Yi Fan was about to agree when Yan Chihuo suddenly spoke. "But how do we know you're truly willing to release Sikong Xing?"
Illusion Celestial Venerable said, "Since you can tell that I'm possessing him, simply inspect him again after I leave. Wouldn't that settle it?"
Yan Chihuo said, "Your possession technique is exceedingly strange. It should be the Hidden Soul Secret Art from the Netherworld. Though my studies are broad, I would never dare underestimate techniques from another realm."
The moment these words were spoken, Yi Fan was startled. To Cultivators at the Dao Integration Stage and below, the Netherworld's invasion of long ago was far too distant to evoke much feeling. But for many Cultivators at the Spirit Cultivation Stage and above, those events had left a deep impression through all they had seen and heard. Some had even taken part in them personally. Thus, they were profoundly wary of such high-level secret arts from the Netherworld.
Illusion Celestial Venerable looked Yan Chihuo up and down and said, "This fellow Daoist is quite unfamiliar to me. May I ask where you cultivate?"
His surprise was no less than Yi Fan's. This secret art had indeed been passed down from the Netherworld; otherwise, it could not have deceived Yi Fan. This was the first time anyone had identified its origins. Even when he had encountered Ascension Stage Cultivators before, none had recognized it.
Yan Chihuo had entered the Netherworld in those days. On the Heavenly Heart Continent, there was likely no second person with a deeper understanding of the Netherworld than he possessed. Moreover, he cultivated the Innate Seventy-Two Transformations and was among the finest figures of the age in all matters related to souls. Thus, though Illusion Celestial Venerable's secret art was formidable, it could not fool him.