Xiao Fengwu was fully immersed in absorbing the pure energy from the Five Pendants to repair his damaged meridians.

He knew sending out that pure energy was essentially using himself as bait. It was a lie to say he wasn't afraid. There was also a sense of panic: what if the mysterious person arrived too soon? Even if they disdained killing him due to their status, as long as his injuries hadn't fully recovered, he would endure several more days of torment for nothing.

So, he worked diligently, pouring all his focus into absorbing the refined energy transmitted through the jade pendants. He distinctly felt his shattered meridians being slowly enveloped by this pure essence flowing from the Five Pendants. It was as if his entire body was steeped in a warm spring, feeling utterly comfortable and pleasantly heated throughout. The damaged meridians were recovering at an astonishingly fast pace, the strange, blissful sensation almost making him want to groan, feeling his spirit drift and soar, like ascending to heaven, like an immortal dream, utterly intoxicated.

Just as he reached the peak of comfort, there was a sudden jolt in his hand, and the Five Pendants vanished instantly.

Startled, Xiao Fengwu quickly opened his eyes, only to see the Five Pendants floating suspended in mid-air before his chest. After a brief pause, they rapidly drifted away. Even stranger, Xiao Fengwu could detect no shadow or presence of anyone; it was as if the jade pendant had suddenly sprouted legs and gained a life of its own, fleeing him.

How could such a thing happen? What was going on? This certainly wasn't some grandmaster guiding the pendant through the void with profound Xuan energy—there was no need for that, and more importantly, there wasn't the slightest ripple of Xuan energy. Xiao Fengwu knew how to distinguish those phenomena. What was happening right in front of him?

Xiao Fengwu's mind swam, and he almost suspected he was dreaming. He vigorously shook his head to clear his senses. Watching the pendant about to float out the door, and thinking of its miraculous properties, he felt an intense reluctance. Finally summoning his courage, he lunged forward, crying out shrilly, "Help! The jade pendant is escaping!"

The jade pendant is escaping.

Jun Moxie, existing in the void, was nearly brought to laughter by the boy's exclamation. Giving away his position—this kid was truly talented. While the Five Pendants were indeed wondrous treasures, they were, in the end, inanimate objects. To describe their departure as escaping was truly... speechless.

But Xiao Fengwu, in his desperation, couldn't clearly articulate the bizarre event unfolding. To say someone snatched or stole it—yet he clearly saw no one move, not even a phantom. Thus, Xiao Fengwu could only shout that the Five Pendants were fleeing. He remained completely unaware of how ridiculous that statement sounded, even though, given the immediate circumstances, it was perhaps the most fitting description.

Someone is attempting to seize the Soul-Sustaining Jade! The moment Jun Moxie made his move and the Five Pendants slipped from Xiao Fengwu's grasp, Xiao Buyu, in another room, had his white eyebrows shoot up and sprang to his feet. The divine sense restriction he had placed immediately fed this information to his mind. Almost simultaneously, a tiny, green, feathered falcon flashed out from Xiao Buyu's embrace, streaking like lightning toward Xiao Fengwu's room.

To be honest, this outcome was both within his expectations and yet strangely outside them.

Given the formidable strength described by Elder Yi regarding that mysterious person, if they were willing to disregard their status to take a junior's personal treasure, they surely wouldn't spare the other half of the jade pendant this time. They must be determined to obtain it, without question.

However, this secret chamber was currently enveloped by the divine senses of so many experts, protected by such vast defensive power. Even the foremost supreme expert, Yun Biechen, could not possibly force his way through without revealing his presence. Any rational person would surely be unable to enter without triggering the guardians' senses. Yet, this mysterious person managed to infiltrate so silently and stealthily—such skill could only be described as a rare and astonishingly profound technique.

In the next instant, Xiao Buyu’s slender form shot out like a wisp of white cloud, following swiftly and lightly.

Flying toward the secret chamber where Xiao Fengwu was recuperating.

At the same time, an exceedingly soft yet piercing long cry erupted from his lips, continuous and sustained. The sound wasn't loud, but it never ceased. The entire Sheng Bao Hall was instantly alerted by his cry. The speed of a Divine Profound realm expert was incredible; in an instant, according to prior arrangements, a total of twelve peak masters had encircled the room where Xiao Fengwu was healing, each utterly focused, tensed and ready to strike at any moment.

An expert capable of infiltrating a secret chamber and stealing treasure under such heavy divine sense surveillance was certainly no ordinary foe—this was the consensus of all present.

This person is a major enemy.

Xiao Buyu’s chilling cry had barely finished before killing intent flashed wildly in his eyes. Without pausing, he lunged first into the room where Xiao Fengwu was nursing his wounds.

When he was about seven feet from the door, the hard, thick Zitan wood door had already dissolved into fine debris under the assault of his Xuan energy, silently vanishing into the air. Xiao Buyu moved like a swimming dragon, flashing inside, his speed truly like a bolt of lightning.

This was exactly Xiao Buyu's strategy: if an anomaly occurred here, everyone would mobilize, but not everyone needed to burst into the room. That would only lead to chaos, which would benefit the enemy's escape.

Only the strongest among them would charge in alone, while the others would form a vast perimeter around the area, tightly monitoring and sealing off the entire space. Any potential escape route—if that person dared to move in any direction—would be met with a crushing blow.

Any one of their own side, upon seeing that person, would immediately unleash their full power, aiming only to delay them momentarily—even delaying them for the blink of an eye would be enough for everyone else to converge and strike together.

Xiao Buyu was confident. Even the weakest among them, even if the chief of the Great Supremes, Yun Biechen, were present, could only delay the enemy for a moment at the cost of their own life. Even Yun Biechen couldn't do more, let alone others.

In such a short time, he didn't believe there was anyone in this realm who could escape their sight, especially with five Divine Profound Silver City Seven Swords nearby.

Even if the mysterious person could infiltrate silently, attempting to leave amidst such tight sealing would be a joke.

This plan was absolutely flawless; guaranteed success, with no room for error.

But, in reality, something utterly unexpected—an unforeseen accident—occurred, drastically exceeding Xiao Buyu’s calculations.

He rushed into Xiao Fengwu's room like a soaring meteor, his body radiating fully mobilized Divine Profound Xuan energy, his whole being like a violent tornado.

He had heard tales of this mysterious figure's terrifying strength. While fear was absent, caution was paramount. Based on the accounts of his two brothers, if he made the slightest slip, he might perish under this mysterious figure's hand; he dared not be careless in the slightest.

Entering the room, his Xuan energy shielded his body. His toes spun, and with a sudden rotation, he spun like a ballet dancer executing an extremely difficult move, yet he found nothing.

Only Xiao Fengwu stood in the room, looking stunned.

"Where is he?" Xiao Buyu cried out internally, sensing disaster. Had he arrived too late? Impossible. The falcon’s direction pointed precisely here; how could it be wrong?

"Who?" Xiao Fengwu was bewildered, not understanding what his great-grandfather was asking. He mumbled back vaguely, "What person?"

"The one who took the Soul-Sustaining Jade! Are you stupid?" Xiao Buyu was so enraged by his great-grandson that he nearly spat blood. The Five Pendants were snatched from his hand, and he actually answered with, "Who?" Thankfully, Xiao Buyu had cultivated enough restraint, otherwise, he truly would have been infuriated into qi deviation.

"Nobody... nobody is here." Xiao Fengwu vaguely looked at his hands, then at his enraged great-grandfather, completely unaware of what had transpired, his head still spinning in confusion. How could the Five Pendants have flown away on their own? It was so strange. Had they gained sentience?

"Nobody? Nobody? Then where is the Soul-Sustaining Jade in your hand? Are you trying to tell this old man it grew wings and flew away?" Xiao Buyu roared in anger.

"Yes, yes! Great-grandfather, that incident just now was truly strange. The Five Pendants didn't grow wings, but they really flew away on their own, really!" Xiao Fengwu's expression was serious.

"Trash!" Xiao Buyu cursed loudly, then shot out like a bolt of lightning, his face blackened with fury. He had seen useless people, he had seen foolish people, but he had never seen such utter trash.

And this piece of trash was his own great-grandson!

"But I'm telling the truth! The Five Pendants really flew away on their own! They didn't grow wings, but they floated away, and quite fast..." Behind Xiao Buyu, Xiao Fengwu muttered with deep grievance, feeling utterly wronged. Why would no one believe him when he told the truth? Everything he said was based on what he had seen and personally experienced.

"Your great-grandmother, you brute, shut your mouth!" A furious curse echoed from the air, followed by a palm strike that seemed almost solidified into substance, whistling down and slapping Xiao Fengwu across the face. Xiao Fengwu stumbled back onto the ground, his face immediately swelling high.

Clutching his face, Xiao Fengwu felt utterly wronged, but he thought to himself, Damn you, cursing my great-grandmother—that's precisely what I need right now! If you didn't do that, then there wouldn't even be my grandfather in this world!

Xiao Buyu's body shot upward like a meteor across the sky, ascending to a height of ten zhang above the Sheng Bao Hall's pavilions, hovering there in mid-air. His body spun rapidly, his gaze, like thunder and lightning, instantly swept across the surroundings. Within a radius of several miles, everything under the brilliant starlight was laid bare before his eyes, yet he found no trace of anything suspicious.

The person's departure was as silent as their arrival.

The small, delicate incense falcon circled him repeatedly, clearly having lost its target as well.

How could this be?

Muttering a few words—during this period, the updates have been somewhat unsatisfactory because of urgent family matters. My younger brother had a minor accident and was hospitalized. I have to sit by his bedside every night. Cough, cough, my brother is the prototype for Fatty Tang in the book, and he has injuries that prevent him from taking care of himself during this time. Well, when a man has an urgent need, I have to lift him, support him, undo things, lower them, lift him onto my back. You can imagine how miserable I've been. Over two hundred pounds! And I pull the late-night shift at the hospital.

Many people in the group know about this. I didn't want to mention it because I feared worrying everyone, but with more and more suggestions coming in, I feel I must explain. Please understand.

Also, my computer broke a few days ago. My only purpose in saying all this is to make things clear. I remember seeing a comment in a book review section a while back—I forget which book—that said breaking updates is like addiction: once you have the first time, you'll have the second. And in life, there will always be various things that become reasons for hiatuses. So, once the first reason for a break appears, the reasons will only multiply and become smoother excuses, and the book will often end up poorly plotted or completely abandoned.

That statement holds a lot of truth. So, regardless of the reason, as long as my hands can still type and my mind can still think, I do not want to break the chain. Because I don't want to have that first time. Speaking of which, you all understand why I didn't state the reason in advance: I was afraid that stating it early would give myself an easy excuse to be lazy.

If not breaking updates symbolizes my perseverance, then I hope I can keep up that commitment, even if it only means completing the minimum guaranteed update each day. It only means I will be a little more tired.