"Mm!"

Liang Yi and Su Youyi nodded in agreement. The short time during their last encounter did not allow for much conversation with their Master's Wife, and both Liang Yi and Su Youyi deeply missed the caring figure of their Master's Wife.

"Master, farewell!"

As Liang Yi and Su Youyi bid their farewells, Chen Hua's figure transformed into a slowly dissipating orb of light, leaving only the sword-shaped jade piece to return to Liang Yi's hand.

"Now you can rest assured, right? Master said to give him seven days, so there definitely won't be a problem after seven days."

Liang Yi tossed the Sword Jade in his hand and casually stored it back into his ring, smiling lightly as he turned to look at Wan Tinggui.

"Mm, I believe in Senior Banished Immortal."

Wan Tinggui smiled radiantly, as bright as a garden of blooming flowers, her mood clearly lifted now that a burden had been resolved.

When leading these remnants of the Devouring Spirit Sect out, Wan Tinggui had also discussed with the Black Tortoise Envoy and others about the next course of action.

In the end, they set their sights on the Abyss Cultivators, for if they dared to strike against the cultivators of the Mystical Mechanism Continent, upholding the principle of securing internal stability before repelling external threats, those Super Forces would certainly free up their hands and do everything possible to eradicate them!

Unwilling to join the Abyss and unsupported by it, their end would be most tragic. Rather than that, it would be better to become a kind of Ghost Army, lurking on the battlefield and secretly causing minor destruction, dragging the Abyss back.

Taking advantage of the World Origin dropping from killing Abyss Cultivators, their desire was naturally intense.

Additionally, the lower-ranking disciples who followed them were a bit confused. They had always been following orders from above—hiding when told to hide, gathering intelligence when commanded to gather intelligence.

Although various signs indicated that they were not exactly an upright and honored sect, most of these disciples had been cultivated by the Devouring Spirit Sect from various places, after all.

They were suddenly told they should directly betray the Mystical Mechanism Continent and join the Abyss, becoming Abyss Cultivators, which left them completely bewildered.

The sentiment of homeland isn't something everyone possesses, but becoming an Abyss Cultivator was something they found hard to accept.

Cultivators have all heard of the legends of the Abyss, and even if they only considered them as myths, none wanted to assist the Abyss in attacking the Mystical Mechanism Continent.

Fortunately, Wan Tinggui led people away from the Devouring Spirit Sect right before they were forced to become Abyss Cultivators, so these low-ranking individuals followed her.

In fact, if they cultivated the Demon Spirit Scripture, the cultivation technique would naturally have countermeasures set by the Abyss to ensure their allegiance and prevent betrayal.

The Abyss would not be foolish enough to grant cultivation methods and authority but allow the Demon Spirit Sect to develop freely, eventually breeding ingratitude.

But how could Tian Anyu allow himself to be shackled as well? So, when improving the cultivation method, he went all out and simply removed that shackle; the rule about not being able to attack Abyss Cultivators, however, was beyond his ability to change.

At that time, Tian Anyu was only a Seventh Realm cultivator, and achieving that much was already quite difficult. As for adding the kind of restriction to the Devouring Spirit Scripture that the Abyss had implemented to prevent betrayal, that was truly beyond his capabilities.

After all, destroying something is much easier than building it.

Unable to ensure the loyalty of the Devouring Spirit Sect disciples through the cultivation method, Tian Anyu chose another method—using the Vermilion Bird Envoy's power of seduction to control the people below.

This was also the reason why he, having lurked within the Devouring Spirit Sect for thousands of years without any movement, rashly attacked Zhou Yuqing.

Because only by making Zhou Yuqing the Vermilion Bird Envoy could there be an effective means to control the Devouring Spirit Sect.

Now that Zhou Yuqing had recovered her memories and chosen to bolt, the people of the Devouring Spirit Sect who were under her control naturally broke free, betraying and rebelling as they saw fit.

Suppressing those cultivators who had regained their senses, however, had been quite a task for the rest of the Devouring Spirit Sect.

Wan Tinggui was actually pleased with this; taking advantage of the White Tiger Envoy being in the Secret Realm searching for something, and Tian Anyu not having reacted in time, she left with her group unobstructed, as easily as if going on holiday.

But Wan Tinggui also understood that her father, who walked the Heartless Dao, didn't really care about these matters. What he sought was only greater power.

Back then he had killed her mother but spared her, just so that one day he could use her as a sacrifice to ascend to a higher Realm.

What her cold-blooded father hadn't expected, though, was that the Immortal Path would be reconnected before he encountered a bottleneck that would require the death of his own daughter.

However, Wan Tinggui knew that the moment Tian Anyu faced another bottleneck, it would be the time of her demise.

"The Heartless Dao and Slaughter Dao... It's the Devouring Spirit Sect that's now the true epitome of evil..."

Wan Tinggui chuckled at herself sardonically, feeling no psychological burden in destroying such a sect.

After determining their direction, the only thing limiting them was the shackle within the Devouring Spirit Scripture. Wan Tinggui could only think of one person who had both the ability to solve this issue and a reason to help them—the renowned Banished Immortal.

Wan Tinggui admitted there was a gamble in her decision, but reality had proven she bet correctly.

Back when she chose to collaborate with Liang Yi, she never imagined that one day she'd have to use that relationship to seek help from the Banished Immortal.

"This time, I owe you a favor..."

Wan Tinggui took a deep breath, smiling warmly at Liang Yi and Su Youyi.

The fact that Chen Hua agreed to help her this time was most likely eighty percent because of Liang Yi and Su Youyi, even though they hadn't explicitly said anything. Their mere presence was stance enough.

"If this counts as owing a favor, then didn't the help you gave us before count as one too?"

Liang Yi shook his head. The concept of owing favors is only valued by those who have just met; it feels somewhat estranged to discuss such things once you're really familiar.

When Wan Tinggui helped them in the Secret Realm, Liang Yi already considered her a friend in his heart, not just a cold transactional partner.

"I once said I owed you a favor, now you're saying this. Can we not make things so complicated?"

Su Youyi grimaced, genuinely struggling with this tiresome tit-for-tat form of social interaction.

Perhaps Wan Tinggui initially helped them only motivated by interests, but after she assisted her and her senior brother, they shared a mutual sentimental understanding.

Upon hearing Liang Yi and Su Youyi's words, Wan Tinggui was stunned for a moment. The genuine warmth of the smiles on their faces, helping her with no interest involved was apparent.

"I'll go set up now, I'll summon you in seven days."

Wan Tinggui stood up abruptly, her expression panic-stricken as she turned and hurriedly left. She disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Liang Yi and Su Youyi bewildered in her wake.

After flashing out of the Secret Realm and transforming into a tunneling light leaving the camp, Wan Tinggui's mind was in disarray.

The word friend was too foreign, so alien that the sudden offering of friendship made Wan Tinggui flee in panic.

The scene of her mother being murdered by that man was still deeply etched in her mind, igniting her hatred at all times.

If even love can fade, what about friendship?

To Wan Tinggui, there seemed to be no relationship more stable than one based on mutual benefit; from childhood, that was all she believed in.

Her father killed her mother for personal gains and spared her life for the same reasons.

Even though she detested such people, throughout her growth, she unwittingly became that kind of person. Even if she wasn't as cold-blooded and ruthless as that man, she could still be considered indifferent.

Yet, after meeting Liang Yi and Su Youyi for the first time, and learning about their various experiences through different channels, her beliefs were shaken.

The surprising bond between Liang Yi and Su Youyi during this expedition in the Secret Realm, the affectionate interaction between Chen Hua and his two disciples that was both mentor-like and fatherly, all made Wan Tinggui envious.

The reason she easily believed Liang Yi and Su Youyi and helped them was because their prior relationship shone like a gemstone, deeply attracting her.

Her subconscious moved closer to them, for they had the bond she had always envied but never dared to hope for since childhood.

"Being friends with these two... that must be a happy thing, right?"

The tunneling light that was Wan Tinggui thought wistfully.

To say she didn't long for it would be a lie but when that so-called friendship really extended an olive branch to her, her first instinct was to dodge and leave.

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