Inside the blacksmith's shop.
"Ye Dingzhi?"
When Baili Dongjun heard that familiar voice from outside the shop, his expression froze.
The next instant, he sprang to his feet and rushed out as if possessed.
When Baili Dongjun saw that figure—
so familiar it could not possibly be mistaken—
he shouted in excitement:
"Brother Yun!"
Hearing this, Ye Dingzhi turned his head slightly, his pupils tightening.
"Baili Dongjun…"
"Brother Yun! What a coincidence! To think I'd run into you here!"
Baili Dongjun still thought Ye Dingzhi was the same Brother Yun from their childhood and hurried forward, about to embrace him.
Ye Dingzhi stepped back subtly, avoiding Baili Dongjun's enthusiasm.
Having already entered the demonic path,
he no longer felt he had the right to have friends.
Baili Dongjun's movements halted abruptly.
He assumed it was simply because they hadn't seen each other in so long and had grown a little distant.
He quickly said,
"Brother Yun, let's go inside first. We can talk properly."
Ye Dingzhi said nothing, merely turning and walking back into the blacksmith's shop.
Yue Qing followed closely behind him.
Only then did Baili Dongjun notice—
the woman walking beside Brother Yun
looked astonishingly similar to Yin Luoxia.
What unsettled him even more, however,
was that Brother Yun seemed… different.
Suppressing the countless questions in his heart,
Baili Dongjun hurried after them into the shop.
The moment he entered,
he heard Weapon God Luo Sheng speaking with Brother Yun.
"So it's you! Come, come—sit here. The sword is already forged. Your master paid in full beforehand. You can take it at any time."
"Then I'll take it now," Ye Dingzhi replied calmly.
Sensing that Ye Dingzhi did not wish to linger,
Luo Sheng stood up and went to retrieve the sword.
At this moment,
Li Changsheng looked at Ye Dingzhi and asked hesitantly,
"Your master…
how has he been lately?"
Although he could already roughly guess that Yusheng Mo had fallen,
he still couldn't help wanting a definite answer.
Faced with Li Changsheng's question,
Ye Dingzhi simply raised his cup
and slowly took a sip of tea.
He did not speak.
But sometimes—
silence itself was an answer.
Moreover, Li Changsheng observed Ye Dingzhi carefully.
On the surface, he appeared taciturn,
yet between his brows lingered a chilling killing intent, cold as ten-thousand-year-old black ice.
Thus,
Li Changsheng gained a clearer understanding of Yusheng Mo's fate.
He let out a deep sigh.
As an immortal,
Yusheng Mo had been one of the very few challengers who could truly interest him.
It was a pity—
another old acquaintance had now passed away.
Baili Dongjun looked at the cold, distant Brother Yun,
and some of the confusion in his heart finally cleared.
So…
something had happened to Brother Yun's master?
No wonder Brother Yun had changed so much.
At this moment,
the most shocked person present
was Yue Yao.
She stared blankly at the figure almost identical to herself, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She couldn't understand why her younger sister, Yue Qing,
would be standing beside Ye Dingzhi here.
What shocked her even more was—
Yue Qing now seemed as if she didn't recognize her at all.
Her expression was utterly indifferent,
as though nothing in the outside world could stir the slightest reaction from her.
Countless thoughts raced through Yue Yao's mind,
yet she dared not speak.
Her current identity was Yin Luoxia, disciple of Liu Ming.
If she said anything she shouldn't,
her identity would be exposed, and her entire plan would collapse.
For a time—
the blacksmith's shop fell into an eerie silence.
No one spoke.
After quite a while,
Baili Dongjun finally broke the silence.
"Brother Yun… how have you been lately?"
Ye Dingzhi replied flatly,
"Alright."
Hearing this cold, almost stranger-like response,
Baili Dongjun felt a heavy tightness in his chest.
Desperate to keep the conversation going, he said,
"I've heard recently that something big happened in Nanjue. A mysterious purple-robed masked figure appeared, challenging experts everywhere, acting extremely ruthlessly—every opponent either dies or is crippled."
"Brother Yun, you came from Nanjue. Do you know anything about this?"
Ye Dingzhi's hand paused slightly as he drank his tea.
Then he slowly shook his head.
Li Changsheng seemed to sense something.
His gaze lingered on Ye Dingzhi for a moment, his expression shifting subtly—
but he said nothing.
Baili Dongjun suspected nothing and continued,
"That purple-robed masked figure is terrifyingly strong. In just two or three days, they defeated over a hundred Nanjue experts."
"Among them were top-tier powerhouses. Even someone like Tyrant Blade, a Great Free and Unfettered Realm expert, died beneath that person's sword."
"First Nanjue was swept through by your master, Yusheng Mo. Then it was swept again by that purple-robed masked figure, with more than a dozen powerful experts killed or injured."
"At this point, the fate of Nanjue's martial world is completely severed."
"Baili Dongjun."
Ye Dingzhi suddenly spoke.
"Forget the Brother Yun you once knew."
"He's already dead."
A chill shot through Baili Dongjun's heart.
The words he wanted to say seemed stuck in his throat,
unable to come out no matter how hard he tried.
He stared at Ye Dingzhi in a daze, his eyes filled with confusion.
After a long time,
he finally forced out a few words.
"Brother Yun…
you… what happened to you?"
Ye Dingzhi's expression was utterly indifferent.
"Don't call me Brother Yun anymore. He's already dead."
Baili Dongjun was a good person.
Ye Dingzhi did not wish to hurt him.
Though he had become a demon,
he had no intention of dragging Baili Dongjun down with him.
He had his own path to walk.
Baili Dongjun had his own destined road.
Each walking their own way,
never interfering with the other—
that was fine too.
"Why…?"
Baili Dongjun felt bitterness flood his heart.
Though he had a thousand questions,
all he could manage were those three words.
Ye Dingzhi did not answer.
He merely stood up slowly and asked,
"Is the sword not ready yet?"
"Coming, coming!"
Hearing this, Luo Sheng quickened his pace and emerged from the adjoining room, holding an unparalleled divine sword.
The moment he entered,
he instinctively sensed something was wrong.
An oppressive atmosphere pressed down like storm clouds over the city,
hanging heavily over the entire shop.
Luo Sheng's heart tightened.
He handed the sword to Ye Dingzhi.
"The sword is ready. Try it first."
"No need."
Ye Dingzhi casually took the sword
and walked straight out of the blacksmith's shop.
Yue Qing followed closely behind him, never leaving his side.
"What just happened?"
Only after they left did Luo Sheng finally ask.
Yet the moment he spoke—
Baili Dongjun, Li Changsheng, and Yue Yao
also hurried out of the blacksmith's shop.
"What's going on? Are we still forging the blade or not?"
Luo Sheng scratched his head, utterly baffled.
He had only stepped away for a short while—
how did it suddenly feel
like a fight was about to break out?