"Master, what... are you saying?"
Bai Lan pursed her lips and asked, "My father... was exploited by evil?"
Ye Ling: "This is all just my guess, but based on what we've experienced before, the truth is likely close to what I'm thinking. However, your father is also a shrewd person, he should be able to see through it and wouldn't be so easily exploited."
As Ye Ling spoke, he forced the black energy into the black sword.
Soon, the black sword in Ye Ling's hand began to vibrate violently, cracks appeared on the surface of the blade, and more black energy entered the black sword through those cracks.
"Lan'er, give me your hand." Ye Ling extended a hand to Bai Lan and said calmly.
Bai Lan's heart was filled with doubt, her mind almost stopped thinking, and she subconsciously placed her hand in Ye Ling's palm.
The moment Bai Lan placed her hand in Ye Ling's palm, a large amount of black energy surged from Ye Ling's palm, coiling around Bai Lan's arm.
Bai Lan only felt extreme coldness and ill omen from the black energy, as if everything that came into contact with this black energy would meet destruction.
"Master, what is this..."
Bai Lan was frightened by Ye Ling's current icy power and couldn't help but ask Ye Ling.
Ye Ling: "This is my newly awakened power. Its attribute might make you feel a little uncomfortable, just bear with it for a while."
"Mmm..." Bai Lan nodded obediently, no longer afraid of the power, but trying to accept it.
This was only because it was Ye Ling in front of Bai Lan. If it were anyone else using that black energy in front of Bai Lan, it would be considered gentle of her not to draw her sword and attack.
Ye Ling's current power was too bizarre, evoking aversion and fear.
Not long after the black energy coiled around Bai Lan, she felt the power within her being drawn out, and her aura rapidly declining.
Before long, all the power the black sword had given her was drawn out by Ye Ling and returned to the black sword. Bai Lan's aura returned to its original state.
Bai Lan did not feel any regret for the power she had lost. After all, she had never intended to draw power from the black sword from the beginning. Now that the black sword's power was gone, she simply acted as if nothing had happened.
After drawing out the power within Bai Lan, Ye Ling increased the speed at which the black energy invaded the black sword.
The entire black sword began to vibrate violently, and more cracks appeared on its body, making it look as if it was about to explode.
"Lan'er, step back."
Ye Ling released Bai Lan and said calmly.
"Then Master, you be careful."
Bai Lan glanced at the extremely unstable black sword, immediately retreated, and put distance between herself and Ye Ling.
*Boom!!!*
Not long after Bai Lan retreated to a safe distance, the black sword in Ye Ling's hand exploded with a bang. The "Brain," completely enveloped in black energy, escaped from the black sword.
"Ye Ling!!!"
The "Brain" struggled within the black energy, its eyes fixed on Ye Ling below, roaring fiercely, "It's you again!"
Ye Ling calmly looked at the ferocious "Brain" and asked, "When did you start cooperating with evil?"
"I'll kill you!"
The "Brain" did not answer Ye Ling's question at all. It broke free from the restraint of the black energy and charged towards Ye Ling at extreme speed.
However, before the "Brain" could even reach Ye Ling, the black energy transformed into countless threads, coiling around the "Brain's" body and pulling it back.
Ye Ling looked at the struggling "Brain" and said, "Don't waste your effort. Even if you've mastered the third stage of the Void Sword, you're no match for me. The gap between us is too great."
"Answer my question honestly, and I can give you a quick death."
"You fellow..."
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, the "Brain" finally calmed down and realized that Ye Ling's demeanor had changed somewhat.
He scanned Ye Ling's body, his pupils contracting slightly, and exclaimed in shock, "You've mastered your Origin Power?"
"Origin Power?" Ye Ling raised an eyebrow slightly. "So that's what my black energy is called?"
"Impossible! The Void Sword stimulated all that power of yours, how could you still maintain your sanity? How did you do it?"
At this moment, the "Brain" looked as if it had seen a ghost, screaming hysterically at Ye Ling, completely disbelieving what it was seeing.
"How did I do it? Getting rid of that shadow was a simple matter. I personally don't think it was very difficult." Ye Ling smiled at the "Brain." "As for you, you know so much. What other secrets do you have about me?"
"You easily dealt with Sin? Impossible... That is the primordial demon god, the most powerful existence in the void. Even if you are his reincarnation, you cannot kill your primordial self!"
The "Brain" stared intently at Ye Ling, muttering incessantly, revealing a great deal of information that Ye Ling had never heard before.
"Reincarnation of Sin?" Upon hearing the "Brain's" words, Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, making him increasingly feel that keeping the "Brain" was extremely important.
Clearly, the "Brain," having lived for countless years, knew innumerable secrets, and those secrets... were incredibly important to Ye Ling, who desperately needed to understand the void and himself.
The "Brain" now seemed to have lost its mind, continuing to mutter, "Impossible... If Sin reappears, the entire void will be overturned by him. He cannot possibly maintain his sanity. Something must have gone wrong."
Ye Ling instantly appeared before the "Brain," looked into its eyes, and asked, "Tell me carefully, what exactly is Sin? What is my relationship with Sin? If I am his reincarnation, why does he still exist?"
"Impossible... I should have killed you before Sin's resurrection... You are not Sin, this is not the reality I wanted!"
The "Brain" did not answer Ye Ling's question. Its speech became faster and faster, its aura became increasingly unstable, its eyes turned scarlet, and its body began to tremble violently.
"This is..."
Seeing the "Brain's" current state, Ye Ling felt something was wrong. He immediately withdrew the Origin Power that was restraining the "Brain" and discovered a huge bulge on the "Brain's" back.
"Parasite?"
Seeing the abnormality in the "Brain's" physique, Ye Ling's first reaction was that the "Brain" had been attacked by a parasite. He immediately cut open the "Brain's" body.
"Hiss—"
The moment Ye Ling cut open the "Brain's" body, a giant parasite flew out from the "Brain's" back, opening its gaping maw towards Ye Ling, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
"When did this worm invade the 'Brain'?"
Ye Ling's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing the giant parasite.
He had forced the "Brain" out of the black sword and then restrained it with Origin Power. The "Brain" had been within his sight the entire time, and it was impossible for the parasite to have infiltrated the "Brain."
Unless...
The "Brain" itself was already infested by the parasite!