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

On the wide, long street, a procession of carriages and horses moved swiftly forward. Leading the way were two fast horses carrying disciples from the Jade Palace. Following behind were two exquisite purple-wood carriages with carved patterns, appearing both understated and solemn. At the end of the procession, two young men sat on another fast horse.

Guan Shanyu remained stiff all the way, not daring to speak or move. Occasionally, when the bumps in the road accidentally bumped against Yan Ruchen behind him, he would immediately straighten up out of shock to avoid touching him. Unexpectedly, after the man behind him rode out of the downtown area, he quietly tightened his grip on the reins in front of Guan Shanyu, causing Guan Shanyu to involuntarily lean back again and again. Just as he tried to sit up again, Yan Ruchen gently pulled, and Guan Shanyu fell into his arms.

Before Guan Shanyu could react, Yan Ruchen leaned close to his ear, cheeks almost touching, and asked in that gentle voice, "Shanyu, what did Palace Master Li say to you just now?"

Guan Shanyu closed his eyes for a moment, not daring to look at him. He was racking his brains over how to start the conversation, but then he realized that Yan Ruchen would naturally know after they arrived at Zixiao. There was no benefit in hiding it now, so he quietly replied, "Well... I'll tell you, don't be too surprised."

Yan Ruchen whispered back, "Yeah."

Guan Shanyu swallowed hard and replied, "It's...that...Si Hongyin...she...she committed suicide."

"what?"

Yan Ruchen suddenly turned his head towards Guan Shanyu. Because the distance between them was too close, Guan Shanyu felt the corner of his lips gently rubbing against Yan Ruchen's cheek. Just when he was about to kiss the corner of Yan Ruchen's lips in the next second, Guan Shanyu suddenly fell backwards.

Rather than kissing Yan Ruchen and getting beaten to death, he would rather fall off his horse and die.

But Guan Shanyu was only suspended in the air for a moment before Yan Ruchen immediately grabbed his waist and pulled him back. Guan Shanyu suddenly crashed into Yan Ruchen's arms and heard his muffled voice from above him, asking, "Did Si Hongyin commit suicide?"

Guan Shanyu quickly straightened up, waving his hands and explaining, "She's not dead, not dead. I just heard there was a commotion within the sect a few days ago, and then the day before yesterday a disciple found her hanging at the sect gate. But she was found in time and was rescued. It's just that... a few outer disciples saw her and spread the news down the mountain. But don't worry, the news has been suppressed."

Yan Ruchen kept frowning and looking down, thinking about something. Guan Shanyu was frozen and dared not move. He looked at him nervously and secretly, not daring to remind him that his hands were still on his waist.

Guan Shanyu wailed in his heart, but Yan Ruchen maintained this uncomfortable posture all the way to the Zixiao Spiritual Realm. As soon as the horse stopped, he immediately jumped off the horse and dragged his paralyzed legs away from Yan Ruchen.

He was afraid that Yan Ruchen would be furious if he knew his wife committed suicide. If he couldn't control his anger and hurt himself, that would be too unfair.

At the door, Li Xiuqi had already greeted the gatekeepers and smoothly led the disciples into the inner gate. Jin Yu got off the carriage and saw Guan Shanyu limping towards him. He was a little confused, but still stretched out his hand and asked, "Shanyu, what's wrong with your leg? Do you want me to help you?"

Guan Shanyu looked back, only to see that it was Yan Ruchen's other "wife", so he quickly waved his hands and replied: "No, no, I can do it myself." Then he ran away.

The other disciples looked over and saw that he looked a little strange, and were somewhat puzzled, but they did not care and quickly walked into the Zixiao Gate.

The disciples followed Li Xiuqi into the Purple Sky Spirit Realm Hall in a hurry. This was the same hall where Guan Shanyu had received the Purple Sky Secret Art. Now, revisiting the old place, the shadows in his heart resurfaced, and he shuddered unconsciously. However, as soon as he entered the hall, he saw Qing Yuanzi, whom he had not seen for a long time. He shouted in disbelief, "Master!"

Qing Yuanzi, sitting in the main hall, nodded at him, then glanced to the side, indicating that he should greet the other elders first. Seeing this, Guan Shanyu followed the other disciples and greeted the elders in the hall: "Disciple greets Elders Tianxuan and Zixiao."

The elders nodded and signaled them to stand up. After Guan Shanyu stood up, he followed the disciples to the side and secretly glanced at Qing Yuanzi, feeling a little emotional.

After some deductions, he felt that Qing Yuanzi was a big suspect and secretly went to Song Ziye to report him. However, he actually met the real murderer at Wangshuiling. So he has been worried these days, afraid that he would bring trouble to Qing Yuanzi.

Now that he was standing here safe and sound, the sect must have thoroughly investigated him and confirmed that he was indeed not a suspect.

Fortunately, I didn’t let myself down... Guan Shanyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Qing Yuanzi caught a glimpse of Guan Shanyu looking at him nervously, and turned back to give him a faint smile. Seeing this, Guan Shanyu quietly saluted Qing Yuanzi again.

Li Xiuqi sat down in the main seat. Seeing this, Jin Yunche turned to look at Yan Ruchen, who was standing with his disciples, and said, "Ruchen, you are now the acting elder, so it's time for you to take a seat. Please sit next to Qiu Shui."

Yan Ruchen was stunned for a moment, then bowed respectfully and took a seat next to Qiushui Sword Lady. Seeing him approach, Qiushui Sword Lady gave him a weary smile. It was unclear what she had been going through in the past few days, but the dark circles under her eyes had grown darker and darker, and she looked listless, as if she had aged ten years. She said to Li Xiuqi wearily, "Old Li, we've discussed the news you sent us. Since Yunjichan is the problem, why don't our three sects join forces and investigate? After all, the more people know about this before the truth is revealed, the worse it will be."

Li Xiuqi nodded and said, "That's exactly what I meant."

After that, Yue Lingwu asked, "By the way, what monster at the bottom of the valley did these children kill, as you mentioned in your tablet?"

Li Xiuqi glanced at Yan Ruchen, who immediately stood up, walked forward, opened the large bundle at his waist and presented it to him, saying, "Reporting to Elder Yue, it's a spirit turtle."

Inside the bag that Yan Ruchen showed was the half palm of the spiritual turtle that he had chopped off. Because the weather was still a bit hot recently, the palm had a faint smell of decay, and everyone covered their noses unconsciously.

The elders in the room all leaned forward to observe. Seeing this, Qing Yuanzi stroked his beard and said, "So it was it. Qiu Shui, you must send someone to Wangshui Ridge to see if there is anything unusual about the group of things underground."

The disciples looked at each other, confused. Qiushui Sword Lady sighed and replied with an expressionless "Oh". Yan Ruchen asked in confusion: "Uncle Qing, what do you mean by this?"

Seeing that his disciples didn't understand the situation, Qing Yuanzi said, "Oh, it's like this. When we wiped out the demons, many of the demons' evil spirits and evil spirits remained in Wangshuiling. At that time, our immortal sects suffered heavy casualties, so we were unable to deal with those evil spirits. So we came up with a plan and found this ancient mythical beast to suppress them, meaning to calm their souls."

Guan Shanyu was stunned. Damn, Soul-Calming?

It is true that there is an evil spirit under Wangshui Ridge, but it was used as the ultimate boss in the plot where Yan Ruchen finally passed the level. And that spirit turtle is obviously a senior of the demon clan, who was suppressed there because he could not be killed. In this world, how could this plot be connected like this?

Although it was wonderful, Guan Shanyu felt a little uneasy.

Since we have mentioned the ultimate boss, does that mean... that this world is about to reach its finale?

He secretly glanced at Yan Ruchen, who was also a little surprised. He asked hesitantly, "If we kill this monster, won't that release the evil spirit under Wangshui Ridge?"

Upon hearing this, the disciples panicked. They had thought it was a good thing, but who knew it would cause such trouble? Seeing this, Qing Yuanzi quickly comforted them, "It's okay, it's okay. Since that spirit turtle has the guts to join the demons in harming the disciples, it's clearly not a good thing. Let's kill it. We can find another one to suppress it later. We also have some talismans at Wangshuiling, so those evil spirits won't escape so quickly."

This was said extremely easily, as if catching the ancient monster was as easy as buying vegetables at the market. Guan Shanyu was a little skeptical, but the other disciples believed it and breathed a sigh of relief.

Yuan Chongxiao, who had been sitting in the main seat, had remained silent until he slowly opened his eyes and said, "There is no time to lose. There are so many missing disciples. We must go to Yunjichan as soon as possible to investigate the truth."

Jin Yunche nodded and said, "After Brother Xiuqi sent the message, I've already made arrangements. But entering with such fanfare might alert the enemy, so we need to find another way. I think it would be better to send Yun Jichan back first. Then, as we're discussing matters now, a few of us can hold Elder Yun Jichan back while the rest of us secretly investigate the Yun Jichan Palace. How about that?"

Qing Yuanzi nodded and said, "Although it's despicable, it's useful."

Jin Yunche tutted and said, "Who are you calling mean?"

Qiushui Jianji rolled her eyes and said, "Stop it. And Fang Jiulong and Yulintai, the two children, don't go back for now. We'll send a message to your master to let him know we're safe. You stay here for now. I heard there's a girl injured and unconscious in Yulintai. I'll bring her over later so she can take a good look at her."

Jin Yu bowed and thanked him. Yu Kunliang, who was standing beside him, looked a little unhappy. Qing Yuanzi comforted him, "Don't be upset, kid. We can't be sure that the demon is from your sect, but it's very likely that they have infiltrated your sect and want to attack you. This investigation can also protect all the disciples in your sect."

Upon hearing this, Yu Kunliang's expression finally softened a bit, and he quietly thanked him. Yue Lingwu then asked, "How many people should we take with us?"

Yuan Chongxiao first called out Guan Shanyu's name and said, "Shanyu must go."

Guan Shanyu sighed silently, knowing that he was going to be an electronic dog detector this time. He had no choice but to agree, so he nodded. However, Yan Ruchen also bowed and requested, "Elders, I will go too."

Guan Shanyu turned his head away, not surprised. The elders nodded in agreement. To avoid too many strangers, Su Benzhi, Jin Yu, and Su Yi stayed behind while the rest of the disciples left.

"Why didn't you take me with you..." Su Yi said with a bitter face, full of displeasure. Qing Fan replied quietly, "Maybe they think you talk too much."

"You're the one who talks too much."

"Right." Su Yi and the other two were playing around behind them when Qing Yuanzi suddenly interrupted them from his seat, saying, "Master Yuan, please let the disciples outside come in. This is a good opportunity to test our theory."

Yuan Chongxiao opened his eyes and nodded slowly. The other disciples were somewhat confused. Li Xiuqi was also quite puzzled. Looking at the disciples who filed in from outside, each holding a silver needle in their hands, he asked, "What do you mean by speculation, Yuanzi?"

Qing Yuanzi didn't answer directly, but leaned forward slightly and whispered something in his ear. Li Xiuqi was shocked and shouted, "What? I told you there's no evidence, but you're blaming me..."

"Old Li, Old Li, please be patient." Qing Yuanzi said, "We are just testing it now. Let's see the results first. There is no harm in doing so!"

Li Xiuqi calmed down a bit, but still looked at Su Yi with some uneasiness. The disciples were a little confused. Su Yi looked at the silver needle raised in front of him and whispered to Li Xiuqi, "Dad, what does this mean..."

"what!!!"