Cause and Effect

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Cihe swallowed hard, a hint of resentment creeping into his expression. He whispered, "The remnants of the Great Joy Temple who entered the Profound Yin Sect are all dead..."

A single sentence was like a thunderbolt, and Qin Yi was so shocked that he stood up straight.

They Meng Qingying a glance and saw the extreme astonishment in each other's eyes; their romantic thoughts had long since vanished.

The remaining members of the Great Joy Temple scattered outside could not be found by the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace. It was assumed that they had all taken refuge in the Profound Yin Sect, which shared the same origin... It turned out that although they did enter the Profound Yin Sect, it was not refuge, but rather a journey to hell.

Upon reflection, it all made sense. Qin Yi had already incurred the wrath of the Great Joy Temple back when they destroyed the Hongfa Temple, and the deaths of Ciming, Cihui, and Guanji were all inextricably linked to him. He must have been placed on a top-level blacklist, the kind that was widely publicized within the sect. That's why Cihe immediately called out Qin Yi when she saw him.

If there were truly any remnants of the Great Joy Temple within the Profound Yin Sect, then someone would surely recognize him, and during the battle just now, someone would definitely have shouted, "That's Qin Yi!"

But no one shouted that, which means that the people from Great Joy Temple are not in the Profound Yin Sect.

So... he was dead?

Cihe continued, "Originally, it was our Martial Grand-Uncle secretly organized everyone to come and seek refuge with the Profound Yin Sect, and everyone came one after another. The Profound Yin Sect initially received us warmly, saying they would buy time for our Martial Grand-Uncle to recover. We thought we had finally found a place to stay, and that we would fight back once our Martial Grand-Uncle recovered... But only on the second day after we entered, some guest from the Profound Yin Sect arrived, and they immediately turned on us, wiping out everyone from the Great Joy Temple."

Cihe burst into tears at this point. "The person who came was very powerful. Under his combined attack, even my Martial Grand-Uncle died... I was the only one who managed to escape in the chaos, but I had nowhere to go. Where else could I hide if not in the Spiritual Qi Mount Ling?"

Qin Yi and Meng Qingying looked at each other, speechless.

After guarding against the resurgence of Qian Yuan for so long, the result was... a silent death here. If it weren't for the chance encounter with this monk, the entire Divine Land would never have known.

This leaves them wondering how they'll process it all in a short time.

Meng Qingying said in a low voice, "The so-called guests are..."

Qin Yi resolutely replied, "Heavenly Mystery Child."

Only Heavenly Mystery Child could possibly have guessed the whereabouts of the remnants of the Great Joy Temple through divination. He knew that once Cheng Yuan was restored, their Scheming Sect, located on the original site of the Great Joy Temple, would be the primary target of retaliation, and this future threat must be eliminated.

Only his strength matches that of Shining Sun Peak, just a hair's breadth away from breaking through Qianyuan Pass, possessing enough power to suppress the still-injured Cheng Yuan Monk. Xuan Hao Zhenren, with his level of skill that couldn't even hold them back, certainly couldn't accomplish this.

The reason Heavenly Mystery Child persuaded Xuan Hao Zhenren was simply that Cheng Yuan might take over the position after recovering...

No, the order is wrong.

When Xuan Hao Zhenren took in Cheng Yuan, he couldn't possibly not be wary of the possibility that Chengyuan might usurp his place. Even Pu Xiang Zhenren knew this and had voiced his opposition. Xuan Hao Zhenren wasn't stupid, so why did he insist on going his own way?

This only proves that he had ill intentions when he took Cheng Yuan in. Heavenly Mystery Child had already contacted him and set this trap before Cheng Yuan even arrived. Cheng Yuan swaggered into the Profound Yin Sect, presumably thinking that Xuan Hao Zhenren couldn't touch him; little did he expect that Heavenly Mystery Child only the second day after he entered...

It's more likely that they hit it off immediately, and both sides were interested, which led to this arrangement.

No wonder it's said that even a notorious demon has fallen in this Land of Chaos. Isn't this a perfect example? A dignified Qian Yuan cultivator, seeking refuge with an old relative to heal his wounds, has fallen here without even making a ripple.

It's truly chilling.

Meng Qingying asked cautiously, "Then do you know... why Xuan Hao wanted to kill Cheng Yuan? Was it just to prevent someone from usurping his position, and thus orchestrated this scheme?"

Cihe shook his head. "I don't know, but before this happened, Xuan Hao often discussed with us how to merge the two sects into one. Maybe it has something to do with this."

"To unite as one..." Qin Yi seemed to be deep in thought.

Just because Bangbang did it so easily doesn't mean others can do it so easily. Could the two merge to form a more advanced Cultivation Method, or even attempt to seize and integrate the cultivation of Cheng Yuan because they share a common Cultivation Method?

It's possible... their different attributes and combined pursuit methods might actually lead Xuan Hao to merge Cheng Yuan's cultivation with his own, directly breaking through to Qian Yuan.

Qin Yi now has a good understanding of the mindset of these cultivators. In order to "prove the Dao", all sorts of strange ideas can be born.

However, Xuan Hao obviously failed. Their so-called Harmonious Union Pill was clearly not enough, which led to... Qi Wen's appearance?

The puppetry technique of the Myriad Images of the Universe? Could it allow him to refine Cheng Yuan into a super puppet at the Qian Yuan Level even if he couldn't fuse with it?

Meng Qingying had clearly thought of this as well, her expression extremely grave. Even a Qian Yuan level corpse would have this as its first reaction to her. The Myriad Images of the Universe possesses its own Secret Method; Refining Corpses into puppets is just one of them. There is indeed another way to fuse the puppet's energy with one's own.

No wonder Xuan Hao dared to intervene in the struggle for the throne of the Myriad Images of the Universe... Refining a puppet at the Qian Yuan Level, or perhaps using it to fuse power and break through to the Qian Yuan level, is certainly worth the gamble for him, it's well worth it.

The cause and effect now make perfect sense.

Qin Yi pondered for a while, then asked Meng Qingying in a low voice, "There is still something I don't understand."

"Hmm," Meng Qingying said, "You tell me, and we'll discuss it together."

"Why did your Senior Brother choose to be a woman? Is it related to this? This link remains unsolved."

Meng Qingying was silent for a moment, then shook her head and said, "This should be a transaction between Senior Brother and the Profound Yin Sect. Senior Brother's Yang Meridian is injured, so this is a good opportunity for him to become a woman."

"What's he after?"

Meng Qingying looked up at the sky for a long time before saying, "If I'm not mistaken, he hopes that the female form can gain Master's favor in the struggle for the throne. They think that my cultivation has reached this level in such a short time because I have Master's favor, but in reality... that's not the case."

"Just because of a misunderstanding, you're so resolute?"

"Master is a person of deep emotions." Meng Qingying suddenly smiled. "You may not believe it, but a great demon of the Demon Sect is a person of deep emotions."

Qin Yi opened his mouth, but swallowed back his words of doubt.

It's really hard to believe.

"A truly affectionate person will not easily change their affections, and even if they become a woman, they shouldn't try to seduce her. But since they are affectionate, there is a more typical characteristic: they will not completely sit idly by while their subordinates fight; there will inevitably be emotional biases in their hearts. So, for a man, it is perfectly normal to be slightly biased towards women."

"..." Qin Yi retorted, "When a man turns into that kind of grotesque appearance, he can never achieve anything positive, he can only become disgusting."

"That's why he sought out the Profound Yin Sect... If Xuan Hao can merge with Cheng Yuan, can he merge with me? Obtain my power, my Star Dragon, and my... appearance?"

Qin Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

Meng Qingying gazed into the distance and whispered, "There are many more unbelievable things in this world. The Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace is too An Yi... As you see more of the world, you'll become more accustomed to its distortions. With power and life that transcend the mundane, this path is destined to become selfish and twisted. We are all walking on this twisted path, no one is an exception, and perhaps you are too, you just haven't realized it yet."

As she spoke, she casually slapped Cihe, shattering him to pieces without leaving a trace.

Qin Yi remained silent.

"Don't blame me for being heartless." Meng Qingying walked towards the cave abode and said calmly, "Our injuries have not yet healed. The Profound Yin Sect will surely be searching extensively now. The most urgent thing is to heal our wounds."

"So you know that the most urgent thing is healing, not Yi Jianmei?" Qin Yi thought to himself, silently following her into the cave abode.

The cave abode was completely dark, devoid of any Spiritual Qi. Qin Yi took out a Night-Shining Pearl, casually summoned it, and it hovered in the air.

The cave abode was small, hastily carved out Cihe. Inside, a smiling Buddha statue was carved into the wall. The shadows of the two people were reflected on the Buddha statue, seemingly merging together.

Meng Qingying watched the shadow with great interest.

Qin Yi noticed her gaze and felt somewhat embarrassed. He tried to change the subject. "I didn't expect Cihe to actually have some Buddhist faith. Seeking refuge alone, she even carved Buddha statues. Is that considered piety?"

"Did you see the shadow?" Meng Qingying replied, seemingly unrelated to the question.

Qin Yi gave an awkward "hmm".

"A person's shadow is a very mysterious thing. In my cultivation, a shadow can be regarded as a mysterious manifestation of life, reflecting an unknown corner of the human heart." Meng Qingying finally answered Qin Yi's question, "Cihe is a demon Yin-Yang Harvesting the essence of life, but his shadow may be a Buddha. There is no contradiction."

Qin Yi vaguely realized something. He had once felt that there was a demon in his heart, and that he was not as upright as he thought.

However, if it's manifested through shadows... that's Meng Qingying's personal cultivation, something he can't comprehend. Perhaps the shadows Meng Qingying sees are different from his.

"So, you think..." Meng Qingying turned to look at him, her expression flickering in and out of focus under the soft light of the pearl. "Your shadow, the shadow at this moment... is it Buddha, demon, or me?"