My apprentice is a little weird?

Outside the Qinglan Mountain Gate, the sky was leaden in color.

Dark clouds covered the city, and tens of thousands of soldiers in standard black armor stood in formation, silent as a mountain. The iron-blooded murderous aura rose into the sky, covering the sky and the sun.

At the head, several generals rode on ferocious beasts, with a powerful aura and cold eyes.

"The members of the Qinglan Sect have committed treason and are guilty of unforgivable crimes!"

"I am here by the Emperor's order to punish the thief!"

The sound was like thunder, and the waves surged and rolled, mixed with a trace of Ziwei dragon energy and mortal karma fire that were invisible to mortals.

It seems that during this period, the national strength of the Dallan Dynasty has reached an incredible level, accompanied by bloody and cruel killings.

Su Xiaoli and Ling Yu's pretty faces turned pale in an instant. They felt that the spiritual energy that had just calmed down in their bodies stagnated again, as if an invisible mountain was pressing on their backs, and even breathing became extremely difficult.

When the leading general saw that the people inside the gate refused to surrender, a trace of impatience flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly waved the flag in his hand.

"Form a formation and defeat Cangwu!"

At the command, thousands of soldiers moved as one, and the evil spirit on their bodies was instantly drawn out and gathered in mid-air to form a blood-red spear that was a hundred feet long, with the tip of the spear pointing directly at the mountain protection formation of Cangwu Mountains.

The spear was surrounded by karmic fire and swirling with evil spirit.

Su Xiaoli and Ling Yu's hearts were in their throats, and the color drained from their faces.

However, Jiang Yan was facing the mountain gate sideways, without even glancing sideways.

He just stood there quietly.

The blood-red spear came whistling, with a scream that tore through the void, and slammed into the empty mountain gate.

But a strange scene happened.

The terrifying attack that was powerful enough to split mountains and rocks disappeared silently when it broke through the Mist Hidden Valley and reached the top of the valley.

There was no explosion, no roar, not even a trace of wind.

It was as if the devastating blow was just an illusion from beginning to end.

Within a hundred feet, on the ground beneath Jiang Yan's feet, several small grasses that had withered due to the previous shaking of the underground palace actually sprouted new green shoots.

This scene made the pupils of all the soldiers outside the mountain gate shrink suddenly.

The leading general's face darkened, and the deputy generals beside him looked at each other with serious expressions.

"The idea is difficult, let's work together to ask the emperor to give us a divine beast!"

Before he finished speaking, the leading general and hundreds of guards around him roared in anger.

As they roared, the black armor on their bodies suddenly burst out with a dazzling red light. Fire ants, which were completely red and had hideous human faces engraved on their carapaces, crawled out from the top of their heads, and then instantly merged into their bodies.

Om-!

An extremely violent aura burst out!

The aura of those generals suddenly surged, and within just a few breaths, they briefly broke through the limit of their cultivation, and their strength was approaching the peak of Lianxu Hedao!

Their eyes turned red, their sanity was devoured by rage, and the flames of karma burned all around them.

Jiang Yan finally turned around slowly and looked at the military formation outside the mountain gate for the first time.

His gaze was calm, yet seemed to be able to penetrate all appearances and reach the source.

So that's how it works.

Jiang Yan understood.

He didn't recognize that thing, but the aura it exuded was extremely familiar.

The wrath of the seven-emotion monster, the burning heart fire ants.

It seems to be inspiring anger, exchanging the rage of the seven emotions for powerful strength.

But in fact, what they are really burning is the most precious "spirituality" of these soldiers and living beings.

Spirituality is the source of wisdom and the root of understanding.

The power gained by burning spirituality is nothing but a temporary solution to thirst. When the spirituality is burned out, these people will completely become walking corpses.

The spirituality of these soldiers in front of him was so high that it was even stronger than that of many monks who had practiced hard for many years. Combined with these Burning Heart Fire Ants, they were like a "power bank" from another world.

Emperor Dalán has such a cruel heart.

"kill!"

The general, whose power had skyrocketed, had already lost his mind. He roared, and his figure disappeared in an instant. The next moment, he appeared in front of Jiang Yan. His fist, wrapped in violent fire, with the power to burn mountains and boil seas, slammed straight into Jiang Yan's face.

Faced with this earth-shattering punch, Jiang Yan did not dodge or evade.

He simply stretched out a finger, facing the huge fist, and tapped it lightly.

Above the fingertips, a faint Taoist rhythm flows, and the virtual and the real coexist.

The violent fire punch actually penetrated Jiang Yan's fingers directly, as if it hit a void.

The ferocious expression on the general's face suddenly froze, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Then, he discovered with horror that his out-of-control power was following the same path it came from, flowing back into his body frantically!

Even if a person is not a true immortal, he is still beyond the reach of ordinary people. Just like Jiang Yan before, even if he tried his best to unlock the treasure sister who had been nurturing for more than 30 years, he could only achieve the "immortal sword".

This is just a glimpse of what he is like when facing an emperor who indirectly controls the seven emotions.

"No!"

puff!

With a dull thud, the general was struck by lightning. His meridians were broken and he spurted out a mouthful of blood. His body flew backwards like a kite with a broken string and fell heavily to the ground. His whole body was twitching and his eyes were vacant. His spiritual power was exhausted and he had become stupid.

The fire ants that had just merged into his body sensed the danger and immediately turned into red lights, trying to escape into the void.

"Want to go?"

Jiang Yan sneered and casually drew his index finger in the air.

A space spell took shape instantly, and the space solidified instantly, blocking all the fire ants trying to escape.

Then he grabbed the air and pulled out the fattest fire ant from the space and pinched it between his two fingers.

The fire ant struggled frantically at his fingertips, emitting silent screams.

Jiang Yan was holding the still-twisting fire ant. Su Xiaoli and Ling Yu behind him were not too surprised by the outcome... They were even in the mood to ask questions when they saw the fire ant in Jiang Yan's hand.

"That's all this is?"

Of course, they are not arrogant, they are just simply curious.

Jiang Yan rubbed the fire ants, with a mocking smile on his face.

"The seven emotions are the surface, the stealing of spirit is the inner."

"The true purpose of this thing is not to manipulate the seven emotions, but to seize the most precious 'spirituality' of living beings, transform it into rootless cultivation, and provide it to someone."

As he spoke, he raised his head thoughtfully, his gaze seeming to penetrate the clouds and look towards the direction of the Dallan Imperial City in the distance.

"Wow! Wow! Wow! Give it to me now! Although extracting spiritual energy is difficult, as long as it falls into my hands, I can squeeze it out!"

"It's simply too amazing. There is such a heaven-defying thing in the world that can seize spirituality!"

In Jiang Yan's mind, Sister Bao was so excited that she was about to flip over. She was pacing in the magic gourd, urging Jiang Yan to feed her this good stuff quickly.

Jiang Yan smiled and said in his heart: "Don't worry."

"Although this thing captures pure spirituality and is an invaluable tonic for you, it is ultimately only one of the seven emotions and its effectiveness is limited."

"Once I have gathered all seven, and combined them together, it will be the best way to repair you."

Upon hearing this, Sister Bao forced herself to suppress the excitement and desire in her heart, nodded repeatedly in the gourd, and agreed readily.

But the next moment, she seemed to suddenly remember something, and she froze in shock, her big eyes filled with astonishment and realization.

"Is this... could this be the best strategy you mentioned before?!"

Jiang Yan smiled without saying anything, and just lightly weighed the struggling fire ant on his fingertips.

"My friend Jiang Yan didn't suffer in vain."

At the same time, deep in the Dallan Palace, thousands of miles away.

Inside the deep palace, a dignified man who had his eyes closed suddenly opened them.

There was no shock or anger in his eyes, only bottomless indifference, as if the twists and turns of his plan were just an insignificant chess piece on the chessboard being blown by the wind.

He didn't even stand up, but just uttered a few words indifferently to the empty temple.

"Pass on my order to activate 'Reunification' within one day."

The sound was not loud, but it seemed to contain the power of heaven, penetrating layers of palace walls.

The next moment, within the imperial city, countless streams of light invisible to mortals shot up into the sky, turning into blood-colored talismans, and shot towards all directions of the dynasty at an incredible speed.

A massive battle formation that covered the entire Dalān began.

The gates of countless provincial capitals were flung open, and teams of soldiers in black armor poured into the villages and mountains, driving out all the people and forcing them to move into the provincial capitals within a day.

"One day is enough. Anyone who doesn't enter the city will be killed!"

The cold and brutal order, accompanied by bloody execution, spread to every corner of Dalan.

……

Inside Qinglan Gate, the dust has settled.

Ling Yu looked at the tens of thousands of soldiers standing outside the mountain gate with blank eyes, like puppets, and a chill rose from the bottom of her heart. She turned to look at Jiang Yan, her voice trembling.

"Senior, why... did they become like this? What exactly do you mean by 'spirituality'?"

Jiang Yan withdrew his gaze from those foolish soldiers and fell on Ling Yu's eyes that were full of curiosity and anxiety.

He smiled, but that smile was inexplicably complicated.

He didn't care whether Ling Yu could understand it with his current level of cultivation, and just explained it calmly.

"Spirit is the root of all life and the source of wisdom. It can enlighten the foolish and enlighten the wise. It can make wild beasts understand human speech and even give consciousness to inanimate objects."

"The talent, understanding, and ultimately the ability to glimpse the path to immortality often discussed by cultivators all rest on the word 'spirituality'."

Jiang Yan paused, and his tone became increasingly calm, but to Su Xiaoli and Ling Yu, it was like thunder.

"That emperor used these incinerating fire ants as a medium to forcibly seize all the spiritual energy of these soldiers, transforming all their future possibilities into a brief moment of power."

"This is how an army of 'spiritual puppets' emerged, seemingly invincible but with its foundations completely destroyed and unable to advance any further."

Su Xiaoli felt a chill all over her body and her eyes flickered when she heard this.

Jiang Yan raised his hand, and the Dao rhyme of the unity of mind and matter flowed through his fingertips, like an invisible millstone, wrapping up the struggling "angry heart fire ant".

The millstone turned and the fire ant roared in pain, but fluorescent spots began to appear on its body, as it was being crushed into the most basic energy.

Finally, a ray of spiritual light that was extremely bright and pure without a trace of impurities quietly floated in his palm.

"Wow! Wow!"

In Jiang Yan's mind, Sister Bao's saliva was almost flowing out. The gilded light on the gourd was brighter than ever before, and the whole gourd was trembling slightly.

However, Jiang Yan didn't even look at her and snapped his fingers.

That wisp of pure spirituality transformed into two streams of light, accurately penetrating the eyebrows of the unconscious Qingxuan and Shen Yanqiu.

Sister Bao's entire spirit was stunned.

The light on the gourd dimmed instantly, and he held his chin with his hands and lowered his eyes, a little autistic.

Although she also knew that Jiang Yan had his own considerations and this thing was most likely not for her, she couldn't hold it back when she saw the duck in her mouth fly away.

But in the end she just hummed twice and didn't make any more noise, enduring it very well.

When the spirituality enters the body, it is like a long-awaited sweet rain.

Qingxuan and Shen Yanqiu, whose spirits were already exhausted and dim, trembled slightly and slowly opened their eyes.

"Brother!"

Su Xiaoli felt a lump in her throat and could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and hugged Shen Yanqiu tightly, who had just sat up.

Shen Yanqiu's eyes were still a little confused. The moment he saw Su Xiaoli, a trace of fear of being hunted flashed across his mind subconsciously, thinking that he was being hunted by his junior sister.

But when he felt the person in his arms trembling and heard her suppressed crying, the confusion in his heart was instantly replaced by worry. He hurriedly hugged her awkwardly, gently patted her back, and comforted her for a while.

Qingxuan on the side was completely confused.

who I am? where am I? what happened?

After a while, when Su Xiaoli calmed down a little, she told the two of them everything that had happened in the past few days.

After listening to it, the two of them had the same dull and vicissitudes of life on their faces, as if they had been dreaming for a thousand years and the whole world had changed when they woke up.

"You mean... after we slept, Qinglan Sect disappeared?" Shen Yanqiu muttered to himself, and then his expression became even weirder.

"Besides, this is a damn good thing for us?!"

Qingxuan added, "So, our beloved Master, whom we've revered for a hundred years, is actually a demon who treats us like pigs? The entire sect is full of villains, and we're the only fools?"

Su Xiaoli nodded obediently, and the pair of cat ears on her head, which had not been taken care of for a long time, trembled slightly.

Shen Yanqiu and Qingxuan looked at each other and fell into a long period of confusion again.

Jiang Yan stretched his body and stretched his muscles, breaking the strange silence.

"What are your plans next?"

The three of them were silent for a long time.

In the end, Qingxuan sighed and said with a wry smile:

"After such a great change, I will become a casual cultivator for now and travel around to explore. Perhaps in the future, I will find a place and rebuild a...real Qinglan Sect."

Shen Yanqiu nodded and looked at Su Xiaoli.

Su Xiaoli hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to hold Shen Yanqiu's sleeve tightly, whispering:

"I'm with my brothers."

To her, it seemed that these were the only relatives left in this world.

Ling Yu stood behind Jiang Yan without hesitation. Her choice was clear.

Jiang Yan did not interfere with their decision, but handed Su Xiaoli a treasure bag.

"Here are my compensation and gifts for you. Take them. Find a place to settle down first and don't run around."

After saying that, he turned and left without hesitation.

Yin Li followed silently like a shadow from beginning to end.

Outside the Qinglan Sect's territory, on the mountain road, tens of thousands of black-armored soldiers still stood there in a daze, like soulless statues. Among them were some captured wandering cultivators and previously subdued Qinglan Sect disciples.

Jiang Yan just shook his head and did not interfere.

He took Ling Yu and Yin Li along the way at a leisurely pace and soon arrived at a small town outside Jingming Mansion.

The town is called Qingshi Town. It is built by the river and has a bit of water town charm.

Jiang Yan chose a teahouse by the river and sat down by the window on the second floor. He gently stroked his fingers on the slightly cool wooden table and looked at the bustling street scene outside the window.

Ling Yu held the warm teacup and took a sip.

At this moment, she noticed that there seemed to be a hint of aftertaste and nostalgia in Jiang Yan's eyes that she could not understand. After spending so long together, she also roughly understood Jiang Yan's temperament, so she boldly asked softly:

"Senior, are you thinking of someone old?"

Jiang Yan felt amused.

How do you say this? Am I telling you that I'm thinking of Shen Ming, the traitor who massacred your sect?

He was just about to find an excuse to get away with it when something suddenly occurred to him.

A feeling of affection, without warning, welled up in my heart, not strong, but real. It was a genuine feeling of "I haven't seen you for a long time, and I miss you so much."

This sudden feeling gave him an urge to go find someone immediately.

Jiang Yan reacted immediately and lowered his eyes to look at the wooden stool under him and the table in front of him.

On it, there is a very faint, yet extremely pure emotion, like the thinnest spider silk, quietly winding around him and gently plucking his heartstrings.

The "getting" that exists in the spiritual altar cooperates with this emotion "inside and outside".

The corners of Jiang Yan's mouth curled up imperceptibly.

"Shen Ming, you, this traitor, really know how to manipulate my mind."

He thought about it in his heart, but did not dispel the emotion directly as usual.

Instead, he gently closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and savored the longing that had been forcibly evoked by someone else. His mind relaxed, a rare feeling.

"I have to say, you successfully aroused my longing for you, hehe~"

"I miss you a little bit..."