"Since the Heavenly Sword Sect is gone, once I leave this valley, with my strength, establishing my own sect wouldn't be difficult. Why should I become your retainer?" Upon hearing Ye Jingyu's words, Xue Hengzhi merely let out a cold laugh...

"Heh, I already said it. If you don't want to die, do you think you still have a chance to leave here if you refuse?" Ye Jingyu smiled faintly, his expression so amiable, so approachable, as if Xue Hengzhi were a relative he hadn't seen in years...

Xue Hengzhi was furious, but Hei Ming Shixuan had arrived beside Ye Jingyu at some unknown moment. Looking at this little girl who couldn't be more than ten, looking into her purple eyes, all of Xue Hengzhi's rage vanished without a trace...

What did it matter if he became his subordinate? He, a dignified Grandmaster, had already lost all dignity in the presence of this young girl. What was being his subordinate in comparison?

"Fine, I will go out of the valley with you..." Xue Hengzhi nodded. He wanted to live, and one must pay a price to stay alive, after all.

He certainly didn't want to end up like Ling Xingxuan's lingering spirit...

"Heh, Mr. Xue, you will feel fortunate for the choice you make today. Xiangyi..." Ye Jingyu smiled faintly and called out to Gongsun Xiangyi, who was not far away...

Gongsun Xiangyi, understanding immediately, promptly took out a crimson pill and respectfully handed it to Ye Jingyu...

"This is the Soul-Seizing Pill refined by Xiangyi. You should know what it does..." A faint smile still played on Ye Jingyu's lips as he presented the pill before Xue Hengzhi...

"You..." Xue Hengzhi flared up again. Of course, he knew the effect of the Soul-Seizing Pill. It was recognized globally as the most venomous substance; even a Grandmaster, if ingested without an antidote, would surely perish. Ye Jingyu was demanding that he swallow this poison to control him—how could this not enrage him?

Naturally, this poison only took effect through oral ingestion...

"Heh, I don't trust you..." Ye Jingyu merely offered those few words...

But his gaze clearly told Xue Hengzhi: either swallow the pill and become a loyal subordinate, or die immediately...

Xue Hengzhi pondered for a moment, then snatched the pill from Ye Jingyu's hand and swallowed it whole...

His eyes, filled with fury, glared sharply at Gongsun Xiangyi, but she seemed completely unfazed...

"Mr. Xue is truly a capable man. Rest assured, since I require you to be my subordinate, I certainly don't intend for you to die. I will personally administer the antidote every ten days," Ye Jingyu said, revealing a satisfied smile as he watched Xue Hengzhi swallow the pill in one gulp.

Of course, he didn't believe this poison could completely control a Grandmaster, but he naturally had his own methods. Subduing a master at the Grandmaster realm was a tremendous asset to him...

Ignoring Xue Hengzhi’s hostile stare directed at Gongsun Xiangyi, Ye Jingyu allowed everyone a brief rest before ordering Xue Hengzhi to lead the way to seek out the final villain of the Hundred Burial Valley: Bing Ming...

However, when they arrived at the cave where Bing Ming resided, they found no trace of him. Instead, dozens of people lay scattered across the ground—who else could they be but Ying Xiaoxiao and the Cloud Guards led by Jiang Ming?

Fortunately, they were merely knocked unconscious, none dead. After Chi Yixiu awakened them, they learned from Ying Xiaoxiao that they had been subdued by a single person, and none of them had even caught a glimpse of the opponent...

At this realization, everyone present felt a chill, and even Gongsun Xiangyi and Xue Hengzhi displayed looks of horror. Although they knew Bing Ming was difficult to deal with, they never imagined he was this powerful?

One person incapacitating dozens without anyone seeing him—what level of mastery was this? To subdue a person required far more precision than killing them. The control over brute force had to reach an extremely exquisite degree...

But what puzzled Ye Jingyu and the others most was why Bing Ming had only knocked them out instead of killing them?

Ye Jingyu implicitly understood the potential goodwill behind Bing Ming's actions and said nothing more...

Looking at the remaining dozens, a slight melancholy touched his heart. They hadn't even found the White Lotus Sword Canon, and so many people had already fallen. This journey had indeed been fraught with danger...

It seemed Qin Yan had foreseen the perils within the canyon and thus went to great lengths to ensure he came here? This scheme to use one's own men as pawns was brutally effective. If he hadn't had Taotie by his side, if he hadn't had Hei Ming Shixuan, if he hadn't possessed the Heaven-Shaking Seal, perhaps they would have been wiped out entirely by now?

Setting aside those forces, Xue Hengzhi alone would have been enough to kill them all...

Hundred Burial Valley, Hundred Burial Valley—truly a place destined to inter the hundred clans...

With a surge of emotion, he explained the purpose of his arrival to Xue Hengzhi and Gongsun Xiangyi. Both of them adopted grave expressions...

"Young Master, we have lived in this canyon for a long time, and we have never discovered any martial arts manuals, let alone the White Lotus Sword Canon. However, if one truly exists, it could only be in that place..." As she spoke, a trace of fear flashed in Gongsun Xiangyi's eyes...

Even the fearless Xue Hengzhi showed a flicker of apprehension on his face...

"Take me to see it..." Ye Jingyu asked directly. Although he could tell from their expressions that the place was certainly extraordinary, now that he had come, could he possibly return empty-handed? Having lost so many people, going back empty-handed would be impossible to explain to Luo Xiaofeng...

"Young Master, that place is exceedingly dangerous. Even though we have been here so long, we dare not approach it lightly. Now..."

"You don't need to say more; I know what I'm doing. I won't act rashly," Ye Jingyu interrupted before Gongsun Xiangyi could finish... Seeing Ye Jingyu’s resolve, Gongsun Xiangyi could say no more, and along with Xue Hengzhi, she led the group toward that mysterious location...

By this time, dawn had broken over the Hundred Burial Valley. Unlike what they had seen from outside, the canyon's interior was completely free of miasma; the air, while not exactly fresh, was certainly not the noxious stench they had imagined. Moreover, without the interference of dense fog, Ye Jingyu and the others could clearly see far into the distance...

Only then did they realize just how vast the Hundred Burial Valley was; even with Ye Jingyu's sharp eyesight, he could not see its end...

Under the guidance of Gongsun Xiangyi and Xue Hengzhi, they walked for over an hour before finally reaching the very end of the Hundred Burial Valley, where a colossal cave stood before them. A man completely shrouded in black stood beneath the cave entrance, holding in his hand a long sword—an extremely ordinary long sword.