Qiuming Mountain's expression changed several times.

It was clear that he had heard of this Longsheng Root.

However, upon hearing the long-haired man's words, Qiuming Mountain's eyes showed a trace of fear: "Second Protector, Lord of the Hall, I was given the Longsheng Root? Why, why didn't I know?"

"Hehe." The long-haired man's gaze fell on the cup of tea in front of Qiuming Mountain: "Just now, in the tea you drank, there was the Longsheng Root bestowed upon you by the Lord of the Hall. Once the Longsheng Root is planted, you will become a trusted person of the Lord of the Hall, inseparably connected with the Eternal Life Hall. It seems you're not too willing?"

Qiuming Mountain opened his mouth, not caring about the cold sweat on his forehead, and quickly knelt to the ground, raising his hands to the sky: "I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare, I thank the Lord of the Hall for bestowing the Longsheng Root, thank the Lord of the Hall!"

This series of bizarre actions drew the attention of others in the teahouse.

However, Qiuming Mountain and the long-haired man ignored them.

The long-haired man seemed very satisfied with Qiuming Mountain's fearful response and turned to look at Ye Guichen: "What about you?"

Ye Guichen toyed with the teacup in his hand: "Are you trying to tell me that the tea I just drank contained this so-called Longsheng Root too?"

"Hehe, you're very smart, so you shouldn't do anything foolish, right?" The long-haired man said with a faint smile.

Ye Guichen also smiled at the long-haired man: "Yes, precisely because I'm smart, I don't want to become someone else's substitute, let alone someone else's puppet."

"That's not up to you!" The long-haired man's expression suddenly turned grim, and he slammed the table, chanting under his breath.

In the next second, Qiuming Mountain, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly fell in pain, clutching his stomach and rolling around, drenched in sweat within moments.

However, seeing Ye Guichen's calm demeanor without any reaction, the long-haired man was taken aback: "Didn't you also drink the tea? Why isn't there a reaction?"

Ye Guichen said disdainfully: "The Longsheng Root you mention, isn't it just a kind of parasitic worm in the stomach? Ah, you just said, I'm a genius just like your Hall Master, so what use is his Longsheng Root to me?"

As he spoke, Ye Guichen suddenly slapped his stomach.

Something in his throat seemed to move.

Ye Guichen spat out a black mass into the teacup in front of him.

The thing had countless tiny tentacles, but the body was only nail-sized, without eyes or nose, and at a glance, it looked like a tiny squid.

However, this thing seemed unable to survive outside the human body, struggling rapidly as Ye Guichen spat it out before quickly turning into a puddle of blood.

The long-haired man stared in shock at the thing in Ye Guichen's teacup, his expression serious, "No one but the Hall Master can remove the Longsheng Root, how, how did you..."

"You want to know how I can remove it?" Ye Guichen sighed: "Because your Hall Master's little tricks are child's play in my eyes!"

As he spoke, he reached out towards the long-haired man.

The long-haired man was utterly astonished.

He chose this place to make Ye Guichen lower his guard and then take the opportunity to plant the Longsheng Root in him.

Once the Longsheng Root was planted, no one could escape the Hall Master's control.

The Eternal Life Hall managed to quickly take control of both the Yin Ghost Sect and the Witch God Sect because of this Longsheng Root.

Anyone who dared to defy could be easily killed using the Longsheng Root by chanting a spell.

However, the Longsheng Root that even the masters of the Witch God Sect and the Yin Ghost Sect couldn't escape didn't work in front of Ye Guichen.

"I've miscalculated today. It seems you indeed qualify to be the Hall Master's substitute, but if you think you can capture me, dream on!" The long-haired man suddenly stood up and flipped the table towards Ye Guichen.

Ye Guichen shattered the table with one palm, but when he looked up again, the long-haired man was already gone.

"Fan Chang'an, take this person back first, find some iron chains to lock him, and I'll come to you later." Ye Guichen glanced at the stupefied Fan Chang'an and his son and pointed at Qiuming Mountain, who had passed out from pain.

Fan Chang'an quickly nodded: "Yes, Sect Leader Ye."

Ye Guichen said no more and leaped out of the teahouse from the third floor.

Outside, people came and went, bustling about.

Seeing someone suddenly jump from the third floor of the teahouse, everyone was so frightened they withdrew backward.

The elders with Fan Zhidong and his son were also shocked, their mouths agape.

"Just now, that person jumped down directly?"

"This, this though is just the third floor, but jumping down wouldn't he be crippled?"

To them, jumping from the third floor, even if one didn't die, they would be seriously injured.

Fan Chang'an quickly ran to the window, glanced down, but saw no sign of Ye Guichen.

"It's okay, even if it's the tenth floor, Sect Leader Ye won't get hurt with his eyes closed." Fan Chang'an turned back to say.

Everyone in the teahouse was stunned at his words.

This guy, is he boasting?

However, Ye Guichen didn't care what others thought and pursued relentlessly, soon arriving at an alley.

The long-haired man's speed was much faster than Qiuming Mountain's, and his stealth technique was much more advanced.

If his cultivation hadn't significantly increased, Ye Guichen might not have caught up.

However, having reached the second level of the Xuanming Prison Suppressing Technique, Ye Guichen could easily sense the other's presence.

Looking up, Ye Guichen saw an empty alley.

Yet, he clearly felt the other was there.

"Good technique, it seems the people from the Eternal Life Hall aren't weak." Ye Guichen thought, picking up a stone from the ground and throwing it towards a spot in the alley: "Come out."

"Haha, haha, I didn't expect it, truly unexpected!" A wild laugh rang out.

A figure suddenly appeared on what seemed to be an unremarkable wall.

The figure quickly dodged the stone Ye Guichen threw and stood in the center of the alley, quickly becoming corporeal—it was the long-haired man.

"I didn't expect that my Escape Technique, which even the Hall Master praised, would still be detected by you." The long-haired man didn't seem afraid of Ye Guichen discovering him, with a flick of his wrist, two snake-bone whips appeared in his hands.

The snake-bone whips weren't large, just over a meter each, but they emitted a strong poisonous aura.

"The fact that you aren't afraid of the Longsheng Root is indeed surprising, but don't think your martial arts skills surpass those of our Hall Master!"

With a sinister smile, the long-haired man shouted: "Blood Slaughter, Ghost Hidden, Po Mo, what are you standing around for, hurry up and come out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three more figures appeared around Ye Guichen.

Just like the long-haired man, they appeared without any warning, ghost-like.

Upon appearing, they had already surrounded Ye Guichen.