“What else could be going on?”
Jiang Che retorted.
“She’s developed a Heart Demon out of guilt towards you.”
Jiang Che’s hand unconsciously tightened.
At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to this, so he hadn’t truly considered how serious it was.
By rights, the higher the cultivation of a cultivator, the stronger their will, and the harder it should be for a Heart Demon to form.
But in fact, that wasn’t entirely true.
Generally, cultivators who reached higher levels had done so because their temperament had been tempered enough to allow it.
But Lin Yin was an exception. She was innately withdrawn, possessed the supreme Ice Spiritual Root, and was born with the Innate Sword Body.
In just a hundred years of cultivation, she’d caught up with monsters who’d cultivated for two or three centuries.
Now, for her, developing a Heart Demon was extremely dangerous.
It was different from Demonic Cultivation, which was the act of controlling Demonic Energy for one’s own use.
A Heart Demon meant falling into true demonic ways; as for what Lin Yin would become in the end, no one could possibly know.
“Then she… why didn’t she believe me back then?”
Jiang Che was very confused. Even if all the evidence pointed at him, Lin Yin shouldn’t have doubted him.
Yun Yan sighed.
“That’s something I don’t understand either. But she should be returning soon. You… still want to leave?”
Jiang Che was silent for a long time.
He truly had nowhere left to go.
But after calming himself and thinking things through here, he decided to try staying.
Maybe it was because those three questions earlier had reminded him of Xu Qianlan and Yun Fan.
And he himself was just too weak. Hu Qiao’er wanted to cultivate immortality, and he had no right to stop her—he’d been too greedy.
But Yun Fan wouldn’t still be foolishly waiting at the mountain gate for him, would he?
Jiang Che nodded.
This was the only compromise he could make, with all his strength.
Yun Yan smiled at this.
At last, he’d managed to keep Jiang Che here.
The sect’s inheritance stretched back ten thousand years, but the Jiu Xiao Wan Xiang Secret Codex hadn’t resurfaced for several millennia.
The last time it appeared, according to the sect’s hidden records, the person who obtained it even reached the heights of the Shenxiao Patriarch, uniting ten thousand paths in one and ascending to the upper realm!
And now, it had chosen Jiang Che?
Though it was all beyond belief, no matter what, even if it cost him his old face, Yun Yan would keep Jiang Che here.
Yun Yan escorted Jiang Che out of the Bamboo Forest, asking if he wanted to return to Lingjian Peak or Xuandan Peak.
Jiang Che chose neither. He wanted to walk alone for a bit.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to ask Yun Yan for a suitable stick to probe the road.
Yun Yan lifted his hand and conjured a Jade Stick for Jiang Che, then said, “Though there’s still no useful clue about what happened back then, Zhao Zi’ang has returned.”
At the mention of Zhao Zi’ang, Jiang Che couldn’t help but be surprised.
Hadn’t Zhao Zi’ang disappeared for three years? Why had he come back?
Three years ago, the most suspicious person was Zhao Zi’ang—Jiang Che knew he had been framed by him.
But at the time, everyone believed Zhao Zi’ang, not Jiang Che.
Afterwards, Zhao Zi’ang vanished, making it impossible for Yun Yan and Xu Qianlan to investigate.
Jiang Che nodded to show he understood, but didn’t say much more to Yun Yan.
He could clearly sense Yun Yan was still hiding something from him.
Yun Yan watched Jiang Che’s departing figure, lost in thought.
For instance, should he reveal news of the Secret Codex to the outside?
If he did, there was no doubt Jiang Che would be thrust into the spotlight.
But given Jiang Che’s current condition, he couldn’t even cultivate.
If his identity was exposed, there might be those with malicious intent who would target him.
But if he didn’t reveal it, all those present at the scene had already seen what happened in the Secret Realm.
Luckily, not many people knew about the Secret Codex for now.
“Forget it, let things take their course.”
The most pressing matter now was that man called Yang Xiong.
By rights, there shouldn’t be many in this world who knew about the Secret Codex.
At the same time, in the shadows.
Zhao Zi’ang sneakily found a quiet place.
He stealthily took out a Transmission Jade Slip and began to speak.
“There’s been a change. That idiot Yang Xiong failed!”
Zhao Zi’ang looked extremely grim.
A faint glow shimmered from the Jade Slip, and a voice came from within.
“Mm, I know.”
The voice was hoarse, impossible to identify, but didn’t seem to care much about the matter.
But Zhao Zi’ang seemed anxious.
“Hey! What’s with your attitude! You realize, if Yang Xiong rats me out! And with me suddenly returning, I’m already suspicious! If I fall here too, I’ll drag you down with me!”
Zhao Zi’ang’s voice grew sharper as he threatened the person on the other end of the Transmission Jade Slip.
It completely didn’t match his current appearance.
If someone who’d known him before were to stand before him, they’d surely be curious—how had Zhao Zi’ang become even more handsome than before?
“Heh, Zhao Zi’ang, as I recall, I told you to seize the ‘Secret Codex’ yourself. Sending a lackey—are you defying me? Want me to air all your past deeds?”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zi’ang’s expression changed dramatically, instantly wilting.
“Fine. As for your lackey, I’ll make sure he never opens his mouth. Your only task now is to get me the ‘Secret Codex.’
Remember that blind man?”
“You know?”
The other party’s meaning made it clear to Zhao Zi’ang that Yang Xiong was about to be silenced.
He felt no sorrow—in fact, a look of viciousness flashed in his eyes—but hearing that last sentence, his reaction instantly shifted to shock.
“Heh, is there anything I wish to know that I can’t find out? As for what comes next, you should know very well. Remember, I’ll always be watching you!”
As soon as the words fell, the faint glow from the Transmission Jade Slip ceased—indicating the other party had hung up.
Though the device invented by the Starvault Chamber of Commerce was imperfect, it was extremely convenient.
Zhao Zi’ang gripped the Jade Slip tightly, teeth clenched.
But he quickly suppressed his anger, swearing to make that person regret it one day.
Jiang Che was walking down the mountain path.
He still hadn’t decided where to go. He was like a kite with its string cut, but then he realized that wasn’t quite right.
At least a kite could still follow the wind.
He, however, couldn’t even go mad if he wanted.
Within his Sea of Divine Sense, that Golden Orb maintained his spiritual awareness—his body was truly lively.
He really wanted to leap from here and end it all—then he wouldn’t have to think about anything anymore.
His neck felt an odd reaction, a sensation as if he was about to hurl himself over the edge.
But as he walked, he sensed someone ahead.
Two people.
Hu Qiao’er saw Jiang Che approaching, and realized she’d been right to wait here.
She and Wang Hao had been taken to a small courtyard to rest for a while, but she couldn’t stop worrying about Jiang Che.
She understood that Jiang Che must have misunderstood something.
She wanted to clear it up quickly, and her anxious heart had dragged the unwilling Wang Hao all around the Shenxiao Sect.
But on the way, they’d run into a rabbit.
That rabbit was odd; with one leap, it clung to Hu Qiao’er’s calf.
That’s when Hu Qiao’er remembered—it was the rabbit Jiang Che had caught earlier, the one that hadn’t become dinner.
The rabbit then hopped along, leading Hu Qiao’er here, before vanishing into the grass.
Jiang Che sensed the people in front of him approaching.
His heart unconsciously sped up.
A faint, barely-there herbal fragrance—he used to rely on that to quickly identify Hu Qiao’er.
But now it was so faint that if not for his Sea of Divine Sense having recovered a little, he really wouldn’t have noticed.
“Qiao’er-jie……”
“A Che……”
The two spoke at the same time.