55. The Sea of ​​Hatred (Part Three)

◎Who are you? Who is he? ◎

A faint shadow crossed Lou Guan's eyes as he replied in a measured tone, "The disciples who can enter my Yunya Academy are naturally all exceptionally talented."

Mingyu leaned closer to Lou Tinglan and whispered, "Master's temperament has remained unchanged for decades. But... why would he suddenly take a liking to Junior Sister Ran?"

He looked at Lou Tinglan with a puzzled expression, only to see that the other party's brows were slightly furrowed, and his gaze was fixed on Ran Qinghe, with a hint of complex emotions that were hard to detect.

Lou Tinglan also had many doubts. Although Ran Qinghe was extremely talented, her grandfather was very dissatisfied with her previous act of destroying the spiritual vein. Even regarding Xi Shu, it was only after he persuaded her that her grandfather removed Xi Shu from his position as an elder. Why did he suddenly change his attitude now?

Ran Qinghe, who was at the center of the storm, was in a state of utter confusion. She did not feel happy about Qian Zhong's appreciation; instead, she felt a strange unease.

Whether it was the elders of Yunya Academy or the head of Qingxiao Sect, these high-ranking figures from various sects seemed to have paid her extraordinary attention, which could not be explained by the word "talent".

She looked up and met Qianzhong's gaze calmly. His eyes held a certainty; he believed that no one would refuse his invitation.

But Ran Qinghe refused.

"Sect Leader Qian, I have a past grudge against Qingxiao, so I do not favor Qingxiao. Thank you for your kind offer, Sect Leader Qian."

Qian Zhong's slightly arrogant smile froze for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which was then replaced by a deeper scrutiny.

His gaze was piercing, as if he wanted to see through Ran Qinghe from the inside out. "Do you know that on the path of cultivation, opportunities are often fleeting? To miss the opportunity of the Great Dao because of momentary impulsiveness is not the act of a wise person."

"This junior is foolish." Ran Qinghe lowered her eyes, her tone respectful, but her words were uncompromising.

Qian Zhong stared at her intently for a long time, and finally, his imposing aura suddenly subsided: "Since that's the case, I won't force you. I just hope that one day you won't regret your choice today."

Having said that, he didn't look at Ran Qinghe again, but turned to Lou Tinglan and said, "Tinglan, since you've taken on the teaching duties, you should see it through to the end. Let's call it a day." He moved and disappeared from the spot in an instant, his arrival abrupt and his departure just as abrupt.

Mingyu then came closer, gave Ran Qinghe a thumbs up, and said in a low voice, "Junior Sister Ran, you're amazing! This is the first time I've ever seen someone dare to talk to my master like that."

Ran Qinghe looked up and met Lou Tinglan's gaze.

Their gazes met briefly before parting. Lou Tinglan, abandoning her usual aloofness, addressed the group, "Today's lesson is over. Please study and practice on your own."

Lou Tinglan's figure hurried away, as if he had sensed something before suddenly leaving. He did not return to his residence, but went straight back to the Tower Prison.

The inexplicable pull in his heart grew stronger, disturbing his peace of mind. When Qian Zhong appeared just now, Lou Tinglan had sensed a very faint aura emanating from him.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the entrance to the tower, the tower gate was already wide open, and a chilling resentment rushed out.

Qian Zhong stood with his hands behind his back in front of the door, his aura surging, while his uncle, Lou Yi, the head of the Discipline Hall, also stood to the side with a solemn expression.

"uncle?"

Lou Yi turned his head upon hearing the voice, and when he saw it was him, he frowned slightly: "Ting Lan, with such a situation arising in the Tower Prison, you are still trying to cover it up? If I hadn't come here in person last night, I wouldn't have known that this vengeful spirit had become such a force."

Qian Zhong, however, subtly defended him: "Ting Lan is still relatively inexperienced. He just doesn't want to trouble you. Why are you being so harsh?"

Unlike his serious and cold attitude towards others, Qian Zhong was noticeably more gentle towards Lou Tinglan.

His gaze fell upon the churning black mist within the tower prison. "It's just a mere vengeful spirit at the Nascent Soul stage. Although its cultivation is low, to avoid any unforeseen complications, it's best to eliminate it in one fell swoop."

Destroyed? Lou Tinglan's heart sank. At this moment, deep within the Tower Prison, the mournful murmur was indeed stronger than ever before, and a familiar name once again clearly entered his sea of ​​consciousness.

“Yi…zhi…”

This name is almost never mentioned anymore, and is shrouded in secrecy.

Why is this vengeful spirit so fixated on this place?

In a flash, an absurd yet incredibly clear thought seized him. His mother had died young, everything about her was buried, and his father was missing, his fate unknown... This vengeful spirit repeatedly mentioning his father must not be as simple as just trying to bewitch a cultivator.

What if... what if there's even a glimmer of hope...

"No." Lou Tinglan stepped forward, blocking Qian Zhong and Lou Yi's path.

Lou Yi's face darkened: "Ting Lan, you're becoming increasingly out of line."

Qian Zhong also solemnly advised, "Ting Lan, step aside. According to what Master Lou said, this vengeful spirit is not just an extraordinary resentment, but has also devoured other vengeful spirits in the tower prison. It cannot be resolved by ordinary salvation. If it remains in the tower, it will surely cause endless trouble in the future."

"No, please give me a little more time," Lou Tinglan said firmly, struggling internally for a long time before finally revealing her guess.

"All I need to do is find out its connection to... my father."

Upon hearing this, even Lian Qianzhong's expression changed, and he shouted sternly, "Shut up! Don't mention that heartless scoundrel again!"

Qian Zhong harbored a deep grudge against Lou Yunya for a long time, a fact that Lou Tinglan already knew. Everyone else remained silent about what happened back then, but he was the only one kept in the dark. All he wanted was to get the truth.

Therefore, he couldn't just stand by and watch this only clue be easily cut off by others.

Lou Yi stopped what he was doing at this moment. When Lou Yunya was mentioned, he became inexplicably cautious. He had originally thought that Lou Tinglan was bewitched by a vengeful spirit, but he did not expect that it was because of Lou Yunya. Qian Zhong harbored resentment towards Lou Yunya, so his actions were somewhat superfluous.

Lou Tinglan drew the Tranquil Heart Sword and stood in front of the tower. "Please, Sect Leader Qian, allow Tinglan some time. If it is truly just ordinary evil resentment, Tinglan will not stop you."

Lou Yi was both shocked and furious upon seeing this. He was afraid that Lou Tinglan would get hurt, but he was also angry that Lou Tinglan had disobeyed him. For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma.

However, just as the two sides were about to clash, the originally raging, dark resentment deep within the tower suddenly stopped without warning, as if it had been choked, and the mournful sighs abruptly ceased.

Although it was still eerie, the violent aura had miraculously diminished by more than half.

Faced with this sudden change, Qian Zhong paused, and Lou Yi also stared in astonishment into the tower, his face full of disbelief.

"What's going on?" Qian Zhong frowned, spreading his divine sense across the tower prison, trying to find the root cause of the change. "Could this resentment possibly subside on its own?"

"No, that's not right. It's like something forcibly extracted a part of it?"

Deep within the tower, where the resentment was thin, a faint, otherworldly aura seemed to flash by.

"There are people inside the tower!" Qianzhong shouted.

Lou Yi's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. It was bad enough that the Tower of Babel was poorly guarded and Qing Xiao had made a fool of himself, but someone actually dared to interfere when he and Qian Zhong were both present.

Qian Zhong reacted and leaped into the tower. Lou Yi gave Lou Tinglan a deep look before following him into the tower.

But the original aura suddenly vanished. The tower was dimly lit, and where the vengeful spirit had been, only a wisp of black mist, nearly half the size of its former self and much paler in color, remained, silently suspended in mid-air.

It no longer charged wildly, but only occasionally twitched and let out a low, confused and bewildered sob, and the call of "Yizhi" became barely audible.

Qian Zhong and Lou Yi stood before them, their expressions filled with surprise and uncertainty.

“The vengeful spirit’s origin is damaged, as if a large amount of resentment was forcibly stripped away by some force,” Qian Zhong said in a deep voice, turning his hand to condense spiritual power and carefully sensing the remaining aura. “But the method is extremely strange, unlike the Five Sects’ methods.”

Lou Yi's face was grim: "Who exactly infiltrated? What is their purpose? And why only suppress the vengeful spirits?" He was completely baffled.

In that moment, the vengeful spirit had a brief respite, as if it had regained its strength, and transformed once again into the silhouette of a graceful woman, recognizing the aura of the newcomer.

"Father."

The sudden voice of the vengeful spirit startled all three people present.

However, the black aura was clearly approaching Qianzhong, so it was obvious who this "father" was referring to.

After a moment of stunned silence, Qian Zhong roared in fury, "Insolence! A mere Nascent Soul Realm vengeful spirit dares to try and bewitch others' minds!"

Suddenly, he struck out with his palm, using all his strength to shatter the bewitching vengeful spirit.

Unexpectedly, Lou Tinglan reacted immediately, stood in front of the vengeful spirit, and took the full force of Qianzhong's palm strike.

The spiritual energy from the palm strike landed squarely on Lou Tinglan's chest, sending him rolling several meters before he vomited a pool of blood.

"Tinglan!" Lou Yi strode forward, supporting his swaying figure. When he looked up at Qian Zhong, his gaze already held a hint of dissatisfaction.

Qian Zhong was truly surprised that Lou Tinglan would accept it without hesitation. A trace of regret and ambivalence flashed in his eyes, but he still maintained his pride and said coldly, "To act like this for a bewitching evil thing, it is still the Discipline Hall that has corrupted you."

Qianzhong gave a cold snort, speaking his mind directly.

The female silhouette formed from the black mist seemed to be agitated after Lou Tinglan was injured, and her sobs became more fragmented and indistinct: "Father, no, no..."

"Father, I hate you."

Qian Zhong's face instantly turned extremely ugly, and he interrupted sharply, "Absurd!"

Lou Tinglan was about to speak again when she suddenly coughed, and blood spilled from the corner of her lips again. She was clearly seriously injured and no longer able to argue.

Lou Yi knew that today's matter could not be resolved in a short time. The most urgent thing was Lou Tinglan's injury. He suppressed the doubts surging in his heart and said, "Sect Leader Qian, Tinglan is seriously injured. Since the vengeful spirits have been temporarily calmed, why don't we put it aside for today and discuss it again later?"

Qianzhong glanced at the temporarily harmless vengeful spirit, gave a heavy snort, which was taken as tacit approval.

Shortly after they left, Ran Qinghe silently revealed herself. Her face was so pale it was almost transparent. She leaned slightly against the cold stone wall and asked the first question: "Who are you? Who is he?"