Feng Jingyu, who was watching the battle, didn’t take it seriously. “Isn’t it normal for you to lose to him? At the very least, Ling Chigu is a battle-hardened general, and his cultivation is much higher than yours. If he can be defeated by you in a single shot, he would have been completely destroyed in the North Lands long ago.”

　　Yan Tianhen nodded and shook his fist. “That’s true, but I was nearly able to fight to a draw with Ah Gu just now.”

　　Feng Jingyu sneered, “If Ling Chigu hadn’t deliberately let you, you wouldn’t have been able to endure even three moves under his hands.”

　　Yan Tianhen was stunned, “Really?”

　　He had clearly ordered Ling Chigu to go all out without hurting him.

　　“It’s true.” Lin Xuanzhi’s sword lowered to land beside Yan Tianhen.

　　“Dage, why are you here!” Yan Tianhen was pleasantly surprised.

　　Lin Xuanzhi smiled, “I haven’t seen Ah Hen in a long time. Naturally, I miss him terribly.”

　　Feng Jingyu listened to Lin Xuanzhi saying sweet nothings nonstop as soon as he appeared. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes and flew onto Ling Chigu’s head. He patted the corpse’s hair with his wings.

　　Ling Chigu seemed to have already grown accustomed to it, letting Feng Jingyu rule over his head without moving at all.

　　Yan Tianhen also grinned, “What breakthrough has Dage made recently?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi thought for a moment, “I have a little more understanding of the sword style, and I can feel my cultivation loosening and ready to breakthrough, but I still want to suppress it for the time being and not level up too quickly.”

　　Feng Jingyu felt some appreciation for Lin Xuanzhi since he’d seen too many people itching to hit it big and improve their cultivations so that they could increase their longevity and status too. Because of this, they’d ignore the fact that their desire to breakthrough as fast as possible could have the exact opposite effect. Even if they had the opportunity to increase their cultivation, their strength and foundation wouldn’t be stable, and it would lead to a narrower and narrower path to a breakthrough in the future.

　　However, Lin Xuanzhi was calm and steady with strong self-control. He would achieve greater cultivation in the future.

　　Yan Tianhen nodded, “Dage, what do you mean just now?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi looked at Yan Tianhen, then at Ling Chigu, “Since you two have a contractual relationship, you will subconsciously not go all-out fighting with each other. So if you really want to talk about who has the best moves, you wouldn’t be able to tell. But Ah Hen, your experience and current cultivation realm are not as solid as Ah Gu’s. It can be said that even Maomao and I can’t compare with Ah Gu in terms of experience.”

　　Yan Tianhen was deeply impressed.

　　A few days ago, when they were fighting the killers sent by Shi Yongtai in their courtyard in Profound City, Ling Chigu’s actions were the most crisp and agile. He was more like a trained killer than those killers.

　　If it weren’t for the residual killing instinct in his subconsciousness, a corpse puppet alone wouldn’t have been able to reach this level.

　　Feng Jingyu nodded and pecked at Ling Chigu’s hair, “Tens of thousands of demonic cultivators and demons had been slain by Ling Chigu’s crimson tassel spear. Indeed, no one was comparable to him. But in fact, because he killed too much, the karma he accumulated would not let him go, even if the ones he killed were demons. His current fate is proof of it.”

　　Yan Tianhen couldn’t help but feel a little sad, “Ah Gu at least died a worthy death.”

　　Feng Jingyu sneered mockingly, “He actually died for nothing. From generation to generation, the Ling family all died in battle but in Ling Chigu’s generation, it was for the sake of a prince’s position that led to the collapse of the Ling family. It was just the biggest joke in the world. Why did Ling Chigu flee to the Lower Realm before he died? That was because he felt ashamed to face the ancestors of the Ling family and didn’t dare die in their graveyards.”

　　As he explained Ling Chigu’s past, Feng Jingyu was full of anger and hate.

　　Lin Xuanzhi looked at the indifferent Ling Chigu and lightly replied, “This kind of feat, is his own choice. A person knows best the joys and tribulations of events that he experienced himself.”

　　Feng Jingyu insisted, “That’s because this fool didn’t realize the consequences of his actions. If he did, he wouldn’t have made himself like this for that idiot.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi shook his head, “It’s hard to say. Ling Chigu was a person with deep love and loyalty. Although he died, he did not regret some things.”

　　Feng Jingyu, “…”

　　Crap, Lin Xuanzhi had been stabbing his heart today!

　　Feng Jingyu slapped Ling Chigu on the forehead and said angrily, “You are also a fool! I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

　　Feng Jingyu flew away towards the distance.

　　Ling Chigu suddenly turned his head and looked at where Feng Jingyu was going. Moments later, he started running towards the deep forest.

　　Yan Tianhen felt his chin thoughtfully, “I don’t think Ah Gu has zero feelings for Maomao, right?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi replied, “Maybe it’s just a conditioned reflex.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　Why did he suddenly feel like Lin Xuanzhi was being unfriendly with Feng Jingyu?

　　Yan Tianhen asked, “Dage, has Maomao offended you recently?”

　　“There was no offense.” Lin Xuanzhi said airily, “I simply want to let him know that he can’t just throw his responsibilities aside and walk away.”

　　Yan Tianhen, “…”

　　So he still offended Lin Xuanzhi.

　　Taking advantage of Lin Xuanzhi’s presence, Yan Tianhen hastened to tell him all about Esteemed Huai Yu and the 《Yin Flame Palm》 the other day. He also mentioned Yan Zhonghua and You Ming.

　　Lin Xuanzhi listened carefully and frowned slightly from time to time.

　　After hearing this, Lin Xuanzhi did not pay much attention to the 《Yin Flame Palm》 which suddenly became the 《Eighteen Hells of the Underworld》, but he was extremely interested in the Ghost Masked Man, who had passed on this cultivation method to Yan Tianhen.

　　Yan Tianhen continued, “In fact, I have some doubts about what Maomao said.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi asked, “What do you suspect?”

　　Yan Tianhen frowned, “I think that the 《Eighteen Hells of the Underworld》 should not be a cultivation method exclusive to Demon Venerable You Ming. Maybe other Demon Venerables also use this set of cultivation techniques.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi hesitated a little, “The 《Eighteen Hells of the Underworld》 is indeed unique to the Demon Venerable You Ming.”

　　Yan Tianhen was shocked and he stared at Lin Xuanzhi in puzzlement, “How does Dage know?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi answered nonchalantly, “I heard Uncle Mo mention it before.”

　　Yan Tianhen nodded, “So it’s like this. It seems that Maomao didn’t deceive me.”

　　Yan Tianhen then asked with some trepidation, “Dage, if this is the case, then the Ghost Masked Man who handed over 《Eighteen Hells of the Underworld》 to me was really….”

　　When he said this, he stopped.

　　Lin Xuanzhi was silent for a moment, “It’s hard to say.”

　　“But didn’t Dage say that the Ghost Masked Man’s 《Eighteen Hells of the Underworld》 was unique to Demon Venerable You Ming?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi glanced at him, “But the 《Ancient Divine Devil Dance》 and the 《Imperial Corpse Technique》 are not necessarily Demon Venerable You Ming’s.”

　　If Lin Xuanzhi remembered correctly, the 《Ancient Divine Devil Dance》 and the 《Imperial Corpse Technique》 should be the secret manuals of the other two Demon Venerables in the Nine Lands. However, Lin Xuanzhi’s memory had gaps from his previous life to his present life. He didn’t remember these before, but only felt that the names of the skills were slightly familiar.

　　Moreover, the name 《Imperial Corpse Technique》 was a bit of a lousy trick. If one looked at any ten paths of demonic cultivation, they would find seven or eight paths containing the Imperial Corpse Technique, but there was a great difference in the level of the cultivation technique, the method of cultivation, and the skill’s capability. If Lin Xuanzhi hadn’t seen that Demon Venerable control the corpse through Imperial Corpse Technique, he wouldn’t even have recognized that the set of Imperial Corpse Technique learned by Yan Tianhen was the same as that Demon Venerable’s.

　　If it was only one of those skill sets, it would have been alright. However, it just so happened that all three of the top demonic cultivation methods came to Yan Tianhen, which made Lin Xuanzhi want to determine who this “good samaritan” was.

　　Yan Tianhen didn’t think so much. He didn’t know that Lin Xuanzhi was basing this judgment on the knowledge that he already knew about the three Demon Venerables’ secret manuals.

　　Yan Tianhen thought for a while and nodded, “That’s right. Perhaps the Ghost Masked Man picked them up from the streets somewhere. As soon as he saw that I was a Divine Devil, he probably felt like it was fate for us to meet, so he gave me these secret manuals.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi faintly commented, “Of course, it’s also possible that it may be from Demon Venerable You Ming.”

　　Yan Tianhen curled his lips, “If it was really him, why would he do it in a sneaky way?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi thought about it, “Maybe it was because he had to hide his identity for certain reasons.”

　　Yan Tianhen sighed, “If it’s really him, I really want to meet him and say a few words with him.  After all, he is my own father. I want to know exactly what kind of person he is. Over the years, did he ever miss me or regret leaving me to someone else to raise?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi raised his hand and rubbed the top of Yan Tianhen’s head. “Even if he regrets it, it’s meaningless. After all, the situation back then didn’t allow him to come up with a complete solution. However, I’m glad that Demon Venerable You Ming threw you to Uncle Mo, who then gave you to Dad.”

　　Yan Tianwen’s depressed expression finally changed, and he smiled, “Yes, if it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t know Daddy and Dage.”

　　Speaking of which, Yan Tianhen curled his lips, “However, you used to ignore me when you saw me before. Most of the time, you were not at home. If you hadn’t returned to the Lin family’s house due to serious injuries and had no choice but to get along with me day and night, I’m afraid you still wouldn’t have paid much attention to me even now.”

　　Lin Xuan’s heart softened, “Hence, misfortune depends on good fortune, and good fortune depends on misfortune. If I didn’t get turned into a useless person and went home to recuperate, I wouldn’t have known that Ah Hen was a person I could rely on and would touch my heart.”

　　Yan Tianhen looked shy with a little smile on his face, but he was showing his white teeth and proudly said with his face tilted back, “Of course. Although I’m younger than you, I’m actually the most reliable!”

　　Lin Xuanzhi looked at Yan Tianhen’s carefree appearance and couldn’t help but internally think about the past. In the beginning, Lin Zhan took Yan Tianhen home and looked after him closely, taking him everywhere he went. At that time, his heart was quite jealous of Yan Tianhen, so although he didn’t find trouble for Yan Tianhen, he was also not too close to him.

　　Moreover, Yan Tianhen’s origin was unknown. When he first arrived, the medicinal pills and seals in Yan Tianhen’s body that was repressing his devil Qi were not fully developed yet. As a result, Lin Xuanzhi felt a little uncomfortable when he was near Yan Tianhen which made him even more reluctant to get close to him in the past.

　　However, times were different and everything was changing.

　　At that time, Lin Xuanzhi could not have imagined that one day this estranged child would become the treasure of his heart.