After a moment, Yunshou Zhenren explained, "Don't be too anxious. It's not that I don't want to believe you, but this matter is indeed serious, and it seems to me that the actions of the Heishi organization are rather unfathomable."
After pausing for a moment, he continued, "Do you know that Yukun Mountain is one of the top sects in the martial world today, and that Qing Song Zhenren is among the most outstanding masters of the contemporary martial arts scene? Also, do you know how many Innate masters are at Yukun Mountain?"
Bai Yichen shook his head. Since awakening, he had faced threats from Heishi and had focused solely on improving his own martial skills over the past year.
He hadn't paid much attention to the conditions of various martial sects, only having a general understanding of their ranks based on what Yunshou Zhenren had previously told him about the enmities and alliances among them. He had no specific knowledge of each sect's strength.
As for Yukun Mountain, aside from having some acquaintance with Daoist Mo Mei, he had only heard that Qing Song Zhenren had reached Innate Perfection and was undoubtedly one of the top figures in the current martial world without any grandmasters around.
Seeing Bai Yichen's ignorance, Yunshou Zhenren took the time to explain.
It turned out that Yukun Mountain had five Innate masters. Besides Qing Song Zhenren, who had achieved Innate Perfection, and Daoist Mo Mei, who was an ordinary Innate master, there was also one who had reached the Great Mastery stage and two other ordinary Innate masters.
There were representatives from the old, middle-aged, and young generations, with the young one being just over twenty and already having attained Innate mastery, earning considerable respect in the martial world and being vaguely regarded as the top of the younger generation.
However, at this point, Yunshou Zhenren glanced at Bai Yichen and said, "But if your strength were to be known in the martial world, this title would likely change hands."
Bai Yichen hurriedly deflected, jokingly asking Yunshou Zhenren, "Master Ancestor, is it because you couldn't match Qing Song Zhenren back in the day that you want to..."
This nearly made Yunshou Zhenren puff out his cheeks and glare at him.
However, Bai Yichen had long outgrown the desire for fame and fortune. Having lived for 3 Lifetimes, he was no longer in need of being recognized as the top of the younger generation.
After lightening the previously tense atmosphere, Yunshou Zhenren continued with his insights.
With Old Granny Wen from Heishi dead following the battle at Xuanzhen Temple and the chief assassin, Hei Lin, also slain by Bai Yichen, logically, only the leader of Heishi, Lun Zhuan Wang, would remain.
Even if he were indeed at the Innate Perfection level as rumored, how could he contend against so many others with another opponent of the same level?
Moreover, during the birthday banquet, many sects friendly with Yukun Mountain would be present, including several Innate masters. If Heishi really planned an attack, those righteous factions would certainly step in to assist in eliminating the evil.
It was precisely because of this comparison and reasoning that Yunshou Zhenren found it hard to believe that Heishi would act so foolishly.
Yet Bai Yichen's speculation was based not only on the evidence he held but also on the words of Chen Long and the snake mask he discovered on Hei Lin.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke, "Actually, I discovered something else on this trip. I found this mask on Hei Lin's corpse."
Then Bai Yichen took out the king cobra mask from his pack and continued, "Therefore, combining this with the treasure map that the Shen Monkey stole to send to Yukun Mountain, I suspect the Twelve Zodiac may have a more secretive relationship with Heishi."
"Furthermore, on the day of the Heishi attack, the Rat of the Twelve Zodiac also assisted them. I fear that Yukun Mountain may face a repeat of that incident. Moreover, the fact that Heishi intends to disguise themselves as Zhang family members to infiltrate the banquet suggests that they may wish to hide among the crowd and strike in secret."
After listening to Bai Yichen's words and examining the intricately crafted mask, Yunshou Zhenren remained silent for a while before finally speaking, "It seems there might indeed be some truth to this."
Yunshou Zhenren sighed with a bitter smile, "But this won't be easy to handle!"
"There's less than a month left until Qing Song Zhenren's eightieth birthday, and the invitations have already spread across the martial world. Yukun Mountain, being one of the top sects, can't simply cancel or act on a rumor brought by an outsider without losing face."
Bai Yichen naturally understood the reasoning and nodded in agreement.
"I just didn't expect the Twelve Zodiac to really be in collusion with Heishi. I originally thought what happened that day was just a coincidence. In the past, the Twelve Zodiac seemed more like a neutral group. To think that now…"
Bai Yichen also recalled the old days of Heishi. When he first joined, it was a brutal but straightforward assassin organization. But over time, it transformed, and by the time he re-entered, it had become an organization colluding with court officials and nobility, involved in political assassinations. Now, it seemed Heishi's reputation in the martial world had fallen even further.
As expected, a weapon is only pure when it has no master. Once wielded, it is bound to be pointed in some direction.
Yunshou Zhenren then made a decision, "It seems I must personally go this time. For Qing Song Zhenren's eightieth birthday, I'll attend the celebration myself. You and Guan He don't need to accompany me."
Bai Yichen shook his head without hesitation. If possible, he wanted to seize this opportunity to deal with the Heishi threat once and for all. After all, as the saying goes, can't guard against a thief for a thousand days.
Since he had already killed Heishi's top assassin, leaving the organization unchecked would only allow it to become a future threat. It would be better to take advantage of this chance to eliminate them completely.
Furthermore, he was also interested in the Mingzong treasure map. Heishi had likely collected many fragments over the past century, and with the piece in his possession, there might be a chance to finally see this legendary grandmaster's treasure.
After all, the legacy Yunshou Zhenren spoke of carried many uncertainties, and with other chips on the table, he needed to firmly grasp what he could.
Bai Yichen straightforwardly replied, "Master Ancestor, I've already proven my strength to you, so there's no need to worry about me. Besides, if we can resolve the enmity between Xuanzhen Temple and Heishi during this time, it would be a good thing."
Hearing these two irrefutable reasons and sensing the unwavering determination in Bai Yichen's voice, Yunshou Zhenren knew he could no longer dissuade the once-young Daoist standing before him.
However, in his usual calm and composed manner, Yunshou Zhenren brought up two points: first, someone still needed to guard the temple, so Master Guan He would stay behind; second, since the mission would likely involve battles with Innate-level experts, there was no need to bring any younger disciples along.
He added bluntly, "If Heishi's plan succeeds and we face defeat, it might be hard to protect the juniors in the midst of a retreat."
Bai Yichen, understanding the wisdom of this, did not object and even felt as though he had suddenly been elevated to an elder's status.
After discussing a bit further, Bai Yichen finally excused himself.
In the following days, Bai Yichen focused on meditation, cultivating his energy, practicing his palm techniques, and working on his martial skills. Every two days, he would consume a Huangqi Dihu Wan pill to enhance his internal energy and preserve his strength.
He also spent time telling stories of the martial world to his junior apprentice and giving him some pointers on martial arts.
Until one day…