48, The book also said, where in life do we not meet

After finishing up the cleanup of the Black Mountain Demon's defeat, Yan Chixia looked at Xiao Han, who was lost in thought with his head down, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Ah Han, why's your face so off? Did you get hurt?"

"Ah... hurt? No, no, you've got it wrong."

Xiao Han was pulled back to reality from his contemplation. He looked at Yan Chixia and said a bit sheepishly, "Hero Yan, don't you think our fight with the Black Mountain Demon just now was a bit anticlimactic? I thought after I summoned the Demon Armor, we'd have a good long brawl, but it ended so hastily."

"On the battlefield, things change in an instant. Isn't it better to end it early?"

Yan Chixia raised an eyebrow. "Being able to take down the Black Mountain Demon so easily was mainly because your Demonic Qi scared the hell out of him. He lost all Fighting Spirit. Otherwise, two Buddhist Scriptures wouldn't have been able to suppress him so effortlessly."

"Come on, really? The Black Mountain Demon's been a living old demon for thousands of years. How could he lose his composure over something so trivial?"

Xiao Han's face was full of Black Lines.

"Hmph, what do you know?"

Yan Chixia put the Sword Case on the ground back into his Storage Ring and glanced at Xiao Han. "The longer someone lives, the more they cherish their life. Your Demonic Qi is even more terrifying than any demon I've ever encountered. If someone didn't know your background, they might really take you for a supreme great demon!"

"Like when you first met me?"

Xiao Han grinned mischievously.

"Exactly! Back then, I thought you were some demon with a knack for preserving youth, and I was ready to risk my old life to kill you and rid the world of a scourge." As he spoke, Yan Chixia even made a playful throat-slitting gesture at Xiao Han.

"Ahh—"

"You're still young, what are you sighing for? Like some doddering old man."

Yan Chixia, with a hint of frustration, patted Xiao Han on the Back of the Head. "So young and so listless. Smile a bit, won't you?"

"You don't get it. I just summoned the Demon Armor, and then the Black Mountain Demon got killed off like that. It's like that feeling of 'I've already got my pants off, and this is what you show me?'"

Xiao Han's expression was painfully awkward, like he was about to let loose when the other party had already gone soft and didn't want it anymore.

"Strange talk."

Yan Chixia shot Xiao Han a glare, decided to ignore him, and strode quickly toward Ning Caichen and the others.

After the Black Mountain Demon was impaled and exploded by Xiao Han's sword, the entire temporarily merged Yin-Yang Realm vanished instantly. Sunlight once again spilled across the earth, accompanied by the screams of Wrathful Ghosts disintegrating into ash under the direct rays. This snapped the Reincarnators, who were still savoring the fight, back to their senses.

After cleaning off some of the blood and grime on themselves, the Reincarnators happily checked the Reincarnation Points they'd earned from the recent slaughter, which far exceeded their expectations. Killing a single Ghost Soldier netted 10 Reincarnation Points, and killing a Ghost General doubled that to a full 20 Reincarnation Points.

If not for Xiao Han and Yan Chixia holding back the most terrifying Black Mountain Demon, they wouldn't have been able to rake in such a windfall. All in all, these Reincarnators were fairly satisfied with their alliance with Xiao Han.

Though the battle had been intense, thanks to the support of the mage Chen Lan, everyone had few wounds, and those they did have were just minor scrapes. After the fight, Chen Lan personally treated the injured in the team.

Ning Caichen watched as Chen Lan gently and meticulously dressed his wounds. A rare hint of shyness appeared on his face, and his breathing quickened.

'Miss Chen Lan is not only a powerful Daoist nun; during the battle just now, it was thanks to her Daoist techniques that I could hold my own against those Ghost Soldiers.'

'And Miss Chen Lan is both beautiful and kind-hearted. I wonder if she's married or not.'

'She's treating my wounds so tenderly... Could she have feelings for me?'

Good grief. In this world, Ning Caichen hadn't managed to seduce a female ghost, and now he was setting his sights on a Reincarnator.

But as a Reincarnator, Chen Lan wasn't thinking that far ahead. She was just treating her teammates out of habit and her gentle nature, especially since they'd need Ning Caichen's unexpectedly strong combat power when they went after the Thousand-Year Centipede Demon.

After healing everyone in turn, Chen Lan saw Yan Chixia approaching with Xiao Han.

"Mission accomplished. After a bitter struggle between Ah Han and myself... blah blah blah blah blah... we finally destroyed that thousand-year-old demon. That old fiend was incredibly powerful. If not for the two Buddhist Scriptures we pulled out at the critical moment to suppress him, we'd surely be dead and buried."

Yan Chixia was lying through his teeth, describing the recent battle as an earth-shattering bloodbath. Xiao Han watched with a face full of Black Lines.

You don't have a single wound on you. What bitter struggle?!

Enough already. If you keep up the act, you'll get caught!

"Thank you both for your hard work, heroes."

The Man in Sunglasses imitated ancient etiquette and cupped his hands toward Xiao Han and Yan Chixia. "Without the two of you, we alone could never have killed the Black Mountain Demon, who has plagued the land for a thousand years."

"For those of us on the path of cultivation, exorcising demons and upholding the Dao is merely a small effort."

Yan Chixia accepted the Man in Sunglasses' words without any modesty, letting out a bold laugh.

"To be honest, Hero Yan, this humble one has another favor to ask!"

The Man in Sunglasses then revealed the truth to Yan Chixia: that the Imperial Tutor, Pu Du Cihang, was actually a Thousand-Year Centipede Demon in his True Form. That Thousand-Year Centipede Demon, in order to cultivate into a True Dragon, had taken the alias Pu Du Cihang and become the National Protector Grandmaster, all while draining the nation's fortune and devouring a large number of court officials.

This was what had plunged the Imperial Court into chaos and left the entire country in turmoil!

In terms of sin, he was no less than the Black Mountain Demon.

But in terms of cultivation, Pu Du Cihang was still considerably weaker than the Black Mountain Demon.

Moreover, as a former judge renowned across the Guandong Guangxi Twenty-Six Provinces, Yan Chixia was naturally well-known to the emperor. If he were to step forward and expose the true face of the National Preceptor to the emperor, it would surely convince him.

Of course, the primary goal was still to kill the centipede demon and restore a clear and bright world to all under heaven!

"Outrageous! No wonder the world has been in such chaos these years—it truly proves the saying, 'When a nation is about to fall, monsters will arise.' There's no time to lose. We'll set out for the Capital City immediately and expose that fiend's true face!"

Yan Chixia's hair bristled with fury. No wonder the entire Imperial Court had been in turmoil all these years—it was because a thousand-year Great Demon was wreaking havoc. How could there be peace?

Now that he had so many capable allies by his side, killing a centipede demon would be no trouble at all.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't help with this. I have to leave." Just as everyone was rolling up their sleeves and preparing to move out, Xiao Han's voice rang out from the side.

"A Han, what's going on? Why the sudden need to leave?" Yan Chixia turned to look at this young brother he'd spent time with, his expression puzzled.

"Yeah, what's the matter, Brother Xiao?"

Ning Caichen also looked at Xiao Han with great confusion.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Xiao Han said helplessly, "There's something very important that requires me to leave immediately. Actually, I planned to tell you after we eliminated the tree demon and the Black Mountain Demon, but I didn't expect another thousand-year centipede demon to pop up.

It's not that I'm unwilling to join in Demon Extermination—it's just that the matter at hand is extremely urgent and of great importance! So I wanted to say goodbye here. I hope you'll understand!"

"Ah—forget it, forget it. Since you have urgent business, we'll part ways here."

Yan Chixia waved his hand, turned around, and walked away. It was clear he was also very reluctant.

Over these days together, he had long come to see Xiao Han as a true friend. And if he hadn't accepted Xiao Han, how could he have passed on his entire legacy without holding back?

"Brother Xiao, you're leaving so soon?"

Ning Caichen grabbed Xiao Han's hand. "I haven't even had a chance to thank you for teaching me the Sword Flying Technique! I never thought we'd part after just over half a month of knowing each other. Take care of yourself, please."

"Brother Ning."

Xiao Han hadn't expected Ning Caichen to truly regard him as a close friend, and he couldn't help but feel a bit moved.

But the next moment, Xiao Han shook his head with a smile. "The books say, 'Under heaven, no feast lasts forever.' A good man's ambitions lie in all directions. What's a temporary parting?"

As he spoke, Xiao Han pointed one hand at the sky.

"Look at these clouds—they gather and scatter, scatter and gather. The meetings and partings of life are just the same."

Ning Caichen was taken aback, then cupped his hands with a wry smile. "In that case, I've been overly sentimental. Then, Brother Xiao, let us part here."

"Mm..."

Xiao Han nodded, then walked behind Yan Chixia, who had his back turned to him, and said with some reluctance, "Hero Yan, I'm leaving. I'll always remember the grace of your teachings during this time."

"Go on. We martial folk of the jianghu shouldn't be so sentimental and fussy." Yan Chixia turned around, but Xiao Han noticed his eyes were red, as if he'd been crying. In the end, Yan Chixia was still a man of deep emotion.

"Also, that lousy story of yours about 'Muye Daozhe Village' was terribly made up. Next time you try to fool people with a tale, remember to come up with a better one."

"Ah!? You... you knew all along?"

Xiao Han felt a bit awkward.

"I figured out you were lying the very next day. I've been a judge for so many years—did you really take me for a fool?

But after traveling together all this way, I could tell you were a cultivator who truly hates evil. So I didn't dig deeper. Everyone has their secrets."

Yan Chixia took a Deep breath. "Go on. I've taught you everything I could. Now your sword intent cultivation has surpassed mine."

Giving Yan Chixia a long, deep look, Xiao Han nodded and bowed.

Then he cupped his hands to everyone present. "Everyone, let us part here. Until we meet again!"

With that, Xiao Han walked away step by step, his back to everyone, until he vanished into the Dense Forest.

"What a pity. With such a powerful ally, we could have all come through this unscathed."

The Man in Sunglasses watched Xiao Han leave and said, "Looks like something went wrong on the Main God's end. His task to assist in killing the centipede demon was removed."

"That kid's origins are unclear. Even though he claims the Main God arranged it, he's ultimately hard to control. According to the Main God's hints, after completing the task, he'll return to his own Reincarnation World."

Chen Lan walked up beside the Man in Sunglasses, his brow relaxing. Facing Xiao Han, that seemingly harmless and handsome youth, he always felt a jolt of unease.

Now that Xiao Han was gone, it let him set his mind at ease.