86: It's easier to beat a dog when the door is closed.

Behind them, four Cat Girls peeked out, surveying the area below.

The Disciples and Elders of Daochu Sect below were all stunned.

Many young Disciples held weapons, as if facing a formidable enemy.

They looked at the flying boat in the sky, then at Su Lin on the boat, completely unfamiliar with his face.

"Who is that?"

"A flying boat... such dense Demonic Qi! Is it an enemy attack?"

"Shut up!"

Elder Xuan Zhen's body trembled slightly.

He stared at the face in the sky, somewhat disbelieving.

"Sect... Sect Master?" His voice was dry.

Several senior Elders also recognized Su Lin; they were too excited to speak.

Xuan Zhen stepped forward and shouted, "Sect Master! It really is you! Your subordinate heard the news of Sect Master's return earlier, and it truly is real!"

He immediately knelt on the ground, his voice filled with excitement: "Welcome Sect Master back to the Sect!"

Behind him, all the Disciples and Elders of Daochu Sect knelt down in unison.

"Welcome Sect Master back to the Sect!"

Their voices converged, dispelling the Death Qi from before.

Ye You brought Su Lin to slowly descend onto the plaza in front of the main hall.

Su Lin landed, walked forward slowly, and helped Xuan Zhen up.

"Xuan Zhen, a hundred years unseen, you've worked hard." His tone was calm.

"Not at all! With Sect Master's return, Daochu Sect is saved!" Tears streamed down Xuan Zhen's face.

After Xuan Zhen stood firm, he noticed Ye You beside Su Lin.

His heart tightened.

The aura emanating from this woman was too strong, far surpassing his own.

Su Lin introduced, "Xuan Zhen, this is my Fourth Disciple, Ye You."

Xuan Zhen was shocked.

Fourth Disciple? Could it be Ye You, the ruler of the Yao Race?

No wonder the flying boat's Demonic Qi was so dense just now.

He immediately bowed respectfully: "This old man, Xuan Zhen, greets Fourth Miss!"

Ye You merely glanced at him without speaking.

At this moment, the four Cat Girls also walked over, standing quietly behind Ye You.

Xuan Zhen noticed that all four of them were actually at the Nascent Soul Stage.

Using Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators as maids?

Xuan Zhen increasingly felt that the Sect Master was becoming more unfathomable.

He invited Su Lin and Ye You into the main hall, with the four Cat Girls quietly following behind.

The hall doors closed, isolating them from the outside.

"Sect Master, your return is truly a great fortune for the Sect!"

Xuan Zhen bowed again, his tone heavy, "However, at present, the Sect is facing a crisis of survival."

Su Lin sat in the main seat, while Ye You stood at his side.

"Tell me in detail about Dao Pavilion."

"Sect Master already knows?"

"I only have a general understanding."

Xuan Zhen gathered his thoughts.

"Dao Pavilion is a newly rising School, acting domineeringly and annexing many smaller Sects in the vicinity.

Its Pavilion Revered Master calls himself Dao Pavilion Old Ancestor, with a cultivation level approximately at the Void Refining Middle Stage; if it were a one-on-one fight, he would certainly not be my opponent."

"However," Xuan Zhen's expression grew solemn.

"The truly troublesome thing is that there's someone else behind him."

"Oh?" Su Lin motioned for him to continue.

Xuan Zhen lowered his voice: "Our people risked their lives to discover that the Dao Pavilion Old Ancestor, at regular intervals, pays homage to a Forbidden Ground called Jiming Ghost Domain, offering a large number of Cultivators' Divine Souls."

"Jiming Ghost Domain?"

Ye You's eyes flickered, "That perpetually frozen land where even sunlight cannot penetrate?"

"Precisely that perpetually frozen land."

Xuan Zhen's tone was slow and heavy, "Our scouts vaguely glimpsed that the one who receives the offerings and bestows power upon the Dao Pavilion Old Ancestor is a ghost Cultivator who calls herself Nether Moon Empress.

She lurks deep within the ghost domain, her aura chilling and terrifying; her strength has probably reached the Body Integration Realm. She uses minions like Dao Pavilion to collect souls in the world for her own consumption."

Upon hearing this, Ye You said indifferently, "As Revered Master expected.

This Dao Pavilion Old Ancestor is merely a dog of the Nether Moon Empress."

Su Lin spoke calmly: "If a dog is killed directly, we won't be able to get information about its Revered Master."

Upon hearing this, Ye You's killing intent paused, and she looked at Su Lin: "Revered Master means?"

"I need to capture him alive."

Su Lin's voice was very clear, "This Dao Pavilion Old Ancestor can work for the Nether Moon Empress, so he must know some secrets about the ghost domain. I want to perform a soul search on him."

Ye You immediately understood Su Lin's plan. "Your Disciple understands."

Su Lin continued to arrange: "Therefore, you need to temporarily suppress your cultivation and not reveal your Body Integration Stage strength."

He glanced at the respectful Xuan Zhen, "Elder Xuan Zhen, who is at the Void Refining Stage, has already kept the Dao Pavilion Old Ancestor at bay for a long time. If too much strength is revealed, it will only scare him away, or alert the Nether Moon Empress behind him prematurely."

"To lure the snake out of its hole, there must first be bait."

Ye You nodded. With a slight thought, the profound, ocean-like aura around her quickly retracted.

Soon, her cultivation fluctuations were suppressed from the Body Integration Stage all the way down to the Nascent Soul Great Perfection Realm, almost on par with the four Cat Girls maids behind her.

Su Lin turned to ask Xuan Zhen: "When is Dao Pavilion's next attack expected?"

Xuan Zhen immediately replied: "Reporting to Sect Master! This Dao Pavilion is extremely regular; every half month, it launches a fierce attack to deplete our grand Formation's Spiritual Qi.

Calculating the days, the morning of the day after tomorrow is when their next attack will be!"

Su Lin's gaze fell upon the dimly lit mountain-protecting Formation, "Next time they attack, remove the grand Formation."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Zhen's body trembled, "Sect Master! This... the grand Formation is our barrier. If it's removed, the Dao Pavilion scoundrels can march straight in..."

Ye You's red lips slightly curved, understanding her Revered Master's intention.

"A barrier? Removing the barrier is to let the prey walk into the cage itself."

Su Lin nodded.

"Since Dao Pavilion wants to come, let them in. It's easier to beat a dog when the door is closed."

Xuan Zhen looked at Su Lin's calm expression and bowed, saying: "Your subordinate understands! The day after tomorrow, I will act according to Sect Master's plan!"

After the meeting in the main hall concluded, Elder Xuan Zhen received his orders and withdrew.

Su Lin then led Ye You towards the back mountain of Daochu Sect.

The scenery here was unchanged, only the vegetation was denser, and the stone steps were covered in moss.

Ye You quietly followed beside Su Lin, her aura completely restrained.

As they walked through the familiar old grounds, she felt a surge of emotion.

It was here that she cultivated back then; every blade of grass and every tree held memories.

Su Lin's steps did not stop; he led her into a secluded bamboo forest. Beside a small lake, a wooden house stood quietly.

The moment she saw the wooden house, Ye You's steps halted.

It was not built from ordinary wood.

It was formed by the intertwining branches of several ancient trees, a living wooden house.

A hundred years of wind and rain had not decayed it; instead, it had merged even more perfectly with its surroundings.

Ye You slowly walked forward, reaching out to touch the tree bark wall that still held the warmth of life.

It was here that she achieved Breakthroughs in her Cultivation Technique again and again.

It was here that Revered Master had personally taught her how to guide Spiritual Qi.

"It's still here..." Ye You's voice was very soft.

"I used an Immortality Formation to connect its vitality to the Dao Inquiring Mountain's ley lines."

Su Lin came to her side, his voice calm, "As long as the mountain stands, it will endure."

Ye You was stunned for a moment, then her tail once again wrapped around Su Lin, pulling him into her embrace.

"Revered Master won't suddenly disappear again, right? This time, I will watch over you carefully."