Many from the major sects had ventured into the Void Secret Realm, but only one or two managed to come out alive in the end. The treasures these surviving disciples brought back were even scarcer.
A surviving disciple knelt before his sect master and reported, "There is a man in the secret realm whose cultivation level we could not see. He was incredibly ruthless in killing people and snatching treasures. We... we simply couldn't grab anything."
These words reminded many people of a certain someone.
Someone asked, "Has The Green-Clad Guest appeared again?"
It was said that the Void Secret Realm was supposed to open once every two hundred years. The reason it took seven hundred years to open this time was because an unnamed The Green-Clad Guest had appeared during the last opening.
This person was truly insidious and cunning. Not only did he take advantage of others' conflicts to reap the benefits, but he also showed no restraint, sweeping the secret realm clean of its treasures.
As a result, the Void Secret Realm needed an extra five hundred years to restore itself.
However, the disciple shook his head and said, "The man who appeared this time wore black clothes and had white hair. He doesn't seem like the rumored The Green-Clad Guest."
Hearing the words "black clothes and white hair," Cangshu Taotian frowned deeply.
He still remembered five hundred years ago when Cangshu Bai used a forbidden technique; he had also been dressed in black, his white hair wildly dancing in the wind.
The words of revenge he left behind back then still seemed to echo in his ears.
Cangshu Taotian looked toward Li Mohan.
Li Mohan's expression was exceptionally ugly, simply because the Tianyu Palace disciples who entered the secret realm this time had been completely wiped out. Tianyu Palace had gained absolutely nothing during this opening of the secret realm.
Cangshu Taotian withdrew his gaze with a hint of contempt.
Li Mohan had been the master of Tianyu Palace for five hundred years, yet he still hadn't learned how to hide his emotions.
Naturally, the others also knew about how Zhenyue Mountain City was nearly turned upside down by a single person back in the day.
"Could the person they mentioned, who killed and looted in the secret realm, be Cangshu Bai?"
"Cangshu Bai? Who is that!" A girl in a pink dress heard the discussion and leaned over with great interest.
Wumu tried to stop her but failed.
Seeing that she was a pretty and cute girl, the gossiping cultivators were happy to talk to her.
"It's said that five hundred years ago, the people of Zhenyue Mountain City captured Cangshu Bai's wife. He went to Zhenyue Mountain City alone, single-handedly challenged numerous cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above, and threw the entire city into chaos. Unfortunately, his wife still died. In his immense grief, he actually broke through to the Void Insight stage, his black hair turning completely white. I heard that before he left, he swore a vicious oath that one day he would make these people pay their blood debt."
The face of that black-clad man involuntarily floated before Luo Qingniao's eyes again. Hearing that he had a wife left a sour taste in her mouth, but hearing that his wife had died made her feel somewhat melancholy.
"To go against an entire sect for his wife, he is truly a man of deep affection and righteousness. Such profound devotion is truly admirable."
However, the male cultivators had different thoughts. They only felt that Cangshu Bai was foolish, almost ruining his own cultivation path for a woman.
Wumu pulled Luo Qingniao to a secluded spot. "Miss, that man named Cangshu Bai is very dangerous."
"He is a hero who can go through fire and water for his wife," Luo Qingniao said enviously, shaking off Wumu's hand. "My father still wants me to marry. If I don't meet someone as deeply affectionate as Cangshu Bai, I won't marry at all."
Disappointment surfaced in Wumu's eyes.
He had accompanied Luo Qingniao since childhood, guarding her as they grew up together. But he was merely a lowly guard. He knew he couldn't extravagantly hope for his young miss to have him in her eyes, but seeing her yearn for another man still brought him pain.
Luo Qingniao looked at the clouds on the horizon, unable to stop a sense of anticipation from blooming in her heart. If only she could see him one more time.
Li Mohan kept a cold face, in no mood for hypocritical pleasantries and small talk with the other sect masters. He led his people away from the closed entrance of the secret realm, returning along the way they came.
Five hundred years ago, Biyun Mountain was destroyed. Because he still cared for Mu Zhizhi in his heart, he incorporated Biyun Mountain into Tianyu Palace's territory. Relying on the extra spirit vein, Tianyu Palace's power had been continuously expanding.
Two women waiting at the foot of the mountain saw Li Mohan return and hurried up to welcome him with moving smiles, only to be impatiently swatted away by Li Mohan.
"Don't bother me!"
The two women fell to the ground, trembling with fear, not daring to approach.
Looking closely, the two women's faces bore some resemblance to each other; they were twin sisters. The reason they were able to become Li Mohan's concubines was not because of their beautiful looks, but because their appearances were similar to the late wife of the Tianyu Palace Master who had passed away many years ago.
But replacements were just replacements. They would never be that madam. Therefore, it was common for Li Mohan to beckon them at his whim and wave them away just as easily.
Returning to the palace, Li Mohan received a piece of good news.
"Palace Master, at the border between Biyun Mountain and Chongyang Mountain, a village has birthed a new spirit vein. The Chongyang Mountain side hasn't noticed it yet."
Hearing this, Li Mohan's expression shifted. "Take it before they do."
The subordinate asked, "What about the people in the village?"
"If they refuse to leave, kill them."
When a spirit vein was born underground, the local cultivators were the first to sense it. However, this was not a cause for celebration.
There was a medical clinic in the town that was said to have been passed down for hundreds of years.
The doctor in the clinic had always been surnamed Hu; perhaps it had just been handed down generation after generation like this.
Doctor Hu stood at the door, watching wave after wave of Tianyu Palace disciples pass by. Realizing the situation was dire, he anxiously sent a telepathic message in his mind.
"Godfather, Tianyu Palace has set its sights on Hulu Village!"
After waiting for a long while without receiving a reply, Doctor Hu grew even more anxious.
"Godfather, the people from Tianyu Palace definitely plan to forcefully occupy the spirit vein in Hulu Village. Those villagers are incredibly stubborn and believe in returning to their roots. If they are told to move, many of them will definitely refuse."
"My cultivation is mediocre. Even if I want to stop them, I can't."
"Hulu Village also has the old residence of you and Godmother. If they..."
Suddenly, someone replied, "I know."
Doctor Hu blanked for a moment. "Godfather, where are you?"
"Hulu Village."
Doctor Hu realized in hindsight that he had worried for nothing.
Ever since the battle five hundred years ago, that fiend had become a bona fide quiet madman. He placed extreme importance on anything related to Mu Ran. Since Tianyu Palace was making a move, how could he possibly sit by and do nothing?
Over the years, he had been constantly striving to break through his cultivation bottlenecks, searching for heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Then he tore through the void to search for Mu Ran's scattered souls, and eventually emptied the Linglong Sea to nourish Mu Ran's divine spirit. Having done all this, Mu Ran finally had a chance to awaken.
And only now did he have the time to slowly settle the score with the people from back then.
