Amongst the crowd came a group of women. They were the experts of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace, and the one leading them was the Music Master.

  The current Music Master had lost any of her previous kind and gentle air. She was like an entirely different person. The ruthlessness in her expression could not be hidden.

  “Impossible, impossible! You’re fake! You must be imposters…” Zi Yan was as pale as paper. Tears streamed down her eyes. She had fallen into a nightmare.

  She had to wake up, but she was powerless to do so. That was because everything before her was real.

  The warm, motherly Music Master that had protected and defended her had torn off her mask, becoming a devil. How could she accept that?

  Long Chen looked at Zi Yan. There was not even a hint of reproach in his eyes, only pain for her. Now he understood why he felt such dislike for the Music Master and the others.

  They wanted to kill him but hadn’t made a direct move in that regard. Instead, they used Zi Yan’s trust in them and the zither soul as bait to bring them here.

  As long as they didn’t directly harm him and instead focused on Zi Yan as the crux of their plans, the senses of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art could be muddled. Long Chen had even thought that he was overly suspicious.

  Now it seemed that he was still too naive, or perhaps it should be said that he had been too confident in the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art’s sense of danger. Because of it, he had fallen into this trap.

  “Hahaha, what a pitiful child. You had no idea. Do you know why the Southern Sea Zither never acknowledged you as master? It’s because it is controlled by us. Its main soul is under our control. What you have in your hands is nothing more than a husk,” said the old crone that Long Chen had previously slapped.

  “Why… Why did you use me? If you wanted to kill me, just kill me? Why use me…?!” Zi Yan let out a hysterical cry filled with resentment and hatred. Due to her, Long Chen was going to die here. She had implicated him. She hated herself.

  In all her life, Zi Yan had never hated anyone. However, now she hated the Illusive Music Immortal Palace’s people to the core. She wanted to kill them all.

  The Music Master snorted. “That’s your own fault. Who are you blaming? The Illusive Music Immortal Palace exists on the Martial Heaven Continent to eliminate threats. As for you, you are a tool for finding those threats, as well as eliminating them. That is your destiny. When you realized Long Chen was your devil star, you should have killed him. But you let him off repeatedly, missing the best time to kill him. We were in seclusion back then, and when we learned what happened, Long Chen was already grown. We couldn’t directly kill him. That’s why we had to use you to set up this trap and lure him here. If you had simply abided by the rules back then and killed Long Chen when you met him, none of this would have happened.”


  Hearing this, Long Chen and Zi Yan instantly understood. It seemed that Zi Yan only existed as a tool for the Illusive Music Immortal Palace, a tool to get rid of Long Chen.

  The Illusive Music Immortal Palace could predict this future, so they had allowed Zi Yan to roam the world. When she encountered Long Chen while he was still weak, she was to kill him.

  “Why do you have to kill Long Chen? He is the ultimate hope of the Martial Heaven Continent. If you kill him, the Martial Heaven Continent will be doomed. Countless lives will perish. Is your conscience alright with that?” sobbed Zi Yan.

  “Hahaha!” All the experts laughed. The old crone that Long Chen had slapped sneered, “You really are an idiot. We’re all standing here. Do you still not understand? Our goal has always been to destroy the Martial Heaven Continent. That is the mission of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. Today, Long Chen will definitely die. As for you, your end won’t be much better. You will be turned into a puppet, a killing machine for the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. Countless people in the Martial Heaven Continent will be killed by you, hahaha!”


  “I’ll kill you!” Zi Yan suddenly seemed to go insane. She suddenly charged out with the Southern Sea Zither.

  Startled, Long Chen was about to chase after her when a message from the Southern Sea Zither rang out in his mind. He was already too late.

  As Zi Yan smashed toward that old crone, the seven strings of the Southern Sea Zither raged. This was an attack containing all of Zi Yan’s life, as well as all her hatred.

  “You won’t be killing anyone today. Obediently become a puppet.” The Music Master suddenly formed a hand seal. The zither soul down below flew out, condensing into a string in her hand.

  BOOM!

  The Southern Sea Zither trembled. As a result of the impact, Zi Yan coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her face turned white. Her beautiful eyes had lost all their light. All of a sudden, she was grabbed by the old crone, but she didn’t react at all, as if she had no soul.

  “Do you dare to move?” The old crone suddenly grabbed Zi Yan’s neck, shouting at Long Chen, “If you dare to come over, I’ll kill this little slut.”


  “If you dare to touch even a single hair of hers, I’ll make you regret being born in this world.” Long Chen’s voice was icy. His killing intent had practically condensed into a solid form.

  “You’re threatening me? I really don’t believe that.” The old crone suddenly reached out to slap Zi Yan’s face, but before her hand landed, she was struck by a slap from the Music Master.

  The Music Master shouted, “Have you grown muddled with age? What are you doing at this time?”


  The Music Master grabbed the listless Zi Yan. Without even looking at Long Chen, she said to the others, “The mission of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace is complete. The rest is up to you.”


  At this moment, the Music Master left with the experts of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. Long Chen wanted to chase, but he was surrounded by countless experts.

  “Even at this time, you’re still thinking of others? You should think more about yourself. Death is going to be a luxury for you.”


  Long Aotian stepped forward from amongst the divine families, barring Long Chen’s path.

  At this moment, Long Aotian’s eyes were filled with a harsh light. His hatred for Long Chen was taller than the mountain, deeper than the sea.

  The battle during the previous tribulation had humiliated him, and his father had even been killed by Long Chen. Hence, upon seeing Long Chen again, his killing intent instantly ignited.

  “I will personally cut off your head today!” shouted Long Aotian. His Nine Dragons Devour the Heavens Diagram quivered, and his spear pierced toward Long Chen.