A master of both medicine and martial arts, he picked up a beautiful CEO as his wife.

Ye Feng remained silent, staring intently at the man in black, his Peak Yang True Qi already stirring restlessly.

He was weighing the options, assessing how strong this person was, and considering his chances of winning if a fight broke out and he was protecting Lin Yuqing.

However, the more he weighed the pros and cons, the tighter the string in his heart became. This person's aura was too stable. No matter how much the domineering yang energy on his body fluctuated, it could not cause even a ripple in Shang Zhi's heart.

"An old friend?" Shen Yu couldn't help but roar, "This is my Nirvana Mountain Sect! Who are you, leading others to surround us and humiliate my senior brothers!"

The man in black remained expressionless, as if Shen Yu's anger was nothing more than a gentle breeze passing by his ear.

"My surname is Shang, and my given name is Zhi. I have been ordered by my master to 'guard' this Nirvana Mountain for some time now."

"Master..." Ye Feng and Shen Yu spoke at the same time.

That's right.

That's right, it's the employer again.

From Dongyang to Nirvana Mountain, from the matter of Lin's mother to this dilapidated mountain gate, this invisible network truly is omnipresent. Ye Feng was finally certain that the point he had eliminated in Dongyang was indeed just a hair on the surface of this network; its roots were buried in this mountain.

The man's sinister laugh before his death pierced Ye Feng's heart once more: "The Dong family's roots in Dongyang are deep... You won't find the real nest here." Was that man lying? He simply didn't finish his sentence. The nest in Dongyang was never the real nest. This mountain, Nirvana Mountain shrouded in thick smog, was.

The man in front of them, named Shang Zhi, was the nail that the boss had planted on this mountain.

The nails had been driven in for a month and a half. Ye Feng felt a chill in his heart. Shang Zhi dared to stand so calmly at the mountain gate, waiting for him and calling him an "old friend," because he had long guessed that he would return. This mountain, this group of people, this encounter that didn't belong to the timeline, was probably something that had been waiting for him ever since he pried open the two boxes in Dongyang.

"Keep an eye on them?" Ye Feng sneered. "They cut down someone else's mountain gate, surrounded someone else's sect, and took away someone else's master... Keep an eye on them so they disappear, huh? Your boss is really going all out with their watch..."

"Dr. Ye, you've misunderstood. Your master's escape has nothing to do with my master. This mountain gate has been deserted ever since we arrived..."

These words sounded perfectly plausible, but Ye Feng didn't believe a word of them. The charred knife marks on the mountain gate, the bloodstains on the steps—everything about them contradicted the truth of the statement. Yet, Shang Zhi spoke of it with an air of nonchalance, as if the battle had nothing to do with him. That face, that composure, was even more unfathomable and frightening to Ye Feng than his inner strength.

"Bullshit!" Shen Yu vomited blood.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you." Shang Zhi smiled, but suddenly became extremely serious: "But does Doctor Ye have other motives for traveling thousands of miles to see me?"

He stretched out one hand and pointed into the distance to the cloud-shrouded main peak deep within Nirvana Mountain.

There, hidden in the clouds and mist, lies a grand palace.

At the summit of the main peak, amidst the rising clouds and mist, one could vaguely see an ancient and simple hall. Ye Feng followed the finger and looked over, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. In the six years he had been on the mountain, he had never known that such a hall was hidden deep within the main peak!

"What we want to enter is the very core of the mountain gate, the Hidden Vein Hall!"

Shang Zhi spoke each word carefully, then uttered the most crucial words, "Everything your master left behind when he left, the method to cure the Death Calamity, including... the very essence of Miss Lin's bloodline, is all in the Hidden Vein Hall. Am I right?"

Ye Feng immediately felt his breath catch in his throat.

This guy has seen through all the purposes behind his trip to Nirvana Mountain.

He came to Nirvana Mountain for several reasons: to find his master, to mend his meridians, to avert his death, and to uncover the secret about Lin Yuqing that even she herself didn't know... He thought he had kept it all under wraps, but Shang Zhi managed to get to the heart of the matter in just three sentences.

This guy really knows too much about Nirvana Mountain, the Hidden Vein Hall, and himself, Ye Feng!

"Since you know so much..."

A cold glint flashed in Ye Feng's eyes: "Get out of the way!"

"Of course I can let you have it!" Shang Zhi laughed, "But I'm sorry, the gate to the Hidden Vein Hall was sealed with a secret technique by your master before he left. Not only me, but even the master himself, who has been here for so long, hasn't been able to step inside!"

His gaze fell on Ye Feng's body: "I think you understand now, right?"

Half a year!!

The master has occupied this place for half a year. What he wants is already in the Hidden Vein Hall. Why wait for this so-called old friend here at the mountain gate?

"That secret formation requires the true direct bloodline of Nirvana Mountain... so..." Shang Zhi spoke slowly and carefully, "In this world, only you, Ye Feng, are capable of opening the gates of the Hidden Vein Hall!"

Ye Feng's heart skipped a beat!

That's it!

No wonder Shang Zhi didn't immediately try to snatch him away, but instead acted like an old friend and said these things to him!

The owner has occupied this place for half a year. What he wants is inside the Hidden Vein Hall, but that secret array can only identify the true direct descendants of Nirvana Mountain.

This is equivalent to locking the employer out completely!

We are missing a key to unlock the gates of the Tibetan Buddhist Temple!

And the key is in his hand!

No wonder Shang Zhi didn't make a move! He couldn't force open that door by snatching it! He couldn't kill it either! What the master wanted was for Ye Feng to willingly or reluctantly touch that seal himself.

Just before that door opened, Ye Feng's life was more precious than anyone else's.

After figuring this out, the chill down Ye Feng's spine inexplicably turned into a strange feeling: he felt more confident!

"Haha! So that's how it is!"

Ye Feng curled his lips into a cold smile:

"You want me to help you open the door your employer can't open?"

"Dr. Ye is indeed insightful," Shang Zhi no longer denied, his expression becoming incredibly frank: "You and I, in fact, can cooperate."

"You want to find something left behind by my master to cure my fatal calamity! And what about me...?"

At this point, Shang Zhi suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly: "I just want... to take what we want, what do you say?"

"The 'portion' you want to take—is hers, right?"

Ye Feng smiled, but it was a terrifying smile.

He turned around, and in that instant, quite naturally, he shielded Lin Yuqing behind him.

He hadn't done this for several months. From the warehouse to Tingtao Pavilion, and then to the villa in Dongyang, Ye Feng would do this whenever someone wanted Lin Yuqing, protecting her behind him without hesitation.

But this time it's different. Besides his peak energy, the person protecting her is also the energy vein that binds the two of them together... He understands better than anyone that what's hidden inside that door is the key to making this energy vein go crazy!

"Oh~~" Shang Zhi's gaze passed over Ye Feng's body and landed on Lin Yuqing, who was standing there. For the first time, his deep eyes showed a hint of fervor.

That intense heat carried a hint of craving!

However, he quickly looked away.

Because Ye Feng blocked him.