Xuan Kong's expression twisted in pain.
"I was saying, my cave dwelling has an intru…"
But then his face contorted again. He ground his teeth and forced out, "There is a flute… next time I'll take it out and play a tune for everyone."
The others: "…"
They remained baffled.
Since when did Elder Xuan Kong have a sudden hobby for playing the flute?
But then again…
Elder Xuan Kong spent years in closed-door cultivation. Perhaps he truly had such eccentric interests?
"Next time, then."
"Yes, next time for sure."
Everyone responded half-heartedly.
The fragment of Lin Xiao's soul within him nearly lost its mind. In Xuan Kong's mind, Lin Xiao roared, "What nonsense are you spouting? Someone has broken through your cave's barrier, why won't you say it aloud?!"
Xuan Kong clenched his teeth. "If you want to say it, then I absolutely won't!"
He did not even know who had entered the cave. But right now, Xuan Kong had a single principle: As long as it was something Lin Xiao wanted, he would oppose it blindly.
Even if it looked like it would benefit him, blind opposition was the safest path. Xuan Kong did not know what tricks his Senior Brother's remnant soul still held. But his suspicions had already been deep, and now everything only confirmed them further.
Against an old monster like Lin Xiao, who had likely reincarnated countless times, no amount of caution could be excessive. Moreover, whatever misfortune Lin Xiao had suffered this time, only a tiny remnant of his soul was left.
This fragment was surely not enough to support another reincarnation. Which meant, Xuan Kong's body was his last vessel. And if that was the case, Lin Xiao would stop at nothing to seize his body completely.
Xuan Kong had no idea what other schemes this soul fragment held.
All he knew was simple: Anything Lin Xiao supported, he would reject.
Anything Lin Xiao wanted to do, he would suppress with all his strength.
That could not possibly go wrong.
As for intruders in his cave dwelling?
So be it. Let them come in.
Even if they took away everything inside, Xuan Kong would not care.
…
Under Yuan Yuan's control, the camera finally broke through the barrier.
"Now that the barrier is down, Xuan Kong must have sensed it. People from Qingxiao Pavilion may arrive very soon," Yuan Yuan said as he continued manipulating the device.
The camera entered the cave, and Yuan Yuan adjusted the angle. The screen displayed a full 360-degree view.
Yun Jin swept her eyes quickly across the scene. Xuan Kong was said to spend most of his time in seclusion. This cave dwelling should have been the place he stayed the longest. And yet, it was frighteningly barren. Apart from a stone bed, the cave was utterly empty. Not even a table or a chair.
"Does he really pass his days here just sleeping?" Nothing here revealed a clue.
Yun Jin thought for a moment. If there was anyone who understood Xuan Kong best, it would be Hong Ye.
She sent a message.
Before long, Hong Ye arrived. Yuan Yuan dispatched a robot to escort her over.
"Sect Master, I do not…" Hong Ye began, but then froze as her eyes fell on the screen. "Xuan Kong's cave dwelling?"
Yun Jin's eyes lit up. "How did you recognize it from just this single image?"
Hong Ye did not ask why Yun Jin was monitoring Xuan Kong. She said without hesitation, "Xuan Kong has always been overly cautious. Even when staying temporarily, he spends enormous effort constructing both real and fake cave dwellings. The one before us is a decoy."
Yun Jin nodded. If she herself were present in person, she could probably sense more. But through the camera, the details were too faint to grasp.
"How do we find the real cave?" Yun Jin asked.
Hong Ye thought for a moment. "By his usual habits, the outermost layer should be an illusion array. The core is at…"
She gave a specific location.
Yuan Yuan guided the camera accordingly.
Soon, the array was pierced, and the scenery shifted.
Yun Jin looked closely.
Now, besides the stone bed, there was also a table and a chair.
"...This still isn't the real cave, is it?" Yun Jin asked flatly.
Hong Ye nodded. "At least three more illusion layers remain."
"…"
Fine, fine.
This level of caution was truly excessive. If this were the modern world, Yun Jin would have suspected Xuan Kong's childhood had been filled with trauma.
She even wondered if the man had been beaten too often, which gave rise to such a bizarre, paranoid temperament.
"At this pace, we may not finish breaking through all these arrays before Qingxiao Pavilion cultivators rush here," Yuan Yuan warned.
"Try anyway," Yun Jin instructed.
With Hong Ye's guidance, the camera got to work again. After each illusion was dispelled, Yuan Yuan worried that someone would arrive. But until they reached the final true cave, outside remained eerily silent.
Yun Jin was almost surprised.
"Has Qingxiao Pavilion truly grown this careless? Are they on the verge of collapse?"
Leaving that question aside, she examined the genuine cave dwelling. This one was entirely different—brimming with items, spirit medicines and artifacts scattered everywhere.
But Yun Jin was uninterested in such trinkets.
"Sect Master, the truly valuable things will be hidden with special mechanisms," Hong Ye said. She paused, then added, "That bed likely conceals something."
With her guidance, the camera worked the mechanism. After some effort, the stone bed sank into the floor, revealing a hidden door. Beyond the door was a small secret chamber.
The camera entered, and Yun Jin's eyes narrowed.
There was nothing inside.
Nothing—except that the four walls were densely covered in erratic writing.
Yun Jin peered carefully at the inscriptions.
"Senior Brother treats me so well, how could I… how could I suspect him? Xuan Kong, you are far too paranoid!"
"That day, when Senior Brother spoke, his gaze was exactly like Master's."
"Don't overthink, don't overthink!"
"Must I really cultivate? I fear the Void Spirit Codex."
"Senior Brother is very concerned about my progress."
"I am so afraid, so afraid."
"I want to leave."
"I tried to leave, but was dragged back. Senior Brother… Senior Brother has become terrifying."
"Senior Brother is Master. Senior Brother is Master."
That phrase was written again and again, often scratched out only for a new one to be carved immediately after.
Clearly, he had been struggling in endless torment.
"Impossible. Just an illusion. Don't overthink."
"My cultivation… I can barely suppress it."
"Hong Ye…"
Amid the chaotic scrawls, the name "Hong Ye" appeared once.
Just once.
Yet while the other words were frantic and crooked, these two characters were written with precise care, every stroke deliberate.
Hong Ye saw her name, and her eyes remained calm, though a faint sigh escaped her lips. In that instant, she felt entirely at peace. A thousand years had passed. Whatever deep feelings once existed had long worn away.
But to her, Xuan Kong was still a friend.
"Sect Master," Hong Ye said quietly, "from Xuan Kong's words… it seems Lin Xiao is actually Chu Feng Daoyou, the former Sect Master of Qingxiao Pavilion. Both Lin Xiao and Xuan Kong were his disciples."