Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable, upon hearing Chi Rong's words, felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue, freezing in place, his eyes filled with disbelief as he asked:

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

Han Li had anticipated this reaction. He glanced over Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable 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 and watching the two fellow disciples with interest.

"Senior Brother, the matters of that time were rather complicated. When you see Master in the future, ask him yourself. For now, don't be stubborn. Join forces with us and take care of these Reincarnation Palace thugs first," Chi Rong said with a slight frown.

Hearing this, Fox Three and Azure-Serpent Fairy exchanged a glance, a complicated expression flickering across their faces.

Although Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable seemed insignificant, in the current situation, even a slight shift in the balance of power could have a huge impact on the battle.

Moreover, if it weren't for Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable blocking those Fire-Age Fireflies, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to deal with them.

"This..." Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable hesitated slightly.

"Hot-Fire Fellow Daoist, is there anything unclear about this? The reason 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 darkened, and he glared at Han Li, gritting his teeth as he said, "What are you? How dare you address my Master by his name? You're courting death..."

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

"As the saying goes, people strive for higher positions, and good birds choose trees to perch on. What's wrong with Master doing this? The Mantra Gate back then was so powerful that it almost monopolized the entire Blacksoil Territory, but what was that compared to the Heavenly Court? It's a pity that the entire sect, from the Ancestor to the disciples, was blind, unable to recognize the facts, and still fantasized about peaceful coexistence with the Heavenly Court," Chi Rong sneered.

"That's impossible... The Ancestor was always kind to others. Although the sect's power was growing, it never clashed with the Heavenly Court, and even actively suppressed expansion. Otherwise, with the Ancestor's prestige, it would have been as easy as reaching into a bag to include several Immortal Territories, including Black Mountain and Fuzawa, as part of our sphere of influence. Moreover, when the Heavenly Court wanted to establish the Four-Alliance Immortal Regions and set up the Four-Alliance Immortal Palaces to govern these Immortal Territories, the sect also expressed its support. It was the Heavenly Court that broke its promise and attacked us later..." Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable shook his head.

"I didn't expect you to be so naive, Senior Brother. No wonder Master had you leave the sect early. Back then, the Heavenly Court intended to establish the Four-Alliance Immortal Regions and proactively proposed that the Mantra Gate send a disciple to serve as the Grand Palace Lord of the Four-Alliance Immortal Regions, thereby forming a good alliance with the Mantra Gate. All of this seemed to be befriending you, but it was actually just a pacifying tactic," Chi Rong scoffed.

Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable was still puzzled, but Han Li had already understood, saying:

"What a means of divide and conquer. Even without the Four-Alliance Immortal Regions, these four Immortal Territories are basically within the sphere of influence of the Mantra Gate. The Heavenly Court is just going along with the tide. Once the Immortal Palaces are completed, it may not be obvious at first, but later they will inevitably drift further and further away from the Mantra Gate, becoming a thorn stuck in the Mantra Gate's territory. From this, it seems that the Mantra Gate has already made great concessions, but why did it end in such a shocking tragedy of annihilation?"

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

"Are you saying that Master had already gotten in touch with the Heavenly Court before the Heavenly Court's delegation came to discuss this matter with the sect?" Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable also realized this and asked.

"That's right. In fact, the suggestion to establish the Four-Alliance Immortal Regions was originally proposed by Master to the Heavenly Court. According to the original situation, the sect and the Heavenly Court would inevitably have a deadly battle. His intention was to open up a path to survival for the sect in a situation where death was inevitable," Chi Rong nodded.

"Isn't that a bit too high-sounding? What's this about seeking a glimmer of hope for the sect? In the end, isn't it just sacrificing the interests of the sect for one's own selfish gain? To rely on the Heavenly Court, you have to submit a pledge of allegiance, right? Was it Mi Luo Ancestor alone, or did it include the other four personal disciples?" Han Li sneered.

"In the struggle for the Great Dao, Mi Luo Ancestor was bound to die. Regardless of whether Master took this path or not, it was unchangeable." Having said this, Chi Rong was too lazy to defend Qi Mozi, saying it directly.

"So, those things about establishing the Four-Alliance Immortal Regions and letting Mi Luo Ancestor's disciples serve as the Grand Palace Lord were just nonsense to fool people. The Heavenly Court did these things just to take advantage of the discussion to probe the Mantra Gate's strength, so as to prepare to take action to eliminate the Mantra Gate," Han Li's lips curled up as he slowly said.

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

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

"I have another question. Who exactly was that mysterious person who suddenly visited the Mantra Gate during the Heavenly Court's delegation visit?" Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable's mood fluctuated like the tides, but he gradually calmed down and asked.

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

Reincarnation Palace Lord?

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

"The Palace Lord came to remind Mi Luo Ancestor that the Heavenly Court was going to attack him. It's a pity that Mi Luo Ancestor had deep prejudices against the Grey Realm, believing that the Reincarnation Palace was implicated with the Grey Realm. He was unwilling to trust the Palace Lord, let alone join forces with our Reincarnation Palace. Otherwise, how could he have ended up with such a fate of death and the destruction of his disciples and grandchildren?" Fox Three sighed, somewhat regretful.

From this, it could be seen how strong the vigilance of the people in the Immortal World was towards the creatures of the Grey Realm.

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

"Well... on the one hand, I wasn't sure if you were really unaware of the annihilation back then. On the other hand, I really needed you to lead the way into the ruins," Fox Three hesitated slightly, speaking frankly.

"Why say so much nonsense? Senior Brother, don't you want to return to the Gold-Source Immortal Territory with me to see Master?" Chi Rong's eyes narrowed, somewhat impatiently.

"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?" Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable 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, settling the matter with an unchanging expression.

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

"What exactly happened after your Reincarnation Palace Lord visited back then?" Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable looked at Fox Three and asked.

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

"Although Mi Luo Ancestor ultimately did not agree to form an alliance with the Reincarnation Palace, he was naturally suspicious in his heart. So, he went to the Demon Territory and used a time-attribute Immortal Artifact as collateral to borrow a space-attribute Immortal Artifact from the Demon Lord, and quietly re-arranged the Mantra Gate's defensive array with it. Originally, if the entire array 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. It's a pity..."

"A pity what?" Although Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable had already guessed what he was going to say, he couldn't help but ask.

"It's a pity that that Qi Mozi informed the Heavenly Court about Mi Luo Ancestor's meeting with the Reincarnation Palace Lord. The Heavenly Court used the excuse of colluding with the Reincarnation Palace and the Grey Realm to attack the Mantra Gate in advance. The result was obvious. The Mantra Gate's new defensive array had not been completed, and Mi Luo Ancestor had also exhausted his energy to arrange the array. The sect was naturally broken through by the Heavenly Court," Fox Three sighed.

Fox Three didn't continue, but Han Li was clear that the situation afterward should have been the tragic situation he saw through Mu Yan when his divine soul traveled back then.

"That great battle was unprecedented. No one expected that the Time Dao Ancestor, who was stationed in the Central Earth Immortal Territory, would personally take action and suppress Mi Luo Ancestor with thunderous means. These two people were too powerful, directly causing the entire Blacksoil Immortal Territory to tremble in fear. If Mi Luo Ancestor hadn't intentionally controlled the battlefield within the Mantra Gate's territory, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been just this one sect that was lost now," Fox Three slowly said.

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

"Of 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 Palace and became a Deputy Palace Lord," Fox Three slowly said.

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

"When our Palace Lord met with Mi Luo Ancestor back then, Deputy Palace Lord Wu Yang was also present. He was also the only one among these people who was willing to believe what our Palace Lord said, but the Master's order was difficult to violate, and he could not join forces with our Reincarnation Palace without authorization. However, he later privately contacted our Palace Lord, 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 Palace Lord only had time to save him..." Fox Three slowly said.

Hot-Fire Immortal Venerable was silent, Han Li frowned, and he also felt a lot of emotion.