Inside the Zhen estate’s dungeon.

Hearing the beautiful woman’s words, Ding Songyan’s mind immediately erupted with a torrent of profanity, all of it converging and sweeping through his thoughts like a storm.

Fuck! ’Ding Qingyan’ is Yan Changqing’s disciple?

She’s the so-called ’old acquaintance’ of Yan Changqing?

No wonder my Illusion-Piercing couldn’t see through her true appearance. Taught by the same master, there’s no way to break through her defenses! Especially given her master’s current state and strength, which may not even match hers...

Who exactly is she?

As thoughts surged uncontrollably, Ding Songyan noticed the fear on Yan Changqing’s face receding considerably. The old man was forcing himself to wear an amiable smile.

"How did that copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas end up in your hands?" Yan Changqing’s voice was hoarse as sand scraping against iron.

Hearing this, Ding Songyan’s heart skipped a beat.

Is Master Yan out of options? Is he resorting to idle chatter to stall for time and find inspiration?

Use your super-intellect already!

I now admit that we’re grasshoppers tied to the same string. If you die, I most likely won’t survive either!

The woman’s eyes turned, and she spoke with a soft, brimming smile, "Those old codgers fear you, Master. Though they covet your position, they also worry you might suddenly return. So they had your disciple handle things for them. Naturally, all such trivial matters have fallen to me."

As she spoke, she walked toward Yan Changqing with light steps, adding with a grin, "Everyone else who comes to rescue you, Master, is scheming for the location of Kunlun or the Celestial Thearch’s secret treasures. Only I am different. I think only of you; I only want you dead."

Yan Changqing’s expression grew uglier still.

The woman stopped before Yan Changqing, tilted her head slightly, and said with a smile playing at the corners of her lips, "Master, why are you afraid?

"Back when you severed my mortal bonds, you didn’t look like this at all."

Seeing that "Ding Qingyan" was paying him no attention, Ding Songyan quietly shifted his feet, edging toward the open iron door.

Just then, the woman’s gaze swept over him.

Ding Songyan involuntarily stopped immediately.

Wait, does this still involve me?

You two can have your chat!

The woman’s eyes, limpid as still water, returned to Yan Changqing seated in his armchair.

"How spirited you were back then, Master. You said, ’Hanyi, as your master, I will be waiting for the day you surpass me.’"

Hanyi? Ding Songyan suddenly found the name somewhat familiar.

In a flash, a cool sensation descended into his consciousness. Above the golden, glittering ocean within, Yan Changqing’s form materialized.

The gaunt Yan Changqing spoke to Ding Songyan at considerable speed, "You should know who she is now, yes?

"She is my wretched disciple—Ji Hanyi."

"Ji Hanyi? The demoness of the Sage-Severing Way?" Ding Songyan blurted out in shock.

A character from jianghu storytelling ballads is actually standing beside me...

People from before were merely connected to such figures...

Yan Changqing nodded.

"She is full of schemes, ruthless and merciless, and has killed countless. Once she eliminates me, she will certainly not spare you. Your only chance is to assist me wholeheartedly and follow my arrangements. Only then might we escape alive. I will give you qi again and help suppress the Celestial Heart imprint she left within your consciousness, preventing her from interfering with your thoughts."

Ding Songyan could clearly sense the old man’s urgency from how he said a great deal in one breath.

"Celestial Heart imprint?" Ding Songyan asked reflexively.

Something similar to the hazy "seed"? 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Yan Changqing said gravely, "The foundational art of the Sutra of Celestial Heart Wisdom is the Divine Art of Heaven and Earth Transmutation. Its core secret has two lines. The world knows only the first. Today I tell you both in full: Imprint one’s own heart upon the celestial heart; inject the celestial heart into the hearts of men!

"The imprint that naturally forms after the celestial heart is injected into your mind is the Celestial Heart imprint. Through it, Ji Hanyi can influence your thoughts and obscure your memories."

I was right... And the reason that so-called qi has such immense power is because the celestial heart was injected into me. With the celestial heart resonating with heaven and earth, a single thread of qi can leverage the power of all creation? Ding Songyan’s thoughts raced. He asked no further questions, saying in a heavy voice, "Senior, I’m willing to lend you a hand!"

What he feared more right now was not Yan Changqing, but Ji Hanyi.

All this time, the demoness had been sleeping in the bed right next to his, separated only by a flimsy screen.

She had been watching over him personally!

Only now did Ding Songyan understand why every time he had a new idea or made a discovery, it was promptly and precisely "intercepted". It was either forgotten completely or subconsciously dismissed. The person behind it all had been sleeping in the same room.

He also figured out something else—why Miss Qingli had been so easily ensnared into forgetting crucial matters, and why her second uncle had noticed nothing at all.

Miss Qingli must have had a Celestial Heart imprint secretly planted while she was in my room. The ambush on the road afterward was merely a cover. That way, even if her second uncle happened to discover that her thinking had been tampered with, he would never suspect Ding Qingyan—because it would appear to have happened somewhere ’en route’ between Chengyu Lane and the Tianyang Hall! Ding Songyan’s thoughts tumbled over each other as understanding dawned.

Meanwhile, Yan Changqing seized the time to give Ding Songyan qi once more, condensing another hazy "seed" within his consciousness.

In reality, facing Ji Hanyi’s words, Yan Changqing wore a bitter smile.

"I went through the same thing. It wasn’t only you.

"Hanyi, as your Master, I have actually been thinking of you all these years. Even when I was on Mount Kunlun, I wondered what I could bring back for you."

Ji Hanyi raised an eyebrow slightly, her smile unchanged.

"Master, what you should really be delivering is your last words, not these useless sentiments."

Yan Changqing shook his head.

"Over these years, through the storytelling of Zhen household scions, I learned of your situation. I know you were defeated by Feng Yining, leaving a flaw in your spirit, thus making the Heaven-Man Realm forever beyond your reach.

"Now that Feng Yining has died in seclusion, you have no further chance to mend that fundamental flaw. And without treading the path of the Celestial Heart which demands the highest spiritual and mental cultivation, the only alternative arts that do not conflict with both the Taotie inheritance and the Celestial Thearch’s teachings are exceedingly difficult to obtain."

Ji Hanyi did not strike. She stood there with a faint smile, as though curious what final words her master could possibly produce.

Yan Changqing spoke with an earnest expression, "Back then, I did indeed find the vanished Mount Kunlun and entered the Celestial Thearch’s traveling palace. You should be able to confirm this from the hand-copied Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas.

"I also found partial remains of Dijiang within the Celestial Thearch’s palace. Dijiang, also known as Chaos or Hundun, was the first and most ancient Celestial Thearch. His divine nature encompasses all things and would be sufficient for you to switch your cultivation path.

"Once you consume those remains, the power they carry will instantly merge with your existing cultivation level, having no negative impact on your strength. They can also accommodate every technique within the Sutra of Celestial Heart Wisdom. With the foundation you have built up, you would certainly enter the Heaven-Man Realm in one to two years."

Dijiang—Hundun? Master Yan, you really do have treasures... No wonder Zhen Qianfan was tempted. Doesn’t this perfectly match his needs? Though trembling with fear, Ding Songyan couldn’t help feeling a surge of longing.

As expected of Master Yan, who’d entered the Celestial Thearch’s traveling palace—he even brought out partial remains of a Celestial Thearch!

Then again, who knows how much of what this old con artist says is true... But facing Ji Hanyi, if the bait isn’t real, the demoness probably won’t bite. So the likelihood of him lying outright is low. He’s at most concealing something at the crucial points...

Also, how did Zhen Qianfan originally learn that Yan Changqing had Hundun’s remains? Yan Changqing couldn’t possibly have told him... Or was Zhen Qianfan simply tempted by the Celestial Thearch’s secret treasures in general?

As Ding Songyan felt that surge of longing, the smile on Ji Hanyi’s face diminished slightly. Her limpid gaze seemed to waver.

Yan Changqing continued, "I hid Dijiang’s partial remains and the other treasures brought out of the Celestial Thearch’s palace in a secret location. Hanyi, if you rescue me out of here, I will take you there. Not only will Dijiang’s remains be yours, but you shall have a share of the other treasures as well."

Ji Hanyi suddenly bloomed into a radiant smile, as though the underground cell itself had been draped in a layer of brilliance.

Her gaze swept over Ding Songyan, and she said to Yan Changqing with a laugh, "Oh, Master. The matter of a spiritual flaw making further breakthroughs impossible was my closely guarded secret. Even though the Five Saints Sect may have had their suspicions, they couldn’t be certain. The reason that rumor spread was because I personally disseminated it and fanned the flames. All of that was because I feared that after your cultivation dropped or you suffered grave injuries, you wouldn’t dare return to the sect.

"As you know, for a Grandmaster like Zhen Qianfan who came to us of his own accord, the sect has always sent various people to secretly observe him. Only watching, never making contact. Qin Nuansheng is one such person, and there were others.

"Two years ago, Qin Nuansheng reported that the Zhen household scions were regularly practicing storytelling. I found that very odd. Nine months ago, Jia Yushu brought back that copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, and I immediately guessed what had happened. I guessed that you, my Master, were using storytelling to learn about the jianghu and changes in the martial world. I certainly couldn’t let those old codgers find out.

"So I made sure the rumor spread even wider throughout Ning Province, hoping that when I next encountered you, I could use it to trick some useful information out of you. And you truly haven’t disappointed my expectations..."

Before Ji Hanyi had even finished speaking, Yan Changqing’s voice exploded within Ding Songyan’s mind, "Strike now! Then carry me on your back and flee the Zhen estate!"

The hazy "seed" within Ding Songyan’s consciousness immediately blazed with radiance, completely suppressing all other stray thoughts.

Seizing this opportunity, Ding Songyan split half the qi from the hazy "seed" and transferred it to his palm.

Once again he felt that there was another body belonging to him suspended in the void. He felt the flow and transformation of heaven and earth’s vital energy.

Before, he hadn’t understood. Now he did. This was: Celestial Heart!

Ding Songyan seized the shift in heaven and earth’s qi and drove his palm toward the demoness, Ji Hanyi, from diagonally behind.

Before his palm, countless air currents converged, forming in an instant into a violent, coiled tempest ready to be unleashed.

But in that same instant, Ji Hanyi’s serene, fresh-faced visage with that intoxicating smile appeared before his eyes. Accompanied with that was a slender, snow-white palm.

That palm likewise gathered a violent tempest.

The next instant, the two palms collided.

BANG!

The tempest exploded outward, expanding from small to immense in a heartbeat, surging rapidly upward.

Like a waterspout, the raging winds swept up the oil lamp, swept up Yan Changqing and his armchair, smashed through the underground structure, and shook the entire small building above.

Amid the gale, the wooden building rapidly broke apart, piece by piece flying into the sky.

Standing in the eye of the storm, Ding Songyan and Ji Hanyi were unaffected. He retreated one step, but she did not move at all.

Atop the tallest watchtower, Tao Wenshu drew her sword with a clear ring.