Closing his eyes, the Ancestor steadied himself before slowly rising from his seat.

This time, instead of teleporting, he reached for his soul-bound sword. With his sword in hand, the Ancestor lifted the tent flap, then stepped outside.

Extending his divine sense, he scanned the area. Once he confirmed that his descendants had all left, the weight in his heart finally lifted.

Looking up to the sky, he saw Gui Ying hovering in the air, gazing down at him.

Expressionless, the Ancestor opened his pale lips and calmly said, "Gui Ying... you have finally come."

Gui Ying looked at the Ancestor’s face with mixed emotions.

He might not like the Tian Clan’s Ancestor, but he understood something. If their roles were reversed, he might have made the same choices as the Ancestor.

Seeing the hesitation in Gui Ying’s eyes, the Ancestor’s gaze flickered.

Gripping his sword, he thought, ’What’s wrong with this brat? Why is he hesitating now?’

Not knowing what Gui Ying was thinking, the Ancestor chose to remain silent and observe him.

Meanwhile, Gui Ying’s thoughts drifted back to what he had learned from his Ancestors before in the Golden Palace about the fall of the Gui Clan’s Ancient God and Ancient Goddess.

As he stared at the man before him, a thought surfaced.

’The Ancestor said... Back then, the God and Goddess refused to become the new Heavenly Dao of the Six Realms and entrusted a secret mission to the Tian Clan’s Ancestor.’

Gui Ying’s gaze sharpened slightly at this thought. ’Could that mission be related to the Tian Clan’s betrayal? Could it be that there is a hidden secret about their fallen?’

Thinking of this, Gui Ying decided to uncover the truth. Making up his mind, he descended to the ground.

Facing the Tian Clan’s Ancestor, Gui Ying noticed his pale complexion and immediately realized that the injuries from their previous battle had yet to heal.

While Gui Ying observed him, the Ancestor’s grip tightened around his sword.

Without any change in his handsome expression, the Ancestor said coldly, "Brat, this Lord knows you are here to settle the score. Since only one of us will walk away alive today, let’s not waste time."

With that, he drew his sword.

Just as he was about to charge forward, Gui Ying suddenly raised his hand and interrupted him.

"Wait a moment. What’s the hurry?"

Interrupted mid-move, the Ancestor’s spiritual energy nearly backfired. He staggered slightly, swallowing the blood that surged up his throat, before glaring at Gui Ying.

If looks could kill, Gui Ying was certain he would have died several times over that single look.

"What do you want now?" the Ancestor asked irritably.

Sensing his impatience, Gui Ying rolled his eyes and asked back, "Do you really want to die that badly? Can’t this young master ask a few questions before we fight?"

Seeing Gui Ying’s calm, unhurried expression, the Ancestor suppressed his annoyance and slowly sheathed his sword.

With a wave of his hand, a white jade chair appeared. Sitting down, he leaned back slightly and gestured weakly.

"Speak. What do you want to ask?"

Seeing his weakened state, Gui Ying felt a faint sense of discomfort, as if he were bullying an old man.

Frowning slightly, he flipped his palm, and a jade bottle appeared. He then tossed it toward the Ancestor, who caught it just before it hit his forehead.

Flicking open his folding fan, Gui Ying began fanning himself leisurely. "Yuan Pill. You’d better take one. This young master doesn’t want you dying before answering all my questions."

The Ancestor studied the jade bottle thoughtfully.

’I don’t have much time left anyway. There is no harm in trying.’ Glancing at Gui Ying’s unhurried expression, the Ancestor sighed. ’This brat should not be that despicable to use poison.’

With that in mind, he opened the cord and poured out a brown pill. The moment the Ancestor caught its fragrance, his eyes widened slightly.

The scent alone eased the burning pain across his body, and the withering vitality in his body began to recover.

As surprise flashed across the Ancestor’s eyes, he looked at Gui Ying. ’This... this is truly a Yuan Pill! A heavenly-grade one!’

Suppressing his shock, he inhaled deeply and then swallowed the pill.

The moment the Yuan Pill touched his tongue, it dissolved into pure spiritual energy, flowing smoothly through his meridians twice before settling into his burning dantian.

Wherever the spiritual energy flowed, the injuries healed. As the energy soothed the raging fire within his meridian and dantian, the pain subsided.

A few seconds later, the Ancestor’s complexion visibly improved.

Letting out a quiet breath, he resealed the jade bottle and tossed it back to Gui Ying.

Feeling better, the Ancestor’s mood also improved. Looking at Gui Ying, he calmly said, "Now... Can you tell this Lord what you want to know?"

Gui Ying caught the jade bottle, stored it away, and said calmly, "This young master wants to know why you betrayed the Ancient God and Ancient Goddess."

The moment those words fell, the Ancestor’s expression stiffened, just for a fraction of a second before it returned to normal.

However, Gui Ying didn’t miss it.

Narrowing his eyes, Gui Ying continued, "This young master has already heard everything from my Ancestors. The reason I’m asking you is simple. This young master wants the truth, not a one-sided story."

Hearing this, the Ancestor fell silent. After a long pause, he finally let out a long sigh.

"Very well. Since you want to know, then this Lord will tell you the truth."

With a wave of his hand, a white jade table and a stool appeared before him. Gesturing toward the seat, he said, "It’s a long story. You should take a seat first."

Gui Ying wasn’t worried that the Ancestor would suddenly attack him. In his current state, the Ancestor posed no real threat.

Therefore, Gui Ying walked over calmly and took a seat across from the Ancestor.