Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

Inside the secret chamber, as Ren Fengjue coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground, the Yin-Yang candles within the formation suddenly went out.

The Taoist Master Tianji observed everything with a cold eye, a sneer appearing on his lips.

"Junior brother, fifteen years ago, you went to great lengths to save this child. Did you think you could protect him for life in this way?"

"Fate is hard to defy, and you cannot fight against it."

Yan Zhengchu, who was standing to the side, heard these words and was shocked.

Various speculations and doubts churned in my mind, but I couldn't express them or swallow them down.

It turns out that Master knew everything.

Suddenly, he remembered that on the day he went down the mountain, his master had called him to his room early in the morning and told him that a ghost had stolen twelve Soul-Nourishing Pearls and ordered him to go and find them quickly.

Before leaving, he made a special instruction: "I know you well. Over the years, I have always held a grudge about your relationship with your Uncle Ren."

"On this trip down the mountain, I forbid you from going to the Marquis of Renxuan's residence, and you are even more forbidden from asking the Ren family about anything concerning your Uncle Ren."

Looking back now, I suddenly realized what had happened, and a cold sweat broke out on my back.

Master knows his temperament too well. Once something involves Junior Uncle, how could he not care?

Therefore, saying this was undoubtedly a veiled way of telling him that the matter of his martial uncle might need to be addressed by asking the Ren family.

This trip down the mountain was less about searching for pearls and more about stepping into a game of chess.

A game of chess with the "Soul-Nourishing Pearl" as the starting point.

My master is the one who sets up the game; I am merely one of the pieces.

Thinking of this, Yan Zhengchu felt as if countless questions were about to rush to his lips, but he couldn't utter a single word.

His eyes were bloodshot, and a surge of anger welled up inside him, causing a metallic taste to rise in his throat.

Master, why did you do this?

You are clearly the master I respect the most.

I trusted you so much, yet you used me like this?

In the past twenty-three years, I have never felt such despair.

Yan Zhengchu lay on the cold ground, his body cold, but his heart even colder.

On the other side, the white-haired, ethereal Taoist priest no longer had his usual kind and gentle demeanor; instead, he wore an arrogant and smug expression.

He suddenly called out softly, "White Crane."

The white crane, which had been waiting by the side, immediately stepped forward and said, "Master."

The Taoist Master Tianji coldly ordered, "Go over there now and use the method I taught you to remove the object from his body."

"Yes."

Bai He responded, a hint of elation flashing in his eyes.

He eagerly sheathed the jade sword and moved closer to the formation.

He then raised his right hand, his gaze sharpened, and drew a talisman in the air.

Just as he was about to reach out to Ren Fengjue, a blinding white light suddenly burst forth, blasting him out of the formation.

The Taoist Master Tianji was slightly startled.

Ren Fengjue, who was lying on the ground, suddenly moved his fingers, and the next second, he slowly opened his eyes.

Then, he slowly sat up, stretched, and smiled slightly at the Taoist Master Tianji outside the formation.

"Senior brother, how have you been?"

Tianji was immediately stunned, involuntarily taking a step back, seemingly incredulous: "You... are Ren Yao?"

Yan Zhengchu, who was lying on the ground, was both surprised and delighted. If his body had not been restricted by the talisman, he probably would have jumped up immediately.

Ren Yao leaned half his body forward slightly, resting his chin on one hand, appearing relaxed and casual.

He looked around, then sighed, "Fifteen years have passed, Senior Brother... have you grown so old?"

The Taoist Master Tianji's face twitched slightly as he sneered, "Living people will naturally grow old."

"That shouldn't be the case, right?"

Ren Yao feigned doubt: "I remember you secretly practiced a kind of evil art to preserve your youth and gain immortality."

"Even Senior Brother Tianwen, who has always been obsessed with the path to immortality, is far inferior to him."

As he spoke, the hand resting on his chin seemed to flick lightly, releasing a talisman of light.

"What? Aren't you going to show your true colors and let your junior brother have a good look?"

The Taoist Master Tianji immediately flicked his sleeve, blocking the talisman in time, but the talisman's light still shone on his face, forming a crack.

The gash, like a flame touching something flammable, began to spread rapidly across his face.

In no time, the mask was burned to ashes.

When the Taoist Master Tianji lowered his sleeves again, what was revealed was a youthful face as beautiful as jade.

The white crane beside them was startled, and Yan Zhengchu was even more surprised.

Ren Yao scrutinized the face, clicked his tongue, and then said, "Back then, you knew that Senior Brother Tianwen was obsessed with this path, so you deliberately revealed the cultivation method of this evil art to him in secret."

"Of course, you couldn't possibly be so kind as to let him master this technique, so 'borrowing lifespan in the yang realm' was changed to 'borrowing lifespan in the yin realm'."

"The reason why Senior Brother Tianwen was expelled from the sect by Master was because he borrowed the lifespan of those ghosts during the Yin-Yang Fiend in Shangjing fifty years ago, and you betrayed him."

"Poor Senior Brother Tianwen, he still doesn't know that he was actually tricked by that 'mediocre' junior brother."

After he finished speaking, Bai He and Yan Zhengchu both changed their expressions, and Tianji Daoren's face became even more gloomy.

But then he just gave a cold smile: "Master has been dead for more than ten years, and Tianwen has turned to ashes. It's too late to talk about these things now."

"And you, now only this remnant soul remains, do you still intend to fight me?"

Ren Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, then pretended to be troubled: "Senior brother is absolutely right, this matter is indeed difficult to handle."

"However, your junior brother is exceptionally intelligent, and I foresaw this day would come fifteen years ago."

He observed Tianji's expression and then said, "I know that you secretly overheard the conversation between Master and me that night."

Tianji Daoren's heart sank, and his eyes grew increasingly dark.

Suddenly, I recalled the enigmatic look in my master's eyes and the profound words he uttered before his passing.

"Qingyan, the person I can't let go of to this day is you..."

Did he already know all along?

Ren Yao added, "Master knew all along that you were wicked, so what I said that night was deliberately meant for you to hear."

"..."

The Taoist Master Tianji turned deathly pale.

That night, guests came to Yunhe Mountain, but after his master came out of seclusion, he avoided seeing them and only summoned Ren Yao.

He knew that his master was nearing the end of his life and was afraid that his talented junior brother would surpass him and take over as the sect leader.

So he used a concealment talisman to hide secretly outside his master's bedroom window.

But then I heard…

The master taught Ren Yao a set of secret techniques, claiming that although this method could help cultivators improve their cultivation, it was not the right path.

To prevent unscrupulous individuals from using this method to steal others' cultivation, he instructed Ren Yao not to tell anyone.

To save his nephew, he must draw out his own soul and use this method to condense his life's cultivation, transforming his soul into "essence" to fill the void left by that missing soul.

In this way, the child will be protected from all evil from now on.