When Shuang Chongshan thought about his own situation over the years, it was truly a world of difference.
Back then, in order to gather the raw materials for a mid-grade, initial-stage puppet for his son, he had made plans early on. Even so, it had taken him more than thirty years to finally gather them all.
At this moment, he hadn't even thought in any other direction. If Zhu Luomu were to come here, it could only be for this matter.
But before he had even reached the hall, Zhu Luomu's voice came from outside the courtyard.
"Senior Brother Shuang, I won't come in. Martial Uncle Zhang wants you to go to his cave residence!"
Outside the courtyard, just as Zhu Luomu landed, he saw that the courtyard's restriction had already been opened. But he did not enter, and instead stood outside the courtyard and spoke in a clear voice.
After receiving Li Yan's voice transmission, Zhu Luomu could have just sent a disciple to pass on the message. He had a lot of things to do.
Usually, besides the various trivial matters of the sect, he himself also had to cultivate and refine pills.
But after thinking about it, he still decided to make the trip himself.
This Elder Zhang rarely asked others to do things. For a rare occasion, if he were to delegate it to a disciple in the sect, it would seem somewhat disrespectful.
Shuang Chongshan's steps towards the hall paused, and the smile on his face turned into astonishment.
Outside the courtyard, Shuang Chongshan looked at Zhu Luomu with a puzzled expression.
"Junior Brother Zhu, why is Elder Zhang looking for me?"
He was a bit older than Zhu Luomu. A few days ago, at Zhu Luomu's insistence, he had started calling him junior brother.
"That I don't know. I thought Senior Brother Shuang knew the reason himself!"
Zhu Luomu smiled and shook his head. He knew that his master and this Elder Zhang had gone out together to handle an extremely secret matter.
But he didn't know the specific reason. Now, Elder Zhang had just returned and had summoned Shuang Chongshan.
He had thought that because Elder Zhang had left in a hurry, some things had not been explained clearly before, so they had arranged to meet again after a period of time.
After all, after Shuang Chongshan arrived, Elder Zhang had only met him once before leaving the sect.
In his view, if Shuang Chongshan's puppet arts were truly superb, Elder Zhang would definitely regard him as a confidant. Some things, of course, had to be personally instructed.
Hearing this, Shuang Chongshan also shook his head.
"Hehehe, maybe he's just asking about your recent situation in the sect. You'll know once I take you there!"
Zhu Luomu chuckled.
When the two flew to the front of the "Myriad Stars Cavern," Zhu Luomu turned and left.
Leaving only the somewhat nervous Shuang Chongshan. Shuang Chongshan still felt a little afraid of this Elder Zhang.
The scene of the other party easily wiping out two Foundation Establishment cultivators that day was still vivid in his mind. The other party killed people as if he were drinking water.
Golden Core cultivators were powerful, but if their methods were too bizarre, it would inevitably make one's heart turn cold. It was better to have as little contact as possible.
"You may enter!"
Just as Shuang Chongshan was looking at the entrance of the valley in front of him and was about to speak, the mist at the mouth of the valley churned, revealing an elegant path that wound through a maple forest.
At the same time, a voice with not much emotion entered his mind, causing his heart to shudder.
A cup of tea's time later, Shuang Chongshan stood in Li Yan's cave residence, his hands clasped, his face respectful.
"Martial Uncle, for what matter have you summoned this disciple?"
Li Yan sat at the head of the room, his face devoid of joy or sorrow, making it impossible for others to guess his thoughts. Li Yan pointed to a stone chair on the side.
"Have a seat. I have some questions for you!"
The moment he said this, Shuang Chongshan's heart skipped a beat. Hearing this tone, it seemed that something had happened.
But back then, for fear of being soul-searched, he had told almost everything. Could the other party have discovered something wrong?
The reason he said this was that Shuang Chongshan could only guarantee that everything he had said at that time was the truth. It was just that some things that were too secret were deeply hidden in his heart.
If the other party were to perform a soul-search, it couldn't be said that he had lied. After all, a person experiences so much in a lifetime; it's impossible to say everything one by one.
"What else has he discovered?"
Shuang Chongshan's heart trembled a little, but his years of being a fugitive finally allowed him to maintain a respectful expression on his face. He sat down as instructed.
Li Yan asked seemingly casually.
"I heard you say before that you are a branch of the Duye Clan. Does the Duye Clan have a branch that is proficient in the Dao of formations?"
Li Yan's question stunned Shuang Chongshan. He didn't understand why the other party would ask such a question, and what his purpose was.
After a slight hesitation, he carefully answered.
"Reporting to Martial Uncle, my Duye Clan does not have a branch that solely cultivates formations. We are either proficient in pill refining or artifact refining.
"It's just that artifact refining is divided into many types. Some are good at refining magical treasures, some are good at refining puppets, and some are good at refining Jiangshi puppets...
"But no matter which branch, and what they are good at, they all need to have a certain attainment in formations. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to inscribe formation restrictions in medicinal pills or magical treasures.
"But it's not considered solely cultivating the Dao of formations!"
After Shuang Chongshan answered, he glanced at Li Yan from the corner of his eye. Seeing that the other party's expression was still impassive, he was even more at a loss as to what the other party was up to.
As he said these words, he constantly weighed them in his heart, for fear of revealing the secret he most wanted to hide.
"Oh? Then do you remember if there are any Golden Core stage female cultivators in your clan who are proficient in formations?"
"This... of course there are. Let alone in the clan, even in our branch, there are two Golden Core elders who have very strong attainments in formations, and they are both women. Martial Uncle, you are..."
Li Yan didn't say any more at this point. He suddenly waved his hand, and with a "thud," a figure fell limply to the ground.
The person had a full, watery figure and a beautiful face. It was just that at this moment, her beautiful eyes were tightly closed, and it was impossible to tell if she was alive or dead.
Shuang Chongshan was startled by Li Yan's action. Then, seeing a person fall to the ground, he was a little confused for a moment, but he still subconsciously looked over.
When he saw the appearance of the woman lying on her side on the ground clearly, the buttocks he had just sat down on, as if pricked by a needle, shot him up from his seat.
"Fourth Aunt..."
Seeing Shuang Chongshan's expression change drastically and his cry of surprise, Li Yan was not too surprised.
When he had seen the bear-shaped puppet the other party had taken out back then, he had felt that the aura it emitted was very similar to the puppet Shuang Lianzhou had taken out.
"Senior, Senior, Fourth... she... what's wrong with her?"
Shuang Chongshan's loss of composure was only for a moment. His face had also returned to a calm state, but he had already stood up.
With a "thud," he knelt down towards Li Yan.
It was just that his seemingly calm expression, in Li Yan's eyes, also showed that Shuang Chongshan was extremely flustered at this moment.
He had forgotten to call him "Martial Uncle" and was repeatedly calling him "Senior."
"It seems you do know her. It's nothing. This person's Spirit Power was just sealed by me, and I happened to knock her out."
"Senior, she is my fourth aunt, one of the few elders left in my branch.
"Back then, when the clan was besieged, a few of the clan's elders held off those enemies with all their might, which allowed me and my son to escape.
"I thought that only my father and I were left in the clan, but I didn't expect Fourth Aunt to still be alive.
"I don't know how Fourth Aunt has offended Senior. I implore Senior to be merciful and spare her. I... I..."
As he said this, Shuang Chongshan seemed to get stuck. For a moment, he simply didn't know what precious thing he could offer in exchange for his elder's life.
The most valuable thing on him was the "Divine Puppet Art," but the other party was not interested in it, otherwise he would have snatched it long ago.
Li Yan, however, gently raised his hand and lifted Shuang Chongshan up.
"No need. I have no grievances with her. It's just that she was helping my opponent. I saw that the aura of the puppet she took out was somewhat familiar, so I didn't kill her.
"I asked her if she knew you, and she said she didn't. I was going to perform a soul-search, but after consideration, I still had you come over to confirm.
"Since that's the case, you two can talk. But don't even think about removing her seal, otherwise, you know the consequences."
After Li Yan finished speaking, he immediately stood up and walked towards the back.
As he was about to leave, he casually flicked his large sleeve, and a dot of black light landed on the woman on the ground. Then, Li Yan's figure had already drifted away.
Leaving only the surprised and delighted Shuang Chongshan, his face for a moment showed a very complex expression.
'Fourth Aunt is an ally of Elder Zhang's opponent. This... this matter could be big or small...'
As thoughts swirled in his mind, he had already walked quickly towards the woman.
After waiting for a moment, Shuang Chongshan's surprised voice came from the hall.
"Fourth Aunt, you're awake? It's me, Chongshan!"
"Chong... Chongshan..."
Then came a somewhat weak voice, filled with surprise and confusion...
Li Yan sat in the side room drinking tea. His eyes were slightly narrowed, making it impossible for others to know what he was thinking.
"This female cultivator is also proficient in puppet arts, and her attainments are definitely not something Shuang Chongshan can compare to. But what is her relationship with Jiang Baibi? Without a soul-search, it's unlikely I'll know the most real situation..."
Just like that, after Li Yan had finished a cup of tea while pondering, he then stood up and walked towards the main hall in front.
In the main hall in front, the female cultivator surnamed Yang had already been helped by Shuang Chongshan to sit in a stone chair.
Although she was awake, her body was lying limply in the chair, without the slightest strength to support herself.
Shuang Chongshan was standing on the side with his hands clasped, whispering to her. When footsteps sounded, both of them stopped talking and then looked towards the back of the hall.
The female cultivator surnamed Yang could only glance over from the corner of her eye. She didn't even have the strength to turn her head.
Li Yan deliberately made his footsteps heavy. When he entered the hall, he did not pay attention to the two who were looking over, but walked straight to the main seat and sat down.
Before he could speak, Shuang Chongshan had already stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Martial Uncle, my aunt has something to say to you..."
As he said this, he hesitated for a moment, and then continued.
"This junior does not know how my aunt has offended Martial Uncle, but I still implore Martial Uncle, for the sake of this junior already being a disciple of the 'Falling Star Valley,' to spare her.
"After all... after all, there might only be the three of us left in our clan. And my aunt said that she has never met you, Martial Uncle, and has no grievances with you. Everything was caused by others. I implore Martial Uncle to grant this!"
After saying this, Shuang Chongshan bowed respectfully and then walked directly out of the cave residence.
Just now, when he heard the footsteps, the female cultivator surnamed Yang had told him that she wanted to talk to this Elder Zhang alone for a while. There were some things he didn't need to know, so he had to step aside.
Although Shuang Chongshan was worried about this elder's safety, he did not dare to go against her wishes. Besides, if Zhang Ming wanted to kill his fourth aunt, he was powerless to stop him.
So, he immediately did as he was told and went outside the cave residence to wait for the result.
He was also a person who was used to life and death. If there was nothing he could do, he would not get entangled in it. That would only incur Elder Zhang's displeasure.
Li Yan remained silent about this. After Shuang Chongshan had left, he slowly opened his mouth.
"You didn't tell him about what happened under the sea?"
The female cultivator surnamed Yang sighed and did not immediately answer Li Yan's question. She said somewhat weakly.
"I have learned about his past from Chongshan's mouth, and I also know that Fellow Daoist has saved his family of three's lives, and that Fellow Daoist did not covet my Shuang clan's inheritance art.
"For these things, I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. This gratitude must be expressed clearly first, without any other matters mixed in.
"Secondly, since Fellow Daoist is a cultivator of the 'Falling Star Valley,' it further proves that the secret cave under the sea was not opened up by you few fellow daoists.
"But now, for me, regardless of whether that secret cave is an ancient ruin or has some other relationship with you few fellow daoists, I will not mention it to others again.
"I have nothing to guarantee this. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."