When I stopped licking, the lady panicked.

Mu Ling remained silent, his eyes filled with wariness as he looked at Lin Xuan.

"The foolish mother didn't know how to exorcise evil spirits; she only knew how to love her child. When the child's sword pierced her body, her hands were still in her pockets."

"Inside are dumplings she brought back from another family's banquet. She couldn't bear to eat them herself, so she brought them back for the children."

"Enough!" Mu Ling interrupted Lin Xuan. "Who exactly are you?"

Lin Xuan said, "Lin Xuan, Prince Zhenbei's Mansion."

"The heir of the Prince of Zhenbei?" Mu Ling frowned. "How do you know so much about me?"

Lin Xuan smiled and said, "Like I said, if you want to know, come with me."

Mu Ling turned and glanced at the old woman, who nodded with a slight smile.

"Mother, in this life, I have wronged you."

Mu Ling walked up to the old woman, knelt down, and solemnly kowtowed three times.

The old woman gently stroked Mu Ling's head, her eyes filled with tears.

Mu Ling stood up, made a hand seal, and said, "Binding Spirit, release."

The moment the spirit was released, the old woman's body scattered like fireflies.

As Mu Ling watched the old woman gradually disappear, tears welled up in his eyes.

For five years, he has imprisoned himself, trapped by his obsession, simply because he cannot get over the fact that he personally killed his mother five years ago.

But today, he finally came to terms with it.

What parents in the world blame their children?

Watching the fireflies fade away, Mu Ling wiped away his tears and silently took out the Soul Cleansing Sword.

The Soul Cleansing Sword was brimming with spiritual power, as if a dragon that had been dormant for many years was about to awaken.

"It's time to settle this five-year grudge," Mu Ling said coldly.

Lin Xuan watched Mu Ling walk away and simply smiled calmly.

He understood this feeling very well. Sometimes, a breakthrough in one's realm doesn't necessarily require the painful process of emerging from a cocoon like a butterfly. A sudden realization of one's state of mind can sometimes lead to a surge in one's realm.

For the past five years, Mu Ling's cultivation level had not broken through, but now, all the shackles on his body have been removed, and the obsession that had bound him for five years has vanished at this moment.

Unshackled by the old shackles, I now know who I truly am.

Inside the courtyard, the evil spirit had indeed returned.

But this time, Mu Ling was no longer the same as before, and the Soul Cleansing Sword in his hand was invincible.

With the infusion of spiritual power, the broken sword was instantly restored to its original state.

Mu Ling activated the Soul Cleansing Formation again. This time, hundreds of chains shot out from the formation, binding the evil spirit tightly.

"Where do you think you're going to run to this time!" Mu Ling said coldly.

The evil spirit tried desperately to break free, but it couldn't muster any strength at all.

"You will regret what you have done today!" the evil spirit roared, and its body was uncontrollably dragged into the magic circle.

"His Majesty will kill you!"

After the evil spirit was completely sealed, this sentence echoed in the room.

Lin Xuan, who had rushed over, was deeply surprised to hear this. Could this evil spirit be related to the emperor?

Mu Ling deactivated the magic array, turned to look at Lin Xuan, and remained silent.

Lin Xuan seemed to read something from his eyes and nodded silently.

The next day, Mu Ling packed his bags and prepared to leave his hometown.

Before leaving, the fat man came to see Mu Ling off and said, "Brother Mu, I used to think you were the weakling, but I didn't expect that I was the only weakling, and you were just pretending to be weaklings."

Mu Ling smiled and patted the fat man on the shoulder, saying, "You are actually very talented. With diligent practice, you will one day become a powerful ghost cultivator."

"But in this world, ghost cultivators are hated by everyone. If possible, try to become a soul cultivator or a martial arts cultivator."

"After all, Daqing is a nation founded on martial arts, so being a martial arts cultivator is much more promising than being a ghost cultivator."

After giving his instructions, Mu Ling boarded Lin Xuan's carriage and left the border town with Lin Xuan.

As night deepened, the group rested at the inn.

Lin Xuan voiced his question: "Before the evil spirit was sealed, it mentioned His Majesty. Do you know why?"

Mu Ling shook his head and said, "I don't know. Our place is very remote. Even the emperor wouldn't bother to look at it. I don't know why he would mention the emperor."

Lin Xuan said, "How about... we ask?"

"He's already been refined, so we can't ask him anymore," Mu Ling said.

Lin Xuan rolled her eyes at him and said, "Why are you refining it so fast?"

"That's how powerful the Soul Cleansing Array is," Mu Ling said.

Lin Xuan asked, "Then why did you insist on using the Soul Cleansing Formation?"

"Because after my mother died, I swore to destroy all spirits in the world, so I am the most ruthless in my actions," Mu Ling explained.

Lin Xuan was speechless for a moment.

He is really very different from the Mu Ling in Lin Xuan's memory.

In Lin Xuan's memory, Mu Ling was calm and wise, and would never be so emotional.

But now it seems that this Mu Ling is completely different from the one Lin Xuan remembers.

Is something wrong?

"Master, now that we've found the ghost cultivator, can we enter the forbidden area of ​​the ancient battlefield?" Liu Yao asked.

Lin Xuan nodded, looked at Mu Ling, and said, "Perfect timing, I need your help with something."

"What kind of busy work?" Mu Ling asked.

Lin Xuan said, "I have a spatial jade slip here, which contains an ancient battlefield. There is a forbidden area in the ancient battlefield, guarded by earthbound spirits, so we can't go in."

"If we can't get in, we don't have to," Mu Ling said matter-of-factly.

Lin Xuan said, "But it contains secrets about the fate of the dynasty. You should be able to sense that the Great Qing Dynasty is nearing its end, so what's inside is of paramount importance."

Mu Ling was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many entrances are there to this ancient battlefield? And how many people can enter?"

Lin Xuan said, "I don't know."

"If others can go in, you can simply follow them in," Mu Ling suggested.

Lin Xuan said, "I don't want that secret to fall into other people's hands. Besides, my father is the Prince of Zhenbei. My father's Northern King Blade is still stuck in the northern border. The Northern King Blade carries the fate of the dragon vein and the nation. I only hope that the secret of the dynasty belongs to me."

Mu Ling smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll go take a look."

Lin Xuan nodded, took out a spatial jade slip, and asked, "Are you ready?"

"It's all ready," Mu Ling said.

The girl with the slender waist asked, "Master, shall I come along too?"

"You rest first, I'll go with him," Lin Xuan said.

Liu Yao looked at Lin Xuan with some unease and said, "But..."

"If I wanted to harm him, I would have done it long ago. Why wait until now? Besides, I have no reason to do anything to him," Mu Ling said bluntly.

Seeing that Mu Ling had already said so much, Liu Yao couldn't say anything more, and could only tell him to "be careful."

Lin Xuan nodded, and with a thought, the spatial jade slip opened.

After a flash of bright light, Lin Xuan and his companion appeared on the ruins of the ancient battlefield.

Upon entering the ancient battlefield, Mu Ling frowned, covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, and said, "Such heavy resentment..."