Hearing Chi Rong's words, Immortal Venerable Hotfire felt as if struck by a thunderbolt, freezing on the spot, his eyes filled with disbelief as he asked:

"Master... why would he be serving in the Heavenly Court?"

Han Li had anticipated this reaction, his gaze sweeping over Immortal Venerable Hotfire and Chi Rong, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Su Liu seemed to know some of the inside story from back then, curling her lips, watching the two disciples from the same master with interest.

"Senior Brother, the events of that year were quite complicated. When you see Master again, you can ask him yourself. For now, don't be so stubborn. Join forces with us and deal with these Reincarnation Hall thugs first," Chi Rong said, his brow slightly furrowed.

Hearing this, Fox Three and Fairy Bi She exchanged a glance, a complicated look flashing across their faces.

Although Immortal Venerable Hotfire might seem insignificant, in the current situation, even a slight change in the balance of power could have a huge impact on the battle.

Moreover, if it weren't for Immortal Venerable Hotfire holding back those Fire Age Fireflies, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to cope.

"This..." Immortal Venerable Hotfire hesitated.

"Fellow Daoist Hotfire, isn't it clear enough? The reason why Qi Mozi was able to remain safe and sound after the upheaval in the Mantra Gate is naturally because he had already betrayed the sect and sided with the Heavenly Court," Han Li said loudly, his face expressionless.

As soon as these words came out, Chi Rong's face turned black, glaring at Han Li, gritting his teeth and saying, "What are you, daring to call my master by his name, courting death..."

"Why... why would Master do this?" Immortal Venerable Hotfire took a deep breath and asked.

"As the saying goes, people strive for higher positions, and good birds choose the best trees to perch on. What's wrong with Master doing this? The Mantra Gate was so powerful back then, almost dominating the entire Black Soil, but how does it compare to the Heavenly Court? It's a pity that the entire sect, from the Old Ancestor to the disciples, were all blind, unable to recognize the truth, still fantasizing about peaceful coexistence with the Heavenly Court," Chi Rong sneered.

"That's impossible... The Old Ancestor was always kind to others back then. Although the sect was growing in power, it never clashed with the Heavenly Court, and even actively suppressed expansion. Otherwise, with the Old Ancestor's prestige, encompassing several Immortal Domains including Black Mountain and Fuze within the sphere of influence would have been as easy as reaching into a pocket. Moreover, when the Heavenly Court wanted to establish the Four Alliance Immortal Region and set up the Four Alliance Immortal Palaces to govern these Immortal Domains, the sect also expressed its support. It was the Heavenly Court that went back on its word and attacked us..." Immortal Venerable Hotfire shook his head.

"I didn't expect your thoughts to be so naive, Senior Brother. No wonder Master arranged for you to leave the sect early back then. The Heavenly Court intended to establish the Four Alliance Immortal Region and proactively proposed that the Mantra Gate send a disciple to serve as the Grand Palace Master of the Four Alliance Immortal Region, thereby forming a good alliance with the Mantra Gate. All of this seems to be befriending you, but in reality, it's just a means of appeasement," Chi Rong scoffed.

Immortal Venerable Hotfire was still puzzled, but Han Li had already understood, saying:

"What a means of dividing and conquering. Even without the Four Alliance Immortal Region, these four Immortal Domains are basically within the sphere of influence of the Mantra Gate. The Heavenly Court is simply going with the flow. Once the Immortal Palace is completed, it may not be obvious at first, but it will gradually drift away from the Mantra Gate and become a thorn in the Mantra Gate's territory. From this point of view, the Mantra Gate has already made great concessions, but why did it end up in such a shocking massacre?"

"If the Mantra Gate had accepted the Heavenly Court's suggestion and let Master serve as the first Grand Palace Master of the Four Alliance Immortal Palace, instead of insisting on letting Mu Yan do it, perhaps the sect would have eventually declined, but it wouldn't have ended up so miserably as it is now," Chi Rong glanced at Han Li, saying meaningfully.

"Are you saying that before the Heavenly Court sent a delegation to discuss this matter with the sect, Master had already hooked up with the Heavenly Court?" Immortal Venerable Hotfire also woke up at this time and asked.

"That's right. In fact, the suggestion to establish the Four Alliance Immortal Region was proposed to the Heavenly Court by Master himself. According to the original situation, there would inevitably be a deadly battle between the sect and the Heavenly Court. His intention was to open up a path of survival for the sect in a situation where death was certain," Chi Rong nodded.

"Isn't that a bit too high-sounding? What's seeking a glimmer of hope for the sect? In the end, isn't it sacrificing the interests of the sect for one's own selfish desires? To join the Heavenly Court, you have to submit a certificate of allegiance, right? Was it Old Ancestor Mi Luo alone, or including the other four direct disciples?" Han Li sneered.

"Under the Dao struggle, Old Ancestor Mi Luo is bound to die. Whether Master takes this path or not, it's irreversible," Chi Rong said bluntly, too lazy to defend Qi Mozi.

"So, those things about establishing the Four Alliance Immortal Region and letting Mi Luo Old Ancestor's disciples serve as the Grand Palace Master are all just bullshit to fool people. The reason why the Heavenly Court is doing these tricks is just to take advantage of the negotiations to find out the truth about the Mantra Gate, so as to prepare to take action to eliminate the Mantra Gate," Han Li said slowly, a smile on his lips.

Hearing this, Chi Rong's face became even more gloomy, his gaze falling on Han Li, filled with suppressed anger.

At the same time, he was also a little puzzled as to why this person's analysis of the past events of the Mantra Gate could hit the nail on the head every time?

"I have another question. During the Heavenly Court delegation's visit, who was the mysterious person who suddenly visited the Mantra Gate?" Immortal Venerable Hotfire's mood fluctuated like the deep sea of the clouds, but he had gradually calmed down at this time and asked.

"It was the Lord of our Reincarnation Hall," Fox Three suddenly said, before Chi Rong could answer.

Lord of the Reincarnation Hall?

Han Li raised his eyebrows and looked at Fox Three, obviously surprised by this answer.

"The Lord of the Hall was there to remind Old Ancestor Mi Luo that the Heavenly Court was going to attack him. It's a pity that Old Ancestor Mi Luo was prejudiced against the Gray Realm, believing that the Reincarnation Hall was involved with the Gray Realm, and was unwilling to trust the Lord of the Hall, let alone join forces with our Reincarnation Hall. Otherwise, how could he have ended up in such a state of death and the destruction of all his descendants?" Fox Three sighed, feeling somewhat regretful.

It can be seen from this how heavy the people of the Immortal World's guard against the creatures of the Gray Realm is.

"Fellow Daoist Fox Three, in that case... before entering this place, you already knew the truth about the destruction of our Mantra Gate back then, but why did you deceive me with words?" Immortal Venerable Hotfire frowned and asked.

"This... on the one hand, I'm not sure if you really don't know anything about the destruction of the sect back then. On the other hand, I really need you to lead the way into the ruins," Fox Three hesitated slightly, then said frankly.

"Why say so much nonsense? Senior Brother, don't you want to return to the Golden Source Immortal Domain with me to see Master?" Chi Rong said impatiently, his eyes stern.

"I came here to find out the truth about the destruction of the sect. Why not fulfill my wish first? I want to know what role Master played in this change back then?" Immortal Venerable Hotfire looked at Chi Rong and said.

"Isn't it obvious? A traitor who betrayed the sect. Your Martial Uncle Mu Yan and Martial Uncle He Ze both died at his hands," Fox Three said, unchanging his expression, making a final conclusion.

Hearing this, Han Li's heart stirred, and he immediately understood why the big-headed boy from the Water Evolution Palace wanted him to kill Qi Mozi, and also understood the kind of unwillingness and resentment that Mu Yan had before his death.

"After your Lord of the Reincarnation Hall visited back then, what exactly happened?" Immortal Venerable Hotfire looked at Fox Three and asked.

Hearing this, Fox Three pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

"Although Old Ancestor Mi Luo ultimately didn't agree to form an alliance with the Reincarnation Hall, he was naturally suspicious in his heart, so he went to the Demon Domain, used a Time Immortal Artifact as collateral, borrowed a Space Immortal Artifact from the Demon Lord, and quietly re-arranged the Mantra Gate's defensive formation with this item. Originally, if the entire formation had been successfully arranged, even if the Heavenly Court really wanted to attack them, they wouldn't have been completely without the power to fight back for a while, but unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately what?" Although Immortal Venerable Hotfire had already guessed what he was going to say, he couldn't help but ask.

"Unfortunately, that scoundrel Qi Mozi informed the Heavenly Court about Old Ancestor Mi Luo's meeting with the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall. The Heavenly Court used the excuse of colluding with the Reincarnation Hall and the Gray Realm to attack the Mantra Gate in advance. The result was obvious. The Mantra Gate's new defensive formation had not yet been completely repaired, and Old Ancestor Mi Luo had also used up his energy to arrange the formation, so the sect was breached by the Heavenly Court," Fox Three sighed.

Fox Three didn't continue, but Han Li knew that the situation afterward should be the tragic situation that he saw through Mu Yan when his divine soul traversed back then.

"That great battle was rarely seen in ancient times. No one thought that the Time Dao Ancestor sitting in the Central Earth Immortal Domain would personally take action and suppress Old Ancestor Mi Luo with thunderous means. The cultivation of these two was so high that the entire Black Soil Immortal Domain shook in panic. If Old Ancestor Mi Luo hadn't deliberately controlled the battlefield within the Mantra Gate's territory, I'm afraid that more than just this one sect would have been lost now," Fox Three said slowly.

"Mi Luo Old Ancestor has five direct disciples. You only mentioned three here. What happened to the other two?" Han Li suddenly asked.

"Among these two, Jin Yuanzi disappeared for a long time after the war. It is said that he later achieved success in cultivation and tried to challenge the Time Dao Ancestor, but was ultimately defeated and died, completely disappearing. As for Wu Yang... he joined our Reincarnation Hall and became a Deputy Hall Master," Fox Three said slowly.

"Martial Uncle Wu Yang is still alive?" Immortal Venerable Hotfire didn't know whether to be happy or worried after hearing this.

"When our Lord of the Hall met with Old Ancestor Mi Luo back then, Deputy Hall Master Wu Yang was also present. He was also the only one among these people who was willing to believe what our Lord of the Hall said. However, orders from his master were difficult to disobey, and he couldn't secretly form an alliance with our Reincarnation Hall. However, he later privately contacted our Lord of the Hall, requesting him to save his master in times of crisis. But later, because of Qi Mozi's betrayal, everything happened too suddenly, and in the end, our Lord of the Hall only had time to save him..." Fox Three said slowly.

Immortal Venerable Hotfire remained silent, Han Li frowned tightly, and also felt very regretful in his heart.