The sudden sound of Ruan Hongling seeking her out nearly shattered the little fox Su Chan’s liver and gallbladder; her instinct was to transform into a streak of azure light and flee, but she managed to forcibly suppress the notion, wanting to hear what Ruan Hongling had to say before deciding.

The little fox leaned against her bedroom doorframe, ears pricked high, listening to the conversation between Li Yundong and Ruan Hongling at the main entrance, her heart pounding erratically with every word.

In truth, purely in terms of spiritual power, although Ruan Hongling surpassed Su Chan in both fali (spiritual power) and spells, the gap wasn't insurmountable; defeating Su Chan wouldn't be difficult, but catching her would be extraordinarily hard.

What terrified Su Chan was the Zhengyi Sect behind Ruan Hongling!

Although Chinese Daoism was divided into Northern and Southern schools, the Northern school, headed by Maoshan, was inferior to the numerous sects of the Southern school in terms of both influence and strength.

Despite the myriad factions and powerful clans within the Northern and Southern Daoist schools, the three mountains—Gezu, Longhu, and Maoshan—were the most revered. Among them, the Zhengyi Sect, situated on Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi, was the supreme authority of the Southern Daoist lineage, claiming the title of "Master of the Charms of the Three Mountains," governing all Daoist sects under heaven!

Although Daoism had suffered extreme decline through the Ming, Qing, and Republican eras, the practitioners lurking in the mortal world and deep mountains still possessed formidable strength. When the Renyuan Jindan (Human Core Golden Elixir) appeared recently, cultivators who usually remained deeply hidden, like snakes and insects emerging from hibernation, burst forth from their lairs to engage in bloody competition.

The little fox knew that if her master hadn't lured away so many powerful cultivators, she would have been utterly destroyed by now with only her own power!

Even without the Zhengyi Sect making a move, Ruan Hongling and Ziyuan, who were already pursuing her relentlessly, combined would be enough to leave her with nowhere to run or hide!

While Su Chan panicked and spiraled into fearful thoughts, how could Li Yundong possibly know the complexity of these entanglements?

He frowned at Ruan Hongling, asking, "What are you talking about? Who exactly are you looking for?"

Ruan Hongling froze. She realized the man before her seemed utterly unaware of her background, and had no concept of what her stated lineage implied!

"Could it be... he isn't a cultivator?" Ruan Hongling was startled, taking an involuntary step back. She examined Li Yundong’s eyes closely, and after watching for a moment, she saw no pretense. Suspicion flooded her mind: "This is impossible! If he weren't a cultivator, how could he possess such a fine 'Cauldron Body'? His jing, qi, and shen (essence, energy, spirit) seem even stronger than some major cultivators! But if he is a cultivator, how could he not know of our Zhengyi Sect?"

Li Yundong was annoyed that Ruan Hongling was spoiling his afternoon; naturally, he offered her no pleasant expression, nor did he intend to let her into the house. He blocked the doorway completely, regarding Ruan Hongling as if she were mad, remaining silent, clearly signaling his desire for her departure.

Ruan Hongling was inwardly displeased by his gaze. She knitted her brows slightly, dropped the customary Daoist bow, and nodded like an ordinary person, stating, "I apologize, I seem to have the wrong address."

Li Yundong glanced at her, then shut the door, muttering under his breath with extreme frustration, "Damn it, it's all that brat’s fault; the meat that was almost in my mouth flew away!"

Having been shut out, Ruan Hongling didn't rush off immediately. Her gaze was fixed tightly on Li Yundong’s door, her doubts growing denser. After a moment, she turned, gave a cold snort, and departed: "A lecher, even if he cultivates, is unlikely to achieve greatness!"

...

Meanwhile, at a private estate in the northern suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, Chris stepped out of the car, dusty from her journey. She waved to the private driver who had brought her, smiling, "Goodbye, Uncle Tom, please send my best regards to Aunt Shana!"

Chris watched the car drive away before stepping into the manor grounds.

As soon as she entered the estate’s vestibule, a servant busy pruning in the garden rushed over to greet her with a smile, "Chris, you're back? How was the trip to China?"

Chris took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and smiled, "Not bad, Uncle Andy. After all, the air back home is the best! Oh, by the way, is Grandma here?"

Uncle Andy smiled back, "She is, she’s in her usual spot. You haven't visited her in a long time; she talks about you every day."

Chris waved dismissively at Uncle Andy with a smile and ran into the antique-style manor like a happy sprite.

Jogging along, Chris reached the rear garden. Just as she entered the garden gate, a folding screen featuring a vivid peacock display—embroidered in rich Chinese style and framed by exquisitely carved redwood—appeared before her.

Beside the screen were carefully placed decorative items: miniature landscape bonsai, blue-and-white porcelain, Thangkas, and meticulous gongbi paintings of court ladies. The arrangement was ingeniously done, instantly creating an atmosphere steeped in rich Chinese culture.

Crossing past the screen, Chris immediately spotted more than twenty wooden stakes, each over a meter tall and as thick as a bowl, arranged in the pattern of a plum blossom. A woman was swiftly stepping and leaping atop these stakes.

Chris tilted her head up, watching her grandmother move with agile grace through the grand forms of Plum Blossom Fist across the stakes. She waited until her grandmother completed the entire set, dismounting lightly without a flush of color or quickening breath, before clapping enthusiastically.

"Grandma, you are amazing!" Chris exclaimed sincerely in English, "You are more capable than twenty-year-olds!"

Grandma Lin Guoying was wearing a purplish-red tangzhuang (traditional Chinese jacket) and a pair of cloth shoes with layered soles. Though she was well over ninety, her appearance suggested a woman in her forties or fifties. Her eyes were dark and bright, and an aura of shrewd competence emanated from her brow.

Seeing Chris, Lin Guoying smiled and spoke in Chinese, "Chris, didn't we agree to speak Chinese between just the two of us?"

Chris switched back to Chinese, smiling as she asked, "Grandma, I’ve always wanted to ask—how do you do it?"

Lin Guoying looked at her granddaughter with doting affection. "Do what?"

Chris pointed to the waist-high plum blossom stakes, laughing, "I can barely climb them, how do you get up there? And practice your boxing on them?"

Lin Guoying chuckled, "It's just practice makes perfect; nothing major."

Chris shook her head and laughed, "I don't believe it. There are very few people in this world who, at ninety-plus, look like they’re forty or fifty and can perform Plum Blossom Fist without sweating a single drop. That’s simply incredible."

Lin Guoying patted Chris’s head, saying kindly, "Chris, I told you your understanding of Chinese culture is superficial, just half a bucket of water, and you wouldn't believe me! If we martial artists sweat profusely after finishing a form, it means the person doesn't know how to fight at all—at least, they don't know how to circulate their qi!"

Hearing Lin Guoying mention lianqi (qi cultivation), Chris immediately recalled Li Yundong, whom she had met in China. After a moment's thought, she asked, "Grandma, do you think there are people in this world who can dodge bullets?"

Lin Guoying looked at Chris with some surprise, shook her head, and laughed, "Impossible. No matter how skilled a person is, how can they contend with firearms?"

Chris said, "But in Tiannan City, China, I personally witnessed someone dodge seven shots in a row, and it was at close range, less than ten meters away!"

Lin Guoying’s expression instantly changed, and she blurted out, "How is that possible? Unless..."

Chris’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly urged, "Unless what?"

Lin Guoying’s expression shifted; her eyes took on a distant, ancient look, as if recalling memories sealed deep in her mind. "Unless they are immortals..."

A look of skepticism crossed Chris’s face. "Grandma, where are the immortals in this world?"

Lin Guoying shook her head. "The great land of Shenzhou is filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers; how could ordinary folks like us possibly imagine it?"

She sighed and slowly continued, "In the eleventh year of the Republic [1922], I was traveling near Mount Huang when I encountered a group of bandits. These men weren't just after money; they wanted to..."

Chris knew her grandmother was a formidable figure in her own right, holding the most weight in the entire family. When she and her grandfather first immigrated here, American gangs ran rampant, but it was her grandmother, refusing to be outdone, who led the local Chinese community in fighting them off, establishing this entire legacy!

Lin Guoying had been heroic in her youth, but in her old age, she had always kept silent about her experiences. No matter how much Chris pleaded or cajoled as a child, when Lin Guoying refused to speak, she wouldn't.

But now, seeing her grandmother voluntarily bring up old stories, Chris’s curiosity surged. She obediently pulled up a stool near Lin Guoying, brought another for herself, and asked, "And then? Did you display your martial skills and chase them all away?"

Lin Guoying sat in her armchair, chuckling, "How could I! At that time, I was helpless, a proper young lady from a good family—I knew nothing of boxing!"

Chris blinked. "Then a master came to save the beauty? Wow, how romantic! Was he a tall, handsome guy?"

Lin Guoying nodded, then shook her head, smiling. "No, it was a Taoist nun from a temple. If it had been a handsome man, you wouldn't be here!"

Though aged, Lin Guoying remained modern in spirit and childlike when interacting with the younger generation, joking without restraint.

Chris laughed, "It’s a good thing it was her, or Grandpa would be heartbroken in the afterlife."

Lin Guoying smiled and continued, "After this nun chased the bandits away, she saw that I enjoyed traveling but lacked self-defense skills, so she taught me this set of Plum Blossom Fist. When I was young, I just practiced it for defense, but the older I got, the more I realized the marvelous nature of this boxing style."

Chris was sharp and understood immediately. She asked, "You mean, the reason you look so young and have such good health is because you practiced this style of boxing?"

Lin Guoying laughed, "This is no ordinary boxing style. I even suspect this technique was created by an immortal."

Chris laughed. "Grandma, you’re talking nonsense again."

Lin Guoying playfully slapped Chris’s leg. "How am I talking nonsense? Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, was just a small soldier back then, always loafing around, fond of playing chess. One day, while passing through Mount Hua, he heard there was a man named Chen Tuan locally and went to challenge him. After soundly defeating Zhao Kuangyin in chess, Chen Tuan saw the bearing of an emperor in him and taught him a set of boxing techniques. Afterward, Zhao Kuangyin relied on this set of skills to ascend rapidly, eventually becoming the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty!"

Lin Guoying looked at Chris and smiled, "You claim to be an expert on China—do you know who Chen Tuan was?"

Chris claimed to be a China expert, but only compared to the Americans around her. Being young, how could she be versed in such lore? Her face instantly flushed, and she shook her head, "No."

Lin Guoying stated, "He is a Great Immortal, famed alongside Lü Dongbin—he is known as Ancestor Chen Tuan, or Ancestor Xiyi!"

Chris argued, unconvinced, "But Grandma, everything you're saying are just myths; they don't count as proof!"

Lin Guoying gave Chris a meaningful look and shook her head. "No. You haven’t met a true immortal, so you don't know the feeling of encountering one. When I was young, just like you, I thought I had met a martial arts master, but looking back now, I firmly believe the teacher who taught me the boxing must have been a genuine cultivator!"

Saying this, Lin Guoying looked up and let out a deep sigh. "If I knew where the master who taught me boxing was right now, I would abandon everything I have to beg her to take me as a disciple and follow her into cultivation!"

Chris was surprised. "But Grandma, are you unhappy with your current life? Why would you want to live that kind of austere life?"

Lin Guoying shook her head. "You haven't practiced the Plum Blossom Fist, so you don’t understand the true meaning of power. You haven't lived as long as I have, so you don't understand the true meaning of life. Cultivation isn't just about gaining power and understanding life’s truths; the crucial thing is that it grants you eternal life!!"

As Lin Guoying spoke of this, her entire body vibrated with excitement, and her eyes shone with a sharp, astonishing light—sharper than those of a twenty-year-old!

Chris listened, stunned. A thought suddenly struck her: Was her grandmother’s youthful appearance at ninety precisely because she practiced this boxing style? Could this so-called cultivation truly grant eternal life? Did such incredible kung fu really exist under heaven?

For a moment, Chris was lost in thought. She remembered the unbelievable things she had witnessed in Li Yundong; her firmly held atheist worldview was severely shaken. She murmured dreamily, "Are there really immortals in this world? If there are, then is Li Yundong an immortal?"

After finishing, the intense light in Lin Guoying’s eyes gradually faded. She stood up, suddenly feeling a bit weary, and lovingly stroked the top of Chris’s head, saying, "Chris, if you ever meet a true immortal, do not hesitate; you must find a way to become their disciple. Otherwise, you will end up like me someday, watching your youth fade and your vitality diminish. When you reach my age, regretting it will be too late!"

With that, Lin Guoying turned, hands behind her back, and slowly walked away.

Chris watched her grandmother’s retreating back and couldn't help thinking: Is Li Yundong a true immortal? Can cultivation really lead to eternal life? If eternal life is truly possible, then...

Chris involuntarily touched her own cheeks with both hands, turning her gaze toward a mirror hanging on the wall. Reflected there was a beautiful young woman with golden hair and blue eyes. This beauty was in her vibrant youth, utterly dazzling, but what about ten years from now? Twenty? Thirty?

Eternal life?

Chris’s heart suddenly began to pound wildly...