Do you really think you can get me with just a banana?

The art of devouring souls and stealing magic power is exclusive to the demons. If Yun Jichan wants to learn this art and find out how the demons use the spirit turtle to help plunder magic power, and learn how to make the hallucinogenic pills, there must be a detailed and thorough plan behind it. The person who did this will definitely hide the relevant files properly.

The goal of Yan Ruchen and the other two is to find this thing.

Compared to the size of Tianxuan Palace, this forbidden room seemed much smaller, with items piled up in a chaotic manner, as if every treasure was casually discarded here, and dust was everywhere. Qing Yuanzi impatiently brushed away the musty smell from his nose, thinking that Wang Shuyan had indeed become more casual after taking charge alone.

Yan Ruchen carefully examined the jade table, but found no records or documents. He then noticed a large, unusual iron chest nearby. While most of the treasures in the room were covered in dust, this one, alone, was pristine as new, evidently well-used. Its unusual appearance caught his attention, and he went forward to examine it.

Qing Yuanzi also found nothing. He caught a glimpse of Yan Ruchen standing in front of an iron box, seemingly trying to unlock it. He quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't force it. Every locked item in this forbidden room is sealed. If you touch it, it will definitely alert others."

Yan Ruchen quickly let go of his hand and looked at Qing Yuanzi nervously. Qing Yuanzi walked forward, patted his head and said with a smile: "Just because we can't open the door doesn't mean we can't get in." Yan Ruchen was confused, only to see Qing Yuanzi walk over to a golden bookmark and stick his whole body to it.

Soon, the originally standing straw man collapsed, but the bookmark seemed to come alive, "standing up" lightly from the ground, waved to Yan Ruchen, and then nimbly squeezed in from a gap.

Yan Ruchen's pupils widened slightly as he watched the thin, willow-leaf-like bookmark move with ease, eventually disappearing into the treasure chest. This trick had indeed evaded the forbidden room's barrier. Seeing this, Yan Ruchen turned to look elsewhere.

Qing Yuanzi entered the treasure chest. Although it was tightly sealed and pitch dark, a master of Qing Yuanzi's caliber barely needed a torch to see; the darkness was as bright as day. He easily explored the chest and found, besides a few ancient tomes, a considerable number of gems. Feeling somewhat helpless, Qing Yuanzi thought to himself, "Wang Shuyan truly loves these shiny things."

Just as he was about to search further, his fingertips suddenly touched something.

Yan Ruchen was searching outside when he suddenly heard Qing Yuanzi's whispered call from inside the treasure chest. He rushed over and saw several pages of paper slowly sliding out through the cracks in the treasure chest. Yan Ruchen quickly caught them, and as the papers fell to the ground, Qing Yuanzi also appeared through the cracks.

Yan Ruchen quickly glanced at the contents of the paper, barely making out words like "evil," "exchange," and "departure," but the rest was blurry. Qing Yuanzi walked over, took one of the pages, and said solemnly, "I thought this thing was just a legend. Who knew it really existed?"

Yan Ruchen asked, "Elder Qing, what does this mean?"

Although Qing Yuanzi was now in the form of a bookmark, his expression was clearly displeased. He explained in a low voice, "Legend has it that when we fought the demons, they destroyed all documents, medical books, and secret manuals to prevent the leakage of secrets. I didn't expect to see such a complete book here. This is the demon's medical book, made of human skin."

Yan Ruchen was startled and asked, "Human skin?"

Qing Yuanzi nodded. "Indeed, this book is made of human skin and records all sorts of strange and sinister pharmacology and techniques of the demon race. Because its contents are so horrifying, it has always been considered a banned book. At that time, all the sects confirmed that these demon clan secret books no longer existed. Who would have thought..."

"what!"

Before he could finish his words, a faint scream suddenly came from outside the house. Although it was far away, Yan Ruchen immediately became alert: "It's Shanyu's voice."

Qing Yuanzi frowned and said decisively: "Let's go out and take a look."

The two quickly left the confined room, carrying the human-skin book. Their true forms had already returned to their original forms, their invisibility spells nearly wearing off, their bodies now half-hidden and half-visible. Yan Ruchen and the others didn't dare delay, immediately walking over to the true forms and releasing them. When they opened their eyes again, they were already back in their own bodies.

Yan Ruchen suddenly stood up from the ground, but he felt dizzy and stumbled a few steps. Qing Yuanzi supported him in time and said, "It's a normal reaction. The possession consumes too much spiritual energy."

Yan Ruchen closed his eyes and concentrated, mobilizing the spiritual energy in his body to flow. When he opened his eyes again, his vision had returned to clarity. He said, "I'm fine, Elder Qing, let's go."

Qing Yuanzi was still immersed in the process of adapting to his body when he suddenly realized that Yan Ruchen had shaken off his hand and ran away. He shouted "Hey" twice, but he was still a little uncomfortable and couldn't stand steadily. He could only say helplessly, "This kid, he recovered quickly."

On the other side, Yue Lingwu was also attracted by the unusual noise. He quickly ran out of the Sutra Library, but in order to avoid being noticed, he was still cautious and avoided the crowd and walked around the bushes. Suddenly, he saw Yan Ruchen rushing past. Before he could greet him, he heard Yan Ruchen speak to him first: "Elder Yue, Shanyu is in trouble!"

"what?"

Before Yue Lingwu could react, Yan Ruchen said this and walked past him without stopping for a moment. So Yue Lingwu did not dare to delay and immediately followed him.

The mountain path was lined with green trees, but a number of disciples had already gathered. In the center, Yu Jiushi was furious, pointing at Guan Shanyu lying on the ground and shouting, "Where the hell did you come from? How dare you disguise yourself as Chuji and trick me into leaving? If you don't tell me, I'll beat you to death and then hand you over to Master for punishment!"

Yan Ruchen walked over to the crowd, shouting "Excuse me" as he squeezed through. Guan Shanyu sat on the ground in a panic, one hand covering his nose, blood oozing from between his fingers, and the other hand waving in vain, trying to explain. Qing Fan stayed close to him, protecting him from behind, and apologized to Yu Jiushi, "Brother Jiushi, don't be angry, listen to our explanation first."

"Bah! Who are you brothers? You two were sneaking around pretending to be my sect's disciples and I found you out right there. What else can you say? I'll beat you spies to death!" Yu Jiushi didn't listen at all and cursed directly. The disciples beside him were instantly ignited and started to attack the two people kneeling on the ground.

Yan Ruchen immediately understood the situation. He guessed that Guan Shanyu and the other man's disguise had expired, which was why they were exposed.

He struggled to squeeze through the crowd and quickly rushed to Guan Shanyu's side. Seeing this, Yu Jiushi muttered in astonishment: "Why is there another one?"

Yan Ruchen ignored him, squatted down, and gently moved Guan Shanyu's hand that was covering his nose. He saw that his face was covered with blood and he looked extremely embarrassed. He turned around and glared at Yu Jiushi unhappily.

Guan Shanyu didn't expect Yan Ruchen to appear suddenly, and even broke his disguise. However, he didn't know whether he should recognize Yan Ruchen, so he wiped the blood off his face and turned his head to the side without looking at him.

Yu Jiushi shouted at Yan Ruchen in dissatisfaction: "Where did you come from again? Why are you wearing Chi Shui's clothes?"

Yan Ruchen stood up, his expression calm. "It's indeed rude of us to come here uninvited, but we mean no harm. If you find anything suspicious, you can just hand it over to the elders for disposal. There's no need to hit anyone."

Yu Jiushi was frightened by his aura and was speechless for a moment. He retorted, "You are acting sneaky, so I have to be on guard to avoid getting into trouble with you."

Yan Ruchen's brow furrowed, and he was about to retort when a steady voice rang out from beside him, "Children, be patient. There's a misunderstanding here. We've come here for a reason, to visit your master. These are our disciples, and we got lost and disturbed you. If you don't believe me, please follow me to see Elder Wang."

Everyone turned to see Qing Yuanzi and Yue Lingwu slowly approaching. Several sharp-eyed disciples immediately recognized them and hurriedly saluted. However, the two elders, dressed in their sect's disciple attire, looked rather peculiar, and they couldn't help but ask curiously, "Elder Qing, Elder Yue... why are you wearing our disciples' attire?"

Before he could finish his words, two disheveled disciples came running over from the other side of the mountain road, panting and shouting, "Oh no! A thief has sneaked into the sect and is stealing clothes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the disciples cast puzzled glances at Qing Yuanzi and Yue Lingwu. The two elders exchanged a smile, their faces tinged with embarrassment. Finally, Qing Yuanzi coughed lightly and said with a smile, "Well, I can explain this matter..."

*

In the meeting hall of Yunji Zen, all the elders have taken their seats. Wang Shuyan is sitting in the main seat, examining the items presented by Qing Yuanzi with a frown.

The elders standing by shook their heads repeatedly, and the atmosphere was solemn.

Yan Ruchen turned his gaze to Guan Shanyu beside him. The blood on Guan Shanyu's face had been wiped clean, but a piece of cloth was stuffed in his nostrils to stop the bleeding. His nose and eye sockets were still red and swollen, and he looked quite embarrassed. Yan Ruchen was unhappy and asked in a low voice, "Why did you get beaten?"

Guan Shanyu suddenly looked up and recognized Yan Ruchen's voice. He then lowered his head awkwardly, shook his head slightly, and said nothing.

Seeing this, Qing Fan whispered, "Ruchen, I was too impulsive. I wanted to drag Yu Jiushi to the elders to have an explanation, but my disguise failed halfway through. When he found out, he got angry and punched me. Shanyu was standing in front of me, so he got hit."

Hearing this, Guan Shanyu turned around and smiled at Qingfan, indicating that he didn't need to mind. Yan Ruchen glanced at Guan Shanyu and turned his head with a complicated expression.

Some people can't even take care of themselves, yet still want to protect others.

Wang Shuyan quickly flipped through the files Qing Yuanzi had found, then glanced at everyone with confusion. Then, furious, he slammed the stack of papers on the table and demanded, "So, you were ostensibly sending my disciple back, but in reality, you were sneaking into my confinement room to steal things? You're truly shameless!"

Qing Yuanzi smiled awkwardly and defended himself, "Although the method was dishonorable, it was indeed for the greater good."

Li Xiuqi looked at Wang Shuyan with dissatisfaction and asked, "Old Wang, did you really find this thing? Do you know that it almost killed my son?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuyan flew into a rage. He threw the paper to the ground and retorted, "I never said this was mine! I've never even seen this thing. What right do you have to accuse me of colluding with the demons?"

Yue Lingwu also slammed the table angrily and retorted, "The things were found in your forbidden room, and you're still trying to argue! Who else but you could have tampered with Yun Jichan's forbidden room?"

Wang Shuyan snorted and refuted confidently: "You ask me who can do it? Didn't Qing Yuanzi get in? I have a three-layer barrier, and he could sneak in. How can you prove that he or someone else didn't put this thing in there to frame me? Oh, you said that I did it because the thing was found in my place, but how do you prove that others don't have this thing? How do you prove that I am guilty of having this thing in my hands? Besides, I, Yun Jichan, sacrificed more than a dozen disciples this time. I used the lives of more than a dozen disciples to absorb that little bit of magic power, and I also risked being discovered by you. Did I just eat it for nothing?"