The resulting roar, like a colossal, surging wave, swept over the crowd. However, while the disciples of the Yunxiao Sect and Mo Li Palace merely felt the sound was loud, those from the Tiandao Alliance felt as if they were tossed in a raging tempest, their bodies swaying until they collapsed onto the ground, unable to rise.

Li Muchan let out another long howl. The initial sound, though dispersed, still echoed in the air, and this new howl layered upon it, increasing its might significantly.

In mere moments, these Tiandao Alliance disciples all fell unconscious, completely stripped of their fighting ability.

Li Muchan ceased his howl and shook his head. Li Yubing applauded with a smile, "This method is excellent. Is it a divine ability from Buddhism?"

Knocking people unconscious with sound wasn't difficult, but the hard part was being able to selectively attack, clearly distinguishing friend from foe. This was certainly no ordinary technique; even a Grandmaster would struggle with such precise control.

Seeing Li Muchan’s relaxed demeanor, it was clear he possessed some other unique method.

Li Muchan smiled, "It is the Dragon's Chant of the Buddhist school. Palace Mistress, let's head inside. It seems they were prepared and we might have to exert ourselves a bit."

"Did they break your formation?" Li Yubing asked.

Li Muchan shook his head, "It shouldn't be that easy... Senior Sister, is everyone alright?"

Feng Mingxue replied, "I didn't expect a sudden attack; fortunately, no one was seriously injured."

Xu Suxin, however, kept her beautiful face composed, looking slightly displeased. Li Yubing chuckled, "Xin'er, are there any injuries?"

Xu Suxin showed an expression of shame, "Yes, Master. Three Senior Sisters sustained injuries, but none are life-threatening—just superficial wounds."

"That's good then," Li Yubing nodded, smiling gently. "This group is quite troublesome; it's rare to retreat unscathed!"

She understood her disciple's feelings—feeling embarrassed because, despite being attacked similarly, the Yunxiao Sect disciples emerged unharmed while they suffered injuries, drawing a clear distinction between them. This implicitly suggested that Mo Li Palace was inferior to the Yunxiao Sect. For Xu Suxin, this was a major humiliation that she felt deeply but could not openly express.

This was her competitive spirit, also the driving force behind her ambition. Li Yubing did not want to dampen her enthusiasm, but the Yunxiao Sect and Mo Li Palace simply couldn't be compared this way. Every disciple of the Yunxiao Sect was a genius, but their numbers were few and their strength dispersed. Mo Li Palace, however, had numerous disciples and a formidable overall strength.

Li Muchan said, "Palace Mistress, let’s go in now; we shouldn't wait for them to bother us again!"

"Good, let's go." Li Yubing nodded. Li Muchan led the group slowly into the valley, giving specific instructions about the footwork—not a single step could be misplaced, or they would be trapped in the formation.

Li Muchan’s formation was exquisite—outsiders simply couldn't break it, which meant the requirements for the entry steps were also extremely high. If one hadn't practiced martial arts, they wouldn't be able to execute the footwork and would simply become disoriented.

Li Muchan moved in front, advancing and retreating, shifting left and right incessantly, and they quickly entered the valley, heading directly toward the Temple of the Celestial Gods.

Seeing the Temple of the Celestial Gods again, he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness, as if his kin resided within. A feeling of complete fusion arose naturally.

He knew this was due to his absorption of the primordial spirits of the Celestial Gods. These primordial spirits were pure spiritual power, yet their source was the same, like brothers and sisters, hence the natural affinity.

"What are you spacing out for?" Li Yubing asked. Beside her, Shui Yuling also watched him quietly, a look of curiosity on her face. She hadn't expected Li Muchan to possess such profound internal energy, just as she hadn't anticipated the divine ability he displayed earlier, allowing him to traverse such a great distance instantly. Although she didn't know the exact distance from the Great Snow Mountain, judging by the climate, it couldn't be less than a thousand li. Traveling a thousand li in an instant was clearly a divine ability, not mere movement technique (qinggong).

Everyone else entered the chamber storing the secret manuals below, but Li Muchan remained motionless before the statue, completely still, becoming like a statue himself. Li Yubing watched him from the side. Seeing he hadn't moved for a long time, she had to interrupt his contemplation.

Li Muchan turned to look at her and sighed, "I wonder what gods these statues represent?"

Li Yubing replied, "It's unlikely we'll find out. The Tiandao Alliance disciples are tight-lipped; they certainly won't tell us."

Li Muchan asked, "Why not tell? Are they concealing some great secret manual?"

"Perhaps so," Li Yubing nodded. "But they've all gone down already; we should go take a look too, and we need to divide things fairly to avoid squabbling."

Li Muchan quickly nodded, "Let's go."

Shui Yuling stood beside the two without speaking, serene and elegant. After the three descended the secret passage and entered the great hall below, the scene was not one of drawn swords. Everyone was busy with their own tasks; the Yunxiao Sect disciples were on the east side, and the Mo Li Palace disciples were on the west, each flipping through the secret manuals.

Li Muchan and Li Yubing breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, they weren't making a scene. Most martial artists would become possessive upon seeing secret manuals, but for sect disciples to act that way would show them to be petty, lacking in experience and depth, which would be truly shameful.

Feng Mingxue and Xu Suxin watched their respective groups. Seeing the two descend, the women looked over. Li Muchan smiled, "Palace Mistress, how about we each copy twelve racks, and after we finish those, we copy the other twelve racks?"

"Mm, very good," Li Yubing nodded slightly. "Xin'er, hurry them up, and be careful with your movements—don't damage the manuals. These manuals are very old; they can be damaged with just a little carelessness."

Xu Suxin solemnly nodded, "Yes, Master."

Li Muchan smiled, "Senior Sister, let the Senior Brothers continue their work; I'll take you for a walk."

Feng Mingxue frowned and glanced at Gu Cheng and the others. Gu Cheng smiled, "Senior Sister Feng, you two go ahead."

Feng Mingxue nodded gently. Li Muchan smiled and nodded to Li Yubing, taking Feng Mingxue away from the underground great hall and back upstairs.

Feng Mingxue asked, "What's going on?" She knew Li Muchan must have some other purpose.

Li Muchan smiled, "The layout here is very ingenious—the Tiandao Alliance must have put a great deal of thought into it. Senior Sister, take a look."

Feng Mingxue looked at him doubtfully. Seeing Li Muchan's serious expression, she asked no further questions. She left the Temple of the Celestial Gods and floated onto the roof, standing there to look down upon the entire valley.

After a few glances, Feng Mingxue nodded, "It seems the buildings were constructed according to a formation, right?"

Li Muchan said, "This entire valley is a massive formation. If we were to keep it as our secret sanctuary, what do you think?"

"You want to secretly establish a sect here?" Feng Mingxue’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.

Li Muchan explained, "I want to train some people to serve as eyes and ears. Information flow is too slow right now; we are always the last to know about major events!"

Feng Mingxue countered, "Like those people on the island?"

Li Muchan sighed, "Those fellows aren't capable of heavy lifting; I don't have high expectations for them. We need stronger personnel."

Feng Mingxue shook her head, "This requires too much focus and energy; it's not worth the trouble. I think we should drop it. You have your sect, and the Dugu family—surely your sources of information aren't that poor?"

Li Muchan considered this, then shook his head helplessly, deciding to abandon the idea. The key was the lack of a suitable manager. He wasn't suited for such organizational work; it required someone meticulous, patient, and absolutely trustworthy. Hai Yulan would be suitable, but she would never agree, as she still had the Hai family to consider. Senior Sister Feng would also be suitable, but she was too focused on martial arts and didn't care for such mundane affairs.

"Let's go, Senior Sister. I'll take you to see where the battle took place originally," Li Muchan said with a smile.

The two floated lightly down from the great hall to the smaller hall nearby. A faint, strange aura still lingered there, and Feng Mingxue sensed something unusual as soon as she entered.

After touring the area, Li Muchan smiled, "This time the harvest was huge. My next destination is the Chunfeng Sect; I want to see if they are still around."

"Chunfeng Sect?" Feng Mingxue frowned, "Why would you go there? ... Dual Cultivation techniques are unorthodox, the path of demons; it's not suitable for practice."

Li Muchan shook his head and smiled, "Hearing is unreliable; seeing is believing. Let’s check it out first."

"Are you really planning to cultivate it?" Feng Mingxue's face flushed, and she retorted crossly, "Does Sister Hai know about this?"

Li Muchan laughed, "Senior Sister, don't jump to conclusions. Dual cultivation methods don't necessarily lead to that extreme... I haven't told Miss Hai; she would definitely throw a fit if she knew."

"The Jiutian Xuannü Sect deeply abhors these dual cultivation methods," Feng Mingxue stated. She had heard the full story from Gu Hengdi and agreed with the Jiutian Xuannü Sect's stance—sects like the Chunfeng Sect deserved to be eradicated. Now, Li Muchan's sudden interest in investigating the Chunfeng Sect made her unhappy.

Li Muchan smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I know where the line is. Let's just scout out the situation first."

"I hope so," Feng Mingxue replied with a skeptical shake of her head. "Who is that young lady?"

Li Muchan chuckled, "Senior Sister finally asked."

"Stop babbling!" Feng Mingxue retorted sharply.

Li Muchan smiled and explained the situation, finally making Feng Mingxue relax a bit. She huffed, "I think this Miss Shui's cultivation is profound, and she seems genuinely simple-minded. You should stay far away from her!"

Li Muchan laughed, "Senior Sister, you overestimate me too much!"

"In short, you are a source of trouble!" Feng Mingxue shook her head. "Miss Shui has too significant a background. If things really blow up, it could implicate the entire sect."

Li Muchan nodded, "That's for certain; I won't act recklessly!" He sighed inwardly, feeling he was currently being guarded against like a thief, yet he couldn't resist too forcefully, lest he hurt her feelings. He felt truly trapped in a cage.

When the two returned to the underground great hall after their tour, the others were copying manuals at a furious pace. Each faction only had ten people, and each person was tasked with copying an entire rack of manuals—hundreds of volumes—which would certainly take a long time.

Li Muchan escorted Feng Mingxue back, then excused himself to Li Yubing, stating he needed to leave briefly. Li Yubing immediately understood where he intended to go.

"I'll go with you!" Li Yubing offered.

Li Muchan shook his head, "No need, no need. It's best if I go alone."

Li Yubing cast him a sidelong glance, "Zhanran, are you afraid I'll take a share of the spoils?"

Li Muchan laughed, "Precisely!"

"Fine then, I'll just watch the show!" Li Yubing conceded.

Li Muchan replied, "It’s not that I don't want the Palace Mistress to come, but that place is too dangerous, and there is only one Cold Soul Pearl. Your presence would be useless."

"The Cold Soul Pearl is the only thing that works?" Li Yubing inquired.

Li Muchan smiled wryly, "I tried using an iron coffin once, but it didn't work."

"What about stone?" Li Yubing frowned.

Li Muchan shook his head, "That's even worse. It can instantly blow stone into dust; its power is immense, and protective gang qi is completely useless against it. If I gain anything, I will tell the Palace Mistress. Besides, this place cannot be left unattended. What if those people break in?"

"Don't you have your formation?" Li Yubing countered.

Li Muchan said, "They are the local snakes; they might have other secret passages. We can't let our guard down."

Li Yubing pondered briefly, then slowly nodded. "Mm, that makes sense."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a muffled bang echoed. Li Muchan frowned, "No way, I called it correctly!"

He floated up to the main hall. Li Yubing, Shui Yuling, Feng Mingxue, and Xu Suxin followed closely behind, floating out of the Temple of the Celestial Gods together. Outside, a group of people had already flooded in. There were about forty of them, all dressed in dark gray fitted uniforms, appearing to be middle-aged, with sharp glints in their eyes—clearly not benevolent souls.

Li Muchan frowned and looked toward Li Yubing. Li Yubing snorted, "Who are you people?"

"That's what we should be asking—who are you people? ... Why are you trespassing in our main headquarters!" The round-faced middle-aged man leading them snorted coldly, his gaze slowly sweeping over the five, and he sneered, "You set up formations outside, didn't you?"

Li Muchan frowned, "Are you from the Tiandao Alliance?"

"...Correct!" The round-faced elder nodded slowly, coldly stating, "You have trespassed into our headquarters. If you leave now, we might let it go; otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!"

Li Muchan smiled thinly. Li Yubing snorted, "Are you really from the Tiandao Alliance?"

"We are orthodox disciples of the Tiandao Alliance. What doubts do you have?!" the round-faced middle-aged man said coldly.

Li Yubing frowned, "I heard all the Tiandao Alliance disciples were gone, which is why we broke in to check. Where did you spring from?"

"The Sect Master is a disciple of the Tiandao Alliance, so we count as well!" the round-faced middle-aged man said gravely.

Li Yubing shook her head, "What sect are you from?"

"The Wen Tian Sect!" the round-faced middle-aged man declared proudly.

Li Muchan smiled; he finally got the name out. Wen Tian Sect—the name sounded imposing, yet their secretive actions did not match such grandeur.

Li Yubing also smiled and shook her head, "Wen Tian Sect? What a pity for such a magnificent name; their disciples act so small-minded!"

"Insolent!" The round-faced middle-aged man roared coldly, glancing at the group. "If you know what's good for you, get out now, or don't blame us for showing no courtesy!"

"No courtesy?" Li Yubing sighed, shaking her head. "It’s been a long time since someone spoke to me like that?"

"Just who are you people?" the round-faced middle-aged man grunted. He had sensed Li Yubing's formidable power. Previously, she had concealed her cultivation, maintaining an unfathomable depth—a subconscious habit of a Grandmaster. Now that she dropped the pretense, her aura, immense as a mountain or the sea, surged out. The round-faced middle-aged man's expression changed.

Li Yubing sighed, "Who I am is unimportant. Your Tiandao Alliance has always been overbearing; it seems even the splinter groups retain that temperament. Very well!"

"You know of our Tiandao Alliance?" the round-faced middle-aged man frowned. He saw Li Yubing was only in her early thirties, yet her words implied she had seen Tiandao Alliance disciples firsthand—the Alliance disciples vanished a century ago, unless she was an ancient crone over a hundred years old.

Li Yubing replied, "I have heard a little."

The round-faced middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief. Good, good. If a woman over a hundred years old looks like this, her cultivation must be astonishing—perhaps a Grandmaster. Although she was astonishingly powerful now, that was still better than being a Grandmaster.

Li Muchan chuckled lightly, "You have quite the nerve, speaking to a Grandmaster with such an attitude. Impressive, impressive! The disciples of the Tiandao Alliance are indeed extraordinary!"

"Grandmaster?" the round-faced middle-aged man frowned. "Who are you trying to scare?"

Li Muchan smiled, "Why would I scare you? The person before you is a Grandmaster!"

"Really?" The round-faced man looked at Li Yubing, sizing her up with skepticism. He doubted it because she looked too young, but he was slightly convinced because her aura was so overwhelming.

Li Yubing pursed her lips and smiled, "If that's the case, are you not afraid they will flee in terror?"

Li Muchan laughed, "Heaven favors the virtuous; if they can run, that would be best!"

Li Yubing cast him a sidelong glance and huffed, "Truly compassionate. I sound like the villain here."

Li Muchan smiled, "Esteemed disciples of the Tiandao Alliance, a wise man submits to circumstances. You should retreat now!"

"You tell us to retreat and we retreat?" the round-faced middle-aged man snorted. "We aren't easily scared!"

"Why waste words? Just kill them!" Li Yubing snorted, sweeping her hand lightly, and the forty-plus men in gray were instantly sent flying out.

Li Muchan shook his head and sighed, "Palace Mistress, it's best not to fight if possible."

"When did you become so benevolent?" Li Yubing squinted at him.

Li Muchan gestured toward the Temple of the Celestial Gods with his chin and whispered, "If they use the Celestial Spirit Possession technique, their power will be significantly greater."

"Really?" Li Yubing looked at him sharply. "How much stronger could they possibly be!"

As her words faded, the gray-clad middle-aged men let out furious roars. Immediately, their bodies expanded, their clothes bulging, before slowly settling back to normal. Li Yubing frowned as she looked at them. Their appearance hadn't changed much, but their expressions were bizarre—emotionless, their eyes cold, looking at others as if they were ants. Li Yubing snorted; she had seen this look on Tong Tianshu before, where divine power exploded forth, truly astonishing. She wondered what would happen when they used the Celestial Spirit Possession technique.

Bang! The forty-plus gray-clad men flickered, surrounding Li Muchan and Li Yubing with ghostly speed. Then, without a word, they struck out with their palms. It was a seemingly ordinary palm strike, but combined, it felt like a vast ocean.

Li Yubing snorted and pushed out with her palm. Bang! Energy surged outward, causing their clothes to flutter violently. The forty-plus gray-clad men were forced back one step, but Li Yubing didn't budge.

Li Muchan frowned. These fellows, having activated the Celestial Spirit Possession technique, were indeed terrifyingly powerful. Their internal energy was robust to a shocking degree, far exceeding the limit. Forty-some men attacking Li Yubing alone seemed disadvantageous, but in essence, it was like each one of them was fighting Li Yubing—this was the technique of a Grandmaster, manipulating the energy of heaven and earth.

Their internal energy was abundant, pure, and domineering. Although lacking flexibility, it was exceptionally forceful, using bluntness to overcome finesse, lending it a unique power.

Li Yubing frowned as she faced the forty-plus middle-aged men, then turned to him, "Zhanran, let's join forces and deal with them!"

Li Muchan nodded, "Good!"

He flickered, appearing behind one man, and before the man could react, sent him flying with a palm strike. He instantly reappeared behind another, following the same procedure. Having gained experience against the Celestial Spirit Possession technique, he recognized their strength coupled with inflexibility. Utilizing his elusive movement, he launched a ferocious barrage, quickly killing fifteen. Li Yubing also moved and engaged in guerrilla tactics alongside him, killing ten by this time.