Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Xia Jin stared at Ye Sanshu's face, her eyes filled with doubt.

"The three holy lands, with Venerable Xuanwei and others, are the pillars of the human race in the Mirage Cloud Realm. Although I came from the lower realm, since entering this Mirage Cloud Realm, everything I have heard and experienced has been how they resisted the alien races and protected all living beings."

Xia Jin stared directly into Ye Sanshu's eyes, seemingly trying to discern something from them.

"And now you're telling me that those three would actually devour a newly crowned human saint? Is it true, or are you deceiving me?"

Ye Sanshu's eyes showed no wavering, and he let out a long sigh.

That sigh was filled with too many emotions, including helplessness and even a hint of hatred.

"Fellow Daoist Xia, you are right. On the surface, Xuanwei and the other two have indeed blocked the invasions of the alien race time and time again for the sake of this Mirage Cloud Realm."

"For hundreds of thousands of years, alien armies have invaded several times, but it was all because of these three that the Mirage Realm has not fallen."

"But do you know what? It all boils down to nothing more than profit."

Xia Jin didn't speak, but her earlier thoughts clearly wavered slightly.

"Go on!!"

Ye Sanshu took a deep breath and continued to explain, "The three of them don't need any so-called fame, but they do need the offerings from the human race. As the highest peaks in the Mirage Cloud Realm, the three holy lands control almost 80% of the resources!"

"Therefore, we must stop the alien races and defend the Mirage Realm."

"This may seem like it's for the sake of humanity, but it's actually for their own benefit!!"

"And there's one more crucial thing!!"

Ye Sanshu's face turned icy cold: "Fellow Daoist Xia, you should know that even reaching the Saint Realm does not guarantee immortality! No matter how many resources you have, you cannot endlessly prolong your lifespan when your time is near!"

Hearing this, Xia Jin had already vaguely deduced some things.

"The lifespan of beings in the Sacred Realm does indeed far exceed that of ordinary cultivators, often measured in hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. But ultimately... it is not eternal."

Ye Sanshu clenched his fist. "The three Venerable Xuanwei have lived far too long. So long that the Saint Realm power within their Saint Pills has begun to show signs of decline. Once the Saint Pills have completely aged and the Saint Realm power has dissipated, they will fall from the Saint Realm until they die."

"Even if the three of them consume more resources now, they can only slow down the aging of the Saint Pill at most! Unless they can consume a new Saint Pill, thereby generating new Saint Realm power!"

Xia Jin's mind raced, but there were still some things she couldn't understand.

"But why must it be humans?! Whether it's a different race's Holy Realm or a demon race's Holy Realm, can't their essence be used to replenish it?"

Ye Sanshu shook his head and gave a wry smile: "This is the crux of the problem. Fellow Daoist Xia!! Whether it's alien races or demon races, their methods of achieving the Saint Realm are completely different from ours."

"The alien races rely on bloodline inheritance and talent awakening. Their 'sainthood' resides in their bloodline and physical body, and they do not forge sainthood pills within their bodies."

"The demon race relies on demon cores to achieve sainthood. Demon cores and saint cores may seem similar, but their essences are completely different and they cannot be combined at all."

"Only we humans, upon reaching the Saint Realm, forge a Saint Pill within our bodies. This Saint Pill, of equal origin, is the 'tonic' that can be refined and absorbed."

"I see!!" Xia Jin understood by now.

Moreover, they already believed eight or nine tenths of what the old man in front of them said.

"So, according to what you said, those three people ostensibly reside in the Holy Land, protecting the human race. But secretly, they're actually raising the human race? Every time a Saint Realm expert appears among the human race, they treat that newly ascended Saint Realm expert as a... elixir to prolong their own lifespan."

Ye Sanshu nodded heavily.

"That's right! Fellow Daoist Xia, if you were targeted by those three, you would probably end up the same way!"

Xia Jin didn't speak again, but remained silent for a long while.

He has confirmed that what this person said was not a lie.

However, one question remains!

How could he possibly know such a secret?!

Seemingly noticing the changing emotions on Xia Jin's face, Ye Sanshu guessed her doubts and spoke up directly.

"Three thousand years ago, my master was a victim! Therefore, this secret is probably known only to me and those three old ghosts in the Mirage Realm."

Xia Jin suddenly looked up, a look of shock flashing in her eyes: "What?! Are you serious?!"

"Of course, how could I lie about this!" Ye Sanshu gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and gently pressed it against his chest.

"I became a disciple of my master at the age of thirteen, and I was his last disciple."

"Three thousand years ago, our master finally broke through that threshold and entered the realm of sainthood."

"And on the second day after he achieved the Saintly Realm, he was invited by Xuanwei and the other two to the Holy Land to discuss the Dao and devise a grand plan to resist the alien race."

At this point, Ye Sanshu's eyes had already turned somewhat red.

The sword intent that he had long since suppressed was now overflowing uncontrollably. But with a single glance, it was suppressed back into his body.

Ye Sanshu seemed to realize his lapse in composure, took a deep breath, and continued, "But no one could have imagined that after that... Master would disappear without a trace."

"I have searched the entire Mirage Realm and climbed the gates of the three holy lands, but I have never seen my master's figure."

"Until a hundred years later, I found a jade pendant deep within the cave where my master had secluded himself."

"On this jade pendant, the last lingering thought of my master remains, sent forth before his death."

Ye Sanshu's eyes were completely filled with bloodshot veins.

"That regret finally made me understand the truth!"

"After entering those three holy lands, our master was suppressed by Xuanwei and the other two. Right in front of him, they forcibly removed and refined the sacred core from his body."

"With his last ounce of strength, Master sealed this lingering regret into the jade pendant and sent it back to his cave."

After Ye Sanshu finished speaking, tears had unknowingly soaked the rough linen cloth on his chest, but he did not wipe them away. Instead, he burst into tears.

For so many years, this secret has remained hidden in his heart.

There was no one to whom he could confide his anguish.

After all, if it weren't for Xia Jin, anyone else would think they were crazy for doing something like this.

At this moment, the world was unusually quiet except for Ye Sanshu's cries.