One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

Tang Miaoxing slammed his hand on the armrest, a sickly flush appearing on his deeply lined old face. He abruptly stood up and shouted sternly at the elders and elite disciples on both sides of the hall, whose expressions were filled with astonishment and uncertainty:

"Did you all hear that?!"

"Since Master Zhang wishes to witness the unique skills of my Tang Clan, then we shall grant his request!"

"Open the altar! May the patriarchs of the Tang Clan bear witness!"

"Today, the Tang Clan will once again unleash the Pill Devouring Technique!!"

At this command, the once deathly silent hall instantly became agitated.

The elderly Tang Clan elders exchanged glances, each seeing a deep shock and... fanaticism in each other's eyes.

Dan Shi.

This is the Tang Clan's top secret, and also the supreme divine skill in the hearts of Tang Clan disciples.

For many years, apart from that big-eared thief Zhang Huaiyi, no one has ever dared to be so presumptuous as to take the initiative to try this deadly poison.

"yes!!"

Several elders responded in unison, their figures flashing as they quickly occupied eight positions in the main hall.

A chilling and murderous aura began to slowly rise within the main hall.

The air seemed to thicken, and the light appeared to be swallowed up by some invisible force, making the entire hall appear increasingly dark and eerie.

Zhang Chulan stood aside, watching this bizarre scene, cold sweat trickling down his face.

He stared intently at the figure sitting cross-legged in the center of the hall, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

"Old Wang... this thing..." Zhang Chulan's voice was extremely dry.

"Don't speak." Wang Ye's face had never been so grim. The Feng Hou Qi Men formation in his hand had already been quietly unfolded, covering the entire hall. "These lunatics... they really want to kill Old Zhang."

however.

Just as Tang Miaoxing, his face contorted with rage, was preparing to personally preside over this ceremony that concerned the life, death, honor, and disgrace of the Tang Clan...

Zhang Taichu, who was sitting on the ground, suddenly raised one hand.

"Wait a minute."

These two words are light and airy, devoid of any real substance.

But in this extremely tense atmosphere, it was like a bucket of ice water being poured over Tang Miaoxing's feverish nerves.

Everyone froze in their tracks.

Tang Miaoxing paused, then a malicious sneer curled at the corner of her lips:

"What's wrong?"

"Master Zhang, now that things have come to this... are you having second thoughts?"

"If you regret it now, it's not too late." Tang Miaoxing leaned forward slightly, his eyes like knives. "As long as you kneel down now, kowtow three times to the ancestors of my Tang Clan, and admit that your Longhu Mountain is inferior to my Tang Clan, the bet we just made... can be void."

Upon hearing this, the Tang Clan disciples around them revealed a look of satisfaction.

The humiliation of being trampled underfoot by Zhang Taichu just now seemed to have finally found an outlet.

"regret?"

Zhang Taichu seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

He slowly opened his slightly closed eyes, and in those eyes was only a chilling indifference.

"I just feel that this performance... lacks grandeur."

Zhang Taichu extended a finger and gently tapped his knee, making a crisp "tap, tap, tap" sound.

"Since it's about repeating what happened back then."

"Since the goal is to find out the cause of Zhang Huaiyi's death..."

"How could we leave out the parties involved?"

Tang Miaoxing's brow twitched suddenly, and an ominous premonition instantly surged into her heart.

He instinctively shouted angrily, "What party involved?! Zhang Huaiyi has been dead for decades! Today is a bet between you and me, what party involved is this?!"

"Don't play dumb."

Zhang Taichu stopped knocking and slowly stood up.

His position, which originally required him to look up at Tang Miaoxing, was instantly reversed.

An even more terrifying and domineering pressure than before erupted from his body without reservation, instantly dispersing the chilling aura that had just gathered in the hall.

"Dead?"

Zhang Taichu took a step forward, but instead of walking towards Tang Miaoxing, he turned around and faced the side door leading to the forbidden area in the back mountain, deep inside the main hall.

His gaze seemed to pierce through thick walls and layers of rock, landing directly on that dark corner known only to the successive sect leaders.

"Zhang Huaiyi is dead."

"But aren't all the people who witnessed his death still alive?"

boom!!

Upon hearing this, Tang Miaoxing felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

His previously mocking expression froze instantly, then turned deathly pale.

In those cloudy old eyes, the pupils contracted violently, as if they had seen the most terrifying ghost.

"You... what nonsense are you talking about?!"

Tang Miaoxing's voice suddenly became sharp and shrill, completely losing its usual composure:

"Shut up!! Stop spreading rumors and misleading the public!!"

"Do it!! Do it now!! Kill him!!"

Tang Miaoxing waved his arms wildly and roared at the elders around him.

This unusual behavior stunned everyone present.

Zhang Chulan keenly grasped this point.

Not right.

Something's really wrong.

If it were just a normal provocation, Tang Miaoxing would never have lost his composure like this.

Unless... their Achilles' heel is hit.

"What's the rush?"

Zhang Taichu completely ignored the Tang Clan elders who were about to pounce on him.

He turned his back to the crowd, facing the direction of the back mountain, and took a deep breath.

This inhale.

The air in the entire hall seemed to have been sucked out, forming a huge vortex that gathered between his chest and abdomen.

"Since you refuse to call out."

"Then I'll trouble myself to call out for you."

next second.

Zhang Taichu suddenly opened his mouth.

A tongue that roars like spring thunder!

"Xu Xin!!!!!!!!!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble—! !!!

These two words, carrying Zhang Taichu's terrifying and unparalleled innate Qi, transformed into a tangible sound wave that could be seen with the naked eye.

The sound did not explode inside the main hall, but instead focused precisely into a line, like a battering ram, smashing through the wooden door at the back of the main hall and rushing along the deep mountain path towards the depths of the Tang Tomb in the back mountain!

"Get out here and see me!!!"

The sound was thunderous and furious, echoing endlessly throughout the Tang Clan Valley.

Xu Xin—come out and see me—

See me—

The shout caused the tiles on the roof of the main hall to rattle and dust to fall in a flurry.

The shock made the eardrums of all the Tang Clan disciples present ring, and their heads felt as if they had been hit hard with a stick.

But what shocked them even more was that name.

"Xu...Xu Xin?"

An older Tang Clan steward dropped his weapon with a clatter to the ground, his face filled with disbelief.

"This... isn't this the name of the Thirty-Six Thieves?"

"The forbidden list within... traitors who have long been removed from the list..."

"He...he's still alive? Right there in the back mountain?!"

Whispers spread through the crowd like a plague.

Everyone's gaze, filled with fear and confusion, turned to Tang Miaoxing on the high platform.

At this moment, Tang Miaoxing...

He was completely slumped in the chair.

He was panting heavily, as if all his energy had been drained away in that instant.

It’s over.

It's all over.

The secret that the Tang Clan has kept for decades.

That secret that made the Tang Clan bear countless infamy and endure countless humiliations, yet they still had to keep hidden.

With that shout...

It has been completely exposed to the light of day!

"Grandmaster Uncle..."

Zhang Chulan was also dumbfounded. His hand trembled as he pointed towards the direction of the back mountain:

"That Xu Xin... really is the Xu Xin I'm thinking of... one of the Thirty-Six Thieves?!"

"He's not dead?! He's right here?!"

Zhang Chulan's brain was working at lightning speed.

No wonder!

No wonder Grandpa died in the Tang Clan back then!

No wonder the Tang Clan is so tight-lipped about what happened back then!

It turns out they were harboring the survivors of the Thirty-Six Thieves!

Zhang Taichu did not answer Zhang Chulan's question.

He simply stared coldly at Tang Miaoxing, whose face was ashen, a chilling smile curving his lips:

"What is it, Master Tang?"

"Is this how the Tang Clan treats its guests?"

"Leaving the guests hanging here while you hide the real culprit in a hole like a coward?"

Tang Miaoxing gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, her fingernails breaking off and blood staining the wood.

He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Zhang Taichu, his teeth clenched.

"Zhang Taichu..."

"You have such a cruel heart!!"

"You're going to ruin the Tang Clan's century-old reputation!!"

"Reputation?"

Zhang Taichu scoffed, took a step forward, and his voice suddenly turned cold:

"When you decide to use the methods of the dead to deal with the living, what reputation does your Tang Clan have left?"

"Stop talking nonsense to me."

"Since I've already shouted it out..."

"If he doesn't come out..."

Zhang Taichu raised his hand, and a dazzling golden light began to condense wildly in his palm, emanating a destructive aura that caused the entire hall to tremble.

"Then I'll take this back mountain..."

"Even that sneaky rat hole, wipe it all out!!"

"I wonder if he wants to get out, or if he wants to be buried in there!!"

Dead silence.

A suffocating silence.

Everyone held their breath, staring in horror at the man who resembled a demon.

No one doubted his words.

He's really capable of doing it!

Just as Tang Miaoxing was on the verge of collapse and preparing to fight to the death.

Da, da, da.

A series of extremely faint yet exceptionally clear footsteps.

Suddenly from deep within the back door, shattered by the sound...

It slowly wafted out.