Zhan Hongyuan didn't care whether Shen Changlin was a junior or not. Since his scheme against Ruan Qing'an had failed, he naturally wanted to make up for the loss by taking it out on Shen Changlin. At this moment, he was even more ruthless.
Ignoring the boy's counterattack, the pressure intensified again, slamming down fiercely on Shen Changlin. Zhan Hongyuan's eyes were cold as he lowered his gaze.
"Shen Changlin, you will regret doing this."
Under the overwhelming pressure, the boy's proud and unyielding spine trembled uncontrollably, but Shen Changlin still looked back with a cold smile: "No, I will not regret it."
They both knew what the other meant.
Just then, the elder who had rushed over to investigate the situation said, supporting Ruan Qing'an's arm, "Reporting to the sect leader, the situation is alright. Elder Ruan will only need a few days of rest."
"Very well, since that's the case, then take Shen Changlin away. My Ten Thousand Paths Sect cannot tolerate such a traitor who betrays his master and ancestors!"
Zhan Hongyuan suddenly waved his sleeve and said in a deep voice.
His tone was somber, as if he felt sorry for Ruan Qing'an. Seeing this, the elders looked at Shen Changlin with even more hostility, and the atmosphere became tense. Zhan Hongyuan even raised one hand.
From his wide sleeves, heavy black iron chains instantly emerged and rushed straight towards Shen Changlin in the blink of an eye!
'Pfft—'
The tip of the black iron chain instantly pierced Shen Changlin's wrist, then wrapped around his entire body.
Blood splattered everywhere; the boy's limbs were almost pierced through.
Like a wounded beast, when Shen Changlin raised his eyes, all that remained in his deep black eyes was a chilling killing intent and rage.
A sharp aura emanated from him as he launched a longsword attack towards Zhan Hongyuan!
But Zhan Hongyuan just stared at the scene with a sullen face and a cold expression. After the chain flew out of his sleeve, he grabbed the end of the chain with his backhand, wrapped it around his arm, and tightened it again.
With a wave of his other hand, spiritual energy formed a shield in front of him.
The long sword that Shen Changlin was controlling was blocked, while Zhan Hongyuan looked at him coldly: "Don't put up a fight!"
Beside him, Ruan Qing'an, supported by an elder, leaned on his long sword with one hand, his back slightly bent.
The view in front of him was blurry, even somewhat dark, and not far away—the boy was chained up, like a caged wild beast, looking disheveled.
She struggled to her feet, instinctively trying to step forward, but her arm was firmly held down by the elder beside her, who silently pinned Ruan Qing'an to the ground: "Elder Ruan, please take care of your health."
"hiss……"
She gasped in pain.
At this moment, Zhan Hongyuan had already grabbed the chain with one hand and dragged the boy towards Xing Feng with a disdainful and irritable attitude.
037 was even more anxious: [Ancestor, don't force yourself!]
[You need to stabilize your condition first. Zhan Hongyuan still has ulterior motives and definitely won't kill him directly. If your health really collapses, then the male lead will truly be beyond saving!]
As the clouds of calamity gradually dissipated on the horizon, the elder who had been holding Ruan Qing'an glanced at Zhan Hongyuan, seemingly having received some instructions.
He quickly gathered the other elders around him: "Elder Ruan failed his breakthrough and is unwell. Quickly take Elder Ruan back to his cave to rest, don't delay!"
When Nguyen Thanh An woke up again, it was already evening of the next day. The sunset painted the sky with a magnificent tapestry.
Lying on the white jade ice bed, she felt a dull pain in her chest. After calming her breathing, Ruan Qing'an finally managed to prop herself up and sit up with difficulty.
037: [Ancestor, how is your health?]
"It's alright, it's just that my spiritual energy is slightly depleted, it's not a big problem."
Ruan Qingan paused: "Do you still have the footage of me trying to break through yesterday, little system?"
[I wasn't specifically paying attention, but I've been following your gaze, Ancestor. The main system automatically saved a copy, which I'll give to you now!]
After 037 replayed yesterday's footage in Ruan Qing'an's mind three or four times, Ruan Qing'an suddenly said, "Stop—"
Finally, the images in her mind stopped. She looked at the fleeting phantom of the ancient tree on Yanlai Peak, her expression slightly somber: "I knew it. If there were no problem, why would Shen Changlin suddenly interrupt me?"
037 saw it too, and was immediately stunned: [What...what's going on?]
"This is probably a backup plan that Zhan Hongyuan left by the original owner. If his plan does not go smoothly and I am out of control, he will use this method to regain control of the situation."
Ruan Qing'an said in a deep voice, "I originally considered not following Zhan Hongyuan's plan, or breaking through to the Fusion stage in one fell swoop and directly crushing his scheme. I didn't expect that there were pitfalls everywhere around the original owner!"
It's likely that from the moment he became an elder, the original owner was already deeply entangled in Zhan Hongyuan's scheme.
Ruan Qing'an was dealt a terrible hand; it was as if she was waiting for Zhan Hongyuan to unleash his trump card, and was simply waiting to concede defeat!
Even 037 remarked with a sigh: "[The original owner's ability to survive to the later stages in the original story is truly a case of 'fools have all the luck'...]"
"No... it should be that Shen Changlin grew too fast, making it impossible for Zhan Hongyuan to keep up with his growth rate in many of his plans, which is why the original owner lived a few more days."
Ruan Qing'an's expression was slightly cold. After explaining to 037, her body had gradually recovered. However, although she could barely maintain the late stage of the Void Refinement realm, she still couldn't take action for a while.
With a single hand raised, Ruan Qing'an closed her leaden-gray eyes. Under her divine sense, she "saw" the sword far away in the sky, which she had not retrieved since handing it over to Shen Changlin.
At this moment, her sword was stuck in front of the main hall of the Wandao Sect. The sharp blade seemed to be covered in dust, looking somewhat gray. Faintly, one could hear the sound of the sword, as if it were weeping.
Ruan Qing'an was its master, as was Shen Changlin, but what could make the sword cry out in sorrow...?
"Is Zhan Hongyuan really so impatient that he can't wait even a moment longer?!"
Ruan Qing'an's expression turned cold. Without even sending a message, she made a loose clench in her hand, and the long sword let out a long cry, soaring straight into the sky before quickly returning to her hand.
She forcefully mobilized the spiritual power within her body, and for a moment all the sword-shaped weapons of the Myriad Paths Sect seemed to be drawn towards Yanlai Peak, as if they were silently worshipping something.
Ruan Qing'an, however, was even faster. With a knife in one hand and her plain white Taoist robe fluttering, she quickly headed towards the main hall!
...
Above the main hall, Shen Changlin, his limbs bound by black iron chains, knelt on one knee as if he had been pulled from a pool of blood.
On either side of the main hall sat two rows of elders, while Zhan Hongyuan stood with his hands behind his back, at the highest position in the hall, looking down at Shen Changlin below.
In the deathly silence, he said coldly, "You destroyed your master's Dao, hindered her breakthrough, and almost caused her to perish here—"
"Shen Changlin, do you know your crime!"
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