Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

His voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the corridor and then spreading out in all directions, the sound imbued with immense self-confidence.

However, after two and a half seconds passed without anything unusual happening, Yi Chen let out a long sigh of relief.

His words a moment ago had been a probe, stemming from the feeling of being watched when he had been at the tea house run by the beautiful woman, hence the deception.

It was precisely because of such apprehensions that he hadn't used the Dragon-Slaying Sword in his deadly fight with the tall ghoul, preferring to keep it as his ace in the hole.

Naturally, the best outcome was the current state of calm.

"Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Yan Family of the great capital, I, Yi Chengzi, have taken note of this account," Yi Chen said with a cold expression, adding two more entries on his mental ledger before changing into fresh clothes and striding confidently towards the outside.

The moment he leaped out of the cave mouth and landed on the cliff where he'd arrived, his pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

A person wearing a Green Dragon mask had unexpectedly appeared, blocking his path.

"The charlatans show themselves; Yi Chengzi, what will you do?" the mysterious figure said leisurely, with a hint of jest in his words.

Yi Chen: "...Damn, there really is someone."

Seeing the mysterious person's aura as deep as the sea, slightly stronger than that of the Chief of the Red Flames, Yi Chen's expression changed, and he immediately managed a forced smile, "Senior, what are you saying? I am the one playing tricks; I failed to recognize Senior's kind intention. I should be thanking Senior for the divine consciousness warning earlier."

"Otherwise, with Senior's cultivation, how could you allow me to detect it?"

If he could overpower them, they were charlatans; if not, they were surely seniors, no question about it.

The wind sweeps over the ridges, only the grass remains.

In critical moments, one must be flexible.

As for denying his own identity, Yi Chen never considered such a trick; this mysterious person clearly came prepared, and to play such petty cleverness at this time would only demean him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Being cautious, Yi Chen kept up his smile while investing all four Origin Points into agility, his heart having risen to his throat, ready to trigger the Soul Ignition Technique and flee should the mysterious person make a sudden move.

"Interesting, Bai Yunzi is such a stickler for tradition; how did he wind up with a disciple like you?" the mysterious person found this amusing and burst into laughter.

"Senior knows my master?" Yi Chen's eyes widened as his thoughts began to drift.

"Could it be that my Hidden Dragon Temple has some incredible background?"

Perhaps guessing Yi Chen's thoughts, the mystery person chuckled, "Don't overthink it. I'm just an envoy from the Free Heavens collecting tales, who had a few dealings with your master during my travels around the world. This time, it was merely a coincidence that I learned two True Persons planned to ambush an old friend's disciple, so I decided to give a little warning. That's the extent of my ties to your master."

"If you didn't heed the warning or died at their hands, I certainly wouldn't save you. Your master, back in the day, ruined the wedding plans of a person from the Yan Family—his fiancée, no less. Although I have no fear of the Yan Family, I would definitely not get involved in the karma between your Hidden Dragon Temple and them."

"The Crown Princess was exceptionally talented and bright as snow, with a gentle heart and soul. Now she's likely on the verge of the True Monarch Realm. I can't imagine what Piao Xue saw in your master, it's beyond me..."

"..."

A sense of defeat wafted towards him, and having listened to the mysterious person's tirade, which included plenty of personal digs, Yi Chen finally understood the events of the past.

It was a clichéd story of a betrothed woman falling for an outsider.

It turned out that during Bai Yunzi's travels, he had a fateful encounter with the Crown Princess Yue Piaoxue, who was dressed in white dragon fish clothing, and after several trials, they developed feelings for each other.

Yue Piaoxue and the current head of the Yan Family were childhood sweethearts, and the Yan Family was one of the top families in Da Yue, able to rank in the top three. This perfect marriage, with both parties deeply invested, was disrupted by Bai Yunzi's interference.

The Crown Princess later came clean to the eldest son of the Yan Family, seeing him only as a brother and hoping for his blessing. The eldest son was utterly devastated...

The mysterious person was vague about the subsequent details, only saying that to save Bai Yunzi's life, Yue Piaoxue threatened her own, becoming a nun,

while Bai Yunzi was grievously wounded by the Yan Family's elders, falling from the newly-attained True Person Realm back down, returning to Hidden Dragon Temple, and thus, never leaving Ping'an County again, never seeing each other, bringing the matter to a close.

Yi Chen: "..."

Master, you were formidable.

Thinking of his master's past, Yi Chen couldn't help but be intrigued, feeling his gossip-loving soul catch fire.

No wonder his master had been sullen and melancholic these years, growing more so whenever it snowed.

"I wonder if when Master picked me up from the snow that day, he saw me as his own child, perhaps reminded of the peerless Crown Princess. That day's snowfall was not light," Yi Chen thought sarcastically to himself.

Indeed, that day was not long after Yi Chen had transmigrated as an eight-year-old.

He was truly feeble, lacking the strength to fend for himself, let alone endow others with power.

After losing a fight over food with a stray dog, that's when his story began.

"No wonder Master, before his death, still remained fixated on having me deliver his ashes and a letter to the nun Piao Xue in the capital."

"No wonder Master, when fighting evil, fought as if he had nothing to lose."

"No wonder Master died young, harboring a secret illness, faced with such a powerful enemy, he was perpetually depressed, rarely smiling."

At that moment, many of Yi Chen's mysteries and puzzles about his master dissolved.

"Master, I will take on your karma," Yi Chen said solemnly, making a silent vow in his heart.