Li Yundong was blindsided by a stolen kiss from Cao Keqi. Though involuntary, that brief touch of skin sent a sharp jolt through his core.

The contact left Li Yundong swamped with guilt. As he walked home, he muttered under his breath repeatedly, "It was just work, just work! I love my girl, I love my girl!"

"Oh, look at the time!" Li Yundong slapped his forehead as he stepped into the elevator, chuckling wryly. "I left her waiting for so long! My girl must be starving!"

His guilt deepened. He sniffed his clothes, trying to detect any scent of alcohol, but knew he couldn't tell himself. After a few futile sniffs, he consoled himself with wishful thinking: No smell of booze, she won't notice a thing.

At the apartment door, Li Yundong pressed his ear against it, listening for any sound. Silence. He couldn't help but mutter, "Is she asleep already? It's still so early."

He unlocked the door and burst in with a booming laugh: "Your daddy's home, sweetheart!"

But the apartment was pitch black, devoid of any light, the quiet strangely absolute.

Li Yundong paused. He knew the little lass was never one to sit still; even when confined, she'd find something to occupy her hands and mouth.

"Is she hiding somewhere to scare me, or did she actually fall asleep?" Li Yundong wondered, gently closing the door behind him. He tiptoed through the living room and dining area, moving toward her bedroom. He threw the door open with a shout: "Found you!"

The bedroom, too, was dark, the silence chillingly profound.

Li Yundong felt a growing sense of alarm. He knew the girl never played hide-and-seek with him. Did she go out? No way!

Anxiety mounting, he abandoned the pretense of play and hurried to his own room, flinging the door open. It was empty, just utter darkness.

A prickle of unease turned into a spike of panic. He checked every room in the apartment; the little lass was gone. The house felt hollow, as if Su Chan had never existed within its walls.

Suddenly, Li Yundong was seized by an unprecedented wave of terror and dread!

"Where is Su Chan?" Su Chan was Li Yundong's Achilles' heel, his soft spot, his sensitive nerve—anything involving her sent him spiraling into emotional chaos.

Li Yundong searched every corner of the apartment like a madman, but Su Chan was nowhere to be found.

"Could she be angry and have run away?" His heart hammered erratically, a cold dread washing over him. But he quickly shook his head. "Impossible. She wouldn't throw a tantrum like that with me."

Though Su Chan had only been by his side for about a month, Li Yundong felt their time together spanned more than a year, perhaps ten. Their mutual understanding eclipsed that of many couples married for decades.

"Did she... did she go out looking for me?" Li Yundong paced frantically in the room, spinning like a headless fly. "Yes, maybe. Seeing how late it was, maybe she went out looking for me."

The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed. He bolted toward the front door, ready to search, but stopped dead just as he reached it. A sudden realization hit him.

"How would Su Chan know where I was? And where would I even look for her?" Li Yundong stood frozen. Then, he remembered her cell phone. He dashed back into his room, grabbed his own phone, powered it up quickly, and dialed Su Chan’s number.

But the moment the call connected, Su Chan's ringtone echoed from across the room!

Li Yundong spun around. Su Chan's phone lay discarded in the corner of the sofa, its back cover flipped open from the impact. His heart plunged. A terrible thought flashed through his mind: Something must have happened to her?

The more he feared, the paler his face became, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He paced frantically in the center of the living room, on the verge of losing control. He let out a sudden, guttural shout: "Su Chan, where are you?!"

The sound boomed outward, carrying far beyond the confines of the building.

After a moment, a small, weak voice drifted from a distant corner of the living room: "I'm here..."

Li Yundong froze, then spun around in overwhelming relief. Just as he turned, a cold, sharp laugh and a fierce cry rang out from behind him: "Vile creature, it is you! Let's see where you hide now!"

Li Yundong saw a swirl of air coalesce before him, and Su Chan suddenly materialized right in front of him, her face panicked as she yelled: "Watch out!"

With that, she shoved Li Yundong backward with force.

Li Yundong watched as a flash of red light erupted, sending Su Chan flying backward. She crashed into the glass table in the dining room with a shattering sound, crying out in pain as she fell among the shards.

Horror mixed with shock. Li Yundong scrambled up, lunged forward, and clumsily helped Su Chan sit up, closely examining her. "Are you okay? What—what happened here?"

Before Su Chan could speak, a haughty voice cut in from within the room: "Hmph, you lecherous fool, seduced by a demon and yet oblivious! Get out of my way now, or I'll deal with you both!"

Li Yundong turned, but the room was empty save for a three-foot-long length of scarlet ribbon floating in the air, emitting a faint, pale blue glow.

Li Yundong’s eyes widened; he couldn't process what he was seeing. "Who was just speaking?"

Su Chan winced, her brow furrowed in pain. She groaned softly, "Yundong, run..."

The haughty voice let out a booming laugh. "Run? Fiend, where do you think you can run to? Under the banner of the Zhengyi Sect, there is no corner of this world large enough for you! Hand over the Human Origin Golden Elixir immediately, or I will utterly obliterate your spirit and form!"

Li Yundong’s mind was reeling. "Wha—what? Human Origin Golden Elixir?"

He turned back to Su Chan and pointed to himself, "It means me..."

Before Li Yundong could finish, Su Chan nodded in perfect understanding. With a slight movement, her internal energy surged chaotically, causing her to cry out in renewed agony.

Li Yundong felt a wrenching pain in his chest. He had always cherished the girl like a priceless treasure—so precious he was afraid to drop her or let the air tarnish her; he couldn't bear to see even one of her little fingers scratched! How could he stand to see her harmed like this?

Rage erupted within him. He whipped around, pointing furiously at the red ribbon floating in the air, and snapped, "This is my home! Get out, now!"

The voice sneered again. "Hmph, another fool ensnared by a demon. Move aside, or I won't be polite to you!"

Li Yundong matched the coldness with his own. "I think you're the demon here. I’ll count to three, then you get out, or I’ll stop being polite!"

At that moment, Ruan Hongling, controlling her artifact from within the apartment, gave a cold laugh. Her lips moved, and the sound carried naturally through the artifact to Li Yundong’s room, making it seem as if the ribbon itself was speaking: "Truly an arrogant fool who doesn't know his place! A lecher like you, thinking you can run roughshod over everything just because you've cultivated a little bit of the Dao?"

With that, Ruan Hongling formed a hand seal and pointed sharply at the air!

With a whoosh, the floating red ribbon shot toward Li Yundong like a deadly arrow!

Li Yundong, unaware of the artifact’s power, merely raised an eyebrow, utterly fearless, and reached out to catch it with his bare hand!

Ruan Hongling was both shocked and amused. Shocked that he dared to grab a magic tool with his bare flesh, amused by the lecher's arrogance and gross overestimation of his own strength!

"Hmph, this three-foot red ribbon can pierce solid steel and rock! You dare try to catch it with mere flesh and blood? You're courting death!" Ruan Hongling sneered. Instead of retreating, she urged the three-foot ribbon to accelerate further!

The ribbon paused momentarily in mid-air, then retracted slightly. Its tip was so sharp it gleamed with a metallic luster, giving the impression that it could pierce a steel plate effortlessly.

The three-foot ribbon suddenly accelerated like lightning, momentarily warping the surrounding air, and the tip plunged directly into the center of Li Yundong’s palm!

Li Yundong roared as pain shot through his hand. He violently clamped his injured hand around one end of the ribbon and used his other hand to seize the satin body of the artifact.

The immense, profound Golden Elixir Qi within Li Yundong suddenly sensed the genuine, superior immortal energy invading the artifact. This Qi perceived its master to be in grave, life-threatening danger, and it erupted in a furious burst, every bit of energy surging toward the wounded spot in automatic self-defense!

"Hmph, seeking death!" Ruan Hongling coldly maintained control of her ribbon, preparing to drive it deeper to impale Li Yundong, when she suddenly felt the artifact jerk violently, as if encountering tremendous resistance.

Before she could react, Ruan Hongling felt the artifact begin to tremble wildly, struggling frantically as if faced with something terrifying. A moment later, in the blink of an eye, the connection between the artifact and her was severed!

A spirit artifact, much like a living thing, trembles in fear when confronted with true horror. The link between artifact and master is maintained by sheer intent; a cultivator of profound power can maintain that connection across thousands of miles. That is the principle behind an Immortal Sword killing from a thousand miles away. To forcibly seize an artifact and sever that connection required truly monumental divine ability!

"What? My artifact was stolen? How is this possible!" Ruan Hongling was utterly stunned. Her Yin Spirit rapidly left her body, drifting into Li Yundong's room to see what horrific event had transpired.

The moment she entered, she saw Li Yundong holding the once razor-sharp three-foot red ribbon limply in one hand, like a dead snake. The lecher she had so despised was now radiating dazzling golden light from every pore, appearing like a Golden Arhat, majestic and imposing. A wave of powerful, pure Primordial Yang energy washed over her.

Ruan Hongling gasped in horror, her mind reeling. She stammered, "T-this is Golden Elixir Qi! You... you are a Golden Elixir lineage inheritor!"

Li Yundong glared at Ruan Hongling and roared, "You were bullying my girl!"

Ruan Hongling was, after all, a disciple of a renowned lineage. After a brief moment of shock, she quickly recovered and demanded sternly, "If you are a Golden Elixir inheritor, why associate with a demon? Abandon this darkness immediately and turn toward the light, lest a bright pearl be wasted on shadow!"

Li Yundong roared back, spitting on the floor. "What utter nonsense! Who I associate with is none of your damn business! Get over here now, I need to beat some sense into you!"

Ruan Hongling could hardly believe her ears. She boomed, "Do you know who I am? I am an inner disciple of the Ling Palace Branch of the Shangqing Sect's Zhengyi School! You dare lay a hand on me?!"

Li Yundong spat vehemently on the floor and cursed loudly, "Pah! What phony Shangqing Sect or Zhengyi School! Even if you were the Queen Mother of Heaven herself, or one of the Nine Celestial Maidens—if you dare bully my girl, my answer is the same: I'll beat you!!!"

[Note to Beloved Readers: This chapter marks the final page of this volume.]