"You'd better explain yourself clearly. What kind of uncomfortable aura?" Yun Yun's expression turned serious, a hint of tension appearing on her face.
"It's the Hall of Souls." Cai Lin raised her hand and condensed a red energy longbow. At the same time, she formed a red arrow and aimed it at the mountain peak ahead. The terrifying Battle Qi gathering caused the surrounding space to tremble.
"Wait…"
Yun Yun wanted to speak up to stop her, but Cai Lin's finger had already loosened. The red arrow shot out.
Space tore open a rift. The arrow disappeared after entering the spatial tear, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of that tall peak.
Crack!
A powerful Battle Qi suddenly appeared, transforming into a layer of barrier that blocked the arrow's advance.
Boom!
The clash of mighty forces shattered a crack in space.
Immediately after, an old man wearing a simple white robe appeared. His silver hair fluttered in the wind. Though clearly elderly, his face was like warm jade emitting a gentle glow. He stood with his hands behind his back, stepping on empty air, giving off an otherworldly, elegant aura.
It was none other than Yun Yun's teacher—the previous generation Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Shan.
"Queen Medusa?"
"I didn't expect you to step into the Dou Ancestor realm ahead of me."
His gaze swept over Cai Lin before turning to Yun Yun. Yun Shan spoke with some annoyance: "Yun Er, after so many years apart, even if you have complaints about your teacher stepping down and leaving everything to you, you shouldn't have brought Queen Medusa to the back mountain and let her attack your master."
The relationship between the Misty Cloud Sect and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate was quite poor, but there was no major conflict with the Snake-People Tribe. At most, there had been some skirmishes when the Jia Ma Empire and the Snake-People Tribe were at war.
"Teacher, you've come out of seclusion!" Yun Yun showed a pleasantly surprised expression.
Yun Shan's tone made her feel slightly better. It seemed the influence left by the Hall of Souls protector wasn't too serious yet.
Then, she immediately complained: "This disciple found a Body Transformation Grass. When I was obtaining it, I encountered Queen Medusa. After a great battle, I was no match for her and had my cultivation sealed by her, becoming her personal maidservant.
"For some reason, she provided shelter to the Xiao Family in Wu Tan City. This disciple could only live with the Xiao Family and got to know the Xiao Family's young master, Xiao Ting. He said that as long as I protected him for a period of time, he would speak up and ask Queen Medusa to release me.
"That Xiao Ting has been accepted into Jia Nan Academy and wants to bring this disciple along. He gave me time to return to the sect to handle some trivial matters. Before leaving, I wanted to inform you as well."
After learning the full story, the displeasure in Yun Shan's heart dissipated. He turned to Cai Lin: "Queen Medusa, since this master has awakened, we naturally cannot allow you to take Yun Er away. You should leave now. This sect will pretend you never came to the Misty Cloud Sect."
"Heh." Medusa crossed her arms, her expression contemptuous. "Yun Shan, you old fellow sure know how to put on airs. Your cultivation is still at the peak of Dou Emperor. Your body has only partially transformed, making you a half-step Dou Ancestor at best. You are not this queen's opponent.
"If you fight with this queen, I'm afraid you'll be stuck at this level for the rest of your life."
"Medusa, don't forget where you are." Yun Shan's expression remained unchanged as he spoke calmly. "In the Misty Cloud Sect, this old man can mobilize the full power of the entire sect and receive the boost from the formation.
"Back when this old man was still an eight-star Dou Emperor, with the help of the formation, I could contend against the two-star Dou Ancestor level Xie Bi Yan.
"If I go all out today, I may able to keep you here!"
"Keep this queen here?" Medusa sneered. "If this queen wants to leave, you definitely won't be able to stop me. And if you really go all out as you say, I'm afraid that strange energy in your soul will completely erupt. Even a Dou God won't be able to save you then."
Hearing this, Yun Shan's expression did not change as he asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Why should this queen tell you?" Medusa kept a cold face, fully displaying her queenly demeanor.
"If you refuse to speak, this old man can make you speak whether you want to or not." Yun Shan raised one hand, sword intent surging.
"Heh." Medusa gave a cold laugh and took out a long sword, making her stance clear with action.
This actually made Yun Shan hesitate. The energy in the soul that Medusa mentioned felt like a thorn in his back.
[Yun Yun]: Sister Medusa, your acting is really good.
[Cai Lin]: There's no acting. It's all me playing my true self. Your teacher deserves a beating.
[Yun Yun]: Cough cough. Is it okay that you directly pointed out the problem in his soul? Weren't we not supposed to reveal Journal information?
[Cai Lin]: Do you see anything wrong with me? This queen's main body is now the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python, said to possess heaven-piercing power. Although this queen isn't that strong yet, I have gained some new abilities. Your teacher's soul does indeed have something strange—I truly sensed it.
[Yun Yun]: Damn Hall of Souls. This is irreconcilable.
Only at this moment did Yun Yun realize that Cai Lin had truly been playing herself the entire time.
"Teacher!" Yun Yun spoke urgently. "Don't make a move yet. Let me talk with Queen Medusa about this matter."
As she spoke, she turned to Queen Medusa again: "Your Majesty, I can abide by the agreement and return with you. Could you please tell me what problem my teacher has with his soul?"
"Ridiculous." Medusa slightly raised her chin, her tone full of disdain. "You returning with this queen is something you were supposed to do anyway. Why are you using it as a bargaining chip with this queen now?"
Yun Yun: "..."
(She didn't have to play herself completely.)
"Medusa!" Yun Shan felt displeased, anger rising in his heart.
But right after, he faintly sensed something was off.
"Your Majesty, I can agree to some reasonable requests. What do you think?" Yun Yun raised her hand. "I swear on my sword intent in the name of the Misty Cloud Sect Leader."
"This shows some sincerity at least." Medusa gave a light snort and spoke indifferently: "This queen's perception of the soul is extremely sharp right now. There is a special imprint in your teacher Yun Shan's soul.
"Under normal circumstances, this imprint cannot be sensed and will not cause any harm to your teacher. However, it will subtly influence his temperament, making him colder, more irritable, and causing negative emotions to accumulate.
"If someone guides him at such a time, I'm afraid he will become an ambitious person obsessed with nothing but slaughter.
"Not only that, the person who left this imprint can directly influence Yun Shan's soul through certain secret methods.
"Your teacher, aside from his appearance and memories, will soon no longer be the teacher you once knew.
"His life will also be in someone else's hands."
Upon hearing this, both Yun Shan and Yun Yun's expressions changed drastically.
Yun Shan was no fool. He naturally knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world—a delicious candy might be wrapped around poison.
But after many years in seclusion, he was only one step away from Dou Ancestor yet facing the end of his lifespan. He felt extremely unwilling.
So when the Hall of Souls's Protector Wu approached him with a cooperation proposal, after much hesitation, he had still chosen to agree.
In his view, agreeing to help the Protector Wu was merely a transaction. Some risk was nothing compared to the temptation of breaking through to Dou Ancestor.
But now that Medusa had pointed out what he would face, his thoughts quietly shifted.
If his personality and way of doing things changed, would he still be himself?
No wonder lately, certain thoughts kept popping up, and he sometimes felt like he no longer recognized himself.
But because his strength had increased, he kept hypnotizing himself that everything was normal—it was just his mentality changing with his power.
Even if he remained himself, what meaning was there if his life was pinched in the Protector Wu's hand?
"That's right. Yun Shan is currently being remodeled in personality and can have his life taken away at any time. In the end, he will definitely become a dog whose life is taken away." Medusa used the most direct words to reveal the vicious truth.
Yun Yun's expression turned extremely ugly as she asked, "Teacher, what is going on? Have you been plotted against?"
"Mm." Yun Shan's face looked very unsightly. He nodded slightly. "There was a protector from the Hall of Souls who approached your teacher…"
"Hall of Souls!?" Hearing Yun Shan's words, Yun Yun rudely interrupted. "Teacher, are you going to become a disciple who deceives and destroys your master and ancestors?"
Yun Shan: ???
…