The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

The bright moon hangs high, amidst the magnificent palaces and halls, yet the people within are far from at peace.

The man looked at the white-haired youth who had silently appeared within his barrier, and unusually, he showed a hint of fear.

The barrier inside the hall is not something an ordinary person can break. Even if one's own barrier can be broken silently, who could silently break into the Flying Star Sect's protective formation?

The man's face showed a hint of impatience, as if he had been woken up halfway through a good night's sleep. His handsome and unruly face was completely devoid of any positive emotions, and his gray eyes were dull, yet carried a coldness devoid of any human warmth.

The man inside the hall quickly recognized the visitor. "Imperial Venerable Yan Ye, what brings you here so late at night?"

Yan Ye chuckled. "What brings you here?"

He was tall and imposing; just standing there exuded a heavy sense of oppression.

"Nothing much. I heard you observed the stars last night and predicted a cursed lone star would descend upon the world?" Yan Ye chuckled to himself, a hint of sarcasm in his smile. "Didn't you realize that you're the one who's actually the 'lone star'?"

He lazily raised his hand. "My apprentice is the best apprentice in the world. You want to ruin her? Did you even ask for my opinion?"

The man frantically tried to raise his hand to defend himself, but the restriction was easily pierced by Yan Ye, who then grabbed his throat with his powerful hand.

"If you don't need your eyes, you can donate them to someone who does. What's the point of stargazing? What kind of cultivation does it take?"

Yan Ye clicked his tongue softly, his grip slowly tightening. "So what if my little disciple halved your cultivation? Why bother? My kid was ignorant; what's wrong with destroying one of your clones?"

"The child is still young, yet you old fool are truly vicious, trying to ruin her spirit and make her the target of everyone's condemnation?"

The man tried with all his might to pull Yan Ye's hand away, but found that no matter what he did, the hand was like an iron claw, holding him firmly.

Yin Zhong's face gradually turned purple, and he felt as if his throat was about to be snapped. Just as he was about to transform into the spirit vine, the man released his grip.

Yan Ye straightened up expressionlessly, used magic to wash his hands, and then disgustedly took a handkerchief and wiped them again. "She wants to settle all the karma herself; that's her destiny, her path, so I won't kill you now."

"But if anyone spreads rumors after dawn that my disciple is a jinx, I will kill you first."

"You are... someone who is about to ascend to immortality, yet you still dare to get involved in karma?" Yin Zhong's hoarse voice rang out behind Yan Ye.

The smooth, flowing black robe swept across the bricks and stones of the golden palace as the man openly exposed his back to Yin Zhong.

Yin Zhong considered many possibilities but found that none of them could kill him; at most, they could only leave Yan Ye with a minor, insignificant wound.

But he still intended to disgust him a bit. "It is said that Immortal Venerable Yanye had a battle with the Demon Venerable a hundred years ago. After that battle, you attained enlightenment overnight and entered the Taiqing Realm. That night, you declared that you would be the youngest ascended cultivator in the Dongming Realm."

"Could it be that Immortal Venerable Yanye is now willing to break his vows and even abandon his promises for the sake of a disciple who has only been with him for a year?"

Yan Ye was already walking towards the door. "I mean what I say. If anyone mentions this again after dawn, I won't hesitate to kill. It'll just mean spending a few thousand more years in this world to settle my karma. I don't care."

It's just a record for the youngest cultivator to ascend to immortality. He doesn't necessarily want to be number one.

The man quickly disappeared from the hall, leaving Yin Zhong alone, clutching his broken throat and gasping for breath.

A soft male voice sounded from outside the door, "Master, the medicine is ready. You've suffered so much, please drink the medicine and then rest."

Yin Zhong's expression was inscrutable. Suddenly, he laughed, raised his hand to cover the marks on his neck, and called for someone to come in with a hoarse voice.

On the main peak of the Flying Star Sect, the sect leader was entertaining a female cultivator with a frosty expression.

"This newspaper is indeed not part of our Flying Star Sect's property, Master Feng Yi. Even if you come to me, there's nothing I can do. How can we silence the public's gossip?"

Feng Yi, holding his teacup, glanced at the sect leader who was trying to dodge the question like a tai chi player. "I've come to you not to ask about the relationship between the Flying Star Sect and the People's Daily, but to ask you to resolve this matter."

The woman's thin eyelids were raised, like silver blades. "If you don't resolve this, then our Feng family will have to step in. If it falls on the Flying Star Sect, that won't sound good."

The leader of the Flying Star Sect choked, "You are no longer the young master of the Feng family."

"But I am still the eldest daughter of the Feng family's direct line." Feng Yi lowered her eyes calmly. "It's just a word. There are many people in the Feng family. I only need to pass on a message. It's not much trouble at all."

"The Flying Star Sect's star-gazing technique has an unusual lineage. The elder, while observing the stars at night, suffered a qi deviation and intends to create chaos in this peaceful world. What do you think?"

The lid of the porcelain cup tapped lightly against the rim, producing a crisp sound. Feng Yi waited a while, and seeing that the sect leader was still practicing Tai Chi, he put the lid back on, stood up, and said, "In that case, I, Feng, will go home."

She strode forward resolutely, and just as she was about to step out the door, she suddenly spoke meaningfully, "You clearly noticed the chaos within the sect, so why did you allow these demons to run rampant?"

The sect leader's smile froze instantly.

Feng Yi stood up straight. "Are you using him to purge the power from those elders, so that when things are exposed, you can clean up the mess, reclaim power, and hand it over to your own people?"

"You mind the old aristocratic families within the Flying Star Sect, feeling that they are hindering the sect's development, and you want to eliminate their separatist factions. So you promoted Yin Zhong, nurturing his power, knowing that he would be exposed one day anyway. But didn't you ever consider how much flesh and blood it takes to fatten a tiger?"

Feng Yi chuckled softly, "It seems you've thought about it, but you don't care."

The leader of the Flying Star Sect stood silently in place for a long time before speaking, "What Master Fengyi said is true. Even if they didn't come to me, those people would have taken the opportunity to try and bring Yin Zhong down."

In times of peace and prosperity, if there are no external enemies, internal strife is commonplace.

With his back to the Flying Star Sect Leader, Feng Yi said, "It seems the Sect Leader had made arrangements in advance. I underestimated you. In that case, the Feng family will not interfere with the Sect Leader's plans."

"There is only one point: Lin Du is a direct disciple of my Supreme Sect and the only disciple of Immortal Venerable Yan Ye before his ascension. Her reputation must not be damaged."

The leader of the Flying Star Sect bowed respectfully and said, "I will do my best."

Lin Du is ranked first on the Qingyun Ranking. If this first place belongs to the Feixing Sect, they certainly wouldn't want Lin Du to be labeled a universally hated evil star before he has even grown up.

His original plan certainly did not include clearing Lin Du's name of this jinx.

If one less disciple from the Supreme Sect were to appear on the Chongxiao Ranking, any sect would be happy to see it happen.

There have long been objections from all walks of life in Zhongzhou to the fact that the Supreme Sect monopolizes geniuses. However, although the Supreme Sect only accepts geniuses, it recruits very few disciples, stays outside the power struggles, and focuses on eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path. It has firmly established itself as the number one sect in Zhongzhou, leaving no room for criticism.

Night had fallen, and the courtyard, covered with spirit vines, was quiet, except for a dim light still shining in one of the rooms.

Lin Du spent the entire day devouring most of the thick book on Gu poison. Granny Ma, annoyed by his questions, ushered him into the guest room to rest.

She didn't rest. She shook the person out of the spirit beast bag and, before the person woke up, poured a bowl of sweet water down their throat.

The spirit beast pouch is not a good place to stay. Beasts will consciously hibernate to conserve their life force and strength, but humans do not have this mechanism and simply faint.

When Shao Fei opened her eyes, she was met with a completely expressionless face.

Lin Du always had a smile on his face, even when he was interrogating someone with a knife that day, he was still smiling.

A smile is nothing but a facade. Shao Fei had once thought to herself that Lin Du's smile was fake and insincere, but now that Lin Du wasn't smiling, she felt a little scared.

The pearl was refracted by the glass lampshade, casting a dazzling light. Lin Du was backlit, her face devoid of any emotion. She had excellent bone structure, high brow bones, and thick eyelashes that cast heavy shadows under her eyes, revealing an undisguised gloom and aloofness.

"Come on, let's talk."

Lin Du spoke, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of Shao Fei.