[At this moment, True Person Blood Sea felt utterly bewildered.]
[The one who had brought him out of the secret realm was clearly a lowly Qi Refining cultivator.]
[How, in the blink of an eye, was the person waiting outside for him a Golden Core master?]
[Even though True Person Blood Sea was reduced to an incredibly weak remnant soul,]
[he had not completely lost his senses to the outside world. Just by standing there, you exuded a suffocating aura that could belong to no one but a Golden Core master.]
["Who are you, fellow Daoist?"]
[True Person Blood Sea fell silent for a moment before forcing himself to ask.]
[In the current situation, True Person Blood Sea was at a complete disadvantage.]
[Having been sealed away for hundreds of years, the power of his Undying Blood Sea Body was long exhausted.]
[As you scrutinized True Person Blood Sea, you could not help but sigh with emotion.]
[Once upon a time, True Person Blood Sea had been an insurmountable mountain in your mind.]
[Setting aside the second simulation, where you were played in the palm of his hand from beginning to end—if he had not revealed his true goal at the very last moment, you would have died without ever knowing you were merely a vessel for his possession.]
[In the third simulation, although you held the initiative, you still chose to play it safe. You forcibly sealed True Person Blood Sea inside the Jade Box for decades before finally daring to let him out.]
[This alone showed the sheer pressure True Person Blood Sea imposed upon you.]
[This was, after all, a former Golden Core master.]
[But now, under your overlooking gaze, the mountain of the past was deeply unsettled, if not trembling in fear.]
["You do not need to know who I am, fellow Daoist Blood Sea."]
[You looked down at the Shanhai Ring, your tone perfectly calm.]
["How do you know me..."]
[True Person Blood Sea's expression shifted in shock, full of disbelief.]
[Immediately after, as if a thought had struck him, he asked tentatively, "Are you Senior Brother?"]
[After getting over his initial panic, True Person Blood Sea vaguely realized that the suffocating aura you emitted was remarkably similar to Shanhai magic power at the Golden Core level.]
[True Person Blood Sea was intimately familiar with the Shanhai Lineage. The Great Law of the Blood Sea he cultivated was an obscure branch of that very inheritance.]
[A Golden Core master of the Shanhai Lineage?]
[Someone who knew him inside and out, and had been waiting outside for him?]
[Who else could it be but his Senior Brother?]
["Senior Brother?"]
[A strange feeling welled up inside you.]
[You simply shook your head. "I am not your Senior Brother."]
[You naturally understood why True Person Blood Sea would assume you were that Master who led the Shanhai Sect.]
[Unfortunately, you had never searched the soul of that Master, so there was no way you could successfully impersonate him.]
[Nor was there any need to.]
["I acquired a portion of the Shanhai inheritance. I know many things about you, fellow Daoist Blood Sea."]
[You spoke frankly.]
[This perfectly rationalized your current cultivation.]
["I see."]
[True Person Blood Sea's thoughts raced, guessing that the Shanhai inheritance you received was most likely left behind by his Senior Brother.]
[In the past, after his Senior Brother sealed him inside the secret realm, the man's injuries were irreversible. Facing imminent death, he had left the secret realm with all their precious treasures.]
["I wonder how fellow Daoist intends to deal with me..."]
[True Person Blood Sea steadied his nerves and asked.]
["Actually, you and I share a common goal, fellow Daoist Blood Sea..."]
[You began slowly.]
["A common goal?"]
[True Person Blood Sea's tone grew heavy.]
["Demoness Biyue has now established an immortal city in the Taiyuan Region. Her reputation has spread far and wide. I assume you didn't know about this, fellow Daoist Blood Sea?"]
[You said with a smile.]
["Demoness Biyue?"]
[True Person Blood Sea immediately reacted. Crimson mist boiled over the Shanhai Ring, mirroring the intense surging in his heart.]
["Back then, if it wasn't for that demoness, how could my Senior Brother and I have ever turned against each other..."]
[Resentment bled into True Person Blood Sea's voice.]
[Having been sealed in the secret realm for over two hundred years, True Person Blood Sea had plenty of time to calm down. Many things that had not made sense back then were finally clear to him now.]
["What do you intend to do?"]
[True Person Blood Sea asked.]
["I can help you deal with Demoness Biyue, but fellow Daoist Blood Sea, you cannot possibly expect to do nothing at all, can you?"]
[You hinted pointedly.]
[In the third simulation, a mere decade or two after you let him go, True Person Blood Sea recovered his combat strength to the Golden Core Early Stage. He had absolutely used a backup plan he had prepared for himself.]
[Like a cave abode stuffed full of cultivation resources, perhaps?]
["Of course."]
[True Person Blood Sea nodded. "I left behind three cave abodes filled with cultivation resources. I can hand them all over to you, fellow Daoist..."]
["I also know the locations of several spirit herbs. I can tell you those as well..." True Person Blood Sea added.]
["Perhaps fellow Daoist Blood Sea does not understand what I mean..."]
[You shook your head slightly. "I am very interested in your memories, fellow Daoist Blood Sea. I plan to conduct a soul search..."]
[True Person Blood Sea was in terrible condition. With your current strength, you could easily perform a forced soul search.]
[But if True Person Blood Sea resisted fiercely, the memories you obtained would end up fractured and corrupted.]
[Only if True Person Blood Sea gave up his resistance and voluntarily allowed you to search his soul would you obtain complete and intact memories.]
[True Person Blood Sea was a core formation master, after all. Searching the soul of a cultivator at the same level came with absurdly high resistance.]
[And there were many things hidden in True Person Blood Sea's memories that you wanted to know.]
[Like the details of the Shanhai Lineage ruins where he had first obtained the Shanhai inheritance?]
[Or the rest of True Person Biyue's background? What exactly had happened back then to make the Shanhai Sect Master and True Person Blood Sea turn on each other?]
[True, you could just ask True Person Blood Sea about these things and have him tell you directly.]
[But who knew if he would hide the truth or lie?]
[Compared to asking questions, you vastly preferred soul searching.]
[Hearing this, True Person Blood Sea fell completely silent.]
[You stared at the Shanhai Ring.]
[In this situation, whether the soul search happened or not was not up to True Person Blood Sea.]
[Even if True Person Blood Sea refused, you could force the issue. The only difference was that the memories you obtained would be far more fragmented.]
["Are you truly going to deal with Demoness Biyue?"]
[True Person Blood Sea spoke again, seeking confirmation.]
["Naturally!"]
[Your expression was solemn.]
[If only for that Heavenly Infant Fruit.]
[You would definitely make a move against Demoness Biyue in the future.]
[This was an opportunity to condense a nascent soul. Naturally, you were not going to pass it up.]
["In that case... proceed with the soul search, fellow Daoist."]
[True Person Blood Sea sighed inwardly, knowing that even if he refused, he would still face a soul search.]
[If he voluntarily agreed and abandoned his resistance, the subsequent damage from the soul search would not be too severe. He would still have a chance to recover.]
[Besides, you were the blade and he was the meat on the chopping block right now. Resisting was pointless.]
[Now that he knew his enemy was still alive, True Person Blood Sea longed to survive so he could take his revenge on Demoness Biyue.]
[Seeing True Person Blood Sea finally agree, you felt a slight wave of relief.]
[The only reason you had brought up True Person Biyue was to spark True Person Blood Sea's drive to live.]
[Normally, a core formation master would never willingly submit to a soul search. It meant baring all their secrets for another to browse.]
[Furthermore, by mentioning that you were also a cultivator of the Shanhai Lineage, you lowered True Person Blood Sea's psychological resistance. You were, after all, part of the same lineage.]
["Hahaha, since that is settled, make absolutely sure not to resist, fellow Daoist..."]
[You extended your divine sense into the Shanhai Ring and quickly locked onto True Person Blood Sea's remnant soul.]
[Because of True Person Blood Sea's cooperation, the soul search went exceptionally smoothly.]
[During the process, you roughly browsed through the first half of True Person Blood Sea's life.]
[True Person Blood Sea was not actually a cultivator from the Taiyuan Region, but from the neighboring Zixiao Domain.]
[Possessing Earth Spiritual Root aptitude, True Person Blood Sea had entered a Core Formation sect in the Zixiao Domain from a young age.]
[Later, during a journey outside, True Person Blood Sea fell into the ruins of the Shanhai Lineage.]
[There, he met the future Shanhai Sect Master, who had also fallen in.]
[The two braved the ruins together, eventually obtaining a fraction of the Shanhai Lineage inheritance before making their way out.]
[However, they had been trapped in the ruins for over a decade. When True Person Blood Sea finally emerged, he discovered that his sect was wanted by the Zixiao Domain for colluding with the Jiuyou Domain.]
[His own master had already fled to the Jiuyou Domain.]
[Thus, along with the future Shanhai Sect Master, True Person Blood Sea traveled to the Jiuyou Domain to find his master and demand an explanation.]
[Later on, while in the Jiuyou Domain, the two of them ran into True Person Biyue, who was being hunted down.]
[At the time, True Person Biyue had just entered the Foundation Establishment Realm and was breathtakingly beautiful. According to her, she had been kidnapped by demonic cultivators of the Jiuyou Domain and had gone through unimaginable hardships to escape.]
[Although True Person Blood Sea and the Shanhai Sect Master had their doubts, they chose to believe her.]
[While evading the pursuit of the Jiuyou Domain's demonic cultivators afterward, True Person Blood Sea and the Shanhai Sect Master brought True Person Biyue along as they fled.]
[Eventually, the three of them escaped to the Taiyuan Region.]
[During those several years on the run, both True Person Blood Sea and his Senior Brother—still only in the Foundation Establishment Realm back then—naturally fell in love with True Person Biyue.]
[True Person Biyue did not reject either of them, and the three maintained a complicated relationship.]
[During this time, the two men naturally provided every resource True Person Biyue needed for her cultivation.]
[This lasted until the Shanhai Sect Master and True Person Blood Sea consecutively broke through to the Core Formation Realm, put down roots in the Taiyuan Region, and established the Shanhai Sect.]
[Not long after, True Person Biyue also successfully stepped into the Core Formation Realm.]
[Then, one day, True Person Biyue suddenly sought out True Person Blood Sea, claiming that the Shanhai Sect Master had forcibly taken her primal yin.]
[True Person Blood Sea's blood boiled instantly. Blind with rage, he charged straight into the Shanhai Secret Realm.]
[The final outcome was essentially no different from what you already knew.]
[True Person Blood Sea was sealed away by the Shanhai Sect Master.]
['Then the slaughter of the Shanhai Sect... must have been True Person Biyue's doing...']
[you thought to yourself. In True Person Blood Sea's memories, you had not seen any scenes of him attacking the Shanhai Sect.]
[The Shanhai Sect was one thing; the Shanhai Secret Realm was another.]
[The latter was their primary stronghold, while the former was the sect's physical location where a massive number of Shanhai Sect cultivators gathered.]
[According to the intelligence you had gathered in the previous simulations, the Shanhai Sect had been slaughtered by a certain Master. The traces left behind pointed directly to True Person Blood Sea.]
[After browsing through True Person Blood Sea's life, you could not help but feel a touch of emotion.]
[It truly was a magnificent, turbulent journey.]
[He had borne the title of an Earth Spiritual Root genius since childhood, stumbled into the ruins of the Shanhai Lineage during his travels, and eventually crossed the vast Savage Wilderness as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had even survived a place as unimaginably dangerous as the Jiuyou Domain...]
[Finally, he returned to the Taiyuan Region, stepped into the Core Formation Realm, and founded a sect...]
[To some extent, True Person Blood Sea also possessed great fortune.]
[Any ordinary cultivator would have died eight hundred times over.]
[Putting everything else aside, simply crossing the Savage Wilderness carried a mortality rate of over eighty percent for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.]
["My Senior Brother and I were constantly having our minds influenced by that demoness's secret arts. We were completely subservient to her... and in the end, I actually fought my Senior Brother to the death because of her..."]
[At that moment, True Person Blood Sea spoke slowly.]
[Because he actively cooperated with the soul search, True Person Blood Sea had not fallen unconscious and remained completely lucid.] ["Indeed."]
[You nodded slightly.]
[After reviewing his memories, you also realized that both True Person Blood Sea and his Senior Brother had been far too good to True Person Biyue.]
[Demonic cultivation arts were incredibly bizarre. It was not strange for them to affect the mind.]
[Of course, she could not just influence anyone on a whim. The first prerequisite was that True Person Blood Sea and his Senior Brother already held deep affection for Demoness Biyue.]
[Secondly, it required a vast amount of time to subtly and imperceptibly alter their thoughts.]
[If she stopped for even a short period, the victims would snap out of it.]
[True Person Blood Sea, for instance, had realized the truth less than ten years after being sealed.]
[You even suspected that the only reason True Person Blood Sea and the Shanhai Sect Master had made it out of the Jiuyou Domain alive back then was because of True Person Biyue.]
[The Jiuyou Domain had likely wanted to use the Shanhai Sect Master and True Person Blood Sea to plant True Person Biyue in the Taiyuan Region.]
[There was a demonic sect Master—at least a late-stage Grand Master—pulling the strings behind the scenes.]
[Otherwise, on what grounds could True Person Blood Sea and his Senior Brother have possibly escaped the Jiuyou Domain as mere Foundation Establishment cultivators?]
[Furthermore, a secret art capable of influencing the mind of a core formation master... even if it began during the Foundation Establishment Realm and took effect over countless years, it was still something exceedingly difficult for a Master of the same level to pull off.]
[Relying solely on True Person Biyue's strength, it would have been impossible to drive two Masters of the same level to fight each other to the death.]
[Another demonic Master must have lent a hand.]
[By using the Shanhai Sect Master and True Person Blood Sea as public cover, True Person Biyue quickly integrated herself into the Taiyuan Region.]
[Later on, she likely worried that as the two men's cultivation advanced, they would realize their minds were being influenced. That was what led to the sudden, inexplicable destruction of the Shanhai Sect.]
[Of course, these were all just your speculations. Even True Person Blood Sea, who had been a pawn in the middle of it all, had never known the truth.]
[You only had these thoughts because you had experienced the next hundred-plus years, knew what True Person Biyue did later, and knew about Qi Sha Demonic Monarch devouring a city full of cultivators.]
[Why would a grand Demonic Dao True Monarch strike a deal with True Person Biyue? Was he not afraid it was a trap?]
[Or rather, on what basis did True Person Biyue dare to strike a deal with a Demonic Dao True Monarch? Was she not afraid of being devoured right alongside the rest of the city's cultivators?]
['Those three cave abodes True Person Blood Sea prepared for himself...']
[Your thoughts spun, and you found yourself in excellent spirits.]
[With True Person Blood Sea's memories, you naturally knew what treasures and resources were hidden inside them. Back when they fell into the ruins of the Shanhai Lineage, both he and the Shanhai Sect Master had acquired a massive horde of treasures.]
[The Shanhai Sect Master had used his share to establish the Shanhai Sect. Meanwhile, True Person Blood Sea had stashed all of his treasures and resources inside those three cave abodes.]
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