Chu Nian thought for a moment and said, "I have just roughly examined the seals on your magical power. It may be necessary to use the sealing magic treasure in Lan Nian's possession to break them."

Lou Qianzong asked in surprise, "So that's why you wanted to take that woman's magic weapon?"

Chu Nian didn't answer. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "Can you wait here? I want to go and meet that Lan Nian."

Lin Jingting said with some concern, "Are you sure there won't be any problems? I have some good magic arrays and talismans here that you can use."

"No need," Chu Nian hurriedly said. Lin Jingting and Lou Qianzong needed these things more than anything else in their current situation. "I have everything I need. You two wait here for now, and it's best not to leave this apartment until I get back."

"Okay," Lin Jingting replied, but when she turned her head, she found Lou Qianzong looking at her with a very strange gaze. She frowned and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lou Qianzong: "You really do listen to her!" A hint of sourness lingered in his voice.

Lin Jingting hurriedly said, "At this critical juncture, you must not cause any unnecessary trouble."

Lou Qianzong snorted and rolled his eyes.

Chu Nianzhen didn't want to get involved in their affairs, so she quickly rode away on the wind.

What she's more concerned about now is Lan Nian. How much entanglement does she have with "the one above"? How much does she know? Can she get more information about "the one above" from Lan Nian?

Unbeknownst to her, shortly after she left, Lin Jingting received a telepathic message from a beast within the spatial artifact: "There's no mistake, Master is definitely trapped in this world by the resentment of that pen knife. Because this world was created by it, all its resentment fills this place."

Lin Jingting: "Are you sure there are marks left by that pen knife on Niannian's body? And that Niannian is bound by the resentment of this world because of these marks, and can't leave?"

The beast said, "The powerful magic of the pen knife was sealed in the abyss of hell by the master during his prime. Later, the master faced the five signs of decay of a celestial being. You know, no matter what power a deity possesses, they all have to face this hurdle."

She couldn't die. If she died, no one in the world could subdue that pen-knife. That's why she was reincarnated, constantly being reborn to regain the vitality of her soul. But unexpectedly, that pen-knife found an opportunity to strike. Humph!

Lin Jingting asked curiously, "But didn't you say before that the pen knife couldn't be activated without the help of someone with powerful magic? How exactly did it activate?"

"Uh, cough!" The beast hesitated and coughed awkwardly, but quickly straightened up and said, "Why are you asking so many questions? Do you think the affairs of the Heavenly Realm are to be arranged by you?"

In short, if you truly want what's best for your master, want to help him, and want to end this chaotic world, you must find a way to help your master escape this world.

Only if she can subdue that penknife and stop it from growing will the resentment in this world cease to increase and there be hope for its gradual elimination.

Lin Jingting sighed helplessly and said, "My magic power is sealed, so I'm afraid I can't help her this time."

A certain beast said, "That Lan Nian is really strange; he actually devours other people's souls. When you were a ghost immortal, did you cultivate like this?"

Lin Jingting: "Let's not talk about the past anymore. I was really immature back then."

The beast said, "I wanted to ask, did you decide to cultivate in this way because my master used a similar method in front of you before?"

Lin Jingting paused for a moment, then asked excitedly, "Was her cultivation method the same before she entered reincarnation?"

"No," the beast answered decisively, "but in order to suppress the pen knife, she did swallow it, or to be more precise, she sealed a part of the pen knife's spirit."

However, this part of the spirit was separated from the powerful magic that suppressed the pen knife in the abyss of hell. The pen knife probably always felt that its master had devoured this part of its soul, so it harbored deep resentment towards its master.

Based on my extensive experience and perception in this world, the pen knife must have successfully contacted its sealed magical power deep within Hell while its master was away from the Celestial Realm, which enabled it to ambush its master.

Lin Jingting then asked with great concern, "You suspect that Lan Nian is the other part of the soul that was sealed away by Bi Dao?"

A certain beast: "I don't know! But she's so ridiculously strong, it all seems so strange."

Lin Jingting asked suspiciously, "But if the part of the pen knife's soul was sealed by Nian Nian during its heyday, how could it possibly appear in the books the pen knife wrote tens of thousands of years later? Shouldn't it have been hidden by Nian Nian?"

The beast said helplessly, "I don't know either! What's most puzzling is that it's one thing for the resentment of this pen to cause trouble here, but why did the heart that the master cut out to cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness also find an opportunity to escape from the master's treasure box and rush into this book world without regard for anything?"

Mentioning that thought, Lin Jingting couldn't help but turn to look at Lou Qianzong, who was sullenly standing to the side. He said, "Tell me, what do you think will happen to Lou Qianzong after everything is back to normal?"

The beast said, "He has become an independent spirit. As for what will happen, it depends on my master's decision. After all, he is a part that was separated from my master."

But look at my master, does he have even the slightest intention of taking it back? He seems to wish it could remain independent, so that he can share some of the grudges and entanglements that originally belonged to my master.

That woman is lazy, gluttonous, listless, and useless. She'd rather lie down than sit, and sit than stand; she wouldn't waste the effort to take your little Lin back into her body. That way, all the troubles and entanglements little Lin caused outside would fall on her shoulders, and she's not that stupid.

Hearing this, Lin Jingting felt relieved and breathed a long sigh of relief, saying, "That's good." Lou Qianzong was someone he had watched grow up, someone he had personally taught and raised, a disciple like his son. He didn't want to see him disappear like this.

But then Lin Jingting thought about it again and felt something was wrong. She said, "But if your master doesn't take her heart back, won't she be heartless forever? Will she ever... ever fall in love with someone else?"

The beast sighed helplessly and said, "What kind of time is this? You still think she can fall in love with you? Don't say she's heartless now; even if she did, she wouldn't fall in love with anyone."

Lin Jingting emphasized: "The 'ruthlessness' of the 'ruthless path' does not mean that one is truly devoid of any emotion."

The beast said, "Stop daydreaming. And let me tell you, if you really want to help your master, if you want to stop all that pen knife's actions and free her from the shackles of this world, you have to sever all your emotional ties."