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Outside the Ancestral Hall.
Numerous Ghost Serpent clansmen had gathered.
When they saw Su Yi and the old butcher emerge, there was a disturbance amongst the crowd as they cleared a path.
They’d already seen everything that happened inside, including how Ancestor Ye Xun treated Su Yi with such respect.
Given the circumstances, who would dare block his path?
Tu Yong felt shaken, and his heart was full of awe.
Before they’d even arrived in Tianya City, he’d witnessed Su Yi’s heaven-defying, terrifying strength on board the Cloud Tower Treasure Ship.
But he still wouldn’t have expected that the young man in blue could walk right into the storm and turn the tides in one fell swoop!
Seeing Su Yi emerge from the Ancestral Hall, Tu Yong felt as if he were gazing upon a god!
The elderly servant, Thirteen, instinctively hid amongst the crowd. His head was lowered, and the fist of his remaining hand was tightly clenched. His heart was full of terror and unease.
Earlier, when Su Yi walked into the Ancestral Hall, Thirteen had mocked him, saying that this wasn’t Auspicious Cloud Tower, and that the innkeeper wouldn’t protect him here.
But now, the proprietor of Auspicious Cloud Tower had come, and even Ancestor Ye Xun treated Su Yi with the utmost respect. How could Thirteen not be surprised?
Even ignoring all that, the mere fact that Su Yi had killed Ye Jing with ease told Thirteen that, if Su Yi wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t need the innkeeper’s help!
He most certainly hadn’t forgotten that Su Yi had promised him an opportunity to throw his life away!
Thirteen didn’t want to die, and he certainly didn’t want to throw his life away.
Thus, he hid himself in the crowd, wishing he were invisible and that Su Yi would simply overlook him.
But against all expectations, Su Yi just had to walk right toward him!
Thirteen’s heart sank, and he felt a chill in his hands and feet.
“My earlier promise still holds true,” said Su Yi. “Want to try me?”
Thirteen stiffened, then lowered his head and said bitterly, “This old man heard that an immortal’s sword isn’t for killing ants. Earlier, I was blind. Your Excellency, please view me as you might an ant and mercifully let me live on in degradation!”
The old butcher snickered. “What a coward.”
When Su Yi saw this, he promptly lost interest and pointed into the Ancestral Hall. “Go in and accept punishment of your own accord.”
“Got it!” Thirteen agreed with obvious fright.
Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to spare him so much as a second glance. He put his hands behind his back, slipped through the crowd, and arrived at the cliffside.
The ancient pines were verdant, accompanied by a spring and a waterfall. The scene overlooked a sunlit sea of clouds, which churned as the mountain winds blew past. It was a glorious sight.
Su Yi stood there, blue robes and long black hair fluttering around him. Everything felt vast and grand.
The beauty of nature was far more pleasant than the in-fighting and profit-seeking he’d just witnessed in the Ancestral Hall.
The old butcher stood silently not far away. After a while he said, “Old Monster Su, I wouldn’t have thought that you’d become so compassionate.”
Su Yi said flatly, “Their life and death don’t matter. I just don’t want to make Little Leaf sad.”
The old butcher nodded. He’d guessed that this was the reason.
After a moment’s thought, the old butcher asked, “Was the last of your three goals for this trip to the Ghost Serpents’ mountain retrieving your sword?”
“Mm,” said Su Yi.
His third goal was naturally retrieving the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos!
“Then
 When you’ve finished your business, can you consider helping me break through my mental barriers?” the old butcher asked in a low voice.
Su Yi nodded. “Very well.”
The old butcher instantly sighed in relief, and he visibly relaxed.
His eyes even shone with hints of eagerness and excitement.
This cultivation had stagnated for thirty-six thousand years. After all those years of torment, he’d practically given into despair, only to finally see new hope of breaking through.
It was easy to imagine how excited he must feel.

..
The Ancestral Divine Hall.
“Ye Donghe, why did you choose to collude with outsiders for the seat of clan leader?” asked Ye Xun.
Many of those present were wondering the exact same thing.
Ye Donghe said bleakly, “Clan Uncle, the winner is a king, and the loser is a bandit. I’ve already admitted defeat, and I’m willing to accept my punishment.”
Ye Xun furrowed his brow. “I’m asking about your motives.”
Ye Donghe fell silent.
But it was then that Jiang Yingliu suddenly spoke up. “I can tell you.”
All eyes were instantly upon her.
She then went on to say, “Ye Donghe wanted to promote a new leader out of consideration for the Ghost Serpents’ wellbeing. His only selfish act was taking it upon himself to offer our founder’s sword in exchange for the assurance that I would intervene should the Ghost Serpents ever face calamity.”
Everyone was flabbergasted.
Ye Xun furrowed his brow. “Truly?”
Ye Donghe’s expression shifted. Finally, he said in a low voice, “A sudden change to the Dark Capital left Ancestor Ye Yu trapped. The Grand High Elder has already gone to investigate, while Clan Brother Qinghe was in seclusion. Before he emerged, I was the only Profound Serenity Emperor around to hold down the fort. If external foes seized the opportunity to attack, our entire clan would surely have faced unpredictable peril.
“And everyone knows that the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force passed away five hundred years ago. We can only let one of his inheritors retrieve the sword he left here in his stead.”
“That’s why I choose to ally myself with Fellow Daoist Jiang Yingliu. Only by selecting a new leader could I use the power of the four Ancestral Jade Seals to enter our Ancestral Forbidden Ground and help Fellow Daoist Jiang Yingliu retrieve her founder’s sword.”
Ye Zishan and the young woman in the ink-black skirt were unwittingly stunned.
“But why try to kill Ye Tianqu?” asked Ye Xun.
Ye Donghe sighed. “I admit that I was in such a hurry to gather the Ancestral Jade Seals that I made a mistake.”
For a moment, everyone felt conflicted.
However, Ye Xun laughed coldly. “Perhaps your intentions were good, but your actions were far too despicable! It was your foolish deeds that led to this disaster!”
He paused, then said angrily, “Besides, how can you say with certainty that Jiang Yingliu wasn’t deceiving you? If she tricked you into letting her leave with the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force’s weapon, how would you account to my big sister?”
Ye Donghe had nothing to say to that.
Jiang Yingliu furrowed her brow. “I’m an inheritor of the Grotto of Abstruse Force. That’s common knowledge in the Netherworld. It’s only right that I take away our founder’s sword; how could you call that deception?”
Ye Xun glanced coldly at her. “Because your master is a traitor. He betrayed his sect five hundred years ago!”
The crowd’s hearts shook. Pi Mo had betrayed the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force?
They’d never heard anything like that before!
Jiang Yingliu’s expression darkened. “Don’t even think of slandering my master. How could someone like him possibly betray his sect?”
Ye Xun waved the question away. “I can’t be bothered explaining to you.”
He then addressed Ye Qinghe. “First, imprison Ye Donghe. When my sister gets back, let her decide his fate herself.”
Ye Qinghe nodded.
Ye Xun then issued a series of orders.
Ye Qinghe dared not be negligent. He carried out each command, one by one.
Ye Donghe was imprisoned.
Xiang Tian received a second chance, and she left in a hurry.
Jiang Yingliu was detained, waiting for Su Yi to return with questions for her.
Thirteen accepted punishment of his own volition, and was consigned to the Ghost Serpents’ dungeons.
Ye Tianqu, who’d been imprisoned earlier, was released.
And the guests who’d come to witness the conference dispersed.

.In summary, the curtains closed on the Ghost Serpents’ internal unrest.
However, an enormous question lingered in the minds of every last Ghost Serpent——"Just who is that Su Yi person, and where did he come from?"



An ancient palace built on the peak of Lotus Platform Mountain.
Jiang Yingliu stood here, her beautiful head lowered and her expression bleak.
She and Su Yi were the only ones here.
Su Yi sat down, holding a jug of wine. It looked as if he were thinking about something, and a long time passed in silence.
In the end, Jiang Yingliu couldn’t take the torturous, stifled silence any longer. “I’m not afraid to die. If you’re going to kill me, just do it!”
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
She felt like a prisoner awaiting judgment. It wasn’t at all pleasant; better to just get it over with.
Su Yi looked up at the beautiful woman in the scarlet ruqun, a bit stunned. “Forget it. You can leave.”
Jiang Yingliu was instantly stunned, to the point that she almost dared not believe her ears.
A little while later, she said, “Even if you let me go, there’s no way I’ll give up on retrieving our founder’s weapon! I might not be able to do it now, but one day, I’ll definitely be able to do it!”
Her eyes shone with stubborn determination.
Su Yi laughed. “You won’t get the chance. My third goal in visiting the Ghost Serpents was to leave with that very weapon.”
Jiang Yingliu’s delicate frame stiffened. A moment later, she gnashed her teeth and said, “Even if you acquire our founder’s sword, I’ll one day seize it back!”
“That’s a problem for later,” said Su Yi distractedly. “You should leave now, before I change my mind.”
Jiang Yingliu looked at him in a daze. “You
 really don’t plan to kill me?”
The young man in blue seemed far too strange. It wasn’t just his suspicious origins; even his thoughts were unfathomable, as if he were a walking bundle of mysteries. She couldn’t see through him.
Su Yi waved. “Farewell. I won’t see you off.”
The look on Jiang Yingliu’s beautiful face shifted erratically. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, “Should you ever suffer a defeat at my hands, I’ll leave you a path to life too.”
With that, she turned and left.
It was only after she’d left Lotus Platform Mountain and confirmed that no one was stopping her that she realized Su Yi really had let her go.
However, she couldn’t help but feel bewildered. Why exactly did that guy let me go? What is he thinking?
She couldn’t wrap her head around it.
After a while, she thought to herself, It seems I have to find an opportunity to return to the Wilds and meet with Master




The palace atop Lotus Platform Mountain.
The old butcher appeared soundlessly out of nowhere. “Old Monster Su, do you plan to let Jiang Yingliu send a message to Pi Mo to lure him to the Netherworld?”
“Pi Mo won’t come,” Su Yi said calmly. “But this will arouse his suspicions, and that’s enough. I’ll just have to wait and see how he’ll respond.”
The old butcher didn’t understand it. “Why won’t Pi Mo come?”
“If he leaves the Wilds, my youngest disciple, Qing Tang, is sure to attack the subordinate factions of the Abstruse Force Alliance,” said Su Yi. “Pi Mo won’t dare to risk it.”
He’d once explained the same thing to Cui Chang’an.
The old butcher’s expression was instantly inscrutable. “Your disciples have turned on each other in pursuit of power. That can’t feel good, right?”
Su Yi glanced at the old butcher. “Delighting in my misfortune?”
The old butcher hurriedly shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare!”
It was then that Ye Xun walked inside and said with a smile, “Brother-in-Law, I’ve gathered the other three Ancestral Jade Seals.”