He stretched out his hand, calling for help from afar, a look of sorrow and despair on his face.

This guy... is his acting really that good?

The Heavenly Phenomenon Drum was momentarily stunned.

Before he could react further, the Sword Qi had already approached his face. The young Sword Controller brushed his fingers across, and the Heavenly Phenomenon Drum instinctively withdrew his fist, raising his arms to block. If this guy was truly the "chosen one" appointed by the Lord, how could he dare to act rashly?

"Clang!"

The Sword Qi emitted a light, crisp sound.

However, this strike was entirely different from the forceful clashes of the Annihilation Dao Realm before. This blow deliberately controlled its strength, somewhat akin to an "old man playing with a child." The Heavenly Phenomenon Drum exerted his full strength to block it, but was merely prodded lightly, causing him to lose balance and fall forward, landing awkwardly on the ground. Besides the disgrace, he was not injured.

Xie Xuanyi let out a sneering laugh.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Daoist Qian Yuan, grabbing the sleeve of Daoist Qian Yuan without a word.

By the time the infuriated Heavenly Phenomenon Drum looked up again.

There was nothing but empty space, with ashes and paper fragments swirling in the air.

...

...

"Thank you, Daoist friend, for helping and saving my life," Daoist Qian Yuan said.

A moment later, at a desolate mountain top far away from the Pure White Mountain Realm, the miasma roiled, dispersed by the light of a sword.

Xie Xuanyi landed there, forming a sealing array.

The miasma cleared away.

Daoist Qian Yuan slowly bowed deeply.

"No need to be polite."

Xie Xuanyi brushed the dust off his body and casually burned the paper fragments from his shoulder... He didn't fully understand the specific methods of the Paperman Sect, but after a few encounters with Lu Yuzhen, he became particularly aware of these paper fragments.

After the faint firelight dispersed.

"I noticed that Venerable Wu Gou... doesn't seem as dangerous as the rumors say..."

Xie Xuanyi said with a smile, "That guy is pretty stupid."

"Though his form is clumsy, his strength is great."

Daoist Qian Yuan quickly explained, "Fortunately, Daoist friend's escape technique is exceptional, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable if he caught up with us."

"Is that so?"

Xie Xuanyi chuckled and continued, "Is he really that formidable? I saw that you were fighting with him just now... you didn't seem to be hurt much."

"Actually, I was hit by his punch just now... it caused severe internal injuries."

Daoist Qian Yuan fell silent for a moment, then coughed heavily.

He tore open his robe, as if to prove his point, revealing a bright red, sunken fist mark on his chest.

"I see."

Xie Xuanyi continued, "The treasure you used just now is quite extraordinary. Could I take another look at it?"

"That treasure is called the Yuan Fire Furnace."

Daoist Qian Yuan sighed, "It's taken me years of arduous refining, and it was destroyed with just one strike. Daoist friend saved my life; if you are interested in this treasure, I can teach you the method to refine the Yuan Fire Furnace."

Xie Xuanyi stared into the eyes of the person in front of him.

Daoist Qian Yuan's eyes were full of sincerity.

This silence persisted for several breaths.

"Dao Jiu... it's just the two of us here."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head and said, "Stop pretending, your acting is awful."

"..."

Daoist Qian Yuan's expression became strange and complicated.

He looked down at his chest, then at the crudely fabricated false imprint, and muttered in a low voice after a while, "Was it exposed here?"

"Not just that."

Xie Xuanyi slowly withdrew his smile.

He said expressionlessly, "From the moment I first saw you, I felt something was off."

At the top of the desolate mountain, his red robe fluttered.

"How is that possible?"

Dao Jiu brushed his cheek, frowning, "This shell is indeed Qian Yuan's body."

"So what?"

Xie Xuanyi said quietly, "Daoist Qian Yuan has been out of contact with Lord Zong Bi of Lingqu City for a long time... Even if he was in seclusion earlier, now that he's finally free, he hasn't visited Lingqu City. Could it be that the offerings from Ren Shou Palace aren't important?"

"...?"

Dao Jiu looked a bit confused.

Xie Xuanyi narrowed his eyes, noticing this detail.

Interesting.

The Paperman Sect had seized Daoist Qian Yuan's body; logically, they should have also extracted his Divine Sea memory. But from the looks of it now, Dao Jiu seems unaware of Daoist Qian Yuan's relationship with Ren Shou Palace. It appears the matter of the offerings is deeply involved, likely sealed in the deepest part of Daoist Qian Yuan's Divine Sea memory.

"Along the way, you made too many mistakes."

Xie Xuanyi pointed above, smiling, "Even if others don't recognize that Tao Furnace, do you think I wouldn't?"

From the very beginning when they met.

Xie Xuanyi had sensed something unusual about "Daoist Qian Yuan". Halfway through the journey, he confirmed that the soul within Daoist Qian Yuan's shell was Dao Jiu!

He initially planned to create a situation where he could meet Dao Jiu alone on their return trip.

Unexpectedly.

A Venerable Wu Gou appeared midway.

Clearly, the emergence of the Venerable Wu Gou wasn't part of Dao Jiu's plan either... The situation turned urgent, forcing him to use the Tao Furnace for cover.

This treasure had only appeared briefly at the Beihai Tomb, so neither Jiang Que nor Ye Qinglian could recognize it.

But Xie Xuanyi was different from these people; he had seen the Tao Furnace and had an excellent memory—

Even if the Tao Furnace's aura leaked for just a moment.

He would still capture it sharply!

"I knew it... There's no fooling you."

Dao Jiu sighed in regret.

He extended his hand, brushed his face, and as the wind blew, accompanied by the sound of fluttering paper, the shell slowly transformed back to the appearance they first encountered at the Beihai Tomb.

Under Lu Yuzhen's guidance.

Dao Jiu's demeanor showed a lot more carefree and cheerful qualities.

He clasped his hands behind his back and, without reservation, said, "This shell was acquired recently with the help of Chu Man... In the Lord's plan, Daoist Qian Yuan is a crucial piece for infiltrating the Hehuan Sect. By controlling his body, I can slowly penetrate and erode the entire Hehuan Sect."

"However."

"Today, you saw through it."

Dao Jiu smiled faintly and said, "This shell is no longer useful."

"That Venerable Wu Gou just now, he should be a transformed treasure as well?"

Xie Xuanyi was curious. Although the encounter was brief, he distinctly felt something was off. That guy's body was far beyond the same realm cultivators.

In this world, how could there be so many Great Success Body Refiners?

After contemplating.

There was only one possibility—

The core believers of the Paperman Sect walking around were all transformed treasures!

"That's right, he's also a transformed spirit treasure. His name is Xiang Ba."

Dao Jiu said leisurely, "Xiang Ba awoke earlier than I did... but not by much. The entire Pure White Mountain is full of treasures."

Even though he had guessed it.

Having his thoughts confirmed still shocked Xie Xuanyi.

Over the years, the Paperman Sect had firmly suppressed the Three Great Sects.

No matter what means the Three Great Sects could come up with, tricks or plots...

It was all useless!

No wonder they ended up in such a state—

The Paperman Sect had no living beings throughout its entire mountain gate. What could the Three Great Sects possibly use to fight against it?

The scenes he witnessed in the Great Yue Kingdom were real! The entire Pure White Mountain was Lu Yuzhen's "Lifebound Cave Heaven!" All these transformed treasures could move within the Lifebound Cave Heaven; if Lu Yuzhen willed it, the entire Pure White Mountain could be taken away at any moment!

And these treasures would naturally be taken along!

"What exactly does Lu Yuzhen want to do?"

Xie Xuanyi took a deep breath and stared intently at Dao Jiu.

If the Pure White Mountain was merely an extension of the Lifebound Cave Heaven...

Then everyone in the South Border had been deceived.

There never was any secret realm leaking.

From start to finish, the Paperman Sect never had a mountain gate, and Lu Yuzhen only created this mountain gate to set the stage for this "demon eradication."

"No one knows what Lord Lu plans, and no one can guess his intent."

Dao Jiu shrugged.

"But your question is quite strange."

"Even a blind man should see... the Paperman Sect never had a choice."

Dao Jiu thought for a moment and said casually, "After all, the ones who started the war are you people, right?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.