Starting at the Nascent Soul stage, a rogue cultivator is incredibly poor.

"It's you?!"

Qingyouzi's pupils contracted slightly as he stared at the aged yet still recognizable face, his mind flashing back to scenes from over a decade ago.

In the ruins of the Ten Thousand Immortals Dynasty, beside the Second Princess Tang Lingyu, stands a taciturn and unremarkable early-stage Golden Core guard!

"Aren't you Elder Gao, the Golden Core cultivator who's always with Tang Lingyu?"

His voice was deep, and his gaze was sharp as a knife as he scanned the other person.

Within his sleeves, countless threads tauted silently, the demonic fire, the shaking bell, and the hundred-demon net all poised to strike. His feet appeared motionless, but in reality, they were already in sync with his position, ready to launch a surprise attack or retreat at any moment.

"What... you concealed your cultivation level that day?"

Upon hearing this, Old Gao chuckled, looking quite relaxed, and even took two steps closer.

"It's remarkable, truly remarkable. In just over a decade or two, you've managed to rise from that initial situation to where you are today."

He looked Qingyouzi up and down, his eyes flashing with undisguised admiration.

"Truly remarkable. In my opinion, even an ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to defeat you at this moment."

He noticed the growing vigilance in Qingyouzi's eyes, and the almost tangible defensive posture. He paused slightly, shook his head, and chuckled.

"What, you really don't recognize me? Back then, in the stone chamber of my ruins, I used my divine sense to speak with you and asked you three questions."

Xuan Yizi narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling something:

"The first question is, what does the heart of Tao seek? Your answer is, to seek the true self, to seek freedom, and to have no regrets even in adversity."

"Second question: Do you have any regrets? You answer: The road is under my feet, I have never regretted it, once I draw my sword, I will not turn back."

"The third question..." His tone turned slightly somber, "If this world is truly a cage, what will you do? Answer... If it is true, then tear open this cage and see what the outside world is like."

He clapped his hands and sighed softly:

"Of the three answers, yours is selfish, and I like it very much."

As Qingyouzi listened to these almost forgotten details of the conversation, she was deeply shaken and couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

"You are... Xuan Yizi?" Qing Youzi's voice tightened. "You... possessed him?"

"Ahem," Xuan Yizi cleared his throat, a half-smile on his face, and waved his hand.

"How can you call something involving cultivators 'body possession'? That sounds awful."

He paced back and forth, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing the weather:

"I merely used some minor tricks to help him...significantly improve his cultivation level. Incidentally, I also added some memories and...thoughts that weren't originally his to his mind. Look, now he's a Nascent Soul cultivator, his lifespan has greatly increased, and his fortune is extraordinary. Isn't that wonderful?"

Qingyouzi snorted softly, but took several steps back again, widening the distance between herself and her opponent, her eyes filled with a chilling intent.

"Back then in that stone chamber, if I had only reached the Golden Core stage, or been newly entered the Nascent Soul stage with an unstable foundation... I'm afraid the one standing in this body right now wouldn't be 'Old Gao,' but me, Qing Youzi, wouldn't I?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yizi neither confirmed nor denied it, but simply smiled noncommittally, a smile that carried a profound and unfathomable quality born of the passage of time.

"Sigh, why bring up old matters again? It only hurts the harmony."

He waved his hand, changing the subject, and his gaze returned to Qingyouzi, his tone carrying a hint of seduction.

"Boy, let's talk real. Don't you... want to dispel that deadly ancient demonic energy within you? Don't you... want to one day knock on the door of the Nascent Soul stage?"

Qingyouzi frowned, staring intently at the other person, trying to discern their true intentions from those seemingly murky eyes.

"Seniors, please don't make empty promises to us juniors."

His voice was cold.

"Having cultivated for so long, I have never believed that opportunities fall from the sky out of thin air. Everything has a price, especially... the 'goodwill' from someone as senior as you."

"That's right!"

Xuan Yizi was not angry at all; on the contrary, he clapped his hands, as if he was quite approving.

That's exactly right!

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat evasive:

"However... your current strength is indeed formidable, but to say you're qualified to get involved in certain matters... you're still far from it. When you've made further progress, or when the time is right, I will naturally come looking for you again."

Qingyouzi's doubts deepened.

"What do you mean by that, senior?" he pressed. "If you feel that I am not capable enough, you can do it yourself. Why rely on others? Could it be... that you yourself are not comfortable getting involved personally and making it public?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yizi suddenly laughed, stroked his white beard, and casually paced a few steps, his demeanor revealing an unfathomable composure.

"Talking to smart people is so effortless." He stopped and looked at Qingyouzi, a smile in his eyes, but it didn't reach his eyes. "However..."

The smile on his face slowly faded, and his gaze suddenly became deep and cold. An invisible pressure, though not directly crushing him with his cultivation level, carried a kind of indifference that seemed to know everything and control the situation.

"I also hate dealing with overly intelligent people the most."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice low but clear, each word striking Qingyouzi's heart.

"Young friend, do you understand?"

Qingyouzi felt a slight difficulty breathing.

He glanced at the empty, eerie palace beneath his feet, recalling the opponent's unpredictable and powerful array techniques that had easily dragged him into the "Boundless Black Prison," and then weighed the imminent threat of the malevolent energy emanating from within his body...

After a few moments of silence, he slowly nodded, his voice hoarse:

"I understand."

The situation is beyond our control. The other party is unfathomable and seems to have no intention of turning against us immediately; they may even genuinely possess a way to resolve the malevolent energy. To confront them head-on is far from wise.

"However," he raised his eyes to meet Xuan Yizi's deep gaze, "I wonder if senior... has any method to dispel this ancient demonic energy within me?"

Xuan Yizi's enigmatic smile reappeared on his face.

He did not answer immediately, but slowly turned around, his back to Qingyouzi, and casually waved his wide gray robe sleeves to his side.

The movements were understated.

But the next moment.

Without warning, thick, grayish-white mist surged forth from every corner of the hall's floor, walls, and dome! In an instant, it completely engulfed the entire empty hall!

This fog was incredibly strange; it not only completely obscured vision, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face, but also had a peculiar disruptive force permeating it.

When Qingyouzi's powerful late-stage Nascent Soul divine sense reached out, it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, tightly confined to a few feet around him, unable to extend any further!

Even his own magical power and his subtle perception of the surrounding environment became blurred and sluggish!

"What's going on?!"

A warning screamed in Qingyouzi's heart! Without hesitation, he activated his will!

"Buzz!"

The dragon shield that had been surrounding him shone brightly, instantly splitting into twelve pieces that were tightly joined together in all directions, protecting him completely. The dragon patterns on the shield's surface flowed, resisting the possible erosion of the mist and unknown attacks.

He mustered all his magical power, countless threads gathered in his sleeves ready to be unleashed, and the ancient azure demon fire shone with a faint blue light in his palm. He contracted and concentrated his divine sense, focusing all his efforts on sensing any unusual activity in the mist.

However, apart from the omnipresent, all-encompassing thick fog, and the sound of his own rapid heartbeat and the flow of magical power, there was no other sound.

Xuan Yizi's figure had long since disappeared into the vast sea of ​​fog, leaving no trace.

Only his elusive voice, seemingly coming from all directions, echoed faintly in the depths of the mist, carrying a hint of meaningful laughter:

"Young friend... don't be in a hurry."