This was not Xiang Heng’s first visit to Yin Changli’s traveling palace, yet the opulence of the palace still captivated his gaze.

Xiang Haikui was new and inexperienced, but Xiang Heng knew very well that just a single floor tile from this palace would be enough to feed the entire Yin Sha city for over a decade.

Most importantly, inside the palace stood eight spirit stone pillars, each about one meter in diameter, with a golden dragon coiled around each pillar.

The dragons’ bodies were animated, swimming slightly around the pillars, continuously spewing mist from their mouths.

This mist was purified spiritual energy that floated like drifting clouds among the palace’s ornate beams and painted rafters.

Xiang Heng suspected that cultivating in the palace for one day would be equivalent to cultivating outside for dozens of days.

Even the Jin Ling Royal Palace, situated above the largest spiritual vein in the Central Province, couldn’t provide a fraction of the spiritual energy available in this traveling palace.

This little coal ball… he wondered what kind of heavenly treasure it might be.

“Please sit.”

At the head position, Yin Changli sat cross-legged behind a table, wearing a light gray inner robe covered by a silver-patterned cloak with extremely powerful cold-resistant properties.

Two maple leaf-shaped scales adhered to his temples, pulling his black, glossy hair behind his ears.

Xiang Heng hadn’t noticed his hairstyle during their previous meeting, but now he paid attention because his daughter used the same technique to attach feather ornaments.

Without a doubt, he was the person behind his daughter.

Xiang Heng approached steadily and sat cross-legged before the table. “Senior, are you injured?”

“I’m entering my dormant period and feeling extremely cold.” Yin Changli smiled slightly, holding a bronze brazier in both hands. The brazier emanated heat, warming his body. “You might be more familiar with the term ‘hibernation.'”

So he was a yao race being. Xiang Heng eagerly asked, “Senior, what exactly is going on here?”

“It’s a long story…”

His frost-covered left hand slid out from beneath the cloak. Yin Changli poured a cup of wine, pushed it toward him, then quickly pulled his hand back under the cloak.

Then, he explained everything that had happened to Xiang Heng and his daughter.

“The sword your esteemed daughter holds is the divine sword Tian Kuang. The master who initiated her into the way of the sword, Qi Yin, was once the king of the Mountain Sea race and universally acknowledged as the Sword Emperor. I carefully reconstructed her meridians and bone structure. Though she is foolish, she works hard. It’s not surprising that she’s achieved such skills in such a short time…”

“To avoid fate, I previously dared not approach Xiang Tianqing, so I didn’t know Meng Xilou was an avatar from the upper realm. This time, following your daughter to Yin Sha, I only realized it when I saw Meng Xilou…”

“Because I once worked in the Underworld and practiced secret techniques, I could see that Meng Xilou’s soul radiance was different from others…”

Suddenly confronted with so much information, Xiang Heng was in a daze.

After slowly making sense of it all, he remained skeptical: “Senior, that Destiny Brush of yours…”

Yin Changli understood his meaning: “The Destiny Brush could enter your daughter’s sea of consciousness because she was still a mortal then. After gaining cultivation, the Destiny Brush cannot enter, especially not someone of your cultivation level.”

More doubts arose in Xiang Heng’s mind.

He could believe that Xiao Qing was a celestial fairy who had descended to undergo tribulation.

He could also believe that her family in the upper realm had been waiting for him to reach the ninth rank, for the poison to seep into his bones, and after he turned demonic, he would go on a murderous rampage.

But he really couldn’t and didn’t want to believe that the perpetrator would be Meng Xilou.

Meng Xilou was valiant and skilled in battle, had followed him for nearly two hundred years, guarding the barren northern desert, and had never once stepped out of line.

Compared to Ye Qianzhi and Wu Mian, he was far less troublesome.

Sometimes he was indeed arrogant, but that was normal considering his noble background from the royal capital.

Yet Xiang Heng dared not completely disbelieve it, as it concerned his daughter’s life.

If it were true, his daughter would be pressed naked into bathwater until dead. Just thinking about it caused the demonic poison in his body to surge violently.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to suppress it.

“This is why your daughter has been bearing this burden alone, not daring to tell you.” Yin Changli suddenly released his yao power.

Xiang Heng, who was suppressing the demonic poison, was startled. He wanted to dodge, but the yao power hanging over his head felt like a mountain of ten thousand tons, impossible to escape.

Just as he was about to use all his strength to resist, he realized something was amiss.

The yao power gathered above his head wasn’t trying to suppress him but rather acted like a magnet, drawing out the demonic poison from his dantian and marrow.

Xiang Heng was puzzled. Looking up, he saw Yin Changli gradually being surrounded by black energy, with web-like black demonic markings appearing on his fair, delicate face.

He was indeed absorbing Xiang Heng’s demonic poison.

“Senior, what are you doing?” Xiang Heng was extremely surprised.

“Showing sincerity, planning strategies, and winning hearts—all three in one.” Black blood gradually flowed from the corner of his mouth. Yin Changli took out a handkerchief, elegantly wiped it away, and smiled. “I told you earlier that the fates of you and your daughter would, to some extent, be linked to my fate.”

“This matter starts with my origin. I was born into the Torch Dragon clan of the Mountain Sea race. During my childhood, war broke out between the Mountain Sea race and the Heavenly race. The Heavenly race was greatly weakened, but my race suffered even heavier losses.”

“My grandfather, father, brothers, and sisters all died in that war. I was spineless and surrendered, so I was branded as a Mountain Sea slave and sent to work in the mines by the Heavenly race…”

While absorbing Xiang Heng’s demonic poison, Yin Changli sighed with emotion, “What you don’t know, Fellow Daoist Xiang, is that I was originally a white snake. During that period of labor, digging in the ground all day long in the mines, I turned into a black snake.”

Xiang Heng’s eyes showed sympathy. He was about to offer some words of comfort when he looked up and noticed Yin Changli’s strange expression. He was stunned.

Yin Changli examined him with a half-smile: “You believed such an absurd tale?”

Xiang Heng: …

Yin Changli laughed until he coughed repeatedly: “You father and daughter truly are treasures of the human world.”

Xiang Heng looked up speechlessly, thinking that, indeed, how could mining change one’s color? He was a torch dragon, not a chameleon.

The problem was that they were discussing serious matters—who could have expected him to suddenly joke like that?

This senior, with his noble and cold exterior, why did he sounded so insufferable when he spoke?

“Senior, let’s talk about the important matters.” Even though he was being made fun of, Xiang Heng couldn’t get angry since the other was helping absorb his demonic poison.

“There’s not much to say. I mainly wanted you to understand that the Heavenly race is deeply wary of my Mountain Sea race. And their wariness is not unfounded.”

After he finished laughing, Yin Changli continued.

“I have an archenemy named Han Qi, born of your human race, a terrifying yet respectable opponent. He serves the Emperor of the Heavenly race, using his expertise in prophetic arts to suppress us, Mountain Sea remnants.”

“And I, fortunately, have become the one the Heavenly Emperor currently fears most.”

Xiang Heng began to understand: “Unable to capture you, they want to alter your fate pattern to let destiny bring about your demise?”

Yin Changli shook his head: “Killing me is not their goal. They mainly want to learn from me what the previous Lord of the Underworld instructed me to do before his death, because the previous Lord of the Underworld always stood with the Mountain Sea race. My hibernation now, like your entanglement with demonic poison, presents a great opportunity.”

During hibernation, Yin Changli would be completely defenseless. Not knowing how he might be severely injured and lose his memory, he chose to stay by Qi Yin’s side.

Even imprisoned, no one from the Heavenly race could approach Wan Gu Cave, where Qi Yin was held.

It would be very safe by his side.

Add to that Xiang Haikui’s interference, and with these two measures, he should be able to escape this calamity.

But on the night before Xiang Haikui left, Yin Changli suddenly thought—

What if his glimpse into fate was already part of Han Qi’s plan?

Then, given how well Han Qi knew him, he would surely guess that he would choose to hibernate in Wan Gu Cave.

Qi Yin’s side would become the animal trap Han Qi had set for him.

Indeed, Qi Yin was undefeated throughout the world, but he wasn’t clever enough and had a fatal flaw—a soft heart, soft as a ball of cotton.

Back when he was betrayed by his disciple and utterly defeated, he still couldn’t bear to kill his disciple.

Yin Changli made a hypothesis in his mind.

After he entered hibernation, Han Qi would send several death squads to stage a drama. For instance, a mother and child are being pursued, fleeing to Wan Gu Cave for refuge.

When the mother was killed, Qi Yin might still restrain himself from interfering.

But when the child was about to be tortured to death, Qi Yin could not be able to stay put.

Afterward, the child would remain in Wan Gu Cave to recover, and it would be all too easy for them to strike at the ice snake coiled around the chains.

Qi Yin could protect his life, but couldn’t prevent others from casting curses on him.

Moreover, Han Qi had calculated that he would act soon after his hibernation began, since the difficulty of casting curses would increase as the ice layer thickened.

Yin Changli said, “So I made a decisive move and created a split body. That split body doesn’t even know it’s a split body because the memories I gave it only go up to the point before I made this new decision. Then, I slipped into the demon-expelling medicine I gave to your daughter.”

Xiang Heng made a sound of understanding: “So your archenemy can only harm your split body…”

Yin Changli smiled: “No, I guessed that he guessed that I guessed that he guessed. He knows that what’s hibernating in Wan Gu Cave is just my split body, not my true self.”

Xiang Heng felt dizzy—his brain couldn’t keep up.

How many years and how many rounds had these two cunning individuals fought to understand each other to such a degree?

And with thinking about so many things all day, how did they still have so much hair? Not going bald—truly unscientific.

Yin Changli continued: “The curse he places on my split body will certainly be able to trace back to my true self, affecting my sea of consciousness.”

This way, no matter where he was, he couldn’t escape the fate of being severely injured and losing his memory.

Xiang Heng was even more confused: “If you’ve calculated all this, why still leave a split body?”

Wasn’t that just leaving a tail for the other to step on?

More and more demonic poison accumulated, and Yin Changli was almost completely covered by demonic energy: “I’ve been running away, and he’s been relentlessly pursuing. Eventually, he will chase me into a dead end.”

Rather than continue fleeing, it was better to actively face the tribulation.

Either way, he would be severely injured and lose his memory, so he might as well take this opportunity to clear out Xiang Heng’s poison.

Not knowing when he would be rescued by Xiang Tianqing, he chose to actively approach her while Xiang Haikui was present.

“Shortly, I’ll be near death from the poison. I’ll trouble Fellow Daoist Xiang to throw me before the two of them, but make sure both are present when you do.”

“And then what?”

“Then? I don’t know.” Yin Changli shook his head. “The wild, empty head of your daughter is always full of galloping thoughts. I can’t fathom them.”

“Then wouldn’t that…”

“If I can’t fathom them, neither can Han Qi. It will be equally unexpected for both of us.” Yin Changli was taking a risky move. “Later, you should stay in my palace to cultivate, carefully observe who is human and who is a ghost, and wait for them to exhaust all their moves. However, worried that you might not be able to restrain yourself, I will lock you up and release you after seven days.”

“That won’t work.” Xiang Heng placed both hands on the table, intending to stand up, but he was still suppressed by the yao power above his head. “If what you say is true, then my daughter will be surrounded by enemies during these seven days, with her life hanging by a thread. You expect me to just watch?”

“She’ll be fine.” Yin Changli reassured him. “These seven days will be the real combat training for your daughter. Once she passes this hurdle, she will truly have been reborn.”

Xiang Heng shook his head: “No…”

Yin Changli slowly put away his smile: “I gave your daughter Tian Kuang and resolved your demonic poison, but that doesn’t mean I’ve changed the tribulations for you and your daughter. I’ve said it before—the best way to cross tribulation is not to avoid it, but to face it head-on and be reborn through fire.”

Xiang Heng knew he made sense: “But I’m worried about my daughter…”

Yin Changli’s voice was gentle yet unyielding: “Xiang Heng, your disaster wasn’t brought by me and Han Qi, but by the Meng family. Originally, you were certain to die. The involvement of Han Qi and me only makes things more complex. I don’t owe you anything; on the contrary, you owe me. If you want to live, you must do as I say.”

“Of course, I can understand your reluctance to let your daughter take risks. If you can pound your chest and tell me that under your protection, you can guarantee she won’t suffer hardships and will live a life of joy without worry, I’ll let you go.”

“I…” Xiang Heng’s expression shifted slightly, and he slowly sat back down.

Yin Changli’s attitude softened, and he again poured himself a cup of wine.

Now, the frost covering the back of his hands began to melt, giving way to black snake scales.

He smiled faintly: “A pleasure working with you.”

After pondering for a long while, Xiang Heng picked up the cup of wine and drank it in one gulp.

Yin Changli then took out a jade message slip and pushed it over: “After seven days, please pass this to your daughter.”

Xiang Heng frowned: “This is…”

“Since I’ve altered fate for your daughter against heaven’s will, naturally, I hope that during my tribulation period, your daughter can clear the way for me.”

Yin Changli said with a smile.

The demonic energy had already made his eyes dim and unclear. He offered no resistance, allowing the demonic energy to invade his sea of consciousness.

He wouldn’t turn demonic like humans.

His body would automatically form protection, such as temporarily clearing his mental realm to prevent infection by demonic energy.

But a sense of ruthlessness welled up in his heart.

Looking up through the palace ceiling toward the sky, Yin Changli smiled coldly: “When my tribulation ends, yours will begin. Let’s see how long you can continue to be so arrogant.”

…

The demonic poison in Xiang Heng had been completely absorbed by Yin Changli.

And after the demonic poison was removed, he showed no signs of weakness.

After Yin Changli transformed into his original form and was at death’s door, Xiang Heng followed his instructions and left the little black ball palace.

In one hand he held the little black ball, in the other the little black snake, as he left the closed chamber.

Yin Changli had cast some spell that seemed to freeze time throughout the entire cave.

While the two of them had been discussing important matters, his two daughters maintained their walking postures but stood motionless like wax figures.

Xiang Heng passed by the two, looking at Xiang Haikui, then at Xiang Tianqing.

No matter who his gaze fell upon, his feelings were complex.

Xiang Heng sighed and continued upward, leaving them behind.

Reaching the cave entrance, he gathered power in his palm and struck toward the sky. The palm wind stirred up sand, and the originally cloudless desert sky began to brew a storm.

This was to trap them in the cave, ensuring they would see the little black snake.

Xiang Heng then found a ruin and buried the little black snake, leaving only its tail exposed.

He crouched beside the little black snake, feeling deep admiration for Yin Changli.

“Pop!” The little black ball jumped from his hand, grew larger, and split open with a crack.

Yin Changli was about to completely lose consciousness, the sealing spell in the cave was about to disappear, and the little black ball was about to lock itself—a reminder for him to enter quickly.

Xiang Heng hesitated briefly, then gritted his teeth and bent down to enter the palace.

The little black ball quickly closed up, shrinking to the size of a grape, and dropped into a corner with a thud.

Xiang Heng hid in the palace, sat cross-legged, and used the spiritual energy within to improve his realm.

His divine consciousness couldn’t penetrate the little black ball to see the outside, but he could hear his two daughters’ footsteps getting closer.

He heard them being blocked by the storm.

He heard his elder daughter discover the little black snake.

Then he heard his younger daughter urging the elder to sprinkle salt on the little black snake to preserve it.

Xiang Heng’s heart skipped a beat, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

But there was nothing he could do except listen silently.

After Yin Changli fell into slumber, the little black ball also began to act wildly, refusing to go to Yin Sha and instead searching the desert for camels to eat.

It even encountered Lu Xiqiao.

Seeing that this death-seeking fool had sneaked out, Xiang Heng worried he might meet with an accident. So, after imploring the little black ball to eat his camel, he had Lu Xiqiao frozen in place, preventing him from continuing his journey out of seclusion, until someone came to take him back.

Unexpectedly, the person who came to rescue Lu Xiqiao was Xiang Haikui.

That was the first time Xiang Heng witnessed the power of the Tian Kuang sword.

Later, Wu Mian fought with Xiang Haikui, greatly angering Xiang Heng, who begged the little black ball to pull Wu Mian down…

Then, Meng Xilou and Xiang Haikui fought over the sand bear, attracting several forces.

He heard Meng Xilou call for Xiang Tianqing, intending to have her subdue the little black ball.

At that moment, Xiang Heng finally confirmed that Meng Xilou was indeed no ordinary person…

For the past two days, the little black ball had been in Bai Xingxian’s hands, so he was well aware of everything happening outside.

So beneath the seemingly calm and beautiful lake surface, currents surged and dangers lurked.

…

Xiang Heng emerged from his memories, withdrawing his gaze from Dao Chen and turning to look at Sword Master Jing Wenxiu.

Like him, Jing Wen remained silent for a long while in response to his sudden appearance.

Hadn’t the letter said Xiang Heng was afflicted with demonic poison? Yet with his current vitality, there was no sign of demonic poison at all.

He wanted to ask about the situation, but at this point, asking wouldn’t make a difference.

Whether Xiang Heng was poisoned or not, he was no match for him.

No matter how much prestige he had in Yin Sha, who could stop Jing Wen when he wanted to kill someone?

But before taking action, Jing Wen first transmitted a questioning message: “Xiang Heng, do you admit that you were once called Wei Shengxuan, a disciple of my Jin Ling Sword Academy?”

Xiang Heng immediately acknowledged it: “I believe so. I am a soul attachment reborn in this body. The original owner of this body was indeed a sword cultivator with many treasures in his storage bracelet.”

Back then, he had felt that the original owner of this body was not an unknown figure.

Jing Wen coldly said, “Soul attachment rebirth…”

“You may examine me.” Without hesitation, Xiang Heng removed his protective true qi. “With your cultivation, it shouldn’t be difficult to discern.”

His openness caused Jing Wen to be slightly taken aback.

Xiang Heng wasn’t afraid of a sudden attack; Jing Wen didn’t consider him a threat. Whether he had protective true qi or not made no difference to Jing Wen.

A sword intent flew out from Jing Wen’s spirit platform and entered Xiang Heng’s.

Xiang Heng’s face showed signs of pain.

The city’s citizens grew tense.

Xiang Tianqing nearly fainted, incoherently transmitting a message to Xiang Haikui in the cage: “Father’s ‘body snatching’ must have been discovered by the royal capital. Jing Wen has come to arrest him. What should we do, Little Kui?”

Body snatching was strictly forbidden in the Central Province. No matter who did it, once discovered, they would face complete soul destruction.

Knowing the truth, Xiang Haikui wasn’t as worried.

As long as Jing Wen maintained even a bit of dignity as a Sword Master, knowing the original owner was dead, he shouldn’t trouble her father further.

Due to the embarrassment of this old incident, he wouldn’t speak of her father’s body snatching, and from now on, both would maintain silence.

Her father had emerged safely from the little black ball. Though she couldn’t guess why, Xiang Haikui’s worried heart had calmed down.

Now she was concerned about her boss.

Dao Chen’s situation looked very bad, and her boss’s condition would only be worse.

As sword energy splashed from the cultivators in tribulation on the city wall, her message transmissions were blocked. She could only watch helplessly, transmitting to Bai Xingxian: “Can you contact your uncle?”

Bai Xingxian’s heart was also in turmoil. He shook his head, comforting not only Xiang Haikui but also himself: “My uncle is very strong. He’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Xiang Haikui silently resolved that whether it was her former imperial CEO boss or her current puppy-like boss, she would repay this debt of gratitude, even if it meant crossing mountains of blades and seas of fire.

After his examination, Jing Wen withdrew his conscious sword embryo, muttering: “He’s dead…”

Xiang Heng bowed with cupped hands: “He died over two hundred years ago.”

After a long silence, Jing Wen’s sword intent gradually subsided. He nodded slightly: “Very well, I won’t pursue this matter.”

Although the flesh vessel before him was an eyesore, he wanted to reduce it to dust, he had always admired Xiang Heng’s conduct and character.

Moreover, he still wanted to take Xiang Haikui as his disciple.

Jing Wen crooked his finger, and the wooden pillar beside Xiang Haikui suddenly disappeared, transforming into a wooden hairpin that flew back into his hand.

He looked over, and Xiang Haikui was looking back at him with sharp eyes.

Her temperament was exactly what he liked—good material for sword cultivation.

Glancing sideways, he also saw Xiang Tianqing’s familiar face. His eyes flickered slightly, and he thought about taking both of them away.

Just as he was about to ask Xiang Heng about the people, Xiang Heng spoke first: “Senior Jing, when I possessed this body, although it had sixth-rank cultivation, the physical body was already exhausted and damaged. Since the body was a sword cultivator, but I knew nothing about sword cultivation, I abandoned the sword and took up a new path.”

“As for the treasures in his storage bracelet, I didn’t use a single one, but devoted them all to supporting Tianqing.”

Jing Wen frowned: “So?”

Xiang Heng’s expression grew increasingly cold: “Let’s be clear—I occupied Wei Shengxuan’s body, and I’ve repaid what I owed him. What he owed you has nothing to do with me. Yet you injured my daughter. How shall we resolve this?”

Jing Wen was stunned: “Resolve what?”

Xiang Heng looked at the blood-covered Xiang Haikui, his heart aching: “Apologize!”

“Apologize?” Jing Wen could hardly believe it. “You want me to apologize to a little girl?”

Xiang Heng said, “It has nothing to do with age. When you do something wrong, you must apologize!”

Having heard that the Lord of Yin Sha City was as stubborn as a mule, Jing Wen laughed: “And if I don’t apologize, what will you do?”

After counting the wounds on Xiang Haikui’s body, most caused by Huai Mie’s ghost claws, with only a few from Jing Wen’s sword energy, Xiang Heng had made his calculations.

“If Senior won’t apologize, then I can only respond in kind—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

Battle intent surged around his body as he made a challenging gesture toward Jing Wen. “Today, even if Xiang Heng dies in battle, I will ensure Senior returns with some injuries!”