Qin Yu frowned as he looked at the large net created by the dense canopy of leaves from the Scholartree Saint. It was trying to swallow the light. He sighed to himself; it was too late to take any action and he could only hope that the Spring Master was right. Otherwise, he would be in deep trouble! 

“Hahaha!” Scholartree Saint burst into laughter, “The Ruler’s Great Dao, it is finally mine! The world will tremble before me in the future!” 

His leaves shook and swayed violently like it was a hand that was forcing the Ruler’s Great Dao into him. 

The thick branches morphed to form the Scholartree Saint. As he laughed incredulously, he glanced down at the Spring Master in a condescending way, “Did you offer the Ruler’s Great Dao to me because your life force is weak? What a smart decision! On this note, if you are willing to crawl in front of me and swear your loyalty to me forever, I may consider giving you life force to pull you back from the brink of death!” 

The Spring Master’s expression was calm as he stared at the Scholartree Saint. His lips curled and he smirked, “Do you not feel a thing yet? General Scholartree, I feel sorry for you.” 

The Scholartree Saint frowned as his voice boomed like thunder, “Are you crazy?”

The Spring Master shook his head. “We are Master’s guards and we will forever be her guards. We can never compare to her in terms of rank and knowledge. Ever since we were taken by Master and planted in front of the doors, we were a part of her. We were just insignificant pieces in her game for all these years.” 

The Scholartree Saint burst out laughing, “I don’t understand what you are talking about but I have her Great Dao and I will soon be a Ruler! By then, I will be on par with her…no, she doesn’t deserve to be my master now!” 

Gazing at the Scholartree Saint, the Spring Master fell silent. There was a solemn look in his eyes and he ignored the Scholartree Saint. Turning to Qin Yu, he said, “From today onwards, I will leave the peach garden to your hands…I don’t have any other requests but I hope you will remember what you promised me earlier. If you have a chance, please protect Peachy.” 

He stared intently at Qin Yu, waiting for his answer. 

Although Qin Yu did not know what was about to happen, he knew that the Spring Master was resolute. Cupping his hands together, he assured, “Spring Master, don’t worry. I will definitely not go back on my promises.” 

“Good! I believe you!” the Spring Master smiled. Soon, the large peach tree vibrated violently and he shot into the sky along with the Scholartree Saint.

“We have lived long lives and we thought we were unique Saints who were two of the strongest in the world. Who knew we were just chess pieces in another person’s game? 

“I have my grievances, but if not for Master back then, how would I have become the master of the peach garden today?

“In this life, I owe my cultivation achievements to my master. Returning them to her today will complete the cycle.” 

A look of horror appeared on the Scholartree Saint and he was clueless as to what was going on. However, when he saw the wide grin on the Spring Master as he approached, he burst into an outrage. 

It felt like something terrible was about to happen! 

“Get lost!” 

Boom!

A fearful aura exploded from the Scholartree Saint. After he obtained the Ruler’s imprint, his strength had leaped again.

However, right at this moment, the Scholartree Saint’s expression fell. 

Like a switch that was shut off, the power in his body was cut off and he grew still. 

His expression was as cold as steel and his eyes filled with ghastly horror. 

Right then, the Spring Master arrived before him. 

The ancient scholartree that lifted up the sky, together with the majestic peach tree, were like two mountains that collided. Unexpectedly, the whole collision was silent. Like two bubbles or rather shadows, the moment they met, their bodies merged together. 

A dazzling light blinded the sky as it erupted from their merging. It was like the birth of a sun. 

“Ah! No, no way!” The Scholartree Saint cried in agony as his eyes filled with horror! 

At the same time, Qin Yu’s eyes narrowed. 

As an onlooker, he had witnessed everything from a third person standpoint. 

The brilliant light that looked like the sun was the Ruler’s Great Dao illuminating the sky with dazzling streaks of light. However, it was actually a black hole that was slowly devouring the Scholartree Saint and Spring Master. 

Throughout this entire process, the Scholartree Saint and the Spring Master could not resist nor move. Like trapped prey, they were helplessly consumed…what a horrifying thought! 

Qin Yu sucked in a cold breath of air as his heart clenched. When he thought of the Spring Master’s earlier words, he felt a chill pass through him.

He had mentioned that everything had been arranged by his master and he and Scholartree Saint were tiny chest pieces. 

Wild thoughts flooded his mind and a chilling idea grew in him. It was no coincidence that the Scholartree Saint and Spring Master swallowed the corpse of their master back then. 

Someone threw the corpse in front of them with a motive. 

That person was obviously the Ruler who faked her death and escaped! Based on all the information he had, he could piece together a rough picture of what happened in the past: 

Firstly, it was the West Desolate and Mysterious Clan who raised their daggers at the Ruler in Bounded Zero Place. They were the only ones who were strong enough to take on a Ruler. 

Ignoring why the two clans decided to attack the Ruler, the massacre back then ended with the Ruler faking her death to escape. However, there were some cracks in the process and the Ruler created the Inextinguishable Flame and left behind the Ruler’s avatar in the palace. 

It was originally a trap and a surprise for the two clans. At the same time, the Ruler was using this as a way to continue hiding herself. 

Qin Yu had been puzzled by the Ruler’s avatar’s strange actions. Something had not gone according to plan…the Scholartree Saint and Spring Master were the Ruler’s backup plan in case anything went wrong! 

It was obvious how the Great Dao awakened as the Scholartree Saint and Spring Master were devoured. More accurately, the two of them possessed a large resource of aura that was being activated now. 

In other words, the Scholartree Saint and the Spring Master became True Saints and lived for such a long time after absorbing their master’s body. All of this was an arrangement their Master made years ago. 

If they could not be used, then nothing would happen. However, if something went wrong, the two of them would be summoned along with the appearance of the Ruler’s Great Dao. They would provide it with energy. 

They were like two work tools that were constructed for today alone…the Spring Master had sensed this and that was why he reacted like he did. However, the Scholartree Saint was in the dark the whole time. 

Qin Yu’s eyes were filled with fear and shock as he sighed deeply. Once again, he gained a newfound respect for how powerful a Ruler was. Rulers were not only strong cultivation wise, they were also highly intelligent. Two True Saints were played with in the Ruler’s palm for such a long time. 

“I am a lucky man and I can become a Ruler in the future. How can I be someone else’s chess piece? I do not believe it!” 

The Scholartree Saint flew into a rage as he shouted angrily. His cries boomed like thunder through the sky. Evidently, he had come to a realization. 

The ancient scholartree struggled violently but there was nothing it could do. 

As the brilliant light enveloped him, he lost all control of his strength and he could not mobilize any energy. 

“No! I don’t believe it! I refuse to believe it!” 

His voice trailed away. At the same time, the ball of light slowly transformed into a real sun. 

The ancient scholartree and majestic peach tree faded away. Finally, they became shadows that were burned away by the light rays from the sun. 

Qin Yu’s body shivered involuntarily. He could sense that the Scholartree Saint and Spring Master’s auras had completely disappeared. The two powerful True Saints perished so silently. 

Suddenly, the light disappeared and Qin Yu finally had a clear view of the Ruler’s Great Dao. 

It was a stone! 

That’s right, it was a stone with an uneven surface. It looked just like any regular stone that was picked up from a river bank. Strangely, its entire body was pitch black and there was something mesmerizing about it that sucked one in. 

Oh, it felt familiar!

However, Qin Yu did not have any time to think as the stone flew towards him in an instant.

It moved too fast for Qin Yu to react at his current cultivation. The stone collided against his chest and merged into it. 

This stone, that hid the invincible Ruler’s Great Dao and had devoured the Scholartree Saint and Spring Master right before his eyes, entered his body. 

Qin Yu started to panic! 

Qin Yu had just been wondering how he would get his hands on it. Yet, after witnessing what happened to the Scholartree Saint and Spring Master, he gave up on the thought. 

Of course, how scary would it be for him to keep something that devoured other beings on him? Who knew when its mouth would open and consume him? 

Stay calm and don’t panic. 

Qin Yu breathed in deeply and inspected himself. However, his face fell. He could not find a trace of that stone. 

The stone seemed to have combined into his blood and flesh, becoming a part of himself. 

Suddenly, a crackling sound rang beside his ear, bringing Qin Yu back to reality. 

He looked up and realized what he had forgotten. As the Inextinguishable Flame disappeared, the palace collapsed. Streaks of light circled the air and formed a vortex that sucked the broken palace in. 

When the vortex disappeared, it revealed Soft Peach. 

Shoosh! 

Her eyes flung open. Her clear, bright pupils were cold and scary. They were like ice crystals that were at the temperature of absolute zero. There were no emotions at all. 

She raised her head and her eyes fell upon Qin Yu. Taking a step forward, she pressed her palm down decisively. 

Kaboom!

The heavens shook as a terrifying wave of force was unleashed. She…wanted to kill Qin Yu!