The sword seller, dressed in red, deserves applause for the prankster.

Back then, Yan Ge was already a master of the Mahayana stage, with more than a dozen personal disciples under his command. The entire Thunder Punishment Peak was comparable to the top peak of Jade Purity Peak, with nearly a thousand people on the entire peak.

Among them, the two most dazzling disciples were the eldest disciple Rong Yue and the second disciple Yun Mo.

Rong Yue is exceptionally talented, while Yun Mo possesses the script of a gentle, pure love and also has remarkable comprehension.

One day, a strange phenomenon occurred in Nine Swords Mountain: some disciples with mediocre talent suddenly emerged, became stronger, and then suddenly met with misfortune.

Fallen, went mad with evil spirits, foundation shattered...

An investigation revealed that everyone was practicing a strange technique called "Sword God Technique".

The first half of this cultivation technique is flawless, even astonishing, allowing one to unleash unprecedented potential. However, in the second half, one must find an extraterrestrial herb called Xuan You Grass. If one fails to find it, one will inevitably suffer a qi deviation and die a tragic death.

By the time Nine Swords Mountain realized the problem with this technique, many disciples had already practiced it, with Thunder Punishment Peak being the most severely affected—because the "Sword God Technique" was found in a hidden corner of Thunder Punishment Peak!

To make matters worse, Yunmo also practiced the "Sword God Technique".

Ke Yunmo cultivates the "Sword God Technique" in order to use her comprehension to break the inevitable death situation of the Sword God Technique and save everyone who cultivates this technique.

So she took the risk.

However, she did not succeed.

After learning about this, the upper echelons of Nine Swords Mountain discovered that this technique was somewhat similar to the secret technique of the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Heavenly Sword Manual.

Therefore, in order to save the lives of their disciples, Nine Swords Mountain went to Heavenly Sword Sect for peace talks.

At that time, Wenren Xiao had just become the sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect and had long harbored feelings for Yun Mo. So, taking this opportunity, he proposed: "The Heavenly Sword Manual is the sect's most treasured secret technique. Even the elders are not qualified to read it! How can we allow outsiders like you to read it... Unless, Yun Mo marries me and becomes my wife, my wife... will naturally have the right to read it."

At that time, the people of Nine Swords Mountain did their best to protect Yunmo, saying that they absolutely could not let Yunmo marry into that family.

Yan Ge, in particular, argued with Yun Mo multiple times over this matter: "I, Yan Ge, am a chosen one of heaven! How could I do something like selling out my disciple for personal gain? What kind of good place is the Heavenly Sword Sect? Wenren Xiao has long harbored ill intentions towards you. I will never let you gamble with your life!"

"My disciple Yan Ge will never bow his head to anyone! Especially not when this is a matter of great importance in his life!"

Then, Yunmo ran away.

In her room, she left behind a letter of severance and a lock of her hair, vowing to find a way to break the spell.

A day later, news of the Heavenly Sword Sect Master's wedding arrived.

Yan Ge felt guilty towards Yun Mo, believing that he had been too forceful, which had led Yun Mo to this point. He had gone to the Heavenly Sword Sect many times to demand her return, and even once went so far as to fight his way in, but... Yun Mo refused to see him.

It wasn't until several years later, after many of his disciples had died, that he received Yunmo's letter.

[To my revered master Yan Ge: The traitor Yun Mo is incompetent. For many years, he has sought a way to break the "Sword God Technique" without success, causing the deaths of countless fellow disciples. My days are numbered, and my lifelong wish is to break this technique to save the remaining disciples. There is only one solution left—the Mysterious Nether Grass. The traitor's skills are not proficient, and my husband is unwilling to risk his life to accompany me. I beg my master to go with me. Written by the traitor Yun Mo.]

After several years, this letter arrived. Yan Ge, filled with arrogance, quickly took the letter to the Heavenly Sword Sect to snatch the person away.

Then Yan Ge, Yun Mo, and Rong Yue went outside the circle.

Xuan You Grass is not a rare item outside the circle, but it is rampant with demons, making it difficult for humans to move around.

Fortunately, Yan Ge was incredibly strong. The three of them almost lost their lives several times, but they still managed to find a large patch of Xuan You Grass.

But at that very moment...

Without a word, Yunmo stabbed Yan Ge in the heart.

Yan Ge died on the spot, and Rong Yue went mad and killed Yun Mo on the spot.

Yan Ge and Rong Yue disappeared for three whole years afterward.

When they reappeared, neither of them wanted to say anything more.

It wasn't until six months later.

Rong Yue went berserk and slaughtered the entire Thunder Punishment Peak.

The Nine Swords Mountain's weak top combat force had no one capable of fighting, and some elders were almost killed by Rong Yue.

Those who die at Rong Yue's hands will have their bodies mutated and shriveled. Some others have pointed out that Rong Yue is a mysterious killer who slaughtered millions of lives three years ago!

At that time, Rong Yue became the biggest demon in the entire Miaohua Continent.

As the saying goes, "darkening makes you ten times stronger, while redemption makes you as weak as a dog." Rong Yue's combat power in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm is in no way weaker than that of the Mahayana realm.

In the cultivation world, everyone wants to kill Rong Yue!

They surrounded Rong Yue, and she almost faced trial on the spot.

It was Yan Ge who, single-handedly, swore a solemn oath to bring Rong Yue back to Nine Swords Mountain: "I! Yan Ge! I am willing to pledge half of my cultivation! My disciple... I will protect him! I will discipline him properly! If he makes any further mistakes, I will share the punishment with him!"

The most arrogant and proud genius in the entire cultivation world, the most arrogant and conceited man, knelt down in front of everyone.

Heaven is ruthless, but humans are compassionate.

Those in the know wavered, and Master Puning advocated keeping the matter a secret from everyone, announcing to the outside world that the great demon Rongyue was dead.

After that incident, Yan Ge changed completely and was no longer the dejected person he once was.

Chi Miao asked, "So, Senior Brother Rong Yue fell into the demonic path to save your life, which was already dead at the time?"

Yan Ge lowered his head: "...Yes."

Chi Miao asked again, "So, all those people he killed back then were also to save you?"

Yan Ge lowered his head even further: "...Yes."

After hearing this, the members of the Prodigy Group forgot to chew their melon seeds.

"That was amazing..."

"Where's my five-star review? Where's my five-star review?!"

Yan Ge: "..."

Chi Miao stared at Yan Ge's expression, feeling that there was some unknown secret behind this matter.

But since Yan Ge was unwilling to talk about it, she was unwilling to force him to bring up his painful memories.

These things are in the past for them, but for Yan Ge... he was the one who lost his disciple! He was the one who was killed by his disciple's own hands! He was the one who fell from a peerless prodigy to a wretched wretch!

No one can truly empathize with Yan Ge.

Yun Yao's eyes were red, and large tears fell. She didn't say anything more, because everything was in the past.

Chi Miao: "Now, looking at this matter again, perhaps I understand a little better."

"There's only one source of everything! The cultivation technique!"

"The Heavenly Sword Manual and the Sword God Manual are similar, probably because they were both made by the Pill King, who was tricked and deceived by the founding ancestor of the Heavenly Sword Sect."

"And what's really strange is that since Senior Sister Yunmo had already severed ties back then, why did she suddenly write to invite you to go outside the circle together? This doesn't fit Senior Sister Yunmo's character!"

"Besides, you killed him right after finding the Mystic Nether Grass. Where's the logic in that? It makes no sense! It feels like the purpose was simply to kill you!"

"Who benefits most from your death?"

"Furthermore, we have now determined that Senior Sister Yunmo was manipulated back then and that she was confined to the Heavenly Sword Sect for many years."

"I feel... it's a bit unreasonable for the Heavenly Sword Sect to be unaware of this, isn't it?"