What Feng Zikang obtained here was far from what Xuanjie had passed on. "Feng Zikang did not mention what he gained from Xuanjie. Even when Huo Zhongguang asked curiously, he just shook his head and smiled, not detailing the specifics.

Setting aside the value of this Xuanjie itself, even the insights gained during the transmission process were priceless treasures.

Although Feng Zikang now possessed the inheritance of the Xuanjie, he could not yet command such a vast domain with ease. However, sealing the three exits here and reconnecting after returning to Longhu Mountain was still achievable.

It was a pity that he couldn't enter the Xuanjie anytime, anywhere. If one day he could control the Xuanjie at will, he could truly be considered invincible. If he faced any master he couldn't defeat, he could simply hide in the Xuanjie and escape.

※

Feng Zikang sealed the exits and rode his cloud chariot back towards Longhu Mountain.

On the return journey, he did not wish to attract attention. Naturally, he put away both Long Que and Moli'er, driving the chariot himself. The little fox insisted on sleeping on his lap, snoring sweetly the entire way.

"Junior Brother's trip to the East Sea was highly fruitful, especially your major cultivation breakthrough. You should be reaching the Foundation Establishment stage upon our return, right?"

Huo Zhongguang asked with a mixture of flattery and envy. Feng Zikang was contemplating this very issue.

"After returning to the mountain, I'll find Elder Yun first to inquire."

The cloud chariot traveled a thousand li a day. Within a few days, they neared Longhu Mountain. As Feng Zikang was pondering, a sudden sense of danger flashed through his mind. He immediately retrieved Huo Zhongguang and, holding the little fox, shot into the air.

"Boom!"

With a resounding crash, a bolt of lightning magic struck down, overturning the cloud chariot and causing the celestial horses to whinny in terror!

Feng Zikang's expression darkened. He retaliated with a flash of sword light aimed at the clouds. A clang sounded, and a man emerged from the cloud cover, holding a feathered fan, parrying the sword light.

"Feng Zikang! You harm your peers and disrupt the world, yet you dare to resist?"

The man was clad in ornate robes and a ceremonial crown, but his face was coarse and ugly. He held a feathered fan in his left hand, his expression icy cold, and he pointed his finger, cursing loudly.

"Hurry up and follow me to Elder Guishun to receive your punishment!"

"Elder Sun?" Feng Zikang’s face fell. This must refer to Elder Sun Rushan, the Enforcement Elder of the Military Strategists Sect at Longhu Mountain. But he had only just left. What crime warranted him having to confess to this Enforcement Elder?

Looking at the man in the clouds, his attire clearly marked him as a disciple of the School of Diplomacy. Feng Zikang felt impatient and sneered, "Are you perhaps a fellow Daoist from the School of Diplomacy? What crime have I, Feng Zikang, committed that requires your intervention?"

"Insolent!" The man grew furious, lightly waving his fan, unleashing another bolt of lightning magic. Feng Zikang snorted, sidestepped it, and countered with a sword strike that struck the feathered fan dead center. Where the white light passed, the fan was cleaved in two!

"Audacious!"

A roar echoed from within the clouds. Feng Zikang’s heart tightened. The strength of this newcomer was unfathomable, far surpassing the black-masked man he had seen a few days prior. A golden light surged toward him. Feng Zikang met it with his Star Annihilation Sword Art divine ability. With a massive collision, he was thrown backward, his internal organs violently shaken. His face turned pale, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Are all the juniors nowadays this arrogant?" Another figure emerged from the clouds, also dressed in splendid robes covered in gold and colored embroidery. With features as beautiful as a painting, he was a man whose appearance was almost feminine. However, sharp malice flashed across his eyes intermittently, diminishing his otherwise transcendent demeanor.

"Senior Brother!" The man whose fan was just broken cried out in pain, holding the broken half of his fan, heartbroken. "This brute ruined my Rushing Thunder Fan!"

His Senior Brother glanced at him coldly without a word.

A Core Formation Master!

This effeminate-looking man was already a Core Formation Master! Although the previous strike seemed casual, Feng Zikang, taking it head-on, was severely injured!

Feng Zikang’s expression grew grave. He swallowed a life-regeneration pill. Although it felt like thousands of tiny knives were stabbing his insides, he showed no outward sign. He maintained a vigilant stance, his body taut, the sharp energy of his Star Annihilation Sword Art protecting him, while his mind raced to assess the current situation.

"Wicked disciple! How dare you lay hands on this esteemed guest of our sect and an elder? Seize him!"

While Feng Zikang was still calculating, several figures suddenly flew towards them from the distance in haste. The leader was clad in battle armor, his face covered in a thick, menacing beard—it was indeed Elder Sun Rushan of the Longhu Mountain Military Strategists Sect, known to strike fear into all who saw him!

"Uncle-Master Sun?" Feng Zikang lowered the tip of his sword, feigning innocence and helplessness. The situation was unclear, but with members of the Military Strategists Sect present, they wouldn't immediately resort to killing.

Sun Rushan was a veteran Military Strategist Sect master of the same generation as Elders Wu and Yun. He swept a cold glance over Feng Zikang, snorted, expelling two gusts of foul air from his nostrils.

"Bind him first!"

The disciples behind him were all officers from the Enforcement Hall. Feng Zikang didn't recognize them, and they showed him no respect, stepping forward with a pair of fine steel handcuffs to clamp onto his wrists.

Feng Zikang panicked, twisting his body to struggle. "Uncle-Master! For what reason must you bind me?"

Sun Rushan ignored him, merely bowing slightly towards the male-yet-female-looking cultivator from the School of Diplomacy. "Daoist Friend Yan, my wicked disciple has caused offense. I ask for your tolerance. Our Military Strategists Sect will handle this matter; please rest assured, Daoist Friend Yan."

"Then I must trouble you, Uncle-Master Sun!" The man was quite polite, calling him intimately, and bowed deeply to show respect. His junior brother, however, puffed up his chest, thrusting the broken half of his fan forward. "Uncle-Master Sun, look! This brat ruined my Wind Thunder Fan!"

His senior brother glared at him and pulled him back. Elder Sun nodded faintly. "No matter. Our Military Strategists Sect will compensate you with a magical weapon. You may choose one from the Hundred Weapons Workshop later."

With seniors from his own sect present, Feng Zikang found it inconvenient to resist. Though suspicious, he wasn't afraid, and temporarily allowed the disciples to shackle his hands. The restraints were merely symbolic; a slight tug would break them, and they didn't restrict divine abilities. However, given the authority of the Enforcement Hall, ordinary disciples would never dare struggle against them carelessly.

The little fox let out a sharp cry upon seeing Feng Zikang being restrained, preparing to pounce on the disciples binding him. Feng Zikang smiled faintly, caught its tail, and signaled it not to worry.

These two who blocked their path were indeed second-generation disciples of the School of Diplomacy—the martial uncles of Leng Jinchan and Zhang Qi. The ugly cultivator who used the Wind Thunder Fan was named Lu Sanqian, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with a volatile temper. The man with feminine features was Yan Fengqi, who had successfully reached Core Formation, making him a notable figure among the second-generation disciples.

They had come to the Military Strategists Sect at Longhu Mountain to file a complaint. At this moment, Elder Sun Rushan was already furious over another matter and intended to apprehend Feng Zikang, leading to a perfect coincidence where they captured him mid-journey.

The group returned to Longhu Mountain, and Feng Zikang was taken directly to the Enforcement Hall for confinement. The little fox refused to leave, insisting on staying by his side.

The enforcement disciples were helpless but ignored it, simply locking the door and leaving.

"What exactly is going on?"

Huo Zhongguang emerged, his face etched with alarm. It was true that Feng Zikang had killed people from the School of Diplomacy, but why would Enforcement Elder Sun Rushan detain him for it?

"Junior Brother, did you offend Sun Rushan?"

Huo Zhongguang had been in the Military Strategists Sect for a long time and had vaguely heard that Elder Sun was petty and vindictive. However, given his high status, he usually only dealt with second-generation disciples; third-generation disciples rarely crossed his path. He couldn't figure out how Feng Zikang had angered him.

Feng Zikang frowned in thought. "The situation is unclear right now; I don't know either!"

The Military Strategists Sect at Longhu Mountain would absolutely not pursue him just because of the matter with the School of Diplomacy. Could it be that the incident involving the disciples on Sunset Peak had been exposed? Impossible. Feng Zikang shook his head. Firstly, he had done the deed cleanly; secondly, if that matter had truly come to light, the enforcement disciples and Elder Sun would not have been so polite to him.

He had no prior dealings with Elder Sun, so it shouldn't be because he had offended him.

Feng Zikang coughed lightly. The blow from Yan Fengqi earlier had indeed caused some internal injury. He circulated the 'Spring Breeze and Rain' subtle divine ability to slowly regulate his breathing.

"What else? What else?" Huo Zhongguang paced nervously in the small cell, muttering to himself, unable to figure anything out.

"No need to fret!" Feng Zikang completed one cycle of circulation, his injuries slightly recovered, and he smiled. "The Enforcement Hall cannot possibly cover the sky with one hand. We still don't know the real reason. The attitude within the Military Strategists Sect towards me is also uncertain. Even if Sun Rushan wants to deal with me, he has to consider the influence of our Little Bamboo Grove lineage."

Feng Zikang felt that being detained immediately upon his return was strange and suspected many underlying schemes, but he wasn't panicked. After all, many people in the Military Strategists Sect would speak up for him.

Take his nominal Master, Ye Tiansheng, for instance; he wasn't a pushover. Although he was a good-natured old man, his influence among his peers was significant.

Not to mention Master Wule and Wen Lingsu, who likely hadn't left Longhu Mountain yet and might speak on his behalf.

Furthermore, if things truly came to the worst, he wasn't without a way out. Now that he possessed the Xuanjie and numerous trump cards, he wasn't alarmed at all.

The key now was to determine two things: First, who exactly wanted to target him? Second, for what reason was Sun Rushan detaining him, and what was the official pretext?

Although he was a Heavenly Demon Incarnation and his actions were meant to be hidden, outwardly, he was a respectable disciple of the Military Strategists Sect, without any marked misconduct.

On what grounds could the Enforcement Elder arrest him?

"Open the door quickly! Elder Sun said he wants to interrogate immediately today!"

The sound of bolts sliding back was heard from outside—it was time to open the door. Feng Zikang’s expression changed. He swiftly took in Huo Zhongguang and saw two figures entering to drag him away for the interrogation in the Enforcement Hall.

In the interrogation room, only Elder Sun was seated high up. None of the other senior elders of the Longhu Mountain Military Strategists Sect were present. However, the School of Diplomacy cultivators, Yan Fengqi and Lu Sanqian, were seated to the side.

Feng Zikang grew more bewildered, but he slowly approached and performed a respectful salute, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Disciple Feng Zikang pays his respects to Uncle-Master Sun!"

"Hmph!"

Sun Rushan snorted, exchanged a look with Yan Fengqi to his side, a cunning and malicious smile appearing on his face. He slammed the table fiercely.

"Feng Zikang, do you know your crime?"