. He is incredibly strong and doesn't need any protection!"

Fu Changling: "..."

No—he needed protection. He just didn't want Qin Yan's protection.

While he was contemplating, he noticed Qin Yan giving him a light gaze and simply said, "Send the ordinary people out first. I will protect Fu Gongzi."

Fu Changling kept a smile on his face, but inwardly, he didn't know whose entire family he should condemn.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Yun Yu: There's no need to say more. I get it, Fu Gongzi. You are a present-day prodigy who is oppressed by your stepmother and has to conceal your capabilities and bide your time in order to survive! You've been hiding your talent all this time, all in order to stay alive! One day, you will exact your vengeance, you will rise, and you will become a legend of Yunze!

Fu Changling: ...You're a better blowhard than I am.

Then—

Qin Yan: How do you know so much when your level is merely Zhuji?

Fu Changling: Will you believe me if I say I'm trying to stay alive? I'm actually a present-day prodigy who is oppressed by my stepmother...

Qin Yan: ...You are indeed a prodigy.

In the beginning, it's actually quite easygoing.