Chapter 24: The Truth

“Bang!”

Since he had already been discovered, Lin Fan no longer bothered to hide, simply kicking open the main gate and walking in.

“Who are you?” The several evil spirits stared at Lin Fan, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Was there such a person in the Heaven Sound Sect?

“The one who will take your life.” Lin Fan looked up, his gaze indifferent as he replied.

“Courting death!” The Blue-Horned Evil Spirit couldn’t sit still upon hearing this. With a furious roar, it pounced toward Lin Fan.

“Pfft!”

Lin Fan casually pointed a finger, and a dark red light suddenly appeared.

The next second, the light transformed into a sharp sword, piercing through the Blue-Horned Evil Spirit’s body with the speed of lightning.

“Fourth Brother!”

Seeing his comrade die right before his eyes, the Red-Horned Evil Spirit cried out in grief. “I’ll fight you to the death!”

“Sigh~” Lin Fan sighed and shook his head helplessly. “Overestimating yourself.”

Several red lights flashed, and a few more evil spirits were instantly killed.

The entire courtyard was left with only that Red-Horned Evil Spirit, twitching on the ground with a twisted expression.

“Not bad,” Lin Fan praised, “To actually be able to withstand one ten-thousandth of this Seat’s power…”

“C-Clan Leader…” Knowing he was no match for Lin Fan, the Red-Horned Evil Spirit used the last of its strength to shout toward the top of the pagoda, “Clan Leader, save me…”

“Who dares to cause trouble on my turf?!”

Just as Lin Fan was about to make his move, a hoarse roar suddenly came from the top of the pagoda.

“Heh~” Hearing this familiar voice, Lin Fan couldn’t help but laugh. “Has this old fellow finally decided he can’t sit still anymore?”

The next second, a golden light flashed and smashed directly onto the ground below the pagoda.
When the golden light dissipated, a slightly weathered, white-haired old man appeared before Lin Fan.

Accompanying the white-haired old man were a few lines of information on the system panel.

___

[Name: Jin Yan.]

[Age: 9674 years old.]

[Race: Evil Spirit Clan.]

[Cultivation: Peak True Immortal Realm.]

[Talent: One in a Hundred.]

___

“It really is you…” Staring at the golden horn on the old man’s head, Lin Fan said with some amusement, “Long time no see, old friend~”

“Who are you?” The Gold-Horned Evil Spirit stared blankly at Lin Fan, its eyes full of confusion.

“You don’t recognize me so soon?” Lin Fan’s lips curved upward as he smiled at the Gold-Horned Evil Spirit. “I’m Lin Fan.”

“Lin… Lin Fan?” Even though Lin Fan had stated his name, the Gold-Horned Evil Spirit still had no impression of him.

“The one who accidentally started a fire in the city more than eight thousand years ago.” Seeing the Gold-Horned Evil Spirit’s confused expression, Lin Fan added.

“So it was you!”

With Lin Fan’s reminder, the Gold-Horned Evil Spirit instantly recalled, then furiously pointed at Lin Fan and questioned, “Kid, you f**king dare to come back?!”

As for why the Gold-Horned Evil Spirit was so furious, one had to go back to when Lin Fan first entered Myriad Ghost City.

At that time, Lin Fan had just broken through to the Profound Demon Realm (equivalent to the True Immortal Realm).
In order to further consolidate his realm, Lin Fan resolutely decided to go to Myriad Ghost City to train by himself.

At the beginning, everything went smoothly.
Although there were many high-level evil spirits in the city, they couldn’t threaten Lin Fan’s life.

Until…

Lin Fan encountered the clan leader of the Evil Spirit Clan, Jin Yan.

During that period, Jin Yan’s cultivation was only at the early-stage True Immortal Realm, on par with Lin Fan’s strength.

Therefore, it was not an easy matter for Jin Yan to capture Lin Fan alive.

But fortunately, the city was Jin Yan’s home turf. After a fierce battle of attrition, Lin Fan was finally outnumbered and fell into a disadvantage.

However, just as Jin Yan was feeling smug and preparing to pounce and capture Lin Fan, a ball of golden fire suddenly leaped out from Lin Fan’s body.

After getting a clear look at the shape of the fire, Jin Yan’s expression instantly changed, and he hurriedly ordered the surrounding evil spirits to retreat.

But it was too late.

The moment the golden fire seed appeared, it spread in all directions with the speed of lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the vast ghost city had been turned into a sea of fire under the fire seed’s fierce assault.

It was because of this great fire that the Evil Spirit Clan suffered heavy casualties.
Jin Yan was also severely burned and was unable to continue cultivating for a long time.

“What’s there to be afraid of coming back to?” Lin Fan said nonchalantly. “You, on the other hand, don’t seem to be doing so well. After all these years, you’re still stuck at the True Immortal Realm?”

“You…”

Staring at Lin Fan’s mocking expression, Jin Yan trembled with anger. “Since you want to die, then I’ll grant you your wish!”

“Are you… sure?”

Lin Fan smiled calmly, releasing the full extent of his cultivation.

“What?!”

Feeling this terrifying pressure, Jin Yan’s expression instantly changed drastically. “Th-th-this… Demon Lord Realm? How is this possible?!”

Jin Yan was clearer than anyone about what the Demon Lord Realm meant.

That was an existence that was invincible below the Saint Ancestor (the highest realm in the Xianling Continent)!

And in the current Xianling Continent, let alone Saint Ancestors, even Immortal Kings and Immortal Monarchs below the Saint Realm were few and far between!

“Bro… no… Dad… Grandpa, Ancestor!”

After realizing Lin Fan’s strength, Jin Yan’s face instantly changed. His legs buckled, and with a “thud,” he knelt on the ground.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t,” Lin Fan waved his hand, an expression of extreme disgust on his face. “This Seat has no descendant as cowardly as you.”

“Yes, yes, Senior’s lesson is right!” Seeing Lin Fan’s displeased face, Jin Yan quickly changed his tune. “I am just a beast, oh no, I am not even as good as a beast!”

…

Seeing Jin Yan’s fawning appearance, Lin Fan was momentarily speechless.

“Alright, alright, this Seat doesn’t want to hear your bullsh*t!” Lin Fan frowned and waved his hand impatiently. “I have something to ask you, answer me truthfully!”

“Senior, please ask!”

Feeling the pressure dissipate, Jin Yan couldn’t help but rejoice.

It was obvious—his life was spared, he had survived.

“The deal between you and the Heaven Sound Sect… what exactly is going on?!”

“This…” After hearing Lin Fan’s question, Jin Yan’s tone instantly became hesitant.

“Speak!” Seeing Jin Yan’s hesitation, Lin Fan flew into a rage.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

At this moment, Jin Yan couldn’t care less about any secrets. He directly told Lin Fan the whole story in detail, including his own plan to take advantage of Hua Luoyan.

It turned out that Hua Luoyan, the Sect Master of the Heaven Sound Sect, though she appeared gentle and virtuous on the surface, was in fact extremely sinister and cunning.

In order to satisfy her ambition to rule the southern continent, Hua Luoyan took the initiative to find the Evil Spirit Clan and proposed a cooperation with them.

The content of the cooperation was simple.

Hua Luoyan would provide the Evil Spirit Clan with a certain number of female disciples each year for them to absorb their yin energy.

In return, the Evil Spirit Clan would provide Hua Luoyan with ten Netherworld Blood Demon Flowers annually.

As for why it was ten flowers, it was because the Earthly Fiend Blood Demon Art that Hua Luoyan cultivated required a certain number of souls to be sacrificed each year.

And the owners of all sacrificed souls had to have consumed a Netherworld Blood Demon Flower.

Of course, cultivating a demonic art was such a major undertaking that Hua Luoyan certainly couldn’t manage it alone.

In order to drag the sect elders down with her, Hua Luoyan secretly poisoned the tea they drank, then forced the elders to plot with her.

Those who did not comply would be killed on the spot by Hua Luoyan.

“What a vicious woman…” After hearing Jin Yan’s description, Lin Fan couldn’t help but sigh.

[Please—when it comes to viciousness, are you qualified to comment on others, Host? Look at the good deeds you did in your past life. In the entire Xianling Continent, who could be more vicious than you?]

“I…”

Although the system’s words were a bit harsh, after thinking about it carefully, Lin Fan realized it wasn’t without reason.

‘That’s right, as the great demon lord of my past life who treated human lives like grass and killed like scything hemp, what right do I have to call others vicious?’

“I’m different from her!” Even though what the system said was the truth, Lin Fan couldn’t help but argue.

[How are you different? Is it your gender?]

The system asked with a sarcastic tone.

“It’s just…”

After holding it in for a long time, Lin Fan couldn’t come up with any rebuttal, so he simply took a deep breath and stopped talking.

“Senior, I’ve told you everything you want to know. Could you…” Jin Yan looked at Lin Fan with hopeful eyes.

“Get lost!” Lin Fan waved his hand impatiently.

“Alrighty!” Hearing this, Jin Yan felt as if he had been granted a great amnesty and immediately scrambled away from this place of trouble.

Inside the residence in Myriad Ghost City—

Su Muxue stood on her tiptoes, anxiously gazing at the night sky.

“Senior has been gone for so long, why isn’t he back yet?”

Looking at the still unconscious Su Mubing, Su Muxue’s eyes were filled with worry. “Nothing bad has happened, has it…”

Su Muxue had witnessed Lin Fan’s strength with her own eyes.

If even he could get into trouble, it would mean that the chances of her and her sister leaving Myriad Ghost City alive were practically zero.

“Creeak—”

Just as Su Muxue’s mind was racing, the tightly shut main gate was suddenly pushed open slowly.
The next second, a familiar figure appeared before Su Muxue’s eyes.

“Senior!”

After getting a clear look at the person, Su Muxue was overjoyed. “How did it go? Are there any clues?”

“Sigh…”

Lin Fan sighed, then explained the truth of the matter in detail.

“How could this be…”

After listening to Lin Fan’s account, Su Muxue’s legs gave way, and she collapsed powerlessly to the ground. “I don’t believe it, how could Sect Master Hua be this kind of person…”

In Su Muxue’s impression, Hua Luoyan was easy-going and treated people kindly. She could be described as both talented and beautiful, inside and out.

But she never would have thought that the seemingly perfect Hua Luoyan would have such an ugly side.

“So they say, it’s easier to draw a tiger’s skin than its bones, and you may know a person’s face but not their heart~” Lin Fan sighed with emotion, then immediately changed the subject. “Right, there’s something I want to confirm with you.”

“What is it?” Su Muxue raised a hand to wipe her tears and looked at Lin Fan with some confusion.

“Do you know… Su Mubing’s current physical condition?”