Yin Ci's clothes were completely ruined. Su Si called his black horse over and hurriedly rummaged out a set of clothes. Just as he was handing over the clothes, the earth trembled. Shi Jingzhi lost his balance and nearly fell onto Yin Ci.

The ashes of the True Immortal were blown away by the wind, and the earth continued to shake. The flat wasteland visibly sank. With the enormous Suspended Tree burned by the poison fire, mountains and rivers shook, valleys slowly shifted, and the ground showed varying degrees of collapse. This tremor was gentle but obvious, as if a low moan came from the center of the earth.

The Hanging Shadow Sword was already destroyed, but Yin Ci still carefully picked up the hilt, holding the sword that was broken in half.

"You should change to a new sword, just to be safe," Su Si supported the dazed Shi Jingzhi, hesitating to speak. "I know a thing or two about magical arts. Sect Leader Shi is not comparable to the Suspended Tree. If you were to be seriously injured now..."

"Not only would I die, but it might also implicate him, I know," Yin Ci smiled. "...How could I possibly harm him?"

The monks pretended they hadn't heard anything, while Su Si immediately rolled his eyes.

The Ling Sect's poison was potent enough that Qu Duanyun barely maintained consciousness and still couldn't move an inch. Jiang Youyue's lips were stained with blood, his refined and self-satisfied demeanor long gone, his face frighteningly gloomy. He knelt on the ground, his wide sleeves covered in dust, showing no signs of resistance.

Seeing Yin Ci approach, Jiang Youyue raised his head, his eyes full of anger. The martial artists around, having witnessed a great show of a person coming back to life, were fearful of this miraculous man and instinctively kept their distance.

"So that's how it is... This is the principle of grafting mortal wood. You treated that Desire Child as the new Suspended Tree?"

Jiang Youyue revealed his blood-stained teeth, smiling maliciously.

"You connected your meridians to his body, sharing energy with him. That person can indeed live a bit longer. But unfortunately, without stopping the source, it's still just prolonging the inevitable."

"Under the Twin Roots Curse, the blood's owner and blood link share life and death."

Yin Ci stopped in front of Jiang Youyue, his previous smile dissipating like smoke.

"Earlier, when the Red Hook Sect was destroying shrines and looting gold everywhere, was it really for the gold?"

Jiang Youyue's smile instantly froze.

It was the flesh statues.

After the Red Hook Sect looted the gold, the outer shells of the statues were damaged to varying degrees. They saw that the statues were still there and didn't investigate further. They trusted in the durability of the flesh statues, just as they trusted in the immortality of the Suspended Tree.

However, their enemy had clearly used the same method on both!

The Twin Root's effect was simple: as long as the "flesh" was consistent and the root could touch it, the curse could take effect. Yin Ci's flesh wasn't limited to just "this body" in front of them—the flesh statues could absorb energy and self-heal like the Suspended Tree, relying on the "immortal body" as the core.

The flesh statues were extremely difficult to destroy, but if it was just burying a bit of Twin Roots inside, any mortal could do it. The Twin Roots wasn't a rare item hard to find in the world; the Red Hook and Ling Sects often kept them on hand. The Ku Mountain Sect only needed to choose a root cluster big enough and teach someone to carefully cut it up.

This time, facing the two of them, the Immortal Gathering was utterly defeated.

Just now, when Yin Ci was burned down to just a head, the immortal body inside the flesh statues couldn't escape either. With no head left to spare, they were probably reduced to just a few broken bones. Without the immortal body, the flesh statues truly became statues made of flesh, with no special properties.

Shi Jingzhi would no longer be force-fed energy, and no new Desire Child would appear. His own master was relying on the flesh statues to extend his life, so this meant the old man was also likely in mortal danger...

Jiang Youyue's face instantly showed a look of resentment and anger. He gritted his teeth, his dim eyes locked firmly on Yin Ci.

"Quick-witted indeed, worthy of being the National Teacher. I'm afraid you'll have to remake your flesh statues," Yin Ci grabbed Jiang Youyue's collar, his lips approaching his ear. "Now I'm no longer immortal. This time, where do you plan to find a core? ...Why not go pay respects to the Luojiu's Desire Child and ask them for some advice?"

Jiang Youyue: "Are you satisfied now? From now on, Dayun will face droughts and floods, plagues and injuries, nothing will be spared. When the Luojiu's Desire Child becomes king, the wars won't stop either! The great realm will be in turmoil, and the people will suffer—is this the result you wanted?"

"Back then, I charged on the battlefield, campaigning far and wide with Xu Li, so that the weak would not fear the oppression of the strong, so that the elderly, women, and children would not be displaced and die miserably on the streets."

Yin Ci answered unhurriedly.

"Now, after three hundred years of peace, just to eliminate risks for a tree, you destroy villages and kill people; the sick and elderly die even earlier than in times of war; even those born as emperors are just tools to be manipulated... Is this the 'prosperous age' you want?"

Hearing this, Qu Duanyun struggled to crawl closer: "For three hundred years, Dayun's national power has grown strong, and the people have lived in peace and prosperity. Isn't that enough?! Once all countries are unified, there will be no more wars in the world. The price is just some insignificant people. You... you killed the Suspended Tree, aren't you also making decisions for others?!"

"You talk as if you're the righteous one. How are you any different from us?!" After saying this, he spat.

"There is a difference."

Yin Ci tightened his grip on Jiang Youyue's collar and raised the broken sword.

"The Immortal Gathering wronged me first, then harmed my beloved. Half public duty, half personal grudge. Of course I'm different from you—I'm a mortal wallowing in this mud."

Seeing Yin Ci about to deliver a fatal blow, Shi Zhongyu not far away was instantly shocked. She instinctively rushed forward: "Elder Yin, avoid conducting vigilante justice! He's an official of the court, be careful not to give others cause to criticize—"  

However, Yin Ci only paused for a moment.

Amidst the rumbling of collapsing mountains and rivers, the black broken blade flashed coldly, about to stab down. Jiang Youyue let out a great roar, and dazzling light from a spell suddenly exploded. When the light dissipated, the National Teacher and Qu Duanyun had vanished without a trace in an instant.

Shi Zhongyu's face turned pale, showing some guilt: "Those two were arguing just now, most likely secretly preparing a spell. This area is full of wilderness valleys, I'm afraid... I'm afraid it won't be easy to find them."

Yin Ci slowly put away his knife, his face bearing a half-smile.

"Miss Shi, you're still the same as ever. Don't take it to heart, we have our own ways of dealing with this."

He gave her a meaningful look, then swirled his robe and quickly returned to Shi Jingzhi's side. Sect Leader Shi seemed to have regained some clarity, and ignoring everyone's gaze, he was practically clinging to Yin Ci.

Confirming that the other was not seriously injured, Shi Jingzhi let out a deep breath, as if exhaling all the pain and loneliness of these years. He buried his face in Yin Ci's embrace and fell into a deep sleep amidst the earth-shattering rumbling.

Yin Ci sat quietly. When some monks wanted to approach and help, he shook his head, simply holding the person tightly in his arms.

"Let him sleep."

Dozens of miles away, there was a flash of white light.

Jiang Youyue, clutching Qu Duanyun, fell clumsily onto the wild grass. This was a small hill, surrounded by rocks and wild grass. A few wild apricot trees grew in the crevices, their flowers long fallen, leaves lush and abundant, presenting a scene full of spring vitality.

Qu Duanyun had been constantly circulating his energy to expel the poison, and now he could finally barely stand up. Jiang Youyue was seriously injured and couldn't run too far even with spells. Fortunately, this place was vast and sparsely populated; randomly picking a wild mountain, naturally no one would be able to find them.

"Master, what about our hundred-year plan?" Qu Duanyun's face still showed anger.

"No matter," Jiang Youyue's gaze was cold. "Shi Jingzhi didn't eat the Shi Rou, so it must still exist. Such a treasure, no one would easily destroy it. Once you and I get our hands on it, I will personally consume it and plant a new Suspended Tree."

"...Master..."

"No matter how troublesome those two from Ku Mountain are, they now have mortal lifespans. They brought destruction upon themselves. We will carry on the cause, and we won't lose to two corpses."

"Disciple understands. Then everything proceeds as before, we must first deal with Xu Jingxing."

"Honk."

"Hmm, that's right. The most urgent matter is the war with Luojiu. At that time, you'll follow me..."

"Honk."

Jiang Youyue and Qu Duanyun: "..."

The two slowly turned their heads. Not far from the wild grass stood a fat, snow-white goose. The goose had two fleshy antennae on its head, its small eyes full of arrogance and disdain.

"Honk!" It called out boldly and proudly, flapping its wings vigorously.

"What do you two plan to do, coming to such a remote place?" A woman's voice full of amusement rang out. "Deep in the mountains and forests, could you be evil spirits taking human form?"

The newcomer wore dark vermilion clothes, with exquisite and beautiful makeup. Her hair was styled in an almost magnificent bun, revealing a pair of mismatched earrings—one of which dangled the jade pendant of the Head of the Heaven Department.

Shen Zhu.

She dispersed the sparrows on her shoulders and picked up Lord Bai, who was still honking, smiling even more gently and beautifully. She freed her left hand and picked up a small cloth package.

"If this humble woman didn't mishear, you two want this thing, right?"

The wind blew open the untied cloth, revealing a beautiful, bright red fruit. It was missing a piece, the cut oozing thick, clear nectar, its fragrance even more tempting than when it was whole.

The Shi Rou.

The moment they realized this, the National Teacher and his disciple forgot all about grudges, emotions, and schemes. Both lunged towards the Shi Rou with a fierce determination to obtain it at all costs.

Seeing the two charging over, Shen Zhu's eyes flickered for a moment before she threw her head back in a shrill laugh.

Shen Zhu laughed until her voice broke, the sound sharp and unpleasant. The tone, rather than laughter, was more like a long-suppressed wail. She stood there, arm outstretched, and just as Jiang Youyue's fingertips were about to touch the Shi Rou—

Sizzle.

Another soft sound, and the sweet, tempting fragrance turned into the stench of burnt meat. Black fire scorched her left hand, making the two rings on it even more conspicuous. One was as black as the Hanging Shadow Sword, while the other faintly gleamed with gold, clearly an artifact for burning the Yang Fire.

Shen Zhu's left hand was burned beyond recognition, and the Shi Rou on it had turned pitch black. She continued to laugh wildly, laughing until tears streamed down her face, as if she couldn't feel any pain at all.

The Shi Rou wasn't large and turned to ashes in an instant. Shen Zhu, tired from laughing, raised her left hand, burned and split open, and lightly licked it twice.

Jiang Youyue stood dumbfounded, looking at the woman before him who was laughing with utter satisfaction. A hundred-year undertaking had dissipated with the ashes, leaving not a shred of hope. Anger, despair, and helplessness mixed together, condensing into an utterly insane killing intent. Master and disciple, their eyes bulging, launched themselves at Shen Zhu with their previous momentum.

Qu Duanyun barely raised his sword, while Jiang Youyue struggled to form a spell gesture.

"You bitch, how dare you—"

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

With two light dings, their attacks were blocked by an invisible shield. Shen Zhu's eyes were seductive, still glistening with tears.

"There are many things I dare to do, isn't that right, Your Majesty?"