Look, Elder Medicine is shaking his head.

Liu Sandao, having heard Su Ji's words, remained on his knees and shuffled forward to Su Ji's side.

"Yes, yes! This junior will speak now! I'll speak!"

How could he dare to conceal anything now?

In his eyes, this was a great master whose lifespan was nearly exhausted, someone who had come here specifically to make a final farewell to his master.

If he held anything back and delayed their reunion, he feared he wouldn't even know how he died.

"Senior, you may not know..."

Liu Sandao's words came fast and urgent, like beans spilling from a sack.

"That place where Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon fell is not some fixed cave dwelling or secret realm, but rather... a shifting, fragmented hidden space!"

"Shifting?" Su Ji's brow furrowed slightly.

It seemed Great Xia was also a fragmented hidden space.

They hadn't managed to find a path to Great Xia, had they?

Though it wasn't like he had many attachments over there anyway.

Su Ji's brow remained furrowed as he listened patiently.

"Exactly!" Liu Sandao nodded vigorously, like a mortar pounding garlic.

"That place normally lies hidden within the chaos of the void, and only at specific times, when washed by a great surge of spiritual energy, does it briefly reveal an extremely unstable entrance."

"Moreover, the entrance appears at a different location each time, with no discernible pattern whatsoever."

Liu Sandao swallowed hard, a perfectly timed look of fear crossing his face.

"What's even more terrifying is that the space is flooded with the sword intent that dissipated from Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon after his death, along with that aura... that doesn't belong to this world."

"Ordinary cultivators, let alone entering, would have their souls crushed to pieces by that aura just by approaching within a hundred zhang of the entrance!"

"So..."

Liu Sandao stole a glance at Su Ji's expression and lowered his voice even further.

"That's why those arrogant bastards from Diting Mountain held their noses and released this information."

"They don't dare to brave it themselves, so they want us 'outsiders' to be their cannon fodder, to wear down the power within that space."

"Every faction invited there knows this as clear as day."

"But that's the inheritance of Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon! A being capable of defying and slaying an Immortal Emperor! Who could resist that temptation?"

"So it's become this situation now—one willing to be beaten, one happy to do the beating."

Liu Sandao finished in one breath, then cautiously raised his head to look at Su Ji, his eyes seeming to plead, "Senior, did I give you enough detail? Can you spare my life now?"

Su Ji listened, silent for a moment.

He understood now.

Diting Mountain was the house, handing out tickets left and right, attracting all sorts of fearless gamblers to come and stake their lives.

Win the bet, and you get a share of the inheritance.

Lose the bet, and your life is forfeit.

And Diting Mountain? They just sat back and watched, waiting for these cannon fodder to trip every trap inside, then waltz in and harvest the spoils themselves.

What a shrewd plan.

Su Ji glanced at Liu Sandao, who was kneeling before him with a fawning look.

"I asked you for the location."

"Who told you to babble on so much?"

Liu Sandao's body jolted violently.

Of course!

Even if this man before him was a cultivator whose spiritual power had run dry, he was still a sword cultivator!

How could he possibly resist such temptation?

To hear the Dao in the morning, one may die content in the evening!

"This junior deserves death! I deserve death!"

Liu Sandao's cold sweat burst out instantly, and he knocked his head against the ground even harder.

"That... that space appears once every half month. The next time it reveals itself should be thirteen days from now, and the location is near here..."

Liu Sandao pulled a jade slip from his bosom and offered it up with both hands.

"But the exact location and the method to open it are beyond someone of my rank to know..."

"However, it should be easy enough to find..."

Su Ji did not reach out to take it.

He merely glanced at the jade slip and committed its location to memory.

"You lead the way."

"Huh?" Liu Sandao was stunned.

"What? Is there a problem?"

Su Ji's tone carried a hint of displeasure.

"No! No problem!" Liu Sandao waved his hands frantically, but inwardly he was cursing his luck.

How could he dare say there was a problem?

But the real problem was... how was he supposed to explain this to his master?

His master had sent him here to capture the remnants of Thousand Illusion Sect, and not only had he failed the mission, but he'd also gotten his junior brother killed, and now he was supposed to bring a mysterious "old monster" to meet his master for a "reunion"?

If his master found out...

Liu Sandao didn't dare think further.

All he wanted now was to keep his own skin intact.

"This junior... this junior will go prepare a flying boat for Senior!"

"No need." Su Ji waved his hand, his gaze landing on the ruins not far away. "You go on ahead."

"Huh?"

"Go wait outside the Chaotic Star Sea. When I contact you, that's when we'll leave." Su Ji's voice remained calm: "I still have a few private matters to attend to these days. I'll follow shortly."

Liu Sandao, hearing this, felt as if he'd been granted a pardon.

Not having to stay with this cursed star? That was the best outcome he could hope for!

"Yes! Yes! This junior will go now! Right now!"

Liu Sandao scrambled to his feet, grabbed his blade, and turned to flee.

"Wait."

Su Ji's voice drifted over from behind him.

Liu Sandao's body froze.

"Se... Senior, do you have further instructions?"

Su Ji pointed at the silver blade on the ground.

"Your junior brother's blade. You don't want it?"

Liu Sandao looked at the blade, and his eyelids twitched violently twice.

Of course he wanted it!

It was Liu Yishou's life-bound artifact. Even though its spirituality was greatly diminished, it was still the weapon of a Void Refinement cultivator. Patch it up, and it would still be a rare treasure.

But... did he dare take it?

Liu Sandao's mind raced through the calculations.

In the end, his will to survive overwhelmed his greed.

He forced a smile: "This junior's... blade technique is unworthy of this weapon."

"If Senior likes it, please feel free to take it."

Su Ji sighed.

"Take it and get the hell out of here. And remember, wait for me to contact you."

"If I don't see you when I get there..."

"Heh..."

Su Ji waved his hand as if shooing away an annoying fly.

"Scram."

Liu Sandao felt like he'd received another pardon. He scrambled away, disappearing into the wind and snow.

Only when the suffocating pressure had completely vanished did he dare look back once.

Through the blizzard, he saw the man still sitting silently on the ruins, carving.

Liu Sandao shuddered, and without another moment's hesitation, he fled with all his might into the distance.

Though... Senior hadn't asked for his transmission talisman, had he?

Everyone's transmission talisman had its own unique spiritual frequency.

How was Senior supposed to contact him without knowing the frequency?

Whatever...

The methods of a great master were beyond his reckoning.

Asking about it would just make him look foolish.

And he certainly wasn't going back.

He'd just wait to be contacted.

...

The wind and snow continued.

Su Ji watched the direction Liu Sandao had disappeared, and the smile on his face slowly faded.

He waited a full half hour.

No sign of anything.

So he waited another half hour.

Still nothing.

Then Su Ji waited again...

So long had passed that Su Jiu, who was attached to Su Ji but had never had a chance to make a move, couldn't help but speak up: "Senior Brother... the person really is already gone..."

Su Ji waved his hand: "Wait a bit longer."

"But... I think Elder Yao doesn't look like he's going to make it..."

Su Jiu pointed at Elder Yao, who had already started shivering in the wind and snow.

"All is fair in war."

And so, two full hours passed.

Until a hint of dawn began to light the edge of the sky.

Only then did Su Ji slowly stand up and walk over to the ruins.

Elder Yao and Yun Xi lay among the rubble.

Both were badly wounded.

Elder Yao especially—he had forcibly boosted his cultivation, and now that the medicine had worn off, combined with the heavy blows from that masked figure, his chest was caved in and his breath was faint as a thread. It looked like he wouldn't survive.

Yun Xi was in slightly better shape, but she was still unconscious, her face pale.

Su Ji crouched down and first checked Elder Yao's breathing.

There was still breath.

But very weak.

He then examined Yun Xi's condition.

Her cultivation base was damaged, her spiritual power drained dry, but thankfully there was no danger to her life.

Su Ji was silent for a moment.

He pulled two jade bottles out of his storage ring.

Su Jiu raised an eyebrow: "Senior Brother, where did you get healing pills?"

Su Ji sighed: "Well, last time I suffered from not having any healing pills on me, so I just happened to grab some from Elder Yao's pill room."

"Isn't that just stealing?"

"Taking something without the owner's consent is stealing."

"Elder Yao, let me ask you—do you think I stole them?"

With that, Su Ji tilted Elder Yao's head, making it shake from side to side: "See, Elder Yao already shook his head."

Su Jiu: ...

Su Ji didn't keep up the antics—if he kept messing around, Elder Yao would have no life left in him.

With one hand, Su Ji pried open Elder Yao's mouth and shoved the pill inside.

Then he walked over to Yun Xi.

Looking at that stunningly beautiful face that still frowned even in unconsciousness, Su Ji's eyes grew somewhat complicated.

In the end, he sighed and fed the pill into Yun Xi's mouth.

After doing all this, Su Ji stood up and dusted off his robes, which weren't actually dirty.

He turned and faced the endless darkness ahead.

"I've taken a huge loss here."

He muttered under his breath.

But just as he was about to take a step forward—

Behind him, without any warning, a voice sounded—extremely weak, yet carrying a hint of cold aloofness.

"Wait."