Feng Ye is still alive in the grave... no, he is still conscious, and now he is so moved that he is in tears.

He was truly the most unlucky person in the world. As he boarded the treasure ship, he felt a chill on his neck. When he opened his eyes, he found himself once again in the third-person perspective of Qi Xingye's inner demons. But the terrifying thing was that he watched helplessly as his body was taken over, his mouth uttering the same exact voice as before. Even his tone, temperament, cultivation techniques, and even his memories were completely taken over. Feng Ye even realized that if his soul lamp hadn't been in Yun Xian's place, his death would have alerted the enemy and he would have been strangled outright!

But along the way, not only Yun Xian and the others couldn't recognize his replacement, to be fair, even Feng Ye himself couldn't tell. He was so anxious that he wanted to trip over himself and bite his tongue while eating. He was at the point of despair, and now there was a sudden turn of events. How could he not burst into tears?

Even though Yun Xian's reason was... a little... uh... hard to put into words, it didn't matter! Now, Feng Ye looked at her standing proudly beside him, and he recalled the time in the ancient battlefield when Yun Xian swooped down from the sky to save him. It was so cool!

Yun Xian didn't know Feng Ye was shedding tears at the Body Building Sect. She moved the leader closer and said, "So, do you understand?"

Feng Ye, or Chi You, didn't care about the sharp weapon on his neck. Instead, he said slowly, "Even so, what do you want to do by luring me out now?"

Chi You laughed and said, "Do you think you can hurt me?"

Indeed, it can’t hurt.

It has lived for hundreds and thousands of years, and its cultivation level is unknown. When everyone faces other seniors, although they cannot sense their specific realm, they can at least feel that the powerful spiritual power in the other party is definitely superior to their own.

But no matter how Chi You perceived it, it was all blank. A blank space, as if nothing existed, as if he were just an ordinary person.

Can't see through, can't guess.

Yun Xian felt something was amiss. Frowning, he peered, realizing Taiping was quietly trembling as it moved away, seemingly reluctant to get too close to Chi You. It was truly miserable for it; if it weren't for the awkward situation, it would have screamed for three days and three nights.

"Did Mingguang lend you this purple-gold bowl? He truly trusts you." Chi You extended his hand, a demonic aura swirling through it, a jet-black streak emanating from his fingertips. He casually flicked the purple-gold bowl overhead, causing it to emit a few clanging sounds. The golden light faded, and Qi Zhiye's face paled, as if blood was accumulating in his throat. He praised, "Indeed, it's quite good. If it were Mingren, perhaps he could try to injure me. You? It would be more appropriate to use it as a bowl to carry your rice."

Qi Zhiye's eyes were filled with anger, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You dare to mention Mingren?"

"Don't be angry, I'm just telling the truth." Chi You said: "I admire your courage, children. But sometimes, courage is the most useless thing."

At least in its opinion, these young men were still too immature. They had never seen blood, never truly experienced the danger, and were no different from babies just out of their cradles. The only ones it needed to pay attention to were Ji Rongxue and this...

It didn't look down at the black iron sword in Su Chi's hand, it was looking at Su Chi.

Su Chi met its gaze, his eyes indifferent, like a dead lake. No matter how much the others feigned composure, there were ripples in their eyes that he could discern: disgust, anger, tension, anxiety. But Su Chi simply watched them silently, as if he were looking at a dead object destined to be slain by a sword sooner or later.

Chi You didn't know why, but that long-ago scene surfaced in his mind again. An inexplicable emotion made him frown.

A sword spirit incarnate? Which sword? What a disgusting feeling.

It then looked at Ji Rongxue, dressed in the sect leader's uniform. The snow lion's fur made the ends of her hair look like ablaze. Her face was cold and pale, and her eyes held a chilling murderous intent. Ten days passed, and Chi You knew she wasn't completely unmoved. He simply couldn't understand why she was still willing to trust this group of people, even without hesitation.

Just because of trust? How ridiculous!

No one responded, and the rest was a brief yet long standoff. Chi You's smile flickered, but Yun Xian suddenly said, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Chi You: "Oh? You don't want to hurt, or you can't hurt?"

"Originally, at the Tianyuan Martial Arts Competition, I assumed you would go look for Zhong Changyao, but since Senior Mingwen passed away, the competition has been postponed, so we shouldn't rush into this matter." Yun Xian said, "You went to so much trouble to use Jimo Shu to win over Zhong Changyao. Why didn't you just go straight to the point? Just like you did with Senior Mingren, Ji Shang, and the eldest lady. Why go through so much trouble when you could just go straight to the point? I'm asking you, do you not want to do it, or do you just can't?"

The smile on Chi You's face faded.

"Of course, you can't." Yun Xian continued, "Let's go back to the Four-Way War. The Demon Cult has been dormant for many years, and the four realms have been at peace. Isn't this exactly what you want? The more low-key the Demon Cult is, the less guarded they are, and the easier it is for you to strike someone. But you let Jimo Shu cooperate with the Sword Cult during the war and slaughter the best of the younger generation in the four realms, causing outrage and instantly reaching a peak in everyone's vigilance and disgust towards the demons. For you, isn't this a contradiction and a self-destruction? Are you that stupid?"

"It's the same train of thought. It's not that you don't want to, but that you can't. Even if this hinders your future plans, you can't afford the risk. On the one hand, you want to strangle the younger generation, wiping out the roots before genius emerges, and on the other hand, you want to steal the existing luck. The best way to kill a specific sheep is to drive all the sheep into the sheepfold. As for those who carry luck, you either kill them or control them. You can't tolerate the third option."

Chi You said: "You..."

"Sorry, but please don't interrupt me." Yun Xian said coldly, "My train of thought is very fragile. If you interrupt me, I will easily forget where I was."

Everyone closed their eyes: "..."

Could you please not say things like that with that expression? It ruins the atmosphere instantly!!

"I've wondered before why you didn't dare show up in person. Were you afraid of being besieged by the martial arts community?" Yun Xian said, "No, that contradicts what I said above. It's more than that. And now that I've successfully forced you to show up, it just proves all my thoughts."

She looked into Chi You's eyes, which were devoid of smiles, and said:

"First, you currently have no one available to you. No one is loyal to you, and you don't trust any of your subordinates. In fact, in your world, the word 'trust' doesn't exist."

"Secondly, you desperately need luck, but you're also afraid of the emergence of geniuses in this world. If we want to track your whereabouts in the future, we just need to know your purpose. Which genius in this world doesn't emerge at a young age? If I tell you in advance that you're a genius, how can you, the elders of the sect, not protect you?"

"Third, you don't dare use your true form because you don't have one. Or rather, your true form is merely demonic consciousness, devoid of form. Back then, the Sword Immortal injured you so deeply that you were nearly annihilated, your soul shattered. Even now, your injuries haven't fully healed, leaving you with no choice but to possess a body. You're so anxious, most likely because you've been lingering on for too long. If you don't take action, if you don't plan your strategy thoroughly, your life will be over."

Yun Xian pointed the tip of his sword disrespectfully at its nose and said coldly, "That means you're going to die soon!"

“…”

There was silence in the hall.

Chi You's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't raise them again. He asked, "Is your brain working so well again now?"

It was surprisingly consistent with everyone's thoughts at this moment.

"Shame on you." Yun Xian chuckled and said, "The fact that I was able to guess so much isn't because I'm smart. I can only say that your IQ is barely on the same level as mine—do you know what IQ and level mean? Old man? No, old demon?"

Chi You slowly stood up. The weapon was pressed firmly against his neck. The group felt like they were facing a formidable enemy. The pressure was like a drop in the ocean, unable to stir up any ripples.

"Anything else?" It stood in front of Yun Xian and said with a smile, "Go on."

The sense of oppression quickly spread in this small space.

I don't know whose Adam's apple rolled, but the atmosphere here was tense.

It was a little too close. Although she felt sorry for Feng Ye, Yun Xian really wanted to smack this person's head off. She said, "Of course, there is more."

Chi You: “Oh?”

"Since you've been sitting here chatting with us for so long, either you enjoy listening, or it's hard for you to leave." Yun Xian smiled at it and said, "It's obvious that you don't enjoy listening. Would such a cowardly, fearful, weak and incompetent demon really come here in person? Your real body is still in the Demon Cult, right? Is this the part you've divided out?"

If the real body was here, Yun Xian wouldn't dare to make a move. But now, a clone, at most one-tenth the size of the real body, could be strangled by a group of people, which would far exceed her original purpose!

Chi You's expression changed.

Yun Xian didn't give him a chance to react and immediately said, "Do it!!"

The purple-gold bowl suddenly lit up, blocking all four of their escape routes. Su Chi's sword energy swiftly approached. Everyone's hair was blown up. In a flash, Chi You made a decisive move and escaped from this body!

Feng Ye was finally able to take control of his own body, and he immediately attacked with countless moves, almost frightening him to death: "Help! Help! Ahh ...

"Stop pretending!" Qi Zhiye said sternly, "Who knows if you are Chi You or Feng Ye?"

"It's definitely him!" Yun Xian said, "No one can fake this kind of panic!"

Feng Ye panicked and said, "It's really me this time! It's me!! I know there are three holes on Yun Xian's socks!! I sewed them up with my own hands for a long time!!"

Xue Lingxiu: “…”

The golden barrier was constantly being attacked, and Qi Zhiye gathered all his strength to support the shaky purple-gold bowl. Only then did everyone realize that even so, they had underestimated Chi You's strength.

The power unleashed by just one clone is so strong that it is almost impossible to resist!

Ji Rongxue shouted, "Form a formation and hold on! Don't let anything escape!"

Three sword energies came out at the same time, with extraordinary tacit coordination, vaguely forming a triangular prison, the needles like pear blossoms in a rainstorm, sealing the blood vessels on all sides. The elite soldiers inside and outside were eyeing them covetously, like a dragnet, and the strange black fog was trapped in it, with nowhere to escape.

Su Chi's sword energy rushed over and pierced straight through.

Shrouded in golden light, with strong shackles.

Needles, claws, swords, the black mist became increasingly transparent and ethereal.

It is still in the middle, with a chuckle, and has infinite meaning.

"I was careless this time," it said, "but were you also careless?"

Taiping roared and charged forward, his sword energy like a red dragon, dispersing and engulfing the black fog. Every strike was deadly, and soon, only a wisp of pitch-black powder remained. It fell to the ground and was blown away by the wind, leaving only a casual voice:

"Some things can't be avoided just by anticipating them. Don't you agree?"

“…”

“…”

“…”

The group of guests squatted in the corner with their heads in their hands for a long time, but they heard nothing but the intermittent breathing sounds of the group.

There was a faint smell of blood, and I didn't know who was injured.

The guests had been accustomed to staying in the dungeon these days and had smelled the bloody smell many times. Now, when they suddenly smelled it, they were even more terrified. After a while, someone finally asked tremblingly:

"May I ask, what happened?"

"Is it over? Why do I feel a chilling wind blowing by..."

"Can we turn around now? Master? Are you there?"

Xue Lingxiu handed over a handkerchief without saying a word. Qi Zhiye, the only injured person present, frowned in confusion, but still took it and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips with the handkerchief.

Then he put the blood-stained handkerchief back into his arms.

"..." Xue Lingxiu frowned and said, "You just took it away like that?"

"Hmm?" Qi Zhiye was puzzled. "If I just return it to you, you won't say anything again, right?"

With his obsessive-compulsive nature, wouldn't he have just thrown it away if it had blood on it? Such a waste, why not just wash it and reuse it?

Xue Lingxiu smiled: "Does the word 'thank you' burn my lips?"

Qi Zhiye's face turned black: "...I didn't ask you to give it to me! Can't you wipe it with your hands??"

The black ash dissipated, and everyone's tense minds finally relaxed, and they each put away their weapons. Feng Ye had just returned and subconsciously began to persuade them to stop fighting: "Stop arguing, stop arguing. Fellow Daoist Xue is also doing this for your own good. Fellow Daoist Qi is just not very good at speaking."

Qiao Lingshan wiped her sweat, "You really are... But, are you okay? We didn't expose it because we were afraid it would just kill you and run away."

"I'm fine." Feng Ye had been watching from the beginning until now, so he naturally knew everything that happened in the Body Strengthening Sect. He looked over the crowd and saw Ji Rongxue standing not far away.

Ji Rongxue now looks indeed different from before.

The luxurious leader's uniform seemed to form an unreachable barrier, separating everyone from her by a tiny gap.

She noticed Feng Ye's gaze and raised the corners of her lips slightly. It was indeed a warm smile.

Feng Ye said: "Miss..."

He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but he thought, since no one asked, maybe they already had the answers in their hearts.

Now that Ji Rongxue has taken over as the sect leader, will she be able to travel with them again? Will they meet less and less in the future? Isn't the Far North lonely? She seems to like Shu Jiuwei and Miss Liu's fat fox, but will she return to Qiankun City with everyone else?

Definitely not.

"Please take your seats, everyone." Ji Rongxue's smile faded as he said to his subordinates behind him, "We can begin now."

The gongs and drums were loud, the glasses were clinking, the room was packed with guests and it was very lively.

Ji Rongxue said: "Thank you all for coming!"

She raised her glass, but it contained water, not wine. But no one in the room dared to say a word to her.

"Congratulations to Master Ji on his succession to the throne!"