The crowd was still reeling from the divine might Ye Tiansheng had just unleashed. Everyone present—Mo Wu, the Jurist of the Mohists; Yuan Buhuan, the Sect Master of the Strategists; and the Abbot Wule of Baima Temple—all cultivators at the Core Condensation stage, secretly assessed their chances of survival should they face an enraged Ye Tiansheng.

Wen Lingsu, who had idolized Ye Tiansheng since childhood, was utterly mesmerized, unable to stop the urge to cheer aloud. The sheer power of that spear strike was breathtaking!

Vaguely, it brought to mind the days when he and General Lu were considered rival rising stars in the Strategist School. Though the gap between him and the world's foremost master had widened over time, causing people to forget that the gentle, always warm-hearted Ye Tiansheng was once a fierce tiger among the Strategists!

"Master is amazing..." Feng Zikang could vaguely sense that Ye Tiansheng had found the key to a breakthrough. Just a bit more dedicated cultivation, and the Nascent Soul would form—it was just around the corner!

"Junior Brother Ye, it has been long since I saw you display such prowess. Seeing you today, as magnificent as ever.

I, your senior brother, am far behind!" It was Yuan Buhuan who recovered first, stepping forward to grasp Ye Tiansheng's arm in admiration. Ye Tiansheng returned the courtesy with a slight bow, but his gaze shifted to Feng Zikang.

His stern expression instantly softened, as if frost melting in the spring breeze, reverting him to the middle-aged man who always wore a genial smile. "Master!" Feng Zikang felt the sincerity of their master-disciple bond and was deeply moved.

Ye Tiansheng nodded, praising him several times, "Good! Good!" This apprentice of his, having only begun guiding Qi for little over a year, was already showing signs of reaching the peak of the Qi Guiding stage's Great Perfection.

How could that not be good? A little over a year ago, he looked like a simpleton, and now he was a rising talent in the Strategist School.

Ye Tiansheng couldn't help but recall his own youthful ambition and vigor—how could that not be good? "What are you staring at!

Hurry up and release Zikang!" Yuan Buhuan seized a rare opportunity to put on airs as a sect master in the Hall of Penalties. With a glare, the stunned disciples of the enforcement hall finally snapped out of it and quickly removed Feng Zikang's restraints.

"Since we are blessed with distinguished guests, why not retire to the Hall of Ten Thousand Armies Repelled for a brief rest and some wine and food?" Yuan Buhuan smiled invitingly. By then, Ye Tiansheng had walked over to Feng Zikang, patting his shoulder with a silent smile.

He then turned back to shake his head at his senior brother's invitation. "Senior Brother, please forgive your junior brother, but I cannot stay.

I only manifested this avatar out of concern for my disciple; my true body remains in secluded cultivation within the secret realm. My divine abilities are limited, and this manifestation cannot last long.

I must depart now!" "What?" This time, it was not just Yuan Buhuan whose eyes widened; everyone present was astonished. "You have cultivated the Divine Ability of the External Avatar?" The External Avatar was a coveted, grand divine ability among cultivators.

Manifesting an avatar not only provided a distinct advantage in battle, allowing one to fight many against few, but the avatars could also learn from each other during cultivation, rapidly boosting overall refinement. Legend held that when the Buddha achieved enlightenment, he did so by having billions of avatars cultivate simultaneously, achieving merit spanning ten thousand lifetimes in a single life.

"It's not that powerful," Ye Tiansheng replied with a bashful smile. "It's merely a minor attainment.

This avatar can only exist for a moment and serves little practical purpose." He gave Feng Zikang a few more hurried instructions, indicating that his time was limited. Indeed, before he could finish speaking, he only managed a nod and a smile to Wen Lingsu before his form flickered, becoming hazy, and vanishing into the light breeze.

"Ah," a chorus of gasps arose from the surrounding crowd. The several Core Condensation masters, while relatively composed, were nonetheless deeply shocked.

"Ye Tiansheng of Dragon Tiger Mountain, silent for so many years, has truly surprised everyone with this sudden display!" Mo Wu nodded. He had come for matters of greater importance.

While expressing his astonishment and reflections, he promptly pulled Yuan Buhuan aside to discuss the invasion of monstrous beings in the Southwest. Mo Fenghuang approached Feng Zikang to thank him again.

Seeing tear tracks still lingering on her face, Feng Zikang knew her grief had not yet subsided. He sighed inwardly and asked about her plans.

She was resolute. "Naturally, I will go to the Southwest to resist the demonic invasion of the Central Plains.

Once that is settled, I will travel to the Southern Barbarians to fulfill Ah Li's wish." Mo Li, in his time, had wished to overturn the established order in the Southern Barbarians, but his ambition was cut short by his death in Mangcang Mountain. As his fiancée and a member of the Mo family, Mo Fenghuang intended to inherit his legacy.

Feng Zikang offered a wry smile. Both members of this ill-fated couple were stubborn; persuasion was useless, so he would simply let them follow their hearts.

Abbot Wule was also drawn away by Mo Wu for consultation. Before leaving, he greeted Feng Zikang, promising to seek him out later.

Wen Lingsu, unconcerned with these grand matters but worried about Feng Zikang’s injuries, accompanied him down Sunset Peak and back to the Small Bamboo Grove. In the Small Bamboo Grove, Gu Ya was waiting anxiously.

Upon seeing Feng Zikang, he rushed forward with immense joy. "Senior Brother!

You're back! That’s wonderful.

I didn't waste my effort rushing to notify Master Ye..." It turned out Gu Ya was well-informed. He had known of Feng Zikang’s return to the mountain early on.

Hearing that he was injured by members of the School of Diplomacy and that the Elder of Enforcement intended to punish him, Gu Ya was terrified. He tried to get their Master to intervene, but the Master paid him no mind.

With desperate resolve, he rushed to Ye Tiansheng’s secluded cultivation spot to inform him. Normally, Ye Tiansheng was sealed off, but thankfully, Gu Ya found the Sound-Transmitting Golden Bell Feng Zikang kept in the Small Bamboo Grove.

He barely managed to summon Ye Tiansheng, but the Master was currently practicing a grand divine ability and could not move away. With no other option, he was forced to use the not-yet-mastered External Avatar divine ability, manifesting at Sunset Peak to severely injure Yan Fengqi, truly venting his anger for his disciple.

Feng Zikang knew this junior brother had contributed significantly to the affair and quickly offered his thanks. Gu Ya, with his childlike nature, was immensely proud and found the description of the events on Sunset Peak exhilarating.

Wen Lingsu, however, remained concerned about his injuries and insisted he rest well, sending the enthusiastic Gu Ya away. She re-examined his body, gritting her teeth, "This Yan Fengqi is truly venomous, attacking someone of a lower cultivation level with such ferocity!" Feng Zikang smiled wryly.

He knew his strike, which had cleanly sliced through the Wind-Thunder Fan of the Foundation Establishment cultivator Lu Sanqian, had startled Yan Fengqi. Unwilling to be careless, Yan Fengqi had struck with considerable force, even if not his absolute full power.

Feng Zikang had no way to evade it and sustained some injuries as a result. This revealed the vast, unbridgeable gulf between his current strength and that of a Core Condensation master.

Feng Zikang cautioned himself against complacency; the demanding cultivation ahead would still require much time. It turned out that for some time recently, Wen Lingsu, Abbot Wule, and others had been busy helping to seal the entrance to the Demonic Realm within the Dragon Tiger Mountain secret grounds.

For some unknown reason, since that day Huo Zhongguang broke into the Demonic Realm (they were unaware that the unfortunate Senior Brother Huo was actually captured by Feng Zikang and was still imprisoned in the Four Symbols Divine Demon Prison), the Demonic Realm had been in turmoil. The demonic energy surging from the entrance had been almost as intense as the day it first opened.

Abbot Wule, deeply concerned for the world, feared the consequences if the demonic passage was left unchecked to harm the populace. He resolutely stationed himself above the entrance, chanting sutras for days until the entrance was suppressed.

Then, utilizing Wen Lingsu's Farmer School's Six-Vein Spirit Sealing Array, they used the generative power of all things to seal it permanently, eliminating future trouble. "So that's how it was!" Feng Zikang realized during their casual conversation why Abbot Wule hadn't sought him out until now.

He assumed the Abbot’s intention in coming today was to explain the origins of the Heaven-Swallowing Ancient Sword in his possession. The Heaven-Swallowing Ancient Sword had recently devoured numerous weapons, and the cracks on its surface were gradually healing, making it look slightly better.

Wen Lingsu then spoke of Ye Tiansheng, her face alight with pride, ceaselessly asking questions. She only regretted that Ye Tiansheng’s avatar had only manifested for too short a time, preventing him from exchanging even a single word with her.

"Senior Brother Ye has actually cultivated the External Avatar ability—truly remarkable! It seems his internal injuries must have healed long ago.

Senior Sister's efforts were ultimately in vain then..." Wen Lingsu accidentally let the secret slip. She quickly covered her mouth, stealing a glance at Feng Zikang, but seeing he showed no reaction, she relaxed.

In truth, Feng Zikang was secretly amused. He was fully aware that the 'Gentle Breeze Nurturing Rain, Silent and Subtly' divine ability Wen Lingsu had gifted him was intended as a way to pass a gift to Ye Tiansheng through his hands.

However, given Ye Tiansheng's soaring cultivation and his mastery of a legendary ability like the External Avatar, what were a few internal injuries to him? The Farmer School Master's good intentions had indeed been wasted.

After Wen Lingsu left, Feng Zikang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Finally alone, he returned to his small abode, finding peace there.

The dramatic farce upon his return to the mountain was over. He sneered inwardly, well aware that he had forged an irreconcilable, deep hatred with Elder Sun and the Diplomats of Luochuan.

However, as he already possessed several exceptionally powerful enemies, a few more insignificant foes did not trouble him. Furthermore, with the Profound Realm now under his command, as long as he continued to cultivate diligently, he feared no one in the world.

Although the thatched hut in the Small Bamboo Grove had been vacant for a long time, it was impeccably clean and tidy, without a speck of dust. This was thanks to the mechanical men gifted by the Mohists; even with no one home, they diligently maintained the cleaning routine without the slightest neglect.

The little fox, upon returning home, was also exceptionally excited, scampering everywhere, forcing the mechanical man to follow diligently behind, trying to clean up its path—a rather comical sight. Just then, an enforcement disciple delivered his Heavenly Horse Cloud Chariot back to him.

Originally, Yan Fengqi and the other Diplomat intended to reclaim the chariot, but since Feng Zikang was undergoing punishment and they had been soundly beaten by Ye Tiansheng and fled in disarray, the Heavenly Horse Cloud Chariot naturally reverted to its rightful owner. Feng Zikang realized he had accumulated quite a few miscellaneous items.

He smiled wryly; the Small Bamboo Grove was tranquil, but there were many things here that were inconvenient for others to see—even Ye Tiansheng was best kept unaware. For instance, the mechanical beast Longque, the puppet Zhu Li'er, the spirit child Gui Zi and Ghost King Tu, the four Divine Demons, and the primordial spirit shadow Huo Zhongguang—these miscellaneous entities were all useful but inconvenient to reveal.

Keeping them cooped up in boxes wasn't ideal; he needed to connect the passage to the Profound Realm sooner rather than later. As soon as this thought occurred, Feng Zikang acted immediately, quietly sensing the Soul of the Profound Realm, gradually drawing it forth to establish a bridge between the two worlds.

This technique of tearing through the void to connect two realms required immense power, making it difficult even for Feng Zikang, now the master of the Profound Realm. After a long while, sweat beaded on his forehead; the exertion was tremendous.