"I can see the genuine affection between you and him; I’m not blind to that," Ao Wushuang sighed. "But precisely because your feelings for him run so deep, I must take you away!"

"Why is that?" Su Chan exclaimed.

Ao Wushuang stated, "You've already attempted Foundation Establishment with him once, haven't you?"

Su Chan was startled again. "Master, you knew about us long ago?"

Ao Wushuang shook her head. "I've been watching you two for a long time. I initially had no intention of interfering, but the moment I witnessed your first failed attempt at Foundation Establishment, I resolved to take you away!"

Su Chan cried out loudly, "Why? Master, if you helped him, he would certainly succeed in Foundation Establishment!"

Ao Wushuang snapped in anger, "Nonsense! Foundation Establishment is entirely dependent on oneself; how can one rely on another person! Even if such a feat resulted in forging an Inner Elixir, it would be a false core, crumbling instantly against any true expert! You two cling to each other day and night, your feelings deep and true. Yet, desire is like karma—once emotion stirs, how can lust not follow?"

Hearing this, Su Chan’s cheeks flushed crimson. She lowered her head, nervously twisting the hem of her robe, utterly speechless.

Ao Wushuang scoffed, "If lust is not purged, does he even dream of reaching Foundation Establishment? Perhaps in his next life!"

Only then did Su Chan realize the reason her Master insisted on separating her from Li Yundong: her presence perpetually stirred his emotions and desires, making his Foundation Establishment impossible. The resentment in her heart began to dissipate. She raised her head, her face flushed like a ripe apple, and murmured hesitantly, "Then... what if the Heavenly Tribulation arrives just after he succeeds in Foundation Establishment?"

Ao Wushuang pondered for a moment before replying, "I will think of a way when that time comes."

Elation flooded Su Chan’s heart. She grabbed Ao Wushuang’s hand, shaking it vigorously, and cried out, "Master, I always knew you were the best person in the world to me! You must help Yundong. He is very clever, and his talent is outstanding. He managed to visualize the Nine-Nine Lotus Platform on his very first attempt!"

Ao Wushuang chuckled dryly. "Oh? Isn't your beloved the best person in the world to you? How is it that I suddenly became the best person?"

Su Chan blushed deeply, feigning coquettishness. "Master!"

Ao Wushuang allowed a rare expression of admiration to surface. "What did you just say? He managed to visualize the Nine-Nine Lotus Platform on his first try? The moment I laid eyes on him, I sensed his potential was extraordinary—perhaps a prodigy unseen in a century. Now it seems he might actually be a Heaven-gifted talent appearing once every five hundred years!"

Su Chan couldn't help but lift her head proudly, as if Ao Wushuang were praising her. "Yes, yes! Yundong is the cleverest! Master, please teach him. He isn't as slow-witted as I am; he'll certainly grasp whatever you show him!"

Ao Wushuang shook her head. "I cannot teach him!"

Su Chan pressed urgently, "Master, you possess so many divine abilities and techniques, how can you not teach him?"

Ao Wushuang sighed. "I know my own limits. Though I am hailed as the foremost master of the Fox Zen Sect, that is where it ends. What I have learned is too broad, skilled in many things but master of none. If I teach him, I will only squander such a rare gem of talent!"

Su Chan looked at Ao Wushuang with pleading eyes. "Then who can teach him?"

Ao Wushuang replied, "Did you not just see him? He is far away, yet right before your eyes!"

Su Chan blinked, letting out an involuntary gasp. "You mean..."

Ao Wushuang let out a faint laugh, her gaze suddenly turning ancient and distant. "Over a decade ago, that old adversary mentioned this very matter to me..."

Su Chan, utterly confused, asked, "Mentioned what?"

Ao Wushuang shook her head, her eyes momentarily filled with pain. "Forget it. It’s ancient history; let's not speak of it. Stop worrying about your lover. He has his own destiny to fulfill. As long as he successfully achieves Foundation Establishment and survives the Heavenly Tribulation, his future achievements will be limitless, far surpassing even mine! Only then can I entrust you to him without reservation..."

Su Chan’s face lit up with joy, but at the final sentence, she became anxious again. "Master, you won't want me anymore?"

Ao Wushuang burst into laughter. "One moment hating me, the next fearing I won't want you. Chan’er, Chan’er, you are truly like the unpredictable weather of April—changing so fast!"

Su Chan lowered her head shyly, but quickly looked up again, asking timidly, "Master, may I go back to bid Yundong farewell? If I just leave like this, given his temperament, he might descend into extremism. I fear he might not be able to cope..."

Ao Wushuang gazed steadily at Su Chan, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "What a devoted child... Go then, it will spare him holding a grudge against me, and perhaps in the future..."

Su Chan asked, "In the future, what?"

Ao Wushuang shook her head. "Nothing. Go now, and return quickly."

Su Chan answered with a soft 'Ah,' transforming into a streak of azure light and swiftly departing. Yet, she returned almost immediately, anxiously looking at Ao Wushuang. "Master, can you give me the magic artifact you promised to leave for me?"

Ao Wushuang was startled. "You are certainly paying a high price for your beloved—you intend to gift him the very treasure of our Fox Zen Sect?" Then, she sighed again. "Never mind, never mind. Since no one in our sect can currently utilize that artifact, give it to him if you must!"

Saying this, she took out a seven-colored brocade pouch from beside her and handed it to Su Chan, adding a final warning: "Go quickly and return swiftly. Do not indulge in overly sentimental displays of affection; you must not jeopardize his cultivation, or all this effort will be for naught!"

Su Chan nodded heavily, then rapidly turned into a streak of azure light and departed.

When Su Chan left, Li Yundong felt as if his chest had been hollowed out; all strength drained from his body, his soul and spirit seemingly absent, leaving him like an animated corpse.

But suddenly, he saw an azure light flash back in an instant, and a beautiful young woman with a playful smile stood before him, looking at him with twinkling eyes.

Li Yundong focused his gaze—who else could it be but Su Chan?

In that moment, Li Yundong felt as if his soul had instantly returned. The emptiness in his chest was suddenly full, his heart so joyous it felt ready to explode. He stammered, "Little lass, you... you came back?"

Su Chan had approached Li Yundong full of happiness, but seeing his desolate appearance instantly twisted her own heart. She couldn't help but burst into tears and throw herself into his arms: "My lord! Little lass missed you!"

"Why did you come back?" Li Yundong pulled her tightly against him, tears welling up in his own eyes. He wiped them away even as he smiled.

The two held each other, tearful gazes meeting, alternating between weeping and laughter.

Su Chan dabbed her eyes and managed a smile. "My Master sent me back."

Li Yundong looked as if he couldn't trust his ears, a mixture of shock and delight on his face. "Your Master? She—she isn't taking you away?"

Su Chan shook her head. She recounted everything Ao Wushuang had told her to Li Yundong, then gazed at him devotedly. "Yundong, now that I am gone, you can focus entirely on your Foundation Establishment. Once you succeed and pass the Thunder Tribulation, I will come find you!"

Li Yundong let out a long sigh. "Your Master is right; I am still too weak! I am so weak I cannot even protect myself, how can I protect you?"

Su Chan declared loudly, "You may be weak now, but you will undoubtedly become the foremost expert under heaven!"

Li Yundong felt deeply moved and nodded forcefully. "I will work hard, I promise!"

The two exchanged smiles, neither mentioning how they would face the Heavenly Tribulation after Foundation Establishment, as if attaining that stage would render the tribulation a minor obstacle.

Su Chan nestled in Li Yundong’s embrace, greedily inhaling his scent. After a while, she remembered something. She took out the Seven Treasures Brocade Pouch she carried, clapped her hands, and in a blink, the pouch released a burst of seven-colored light, causing Li Yundong to instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes.

But when the light faded, Li Yundong saw Su Chan holding an enormous, nearly human-sized black iron fan.

The fan was entirely obsidian, seemingly forged from iron, standing about one meter sixty tall. Each leaf of the fan was nearly ten centimeters wide; a person with smaller hands couldn't possibly grip it with one hand.

Su Chan held the massive iron fan and placed it in Li Yundong's hands. "Yundong, this is for you. Keep it for self-defense from now on!"

Li Yundong took the heavy iron fan in astonishment. The moment his hand closed around the grip, his arm dipped sharply downwards. He was immediately startled. "It’s so heavy?"

Su Chan stated seriously, "This is the magic artifact passed down from the founding ancestor of our Fox Zen Sect, the Stone-Pillar Fox Elder. It’s called the Seven Treasures Spirit-Connecting Fan. Ancestor Stone-Pillar defeated countless experts relying on this very treasure!"

Li Yundong examined the precious fan. Inscribed on the surface of the iron leaves were countless golden Sanskrit characters. A shock went through him—he suddenly recalled the artifact held by the Three-Headed, Six-Armed Akshobhya Buddha he had once visualized. Was it not this very fan?

Seeing Li Yundong staring blankly, Su Chan assumed he was embarrassed to accept such a powerful item. She quickly urged, "Your strength is great; this will suit you perfectly. Most in our Fox Zen Sect are women and cannot wield it effectively. Keeping it is a waste for us; it will be useful in your hands!"

Li Yundong snapped back to reality and nodded. "Then I won't be impolite."

Seeing that he accepted it, Su Chan immediately beamed with delight. "Why be polite with me?"

Li Yundong also laughed. "Indeed. Aren't my little lass’s possessions mine?"

Su Chan suddenly recalled something and retorted playfully, "That’s not allowed! My piggy bank is still mine, and you aren't allowed to touch it while I'm gone!"

Li Yundong remembered past events and couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, alright, I won't touch it. When you put the key inside, were you already anticipating being gone for a while, afraid I’d steal your savings?"

Su Chan wanted to laugh at the memory, but the thought of leaving Li Yundong’s side for a period made her heart ache. She pouted, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes again. "I don't want to leave you for even a second!"

Li Yundong forced a smile. "It'll be fine. It will be quick; perhaps I'll come find you in a few days!"

Su Chan wiped her tears and managed a weak smile back. "Mhm. While I'm gone, you must remember to miss me, okay?"

Li Yundong held the Seven Treasures Spirit-Connecting Fan in one hand and wrapped the other around the young girl's waist. He gently kissed her on the lips. "I will think of you every second."

Su Chan seemed to remember something and frantically waved her hands. "No, no! You absolutely cannot think of me during Foundation Establishment!" She then added, "You can't think of me before Foundation Establishment either!"

The young girl’s face crumpled with genuine sadness. "You can't think of me before that time, so you had best only think of me after Foundation Establishment is complete..."

Li Yundong pulled Su Chan’s hand to his chest and gazed steadily into her eyes. "You are already rooted in my heart. How can you ask me not to think of you every single second?"

Su Chan immediately became teary-eyed and plunged back into Li Yundong's embrace, sobbing, her arms wrapped around his waist, refusing to let go.

But just then, Ao Wushuang’s cold shout echoed in Su Chan’s mind: "Su Chan! Are you trying to ruin him?"

Su Chan was instantly terrified and jumped away, scrambling free from Li Yundong's embrace and running outward. But after only two steps, she stopped, turning back to look at Li Yundong with pleading eyes. "My lord, little lass is leaving now!"

Li Yundong forced a smile. "Mhm. Don't forget to cook for yourself when you are alone!"

Su Chan wanted to smile, but tears pattered down her cheeks. She nodded, wiped a tear away, then steeled her heart with a fierce bite of her lip and turned to go.

But after only two steps, she stopped again, twisting back around, her eyes blurry with tears. "My lord, little lass will miss you."

Li Yundong, also tearful, smiled back. "I will miss you too!"

Su Chan turned away, walking while wiping her tears, looking back every few steps. She walked like this, stopping every three steps to look back, covering about twenty to thirty meters before suddenly stopping. She spun around, cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and shouted loudly, "Yundong! You absolutely must become strong!!" With the shout finished, she instantly transformed into an azure light and vanished from the spot.

Li Yundong’s tears burst forth immediately; he was choked with emotion.

He stood rooted to the spot, tilting his head back, as if trying to force the tears back inside.

He remained looking up for a long time before finally lowering his head. He also cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and roared, "I WILL definitely become strong!!!"

This shout spread far across the desolate plains of the suburbs. The sky above was majestic and indifferent; the earth below was heavy and silent. In the space between heaven and earth, this cry reverberated, seeming to bear witness to the young man's oath and determination.

Well, now that the little fox has left, I have a few words for my dear readers. Perhaps some of you are wondering: Ah, the little fox is gone, when will she return? Will she not be back until the novel ends? My answer is no, she will return soon, and she will even make occasional appearances in between. She represents another narrative thread; without her, the world of cultivation cannot be properly introduced. Perhaps others are thinking: Ah, the protagonist will start leveling up now, gradually leaving the modern city. That is correct; we are now entering the main cultivation storyline, but this will not mean abandoning the city setting. This is, first and foremost, a story set in a modern city, and only secondarily about cultivation. The protagonist will stage a king's return before long, so please do not worry.

Furthermore, some readers say this point in the story is good, some say it's exciting, and of course, some say it's not good. If you find it unenjoyable, you are free to stop reading, right? We can part amicably.

What I want to say is... the story has only just begun here! The truly exciting and brilliant parts are yet to come! Li Yundong has only just set foot on the path of cultivation; he must transform from weak to strong, and a magnificent and spectacular saga is just starting to unfold!