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

Yan Ruchen turned around upon hearing this. Guan Shanyu was very close to him, his big eyes flashing with seriousness as he said, "I know you didn't hand it in, so it's perfectly useful to take it out now."

Yan Ruchen was stunned for a moment, then a helpless yet slightly smiling arc appeared on the corner of his mouth. He took out an object from his arms and placed it obediently in Guan Shanyu's palm.

Guan Shanyu weighed it, then examined it carefully. It turned out to be a leaf-shaped crystal, similar to a relic. He remembered describing how to use it. After some exploration, he figured out the key to it. He placed it on the table and said to the others, "To prevent mistakes made by individual exploration, let's work together. Ruchen and Senior Brother Song, place your hands here. I and the other three fellow Taoists will extend both hands, one hand here, and the other on the leaf."

Everyone was a little confused when they heard this, but they still did as they were told. After everyone's hands were in place, Guan Shanyu looked around nervously and said softly, "Let's try it?"

After saying this, everyone closed their eyes and concentrated, and several disciples were even more focused, using their internal energy to exert their strength.

In an instant, Guan Shanyu and others felt their bodies flash, and when they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in the secret room of the Formation Pavilion.

Guan Shanyu looked around. Yan Ruchen, Song Ziye and the others were also there. Several disciples seemed to have just woken up and were looking around in surprise. But for Yan Ruchen and the others who had already entered the illusion, in addition to being curious, they were more concerned about who the planter of the Soul-Devouring Grass was.

Guan Shanyu looked around again, but saw no one. He was a little confused. Could it be that the crystal of the spirit turtle was not used in this way? However, he remembered that it was indeed written in this way in the book.

Feeling puzzled, he suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder. He turned around curiously and saw Yan Ruchen pointing upwards.

It was the same staircase they had seen when they were exploring the secret room. However, they were now at the bottom and could not see the whole picture, but they could vaguely see a human figure at the top.

Guan Shanyu and Yan Ruchen exchanged a glance, then, with a tacit understanding, they broke into a run, followed closely by the other disciples. Knowing that those in the illusion couldn't see them and wouldn't be disturbed by the traps, they all moved at lightning speed, leaping onto the stairs in a few short steps.

As expected, a person stood before the crystal coffin, holding a small wooden spoon and carefully watering the soul-devouring grass in the coffin. Guan Shanyu was about to go around to the other side of the crystal coffin to observe the person's appearance, but unexpectedly, the person turned around on his own initiative.

The moment he looked up, Guan Shanyu was stunned.

The person who turned around was actually Song Ziye.

It’s actually Song Ziye?

Yan Ruchen lagged behind, but upon seeing the man watering the plants was Song Ziye, he froze in his tracks. The two of them turned in shock, only to see the disciples behind them had already caught up, all witnessing Song Ziye's presence.

The real Song Ziye was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at them expressionlessly.

Guan Shanyu's back was covered in cold sweat, and he involuntarily stood behind Yan Ruchen. At this moment, the door of the secret room was suddenly pushed open, and Yuan Chongxiao walked into the room.

"what!"

Before Guan Shanyu could react, the scene before him vanished in an instant, and a force suddenly pulled them back to reality. Guan Shanyu's body was unstable, and he stumbled a few steps under the impact, almost falling off the stool. Fortunately, Yan Ruchen was quick-witted and grabbed him.

When he sat down and looked carefully, he saw that the disciples had fallen off the stools one after another. One of them cried out in fear: "I... I think I saw Master!" The other disciples echoed: "I saw it too!"

Guan Shanyu suddenly woke up, jumped up from the stool, and quickly moved away from the table. Yan Ruchen also stood up, protecting Guan Shanyu firmly behind him, his eyes fixed on Song Ziye.

Song Ziye sat quietly, his eyes deep and speechless, responding to their scrutiny with only his gaze.

The scene in the illusion just now is still in front of my eyes. The person standing on the crystal wooden coffin and pouring water on it is actually Song Ziye?

Guan Shanyu was extremely vigilant. He quickly put the Soul-Eating Grass leaf and the Spirit Turtle Crystal on the table into his sleeve and once again stood close behind Yan Ruchen, staring at Song Ziye warily. The surrounding disciples were confused and cast doubtful glances at him. One asked, "Brother, what's going on? Why did Master just appear? And what are you watering?"

Upon hearing this, Song Ziye lowered his eyes slightly, then turned to smile at them without saying a word, returning his gaze to Guan Shanyu. Seeing this, Yan Ruchen sneered, "What a way of putting the blame on someone else."

"Wait a minute." Before Yan Ruchen finished speaking, Guan Shanyu whispered behind him, "If he really is the mastermind behind this, why did he bring his disciples here for us to inspect?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruchen turned to look at Guan Shanyu, who stared at him with a bewildered expression. Yan Ruchen pondered for a moment, then turned back to Song Ziye. After staring at him for a moment, he suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Song, could it be that when you went with us to investigate last night, you realized that what you were watering was the Soul-Eating Grass?"

If not, he could have stopped them from proposing to bring their disciples to sense things, simply refused and ordered his men to arrest them. Why would he accompany them into the illusion and expose his own weaknesses?

Song Ziye's face froze when he heard this, and he turned away without saying anything. Seeing this, Guan Shanyu suddenly felt a surge of excitement and shouted to Song Ziye, "Brother Song, you were also deceived, weren't you? You had no idea that the sect had the Soul-Eating Grass hidden within it, right?"

The three disciples stared at each other, bewildered. Song Ziye stared at the table with a complex expression. After a long pause, he lowered his head and said, "I have no right to interfere with your actions. I will... no longer be involved in what happens next."

Guan Shanyu brushed aside Yan Ruchen's hand blocking his path, walked over to Song Ziye, and sat down. "How could you not participate? Between the sect's reputation and moral principles, haven't you chosen moral principles? Otherwise, why would you help us? Since you know the sect is using the disciples' blood and essence to cultivate things like the Soul-Devouring Grass, and they've concealed it from you, making you an accomplice, you're just sitting back and watching. Are you going to let your fellow disciples die in vain?"

Upon hearing this, the disciple beside him was confused and shouted to Guan Shanyu, "Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by this? Why do you say that my senior brother is an accomplice and that my fellow junior brothers will die?"

Guan Shanyu tilted his head and said to them, "Literally. What you just saw was the secret room of the Formation Pavilion. The formation you practiced was used to suppress the monsters within the secret room. And the plant in the crystal wooden coffin you just saw was the Soul Devouring Grass, an evil creature that has long been banned within the Immortal Sect. The Soul Devouring Grass is an evil creature that can control people's minds, devour souls, and steal their strength. The Purple Sky Secret Technique you have received is to use you as nutrients for the Soul Devouring Grass, providing it with essence and blood for growth!"

"What nonsense!"

Upon hearing this, the three disciples slammed their desks and stood up, glaring at me in disbelief. "You say it's what it is? Every immortal sect has a secret chamber. It's normal to keep something there. How can you say it's something from the demon clan? You're clearly just spreading rumors and stirring up trouble."

"Spreading rumors and causing trouble?" Guan Shanyu chuckled. He pulled the Soul-Eating Grass leaf from his sleeve and held it in front of them. "You've all been trained in that secret technique. Aren't you the ones who can most easily sense whether this is a demonic creature?"

Upon hearing this, the disciples cast a quick glance at the leaf, but after just a moment's careful attention, they were all stunned. The result was self-evident. Guan Shanyu laughed at this, then stood up from his seat and turned his gaze to Song Ziye, who had buried his head deeply in his arms. He saw him holding his head in his hands, seemingly in great annoyance and pain.

Guan Shanyu looked around at the people in front of him, then turned to Yan Ruchen and said to him, "Let's go."

"and many more."

Before he could take two steps, he was stopped by an urgent call from behind. Guan Shanyu turned around and saw Song Ziye had already raised his head from his arms. His eyes were bloodshot and slightly red and swollen. He asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you going to do?"

Guan Shanyu said truthfully, "Go and stop these rioters from committing evil deeds, and tell these hypocritical people not to come out and harm others again."

Upon hearing this, Song Ziye's eyes became even redder and he remained silent for a long while.

Seeing this, Guan Shanyu added fuel to the fire. His expression was slightly heavy and sad as he said, "Senior Brother Song, if the fellow apprentices who trusted you the most and admired you the most knew that you had personally sent them to their doom, what a tragedy that would be. Rather than regretting it later, wouldn't it be better to do your best to make amends now, before anything happens?"

Yan Ruchen glanced sideways at Guan Shanyu and saw that Guan Shanyu had a sad expression and was looking at Song Ziye with pain. He should have turned away after saying this, but he just nailed his feet to the ground and waited for Song Ziye to reply.

Yan Ruchen understood what he meant. Seeing that his mind was working quite quickly, he turned his head away and smiled softly.

Sure enough, under the anxious and confused gazes of his three fellow apprentices, Song Ziye finally asked Guan Shanyu in a hoarse voice, "How can I help you?"

The grief on Guan Shanyu's face vanished as he immediately replied, "Master Yuan should have sensed my arrival in Zixiao. If you ask, Senior Brother Song and all the other Daoists will have to help me tell a lie. Say I've come to see you for a relapse of an old injury. Also, please steal the books from the Sutra Library that record the demonic artifacts. As for the Soul-Devouring Grass, if conditions permit, please also steal a plant. We'll meet in Songpi County, Yunze Mirror, at 9:00 PM in two days."

After saying this, Guan Shanyu pulled Yan Ruchen over, leaving Song Ziye in silence. The room was filled with a clamor of confusion, along with three other disciples who were pulling Song Ziye aside to explain. But Guan Shanyu closed the door and left without looking back.

After walking a little further, until he saw the patrolling disciples of Zixiao approaching, Guan Shanyu suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly pulled Yan Ruchen into the bushes nearby. After taking several deep breaths, Guan Shanyu vaguely realized that Yan Ruchen's hand was still tightly held by him, so he quickly let go and whispered, "Sorry, sorry."

Yan Ruchen looked at him, smiled softly, and asked, "Are your legs still weak?"

Guan Shanyu looked up at him in shock and asked, "You can even see that?"

Yan Ruchen didn't reply, but only smiled slightly, leaning against the tree trunk. Behind him, a few flowers were in full bloom, making him look particularly handsome. Guan Shanyu turned his head away embarrassedly and whispered, "I'm also a fox borrowing the power of the tiger. If you weren't behind me, I wouldn't dare to speak so arrogantly. I was actually almost scared to death just now. I was afraid that Song Ziye would just pick up a knife and chop me to silence me."

Yan Ruchen raised the corner of his mouth and whispered, "Then how can you be sure that he will help us? What if Sect Leader Yuan comes back and turns against us? Wouldn't all our efforts be wasted?"

Guan Shanyu smiled bitterly: "It's just a gamble."

Yan Ruchen pondered for a moment. After the Zixiao disciples left, he stood up, pulled Guan Shanyu up, and gently brushed the fallen leaves off his shoulders. "Let's go down the mountain. Let's discuss our plans for the future."