A flicker of interest crossed Ye Ran’s face. She hadn’t expected such things to exist.
She quickly picked up the system and held it before her.
“So what other hidden files do you know about?”
“Th-there are some classified ones I can’t tell you about yet, host.”
At this question, the system grew even more fearful, its fur puffing up all over.
“But don’t worry, host. These classified secrets won’t harm you for now. When the time is right, you’ll naturally find out.”
Knowing that Ye Ran was prone to worry, the system quickly added.
At these words, Ye Ran’s expression did relax a little.
“Alright. I’ll trust you this once.”
She finally set the system down, yawned, and lay back to rest.
The system breathed a sigh of relief. It found a comfortable spot beside her, curled up, and fell asleep as well.
Meanwhile, in Lingxu’s room.
Lu Li was reporting his arrangements for the search.
But this time was different from usual. Normally, after Lu Li finished his report, Lingxu would immediately send him off to carry out his orders. Today, however, Lingxu only nodded, then stared at Lu Li appraisingly.
“Does Master have further instructions?”
The two looked at each other for a moment. In the end, it was Lu Li who spoke first.
But as he did, his hand, hanging at his side, subtly rubbed its fingertips, a wisp of spiritual energy curling around them.
Lu Li wasn’t sure if Lingxu suspected him. Though he had killed everyone in the underground palace, there was no guarantee that the old fox Lingxu wouldn’t find some clue.
So if he confirmed that Lingxu was becoming suspicious, he would kill him immediately.
“Li’er, you’ve been by my side for ten years now. When I gave you the Wind Control Technique to cultivate back then, do you know what I intended?”
Lingxu stood and slowly walked toward Lu Li.
Lu Li’s fingers stilled. The spiritual energy around them vanished.
“You wanted me to vanquish demons, protect the righteous path, and guard the people.”
“Correct. You haven’t disappointed me.”
Lingxu nodded in satisfaction, but a gleam of sharpness flashed in his eyes.
“Now the demon lord has reappeared. As the chief disciple of Wanxian Sect, you must shoulder this responsibility. If you encounter the demon lord, capture him at any cost. Do not let him bring disaster to this land again.”
“Yes, Master. I understand.”
Lu Li immediately clasped his fists and bowed to Lingxu, looking obedient and dutiful.
But as he lowered his head, a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips.
He wanted Lu Li to fight himself?
How ridiculous.
“Alright. Go and carry out your arrangements.”
Satisfied with the answer, Lingxu waved Lu Li away.
But before Lu Li could leave, a flustered figure burst into the room.
“Terrible news, Sect Leader! Terrible news!”
The disciple ran straight toward Lingxu. Only when he saw Lu Li in the room did he stop, looking helplessly at Lu Li and then at Lingxu.
“What is this undignified behavior?”
Lingxu scolded the disciple first, then turned to Lu Li.
“Li’er, your junior brother has something to report. You may go.”
“Yes.”
Lu Li gave the disciple a single glance, then walked out.
Once the door closed, the disciple’s panicked expression returned.
“Sect Leader, Senior Brother Meng… Senior Brother Meng has escaped!”
“What did you say?”
Lingxu’s face changed instantly. He strode forward and grabbed the disciple by the collar.
“Useless! You couldn’t guard one person? When did he escape?”
“The… the day you led the disciples out of the sect, Sect Leader.”
The disciple’s voice grew smaller and smaller. When he finished, he didn’t dare look at Lingxu.
“Fool! Why are you only reporting this now?”
Lingxu’s anger erupted. His expression turned ferocious.
He had once nurtured Meng Xuan with intention, which was why he allowed him to know so many things he shouldn’t.
Now that Meng Xuan had escaped, if he exposed Lingxu’s secrets, all of Lingxu’s efforts would be for nothing.
If he had fled just recently, it would be one thing—but two or three days had already passed. Hunting him down now would be like searching for a needle in the ocean.
“Send people to continue searching. Remember, keep it quiet. Do not alert anyone.”
With no other choice, Lingxu resigned himself to dispatching more pursuers.
After the disciple left, the anger on Lingxu’s face lingered. His entire body trembled with rage.
Thinking of his recent string of failures, he could no longer contain himself. He walked to his desk and flipped it over with a single hand.
“Why is Master so angry?”
Just then, a familiar voice sounded behind Lingxu.
He turned to see Meng Xuan standing there.
But Meng Xuan was no longer the proud, vigorous figure he once was. Now, he was disheveled, his robes tattered. A stranger might have mistaken him for a beggar.
“Instead of hiding, you dare appear before me.”
Lingxu instantly calmed, but his tone now carried a clear note of murderous intent.
He had clearly decided not to let Meng Xuan live.
Yet Meng Xuan showed no fear. As Lingxu approached, he straightened his back and met his gaze without flinching.
“I came to give Master a gift.”
“Are you trying to threaten me?”
Lingxu was in front of Meng Xuan in an instant, his hand closing around his throat.
Now little more than a cripple, Meng Xuan couldn’t breathe before Lingxu even applied pressure. He grabbed at Lingxu’s hand, struggling.
“N-no… I don’t mean to threaten you…”
But Lingxu had no interest in his excuses. His hand tightened. Meng Xuan’s face turned red.
“I… I came to tell Master about the demon lord…”
At the words “demon lord,” Lingxu’s grip loosened. Meng Xuan clutched his chest and coughed violently.
“What do you know?”
Lingxu’s sharp gaze bore into Meng Xuan, making him feel an overwhelming pressure.
He didn’t dare waste a moment. He quickly produced a memory pearl.
“This is what I saw outside the underground palace today. I think Master will find it very interesting.”
With that, Meng Xuan cautiously looked up at Lingxu. Seeing that he didn’t speak, he took the hint and activated the pearl.
An image appeared before them.
Lu Li, leading Ye Ran, broke through a wall and emerged, then quickly vanished from sight.
The image itself seemed unremarkable—but the place Lu Li had appeared was precisely the area around the underground palace, and it looked as if he had just come out of it.
“I heard the demon lord destroyed the palace today. I happened to be nearby, and I happened to catch this interesting scene. Now it seems Master has been raising a tiger. Lu Li is the demon lord.”
Seeing Lingxu fixated on the memory, Meng Xuan stirred his emotions.
Lingxu’s first reaction was to doubt the authenticity of the footage.
Unswayed by Meng Xuan’s taunts, he stepped forward, picked up the pearl, and examined it closely.
Only when he confirmed it was genuine did he freeze. His face gradually darkened.
“It seems Senior Brother Lu hid himself well. He even earned Master’s trust. But that trust could cost Master his life.”
Meng Xuan continued to stoke the flames.
He had always resented Lu Li. Now that he had uncovered his greatest secret, he would stop at nothing to destroy him and leave him with no place to die.
At the thought, Meng Xuan grew excited, as if he could already see Lu Li’s downfall.
By now, Lingxu had accepted that Lu Li was the demon lord.
“Excellent!”
Lingxu’s face flushed with rage. He crushed the memory pearl in his hand. Meng Xuan, who had been gloating, was forced to his knees by the pressure of Lingxu’s aura.
When he finally managed to stand and timidly looked at Lingxu, Lingxu smashed the nearby table with another palm.
“That demon lord dared to toy with me! He deserves to die!”
In truth, Lingxu had once been nothing more than an obscure servant of the Lu family, unworthy of even meeting the family head or the young master.
When the Lu family faced its crisis, he took advantage of the chaos, stole a few cultivation techniques, and fled.
Later, he joined the newly established Wanxian Sect. Using those techniques, he rose to prominence and eventually claimed the position of sect leader.
Over the centuries, his ambitions grew, and he began to covet the Blazing Spirit.
He secretly collected the remains of the Lu family, extracted traces of the Blazing Spirit from them, and secretly researched ways to refine it.
Lu Li had been his chosen tool from the beginning—a weapon to use against the demon lord.
But after all his efforts, the demon lord had been hiding by his side all along, destroying centuries of his work.
Never before had Lingxu suffered such humiliation. Now, he wanted nothing more than to capture Lu Li and vent his rage.
But just as he was about to send someone to seize him, Meng Xuan stepped forward and stopped him.
“Master, the demon lord is too powerful. It would be unwise to act rashly now.”
The words cooled Lingxu’s temper. Looking at the venomous expression on Meng Xuan’s face, Lingxu narrowed his eyes. After a long pause, he spoke slowly:
“You came all this way to tell me this. What is your true purpose?”
Lingxu knew that Meng Xuan was vicious and driven by self-interest. If he had returned after escaping, he must want something.
“Disciple only wishes to remain by Master’s side and serve him.”
Meng Xuan quickly bowed respectfully. Lingxu gave a cold laugh.
“You’re a cripple now. What use could you possibly be?”
Lingxu was equally self-serving. He would never keep someone useless around.
Meng Xuan understood this well. He knelt and kowtowed before Lingxu.
“Though I am crippled, there is still a way to recover. That disciple beside the demon lord—the one named Ye Ran—she has a top-grade cauldron constitution. If Master grants her to me, within a month, I will surely recover.”
This was Meng Xuan’s true goal.
He refused to accept being crippled, but he couldn’t get close to Ye Ran.
Fortunately, fate favored him and handed him this opportunity.
Meng Xuan looked up at Lingxu, his gaze growing intense. Under his stare, Lingxu finally nodded.
“Very well. Since you are so sincere, I will give you this chance.”
“Thank you, Master!”
His goal finally within reach, Meng Xuan could barely contain his excitement. He kowtowed repeatedly to Lingxu.
Of the storms brewing elsewhere, Ye Ran knew nothing. After resting for a day, she went to her assigned post to relieve the other disciples.
But the moment she arrived, she saw Lu Li there as well.
From the time she returned to her quarters the previous day until now, Ye Ran hadn’t seen Lu Li all night. The moment she spotted him, she quickened her pace and went to him.
“Senior brother? What are you doing here?”
“I knew you’d be on duty here, so I came to check on you.”
The moment Ye Ran approached, Lu Li’s eyes locked onto her. His gaze was so direct that her heart skipped a beat.
“Has your search gone well? Have you found anything unusual?”
What she really wanted to know was whether anyone suspected Lu Li. But with so many people around, she didn’t dare ask directly, so she phrased it vaguely.
“No. I just missed you terribly.”
Lu Li pulled Ye Ran into his arms. His gaze at her grew even hotter.
Ye Ran immediately understood what he wanted. But remembering the other disciples on guard nearby, she pushed at him.
“Then you should continue your patrol, senior brother. Don’t delay the search.”
“Without a reward from you, I have no heart for searching.”
Lu Li was being shameless.
With no other recourse, and having missed him too after a night apart, Ye Ran checked to see if anyone was looking. Seeing no one paying attention, she quickly rose on her toes and kissed his lips.
“Alright. Now go, senior brother. It wouldn’t look good if someone saw us.”
“Fine.”
Satisfied at last, Lu Li let her go and continued his search of the Lu estate.
Not long after he left, a disciple approached.
“Junior Sister Ye, the sect leader requests your presence.”
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