The boy's breath, lingering on her fingertips, made Ruan Qing'an freeze for a moment, then subconsciously withdrew her hand: "Let's go, Changlin."
037: [What's wrong, my ancestor? Are you still having doubts?]
Ruan Qing'an lowered her eyes and sneered inwardly: "Zhan Hongyuan's words are like a joke. He's gone mad with power. How could he say something like that?"
"There must be something wrong with Yang Lin's death. Besides, I really don't believe that Shen Changlin, who is connected with the main god, would feel so regretful and saddened by Yang Lin's death. It must be somewhat of an act."
Thinking of this, her eyes flickered slightly, and she suddenly said—
"Has Yang Lin's matter been resolved?"
"...Master?"
Shen Changlin's hand tightened subconsciously for a moment, but then he quickly let go. Before he could speak, Ruan Qing'an acted as if nothing had happened, grabbed his hand with her pale white skin, and turned to leave.
She seemed to know everything, but said nothing.
The weight that had been hanging over Shen Changlin lifted suddenly felt like a heavy stone had been lifted from his chest. He unconsciously clenched his fist and looked up.
Before him stood a woman's tall and slender back. The warm sunlight fell on her fair and beautiful face, which was as smooth as cream, but it could not melt away the slight frost. She remained aloof and noble, like the bright moon in the sky, a dream that could only be looked at but not reached.
Recalling the death of Yang Lin, Shen Changlin gave a bitter smile. How could he dare to, how could he possibly, desecrate the moon that was high above him?
Master...
【Affection Level: 60】
Within the sea of consciousness, the voice of the black mist weakened noticeably: "Stop looking at your master, Shen Changlin. You are also me. Can't you be a little more dignified? Stop pretending to be obedient to a woman who is destined to betray you?"
Shen Changlin completely ignored him: "What's the situation?"
Black Tool Fog: ...
"Ha, you've finally decided to take your attention away from this pretentious woman, and now you think of asking me."
The black mist chuckled, then paused before saying, "There's a problem. The restriction on that storage ring has nothing in common with Zhan Hongyuan's aura. He wasn't the one who set up that restriction."
Upon hearing this, Shen Changlin's expression changed slightly: "What's going on?"
Could it be that he made a mistake...?
At this moment, the black mist's voice grew increasingly weak: "I'm going to fall into a deep sleep for a while. You can handle it yourself."
Shen Changlin nodded slightly, but the thoughtful look in his eyes did not diminish at all, with a hint of surprise—if it was not Zhan Hongyuan, then who would it be? In the entire Wandao Sect, the only one who could steadily suppress Ruan Qing'an in terms of cultivation was Zhan Hongyuan.
The elders are all at the Refinement of Void realm. As for the powerful cultivators at the Integration stage, they are mostly sect leaders. Even the independent cultivators at the Integration stage are few and far between in the cultivation world and would not be in the Myriad Paths Sect.
Therefore, the only one with a higher cultivation level than Ruan Qing'an was Zhan Hongyuan, who was in the Mahayana stage, but it was not him who did the trick.
Shen Changlin's heart sank a little, just then—
Ruan Qing'an's voice suddenly came: "Stay on Yanlai Peak for now and don't leave—Yang Lin has a family of cultivators behind him."
"A family of cultivators?"
"Um."
In response to Shen Changlin's question, Ruan Qingan replied coldly, "Yang Lin is different from you. He has the Yang family of Linshui City behind him."
Shen Changlin frowned: "The Yang family of Linshui City?"
Ruan Qing'an explained, "You come from the mortal realm, so it's understandable that you don't know. The Yang family of Linshui City isn't the most prestigious cultivation family, but it's still among the top-tier. Yang Lin is the only son of the family head and is the most talented of the next generation in the entire Yang family of Linshui City."
"Many cultivation families selectively send their next generation to sects for training, while also choosing a sect as a backer or joining the same camp. Therefore, a few years ago, the Yang family of Linshui City sent Yang Lin to the Wandao Sect to cultivate and study in the outer sect."
It was rare for Ruan Qing'an to speak so much. She paused for a moment, and seeing that Shen Changlin had reacted, she continued, "Although the sect leader gave a reason for Yang Lin's death, the Yang family will not let it go."
"Before Yang Lin died, he made it clear in front of everyone at the sect competition that you had a conflict with him. If the Yang family can't find out the truth, they may vent their grief over losing their son on you."
Shen Changlin could hear the concern in Ruan Qing'an's words.
Although his master was always cold and aloof, and even his tone of voice was indifferent, his hidden worries were no less.
Shen Changlin quickly replied, "I understand, Master."
...
Meanwhile, in a small secret realm beneath the main hall.
The coffin exuded an ancient and desolate aura of decay, silently floating in mid-air until it sensed Zhan Hongyuan approaching. An aged voice came from inside the coffin: "Sect Master, what is it now?"
"Elder, you should know what happened in the main hall, right? My pawn, Yang Lin, is dead. I don't know who killed him."
Zhan Hongyuan's expression was somewhat unpleasant: "I originally thought it was Elder Ruan, and I was worried that she was dissatisfied with my arrangements for the sect competition. I was still wondering if I had pushed her too hard, but judging from her appearance today, she really doesn't know about this matter."
"There is another possibility, which is Shen Changlin. But I also confirmed today that he is indeed just a Qi Refining stage cultivator. Without the help of a natural Dao Body, he is not particularly talented and could not possibly kill Yang Lin, who is a Golden Core stage cultivator."
The voice inside the coffin remained silent for a long while: "It must be the person behind Shen Changlin. Something's not right about his experiences in the mortal realm."
Zhan Hongyuan nodded: "I had the same idea."
For a moment, silence fell over the secret realm again. The voice from the coffin said, "The restrictions I set up have been destroyed. Sect Master, I have repaid the favor you did for me in setting up this secret realm back then."
"I've said it before, my old bones can't stop you, but since Shen Changlin has powerful backers, your plan is still—"
"Impossible, Grand Elder."
Zhan Hongyuan interrupted him in a deep voice: "I should also think about myself, Elder. If this continues, I will die."
"..."
The voice from the coffin fell silent.
Zhan Hongyuan said, "Shen Changlin's innate Dao physique is destroyed. I originally planned to let Yang Lin, who also has good talent, become Ruan Qing'an's disciple to continue my plan, but... Yang Lin is dead, and I have no choice. Now the only one I can use is Shen Changlin."
"The other disciples of the Myriad Paths Sect are still a notch below Elder Ruan in talent. She has always been a person with high aspirations."
Upon hearing this, the aged voice sounded somewhat puzzled.
"Yang Lin? I know him, but he's no match for that girl."
Zhan Hongyuan chuckled and said, "How could I not know? But that brat Yang Lin has ill intentions towards Elder Ruan. I taught him some of Elder Ruan's cultivation methods and the basics of swordsmanship. With that bit of obsession, his cultivation progress will indeed be much faster."
"But... even if he doesn't die now, he will inevitably suffer from qi deviation in the future. There is a price to pay for following someone else's path."
The middle-aged man, with a gentle and approachable face, spoke casually, yet a chill ran down the spine of even the Supreme Elder.
But before the old man, whose body was half-buried in the coffin, could think further, Zhan Hongyuan said, "I have come here today to discuss something, and I hope the Supreme Elder can help me."
"What is it?"
"Tamper with the formation of Yanlai Peak to remove its function of shielding the secrets of heaven. After all, this path is extremely mysterious, and even a small misalignment can cause some big problems that will go unnoticed."
As Zhan Hongyuan spoke, he took out an array plate from his hand: "I had Wang Da bring this over. Would the Supreme Elder be willing to take a look?"
"I've said it before, I can't stop you, and I won't help you."
"Elder, you are mistaken."
Zhan Hongyuan paused: "Since you have already placed a restriction on that storage ring to repay the favor to the junior, if it is discovered in the future, you, the Supreme Elder, will have no way to explain yourself."
"You are now in the same boat as this junior."
"Expand, soar, far!"
A powerful aura erupted from within the coffin, and an aged voice roared in fury. It was the same kind of pressure that Zhan Hongyuan possessed, belonging to the Mahayana stage. Zhan Hongyuan took half a step back before he could barely withstand it.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Elder, what do you think?"
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