As Chen Wannian was lost in thought, Chen Chao had already walked over to Xie Nandu’s side.

The battle at Yixian Tide was already nearing its end. Xie Nandu was instructing her deputy general, Yuan Ting, on some matters. When Yuan Ting saw Chen Chao approaching, he could not help but fall into a daze.

Yuan Ting had spent no small amount of time on battlefields, having served under two Great Generals and gone through several great wars. Yet he feared he had never seen anyone who could compare with the young martial artist before him.

Just hearing of his battle exploits alone was already enough to terrify.

All the more since the other party was still so young.

“Alright, you may go.”

Xie Nandu moved her lips, dismissing Yuan Ting first. Only then did she look at Chen Chao, frowning slightly.

“At that moment, were those things really something you absolutely had to do?”

What she referred to was naturally when Chen Chao encountered the Demon Emperor earlier and still went ahead without hesitation, raising his middle finger at the other party.

For Xie Nandu, such things were truly unnecessary.

All the more so in that kind of situation, where provoking the Demon Emperor would only lead to losses outweighing the gains.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. “It’s not as serious as you think. And doing that, I felt alright inside.”

Xie Nandu fell silent.

It was not out of anger, but rather because the girl before her was beginning to wonder what exactly went on inside this fellow’s head.

But after a moment of thought, she said nothing more.

Chen Chao reached out to take the girl’s hand, smiling as he asked, “Shall we walk together for a bit?”

Xie Nandu glanced at Chen Chao. Thinking about it, there was indeed nothing left that required her attention, so she nodded. For this meeting, she truly did have some things she wished to say to this fellow before her.

......

......

Yun Jianyue had clashed with the demon lord who had been preparing to rush to Yixian Tide, but in the end, no victor was decided. At the time, Yun Jianyue did not know what had happened over there, only guessing that it likely had something to do with Chen Chao. So he resolved not to let that demon lord leave.

As for the demon lord, he had originally intended to swiftly finish Yun Jianyue off, but never expected that this new temple master of Infatuation Daoist Temple would possess such formidable battle strength. His lightning spells were filled with lethal power, and in a moment of carelessness, the demon lord was struck on the head several times by bolts of heavenly lightning.

Let alone quickly killing Yun Jianyue, even trying to extricate himself in the end proved extremely difficult.

So at last, when he saw that all had quieted down on the side of Yixian Tide, this demon lord chose not to continue his struggle here. He fought while retreating, and finally, with Yun Jianyue’s tacit consent, withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the demon domain.

Yun Jianyue watched silently in the direction the demon lord had departed, saying nothing, only watching quietly.

As for Yixian Tide, he had no intention of going to take a look.

Things there were more or less settled, though he did not yet know the exact outcome.

But regardless, since it was already over, going there himself no longer had much meaning.

Turning south, he gave a wry smile.

This trip to the desolate north, it seemed he was still a step too late.

Some matters, he had missed.

But not long after heading south, amidst the wind and snow, Yun Jianyue caught sight of a familiar figure.

In the instant he saw that figure, Yun Jianyue froze in place, a little dazed. But soon after, he broke into a smile.

......

......

Being momentarily dazed was because he had not expected to meet this person here. But soon after, he smiled, for seeing this person truly brought him joy.

When he was a boy, he had been brought to the Infatuation Daoist Temple. His own master had passed away early, and in the days that followed, it was always the man before him who imparted the Dao and answered his doubts.

Though the two never had the relationship of master and disciple, in reality, they were no different from that.

Yun Jianyue gave a solemn bow, and said even more solemnly, “Disciple greets Martial Uncle. To see Martial Uncle still in the human world, this disciple is overjoyed.”

In terms of seniority, the man before him was indeed his martial uncle.

And his identity needed no words.

The Temple Master of Infatuation Daoist Temple from two generations ago - Daoist Wuyang.

He was also the leader of Daoism of that era, even a member of the foreign lands.

But times had changed, and the Temple Master of Infatuation Daoist Temple had already changed more than once.

Daoist Wuyang looked at the young daoist before him, his eyes filled with comfort. In this lifetime, he had taken no disciple, yet he had raised Yun Jianyue as if he were one. Now, seeing him here, apart from comfort, there was hardly any other feeling he could have.

The sapling he once planted, unseen for many years, had already grown into a towering tree.

As the one who planted it, he felt nothing but comfort, and only comfort.

“How did you determine that Yinli meant me harm, rather than me passing him the position of temple master?”

Daoist Wuyang fixed his eyes on Yun Jianyue. He was genuinely curious about that matter of the past. Back then, Yinli had taken away the Temple Master’s seal before that celestial sea, and he was also his junior brother, even the temple’s Chief Enforcer. At that time, no one in the temple, high or low, should have suspected him of anything.

At least, even if they did suspect, there was no proof.

“At first it was only intuition. Having been in the temple with him for so many years, I knew well enough what kind of person the Chief Enforcer was.”

Yun Jianyue thought for a moment before continuing, “But what made this disciple certain there was something wrong with him was his way of handling matters.”

Some things in people never change. No matter what they do, there is always something within that shapes it.

Everything about Daoist Yinli’s conduct revealed oddity.

“But where did the evidence come from?”

Daoist Wuyang looked at Yun Jianyue, smiling as he said, “This matter was too significant. Without evidence, none of the many people in the temple would have believed you. Evidence is crucial. Truth is not what they care about. For the sake of the bigger picture, they could even disregard my death. So if you wanted to kill him, you had to ensure that everyone could only accept that outcome.”

Yun Jianyue said, “Yes. This disciple killed him first, and then returned to become Temple Master, thereby creating a fait accompli.”

“In this way, they truly had nothing left to say, because the living Yun Jianyue, however one looked at it, was far more important than the dead Yinli.”

Daoist Wuyang had been able to sit in that position for many years, so he naturally knew a lot and understood a lot.

Yun Jianyue suddenly took off that seal from his waist and handed it to Daoist Wuyang.

The action was very simple, and its meaning was very clear.

"Since you are still alive, this seal should hang at your waist."

If Daoist Wuyang was still alive, then he should be the Temple Master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, the leader of Daoism.

Daoist Wuyang looked at that seal for a long time, with many emotions - nostalgia, lament. But the only thing absent was any intent to claim it.

"Long trapped in the cage, to return once more to nature."

Daoist Wuyang smiled and said, "Now that the Infatuation Daoist Temple is in your hands, it is good. There is no need to return it to me."

Yun Jianyue held up the seal, listening to these words, and after a long silence finally said, "Martial Uncle, do you really not want it?"

Daoist Wuyang looked at Yun Jianyue, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Do you truly wish to give it to me?"

For these two, once incomparably close yet in truth walking different Daos, at this moment it was as if two distinct paths lay beneath their feet.

They had never revealed it before, but now it seemed they could no longer avoid it.

Yun Jianyue said nothing, only put the seal away and said, "That evidence was given to this disciple by Chen Chao."

Beyond the Immortal Sea, in that life-and-death struggle between senior and junior brother, there had been another outsider present.

Daoist Wuyang remained silent for a long time before softly speaking, "I had long suspected. Since Chen Che set up such a scheme and trapped me within it, then the scheme would not be so simple. That he was there as well at the time is only natural."

He had not known it at that moment, but afterward, when he reviewed everything on that island, many things surfaced.

He was not foolish; naturally he understood where the crux lay.

______