.. Ao Wushuang looked at the anxious Su Chan, sighed softly in her heart, yet her face remained as cold and frosty as ever as she scoffed, "Do you truly think I am some immortal? Just because I said there was a way, you immediately believed me? After wandering the mortal realm for so many days, how can you still be so naive!"

With that, she pointed a finger at Li Yundong and said coldly, "If this man harbors ill intentions and flatters you with sweet words, would you still be foolishly deceived?"

Su Chan's face drained of color, "That's not it, Yundong isn't that kind of person. He treats me very well, he, he…"

Su Chan looked at her master with growing suspicion, and her heart suddenly clenched. Her body involuntarily recoiled, trying to retreat to Li Yundong's side.

But as Ao Wushuang pointed a finger at Su Chan, she froze in place, as if burdened by ten thousand jin, utterly unable to move even an inch.

Ao Wushuang sneered, "Still trying to get back to him? Come with me quietly!"

Li Yundong was shocked, "What are you doing! Let her go!"

Seeing him rush forward, Ao Wushuang flicked a finger toward him. Instantly, Li Yundong felt as if impossibly heavy chains had clamped onto his body. Despite his astonishing divine power, he was trapped like the Monkey King pinned beneath the Five Elements Mountain, completely immobilized!

"Wh-what is happening?" Li Yundong could not fathom how a single, casual gesture from this peerlessly graceful woman, so cold and proud, could render him utterly helpless!

"Don't make things difficult for her. If you have an issue, take it out on me!" Li Yundong roared in anger.

"Take it out on me?" Ao Wushuang let out a cold laugh. "What capability do you possess?"

Saying this, Ao Wushuang suddenly formed a hand seal and shouted loudly, "Eight Desolations!!"

With her command, the Eight Desolations Immortal Sword beneath her feet vanished, only to instantly reappear before her, the blade humming audibly.

Ao Wushuang pointed at Li Yundong and boomed, "Can you block this?"

As her words faded, the Eight Desolations Sword rang out with a sharp zheng, instantly dissolving into countless three-foot-long sharp blades. They spread out like a lotus blooming in a single instant, each petal a rapidly spinning razor edge, impossibly sharp, grinding together with a sizzling sound!

This iron lotus lunged toward Li Yundong with lightning speed. Su Chan was terrified out of her wits, screaming, "No!"

Li Yundong saw only darkness as the iron lotus descended upon him, but just as it reached his face, it halted instantly, appearing as countless whirling vortexes of razor blades, enveloping his vision and emitting a terrifying sound of metallic friction!

Li Yundong had no doubt that if this iron lotus, easily two to three meters in diameter, struck him, he would be instantly shredded into countless pieces of gore!

Li Yundong was deeply shaken; he had never witnessed such sorcery or technique!

Just as Li Yundong braced for Ao Wushuang to strike a mortal blow, his vision suddenly cleared. The steel lotus composed of countless Eight Desolations Swords retracted as if a fully bloomed flower were suddenly folding back into a bud. The sharp edges converged, quickly reforming into a single, three-foot-long azure blade.

This azure blade paused before Li Yundong, allowing him to clearly make out the two ancient Seal script characters engraved upon it: Eight Desolations!

Then the Eight Desolations Sword vanished, snapping back to rest beneath Ao Wushuang's feet in the next breath.

Ao Wushuang stood with an air of supreme arrogance and said, "Well?"

Li Yundong let out a cold laugh, his expression unchanged, and declared loudly, "Does this frighten me? If you have the skill, then kill me! Otherwise, I would rather die alongside Su Chan!"

Ao Wushuang was instantly enraged. With a lift of her hand, countless green vines erupted from the ground beneath Li Yundong, binding him tightly. These vines started as thin as a little finger, winding up from the instep of his foot, climbing along his calf. By the time they reached his thigh, they thickened to the width of a thumb. When they reached his waist, they were as thick as a forearm, and by the time they reached his chest, the vines were as thick as a thigh!

Ruan Hongling and Ziyuan watched in shock as the green vines grew madly skyward, enveloping Li Yundong in a mere instant. They knew that with a single thought from Ao Wushuang, Li Yundong, bound by the vines, would be squeezed to death!

But soon, Ao Wushuang tapped the bundle of vines again. A ball of flame instantly ignited at her fingertip, and the mass of green vines burst into a roaring conflagration.

Li Yundong, tightly constricted by the vines, felt suffocated. Just as he was about to shout, he suddenly felt an intense, burning pain radiating from all around him.

"Is this hag trying to burn me alive?" Li Yundong's heart jolted. "This isn't a good way to die!"

However, just as the searing heat became almost unbearable, the surrounding vines suddenly exploded outwards, sending flames scattering everywhere.

Li Yundong, momentarily seeing the open sky again, didn't even have time to draw a breath before the heavens suddenly darkened. He instinctively looked up only to see an incomparably massive boulder hurtling down toward him, reaching the peak of his head in the blink of an eye!

Just as a flicker of terror crossed Li Yundong's eyes, the gigantic stone miraculously stopped with a dull boom precisely one inch above his head. Li Yundong focused his gaze and saw a stream of water, only an inch thick, shimmering above him like a shield, single-handedly supporting the massive rock descending from the sky.

Ao Wushuang waved her hand, the water shield rippled violently, instantly flinging the boulder aside. It smashed into the ground with a heavy thud, carving out a deep crater.

Ruan Hongling and Ziyuan stared, mouths agape. Ruan Hongling stammered, "She masters all five elemental arts—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth? That’s utterly preposterous!"

Ziyuan was also secretly awed. "That sequence of attacks was as swift as lightning. She followed up her strikes immediately with counter-strikes. The speed and variety of her methods are truly dazzling! Even I couldn't withstand that! This Ao Wushuang is indeed worthy of being the top master of the Fox Zen Sect!"

Li Yundong seemed stunned by the rapid succession of attacks. He stood motionless, his mind momentarily blank.

Ao Wushuang roared in fury, "I possess over a hundred divine techniques that could kill you instantly. What I just showed you were merely five! Even a cultivator like myself must fear the Heavenly Tribulation and dare not invite trouble, yet you, an unlettered brat, presume to drag my beloved disciple into such murky waters?"

As she spoke, Ao Wushuang seemed to recall some past event, a look of extreme pain flashing through her eyes. She harshly berated him, "Don't think you're so great just because you are a successor of the Golden Core lineage! You haven't even stepped across the threshold of true cultivation; you are still far too green! If you lack the ability, don't pretend to be a hero! And certainly don't drag my... my disciple down with you!"

The preceding barrage of attacks had left Li Yundong completely unable to fight back. This utter humiliation, being the fish on the cutting board, left him reeling for a moment, but then Ao Wushuang's sharp tirade struck a chord in his heart.

Su Chan was already weeping uncontrollably. She struggled desperately, crying out, "Master, don't take me away, I want to be with Yundong!"

Ao Wushuang sharply commanded, "Silence! What good will it do you to be with him? When the Heavenly Tribulation comes, you will be struck down and killed alongside him—do you even realize that!"

Su Chan cried, "If I die, I’d be happy to die with Yundong!"

Ao Wushuang cursed in anger, "You are utterly infatuated, possessed by delusion!"

Li Yundong lifted his head and let out a long sigh. He tried to reason with Su Chan, "Su Chan, listen to your master. Go with her..."

Ao Wushuang snorted, "Finally, you said something sensible!" With that, she grabbed Su Chan's arm, ready to leave.

Su Chan stumbled as Ao Wushuang pulled her, looking back tearfully through the haze at Li Yundong.

Ziyuan, standing nearby, suddenly spoke up, "Senior Wushuang..."

Ao Wushuang cast a cold glance her way. "What? Are you intending to interfere in the domestic affairs of our Fox Zen Sect?"

Ziyuan bowed deeply. "I would not dare. I only wish to ask: this Eight Desolations Sword is the supreme treasure of our Zhengyi Sect's Linggong Faction. When will you return it? Furthermore, our sect's Second Martial Uncle visited your sect nine years ago and has never been heard from since. Does Senior know anything of his whereabouts?"

Ao Wushuang burst into hearty laughter. "You mean your master's junior sister? How would I know where she is? As for the Eight Desolations Sword—hehe, little girl, if you want it, you'll have to come and take it yourself!" Saying this, she tugged Su Chan, and in a flash of blue light, they shot away.

Ruan Hongling watched them depart, stamping her foot in anger. "That fiend is truly overbearing!"

Ziyuan shook her head, looking at Li Yundong. The young man stood where he was, appearing as if his soul had been ripped out, motionless, like a statue.

Despite previous friction with Li Yundong, Ruan Hongling felt a pang of pity, a slight ache in her chest. She nudged Ziyuan with her elbow and whispered softly, "Sister Ziyuan, he..."

Ziyuan shook her head. "Everything is fated!" Then, remembering something, she quickly said to Ruan Hongling, "Undoubtedly, many ordinary mortals witnessed this scene. Go and deal with it quickly."

Ruan Hongling started, glanced around, and saw that the people who had been pointing fingers at them were now slumped haphazardly on the ground. She swiftly flew over and saw they were all unconscious. Moreover, large trees lay felled across the road two or three li in either direction, blocking traffic.

Only then did Ruan Hongling feel truly impressed: Ao Wushuang's divine abilities were one thing, but such meticulous forethought was rare indeed!

Ao Wushuang flew over ten li with Su Chan. Seeing that Su Chan beside her remained silently withdrawn, unlike her previous fit of tears, she felt a sudden alarm. She twisted her head to look, her expression instantly shifting to horror. She slapped Su Chan's back fiercely and berated her, "Are you mad? You actually tried to sever your own meridians!"

Su Chan spat out a mouthful of blood mist with a loud waah. Since her suicide attempt failed, she cried out, "If you take me away, I'd rather die!"

Ao Wushuang raged, "What is so good about that man that you are so utterly besotted!"

Tearfully, Su Chan replied, "Yundong is the kindest person to me in this entire world!" Saying this, she recounted, piece by piece, every moment she had spent with Li Yundong—even trivialities like playing pranks on his back or him buying her a single ice cream—in meticulous detail.

The more she spoke, the harder Su Chan cried. When she finished, she wailed, "The last time I left him, I felt that though the world is vast, there was no place left for me. Though there are countless people, there is no one left I wish to love. By his side, I felt joy and happiness; even drinking a cup of cold water felt sweet and warm. When I am not with him, it feels like the sky is falling and the earth is sinking. All vitality in this world is gone!"

Ao Wushuang froze upon hearing this. As if recalling her own painful memories, tears slowly began to trace paths down her own face. She pulled Su Chan into a tight embrace, sighing brokenly, "Foolish child, haven't I told you that the bitterest thing in the mortal world is the word 'love'? Your master has suffered immensely because of it in her life. Why must you follow my path of ruin?"

Su Chan wiped her tears and spoke sorrowfully, "Although the word 'love' is bitter, once you taste its sweetness, you will understand that it is the sweetest thing under heaven. To taste that sweetness, enduring any amount of suffering is worthwhile!"

Saying this, Su Chan grasped Ao Wushuang's hand, pleading desperately, "Master, I beg you, let me return to Yundong's side. I truly cannot live without him!"

Ao Wushuang let out a heavy sigh and lovingly stroked Su Chan's hair. "Silly child, do you truly believe I want to separate you from him?"

Hearing this, Su Chan felt a glimmer of hope; she was suddenly both shocked and overjoyed. "Master, what do you mean by that?"

..