Tang Wanqiu was not some lady from a wealthy family who never left her house. Before the lecture hall began, she had been traveling alone for many years and had heard about Bai Ji's bad deeds. This old ghost clan was proficient in the art of taming beasts, and relying on the few large loaches they raised, they were almost local emperors in the western Taihang area. They married countless beautiful female cultivators and gave birth to more than a dozen children.

As the saying goes, quality is more important than quantity. None of Bai Ji's more than ten children became successful. Some died in accidents, some failed to cultivate and their lifespans ran out. None of them lived longer than their father, who was like a divine turtle sent from heaven. Over the years, he has never helped anyone.

The crying of grandson now seems like a real thing!

Could it be that if he couldn't even rely on his eyeballs, he could still rely on his eye sockets?

Tang Wanqiu was so angry that she was about to yell, but the island owner waved his hand to stop her from getting angry.

The island master said politely, "My disciple is young and his words were rude. Palace Master, please be magnanimous and do not bother with a young man. I think it is more important to find your grandson. The names of all the people in the lecture hall this time are recorded. Your grandson did not stay in the lecture hall. Maybe he was curious for a while and then felt that the skills taught on the island were not pleasing to his eyes. It is impossible that he left on his own. But since he has been here, someone must have seen him. If White Palace Master has a portrait of your grandson, I can send my disciples to ask around the island for White Palace Master."

Yan Zhengming was impressed by the island master's tolerance. He was a latecomer to the position and often made mistakes in dealing with people. He always regretted it afterwards. He held Cheng Qian's wrist and listened attentively. He said to Cheng Qian, "If someone put a long worm in the pond behind our mountain to stir up trouble, I would definitely not reason with them and beat them out, let alone help them find someone."

Cheng Qian seemed to have not heard the reflection and disapproval in Yan Zhengming's words at all, and followed his tone and said, "He deserves to be beaten."

Yan Zhengming glared at him. They usually gathered their true energy and exercised their meridians, so they could understand pulse conditions to some extent. He found that Cheng Qian had not only skin injuries but also internal injuries of unknown causes. He was so angry that he slapped him hard on the back and said angrily, "Why are you talking so much nonsense when you haven't adjusted your breathing yet?"

Cheng Qian: “…”

What about conscience? He just said two words.

However, before he could refute, a warm current had already passed through Yan Zhengming's palm on his back, directly into his limbs and bones, and gently circulated around. Cheng Qian couldn't help but narrow his eyes, but he was young and refused to admit that he felt very comfortable being taken care of by his senior brother. He only muttered, "Nosy."

Having said that, he finally loosened his hand that had been holding the Frost Blade all the way, concentrated on calming his mind, and silently recited the Sutra of Purity and Tranquility.

As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person, let alone a smiling person of the island master's level. No matter whether Bai Ji is sincere for his grandson or has other intentions, it is not good to be too arrogant after hearing what he said. He couldn't help but lower his arrogance a little, and said politely and reluctantly: "Yes, please forgive me, island master. My children have all passed away, and I am left with this grandson with poor qualifications. It's really..."

The island master shook his head with his characteristic sad smile and said generously, "It's human nature. I'll take out the portrait of Lingsun and let the disciples ask more about him. White House Master can also take people to stay on the island for a while. The island is testing the skills of our disciples. If White House Master is willing to take the time to give them some pointers, it will be a great blessing for them."

Not to mention that Bai Ji was the master of the Xixing Palace, even if he was a rebellious donkey, he would be obedient after just a few words from the island owner.

Bai Ji lowered his head, his eyes moving rapidly a few times, because he was involuntarily distracted by the island owner's conversation, and he couldn't help feeling anxious - the white owner had spent millions of dollars to travel thousands of miles to the East China Sea, not for his grandson, whose name he had to think of for a while.

Cheng Qian closed his eyes and took a breath, but he heard everything from beginning to end. He had the ability to grasp every clue and think the worst. At this moment, his mind had already turned several corners, thinking: "It must not be so easy to end it, otherwise why would the island owner send people to send us away as soon as the chaos on the island started?"

What did the island owner know? Who was that sneaky Zhou Hanzheng? Were all the masked people surnamed Zhou? Why didn't the island owner find a reason to kill Zhou Hanzheng just now?

Also, why did Tang Wanqiu warn them not to mention the Fuyao faction in public?

Why did Xueqing...

When Cheng Qian thought of Xue Qing, his heart was in turmoil. Yan Zhengming, who was helping him regulate his breathing, immediately felt it. Seeing that his face suddenly turned pale and cold sweat soaked his temples, he was afraid that he had some strange internal injuries. Suddenly, he could no longer keep a straight face. He hurriedly embraced Cheng Qian and whispered, "Xiao Qian, what's wrong?"

Cheng Qian felt very uncomfortable, but he instinctively felt that this was not a good time to talk about their sect's affairs, so he swallowed his words back and just endured it while whispering: "I'll tell you when I get back."

At this time, under the urging of the island owner, Bai Ji had no choice but to point to the sky with one hand. A cloud of light white smoke flew up from his fingertips, and then a life-size shadow of a young man appeared in the air. The young man's face was blurry and floating in the air. Sometimes his eyes were big, sometimes they were small. In short, he did not look like a human being. It was obvious that Bai Ji might have forgotten the appearance of his "darling grandson".

Bai Ji looked a little embarrassed, and reluctantly said, "This is my inferior grandson. If anyone has seen him, please let me know."

The island owner glanced at Tang Wanqiu. Tang Wanqiu looked at the young man and shook his head solemnly.

The island master said, "Okay, tomorrow we will bring the image of Taoist Bai Xiao to the side of the arena. The disciples and the casual Taoists in the lecture hall will have a say when they see it. It's getting late today, so let the guests go to rest first."

Seeing that the night attack on the West Palace turned out to be a dud, all the disciples wanted to put away their weapons.

Just at this moment, something strange happened again.

Suddenly, a figure rushed out and rushed towards Bai Ji. He was swept away by Bai Ji's powerful true energy and hit his back against a big tree. The man was not wearing the white robe of a Qinglong Island disciple. He was probably a casual cultivator with a low level of cultivation. This knocked him half to death. He used his hands and feet to crawl towards Bai Ji with blood on his feet, shouting, "Palace Master, help me! White Palace Master, I, I recognize the young master!"

Everyone was shocked when these words were spoken. After all, judging from the portrait given by Bai Ji, even his own mother might not be able to recognize him, let alone an unrelated person.

Bai Ji was just using his grandson's disappearance as an excuse. He was shocked for a moment after hearing this. He immediately withdrew his pressure and ordered his followers to help the cultivator up. He also took two steps forward and grabbed the cultivator's arm in a surprised manner: "You, what did you say? Have you seen Yan Li?"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the casual cultivator, regardless of the fact that a man has gold under his knees, fell to his knees with a plop, and cried bitterly, "Brother Bai has died, I must be the next one!"

The wrinkles between the island master's brows deepened. He stepped forward and said, "What's your name? Are you also a fellow Taoist who is studying in the lecture hall? Don't rush to tell me. I'll ask someone to heal your wounds first."

Before he finished speaking, the casual cultivator's face was filled with fear, and he rolled and crawled to hide behind Bai Ji, saying, "Palace Master, help me."

This attitude is simply treating the island owner as a monster.

Although Bai Ji didn't understand why, he felt something, so he deliberately said loudly, "What's going on? Tell me."

The cultivator's legs were shaking, and he could barely stand upright. He hid himself among the disciples of the Westward Journey Palace, and then he said in a trembling voice, "We found out that there is someone on this island who cultivates souls and ghosts, and specifically targets uninformed cultivators like us. Brother Bai secretly told me that he would investigate the matter thoroughly and report it to the island master. As a result, he was sucked into the soul-devouring lamp of the ghost cultivator."

Without the ultimate cultivation and the rare perseverance in the world, how long can an ordinary soul last in the refining process? And once it is refined, it will never be reincarnated. The three souls and seven spirits will become puppets of others, without even reincarnation, and can only wait for ashes to be reduced to ashes. When Bai Ji heard this, he was finally awakened to a faint blood relationship, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

Amid the crowd's exclamations, Tang Wanqiu was the first to ask, "Who do you think that ghost cultivator is?"

Her shout was so shocking that the casual cultivator screamed and sat down on the ground in fear. He almost fell over, rubbing his head against the ground, mumbling incoherently, "Don't kill me, Island Master, don't kill me... White House Master, save me!"

There were so many implications in this sentence that even Tang Wanqiu, no matter how dumb he was, understood it. He immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "You said the island owner is the ghost cultivator who captures people's souls? That's just nonsense!"

However, apart from her, no one dared to be so confident. The disciples were fine, but the independent cultivators outside Qinglong Island were all furious. Aren't ghost cultivators full of ghostly aura? Speaking of this, the island master's haggard and sad face was really a bit... No wonder he had been in seclusion for many years!

Thinking about it again, when the Immortal City was first opened, didn’t the cultivators encounter a big ghost cultivator on their way across the East China Sea?

Even in the demonic world, ghost cultivators are an extremely cruel and rare species. You might not encounter one in a thousand or eight hundred years. How could it be such a coincidence that I ran into one on the way to the Immortal City?

Since he appeared nearby, it was possible that the great demon cultivator was a fellow practitioner of some powerful being on the island, or even the incarnation of some powerful being.

Tang Wanqiu could no longer bear it and said, "What are you worth as trash? Even if the island master wants to refine souls, how can you, who have low cultivation, be the one to do it? Wouldn't it be better to capture me?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the discussions in the crowd suddenly died down. Tang Wanqiu was right. With the ability of the Lord of Qinglong Island, it would be no problem for him to capture a few Yuanshen cultivators. There was really no need to use a bunch of casual cultivators whose cultivation was so low that they almost couldn't enter the Qi Gate.

Tang Wanqiu couldn't speak, but that didn't mean he was not clear-headed. He immediately continued, "That kid, do you dare to tell me your name? What's your name? Do you have any evidence that there are ghost practitioners on the island? The lecture hall is held once every ten days, and fellow Taoists have a lot of private exchanges during the lectures. How could no one know that one person was missing out of nowhere? Who sent you to slander the island owner? Speak!"

Those who were slightly more perceptive at the scene had already smelled the scent of conspiracy.

Cheng Qian had a bad feeling, so he immediately put aside all distracting thoughts and took the time to regulate his breathing. He didn't care about the noise in the room, and he could enter a state of meditation as soon as he said it. Yan Zhengming had no choice but to silently protect him.

As long as Cheng Qian was not injured and did not bleed, Yan Zhengming always had an illusion in his heart that Cheng Qian was made of iron, as he looked at his junior brother's blood-stained face, which looked even more jade-like because of its paleness.

The independent cultivator hid and cried, "How dare I, with my ant-like cultivation level, frame the Azure Dragon Island Master if I had no other options? Am I going to die? You are all powerful, and you all have your names and origins. If any of you is missing, it will cause controversy. Who cares about the lives of rootless independent cultivators like us?"

Tang Wanqiu looked like she wanted to pick up her sword and stab him to pieces. "Bah, one-sided story. What evidence do you have?"

The casual cultivator said, "Of course there is. Brother Bai said that by chance, he saw a refined ghost near the island master's retreat. There must be a soul-devouring lamp there!"

Everyone immediately exploded in excitement.

This is totally unheard of, and the evidence is as good as nothing.

Whether there is the Soul-Devouring Lamp or not, the Lord of Qinglong Island would never allow others to search the cave where he is practicing in seclusion.

He is the world's chief master who is the leader of the Four Saints!

No matter how stupid Bai Ji was, he didn't dare to mention the matter of searching the island owner's cave to his face. How could this be so unreasonable?

At this time, someone laughed out loud and said, "This fellow Taoist is full of nonsense. Could it be that he wants to incite everyone to rebel on Qinglong Island?"

Everyone looked back and saw Zhou Han leading a group of masked men who looked like black crows walking towards them. These masked men were not noticeable when they were flying their swords in the sky, but people could only see a clue when they landed on the ground and walked - these people were in an extremely orderly team, and everyone's physical appearance was similar.

Yan Zhengming watched coldly and suddenly remembered that Zhou Han was encouraging Cheng Qian to "become his disciple" in the lecture hall. Yan Zhengming couldn't help but speculate for a moment, what sect this Zhou was from and what his origin was?

As soon as Zhou Han raised his hand, all the masked men behind him stopped at the same time, and no one took another step.

He opened the folding fan, waved it in front of his chest a few times, and said, "I have been indebted to the island master for many years as a nominal guardian of the law. I have to say something for the innocence of my island master. To identify a demon cultivator of the ghost way, you don't have to see his soul-devouring lamp with your own eyes. If the soul of a demon cultivator is dirty, you only need to borrow the soul mirror to see it. How could my island master be related to those evil demons?"

Bai Ji looked at Zhou Hanzheng, the troublemaker, with doubt. He was unsure of his origin. When the inexplicable cultivator appeared just now, he had already sensed another force on the island. He said cautiously, "As far as I know, there is only one soul mirror in the world, hanging in the main hall of the imperial palace. Do you want us to break into the palace together?"

Zhou Hanzheng said with a smile: "The Lord of the White House has not been concerned with worldly affairs for a long time. During the time of the previous emperor, the soul mirror was awarded to Tian Yanchu. It is a coincidence that a ghost demon appeared in the sea last time during the Immortal Market. Just in case, I carry this mirror with me."

This sentence was like water falling into boiling oil, and even Tang Wanqiu was stunned: "What do you mean you are from Tianyan?"

The island owner did not respond. He must have guessed something when Zhou Han turned against him at the secret dock just now, but he was good at cultivating his energy and did not let the younger generations notice it.

The Tianyan Office was under the jurisdiction of the current Imperial Astronomical Observatory, which was a part of the mortal court. In name, it was in charge of the affairs of the "immortals", but in reality, it seemed that no one could control them. Although it was conceivable that cultivators would definitely be invited to serve in the Tianyan Office, in most people's minds, they still felt that these were two different worlds.

Many people may have never seen a living official from the Tianyan Department until their death and ascension.

Zhou Hanzheng replied nonchalantly, "Oh, I am just an idler, a person without any sect or background, I can't compare to you who have a lot of wealth behind them and just make a living with a false reputation."

The casual cultivator hiding behind the West Palace was extremely embarrassed and bowed to Zhou Hanzheng and said, "The Left Protector is a clean and upright person. If he can't distinguish between good and evil, this is what this junior deserves."

He tried his best to straighten his back, and there was a hint of tragic heroism in his words. Zhou Hanzheng looked at him without saying a word and raised a hand. A masked man immediately understood and came forward, holding up a small package. Inside was a bronze mirror of ancient style, the edges and corners were worn, and the mirror surface was a little dirty.

Zhou Hanzheng made a hand gesture and said softly, "Get up."

The bronze mirror flew into the air, slowly turned around, and fell on his head. The mirror seemed to reflect a beam of moonlight, which fell on his head and cast Zhou Han's long shadow.

No different from a normal shadow.

Zhou Hanzheng looked down and smiled, "It seems that Zhou's three souls are all intact, and his seven spirits are safe. There is no problem."

Yan Zhengming's heart was pounding. Although he didn't know what role Zhou Han was playing in this, he knew that this person was openly helping Qinglong Island but stabbing it in the back secretly.

There are three thousand demon paths, and the ghost path is extremely vicious and the worst of the worst. Will the master of Qinglong Island join them?

If it were in the past, Yan Zhengming would never believe it, but ever since that casual cultivator came out to identify him, he realized that the island owner hadn't said a word, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.

When he met Jiang Peng, he was so young that he was left with a deep impression. Even now, he feels disgusted with the ghosts. The island owner has taken him in and protected him for so long. If he really is...

Yan Zhengming turned his head to look at the island owner, not knowing what to do for a moment.

He glanced at Cheng Qian again and saw that the little devil seemed to be oblivious to everything around him and had great concentration. He could only bow down to him helplessly.

The island master remained silent for a long while, and people were already talking about it. Yan Zhengming looked up at the soul mirror that seemed to see through the past and present, and suddenly a thought came to his mind - Master Wen Ya said that every generation of the Fuyao Sect would produce evildoers, what if someone in this generation would accidentally go astray?

This thought flashed through Yan Zhengming's mind, but it pricked him in the heart, making him feel like there was something stuck in his throat. His eyes swept over Li Yun, Han Yuan and Shuikeng. Li Yun was smart and cautious, a little timid, and didn't seem like someone who would go out of his way. Han Yuan was not as interested in cultivation as he was in finding out about the "pros and cons of the Zhang and Li families." Shuikeng... Alas, although he was still young, he had already shown signs of being heartless.

Finally, he couldn't help but fall on Cheng Qian.

There was still blood on Cheng Qian's face, but he looked extremely peaceful because he was in a state of meditation.

Yan Zhengming only briefly considered this possibility, and his heart was gripped. He stared at Cheng Qian for a long time, and then this leader with the least position in history silently calculated in his heart: "What's the point of thinking about this? Even if Xiao Qian really has such a day, I will never do anything to him. The worst that can happen is to hide him."