I have the face of a great demon.

Liu Xingchen hurried through the passageway of the underground palace, his eyes scanning the surroundings, vigilantly observing every detail.

Suddenly, he paused slightly, and his brows furrowed.

Something seemed amiss about the stone wall ahead.

It was an ordinary-looking stone wall, no different from the rest of the place, but Liu Xingchen keenly noticed that the runes on the stone wall seemed somewhat unusual. The patterns of the runes were slightly broken in one place.

What's even stranger is that a faint trace of spiritual energy fluctuations emanated from the fracture, which he probably wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been on high alert.

"There's... something wrong here." Liu Xingchen murmured to himself, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to go forward to check.

He reached out and gently touched the broken rune, feeling a cool sensation on his fingertips.

Just as he was about to explore further, the stone wall suddenly emitted a low humming sound, the runes lit up abruptly, and a powerful suction force pulled him inside.

Liu Xingchen felt a blur before his eyes, and his body seemed to be enveloped by an invisible force. The next moment, he found himself in an unfamiliar space.

Liu Xingchen steadied himself and quickly scanned the mysterious space with his eyes.

This is a circular stone chamber with a soaring dome. The four walls are covered with intricate Taoist runes, and a faint spiritual light flows between the runes, like an inverted galaxy.

In the center of the stone chamber, a huge Bagua formation floats, each line of the formation radiating powerful spiritual energy fluctuations, as if silently controlling the operation of the entire underground palace.

The eight directions of the Bagua Formation correspond to the eight trigrams: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui. Below each trigram is a bronze altar, on which are placed various ritual implements, including bronze bells, jade slips, talismans, and even a few spirit stones that emit a faint light.

However, this space, which should have been solemn and dignified, now appeared chaotic and disorderly.

The floor of the stone chamber was littered with broken stones and broken weapons, clearly indicating that a fierce battle had taken place there.

Near one corner of the stone wall, there is a deep sword mark. The stone wall at the edge of the sword mark is cracked, as if it may collapse at any moment.

Below the "Kan" position of the Bagua formation, the bronze altar was overturned, with bronze bells and jade slips scattered all over the ground, and a few drops of dried blood still remaining on the surface of the altar.

Liu Xingchen approached to investigate and discovered that the bloodstains extended to the other side of the stone chamber. Finally, his gaze suddenly fell on a corner of the stone chamber.

There, an old Taoist priest lay prostrate on the ground.

Liu Xingchen keenly sensed that the old Taoist priest no longer possessed any life force.

Several broken jade slips were scattered around his body, and he was still holding a broken sword in his hand.

Liu Xingchen walked slowly closer and carefully examined the old Taoist's corpse.

He discovered that the old Taoist had a deep sword wound in his chest, and the blood around the wound had dried, indicating that he had been dead for some time.

"Is this an elder of the sect?" Liu Xingchen murmured, his brows furrowing slightly.

He had stayed in the Zixiao Sect for a while and had met many elders, but he had never seen the old Taoist priest in front of him before.

The old Taoist's face was unfamiliar, but his temperament was exceptionally profound, as if he were a powerful figure who had been living in seclusion for a long time.

Liu Xingchen's gaze fell on the sword wound on the old Taoist's chest, and he vaguely felt that things were not so simple.

He crouched down and carefully examined the old Taoist's body, discovering a jade pendant on the old Taoist's body with the character "Gan" engraved on it.

"Elder Gan?" Liu Xingchen murmured the name, his heart filled with even more doubt.

He had never heard of such an elder in the sect, but judging from the old man's attire and the inscription on the broken sword in his hand, his status was obviously not low.

Liu Xingchen stood up, his gaze sweeping over the signs of fighting and the damaged areas in the stone chamber, and a vague guess formed in his mind.

He murmured to himself, "This Elder Gan might be the one who guarded this stone chamber. He may have died here in battle to protect this place."

His gaze fell on the broken sword in the old Taoist's hand, and a sense of respect rose in his heart.

Regardless of Elder Gan's identity, he was clearly a powerful figure who sacrificed his life for the sect.

"This is... the control center of the underground palace! And something's happened. Could it be that this mission is wrong?"

Upon realizing this, Liu Xingchen's pupils suddenly contracted, and he was shocked.

Just then, the runes in the stone chamber suddenly flickered, the light of the array suddenly intensified, a dazzling white light flashed, and then a tall figure walked out from the light.

The man was dressed in a Taoist robe, with a dignified face and piercing eyes; he was none other than the sect leader of the Zixiao Sect—Master Yuchen.

As soon as Master Yu Chen stepped into the stone chamber, his gaze quickly swept around, taking in the entire scene inside.

His gaze fell on Elder Gan's corpse, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the expression on his face froze instantly.

"Elder Gan!" Master Yu Chen's voice was filled with undisguised shock and grief.

He walked quickly to Elder Gan's body, squatted down, and carefully examined Elder Gan's wounds.

When he saw the sword wound on Elder Gan's chest, the grief on his face instantly turned into anger.

Master Yu Chen slowly stood up, his gaze piercing Liu Xingchen like a knife.

His voice was deep and cold, filled with barely suppressed rage: "Liu Xingchen, how dare you! You actually dared to kill Elder Gan and destroy the underground palace's formation!"

Liu Xingchen had a vague feeling that something was wrong, so he quickly explained, "Sect Master, you misunderstand. I just entered here and found that Elder Gan had been killed. The loss of control of the underground palace has nothing to do with me."

"It wasn't you. Take out your sword and let me see."

Liu Xingchen did not understand the sect leader's meaning for a moment, but took out his black heavy sword as instructed.

The moment he drew the black sword, he understood that Elder Gan's sword wounds matched his black sword perfectly.

This heavy sword is very different from the long swords commonly used in sects; anyone can tell that Elder Gan died by this kind of sword.

Liu Xingchen panicked; he had clearly fallen into a trap. He cried out urgently, "Sect Master, it wasn't me. It's just a coincidence."

"Enough, Liu Xingchen!" Master Yu Chen glared angrily. "No, perhaps I should call you Liu Zhantian instead."

"Ah! Sect Master, you've misunderstood. I am Liu Xingchen, not the great demon Liu Zhantian. Senior Brother Liu can attest to that."

"Liu Xingchen? He looks exactly like the Great Demon? If it's really as you say, even ten of you couldn't kill Elder Gan. Only Liu Zhantian's cultivation level would be enough to kill him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xingchen felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes.

Scenes flashed rapidly through his mind as he recalled all the experiences he had encountered along the way.

He suddenly understood everything, and an indescribable chill surged through his heart.

"So that's how it is..." Liu Xingchen murmured softly, his voice filled with bitterness and anger. He finally understood that the one who had set him up was a great demon.

The big villain had always been by his side, arranging all of this so that he could openly draw attention to the big villain and take the blame for him.