Zhang Muya had been waiting for the Heavenly Luo Ghost King to die for a hundred years.
But when she truly heard the news of the Heavenly Luo Ghost King's death, she felt a sense of daze, her heart hollow, filled with an inexplicable pain.
"Grandma, at this point, what are you still holding onto?"
Ye Ling asked Zhang Muya softly, coaxing her.
Although Ye Ling could directly search Zhang Muya's soul to obtain the information he desired, Zhang Muya was now over a hundred years old, her life like a candle in the wind. It was uncertain if she could even survive the year.
If Ye Ling were to search Zhang Muya's soul, she likely wouldn't survive the night.
Ye Ling was not someone who would resort to any means to achieve his goals. While he was always cold and cruel towards his enemies, he would not harm the innocent.
Not killing the innocent was his principle.
Even if Zhang Muya truly knew a shocking secret, and intended to take it to her grave, Ye Ling would accept his fate and would not resort to violence to interrogate her.
Zhang Muya remained silent for a moment longer, then sighed heavily, "This is all... the karma I created myself back then."
"I originally intended to take those matters to my grave, but since you killed the Heavenly Luo Ghost King, it has fulfilled my lifelong wish. I will tell you about the past..."
"Thank you."
Seeing Zhang Muya relent, Ye Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
He then set up a barrier around the courtyard to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
"It was the spring of 1901. The land was in turmoil, and evil spirits were rampant throughout Yan Hua. My senior brothers and sisters were out eliminating demons and monsters everywhere."
"I was young then, and my skills were not yet proficient, so I could only cultivate on the mountain and was not qualified to go out and fight demons."
"My master, Zhang Lingzi, was stationed at the mountain gate at that time, guarding the spiritual artifact that sealed the Heavenly Luo Ghost King."
"One day, evil spirits erupted near Long Dao Mountain. Master took the disciples of the sect to eliminate them. Not many people were left in the vast Zhengyi Sect. It was then that I naturally took over the duty of guarding the spiritual artifact."
"At that time, the Heavenly Luo Ghost King had been dormant for over a hundred years, and the seal on the spiritual artifact was stable, so everyone didn't pay much attention and confidently entrusted this task to me, the youngest. But no one expected that the Heavenly Luo Ghost King had already corroded a small gap in the spiritual artifact and had been enduring it."
"When I touched the spiritual artifact, it knew its opportunity had come. It manifested a spiritual body, communicated with me, and taught me how to cultivate."
"I was young and ignorant, deceived by its sweet talk. In the following months, I fell in love rapidly, and with it..."
At this point, Zhang Muya paused, her body trembling slightly, as if she did not wish to recall those unbearable memories from the past.
Ye Ling also sighed softly and said, "And then?"
"Later, I became pregnant with the Yin fetus. I was terrified and afraid of my master finding out, so I found an excuse and left Long Dao Mountain, far away from the Zhengyi Sect, intending to give birth to the child in a place no one knew."
"During that time, while carrying the child, I witnessed the chaos in Yan Hua and tasted the hardships of the world. It was also then that I met Ye Feng."
Hearing Zhang Muya mention Ye Feng, Ye Ling's gaze became serious.
Zhang Muya reminisced for a moment, a smile unconsciously appearing on her lips. "Ye Feng was a distinguished young gentleman. Accompanying him was a very beautiful girl named Su Xueer, who was Ye Feng's junior sister."
"When I met them, I was nine months pregnant. The Yin fetus had taken a large amount of my vital energy, causing me to faint on the road. It was they who saved me."
"With their help, I successfully gave birth to Shuya."
At this moment, Ye Ling took out the Phoenix Eye again and asked Zhang Muya, "Grandma, do you recognize this Phoenix Eye?"
Seeing Ye Ling take out the Phoenix Eye, Zhang Muya was startled again, and then said, "Of course I recognize it... This Phoenix Eye was a spiritual artifact given to me by Su Xueer after Shuya was born. Later, I relied on the Phoenix Eye to suppress Shuya's power."
"What happened later?"
Ye Ling knew that at that time, Ye Feng should have just stolen the Heavenly Mandate Diagram, and the people from the Heavenly Concealment Pavilion were hunting Ye Feng.
Since Zhang Muya had met Ye Feng, she must have also encountered the assassins from the Heavenly Concealment Pavilion.
Zhang Muya continued, "Because my cultivation was low at the time, I couldn't suppress Shuya's power alone, so Ye Feng and Su Xueer stayed behind, teaching me to cultivate and helping to suppress Shuya."
"Later, a group of assassins found Ye Feng. It was then that I learned that Ye Feng was being hunted by the Heavenly Concealment Pavilion for stealing the Heavenly Mandate Diagram."
"When the assassins came, we couldn't stay there any longer, so I wandered with Ye Feng and Su Xueer for a while. During that time, we subdued demons and monsters, punished evil and promoted good. It was the happiest period of my cultivation."
"However..."
At this point, Zhang Muya's eyes dimmed again, her grief irrepressible.
Just by seeing Zhang Muya's emotional changes, Ye Ling could guess that something had happened later.
Zhang Muya fell silent for a moment before continuing her recollection, "Good times didn't last. The assassins from the Heavenly Concealment Pavilion found us again. The people who came this time were stronger than ever before. The three of us working together were no match for the assassins from the Heavenly Concealment Pavilion."
"Ye Feng, in order to protect us, forcefully used the Heavenly Mandate Diagram and obtained immense power from it, ultimately killing the opponents."
"But after Ye Feng gained power from the Heavenly Mandate Diagram, he became increasingly obsessed with its power. He lost his smile and his behavior became extremely paranoid, even to the point of killing innocent passersby without hesitation!"
"At that time, Su Xueer was very afraid that Ye Feng would be consumed by the Heavenly Mandate Diagram and lose his last shred of sanity. She secretly planned with me to destroy the Heavenly Mandate Diagram when Ye Feng wasn't paying attention."
"Later, Ye Feng discovered this. He believed we had betrayed him and became more enraged than ever before, his expression terrifying, even willing to attack us without hesitation!"
"During the chaos, I was severely injured by Ye Feng and fell unconscious. When I woke up, I had already been rescued by a senior brother from the Zhengyi Sect who happened to pass by..."
"Ye Feng and Su Xueer had disappeared without a trace. I only heard from my senior brother that the place where I lay had experienced an extremely fierce battle."
"Later, I took Shuya and searched for Ye Feng and Su Xueer for another year. However, it was a chaotic era, and I couldn't search for them while bringing Shuya. In the end, I had to give up and return to the Zhengyi Sect with Shuya."
Hearing Zhang Muya recount the secrets of the past, Ye Ling couldn't help but fall silent.
He hadn't expected such an event to have occurred, and that Ye Feng had been corrupted by the Heavenly Mandate Diagram.
The Heavenly Mandate Diagram was now in Ye Ling's possession. Besides communicating with the Heavenly Dao, it had no other functions.
Let alone changing a person's personality, the Heavenly Mandate Diagram couldn't even lend power to others!
As for how the Heavenly Mandate Diagram fell into the hands of Ye Ling's ancestors, Ye Ling still hadn't received an answer. Instead, more questions arose.
Who was Su Xueer?
What happened when Zhang Muya fainted?
Ye Ling lowered his eyelids, his thoughts drifting.
At this moment, Zhang Xiaoxia ran in frantically and said in a deep voice, "Master Ye, something terrible has happened!"
"There are many people outside!"