I want to find him

He Yan looked at the three people before him and unconsciously frowned. Just who were they?

How dare they brazenly cause trouble at the Blood Demon Sect?

Lin Yuan stared at He Yan with icy eyes, as though he wished he could tear him to pieces.

He Yan waved the disciples away and took two steps forward. "Which sect are you disciples of? Have you come to tell me something?"

With the peace treaty binding them, the righteous sects and the Demonic Cult had not gone to war in a long time.

He had been the leader of the Demonic Cult for a year, and his first thought was that some sect had sent three ignorant juniors to deliver a message.

Lin Yuan looked at He Yan in disgust. Before Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng could react, he charged at He Yan like lightning, swinging his sword as sword energy swept in every direction.

But He Yan sneered, easily blocking Lin Yuan's attacks. "A mere Golden Core cultivator thinks he can run wild before me?"

He Yan had already reached the Deification Stage a year ago.

Lin Yuan knew he could not defeat He Yan, but this was the only way to get close enough to sense whether there was any trace of Gu Yi's aura on him.

Besides, he belonged to the Qingling Sword Sect. No matter what, He Yan would not openly kill him!

"Xiao Yuan, stop!" Xiao Cheng's expression immediately grew tense when he saw Lin Yuan charge forward.

He had not expected Lin Yuan to attack outright, especially when his opponent was the leader of the Demonic Cult.

Never mind their lack of strength-what would they do if they provoked a conflict between the two factions tonight?

"Hey! Don't hurt my little brother! We're the grandchildren of the Qingling Sword Sect's sect master!" Seeing that Lin Yuan was no match for He Yan, Lin Ning called out anxiously.

He Yan showed no surprise at Lin Ning's words. He had already guessed that these three young people were no ordinary disciples.

Lin Yuan had guessed correctly. He Yan indeed did not dare kill him. Though clearly stronger than Lin Yuan, he had never struck to kill.

Instead, mindful of the sect behind him, he left Lin Yuan a way out at every turn.

Lin Yuan did the exact opposite. Relying on He Yan's reluctance to kill him, he aimed every strike at He Yan's vital points.

After hearing who Lin Yuan was, He Yan stopped attacking him. He knocked Lin Yuan back and stood with his hands behind his back. "So you're the young master of the Qingling Sword Sect."

Lin Yuan wanted to charge again, but Xiao Cheng held him back. "Xiao Yuan, enough!"

Lin Yuan stared fixedly at He Yan. During their brief exchange, he had sensed no trace of Gu Yi's aura.

That meant Gu Yi had not been captured by He Yan. Lin Yuan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Presumably, Gu Yi was hiding somewhere now.

But at the thought of He Yan's covetous interest in Gu Yi, he still could not stop trembling all over.

Just then, Lin Hai hurried over. The moment he received Xiao Cheng's voice transmission, he had rushed over without stopping, afraid that something else might happen to his precious grandson.

"Oh? Old Sect Master Lin!" At the sight of Lin Hai, He Yan immediately greeted him while waving his fan, looking perfectly amiable, as though he had not been the one fighting Lin Yuan moments earlier.

Lin Hai gave He Yan a slight nod. "Sect Master He, my grandson was missing for four years and was only recently found. Don't take offense."

Though he told him not to take offense, his tone was forceful in the extreme, practically saying, "Just try taking offense."

He Yan shook his head. "Not at all! Old Sect Master Lin, since you're here, why not come inside for a chat?"

Lin Hai stroked his beard. "You're too kind, Sect Master He. I'll simply take my grandson and leave."

With that, he turned and waved his hand, taking Lin Yuan and the other two away from the Blood Demon Sect's territory. They vanished from He Yan's sight in an instant.

Only after they had left did He Yan's expression darken again.

Though that boy was merely a Golden Core cultivator, his strength was considerable. He Yan's gaze fell on the sect's cleaved signboard, his eyes growing colder.

The last time he had seen eyes filled with such hatred and unwillingness to yield had been on Gu Yi's face.

He slowly exhaled a stale breath and instructed a disciple, "Replace the signboard."

Lin Hai brought Lin Yuan and the other two back to the Qingling Sword Sect, his face stern and silent throughout the journey.

He did not blame Lin Yuan, but neither did he acknowledge any of the three.

As soon as they returned to the hall.

They saw Chu Ping lying tightly bound on the floor, a rag stuffed into his mouth.

The instant Chu Ping saw Lin Yuan, his eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

He had pushed Lin Yuan down with his own hands four years ago, yet now Lin Yuan stood there alive.

Muffled cries escaped his mouth. He thought he was hallucinating, but Lin Yuan's figure grew clearer and clearer-that familiar face, those resolute eyes. He really had not died!

Chu Ping's face turned deathly pale, but he could not speak.

His mind was in chaos, fear surging into his heart like a tide.

How is this possible? I clearly saw him fall with my own eyes. How could...

Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng did not know why and could only stand silently to one side.

When Lin Yuan saw Chu Ping on the floor, half the anger from his failure to kill He Yan seemed to dissipate. The corners of his lips lifted slightly into a cold, cruel curve. "Third Elder, it's been a while!"

He crouched down and removed the rag from Chu Ping's mouth.

Looking at Lin Yuan, who seemed to have crawled out of hell, Chu Ping's lips trembled, but he could not make a sound.

Lin Yuan patted his face. "Why aren't you talking? Are you so happy to see me alive?"

Chu Ping spoke in a trembling voice. "I was wrong, Lin Yuan... I beg you..."

"Ah..." Lin Yuan gripped his chin, stopping him from continuing, and raised his other hand to his lips in a shushing gesture.

"You want to beg me to spare your son, Chu Jing, don't you?"

A trace of tenderness suddenly flickered across Lin Yuan's smile. "If not for you, I might never have had the chance to meet him, let alone save him by a twist of fate. I really ought to thank you."

Lin Hai, Lin Ning, and Xiao Cheng looked at the somewhat unfamiliar Lin Yuan before them, momentarily at a loss for words.

"In return, I can spare him. I can even spare you!" Lin Yuan flung Chu Ping aside and summoned his sword, the Dark Sea.

"Father!" Rushing over, Chu Jing saw Lin Yuan pointing at Chu Ping and quickly lunged forward. "What are you going to do to my father?"

Lin Yuan cast a vicious glance at the approaching Chu Jing, his hands never stopping. Swish, swish-

His hand rose, and his sword fell.

Lin Yuan turned and walked out, leaving only Chu Ping's agonized wails and Chu Jing's shouts in the hall.

Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng exchanged looks.

Chu Ping's eyes had been slashed blind, and both his legs had been severed at the hips.

Frowning as he watched Lin Yuan leave, Lin Hai felt that his grandson had changed so much since his return.

Lin Yuan's final words before leaving were, "Destroy their meridians and expel both father and son from the sect."

That evening, Lin Hai came to Lin Yuan's residence and stood hesitating at the door.

Chu Ping and his son had already been expelled from the sect as Lin Yuan had requested.

He knew that Chu Ping was responsible for his grandson's years of disappearance. Lin Yuan had already shown exceptional mercy by not killing him.

"Grandpa, since you're here, why don't you come in?"

Lin Yuan's voice drifted out. Lin Hai patted the wrinkles on his face and forced a smile. "Xiao Yuan, Grandpa came to see you. Hahaha."

Lin Yuan looked at Lin Hai expressionlessly, knowing why he had come.

"Chu Ping ambushed me, blinded me, and pushed me off Heaven-Reaching Peak. I thought I was certain to die, but I stumbled into a barrier and lived inside it for three years." Lin Yuan's voice was utterly calm, as though he were speaking of someone else.

"Later, someone else suddenly fell into the barrier. He was covered in injuries and had little time left to live. He and I... he and I..." Thinking of Gu Yi, Lin Yuan blushed. Only before his grandfather could he show a trace of shyness. "Later, I successfully passed my tribulation, and the barrier broke... Grandpa, I want to find him!"

At Lin Yuan's words, Lin Hai's expression immediately darkened.

He had already questioned Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng. Lin Yuan had gone to the Illusory Demon Sect, insisting on finding Gu Yi, then gone to the Blood Demon Sect and attacked He Yan without a word.

The person Lin Yuan wanted to find now was probably that fiend, Gu Yi!

But he's a man! And the Demon Venerable! My grandson was only sixteen when he disappeared. What could he have known of all these complications?

That Demon Venerable probably defiled him!

Gu Yi wasn't dead. Not only was he alive, he had used my grandson to escape.

He truly was!

Utterly despicable!