Huang Wenjun was greatly alarmed. Gritting his teeth, he thrust his sword at the giant snake while reaching out to pull Ye Mu.

But unexpectedly, the snake's head nimbly turned and suddenly bit down on his sword. With a muffled bang, the magic sword broke in two.

Huang Wenjun was dumbfounded. He thought it was over.

The giant snake spat out half of the broken sword. Its tail, carrying the momentum of a thunderbolt, swept towards them.

A ray of profound light came from the horizon.

Before Huang Wenjun and the others could react, the giant snake's tail had been severed with a pop. Blood splattered the two from head to toe.

The giant snake let out a scream-like sound and wanted to retreat in a hurry.

But that profound light would not let it retreat. It turned around and pierced towards the snake's head.

Only now did Huang Wenjun and the others see clearly. The profound light turned out to be a sword. The sword was jet-black and even the sword energy was profound in color.

The giant snake, having lost its tail, had its balance greatly reduced. Wanting to escape, it tumbled head over heels.

In the blink of an eye, the profound sword had already penetrated through the snake's neck.

Having succeeded in one strike, the profound sword immediately flew back into its master's hand.

The giant snake was pierced through the heart. Its body heavily crashed to the ground, breaking countless flowers and plants.

Huang Wenjun and Ye Mu thought it was someone from the sect who had discovered the unusual situation and rushed over to support them. Breathing a sigh of relief, they were about to greet the person when they clearly saw his face.

"Ah Yin?!" Huang Wenjun was stunned for a moment before exclaiming in joyous surprise.

Zhou Yin retracted the Canghe Sword.

"There was another one over there just now. I killed it."

The two were shocked. No wonder no one here survived.

"Why did no one discover it?" Zhou Yin asked. With the mighty strength of the Shangxuan Sect, this shouldn't have happened.

Huang Wenjun smiled bitterly: "We don't know either. There was originally a defensive formation here, but it unexpectedly didn't work. We need to go back and report the situation. Come with us."

Zhou Yin didn't say anything, which meant he didn't object.

Huang Wenjun had long been accustomed to his style. He turned and mounted the flying magic weapon.

"Let's go."

Beside him, Ye Mu was secretly sizing up Zhou Yin. This name was not unfamiliar to him. Just before encountering the giant snake, he had heard Huang Wenjun mention it. But he never expected this person's cultivation to be so high, already a high-level cultivator.

Looking a few more times, he found that although this person was cold, his appearance was extremely handsome. His eyebrows were eyebrows and his eyes were eyes, and he was a few points more attractive than that He Yun, Junior Sister He.

Zhou Yin suddenly spoke: "Done looking?"

Ye Mu nearly choked on his saliva. He hurriedly gave a dry laugh and shifted his gaze: "Done looking, done looking!"

The two were headed to Tianshuo Peak, where the Shangxuan Sect's successive Sect Leaders resided. Along the way, there were heavy checkpoints. Because of the demon beast attack, the defenses were even stricter. But seeing the calm expressions of those disciples, just like before, it seemed they hadn't discovered the unusual situation at the foot of the mountain at all.

"How could no one have discovered it?" Ye Mu muttered to himself.

"There's a problem with your formation." Zhou Yin said indifferently.

Huh? Ye Mu looked at him, not understanding.

But Zhou Yin said nothing more.

...Senior Brother Huang, your childhood friend has a strange temperament. Ye Mu's mouth twitched, but he didn't dare ask further.

Huang Wenjun and Ye Mu were still far from being able to directly barge into the Sect Leader's residence. Plus, Zhou Yin was a stranger, so naturally they had to question him repeatedly. This matter was of utmost urgency and Huang Wenjun's inner anxiety couldn't help but show.

They arrived outside Lingshou Hall. After briefly explaining the situation, the guarding disciple didn't dare delay. He immediately went in to report. Before long, the person walked out quickly and cupped his hands: "The Sect Leader invites you in."

After many years, Lingshou Hall's Jingyuan Hall was still the same as when Zhou Yin last came, with hardly any changes. Qinghe Zhenren was sitting inside waiting for them. Sitting below him was another person.

The corner of Zhou Yin's eye twitched.

Yun Zong looked at him: "You've formed a Golden Core? Congratulations."

Qinghe Zhenren smiled: "Daoist Zhou, long time no see. Yun Zong has already told me that you two went out to train and have a very good relationship." His tone was kind and familiar.

Back then, Zhou Yin had represented the Mirror Sea Sect here in a magic duel against the Qinggu Sect. In the blink of an eye, it had been twenty-three years.

But this "very good relationship", where did that come from?

He looked at Yun Zong, only to see the other give him a faint smile.

Qinghe Zhenren seemed to see through his question and smiled: "Yun Zong was originally a disciple of the Shangxuan Sect, under my tutelage. It's just that he usually stays in seclusion, so even many disciples of our own sect don't know of him."

Judging from his tone, it was clear that Yun Zong's status in the Shangxuan Sect was not low.

Zhou Yin lightly nodded and said to Yun Zong: "I've long admired you."

The corner of Yun Zong's mouth twitched. Was this retribution for concealing his identity?

However, Qinghe Zhenren's tone suddenly changed, asking: "What's going on?"
He was asking Huang Wenjun and the others.

Huang Wenjun, having calmed down after the earlier interruption, quickly recounted the situation. Even the usually calm and composed Qinghe Zhenren couldn't help but change his expression slightly.

"Yun Zong, take some people down the mountain to have a look."

Yun Zong nodded and strode out with big steps.

Qinghe Zhenren exchanged a few more words with Huang Wenjun and the others, mostly encouragement and praise. While Huang Wenjun was fine, Ye Mu, who had just recently joined the sect, was so excited from his first close interaction with the sect leader that he even stuttered a bit when speaking.

"You all go back and rest first. I have a few words to say to Fellow Daoist Zhou," said Qinghe Zhenren.

The two of them stood up. Huang Wenjun mouthed "I'll wait for you outside" to Zhou Yin before leaving with Ye Mu.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, I still remember back then, when you were only at the Foundation Establishment stage, you dared to take risks and use the water from the lake to render those people from Qinggu Sect speechless. That resourcefulness was truly rare."

"I don't deserve such praise," Zhou Yin had a pretty good impression of Qinghe Zhenren.

Qinghe Zhenren smiled, "Now that Mirror Sea Sect has long been merged into Shangxuan Sect, you can also be considered a member of Shangxuan Sect. If you are willing to stay, you can become my disciple, together with Yun Zong, so you two can look out for each other."

Zhou Yin was a bit surprised. He originally thought that even if this old man wanted him to stay, at most he would be placed under another peak lord.

"Let me think about it."

"Feel free to consider it, Fellow Daoist," Qinghe Zhenren stroked his beard and nodded, showing no displeasure.

When Zhou Yin exited the Jingyuan Hall, he saw Huang Wenjun pacing back and forth outside, seeming a bit restless. If it weren't for the glares from the hall's disciples, he probably would have trampled and damaged the few flowers in the flowerbed.