Xuanjian: I am the tenth son of Zhenchi, and I plot to seize the throne from Zhenlong.

"Yan'er, look at what's written here..."

"Second...Second Master..."

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"

In a pavilion in the garden, Su Yunji, whose banter with the woman had been interrupted, frowned slightly as he looked at the servant who rushed in in a panic.

The servant immediately knelt down, swallowed hard, squeezed out two tears, and stammered, "It's...it's news from the ancestral hall that the young master's...the young master's soul lamp has gone out."

"What?"

Su Yunji abruptly stood up, dropping the book he was holding. He stood there stunned for a few seconds, then his legs gave way and he slumped back into the chair. It took him a long while to catch his breath before he asked, clinging to the last glimmer of hope, "Yes, which branch of the family is it from?"

"Yes...Young Master Ming."

The servant's words shattered his last shred of hope. Su Yunji gasped for breath and wailed.

The woman beside him quickly suppressed the fleeting joy in her eyes, hurriedly supporting him and comforting him, her face filled with disbelief.

"It's you? It's you! Didn't you say it was just... just to vent your anger? Why, why did you have to hurt him, my son!"

Su Yunji suddenly came to his senses, pushed the woman beside him away, his face covered in tears, his eyes filled with tangible anger. He roared, his aura surging, and he almost couldn't help but attack.

This woman, a dignified Qi Refining cultivator, was pushed to the ground. Her face was covered in tears, and she naturally denied everything, sobbing and wailing.

"Impossible! The person they found was only at the third level of Qi Refining. You saw him in secret; there's no way they could have killed him. Something must have happened!"

Su Yunji was speechless. He had indeed been involved in this matter. He could only force himself to stop crying, but he was also somewhat at a loss. After this woman's outburst, a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind.

"Yes, yes, yes, an unexpected turn of events..." He hurriedly asked the servants kneeling in the garden, "Where is Su Yubai's soul lamp? Has it gone out too?"

"Well... sir, the ancestral hall didn't say anything..."

"Fine, I'll go myself!" Seeing that the servant was stammering and couldn't give a coherent answer, Su Yunji silenced him with a single blow and rushed towards the sect hall.

……

"Damn it, why hasn't Mingdi come back yet? I shouldn't have given in."

In Lingtian, Su Yubai was pacing in the courtyard, looking around frequently, filled with regret. The daylight was already bright, but Su Ming was still nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He saw several figures flying straight towards him from the clouds on the horizon. When he got closer and saw who they were, Su Yubai's face turned even paler.

The person in the lead was Su Ming's father, followed by his father and two other powerful elders from the clan.

"It's over, something must have happened to Mingdi." Su Yubai stared blankly as several figures descended rapidly, then immediately knelt on the ground, wailing in his heart.

His father was the first to rush up and slapped him hard across the face. Su Yubai didn't dare to use his spiritual power to block it, and he took the slap squarely, falling to the ground with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The middle-aged man, not satisfied with just slapping him, shouted angrily at the second young master, asking how he died, and then raised his foot to kick him hard in the chest.

Su Yubai, lying on the ground, covered his face. A sudden thought flashed through his mind. He curled up and quickly began to think.

He understood that his father was protecting and reminding him that Su Ming was now dead and there was no way to verify the facts. He only needed to say what was in his favor.

With his father's performance setting an example, the other two elders were reluctant to punish him further.

Sure enough, after his father kicked several footprints on his clothes, he drew his sword and was about to strike, but was quickly stopped by the two clan elders.

The middle-aged man struggled slightly, then roared, "You beast, I ask you, where is the second young master?"

"What did I tell you? When you're out and about, you have to take good care of your cousin. You beast, look what you've done!"

Su Yubai hurriedly got up, knelt on the ground, and replied tremblingly, "Brother Ming told me yesterday that the clan is strictly guarded... and since it's rare for me to come out, I thought... I wanted to go to the surrounding towns of ordinary people... to find... to find a woman."

Those around were stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but Su Yubai's father reacted the fastest, immediately judging the situation: "You beast! Your brother Ming is young and doesn't know any better. Didn't you know to stop him?"

"Mingdi...this..."

Su Yunji watched the father and son's back-and-forth banter coldly, never uttering a crucial word. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he interrupted, "Yu Bai, tell me, which rogue cultivator has been lurking around here lately? Has he come to attack the formation?"

"Uncle, they've arrived. That black-robed cultivator was just a minor disturbance; after Ming-di repelled him, he disappeared without a trace. I... I advised Ming-di that the cultivator might be lying in wait nearby, so we couldn't go out... but Ming-di..."

Su Yunji sneered, completely disbelieving that his son was such a lustful wretch. He immediately flicked his sleeves, set up the wind again, and went to continue searching the surrounding area.

He searched until late at night, killing many people in several surrounding towns, but still couldn't find a trace of Su Ming.

Su Yunji had no choice but to return to his clan in dejection, only to find that the woman's personal maidservant had stayed behind.

His brow furrowed, and with a growing rage, he slapped the maid to the ground, demanding, "Where is your master? Where is that...that vile Qin Yan?"

The maid hurriedly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth: "Master, Miss left a message saying she's going to find that rogue cultivator and get some answers..."

After a few moments of silence, Su Yunji's roar resounded.

"Get out! Get out!"

……

"not enough…"

In a dense forest, a black-robed cultivator, holding a sword, looked at a small pile of spirit stones and two Qi-refining spiritual items on the ground and slowly shook his head.

Qin Yan was also dressed in a black robe, keeping her composure, her brows furrowed beneath her mask: "Wasn't this what we agreed on beforehand?"

If it weren't for the fact that her collusion with demonic cultivators must never be exposed, she certainly wouldn't have come to negotiate with them in person.

Zhang Zeguan sneered, "Didn't you say that kid was a Metal Virtue cultivator? The wrong information caused me to get injured; you owe me extra money!"

Qin Yan remained silent for a few moments, then took out a few more spirit stones and threw them on the ground, her tone leaving no room for doubt: "This should be enough. Any more and we'll have to fight."

As he drew his longsword, Zhang Zeguan's voice turned chilling: "This is how I live, so I never do anything that doesn't pay off. This isn't enough!"

"Fine, let's fight here and lure them over. Let's see who dies first, you demonic cultivator or me?"

Qin Yan scoffed, realizing that the demonic cultivator was bluffing. However, she didn't want to actually fight him, so she dropped two more spirit stones and drew her sword.

As expected, upon hearing her words, the black-robed cultivator opposite her hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Step back, and let's leave it at that. If you need anything else later, contact me in the same way."

"Phew~" Qin Yan let out a soft breath, feeling relieved, and was about to slowly step back.

"Pfft~"

A long sword pierced through his chest from behind, and a sinister voice rang in his ear: "Good evening, you slut!"