Venerable Jiyin

"An explanation?"

Ning Chen gave a cold laugh, his tone suddenly turning icy.

"Go back and tell Jiyin this: I said to suspend the soul gathering in the Chu Yun Empire for now and take care of what I instructed him to do first. If he has any questions..."

Ning Chen paused, then continued slowly,

"Tell him to get his ass over to Hun Miesheng and ask him directly. Once he has his answer, he can come talk to me. If he can't get an answer, or doesn't dare ask... then he can keep his mouth shut and do as he's told."

H-Hun Miesheng?!

Tie Protector had no idea exactly which great figure that name belonged to. But it began with "Hun," and Ning Chen was telling Venerable Jiyin to "get his ass over and ask." That person's status was simply unimaginable!

He was probably a true powerhouse of the Soul Clan, one who wielded real authority. Could he even be... the Soul Hall's master, and that was his real name?

The thought made Tie Protector's soul tremble!

His last trace of hesitation and concern vanished in an instant!

Compared to possibly offending the unfathomable "Lord Hun Chen" before him and the terrifying power behind him, what did Venerable Jiyin's orders matter?

"Yes! I understand! I'll do as you say!"

Tie Protector bent over until he was practically doubled in half, his voice trembling slightly with excitement and fear.

"I'll make the arrangements right away! The entire Wanxie Sect will welcome you with the highest honors, my lord, and immediately mobilize every resource to gather what you need! I wouldn't dare slack off for even a moment!"

All other thoughts had left his mind. Only one unwavering resolve remained:

He would serve this "Lord Hun Chen" at any cost!

This might be the greatest crisis of his life, but it could also be an unprecedented opportunity!

Tie Protector was determined to cling to this powerful patron!

Seeing Tie Protector looking as if he would gladly lay down his life, Ning Chen sneered inwardly. On the surface, he merely gave a quiet "Mm" and waved a hand.

"Go. Make the arrangements as soon as possible. I'll wait here."

"Yes! I'll take my leave! Please wait a moment, my lord!"

As if pardoned, Tie Protector bowed once more. Only then did his figure slowly dissolve into the black mist and swiftly disappear into the distance. He was clearly eager to carry out the orders.

Only Ning Chen and Xiao Yi Xian remained on the Wind Riding Boat.

The mountain wind howled, dispelling the suffocating tension that had hung in the air.

Only then did Xiao Yi Xian let out a long breath and pat her chest. Still shaken, she looked at Ning Chen, her expression complicated.

Ning Chen turned to face her questioning gaze. He merely smiled, patted her shoulder, and said softly,

"It's fine now. Just a minor inconvenience. Come on. We'll soon have a much more comfortable place to stay. You can focus on studying poison arts without worry."

"Okay..." Xiao Yi Xian nodded, then hesitated before asking, "Ning Chen, are you... really called Hun Chen, or was everything just now a lie?"

Xiao Yi Xian was afraid—afraid that the person who had spent so much time with her had been wearing a mask the whole time.

And the little feelings she had begun to harbor might be nothing more than wishful thinking, ridiculous as a joke.

"Don't worry," Ning Chen said with a faint smile.

"I'm from the Central Plains, and I know the Soul Hall—and the force behind it—extremely well. I was just bluffing him."

"Besides, there's no point turning down free labor."

"So that's what it was..."

Xiao Yi Xian knew there was still something Ning Chen hadn't told her. For instance, that finger strike he'd just used was absolutely beyond the abilities of a Dou Wang.

But none of that mattered now. She knew that if Ning Chen wanted to hurt her, he wouldn't have wasted so much time accompanying her.

A month later, at Wanxie Sect's headquarters.

The headquarters of Wanxie Sect, once gloomy and sinister, with security tight at every turn, now had a rather unusual atmosphere.

The largest secluded courtyard, built against the mountainside with a view overlooking most of the sect, had been completely vacated and carefully furnished as the temporary residence of Ning Chen and Xiao Yi Xian.

For the past half month, books, scrolls, and jade slips recording exquisite poison arts, sinister poison techniques, and ancient paths of poison had been sent into the courtyard in a steady stream.

There were so many of them, and they were so varied and high-grade, that any poison master would have been green with envy.

Among them were even treasures that Wanxie Sect had kept for hundreds of years, now "voluntarily" offered up.

The man overseeing it all was Wanxie Sect's Grand Elder, Xie Biyan, whose fearsome reputation in the Chu Yun Empire was matched by his Dou Zong cultivation. At that moment, he had none of the imposing authority of a sect overlord.

He was almost as attentive as if he were serving his ancestors, personally seeing to every detail of Ning Chen and Xiao Yi Xian's needs and daily lives. His face often wore a flattering smile utterly at odds with his fearsome reputation.

Any valuable poison-related resources in the sect, secluded cultivation rooms, or even servants—if Ning Chen or Xiao Yi Xian showed the slightest interest, arrangements were made immediately, as quickly and generously as possible.

This level of attentive service, bordering on excessive, left Tie Protector, who considered himself "Lord Hun Chen's number-one confidant," feeling a little disgruntled.

He thought the old scorpion was stealing his thunder. The man's flattery was far too blatant.

But this brief period of good fortune, along with Tie Protector's growing influence in the Chu Yun Empire, eventually caught the attention of Venerable Jiyin, who oversaw Soul Hall affairs across the Northwest Continent.

A hidden Soul Hall branch somewhere in the Chu Yun Empire.

The main hall was dim. Only a few ghastly green soul flames drifted about, illuminating the grotesque reliefs carved into the stone walls.

The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed ready to drip.

Seated high on a bone throne was a figure wrapped in dense black mist, whose aura was many times stronger and more sinister than Tie Protector's.

He was none other than Venerable Jiyin, one of the Soul Hall's venerables stationed in the Northwest Continent!

At that moment, Venerable Jiyin's icy gaze, as sharp as a blade, stabbed into Tie Protector below. Tie Protector's expression was respectful, but he showed little fear.

"Tie Ying,"

Venerable Jiyin's voice scraped like two rusty sheets of metal rubbing together, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

"I ordered you to oversee the soul gathering in the Chu Yun Empire. And yet, after a month, you've made little progress. Instead, you've been mobilizing large numbers of men to hunt down irrelevant poison-technique manuals, and have even taken it upon yourself to use Wanxie Sect's resources to serve two strangers of unknown origin!"

"You'd better give me a reasonable explanation. Otherwise... you may have the chance to personally experience the Soul Hall's dungeons."

Faced with the venerable's overwhelming pressure and questioning, Tie Protector remained unruffled. He even stood a little straighter than usual.

So what if he was a Dou Zun? Big deal.

He was still just a dog of the Soul Hall. The one Tie Ying was serving now was a mighty figure of the Soul Clan!

Though that was what he thought, Tie Protector wasn't stupid. He still bowed respectfully, then calmly recounted how he had encountered "Lord Hun Chen" and relayed "Lord Hun Chen's" instructions in full.

Finally, he raised his head and met Venerable Jiyin's increasingly icy gaze. Word for word, he repeated Ning Chen's earth-shattering statement.

"...That lord said that if Your Venerable has any questions, you can go ask Lord Hun Miesheng yourself. Once you have your answer, you can discuss it with him."

"If you can't get an answer, or don't dare to ask, then he asks that Your Venerable... follow his orders for the time being."