The entire small secret realm was filled with flying sand and stones. Under the powerful pressure, it seemed to be on the verge of collapse. The edge connecting it to the main hall was beginning to tremble, but Zhan Hongyuan remained calm.

He said in a deep voice, "Elder, I am the Sect Master of the Myriad Paths Sect, while you only have the strength to fight. Since you care about the Myriad Paths Sect, why not help me, the Sect Master?"

"As long as I am here, I will ensure the prosperity of Wandao Sect for thousands of years!"

At this point, Zhan Hongyuan paused, then smiled gently and said, "Besides, you, the Supreme Elder, know Elder Ruan well. You know her personality very well. Now that you've been implicated, how can you possibly get away with it?"

For a moment, the atmosphere froze completely, and Zhan Hongyuan squinted his eyes.

It wasn't until a moment later that the powerful pressure gradually dissipated.

The small secret realm fell silent again. Under Zhan Hongyuan's gaze, the aged voice from inside the coffin rang out once more: "I can do what I say about tampering with the restrictions on Yanlai Peak."

"But you must tell me what you intend to do."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Hongyuan's smile deepened: "The Yang family of Linshui City will not let this go, but Shen Changlin is staying on Yanlai Peak, shielding himself from the secrets of heaven, so the Yang family cannot find him."

"Even if Yang Lin wasn't killed by Shen Changlin, he must have some connection with him. Yang Lin's death is a huge blow to the Yang family. As long as they know that it's related to Shen Changlin, they will probably take crazy revenge on them someday."

The voice from the coffin was silent for a moment: "Why?"

Zhan Hongyuan chuckled: "Find a way to stimulate his damaged innate Dao body. If it works, my plan can continue."

Sometimes, only by putting yourself in a life-or-death situation can you survive.

There was no sound from inside the coffin, except for the array plate in Zhan Hongyuan's hand vibrating slightly, and then... it turned into a stream of light.

Outside the main hall, on the distant Yanlai Peak, the protective barrier seemed to be triggered for a moment, then vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, in Linshui City.

The atmosphere in the entire Yang family was extremely tense, so tense that it felt like one couldn't breathe. None of the Yang family members dared to utter a single word, but their faces all carried a hint of suppressed anger.

Last night, the soul lamp left in the ancestral hall by Yang Lin, the only son of the head of the family and the most talented heir of the Yang family, suddenly went out.

At this moment, a large number of people have gathered inside the ancestral hall.

Their faces were all quite grim. After a short while, an old man hurriedly walked in from outside the ancestral hall and bowed to the head of the family, saying, "Head of the family, I have already contacted the Myriad Paths Sect."

The middle-aged man at the head of the group, whose hair had turned almost completely white, turned around and demanded sharply, "What exactly is going on?!"

"The Ten Thousand Paths Sect says that the young master has suffered a qi deviation..."

"This is utterly absurd!"

The head of the Yang family said coldly, "How could he die so mysteriously? This is simply playing with my son's life!"

The old woman beside him hunched over and coughed softly: "Cough cough cough—Patriarch, please calm down. There are probably more secrets about this matter even within the Myriad Paths Sect. This reason is obviously just a cover-up."

"Mr. Mei, what do you mean?"

The head of the Yang family said, "Has my son offended someone he shouldn't have?"

Old Master Mei coughed repeatedly, but a glint of shrewdness shone in his eyes despite his aged face: "Let's continue to deduce the secrets of heaven, Patriarch. Even if I lose my life, I will avenge my grandson."

"I pushed him countless times last night, sigh..."

Upon hearing this, the head of the Yang family sighed and summoned people to continue deducing the secrets of heaven.

But this time, not long after, a junior member of the Yang family rushed in, excitedly saying, "Patriarch, we have results! It seems that something that was shielding the secrets of heaven has lost its concealment function. Two elders who are skilled in divination almost died from exhaustion before they found a clue!"

"What?!"

"Quick, go check it out!"

The Yang family members then hurriedly rushed into the depths of the ancestral hall.

Inside the ancestral hall, the two elders were barely breathing, and their faces paled as they looked at the Yang family patriarch: "Fortunately, we have not failed in our mission..."

"Thank you for your hard work, elders. The clan will surely provide compensation!"

After saying that, the water mirror in the center rippled quickly under the control of the two elders, and a picture appeared.

—This was the scene before Yang Lin died!

The pitch-black night, the cloaked boy, the rolling head and the splattered blood... it was a scene straight out of hell.

The entire ancestral hall was completely silent.

After a moment, an old man finally spoke up: "I've heard of this person. He's the one the Myriad Paths Sect brought back a year ago. His name is Shen Changlin. He became a disciple of Elder Ruan Qing'an and is highly regarded..."

"Judging from their words, it seems that Lin boy is... Patriarch, this is a huge insult to a Void Refinement Realm expert."

The head of the Yang family turned cold: "No matter what, no matter what Yang Lin has done, he is still my son. Even if he has done something terribly wrong, it is still a matter for the Yang family. This revenge must be taken!"

Beside him, Elder Mei coughed and said coldly, "It's not possible now. With Elder Ruan protecting Shen Changlin, it's not easy to make a move within the Myriad Paths Sect."

"What does Elder Mei think we should do?"

"Three years later, there will be the Grand Competition of Hidden Dragons."

Elder Mei paused, his aged voice filled with murderous intent: "Elder Ruan couldn't possibly have participated without Shen Changlin. After three years of planning, Patriarch, we must make Shen Changlin die there!"

"What if Elder Ruan objects?"

"Hehe... Patriarch, do you really think that the three-year plan I mentioned was for someone as insignificant as Shen Changlin?"

Old Mei smiled, his wrinkled face as cold as frost.

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