Yu Zhiling stood up, and both Yun Zhi and Wu Zhaoyan turned to look at her. The three exchanged glances before shaking their heads in unison.
No survivors.
Yun Zhi said, "There's one missing."
Among the fallen, apart from Jing Wei, Yu Zhiling couldn’t recall the names or recognize the others. She scanned the hall—only twelve bodies lay scattered across the floor, yet the Immortal Alliance had thirteen elders.
Yu Zhiling nodded. "Yes, one is unaccounted for."
Yun Zhi supplied the name: "Elder Sui Ji."
Yu Zhiling frowned. "Who is he?"
Wu Zhaoyan answered this time. "He was the husband of the Wu family’s second-to-last patriarch. My aunt, the last patriarch, died in the great war six hundred years ago. Afterward, my father had no choice but to take over as the Wu family’s leader."
This much Yu Zhiling knew. The Central Continent Chronicles recorded that the 32nd patriarch of the Wu family, Wu Weining, had perished defending a city. Her elder brother had hastily succeeded her as the 33rd patriarch, stabilizing the Wu family amid chaos and safeguarding their territory.
Wu Zhaoyan’s father had never wanted the role, preferring to tend to his gardens. Once his son was ready, he had passed the title on without hesitation.
Yu Zhiling pressed further. "Has Sui Ji returned to the Wu family in all these years?"
Wu Zhaoyan shook his head. "Never."
"How was his relationship with your aunt?"
"I wasn’t born then, but my father said they were deeply in love. Elder Sui Ji was the one who pursued her."
"Between Sui Ji and your aunt… who held higher status?"
"…What?"
Wu Zhaoyan was momentarily taken aback, uncomprehending.
Yu Zhiling hurried to explain. "I don’t mean to speculate. I’m just ruling out possibilities."
Reluctantly, Wu Zhaoyan elaborated. "If I had to say, it was Sui Ji. Though he was a rogue cultivator—his origins unknown, his past lost to amnesia—he reached the Great Ascension Realm and became the youngest elder in the Immortal Alliance. Back then, my aunt hadn’t even inherited the family leadership, nor was she the heir apparent."
Yu Zhiling silently chastised herself for jumping to conclusions. Too many rumors had colored her first assumption: that Sui Ji might have sought power by marrying into the Wu family, scheming for personal gain.
Wu Zhaoyan continued. "Their love was genuine. When they wed, the bridal procession stretched for miles, and he invited every major figure in the Central Continent to celebrate. For years afterward, he lived with the Wu family, rarely returning to the Immortal Alliance. When my aunt fell in battle, he was summoned to defend the Alliance’s stronghold."
His voice grew quieter. "That was why… he wasn’t by her side when she died. By the time he returned, only her remains awaited him. After her funeral, he vanished. But truly… Elder Sui Ji was a good man. My father, my grandparents—they all admired him."
Yu Zhiling lowered her gaze, deep in thought. Mo Zhu seemed to read her mind.
"Master, do you suspect Elder Sui Ji was replaced?"
Yu Zhiling nodded. "Yes. He’s the only one missing here, and he must have been the one who swapped the Soul Mirror all those years ago. But Sui Ji rose to prominence young—his character shouldn’t have been corrupt. His wife was killed by demons. If he loved the Wu family’s patriarch so deeply, why would he collaborate with them?"
Mo Zhu asked, "How long was Elder Sui Ji missing back then?"
Wu Zhaoyan shook his head. "I’m not sure. My father rarely speaks of my aunt—it always brings him to tears. I never dared press him. My aunt… detonated her golden core to take down the demonic second-in-command, saving the city."
He pulled out a jade token, hastily contacting the Wu family. "Wait, let me ask my father."
Wu Zhaoyan stepped away to a quieter corner.
Shu Feng and the other Wu family disciples waited outside the Immortal Alliance’s gates, leaving only their small group in the hall.
Yu Zhiling turned back to Jing Wei’s corpse. In her memory, this elder had been overbearing, arrogant, obsessed with the Central Continent’s laws—even selfish. His initial ban on soul-searching had been to protect himself.
The key in her palm was still warm with blood. He had hidden it inside his own wound, waiting for someone to find it.
To become an Immortal Alliance elder required passing rigorous trials—both in strength and integrity. In all the Central Continent’s history, the Alliance had never produced a traitor.
Even Jing Wei, for all his flaws, had never harbored ill intent toward the land.
Yu Zhiling believed the same of Sui Ji.
Wu Zhaoyan returned, his voice grave. "Six months. He was gone for six months before returning to the Immortal Alliance."
Six months. Where could he have gone in all that time?
Yun Zhi frowned. "Did he hunt demons to avenge his wife? But the one who killed the Wu family’s patriarch was the second-in-command—and she perished with her in the explosion. Who else would he seek revenge against?"
Yu Zhiling shook her head. "The demonic lieutenant was just the blade. The hand that wielded it still lives."
Like Demon Sovereign You Zhou.
Wu Zhaoyan’s voice rose. "You think he went after the Demon Sovereign alone?"
Unthinkable—yet utterly plausible. Yu Zhiling’s gaze was steady as she replied softly, "Just as I once did. Why not?"
Sui Ji, bereft of his beloved, had chosen to hunt You Zhou alone.
Yu Zhiling, robbed of her master, had made the same choice.
From then on, revenge was all that kept them alive.
A shadow crossed Wu Zhaoyan’s face, as if recalling Yu Zhiling’s own descent into ruthlessness. He fell silent, at a loss for words.
Mo Zhu turned away briefly, squeezing Yu Zhiling’s wrist as if to reassure himself she was still there.
Yu Zhiling noticed but didn’t pull away, murmuring instead, "If he vanished for half a year… isn’t it possible the one who returned wasn’t him at all?"
Yun Zhi and Wu Zhaoyan said nothing. This revelation was staggering—another betrayal, hidden in plain sight.
Mo Zhu finished the thought quietly. "Just like my master was replaced. The Pure Jade Sovereign held great authority, moving freely between the Yingshan Sect and the Immortal Alliance. Elder Sui Ji, as an Alliance elder, knew even more secrets. Assuming their identities would grant an infiltrator immense power."
Yu Zhiling tightened her grip on the key, pulling Mo Zhu toward the back halls. "Speculation won’t give us answers. Elder Jing Wei hid this key for a reason. Whatever lies beyond will tell us the truth."
The front hall was a graveyard, but the rear chambers stood eerily empty. Only a few disciple corpses lined the path—cut down as they rushed to reinforce their elders.
Pushing open the doors of the rear hall, the scattered corpses were all disciples of the Immortal Alliance. Books and scrolls lay strewn across the floor—this was the most confidential place in the entire Immortal Alliance, storing records of the great noble families.
Even their battle formations, defensive strategies, and combat capabilities were documented here.
Mo Zhu asked, "If Elder Sui Ji had been replaced from the very beginning, does that mean the imposter already knows the layout of the Central Continent?"
Yet, though Yun Zhi and Wu Zhaoyan wore grave expressions, there was no trace of panic.
Yu Zhiling shook her head. "No. After the incident six hundred years ago, all scrolls concerning the Central Continent's defenses were sealed with secret formations. Each one requires the simultaneous activation of a spell by thirteen elders, witnessed by three Immortal Sovereigns. Not a single person can be missing—this ensures absolute secrecy for the Central Continent's records."
Yun Zhi nodded. "Indeed. If he isn’t the real Elder Sui Ji, he wouldn’t have the authority to open these scrolls. The Immortal Alliance’s spiritual seal wouldn’t recognize him."
Wu Zhaoyan spoke up from the side, "But if he’s been lurking in the Immortal Alliance all these years, what was he searching for?"
The Central Continent’s defenses hadn’t been stolen. So what had the intruder been rummaging for?
Yu Zhiling suddenly froze, her expression darkening as realization struck.
"What was used to establish the barrier within the Four Slaughter Stele?"
At those words, the faces of the three paled instantly.
"Master, it was the Six Time Seal."
The Central Continent possessed three divine artifacts:
The First Blade of the Central Continent—Chengfeng.
The First Sword of the Central Continent—Zhu Qing.
The First Seal of the Central Continent—Six Time Seal.
Chengfeng was the lifebound artifact of the founding ancestor of the Yingshan Sect. Zhu Qing had been taken by Yu Xiao Wu at the age of sixteen. Only the Six Time Seal remained, stored within the Immortal Alliance.
"He was searching for… the Six Time Seal?"
He had no access to the Central Continent’s confidential records. The dozen or so elders had died in fierce combat, clearly defending the Immortal Alliance to the last. But what exactly had they been guarding? Why hadn’t they even had the chance to send a message?
Yu Zhiling hurried forward. "Elder Jing Wei gave me this key. The Six Time Seal might still be here."
Mo Zhu reacted swiftly, following close behind. Yun Zhi and Wu Zhaoyan exchanged a glance before rushing after her.
The rear hall was lined with towering bookshelves, storing the secrets of various sects. Yu Zhiling searched every corner of the chamber but found no place requiring a key—it seemed this was merely a room carved out to house scrolls, nothing more.
Wiping the blood from the key, Mo Zhu stepped beside her. Noticing her solemn expression, he asked quietly, "Master, what’s wrong?"
"...It’s nothing. I just feel Elder Jing Wei had something to tell me before he died."
But he no longer had the strength to speak.
Mo Zhu took the key from her hand, examining it closely. After a long moment, he found traces of something. "This key bears a spiritual seal. It seems to be…"
Yu Zhiling frowned, immediately taking it back to sense its energy. A moment later, her expression stiffened.
"Master?"
"It’s… the spiritual imprint of the Path of Clarity."
Since the birth of this continent, fewer than thirty people had cultivated the Path of Clarity. In recent centuries, only Yu Zhiling and Fuchun had mastered it. The techniques of this path were unmistakable—pure spiritual energy, leaving behind seals untainted by stray thoughts. When imprinted on an object, they could last for centuries without fading.
Yun Zhi and Wu Zhaoyan returned from their own search.
"Xiao Wu, we found no hidden chambers."
Golden spiritual energy surged from Yu Zhiling’s fingertips, probing the key. A long-buried seal slowly surfaced—one left six hundred years ago. The moment her energy touched it, she knew exactly who had placed it there.
Time rewound abruptly. Yun Zhi, Wu Zhaoyan, and Mo Zhu vanished from her side as memories not her own flooded her mind.
Fuchun’s appearance was forever frozen at the age of twenty-six. While a cultivator’s face didn’t age, their gaze and aura shifted unmistakably over time.
Six hundred years ago, Fuchun had merely been a disciple of the Yingshan Sect’s leader, the Immortal Alliance’s next candidate for Immortal Sovereign. Her eyes were gentle, her presence soft.
She carried a wooden box into the hall, followed by an elderly man with white hair.
Jing Wei asked, "Are you certain the Six Time Seal should remain here?"
Fuchun nodded. "The noble families of the Central Continent have suffered heavy losses. It’s no longer safe. The Six Time Seal is the divine artifact used to forge the Four Slaughter Realm and erect the Four Slaughter Stele. If it were truly obtained, the Four Slaughter Realm would struggle to contain the demons. The Immortal Alliance is the safest place."
Jing Wei held a horsetail whisk in the crook of his arm. "Very well. The formations outside the Immortal Alliance are unbreakable by anyone below the Transcendence Realm. If you’ve decided to leave it here, I will guard it."
Fuchun placed the wooden box on the ground, forming a seal with her hands. A rift split the void before her, and she channeled her energy to widen it.
Tearing through space, carving out a realm—yet even after only creating enough room for the box, the effort left Fuchun coughing up blood.
She placed the box inside, then closed the rift. By the time she finished, her body swayed before she collapsed unconscious.
"Xiao Wu!"
"Master!"
Yu Zhiling snapped back to reality.
Yun Zhi, Wu Zhaoyan, and Mo Zhu surrounded her, their faces etched with worry.
Yu Zhiling shook her head. "It’s fine. This was a spiritual imprint left by my master."
Clutching the key, she murmured, "I understand now. I know where she hid it."
Within a single speck of dust lie eight thousand realms. For a cultivator who had reached a certain level, rending the heavens barehanded was not impossible.
For instance, the Whirlpool Azure Serpent Bracelet possessed the power to tear through space. Back then, Fuchun had already reached the peak of the Mahayana Realm, yet even exhausting her spiritual energy had only allowed her to open a rift less than two feet wide.
Yu Zhiling pushed Mo Zhu aside, swiftly forming seals with her hands. Spiritual energy surged into her arms as she pulled apart the air, as though gripping an invisible fabric and wrenching it open inch by inch.
The intact space split, revealing a corner of sandalwood grain.
The fissure widened, her energy draining like floodwaters. Beads of sweat formed on her brow. At the last moment, she mustered all her strength, forcing the barrier open with a final burst of power.
The small wooden box emerged fully. Seeing Yu Zhiling on the verge of collapse, Mo Zhu acted swiftly, retrieving the sandalwood box just as she withdrew her hands. The rift sealed shut in an instant.
Yu Zhiling’s legs buckled. Mo Zhu caught her in one step. "Master?"
She shook her head, wiping her forehead. "I’m fine. I can stand."
Her expression remained composed—only her pallor betrayed any weakness. Yet only Yu Zhiling knew how wildly her heart was racing. She glanced at the Whirlpool Azure Serpent Bracelet on her wrist.
A cultivator at the Transcendence Realm had expended half her energy just to tear open a tiny rift.
If she had truly crossed worlds relying on this bracelet… just how formidable was the Whirlpool Azure Serpent Bracelet?
No wonder You Zhou had hunted the Tengshe clan for so many years, even going so far as to send his subordinates to infiltrate the Yingshan Sect, painstakingly scheming to obtain the Huiqing Snake Bracelet. Such a powerful artifact seemed coveted by everyone.
Yu Zhiling tightened her grip on the key, barely registering Mo Zhu’s words beside her. Her gaze was fixed on the wooden box cradled in Mo Zhu’s left hand, while her own right hand clenched around the key.
"Mo Zhu, put down the Liushi Seal."
There was a table nearby. Without question, Mo Zhu placed the box on it.
Yu Zhiling spotted the lock on the box’s exterior—this key was meant to open the Liushi Seal. She took a deep breath, her heart inexplicably racing.
Aligning the key with the lock, she slowly turned it, and the wooden box, sealed for so many years, creaked open. As the lid lifted, the Liushi Seal, hidden since the creation of the Four Killing Realms, was unveiled once more.
A brilliant light burst forth from the opened box.
The glare was blinding. Mo Zhu turned his head with a frown, while Yun Zhi and Wu Zhaoyan instinctively shielded their eyes. It took a long moment for the radiance to dim.
"Master, are you alright?"
The first thing Mo Zhu did upon regaining his vision was to check on Yu Zhiling—but this time, there was no response.
The person who had been standing beside him mere moments ago had vanished without a trace.
A chill crawled up from his feet, surging straight to the crown of his head. Not long ago, in the Lingyou Path, she had disappeared just like this, only to reappear later beside Yun Zhi.
But this was different. Yun Zhi and Wu Zhaoyan were both here. Of the four who had entered, only three remained.
"...Master?"
"Little Wu?"
Inside the box, the Liushi Seal was a small jade ring—so unassuming that, if strung on a cord and worn around the neck, no one would suspect it was a divine artifact. Its emerald-green surface was carved with intricate seal scripts rather than decorative patterns.
Yu Zhiling reacted swiftly. The moment that force tried to pull her in, she sensed it. Breaking free would have been easy, but something in her intuition whispered not to resist—this power could reveal much to her.
Her surroundings dissolved into a vast, formless expanse—not darkness, but a hazy, white void.
Cloud-like wisps drifted around her, yet beneath her feet, the ground felt like the surface of a deep pool. In an instant, Yu Zhiling understood: she had been drawn into the artifact’s spirit realm.
After the great war between the Central Continent and the demonic tribes, the demons were defeated. The Central Continent erected the Four Killing Steles at the only passage from the Northern Demon Realm—the Abyss of Demons—and used the power of the Liushi Seal to establish countless killing arrays, sealing the area within an impenetrable barrier spanning hundreds of miles.
The Huiqing Snake Bracelet was a treasure of the demon tribes, while the Liushi Seal was one of the Central Continent’s Three Great Artifacts. Divine artifacts inevitably possessed sentience—even the Huiqing Snake Bracelet on Yu Zhiling’s wrist likely housed a dormant spirit.
A figure approached from the distance, clad in flowing white robes. His steps barely disturbed the water’s surface, each footfall sending ripples across the illusory pool, yet his hem remained untouched by moisture. What seemed like water was merely solidified spiritual energy.
His face was entirely unfamiliar. Yu Zhiling watched him approach impassively.
As he drew near, recognition flickered in her mind.
"...Elder Sui Ji?"
The man lowered his gaze and replied softly, "Mn."
Yu Zhiling felt as if the world had truly gone mad. She had witnessed many things since coming here, but this was a first. Struck by sheer absurdity, she actually laughed.
"A spirit?"
"Mn."
"Weren’t you human?"
"I am, and yet I am not."
"Did you become a spirit first, or a human first?"
"From the moment I gained awareness, I was already a spirit."
So, humanity came later.
Yu Zhiling fell silent, her expression calm even as her mind reeled. In this world of mysticism, anything was possible—but how did an artifact’s spirit become human?
Sui Ji sat gracefully on the ground, gesturing for her to join him. "Sit. The accommodations are humble—forgive the simplicity."
Yu Zhiling crossed her legs and settled opposite him, her gaze sharp as she waited for him to speak.
Sui Ji appeared to be in his early thirties, his features stern and dignified—not strikingly handsome, but impossible to overlook. His aura was... unsettlingly righteous.
Yu Zhiling tried to recall the gathering of the thirteen elders at the Zhongli Clan. How had she failed to notice Sui Ji then?
Because back then, he had lingered at the back of the crowd, silent and unremarkable—utterly forgettable.
Sitting with perfect posture, Sui Ji spoke evenly, "From the moment I gained consciousness, I existed within the Liushi Seal. Among the Central Continent’s Three Great Divine Artifacts, Chengfeng was forged from the Celestial Maiden’s black iron, and Zhu Qing was born of the wildlands’ killing intent. But in my presence, they are unworthy of comparison. The Central Continent’s ignorance placed them alongside me."
Zhu Qing, usually so arrogant at Yu Zhiling’s waist that it brooked no disrespect, now remained utterly silent, cowering like a frightened quail.
Sui Ji continued, "The Liushi Seal embodies the myriad phenomena of creation. I can forge any realm, or even enclose the entire Central Continent within myself. I am the first divine artifact born since this continent’s inception—existing even before humans, demons, or spirits walked this land."
Yu Zhiling nodded. "And then?"
"Then came the war between the demons and the Central Continent. The Liushi Seal was stolen by the demons. Their stench of blood was unbearable, and the Central Continent, consumed by battle, never reclaimed me. Disgusted, I manifested a human form and carried myself back."
His deadpan delivery made Yu Zhiling stifle another laugh.
"You... carried yourself back?"
Sui Ji’s expression remained icy. "Mn."
Yu Zhiling pictured it—Sui Ji, stone-faced, clutching his own artifact form while storming out of demon territory, likely cursing the incompetence of the Central Continent’s cultivators all the way. Who would have imagined a divine artifact growing legs and walking home?
Glancing at Sui Ji’s solemn face now, she couldn’t suppress her smile.
Sui Ji noticed. "Laugh if you want. Holding it in is bad for you."
Yu Zhiling chuckled softly before raising a hand in apology. "Sorry, it’s just... genuinely amusing. I couldn’t help it."
Sui Ji said, "When I told A-Ning the same story, she reacted the same way."
Yu Zhiling swallowed her laughter, though mirth still danced in her eyes. "Wu Weining, the former head of the Wu family?"
"Mn. It’s been many years. She had a lovely smile, so I often used this story to tease her."
But Wu Weining was long gone.
Yu Zhiling’s smile faded. She fell silent, waiting for Sui Ji to continue.
Sui Ji lowered his head, his right hand turning the red cord tied around his left wrist—a lover’s knot, a token often exchanged between cultivation partners. Yu Zhiling had also given Mo Zhu one.
His expression remained indifferent, yet the way his fingers brushed the cord was unusually tender, as if through it, he was seeing someone else.
The one who had given it to him.
"That war was devastating. The Central Continent was invaded by two factions, suffering heavy casualties. Many elders of the Immortal Alliance perished, and within two decades, the three sects and four great families lost nearly a hundred powerful cultivators. You were overwhelmed and desperate for reinforcements, so I emerged from the Six Time Seals once more."
"I pretended to have lost my memory, claiming to be a rogue cultivator with no sect or background. My cultivation was high, and after leading you to victory in several battles, Jing Wei pushed for me to become an elder. At the time, I thought once the war ended, I’d quietly return to the Six Time Seals. But then I was sent to reinforce the Wu family."
Sui Ji’s slender fingers pressed against the jade bead on the red cord.
"All things with sentience possess emotions and desires, and I am no exception. Who could have imagined that a mere artifact spirit, upon meeting a woman, would never wish to return to the vessel that birthed him? I despised the impure aura of the Central Continent’s people, yet I fell in love with a woman so full of life."
Yu Zhiling kept her eyes downcast, silent, listening quietly as he poured out his heart.
"I pursued her, married her, built a home with her. She knew I was an artifact spirit—I told her the first time we met. We could never have children, and I could never ascend to immortality. Yet she still chose to marry me—a man with no name, no background, not even a heartbeat."
"I wanted to stay by her side forever. I wanted her to stay with me too. But to her, the Central Continent mattered more. So she chose to defend the Wu family’s main city at the cost of her life. When she died… did she think of me? Did she hesitate even for a moment?"
A tear slipped from his eye, landing on the red cord tied around his wrist, soaking into its fibers.
"But I am an artifact spirit. Unless the Six Time Seals shatter, I cannot even die. I couldn’t even follow her in death."
Sui Ji’s voice was calm, devoid of any fluctuation, as if he were recounting someone else’s story.
He lifted his gaze to meet Yu Zhiling’s.
"What about you? Would you hesitate? Would you choose to live for the one who loves you, rather than die for strangers?"
Yu Zhiling’s throat moved slightly, her fingers curling. Under Sui Ji’s quiet stare, she answered softly, "You call them strangers, but to her, they weren’t. She was the head of the Wu family. Those people revered her, trusted her. To her, they were anything but strangers."
"And you?"
"I would." Yu Zhiling repeated, "I would."
Sui Ji laughed mockingly. "Ah, right. I forgot—you already died once for the Yingshan Sect."
The two fell into silence. Sui Ji’s expression grew colder, his gaze like ice as he looked at Yu Zhiling.
"Willing to die for others, yet unwilling to live for those who love you. Foolish. Ignorant."
"I loved her so much. Why did she do this to me? Did she ever love me at all?"
"The Yingshan Sect loved you so deeply. Why did you choose death? Did you ever love them?"
The pressure in the air suddenly intensified, as if a mountain’s weight had crashed onto Yu Zhiling. Her spine, once straight, bent instantly under the force. She collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.
Inside a divine artifact, the artifact spirit was god.
Yu Zhiling heard the crack of her ribs breaking. She forced her spiritual energy to shield herself as best she could, her eyes reddening from suffocation. Gasping, she choked out, "But in moments like that… death is the only way to protect the ones you love. What else… could we have done?"
She was nearly kneeling now, blood spilling from her lips as she struggled to speak. "I wanted to live. But how? My master was dead, my enemies roamed free… they even sought to invade the Central Continent. Six hundred years ago, nearly half the Yingshan Sect perished. If such a tragedy happened again… how would my senior brothers and sisters survive?"
"Tell me—if my death could ensure their safety, wouldn’t it be worth it? Wouldn’t it be right?"
Her answer did not satisfy Sui Ji. The pressure increased, crushing more of her ribs. Blood filled her mouth, bubbling out with every breath.
"I loved them. So I was willing to die for them. Even if I had to choose again… I would still choose the same."
"She loved you… so she wanted to protect… your home. The main city… was your home."
The oppressive force vanished abruptly. Yu Zhiling collapsed, coughing violently, blood clogging her throat. A cold hand gripped her wrist, icy spiritual energy flooding into her veins, mending some of her injuries.
The moment she could move, Yu Zhiling wrenched her arm free.
"Get away from me!"
Sui Ji silently withdrew his hand, sitting composedly before her. His eyes held no remorse—only indifference.
But Yu Zhiling couldn’t help her anger. Anyone dragged in without warning and nearly crushed to death would feel the same. Staring into Sui Ji’s frigid gaze, she suddenly understood: those who seemed heartless, once they loved, clung to it more stubbornly than anyone.
Just like Jiang Yingchen, who shattered his own Dao heart and buried himself alive.
Sui Ji, consumed by love turned to hatred, now doubted whether Wu Weining had ever loved him at all.
Yu Zhiling’s voice was icy. "If you loved her so much, why have you been hiding here all these years, sleeping, instead of avenging her?"
Sui Ji’s face remained blank. "I couldn’t leave."
"Why not?"
"After A-Ning died, I hunted You Zhou. But he stayed hidden, always out of reach. When the demons were defeated, the Central Continent needed to establish the Four Slaughter Realms. Creating such a vast space required the Six Time Seals. Without its spirit, the artifact was useless."
"You returned to the Six Time Seals?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
"Your master locked me away."
Yu Zhiling: "..."
She hadn’t expected that to be the reason.
Strangely, Sui Ji didn’t seem angry at all. If it were Yu Zhiling, she’d have been furious. It seemed, in other matters, his emotions were remarkably steady.
Carefully, she asked, "My master likely didn’t know you were the artifact spirit. He probably just feared the Six Time Seals would be stolen. But you… stayed imprisoned for six hundred years?"
"Yes." Sui Ji replied flatly. "Six hundred years—just a few naps’ worth of time. I knew someone had taken my place. You Zhou knew I was hunting him. When I suddenly vanished, he must have assumed I was dead. That’s why he sent someone disguised as me back to the Immortal Alliance."
"Are you going to leave now?" Yu Zhiling asked, a hint of guilt in her voice. After all, it was her own master who had accidentally imprisoned him, so her tone softened slightly. "I've retrieved the Six-Time Seal. You should be able to leave now, right?"
"I need to speak with you," Sui Ji said.
Yu Zhiling paused. "...About what?"
"I can tell you certain things, but only if you accompany me to a place."
"...What place?"
Sui Ji's expression remained calm, his voice steady. "The Abyss of Demons."
"Yu Zhiling, I want you to come with me to the Abyss of Demons."
