After the interlude, Ye You quickly recovered, becoming cheerful again, showing no trace of sorrow.
Watching Ye You's jovial demeanor, Xu Xiaoqing felt a pang of heartache.
She understood that some people, while appearing happy on the surface, were actually more sorrowful than anyone else.
Ye You was one such person.
Ye Ling was also like that.
Their strength merely concealed their grief.
Senior…
Xu Xiaoqing looked at Ye Ling and Ye You, her delicate fists clenched, her longing growing to become figures as extraordinary as Ye Ling and Ye You.
Ye Ling pushed the past affairs of the Ye family to the back of his mind. He approached the altar and carefully examined Ye Feng, who was nailed to a cross.
Ye Feng's heart had already been dug out and placed before the altar.
The blood on his body had drained, staining the entire altar red.
If one looked closely, they could see black energy from extraterrestrial powerhouses entwined around Ye Feng, constantly draining his strength.
Ye Ling glanced at Ye Feng and then addressed Ye You, who had flown over, "When the Hongchen Pavilion held the ritual, they intended to simultaneously extract the inheritances from both you and Ye Feng. However, I rescued you, Ye You, while the extraterrestrial forces succeeded in extracting from Ye Feng."
"Given Ye Feng's current condition, he should be dead. How did he survive?"
Ye Ling was puzzled. He began to accelerate the flow of time, wanting to know what happened to Ye Feng next.
As Ye Ling sped up time, the black energy around the altar intensified. Ye Feng, entwined by the black energy, cried out in agony.
His piercing roars echoed through the sky.
Before everyone's eyes, Ye Feng rapidly withered into a dried corpse. The last vestiges of power were drained from his body, leaving only a wisp of a remnant soul within the desiccated remains.
That remnant soul was incredibly weak, likely to be dispersed by the slightest breeze.
Looking at Ye Feng's current state, Ye Ling said gravely, "Based on this timeline, we are still within the ancient ruins. At this time, the Mother of Calamity and the Three Yuan Star Lords have both awakened. The ancient ruins are in utter chaos, making it impossible for me to attend to the outside world."
"If anyone wished to revive Ye Feng, this would be the best opportunity."
As Ye Ling finished speaking, a figure flew from a distance and landed before the altar.
Ye Ling's pupils contracted slightly as he recognized the person's face!
The arrival was none other than Zhang Xiao Ling!
"It's him?" Seeing Zhang Xiao Ling appear, Ye Ling's heart was stirred by a tempestuous wave!
To this day, Ye Ling had not fully grasped Zhang Xiao Ling's true identity, his cultivation level, or whether he was friend or foe. Ye Ling knew nothing!
This Zhang Xiao Ling knew many things, even the secrets of the Nine Heavens Realm and the Creator God.
The Creator God's inheritance that Ye Ling had obtained was also greatly related to Zhang Xiao Ling!
Previously, Ye Ling had leaned towards Zhang Xiao Ling being on their side, but now, Ye Ling had to cast doubt upon that assumption.
Zhang Xiao Ling landed before the altar, cast a glance at Ye Feng, who had turned into a dried corpse, and sighed softly, "I'm still a step too late. The inheritance power has still been taken by those fellows."
With that, Zhang Xiao Ling beckoned slightly, drawing out Ye Feng's remnant soul. He protected it with spiritual energy and said in a low voice, "You are one of the three chosen individuals of this era. Although you failed this time, it is not without hope."
As Zhang Xiao Ling spoke, he waved his sleeve, and a vast amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth converged into his palm, flowing into Ye Feng's remnant soul.
The remnant soul, which had been like a candle in the wind, began to expand visibly, Ye Feng's soul rapidly growing stronger.
Xue Ling exclaimed, "Reviving a saint's remnant soul with a mere wave of the hand… Who exactly is this fellow?"
At this moment, Ye You was also staring intently at Zhang Xiao Ling, her brow furrowed, seemingly deep in thought.
"Is it really him?" Ye You muttered, seemingly unable to believe her own eyes.
Hearing Ye You's mumbling, Ye Ling looked at her and asked, "Xiao You, do you know Zhang Xiao Ling too?"
Ye You said solemnly, "I'm not entirely sure. His appearance is completely different from the person I saw, but his demeanor and aura are very similar to that person from a hundred years ago. I feel it's the same person."
Ye Ling said, "Tell me about it."
Ye You continued, "As you know, Brother, due to the Ye family's calamity, I unexpectedly transmigrated to the past and lived as Su Xue'er. At that time, I had a connection with Ye Feng."
Ye Ling replied, "I know that. I've investigated your past quite a bit before."
Ye You went on, "Back then, Ye Feng and I were both disciples of the Tian Yin Pavilion. Ye Feng wasn't as cunning and deep as he is now; he was a completely sunny, cheerful, and simple young man."
"At that time, I didn't realize that Ye Feng would be the culprit who caused our family's ruin a hundred years later!"
At this point, Ye You gritted her teeth, hating herself for not having killed Ye Feng with a single sword strike before he grew powerful!
Suppressing her complex emotions, Ye You said, "Didn't Ye Feng steal the Heavenly Mystery Diagram from the Tian Yin Pavilion and defect with me?"
Ye Ling nodded, "Yes."
Ye You continued, "Before Ye Feng stole the Heavenly Mystery Diagram, I noticed he had been in contact with a stranger. The aura and demeanor of that stranger were extremely similar to this Zhang Xiao Ling."
"After Ye Feng contacted that stranger, he stole the Heavenly Mystery Diagram. Worried that something might happen to him, I followed him and defected with him. After that, we lived as fugitives in the martial world for a period."
"During that time, we were constantly evading assassins from the Tian Yin Pavilion, while Ye Feng continuously studied the Heavenly Mystery Diagram."
"Later, we were cornered by the Tian Yin Pavilion's assassins. At that moment, to break through, Ye Feng was completely consumed by the Heavenly Mystery Diagram, his entire being transformed. He easily killed all the assassins!"
"Afterward, Ye Feng seemed to have become a completely different person, becoming cold-blooded and bloodthirsty. I realized that Ye Feng might become a demon who would bring disaster to the world due to the Heavenly Mystery Diagram, so I seized the opportunity to steal the diagram and part ways with Ye Feng."
"Later, Ye Feng joined the Hongchen Pavilion and began relentlessly pursuing me. He even attacked the Ye family to force me out…"
As she spoke, Ye You bit her lip until it bled.
Clearly, she attributed the calamity that befell the Ye family entirely to herself.
Ye Ling sighed softly, patted Ye You's shoulder, and then analyzed, "In other words, the root of all this sin should be attributed to the Heavenly Mystery Diagram, and the one who guided Ye Feng to take the Heavenly Mystery Diagram… was Zhang Xiao Ling."
The Heavenly Mystery Diagram was now in Ye Ling's possession.
Ye Ling had studied the Heavenly Mystery Diagram numerous times. Apart from storing the power of the Heavenly Dao, the diagram had no other function.
Ye Ling did not believe that the Heavenly Mystery Diagram alone could have turned Ye Feng into a complete demon.
Zhang Xiao Ling, or someone else, had tampered with the Heavenly Mystery Diagram.
With this thought, Ye Ling looked at Zhang Xiao Ling's retreating back on the altar, his eyes narrowing slightly, "You…"
"Who exactly are you?"