This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

"Elder Qin, who is this? Aren't you going to introduce him?" Qin Siyuan asked, glancing at Qin Kai.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, this is Fellow Daoist Zheng Zhuang. He... he meant no harm. We had an agreement before, and since he hadn't heard from me for a long time, he came looking for me," Qin Kai explained.

"Oh, I see. Fellow Daoist Zheng is quite capable, infiltrating my Qingtian Sect as if it were empty. If it weren't for me in charge of this sect-protecting formation, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to detect it either," Qin Siyuan said expressionlessly.

Zheng Zhuang silently observed Qin Siyuan and Qin Kai and found that their way of getting along was a bit strange, and they didn't seem like a father and son at all.

"Sect Leader Qin is too kind. I had no choice. My open visit was stopped, so I had to come in by myself. But..."

Zheng Zhuang paused for a moment, then continued, "I just didn't expect that the Qingtian Sect, the leader of the righteous path, with its peaceful appearance, was such a den of iniquity."

Qin Siyuan narrowed his eyes slightly but remained silent.

Qin Kai couldn't help but ask, "Fellow Daoist Zheng, what is the meaning of this? My Qingtian Sect..."

Zheng Zhuang sighed: "Fellow Daoist Qin, you should have guessed it long ago, but you just didn't want to believe it, right?"

Zheng Zhuang looked at Qin Siyuan. Although this Sect Master Qin concealed it well, with his cultivation level, he still sensed a trace of demonic energy.

Although this wisp of demonic energy was very faint, it was clearly of the same origin as the divine messengers of the Demon God Sect, or rather, this was the truly pure demonic energy.

Compared to this, the demonic energy on those monsters was diluted many times over.

Qin Siyuan suddenly chuckled: "I originally thought that the first one to notice would be that guy from the Divine Sword Sect..."

He paused for a moment, his expression suddenly turned serious, and a powerful aura emanated from his body.

Qin Kai involuntarily took a step back, but Zheng Zhuang remained unmoved, as if he were completely unaffected.

“Father…” Qin Kai shouted.

Qin Siyuan sighed, composed himself, and slowly spoke:

"With such cultivation, Fellow Daoist Zheng must have felt the constraints of heaven and earth. Although Cangzhou is vast, it is nothing more than a cage."

If we cultivate to the level of you and me, and want to transcend, we must break through the constraints. But if we cannot break through, we cannot break through the constraints of heaven and earth.

We cultivators are inherently defying the heavens; even if there's only a sliver of hope, we must fight with all our might.

Zheng Zhuang was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He had not been cultivating for long, and his progress had been rapid, so he had not felt any constraints from heaven and earth.

In addition, his cultivation method is different from the mainstream system, so this is the first time I've heard such a statement.

Qin Kai was even more shocked, as he was only at the Golden Core stage and naturally couldn't comprehend it.

He remembered that his father wasn't like this before; he didn't know when it started, but his father began to become increasingly indifferent.

He never understood why, given his father's status and cultivation, there was nothing he couldn't obtain.

Now, he finally understood something.

What shocked him even more was that he knew Zheng Zhuang was highly skilled, but he never expected him to have reached that level.

"So, we have to sacrifice those innocent civilians?" Zheng Zhuang sighed.

"Since the founding of our Qingtian Sect, we have protected countless lives. Now, we are only sacrificing a few mortals..." Qin Siyuan said dismissively.

"Will sacrificing those civilians break this cage?" Zheng Zhuang asked.

Qin Siyuan nodded with certainty: "I have traveled extensively and have been to the northernmost part of Cangzhou. There is an invisible barrier there that blocks anyone who wants to leave Cangzhou..."

Fellow Daoist, have you ever heard of the Blood Demon? He came from another state, intending to sacrifice his blood for Cangzhou. I went to stop him, and I personally witnessed him crossing the boundary wall.

It was then that I realized that the invisible barrier only blocked cultivators from Cangzhou, while people from other states could pass through by paying a certain price.

It was also the Blood Demon who told me that Cangzhou was a cage, used to seal away a Heavenly Demon.

"He told you the truth, so you didn't stop him then? But have you thought about what the consequences would have been if he had completed the blood sacrifice?" Zheng Zhuang sneered.

"Of course I know. The reason I didn't stop him is because he said that through blood sacrifice, the Heavenly Demon could be awakened, and then the power of the Heavenly Demon could be used to break through the boundary," Qin Siyuan said.

"Have you considered that if the Heavenly Demon were to break free, Cangzhou would also be destroyed as a result?"

"So what?"

Zheng Zhuang laughed in exasperation: "What a fine number one righteous person!"

Qin Siyuan completely ignored Zheng Zhuang's sarcasm, and said with an undeniable smile:

“I once thought the same way as you. Over the years, the seal on the Heavenly Demon has become weaker and weaker. Have you ever thought that the Heavenly Demon will break free one day? When that happens, Cangzhou will be destroyed just like before.”

Zheng Zhuang was silent for a while, then sighed, "Who can say for sure what the future holds?"

Qin Siyuan smiled and said, "That's right. Nobody knows what the future holds. Rather than waiting to die, we might as well fight for it. If you and I can break free from our shackles and cultivate diligently, we might one day be able to completely slay the Heavenly Demon."

Zheng Zhuang frowned. Although he did not agree with Qin Siyuan's idea, he had to admit that what the other party said made sense, and for a moment he did not know how to refute it.

I hate these self-righteous villains the most!

"Sect Leader Qin, perhaps you are right, but we cannot work together if we have different principles. Since neither of us can persuade the other, let's settle this with our skills!"

"Very well, that's exactly what I was thinking! Please!"

The two figures flashed and appeared in mid-air at the same time.

Zheng Zhuang and Qin Siyuan stood facing each other, both emanating powerful auras that seemed to freeze the surrounding air.

Facing the undisputed number one player in Cangzhou, Zheng Zhuang did not underestimate his opponent and launched the first attack.

He formed a seal with his hands and muttered words.

In an instant, a dazzling light appeared in the sky, transforming into countless sword energies that shot towards Qin Siyuan.

Qin Siyuan remained calm and composed. With a casual wave of his hand, a powerful, jet-black shield appeared in front of him, blocking all the sword energy.

Immediately afterwards, Qin Siyuan slowly raised one hand, and the phantom of a giant hand appeared behind him.

The giant hand phantom rapidly grew larger, and the sky darkened instantly, as if the entire sky had been covered by the giant hand.

"Covering the sky with one hand!"

Qin Siyuan truly lived up to his title as the Sect Master of the Qingtian Sect; his actions were as powerful as the heavens themselves.

If one's mind is not firm, this one move could cause one's Dao heart to collapse.

Zheng Zhuang remained calm. Although the move was impressive, he knew very well that the other party was just testing him.

He clasped his hands together, and a colossal phantom of a giant appeared.

The giant's body continued to expand, as if it would burst the sky!

Immediately afterwards, he separated his hands, and the giant stretched out his hands and pulled hard.

Suddenly, a huge crack appeared in the dark sky, and sunlight shone in once again.

"I will not let the sky obscure my vision!"