When Bian Xu first saw his old friend, he was stunned at first, but then he felt somewhat complicated.

His hair and beard were all white, while his old friend in front of him was still in his prime. The comparison between the two was obvious - monks had a lifespan several times longer than ordinary people, and their eternal youth and beauty seemed to be a gift from nature. However, there was also a cruel side to them: they could show their ugliness, cowardice, and poverty, but they could not show their old age.

Because "aging" is not a natural law, but a judgment of "no chance of success in one's lifetime".

Bian Xu refused to admit that he was jealous. He just felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. He finally said nothing and nodded lightly to Ji Qianli.

Everyone was talking about the matter below. Rumor had it that the owner of the White Tiger Villa was seriously injured while trying to eliminate demons, and has been in seclusion for many years to recuperate. All matters of the White Tiger Villa, big and small, were left to the elders under his command, and he was living a very miserable life.

But now it seems that this person not only has no intention of dying, but is very lively.

Ji Qianli looked up at Cheng Qian on the treetops, smiled at him, and then greeted Tang Zhen from a distance, saying, "I say to all of you - all of you who have grudges against him, think about it, what's the good of destroying his soul with a knife? He will only have a scar as big as a bowl, and he will die without any pain. Are you willing to accept that? If I had an irreconcilable enemy, I would definitely wish that he would suffer humiliation every day and live a long and healthy life."

As soon as the owner of the manor opened his mouth, a fresh smell of trouble-making came to his face. Han Yuan looked like he wanted to curse at this person, but he was so angry that he couldn't think of any good words.

The owner of Baihu Villa suddenly showed up, surprising everyone. Even Tang Zhen couldn't figure out his purpose for a moment.

Tang Zhen said calmly: "What the owner said is not without reason, but this Master Han is too powerful. If we want to imprison him, we must find a suitable place."

Someone asked, "Master Tang, what is the right place?"

Tang Zhen bowed to the person who asked the question and said, "The affairs of the major sects are complicated and I am afraid I cannot take care of them. I am afraid that the others are willing but unable to do so. Um... when we broke the bone formation last month, I wonder if you still remember the swordsmanship of Sect Leader Yan?"

Of course I was impressed. It was a very deep impression.

How many sword cultivators in the world can cultivate their primordial spirits? And how many sword cultivators can reach the realm of the Sword God?

Tang Zhen smiled and said, "Then in my humble opinion, Fuyao Mountain is a good place."

Before he finished speaking, Ji Qianli, whose position was unclear, suddenly interrupted him and said, "I don't think it's appropriate."

Tang Zhen's eyes twitched slightly.

Ji Qianli stepped forward with his hands behind his back, glanced at Cheng Qian on the tree, and said, "The Fuyao Sect is Han Yuan's master's sect. Even if Master Yan is a righteous man who will not show favoritism, isn't this the equivalent of trapping others in a melon field? It's not right, it's very wrong - isn't it, little friend Cheng Qian?"

Cheng Qian vaguely felt that there was an undercurrent in the scene, but he couldn't figure out the cause for the moment, so he didn't say anything.

At this time, someone whispered in his ear: "How do you know him? How do you know such a shameless person?"

Cheng Qian turned around and saw that his eldest senior brother had ignored the first seat reserved for him by everyone and ran to sit on a stone mustard tree. Now the stone mustard tree didn't want to stay either. As the leader of a sect, he ran up the tree and vying to be the monkey.

Cheng Qian: “…”

Who is the one who is not presentable?

"I do have a suggestion." Ji Qianli became serious, walked to Tang Zhen in a square step, and glanced at Han Yuan.

Han Yuan always felt that this person looked at him with some kind of strange regret, which made him feel goosebumps all over his body.

"I went out with my disciples a while ago and saw that many people in Shu were suffering from the scourge of evil cultivators. The people were living in misery. Most of the evil cultivators had poor cultivation levels. I believe it won't be difficult for anyone present here to deal with them. It's just that there are so many of them that it's a bit troublesome. And..." Ji Qianli waved his sleeves and a gray shadow flew out of his sleeves. It turned out to be a little girl, gray and black all over, and she was basically blurry from the waist down. She was floating in the air, looking dull, with an indescribable resentment and ghostly aura floating on her body.

Yan Zhengming whispered: "Ghost?"

There was a cry of surprise from within the Ten Directions Formation.

Tang Zhen's face, which looked as if everything had just passed by, seemed to have been slapped in the face. Perhaps he was recalling the days when he was a ghost, but he involuntarily took a step back.

"That's right." Ji Qianli said, "I came here specially to tell you that the Soul Devouring Lamp that disappeared for a hundred years has reappeared in the world."

This remark caused a huge uproar, and everyone was in an uproar.

More than a hundred years ago, the Soul-Devouring Lamp appeared in the world and committed countless murders. The lamp holder, Jiang Peng, had an ominous background, but was extremely famous among the demon cultivators. There were rumors that he had the ability to conquer the North Sea. And if the demon dragon was causing chaos, it could still be considered that he had some things to do and some things not to do, but the ghost cultivators had much more unscrupulous methods.

Before one wave of troubles is over, another wave comes. The big demons are like mosquitoes after the beginning of autumn. It is really impossible to get rid of them all.

Cheng Qian whispered, "I saw him outside Mingming Valley, and accidentally let him run away... Could it be that he has really mastered the Soul Devouring Lamp?"

Yan Zhengming's hand around his waist tightened: "Why didn't you say it at the time?"

Cheng Qian: "...I forgot about it because you kept pestering me."

Yan Zhengming looked at him angrily, but unfortunately, Cheng Qian looked at him quietly, and his anger disappeared. Sect Leader Yan couldn't hold it back, and his eyes softened involuntarily. He had to pull Cheng Qian's face to the side: "Look over there, don't look at me."

The ignored puddle said dryly: "Second Brother, there is a living creature here."

Yan Zhengming glanced at her.

Puddle received the threat and turned her bird head away sadly: "Oh, it's okay, this creature is blind."

Ji Qianli and the others gradually lowered their whispers, and then turned to Han Yuan and said, "After all, Han Yuan has been rampant among the Nightmare Walkers for several years and has a deep understanding of the magic way. I wonder if he is willing to lend us a hand this time?"

Han Yuan looked at him with a sneer on his face.

Tang Zhen suddenly said, "The Soul Devouring Lamp hasn't appeared in a hundred years, and a ghost image of it may not be real. According to what the owner of the manor said, isn't it equivalent to releasing the magic dragon back to southern Xinjiang? Owner of the manor, the major sects have been involved in many incidents and suffered a lot of losses in the pursuit of the magic dragon. If you want to let the tiger go back to the mountains now, others may not agree."

He perfectly misinterpreted Ji Qianli's words, and his misinterpretation seemed to make sense.

Shuikeng whispered, "Junior Brother, I don't understand. Why does Senior Tang seem to want to protect Fourth Brother one moment, and then not want to protect him the next?"

Cheng Qian touched her head and said nothing, but he and Yan Zhengming heard it all - Tang Zhen wanted to protect Han Yuan, but absolutely did not agree to send him back to southern Xinjiang... Why?

Ji Qianli smiled and said, "This is easy. How could Master Tang forget it? Isn't your Eight Diagrams Plate containing the blood oath still there? Since we can establish one, we can naturally establish another one. Not only can we let the Demon Dragon establish it, but we can also...Call Master Yan and the others in, and discuss the terms. Master Tang made a fifteen-day agreement here last month. Han Yuan could have escaped, but he sat here quietly for a month waiting for your decision. Doesn't this prove the effect of the blood oath?"

Tang Zhen suppressed all the joy and anger on his face and became as tense as a wooden man.

Ji Qianli continued, "If not, do you want to go back and face the Soul Devouring Lamp and the countless ghosts? Do you want to deal with those demons who have little ability but many tricks?"

Bian Xu suddenly interrupted and asked, "So, how should the blood debt be repaid?"

His tone was blunt, almost tit-for-tat, and the place was completely silent.

Ji Qianli was silent for a while, then spoke word by word: "Brother Bian, the dead cannot be resurrected. Falling into paranoia is not good for cultivation. You should have felt it."

Bian Xu felt a sharp twitch on the face as he was hit in a sore spot.

Han Yuan laughed and said, "I'll pay you with my life."

Tang Zhen's eyes narrowed upon hearing this, and fell on Han Yuan, saying slowly: "Han Yuan, cultivators need to be careful with their words and actions. Sometimes it is difficult to take back what you have said. You should think carefully before you speak."

Han Yuan's words just now might not have come from his heart. He might just be provoking out of habit for the sake of momentary pleasure. But once Tang Zhen gave him this warning, it might not be the same. Han Yuan's inner demon was trapped by the words "being manipulated by others and having no choice". He could not stand provocation and threats the most. After being asked by Tang Zhen in this way, he might really swear to pay with his life!

Cheng Qian's heart skipped a beat. Although he didn't want to speculate on Tang Zhen's intentions with a suspicious heart, he felt vaguely uncomfortable in his heart.

Yan Zhengming: "Shh, it's okay, just watch."

Before he finished speaking, Han Yuan had already made a swearing gesture. Just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed. He seemed to be frozen in place. He opened his mouth several times but no sound came out.

Cheng Qian focused his true energy on his eyes, and saw that Han Yuan's body seemed to be covered with a layer of water film, wrapping him tightly in it. He immediately remembered the "water-repellent beads" that his senior brother asked him to pass on a while ago.

As expected... When Han Yuan trapped himself in the remains of the Ten Direction Formation, the eldest senior brother wished that hail would fall on his head every day. How could he be so kind as to prepare water-repellent beads for him?

Yan Zhengming whispered, "That's the 'avoiding oath bead'. Keep it on your body for an hour and you can't swear an oath for three days - I'm afraid he'll say something nonsense."

This weird and useless thing is obviously Li Yun's masterpiece.

Yan Zhengming frowned and said to himself, "What happened to Tang Zhen? Did he take the wrong medicine?"

With this interruption, Ji Qianli finally seized the opportunity and said to Bian Xu: "Your Xuanwu Hall is located in the Arctic Icefield, 108,000 miles away from Southern Xinjiang. Naturally, there is nothing to worry about. I just wonder if Xuanwu Hall cares about the unrest in the Central Plains?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at the small ghost in the air. The ghost was stimulated by his strength and suddenly pounced forward. Several monks who were nearby hurriedly stood up and dodged.

This old bastard from the White Tiger Villa either doesn't show up, or he's so tricky when he does.

But no one dared to say this to his face, because he was one of the Four Saints.

Ji Qianli said loudly: "I said the blood oath is as follows. First, the Demon Dragon must do its best to arrest the demon cultivators and the Soul Devouring Lamp that caused chaos in the Central Plains, otherwise it will be retaliated tenfold. Second, after catching the Soul Devouring Lamp, the Demon Dragon must confine himself to the southern border and guard the entrance for life. He must not leave the southern border for life, otherwise it will be retaliated tenfold. Third, since the Demon Dragon is serving his sentence, he must endure the whipping punishment every day for five hundred years. Unless he dies, it cannot be interrupted, otherwise it will be retaliated tenfold. Fourth, the Demon Dragon must not kill innocent people indiscriminately, refine magic weapons, accept disciples, or teach, otherwise he will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the Bagua plate that had witnessed the blood oath flew directly into his palm. Ji Qianli looked around with a smile and said, "I was the one who proposed the blood oath. The Demon Dragon is a disciple of the Fuyao Sect. I also need to ask Sect Master Yan to represent the sect and join me in the oath. If anyone shows partiality to the Demon Dragon in the future, his sect will be irreparable and his bloodline will be cut off. I believe you all have no objection, right?"

No one dared to speak out their opinions, as they were stunned by his series of "tenfold backlash" and "thunderbolt".

Ji Qianli first forced a drop of blood from his fingertips and poured it straight into the tray. Then he stretched out his hand and the tray flew straight towards the big sycamore tree.

Everyone held their breath for a moment, only to see the Bagua plate circling around the dense canopy of the sycamore tree for a long time, and suddenly it was caught by a hand. Yan Zhengming, who was hidden in the canopy, pushed aside the branches, took a deep look at Ji Qianli on the high platform, and dripped a drop of blood into the Bagua plate - the Fuyao sect's oath.

Tang Zhen saw the Bagua plate flying towards Han Yuan and was about to reach out to stop it: "Master Yan, you should think it over carefully before..."

But before he could finish his words, the Bagua plate had already bypassed Han Yuan.

The moment Fuyao Sect took the oath, Han Yuan had the symbol of the oath on his body.

Han Yuan stared at the sign, completely stunned.

this……

All this time, the head senior brother never expelled him from the sect, and he is still Fuyao's man!

At this moment, Han Yuan did not feel the slightest bit of resentment about being forced into the oath. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Yan Zhengming on the treetops. His lips trembled slightly, and he was speechless.

Tang Zhen's face changed - the blood oath had been made.

Cheng Qian sighed secretly, and felt empty and at ease in his heart.

Han Yuan caused great suffering to the world for his own personal vengeance. It was impossible for him to just let it go as if nothing had happened. He had made such a huge mistake and would have to pay a huge price. No one could cover up for him.

Otherwise, not to mention that the enemies and creditors will not agree, even the law of cause and effect will not sit idly by.

Allowing him to live and atone for his sins is already a great favor. Whether he is imprisoned in Fuyao Mountain or ordered to guard the southern border, it is already the best outcome.

The positions of Fuyao Mountain and Baihu Villa were determined, and the others could not say anything, so they stepped forward and added their witnesses on the blood oath plate.

As the sun sets, the matter is settled.

When everyone was about to leave, Ji Qianli left the disciples of the villa aside and walked towards Cheng Qian. He looked Cheng Qian up and down and said, "Long time no see. You have made progress again and have a bright future."

Cheng Qian: "Master Ji."

"Ji Qianli" laughed and said, "My name is not 'Qian Qianli'. I was just teasing you last time. You don't blame me for locking up your junior brother, right?"

The owner of Baihu Villa is named Shang Wannian. Everyone knows him, except for a few people who are oblivious to what is happening outside, such as Cheng Qian.

Cheng Qian lowered his head slightly: "How dare I."

The owner of Shang Manor glanced at him and smiled, "When the water is muddy, someone will try to take advantage of it. When the plan is exhausted, someone will show his dagger. I think the situation is about to change. You better be careful."

At this point, he looked down at the place where the blood oath mark on his hand disappeared, and said with a sly smile: "But that has nothing to do with us old guys."

Cheng Qian was stunned.

Shang Wannian showed his familiar madness again, and he sang in a singing voice: "After I die, I won't care about the flood."

After saying that, Shang Wannian suddenly took a step forward, almost bumping into Cheng Qian. He grabbed Cheng Qian's shirt by the chest, and his bottomless eyes were like two eerie black wells, staring at Cheng Qian without blinking.

Then, a spiritual consciousness penetrated into Cheng Qian's brow.

Cheng Qian heard his spiritual sense and said grimly: "Ting Qiankun was disguised as a piece of spiritual jade in the early years and wandered around the world. No one should recognize it. I don't know why it fell into your hands. Since it is destiny... Oh, don't let anyone know that Ting Qiankun is in your hands, remember."

His posture was too ambiguous. The next moment, a hand suddenly came in, pulled Cheng Qian back, and lightly pushed Shang Wannian away.

Yan Zhengming retracted his claws, straightened his sleeves as if nothing had happened, and said expressionlessly: "Hello, Master. Please respect yourself."

Cheng Qian: “…”

In other words, the inexplicable ear on the back of his hand was indeed the "Listening Ear". Cheng Qian frowned. He had indeed not told anyone else, but he mentioned it to Tang Zhen once that day. Would Tang Zhen suspect anything?

Cheng Qian didn't have many friends, and Tang Zhen was one of them. When he was asked to speculate about his old friend in this way, he suddenly felt as if a pool of cold and sticky mud was pressing on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Cheng Qian: "Master, please stay..."

He was just about to ask what "Ting Qiankun" was when Shang Wannian took two steps back, put a finger to his mouth, and made a "shut up" gesture to him.

Then the old madman pointed at his eyes, then at his ears, and finally at his mouth, and shook his head three times in a row - don't look, don't listen, don't speak.

After finishing the job, he lowered his head, a smile that was hard to describe appeared on his face, he turned around, put his hands behind his back, strode towards Han Yuan, and said, "My dear Han, you can get off the Ten Direction Formation now. I came here uninvited today and will go back to Fuyao Mountain with you to stay temporarily. We will set off in two days. You will go down to Shuzhong with me and return to Southern Xinjiang. Oh, don't be so sullen. Since this matter was caused by you, it is only natural for you to clean it up now."

Yan Zhengming's eyebrows almost flew off his face, and he muttered depressedly: "Uninvited guest, did I agree?"

Shang Wannian's "hahaha" laughter came from a distance, just answering his words.

Yan Zhengming calmed down, glanced at Cheng Qian who was worried and Shuikeng who was not in good shape, grabbed Cheng Qian's wrist, and said seriously: "Let's go."

Shuikeng followed without hesitation, looking pretty pretty, and said happily: "Big Brother, can Fourth Brother go home now?"

Yan Zhengming was too lazy to pay attention to her and asked Cheng Qian in a low voice: "What does Tang Zhen mean? Xiao Qian, has he mentioned it to you?"

Cheng Qian frowned, feeling a knot in his heart: "He told me that he wanted to save Han Yuan and imprison him on Fuyao Mountain."

Puddle: “Isn’t that great?”

"Bullshit, he did mean that," Yan Zhengming said, "Didn't you hear it? He also meant 'If this person can't stay on Fuyao Mountain, kill him for insurance'."

Cheng Qian's hand brushed across the scabbard of Frost Blade. Until the last moment when the evidence was conclusive and the truth was revealed, he was willing to forgive Tang Zhen for all his concealment and did not want to suspect him of anything.

Although the friendship between gentlemen is not very close, it requires a minimum of trust. But now he had to admit that his senior brother was right.

Cheng Qian said: "They are going to look for the Soul Devouring Lamp. I will go with them."

Puddle: “I’m going too!”

"No," Yan Zhengming rejected it outright, "If you leave my sight, something bad will happen."

"As for you—" He glanced at the puddle and scolded unceremoniously, "Why are you joining in the fun? Shut up!"

Cheng Qian was about to say something else, but Yan Zhengming interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "No need to say more, I'll talk to Shang Wannian tomorrow and find out the situation... Is that old guy really one of the Four Saints? Why is he a little crazy?"

The eldest brother is very discerning when it comes to finding faults in people and he always gets the key points.

That night, Cheng Qian did not sleep. He finally got rid of Yan Zhengming's entanglement and meditated in the quiet courtyard of Qing'anju.

But he suddenly couldn't calm down and always felt that something was going to happen.

Suddenly, the gate of Qing'an Residence was pushed open. Cheng Qian opened his eyes and saw Li Yun standing at the door with a gloomy face: "Where is the eldest brother?"

Cheng Qian: "What?"

Li Yun: "The owner of White Tiger Villa, Shang, is dead."