On Xuan Yunlan's side, she also sighed softly, "It's my fault for not noticing the stirring among these senior and junior martial siblings. It's nothing serious, though; they just need to be brought back promptly. Luo Shi and Xie An are not mere nobodies; they won't be easily tricked by Yuan Jiuchen—"

Zong Shou's brow furrowed upon hearing this; he felt like he had aged several years just this one day.

It was precisely because these few were too clever that the situation became truly difficult. If the three—Luo Shi and the others—wished to conceal their tracks and deliberately evade them, it would be incredibly hard for those from the Xuan Shu faction to locate them.

It was his own fault, really. This was not Qiantian Mountain, after all. Within the Qiantian Army, no matter how much his subordinates disagreed or resisted, they would never disobey his command.

All his planning, from start to finish, had nothing to do with these people; they were essentially useless pawns. As long as they watched obediently from the sidelines, he couldn't be bothered to explain anything to them.

His brow deeply furrowed, Zong Shou’s peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a young girl leaning against a stone wall. The face was unmistakably that of Yong Qin, who had once planned to use the 'Charming Heart Grass' and the 'Demonic Enchantress Great Art' to scheme against him.

Zong Shou felt a strange curiosity and walked over. Then, with a gentle finger, he tapped her between the eyebrows. A thread of water-element spiritual energy flowed from the Shenxiao acupoint into her, immediately causing the girl's eyelids to twitch.

A moment later, Yong Qin opened her eyes. Upon seeing Zong Shou, she started violently, recoiling backward. For some reason, her delicate face flushed crimson.

Zong Shou saw through it all as clearly as a mirror; he knew precisely why the girl reacted this way.

His expression, however, remained perfectly serious, pretending ignorance. "Were you knocked unconscious while trying to stop them? Why didn't you leave with them? Hmm, adhering to the sect rules and knowing when to stop—not bad—"

As far as he knew, this girl was the one most 'repulsed' by him. She had been inciting dissent among the fellow disciples, vowing to overthrow him, the incompetent and wicked 'Chief.'

Yong Qin was first bewildered, then her eyes blazed, "That's not it! I was the first to say we should leave this awful place and go rescue them—"

Then her expression dimmed, "It must have been Martial Nephew Xuan Ye who knocked me out here because he thought it was too dangerous!"

Zong Shou nodded knowingly, thinking, so that was the main culprit. He then slanted his gaze towards Chuxue.

The latter looked utterly perplexed, completely unaware of why Zong Shou was looking at her.

Meanwhile, Xuan Shu and Xuan Yunlan nearby had no mind to pay attention to Yong Qin's words; they were both worrying about how to salvage the situation.

Zhao Yanran’s expression shifted slightly, regaining her composure. The fact that Zong Shou still had the leisure to joke with her, his junior martial aunt, meant he must have a solution.

She had followed Zong Shou for nearly a year; she knew there was probably very little in this world that could stump this man.

Yet, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and a surge of defiance rose in her heart. She couldn't understand why Zong Shou still appeared so composed and confident even in this predicament. But when Zhao Yanran calmed down and thought carefully, she still found herself without a plan.

Zong Shou, after confirming that there was no possibility of Yong Qin knowing the whereabouts of Luo Shi and the others, paid no more attention to the silly girl. He turned and spoke in a calm voice, "As the saying goes, calamity is inherent in fortune, and fortune is latent in calamity. Everything in this world has both positive and negative sides. Luo Shi and the others leaving might not be a bad thing. If we plan well, perhaps we can defeat the Tai Ling Sect before we even finish off Yuan Jiuchen."

Everyone present had their eyebrows slightly raised, all looking at Zong Shou in surprise. Given the current situation, being unable to worsen it would be good enough, yet Zong Shou was already considering defeating the Tai Ling Sect. Xuan Yunlan's pupils contracted momentarily before smoothing back to calm. Back when Zong Shou led the Qiantian fleet down to the Cloud Sea for hunting, almost everyone was pessimistic. Yet, somehow, the Qiantian Mountain fleet returned laden with bounty, using this as an opportunity to reclaim lost territories and swallowing several provinces whole.

It seemed he could maintain perfect composure in any situation, as if nothing could ever stump him.

Worthy of a ruler of a nation, the imposing spirit of the King of the Hundred Demon Clans—

"Within one day, I want all the maps of the area surrounding Lewu County!"

Completely oblivious to the gazes of those around him, Zong Shou suddenly hammered his palm with his fist. Unaccountably, his body began to buzz with excitement. His fox ears instinctively perked up, his eyes flashed with sharp light, and his fighting spirit swelled.

"—Right! I also want to see your cultivation manuals and swordsmanship techniques for the Cang Sheng Xuan Long Riders!"

Originally, he intended to wrap up this mission quickly and cleanly, then settle down to focus on his cultivation, preparing to break through to the Seventh Tier and coalesce the Two Poles Yin-Yang Dharma Body.

Now, getting a real fight first, a chance to test the Tai Qing Riding the Wind Sword of the Tai Ling Sect, seemed quite excellent too.

That lineage sword art, acclaimed as being infinitely close to the Ninth Tier, the Half-Step Heaven-Shaking level—he had long wanted to experience it.

It was simply something he never had the chance to encounter in his past life; the more he thought about it now, the more eager he became!

If gentle methods fail, then resort to force; this was the style of Tan Qiu!

Xuan Shu's brow knotted up. He couldn't fathom why Zong Shou was so confident, as the surging battle intent practically washed over them.

However, a strange sense of relief settled in his heart. Perhaps this Chief truly did have a way.

Three days later, on a small peak about twenty li east of Lewu County town.

A full contingent of over two hundred riders was lined up neatly within. The formation was narrow at the front and wide at the rear, perfectly resembling a wedge.

The Cang Sheng Dao Main Hall provided one hundred and fifty riders, and the Xuan Long Riders from the Three Sects and Six Gates had not all departed; the remaining number was over eighty, totaling two hundred and forty individuals, standing quietly assembled.

Surrounding them, a full twenty Sixth Tier Returning Yang realm Spirit Masters were casting illusionary techniques, concealing the location.

Ruoshui stood in the center, a Black Shadow Sculpture hovering above her. Under the enhancement of the numerous Spirit Masters, a divine power caused this small patch of space to nearly fold in on itself. Even if someone accidentally entered this area and happened to look up, they would absolutely fail to detect the presence of these two hundred-plus riders.

Zong Shou stood at the very front, seated atop his horse, eyes closed, conserving his energy. He channeled wisps of thread-like True Qi into the Silver-Scaled Wind-Treading Beast beneath him. On one hand, he regulated the mount's body, ensuring its stamina remained at peak condition; on the other, he strengthened his own connection with this temporary mount through this method.

Not only his mount—which had been replaced with the standard Silver-Scaled Wind-Treading Beasts of the Cang Sheng Xuan Long Riders—but he himself was clad in black and red Xuan Long Armor, a blood-red cloak, and carried a scarlet greatsword on his back.

"Those few have already left—"

Zong Shou had already opened his eyes, glancing calmly towards a small hill to the side. The auras from that area were gone without a trace.

They must have been Yuan Jiuchen's scouts—several squadrons of knights, all possessing strength reaching the Fifth Tier. A total of over twenty riding teams were searching the wilderness around Lewu County. Three days prior, he and these Cang Sheng Xuan Long Riders had already infiltrated this location. Many times, they dared not even move. The hardships involved could not be told to outsiders.

They had narrowly escaped detection by these scouts several times.

Once it was confirmed that no other scouts remained in the vicinity, all the Spirit Masters visibly relaxed. Ruoshui was the first to bring the Black Shadow Sculpture down, holding it dearly to her chest, feeding it several spirit pills to help the weakened black bird recover a fraction of its vigor.

The other Spirit Masters dissolved the majority of their illusionary techniques. They sat cross-legged, doing their best to recover their soul power.

"This is the tenth wave! This Yuan Jiuchen truly lives up to his reputation as the famous general of the West; he is exceedingly cautious. Yet he willingly serves as the lapdog for the Tai Ling Sect—"

As he spoke, Xuan Shu’s expression was incredibly complex as he looked towards Lewu in the distance. Beyond the deep-seated hatred on his face, there was also a hint of admiration.

If Zong Shou hadn't overruled everyone and led them here three days early, and if the location chosen hadn't been perfect—unexpectedly avoiding terrain that offered concealment, yet placing them where the mountain winds were fierce and difficult for Spirit Masters' spiritual senses to penetrate—

They would likely have been discovered by these scouts the moment they arrived.

Speaking of admiration, the fellow beside him was also a monster, ten times more prodigious than Yuan Jiuchen—

Before his words finished, a cold snort came from behind.

"With Junior Martial Nephew Xuan Ye's intelligence, he could certainly rescue those dozen or so martial siblings easily; why would he need you to save her?"

The voice was like a silver bell, yet it came from behind Zong Shou and Xuan Shu, from someone bundled up like a zongzi.

It was Yong Qin, currently tied to a horse, completely wrapped in rope with only her little face showing. As she spoke, she sneered.

"Hiding foolishly here, what kind of skill is that? Is it interesting?"

Zong Shou was speechless. He guessed that Xuan Ye and Luo Shi would never dare say such things.

He found this little girl naive, certainly, but not as lovable as his Chuxue.

He wasn't sure how to settle this girl. Letting her follow might lead her to cause trouble and mess things up; leaving her at their previous hiding spot worried him that she might slip out and cause another stir. So, he simply subdued and bound her, keeping her by his side as a form of punishment.

However, throughout these three days, Yong Qin would occasionally offer sarcastic remarks. Fortunately, she was still somewhat reasonable, allowing Zong Shou to suppress his urge to seal her vocal cords and render her completely mute.

He