Chapter 367: The Approaching Truth
Lu Xiaoluo saw the situation turn dire and immediately flashed forward. She spread her hands, and spiritual power surged out like a tide, forcibly separating the two.
"Senior! Calm down!" she shouted in a low voice. Her fingertips formed a hand seal, and she cast a Heart-Clearing Incantation into the center of the Heavenly Demon Venerable's forehead.
The Heavenly Demon Venerable trembled all over, and the violence in his eyes receded slightly. However, his chest still heaved violently as he stared dead at the old man, as if he wanted to flay him alive with his gaze.
The old man lay paralyzed on the ground, clutching his throat and gasping for air. His turbid eyes were filled with terror and bewilderment.
"I remember... I remember it all!" The Heavenly Demon Venerable's voice was hoarse, like a low roar squeezed from an abyss. "Quick! Take me to see the Saint Master! Now!"
Lu Xiaoluo's heart skipped a beat—Saint Master?
Was he referring to her Master?
She quickly calmed down and turned to instruct the disciple waiting outside the door. "Take good care of this old gentleman; there must be no mistakes."
Then, she looked at the Heavenly Demon Venerable. Seeing that his eyes were bloodshot but his expression was no longer as manic as before, she nodded. "Follow me."
The Heavenly Demon Venerable took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging killing intent, and followed Lu Xiaoluo away with big strides.
In the corridor, his fists remained tightly clenched. His fingernails dug deep into his palms, oozing traces of blood, yet he was completely unaware.
Past memories washed over his soul like a flood. Those sealed hatreds, betrayals, and pains were all as clear as yesterday.
...
On the other side.
Chen Chang'an slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the scorched residue in his palm. The jade slip, originally warm and smooth like jade, was now completely destroyed.
Its surface was covered in scorch marks, turning to flying ash at the slightest touch.
His face was gloomy, and a trace of cold severity flashed through his eyes. If he hadn't already broken through to the Immortal Venerable Realm, his soul as stable as the eternal stars, he would have been devoured by that Soul-Burning True Fire.
He wouldn't have even had a chance at reincarnation.
"A killing trap specifically targeting the soul..." he muttered to himself, his fingertips gently rubbing the residue. "It seems the other party is determined to kill me."
But the more this happened, the calmer Chen Chang'an's heart became. He had a vague feeling that he was getting closer to a certain truth.
Judging by the other party's reaction, he was most likely not the reincarnation of that senior transmigrator—this actually made him breathe a sigh of relief. After all, he didn't want his fate defined by an existence that had long since fallen.
"The first two tests: stumping the Gate Spirit and breaking the Eight Trigrams Maze..." His eyes flickered. "The other party's goal should be to verify my identity."
But the other party had clearly miscalculated.
A cold sneer curled up at the corner of his mouth. They probably hadn't expected that he had entered the jade slip with the cultivation of the Immortal Venerable Realm.
This trap's killing move might have been enough to kill any cultivator below the Immortal Venerable Realm, but for a true Immortal Venerable, it wasn't fatal enough.
"Or perhaps..." A cold light flashed in Chen Chang'an's eyes. "This trap was meant for those who haven't reached the Immortal Venerable Realm, and they have other methods for dealing with an Immortal Venerable."
He slowly stood up and waved his sleeve, completely wiping away the jade slip residue.
So many years had passed, and having experienced so much, he was no longer the newbie who had just transmigrated.
Perhaps as Ji Hongli had said, unknowingly, his inner self had been growing all along.
So... no matter who the mastermind was, since they had made a move on him, they had to be prepared to pay the price.
...
Ji Hongli, standing nearby, looked at her usually gentle husband's rare gloomy expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Chen Chang'an recounted what had happened inside the jade slip.
"It seems that old man was a trap himself." Her voice was slightly cold. "He was a chess piece planted by the mastermind."
Chen Chang'an nodded, his knuckles gently tapping the table. "In that case, his true identity is worth considering."
Just then, a burst of rapid footsteps came from outside the door, followed by a voice suppressing anger. "Saint Master, I know his true identity!"
The Heavenly Demon Venerable strode in, his eyes burning with bone-deep hatred.
Chen Chang'an had long sensed his arrival. He was too lazy to correct the title of "Saint Master" anymore and simply lifted his eyelids. "Oh? What identity?"
"Zhou Moran!" The Heavenly Demon Venerable almost squeezed the name out from between his teeth. "He is your former beloved disciple—Zhou, Mo, Ran!"
He gnashed his teeth, every word soaked in years of settled hatred. "I didn't expect that after betraying the Saint Master, this traitor would end up like this!"
Thinking of the old man's withered and hunched appearance, the Heavenly Demon Venerable suddenly gave a ferocious smile. "This is the end of a traitor!"
"He overestimated himself, thinking that after betraying us, he could fly away with that slut and enjoy endless glory..."
He suddenly clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking. "But in the end, he was just a fool used by others!"
"Zhou Moran..." Chen Chang'an chewed on the name in a low voice, his heart as calm as an ancient well without a ripple.
This made him even more certain—he really wasn't that "Saint Master."
He raised his eyes to look at the Heavenly Demon Venerable. "You remember?"
The Heavenly Demon Venerable nodded, the hostility in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by a complex emotion. "I remember a lot of things..."
His voice suddenly became soft, as if he had fallen into distant memories. Not knowing what he thought of, a rare look of nostalgia appeared on his lips.
"The three of us... although we were beaten into submission by you, Saint Master..."
Speaking of this, he suddenly chuckled, his cold face revealing a rare softness. "But looking back now, wasn't the most brilliant time of our lives spent following you, Saint Master, traveling the world and causing trouble everywhere..."
His gaze slightly lost focus, as if crossing endless years to return to that high-spirited era.
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