Zhou Qing straightened up, facing Sikong Yan from a distance.

"I discovered an issue." Sikong Yan's gaze was as sharp as a knife, studying Zhou Qing curiously.

"Last time at the edge of Canglan Mountain, in my perception, there was clearly only that blond kid, but you appeared like a ghost, all of a sudden."

He took a step forward: "One could even say, you were obviously right next to him, yet I didn't notice."

Zhou Qing felt a shiver in his heart but did not show it on his face.

Sikong Yan continued: "And just now, when Wu Sha brought you outside the hall, I was pondering how I should meet you..."

His voice gradually lowered, "In just a moment of distraction, you were already inside, even speaking with Nannan for quite a while."

Sikong Yan stared intently at Zhou Qing, the curiosity in his eyes growing stronger: "I only realized afterward, as if... I somehow overlooked you."

He suddenly closed in aggressively: "How did you do it?"

Zhou Qing knew that his Talent Skill, [Lowering Presence], had once again taken effect.

But he couldn't explain it, nor did he want to.

"I'm a living person standing right here," Zhou Qing said, unfazed. "Have you considered that maybe it's not because of me, but because of you?"

Sikong Yan was taken aback.

The sharpness in his eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a hint of confusion.

"Maybe..." he murmured, "My mind has indeed been somewhat off lately, especially with the impending fusion..."

Zhou Qing didn't understand what he was referring to but took the opportunity to change the topic: "Now will you answer my question? What's going on with Nannan? What do you actually want?"

Upon hearing this, Sikong Yan suddenly grinned, and there was a streak of madness in his smile.

Then he stepped forward and said: "Nannan, she's just like you've seen, right? She's my bargaining chip to have Gao Xuan work for me."

"But she used to be a corpse," Sikong Yan straightened up, spreading his arms with a smug look, "now she's alive. Impressive, isn't it?"

Zhou Qing sighed softly in his heart.

If he didn't know the inside story, just based on this sentence, anyone would think it was the most vicious provocation—

Murdering the heart, nothing more.

Is it so hard to resist being a good person?

But outwardly, Zhou Qing still feigned anger, his fists unconsciously clenching.

Sikong Yan seemed to relish this reaction as he looked at Zhou Qing's expression.

He paced around Zhou Qing curiously, "I thought you would rush out with Nannan the moment you came in."

He suddenly stopped, a hint of surprise flashing through his eyes, "But you didn't move."

"Believe it or not, if I let Cao Zhengyang come in, he'd definitely do that."

Zhou Qing remained silent, his gaze fixed on Sikong Yan.

"You called me Sikong at the mountain gate?" Sikong Yan instantly laughed, "I must admit, you do indeed stand on equal footing with me now."

A hint of dread flashed in his eyes, "In fact, I even sensed a certain danger somewhere in this realm."

His tone turned reflective: "Your Taiqing Sect now has you, Ghost Mastiff, Li Daoxuan... but my Cangyan Daoist Palace's younger generation still hasn't had anyone enter the Divinity Transformation Realm."

"Originally, Li Hanshan and Sima Demon had the best chance," Sikong Yan's voice gradually turned cold, "but it's a pity you eliminated them."

He suddenly pressed close to Zhou Qing, their noses almost touching: "Can I understand it this way, that you, by sheer force, caused a rupture in my Cangyan Daoist Palace?"

Zhou Qing snorted coldly, advancing instead of retreating: "They only have themselves to blame for not mastering their skills."

Sikong Yan clapped his hands with laughter, quietly stepping back a bit, said: "What a 'not mastering their skills', but you almost kissed me just now."

Zhou Qing: "..."

But Sikong Yan quickly laughed again: "But you are right, in this world, if you can't eliminate others, you can only wait to be eliminated by others."

At this point, he seemed to recall something, and his laughter abruptly stopped, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

"The Cultivation Realm never talks about reason, only strength. The weak can't even breathe correctly, that's the law of survival."

Zhou Qing was unmoved and directly asked: "You invited Master Gao Xuan here, not just to make him kowtow, right? State your conditions. Whatever Taiqing Sect can do, we will do it."

Sikong Yan didn't immediately respond, instead, he once again shifted his mood, looking at Zhou Qing with keen interest.

"That guy Cao Zhengyang once went to Lingyun Mansion and spent a lot of money buying many array materials."

Zhou Qing's heart tightened.

"When he returned, you disappeared," Sikong Yan clucked his tongue and said, "and when you resurfaced, Taiqing Sect had an additional Tri-color Sect Protection Array."

His eyes sparkled, "Tri-color Arrays are rare, an array covering the entire sect, not even combining our forces could we buy one."

"So," Sikong Yan suddenly turned, his eyes lighting up, "when did you advance to a third-level Array Master?"

Zhou Qing's heart raced, but his tone remained steady: "You're mistaken, this array was refined by my mentor, Master Lin Daochen."

Sikong Yan seemed amused, shaking his head.

"From what I've gathered, it seems the White Jade Taixu Courtyard of Vast Mansion is about to dissolve, and many students are preparing to return home."

"It seems that Master Lin is also busy finding a new place for himself, with no time to refine arrays."

Zhou Qing felt a chill in his heart.

He had heard Master Lu mention the academy might dissolve, but he didn't expect it to start happening so soon.

Yet he remained unfazed on the surface: "Maybe he already had such a large array on hand, it was normally purchased by Master."

Sikong Yan burst into laughter, a hint of madness in his laughter.