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

News of the incident at the Central Plains Grand Competition swept through the entire Dongming Realm in an instant.

However, the rumors vary from place to place.

Rumors circulated in Zhongzhou that 125 elite disciples from various sects, led by array masters, single-handedly broke the evil array. As soon as Immortal Venerable Yanye appeared, the Demon Lord was so frightened that he fled in terror.

Rumors in the Demon Realm say that the Demon Lord thoroughly humiliated the sects and elite disciples of Central Continent during the Central Continent Grand Competition, and not a single person in Central Continent noticed beforehand.

According to rumors among the demon race, during the Central Plains Grand Tournament, the Demon Lord went to cause trouble, but Immortal Venerable Yan Ye descended from the sky alone with a sword, scaring the Demon Lord into fleeing underground again. He then directly killed the traitor. Immortal Venerable Yan Ye's disciple, Lin Du, uncovered the evil demon's conspiracy in the secret realm. It is said that he broke the strongest evil demon formation at the youngest age, truly a legendary figure in the same lineage.

Rumors about the Central Plains Grand Competition spread like wildfire, and elite disciples from various sects compiled their names and biographies. Lin Du's portrait circulated in many places.

Meanwhile, the legendary figure himself was sitting atop his second senior brother's mountain, listening to elegant guqin music and sipping tea, leisurely like a wealthy idler.

Cang Li suddenly stopped, and Lin Du paused in his tea-serving gesture.

"I'm not playing anymore. If your mind isn't calm, it won't be good for your self-cultivation." He stopped playing, lowered his eyes, and pondered Lin Du's words. "I was wondering why Yuan Ye, who clearly has such good stamina, was the last one to wake up this time."

Lin Du casually put down his teacup and, before his second senior brother could look up, silently straightened the teacup so that the floral pattern was facing the person opposite him.

Cang Li's brows relaxed slightly for a moment. "I will personally investigate what you said, but I checked Yuan Ye when he entered the sect, and he was clearly fine. How could this be?"

Lin Du, unable to stay idle, lazily tapped on the small table, "Is it possible? Just a guess, though it might not be right."

Cang Li looked up at her and said, "Just tell me, I'm not in a good mood today."

"It's related to Eighth Senior Brother." Lin Du put his hand away, sat up straight, and spoke quickly, "In this cultivation world, besides the person in our sect who makes disciple tokens, and you, there is another person who knows Yuan Ye's birth date and time."

"The Grand Preceptor of the Great Zhou Dynasty." After seeing his second senior brother's expressionless face, Lin Du felt like a quail. "There is clearly a natural barrier between our spirit realm and the mortal realm. This Grand Preceptor is no ordinary person, as he was able to lead Yuan Ye to the spirit realm."

"Perhaps he's greedy for money and profit, or perhaps he came to the Spirit Realm only to seek immortality. But his aptitude is poor, and he's already old. He probably won't be able to enter any major sects during the Central Continent disciple selection. What if he wants to go back now?"

"And what leverage does he have to go back? Of course, it's to use Yuan Ye to save the nation's fate, since they came here seeking a way to save the country."

Lin Du finished speaking in one breath, took a sip of tea, and continued, "So, at the beginning, Yuan Ye's cultivation was completely unimpeded. Yuan Ye said that he could never reach the barrier of the Cloud Ascension Realm, but he had no obstacles in Foundation Establishment before. Is it possible that this curse was cast later?"

Cang Li's expression gradually turned serious. "What you said makes sense, but Eighth Brother..."

"I think there's something wrong with Lao Ba," Lin Du said bluntly. "He's not a demonic cultivator, at least not on the Demon Lord's side, but he's definitely not on our side either."

"Mo Lin's spiritual bone, my life-saving herb, Yuan Ye's dragon energy."

And then there was the strange fire that appeared in the summer.

"I mentioned to my senior sister before that it's possible that there's another hand behind those who covet our special abilities."

"The owner of that hand wants us geniuses to fade into obscurity."

Lin Du sat down in front of Cang Li, his eyes deep and dark. "At least when Qian Yu jumped out during the competition that day, his words clearly showed a strong hatred for so-called talent and destiny, didn't they?"

"What exactly happened to Eighth Senior Brother in the past?"

Cang Li remained silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "You should know that when the world was first created, the rules were unstable, and ancient gods were born. Later, when the rules stabilized and returned to their proper place, the ancient gods naturally perished, and the tombs of those fallen ancient gods are scattered throughout the various realms."

Lin Du raised an eyebrow in surprise, wondering why Cang Li brought this up. "I know."

"Wenfu used to be arguably the most lovable junior brother of our generation. Until one day, the Divine Tomb descended and we entered it together. At that time, Wenfu was still very young and had just formed his core."

"Your master received the inheritance of an ancient god, the ancient god, Si Ming Dao."

"There is a mirror in that divine tomb. If a destined person stands in front of it, they will see the future."

Cang Li paused for a moment, then said, "Wen Fu and your master have both looked in the mirror."

"After your master looked in the mirror, he destroyed it with a single sword stroke. People said he had gone mad."

"Neither of them spoke about what they saw, and no one pressed them to say anything."

"Until Wenfu entered the Lanju Secret Realm and died, six hundred years later, he reappeared and revealed your information to Fusifang."

Lin Du pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then a smile appeared on his face. "I'd like to see the puppet doppelganger that Wen Fu left behind."

Cang Li nodded. "Here you go."

"Oh, by the way." Cang Li stood up, "When the secret realm disintegrated that day, I picked up some trash. Junior Sister, take anything you like."

Suddenly, a bunch of things appeared in front of Lin Du's eyes. Before she could react, Cang Li started piling up another mountain on the hilltop.

Cang Li pulled his sleeves tighter. "Go ahead and play. I know what you like, Junior Sister."

Lin Du: ...It's not that I like it that way.

But she was indeed quite happy.

Lin Dukou, with his upright character, dug through this mountain for ten whole days.

It took Yuan Ye ten days to recover. He ate three large bowls of rice and a pot of Lin Du brand braised pork, and with tears in his eyes, he clung to his junior uncle, saying, "I really feel like I'm about to die, junior uncle."

"Who told you to be so stubborn? You had to spare the energy to play music and help others when you were feeling unwell. Now look what happened!" Yan Qing complained, but Yuan Ye didn't touch the fried pork that he liked the most.

Ni Jinxuan and Xia Tianwu had already recovered. Lin Du just smiled at the dinner table, and then suddenly dropped a bombshell, "In a few days, Yuan Ye and I will go to the mortal world. Jinxuan will come with us and show you the world."

Yuan Ye's eyes widened. "Huh? Although I do want to see the Great Zhou, why all of a sudden?"

Lin Du put down his chopsticks. "Because I can't use my spiritual power for a year, I wanted to take Jinxuan to see mortals, to let her connect with the real world, and to see the warmth and coldness of human relationships. After all, it's your hometown, so it's not unreasonable for you to be my tour guide, is it?"

In just nine years, Lin Du has evolved from being addressed as Junior Uncle to a senior uncle with considerable status, now able to make decisions on many matters.

Yuan Ye thought for a moment, then chuckled, "Great! That's exactly why I've been unable to form my core so far. Once I've resolved that issue, I might be able to form my core smoothly!"