Yun Miao’s finger gently tapped the rough, mottled surface of the ring.

“If a core disciple of the Shen family ever suffered misfortune in the outside world, with their physical body completely destroyed, this formation, through its resonance with the life-bound ring, could forcibly extract a thread of their primordial soul, keeping it from extinguishing. Even if only a remnant soul remained, it could be drawn into the ring to be nurtured and preserved, waiting for that one-in-ten-thousand chance to rebuild their Dao body in the future.”

As Yun Miao’s voice faded, the silver glimmer at his fingertip completely seeped into the ring’s body.

*Ding!*

The ring, which Cui Yan had previously judged to be a “demonic artifact,” suddenly emitted a clear, resonant hum. The sound was not like metal striking metal; instead, it was like jade colliding—crisp and pure.

The blackish-brown rust on the ring’s surface seemed to come alive.

Those cold, murderous auras that Su Ming had deliberately disguised and that Lin Yu had released, under the stimulation of that silver light, quickly receded in all directions like oil scum meeting dish soap.

And in the very center where the murderous aura had retreated, several extremely faint, extremely ancient rune projections slowly emerged.

Those runes were not the Cloud Seal script commonly used in the current cultivation world, but a kind of ancient script resembling constellations connected by lines. They flickered faintly in the air, and with each flicker, they would draw in the surrounding ambient spiritual energy, forming tiny, extremely gentle vortexes.

Those vortexes held not a shred of aggression; instead, they exuded an aura of “life,” like a mother’s hand gently soothing a wounded soul. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Cui Yan’s pupils abruptly constricted.

She was a Spirit Transformation cultivator, a woman of vast knowledge and experience. This kind of rune structure, this rhythm of spiritual energy circulation, was by no means the plundering, domineering nature of the demonic path. Rather, it was a profound technique that conformed to the Heavenly Dao, using stellar power to nurture the soul.

“An ancient soul-nurturing contract. A variant…”

Cui Yan’s voice was somewhat hoarse, and the tightly coiled chains of law-order in her hand involuntarily drooped a few inches. “This… how is this possible?”

“Nothing is impossible.”

Yun Miao withdrew his finger, gazing at the ring whose light had dimmed again.

“It was precisely because of this heaven-defying ability to gather spiritual energy, nurture the soul, and probe the secrets of life and death that the Shen family was a target of the crime of possessing an unworthy treasure.”

Yun Miao’s voice suddenly turned cold, and the temperature on the Heart-Questioning Platform seemed to plummet dozens of degrees. That was the killing intent of a sect leader.

“A thousand years ago, a secretive force set its sights on the Shen family. They sought neither wealth nor territory, but only to seize the Shen family’s secret of ‘resurrection from the dead.’ On a stormy night, they mobilized their entire strength and launched a surprise attack on the Star River Shen family.”

“In that battle, starlight fell, and blood flowed until it floated boats.”

Yun Miao pointed at the lingering, cold aura on the ring. “The entire Shen family was wiped out, and their legacy was severed. What adheres to this ring is not the demonic energy of the ring itself, but rather the ‘murderous aura’ left by the killers from the Dark Underworld Palace who stained it with the blood of hundreds of Shen family members when they massacred them!”

“The master of this ring should have been a core member of the Shen family back then. Before his death, he activated the ring, hoping to preserve a thread of his remnant soul. But he failed, or rather, he only half-succeeded. The murderous aura corrupted the ring, sealing that remnant soul inside, where it has been entangled with this malevolent aura for a full thousand years.”

“So that’s it.”

After a long silence, Cui Yan let out a deep breath, and much of the stern, law-orderly aura surrounding her dissipated.

But immediately, her brow furrowed even more tightly.

“Sect Leader Senior Brother, if it is as you say, then this ring… must not be kept!”

Cui Yan’s voice was no longer aggressive, but it carried an extreme rationality and coldness. “Although the secretive force has hidden itself, its infamous reputation has not disappeared from the ancient texts. If they were to learn that a token of the Shen family’s legacy had reappeared in the world, even if it were just a useless ring, it would inevitably invite endless disaster!”

She pointed at the unconscious Su Ming, her tone urgent. “This boy is only at the Qi Refining stage, yet he carries such a heavy burden of cause and effect out in the open. It’s like a child parading gold through a bustling market. If news leaks out, not only will he die, but our Cloud Hidden Sect will also be dragged into this quagmire of grievance!”

“For the sake of a slim, elusive hope of resurrection, are you willing to put the entire sect in danger?”

Cui Yan’s words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing the flames of this tragic story.

She was the Peak Master of Punishment Peak.

Her duty was not to sympathize with the weak, nor to mourn the ancients, but to ensure that the great ship of the Cloud Hidden Sect did not capsize amidst the stormy waves.

Yun Miao Zhenren looked at Cui Yan, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes, but even more, a calmness that suggested he had expected this.

“Junior Sister Cui, your concerns are valid.”

Yun Miao nodded, his tone gentle. “As the Peak Master of Punishment Peak, you always put the safety of the sect first. This is a blessing for Cloud Hidden Sect.”

Cui Yan’s expression softened slightly, and she was about to speak.

“However.”

Yun Miao’s tone suddenly changed, and his previously gentle demeanor transformed entirely. If, a moment ago, he was like warm, polished jade, now he was like a towering, majestic mountain—a divine mountain that pressed down on people until they could barely breathe.

“The reason this ring appeared in our Cloud Hidden Sect, in the hands of this disciple named Su Ming, is no coincidence.”

“It points to a karmic debt our sect must repay and a promise we must keep.”

Cui Yan was taken aback. “What promise?”

Yun Miao did not answer directly. Instead, he turned around, facing the direction of the sect’s Forbidden Ground in the rear mountains. His expression was solemn, as if he were paying homage to a supreme being.

“The Shen family’s ancestor, the Star River Venerable.”

Yun Miao’s voice dropped to an extremely low register, every word seeming to be squeezed from his chest. “He and our sect’s Grand Elder, Haoyuan Zhenjun, were lifelong, inseparable friends—more than that, they were… Dao companions bound by a Great Dao Oath!”

*BOOM!*

This statement was like a bolt of lightning from the nine heavens, exploding directly in Cui Yan’s mind.

On her face, usually as still as an ancient well, was now etched with shock and disbelief. She nearly lost her grip on the withered wooden staff in her hand.

“Uncle-Master Haoyuan?! This… how is this possible?”

Who was Haoyuan Zhenjun?

He was the stabilizing pillar of the Cloud Hidden Sect, the only mighty figure at the Harmonizing Body stage within the sect, a living legend of the entire Northern Domain cultivation world. He was always in secluded meditation, a dragon whose head was rarely seen. His will was an inviolable divine decree within the Cloud Hidden Sect.

That someone who had long transcended the mundane with such an emotionless state could have had this kind of relationship with the Shen family ancestor from ten thousand years ago?

“On the night the Shen family was destroyed, Uncle-Master Haoyuan was at a critical juncture in his breakthrough and was trapped in a life-and-death seclusion.”

Yun Miao’s voice was filled with regret. “By the time he broke through and emerged, the Star River Shen family was already ruins. He sat in meditation among the Shen family ruins for three hundred years. Finally, he swore an oath: if he ever encountered the surviving legacy of the Shen family in this life, he would protect it with all his might, to comfort the spirit of his old friend in heaven and to make up for, even if just a little, the guilt in his heart.”

Yun Miao turned around, his gaze burning as he stared at Cui Yan. That look was so sharp that Cui Yan dared not meet his eyes.

“Junior Sister Cui, this boy came bearing this ring. Though it may have been a stroke of luck, the will of Heaven works in mysterious ways. That thread of remnant soul within the ring might just be the final trace of some important member of the Shen family.”

“Today, if you insist on destroying the ring, or imprison and seal this boy, severing the connection between the ring and its host…”

Yun Miao took a step forward, his green robe rustling. Although a vast aura did not press down on Cui Yan, it carried the absolute resolve of the sect’s highest will.

“You will be severing the final hope of the Shen family! What’s more, you will be defying the will of the Grand Elder! You will be abandoning the sect’s principle of righteousness!”

“Cui Yan!”

Yun Miao addressed her by her full name for the first time, his voice like rolling thunder. “Do you wish to make our Cloud Hidden Sect one that forgets kindness, severs karmic bonds, and chills the heart of the Grand Elder?!”

On the Heart-Questioning Platform, there was a deathly silence.

Only Yun Miao’s earth-shattering questions echoed continuously within the Azure Void Absolute Domain.

Cui Yan’s face went from pale to green, and from green back to pale.

She opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but found her throat felt blocked.

All the “sect laws” seemed so pale and powerless before the two towering mountains of the “Grand Elder’s will” and “sect’s righteousness.”

Especially Haoyuan Zhenjun.

Although she had never personally witnessed that old ancestor’s temper, she had heard many legends about him. He was someone who, once angered, would dare to poke a hole right through the heavens.

If he found out that she had personally destroyed the sole remaining relic of his old friend…

Cui Yan couldn’t help but shiver.

She looked at Su Ming, lying on the ground, then at the unremarkable ring. Her expression was complex beyond measure.

Who would have thought that an ant at the Qi Refining stage, someone so insignificant, would actually bear a thread of karmic connection leading all the way to the highest echelons of the sect?