When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

As luck would have it, just as Ji Fuyao had guessed yesterday that the temple's incense had not yet been extinguished, the mountain people who came to worship the statues came to her door today.

The villagers sensed her kind attitude and willingness to solve the problem, so they nodded and told her to follow.

Ji Cheng'an was naturally worried about her going with these country bumpkins alone, but the mountain people would shout and yell whenever they saw him. So Qionglan negotiated and calmed the atmosphere down, suggesting that they send a few people to accompany her as well.

The mountain people are timid and sensitive, so Qionglan suggested that the number of people traveling together should not be too large. Chu Xianlan did not disturb Yichen and said that she would accompany him to take a look first.

On the way, Ji Cheng'an turned around several times and frequently cast strange glances at Chu Xianlan.

Five parts disdain, three parts surprise, and two parts disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Chu Xianlan asked directly, completely bewildered.

"snort."

Ji Cheng'an turned his face away, too lazy to retaliate.

Last night, he happened to be resting in a tent near Chu Xianlan and Yi Chen.

It was unclear what was wrong with those two in the middle of the night. Suddenly, a small noise started, and they were making a huge fuss. It was unclear what kind of martial arts they were practicing. Ji Cheng'an vaguely heard them begging for mercy and crying in his sleep. In short, it was very intense. The old wooden bed was shaking and creaking. It was disturbing the peace and showed a lack of manners.

Thinking of this, Ji Cheng'an felt even less favorably toward Yujing Pavilion.

I'm so glad I didn't manage to become an apprentice back then.

Let whoever wants to inherit the swordsmanship of Immortal Lord Jixue take over.

Ji Fuyao walked at the front, inquiring about the origin of the statue, seemingly casually.

Thousands of years ago, the climate conditions on the northern border were even harsher than they are now, and the mountain people suffered terribly. A kind-hearted cultivator came to this place and, seeing their difficult lives, set up an array to protect the area within a radius of over a hundred miles from natural disasters.

From then on, the climate in the area gradually improved, and the mountain people were deeply grateful, wanting to repay the monk's kindness. The monk then made a request: to build a temple and devoutly enshrine the golden statue of the deity he had brought. As long as the incense continued to burn, their lives would be blessed with good weather and abundant harvests.

The mountain people have a deep-seated belief in the golden statue, and to this day, it remains the deepest belief in the area, with the temple revered as a sacred site.

After listening, Ji Fuyao pressed for other details, inquiring about the whereabouts of the Emperor's Sword.

"Who is that cultivator, and what deity's image did he leave behind?"

Qionglan casually asked on her behalf, but the mountain people couldn't answer.

The legend is so ancient that they have been worshipping it for generations, simply following the customs of their ancestors without delving into its origins.

Moreover, this kind of rhetoric is very common in the cultivation world. For example, a kind-hearted person might do a good deed by passing by without leaving their name, leaving behind a few words of advice, and then drift away, keeping their merits and fame hidden.

Therefore, it has little reference value.

"Royal Sister," Ji Cheng'an's mind raced, and he leaned close to Ji Fuyao's ear, "could the cultivator who demanded they build the temple be Father Emperor? Did he fabricate this whole story just to store the Emperor's Sword and deceive these ignorant demons into guarding it for generations?"

Otherwise, who would bother to build temples and statues in such desolate mountains and wilderness, and have people worship them for hundreds of years?

It's not like I'm just bored and have nothing better to do.

His explanation sounded plausible, but Ji Fuyao still shook her head.

"Thousands of years ago, my father hadn't even been born yet."

As they were talking, the group arrived at the edge of the cliff.

It's no wonder the mountain people were so angry; the temple was indeed in a terrible state. There was a large hole in the roof, and the once neatly arranged red candles and fruit dishes were scattered all over the ground. A black dent was clearly visible on the chest of the statue.

Ji Cheng'an immediately flew into a rage: "Can't you all see that it was struck by lightning?!"

So you called everyone out specifically for this little thing!

Ji Cheng'an was almost laughing in anger. He cursed a few times and turned to leave. Everyone had witnessed the sky splitting open yesterday; lightning struck everywhere in the border region, so it wasn't surprising that it hit this dilapidated temple.

They won't take the blame for this!

But the mountain people couldn't believe this explanation. One of the demons jumped out, gesturing wildly, and grabbed a stone axe, ready to pounce on Ji Cheng'an. Wei Yi quickly and nervously shielded Ji Cheng'an—in the chaos, the stone axe slashed through the air.

Everyone, including the demons, stared wide-eyed.

The shadow guard groaned softly. Drops of blood fell and bloomed on the ground.

The mountain dweller holding the stone axe panicked, his hands trembling. He had only been bluffing, never expecting that there would actually be bloodshed!

Upon seeing this, Ji Cheng'an's face turned ashen and sinister, his eyes burning with fury. Without hesitation, he drew his Azure Water Sword!

Someone cried out, "They've killed a demon!"

With a clang, another golden sword came flying through the air, deflecting the surging blue water.

"Why are you stopping me! He was the one who attacked first! Why are you stopping me?!" Ji Chengan roared.

Chu Xianlan naturally had to stop him. He could sense that the boy hadn't held back at all with that sword strike just now. He was so caught up in his emotions that he didn't care about anything else, and it was bound to cause a disaster.

Shocked, yet somewhat puzzled.

The mountain dweller had almost no cultivation, and the movement of that move seemed extremely slow to him... How could Wei Yi, with his agility, not be able to dodge it in time?

How could an agile shadow guard be injured by an ordinary stone axe?

Caught in the middle, Ji Cheng'an bit his lip and rushed over to grab Wei Yi's arm to examine it closely. Blood seeping from the wound soaked his sleeve. He cursed angrily, "You couldn't even dodge that! Idiot!"

Wei Yi pulled his hand back and bowed his head, saying, "Your Highness, I am alright."

Ji Cheng'an gripped him tighter. "Try moving again!"

Wei Yi indeed dared not move. Inside the mask, where no one could see, his face was as pale as paper, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead. Ji Cheng'an naturally noticed the other's tense state, and upon getting closer, he could smell a faint herbal scent.

Ji Cheng'an remained silent for a moment, then suddenly ripped open his collar.

The gruesome wound spread down from the shoulder, the ripped and torn injuries were shocking to behold, the skin was so tattered that it was no exaggeration to describe it as flesh rolled up, the whole area of ​​skin was shrunken and had a charred and purplish color.

The marks were clearly recent; they were fresh wounds.

Ji Cheng'an saw the wounds at first glance. His eyes widened in horror, his fingers hovered blankly in mid-air, and his face gradually paled.

The next second, he quickly pulled Wei Yi's collar back up.

With such a commotion, everyone present was paying attention to their situation, so it couldn't be kept secret.

"He's injured in other places too? How did that happen?" Qionglan asked in confusion.

Chu Xianlan was at a loss for words. He was close by and had already seen that it was a lightning strike injury.

The nature of the Sky Rift is that it chases living things, and combined with the fact that the temple was damaged by lightning... it means...

But Chu Xianlan couldn't understand why Wei Yi would sneak into the temple in the middle of the night without telling his master and risk being struck by lightning.

What is his purpose? Is he searching for the Emperor's Sword?

The atmosphere was tense, and the scene was deadlocked. Ji Fuyao lowered her voice and asked seriously:

"Wei Yi, answer truthfully, where did you go last night?"

The shadow guard stood there silently, then slowly knelt on the ground, his lonely figure seemingly burdened with a thousand-pound weight.

Just then, Ji Cheng'an's cold, hard voice suddenly came from the side: "Heh, what a piece of trash. I ordered you to be careful, how come you can't even do this simple thing right?"