After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

Yu Linzhou walked through the heavy rain and landed directly in front of the main hall on the peak.

The palace doors were wide open, revealing a scene of utter chaos.

The broken runes, the overturned incense burner, and the blood splattered on the floor tiles had not yet been cleaned up.

A faint trace of demonic energy lingered in the air, pricking one's nerves like needles.

Yu Linzhou glanced at it once, and his expression immediately darkened.

He turned and headed towards Danfeng again.

Danfeng was already bustling with activity.

Several disciples carried medicine bowls and bandages in and out. When they saw Yu Linzhou arrive, they all made way and bowed.

Yu Linzhou went straight into the inner room.

The Grand Elder was sitting cross-legged on the couch, receiving acupuncture treatment from Elder Xuanqing.

Seeing him enter, the elder gave a helpless smile: "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to wander around?"

Yu Linzhou strode to the bedside, his voice strained: "How are you? Are you badly injured?"

The Grand Elder waved his hand: "It's alright, he won't die. It's also thanks to Yan Lingcang's timely arrival that he only suffered some superficial injuries. He'll be fine after some rest."

Yu Linzhou's heart sank when he saw the man's obviously pale face and the bloodstains on his clothes that had not yet been wiped clean.

He remained silent for a long while before saying in a hoarse voice, "It's my fault. I was too arrogant and underestimated him, and I fell into his trap."

The Grand Elder sighed, "It's not your fault. Who could have imagined that Li Hanshan would suddenly become so clever? Back then, you made him run wild, but now he's turned the tables on you. It's just a matter of returning the favor."

Yu Linzhou looked deeply at the Grand Elder and whispered, "I'm sorry."

The elder's gaze softened, and he raised his eyes to examine him carefully.

His gaze held the gentle warmth and sentimentality unique to elders, as if he were looking into a distant past.

"Linzhou, I've only just realized how much you've grown behind the scenes. Before, you only cared about yourself."

"But now, you feel guilty when others hurt you, and you'll do anything for your apprentice. It seems you've found your own direction and destiny."

The elder sighed, "If my senior brother could see you like this now, he would surely be very happy."

Yu Linzhou was taken aback. "Have I changed?"

The Grand Elder smiled without speaking, offering no reply. "I know what you're thinking right now, and I know I can't stop you. Go, Yan Lingcang is heading northwest."

"You've changed my perception of you. I can no longer look at you with the same eyes as before. Just as Li Hanshan has changed, you have changed too. I believe you will no longer act rashly."

Yu Linzhou's eyes brightened slightly, and he nodded.

"I'm leaving."

The elder smiled and nodded, watching him turn and leave.

After leaving Danfeng, Yu Linzhou immediately headed northwest.

The rain lessened a bit, but thick clouds still hung heavy on the horizon, like a gray cloth soaked with water.

After flying for about an hour, he caught up with Yan Lingcang over a desolate ridge.

The man stood on a precipice, his white clothes soaked by the rain, looking down at something.

Hearing the whooshing sound behind him, he turned around.

Yan Lingcang frowned and said, "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to rest?"

Yu Linzhou walked a few steps to his side: "The Grand Elder sent me. What did you find?"

Yan Lingcang pointed down the cliff.

It was a dark, dense forest, shrouded in thick fog and filled with miasma.

Occasionally, a few dark red lights would flash by in the woods, as if something was moving in the mist, before quickly disappearing.

"The spiritual energy here is thin and the miasma is thick; ordinary cultivators would never set foot here. If it weren't for the wisp of demonic energy you brought back, I wouldn't have been able to find this place."

Yan Lingcang said, "There's a large magic array set up underneath, and there are also demon sentries mixed in with the fog. Li Hanshan's real hiding place is probably deep in this forest."

Yu Linzhou stared at the churning black mist below the cliff, slowly narrowing his eyes.

The mist seemed to be alive, sometimes contracting and sometimes expanding.

The layers upon layers of restrictions made the entire forest seem bottomless.

Yu Linzhou: "What are your plans?"

Yan Lingcang: "The environment below is unfavorable to us. We need to find a way to lure the people out first."

Yu Linzhou smiled and said, "Isn't that simple?"

He pulled out a stack of lightning-attracting talismans, rubbed them together with his fingertips, lit them all, and threw them off the cliff without even looking at them.

The lightning-summoning talisman scattered in mid-air, like a swarm of burning butterflies.

The next second, the sky suddenly brightened, and several thick bolts of lightning tore through the gray clouds, crashing down on the dark forest with immense force.

One booming sound after another shook the entire mountain range.

The lightning struck the forest, blasting the black mist into disarray and causing towering trees to snap in half and burst into flames.

The demonic cultivators hiding in the shadows were forced to flee in all directions with strange cries by the sudden heavenly lightning.

Yu Linzhou stood on the edge of the cliff, the firelight reflecting brightly in his eyes.

He slowly pulled out another stack of talismans, patted them in his hand, and said, "That solves the problem."

Yan Lingcang glanced at him, seemingly having anticipated this simple and crude approach, and did not object, only saying, "Be careful to conserve your spiritual energy, there may be a tough battle to fight later."

Yu Linzhou: "Understood."

He then pulled out another handful of talismans, lit them, and threw them all down.

One bolt of lightning after another struck, causing the entire dark forest to shake violently.

In the distance, inside the Demon Palace.

The roar overhead grew louder and louder, and even the thick stone walls trembled slightly.

Several demonic cultivators could no longer sit still. They stood up one after another, looking at each other with a hint of surprise and doubt on their faces.

Someone whispered, "What's going on? This commotion is strange. Could it be that the righteous cultivators have attacked?"

"That's impossible. This place has illusion arrays and hidden sentries, and there are also restrictions personally set up by the Demon Lord outside. Who could have found this place?"

The burly man with the dark horns scratched his head and said in a deep voice, "It sounds like thunder from heaven. Could it be that we've done too many bad things and are really getting our comeuppance?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Even Lin Zhixu, who had always been indifferent to the matter, couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.

You know you've done a lot of bad things?

A glint of light flashed across his eyes.

The thunder and the commotion were most likely the work of Yu Linzhou. He needed to find a way to lure people out and gather information.

Lin Zhixu looked at Agu and said matter-of-factly, "I'm hungry, go find me something to eat."

Agu was stunned, looking at him as if he were a lunatic: "Me? You want me to find you food? Do you even know where you are? Do you even know who I am?"

Lin Zhixu: "I don't care about you. My spiritual power is sealed, and my body is already weak. If I don't eat, I'll die in less than two days. If I die, how will you explain it to your lord?"

Agu was so angry his teeth itched, his face contorted with rage: "Don't try to intimidate me with the Lord's name! If you push me too far, I'll skin you alive right now!"