The person speaking to me couldn't possibly be Cang Tianji.

As a Tianming Shi (seer), Cang Tianji might help me face my tribulation, but he would never guide me to commit suicide.

Cang Tianji's words were like planting a poisonous seed in my heart. Once that seed found fertile ground, it would spread wildly, until it destroyed my will, forcing me to press the blade to my own neck.

I was sure that by then, before my blade could truly sever my throat, my will would collapse completely, leaving my body to the inner demon.

My inner demon hadn't left; he had always been there.

"Cang Tianji" suddenly laughed, "Haha...an inner demon never leaves. I will accompany you to the Tiewa Temple."

"Don't try any tricks along the way. I know everything you're thinking. Instead of wasting time with me, think about how to attack Tiewa Temple. Don't worry, I won't kill you on the road."

I couldn't help but take a deep breath and look at the incense stick that was about to burn out.

While I was rapidly considering how to deal with my inner demon, the entire Liangjie Hall force had gathered outside Taiqu Mountain.

Old Liu, shaking his fan, looked at the welcoming stone of Taiqu Mountain and said, "Little Orange! How's the Lord doing?"

Little Orange was a nickname Lin Zhao had given to Chen Shuyu, and somehow it had caught on in Liangjie Hall. Except for Ye Yang, everyone in Liangjie Hall called her Little Orange.

Chen Shuyu had protested a few times to no avail and had no choice but to accept her fate.

Chen Shuyu said, "Li Po has run into trouble! He's currently stuck near the earthen temple."

Old Liu gently shook his fan and said, "It's our turn to move."

Jiang Junci couldn't help but say, "Master Liu, there's something I've never understood."

"Since you knew Li Po couldn't enter Tiewa Temple, why didn't you tell him in advance?"

Old Liu shook his head and said, "Before the Lord left, he didn't say anything, but I know that he's afraid to face Tiewa Temple in his heart."

Jiang Junci raised his eyebrows and said, "You want to help Li Po unravel the mystery of Tiewa Temple?"

"No! This time, I'm bringing people here only to escort the Lord safely into Tiewa Temple." Old Liu said meaningfully, "Some things must be faced by the Lord himself."

"To advance from Mortal Shedding to Earthly Fiend, the state of mind is more important than cultivation. The Lord's cultivation has already reached the point, but he has been unable to advance to Earthly Fiend because he has a knot in his heart."

"If he can't untie this knot, the Lord can only stand in the realm of Mortal Shedding."

Before Jiang Junci could ask any further, Old Liu continued to explain, "What the Lord needs to transform isn't just his state of mind! But also his vision and pattern."

"The Lord's pattern is too small. All he sees is Liangjie Hall. Moreover, he has never experienced a clash between top-level forces. Once Liangjie Hall gets involved in the battle for supremacy in the art of cultivation, he will inevitably suffer a great loss."

"The Lord may not compete for supremacy, but he must have the ability to fight with top forces. I must make him clearly aware of this."

Jiang Junci asked doubtfully, "Hasn't Li Po been victorious in every battle since his debut?"

Old Liu shook his head and said, "Although the Lord has never been defeated, many of his victories are due to chance and using the strength of others. If we were to truly deploy our troops, our Liangjie Hall would surely be defeated."

Old Liu said meaningfully, "Little Jiang, when it comes to the Wolf Star, I think you are more like the Wolf Star than the Lord."

"Throughout the ages, the Wolf Stars have been peerless generals. The Lord is more than capable as a master of the art of cultivation, but he doesn't have the demeanor of a great general or the bearing of a king."

"So far, among the younger generation, only Jun Jixue can be called a king. The one who can be called a general is you, Jiang Junci."

Jiang Junci said in a deep voice, "I think Li Po is a natural general. At least in terms of defense, I'm no match for him."

"Besides, he has you, Master Liu, to advise him. Li Po will definitely be invincible."

Old Liu shook his fan and said, "A strategist is not omnipotent. Some things...forget it, let's not talk about these...Little Orange, bring the map."

Old Liu gently shook the fan in his hand, and the aura of ghosts and gods swept out, forcibly breaking the welcoming stone in half from the middle. However, he nonchalantly spread the map on the half of the stone.

"Back then, the Reincarnation Department called on the art of cultivation to attack Tiewa Temple. They once divided their troops into four routes."

"The first route attacked the Immortal Bridge."

"The second route forcibly crossed the Jinglong Stream."

"The third route went through the Silent Forest."

"The fourth route passed through the Starry Sky Valley."

"Only the middle route was left!"

"This route was where Li Chunfeng and Qu Mo advanced."

"The lineup of the middle route can be said to be the strongest, but also the weakest. That route didn't have any famous cultivators to guard it, only the younger generation of cultivators."

Old Liu pressed his hand on the map and said, "If you look closely, all four routes are actually paving the way for the middle route."

"The Reincarnation Department back then knew very well that without the containment of the other four routes, the middle route couldn't break into Tiewa Temple. From this point of view, they were deliberately sending Li Chunfeng and Qu Mo into Tiewa Temple."

Old Liu closed his fan and said, "Many years later, I have to repeat the old trick. We still have to pave the way for the Lord and let him kill his way into Tiewa Temple!"

Old Liu leaned on his fan and looked at the people behind him, taking out a few command arrows as if by magic and said, "Back then, the Reincarnation Department suppressed demons in Taiqu Mountain. Today, we have to release demons in Taiqu Mountain. Everyone, those who are willing to believe in me, Old Liu, take the order!"