Li Yundong originally had no intention of interfering in the squabble among them, but the disciples of the Six Great Sects were too accustomed to arrogance. Now that Li Yundong’s presence was revealed, how could they allow him to leave?

Seeing that Li Yundong remained unresponsive, the tall disciple sneered, "Why hide your head and show your tail? Come out!" With that, he flicked his sleeve, sending two Bone-Piercing Nails flying towards Li Yundong.

Li Yundong, observing the man's immediate and ruthless action, felt a surge of inner anger. He raised a hand, caught the two Bone-Piercing Nails between his fingers, and tossed them back, shouting, "Take them back!"

This tall disciple was also an Inner Disciple of the Foundation Establishment stage, reacting with extreme speed. He only felt a gust of fierce wind rushing toward his face and instinctively ducked his head. He then heard a sound tearing through the air directly above him, like an arrow shot from a taut bow—the momentum was terrifyingly potent.

His heart shuddered violently. So powerful! Which sect or master is this? he thought.

The tall disciple, filled with both fear and awe, shouted loudly, "Which esteemed master attacks? Why not show yourself!"

Li Yundong snorted and leaped down, stating coldly, "I dare not call myself an esteemed master."

The tall disciple was stunned upon seeing him. "It's you?" he then roared with anger, "I knew you weren't a good person when I first saw you! I didn't expect you to be collaborating with those lowlifes from the Divine Fist Sect!"

Li Yundong was astonished to be so unjustly accused. He let out a soft laugh, about to speak, when he suddenly saw the situation on the field undergo a dramatic shift!

Lin You noticed the tall man had stopped his fierce assault, and the others were somewhat distracted by Li Yundong's appearance. He immediately launched an extremely ferocious counterattack.

The woman facing him lunged with her sword. Lin You blocked with his arm, and with a thwack, the long sword pierced straight through his forearm.

Taking advantage of the opponent’s delay in withdrawing the sword, Lin You violently twisted his arm, managing to wedge the woman's long sword between the two bones of his forearm, effectively pinning it so she couldn't pull it out. Then, with his other hand, he brought a palm strike straight toward the woman’s forehead.

The female disciple of the Golden Mountain Sect was caught completely off guard that Lin You had used his own arm bone to jam her blade. She tugged twice without success, and Lin You's hand was already upon her. With no other recourse, she abandoned her sword and retreated rapidly backward.

The three peers beside her immediately thrust their three swords toward Lin You, forcing him to stop his attack. The short disciple from the Quanzhen Dragon Gate Sect also swept his whisk toward Lin You’s lower abdomen.

Lin You would not allow her to escape. With a great roar, he stomped his foot forward fiercely, completely ignoring the surrounding attacks. He slammed his palm squarely onto the fleeing woman's forehead, and with a sickening thud, her head was nearly driven into her chest cavity. Simultaneously, the three swords from the three male disciples of the Golden Mountain Sect pierced Lin You, and the whisk from the Quanzhen Dragon Gate Sect disciple struck Lin You’s lower abdomen solidly.

However, Lin You was currently possessed by the spirit, his body as hard as steel, possessing extremely high damage resistance—only sharp weapons could truly injure him. Furthermore, his lower abdomen was dense with circulating True Qi. Although the whisk strike caused him intense pain throughout his body, it did not cause serious injury.

He let out a great roar, contracting his muscles sharply, trapping the long swords of the three male disciples of the Golden Mountain Sect within his musculature. He then raised his hands and delivered three swift thwack strikes, sending all three men flying backward.

Li Yundong watched as the chests of these three men deeply concave, and after crashing to the ground, they spat out gouts of blood. They clearly wouldn't survive. Li Yundong’s heart jolted: This old man is truly ruthless!

Lin You killed four people in the span of a breath. He spun around, his hand grabbing for the short disciple of the Quanzhen Dragon Gate Sect, who was standing frozen in terror behind him. He snatched him up by the head, lifting him as easily as one would carry a chicken.

The tall disciple of the Quanzhen Dragon Gate Sect realized that in less than twenty seconds after he had pulled himself out of the fight, the entire battle had undergone a decisive reversal, and his junior brother had fallen into Lin You’s grasp.

The tall disciple was both shocked and enraged, roaring fiercely, "You dare kill him? Aren't you afraid of retaliation from our Quanzhen Dragon Gate Sect!"

Lin You, drenched in blood, his face twisted into a savage grin, said, "I’ve already killed four brats from the Golden Mountain Sect, why would I hesitate to kill one more from your Quanzhen Dragon Gate Sect?" As he spoke, he tightened his fingers, crushing the short disciple’s head like smashing a watermelon, before tossing the body aside.

The tall disciple's face changed drastically. Without a second thought, he immediately turned and fled.

Seeing him escape, Lin You shouted loudly at Li Yundong, "Don't let him run!"

But Li Yundong had no intention of being his accomplice. He simply stepped to the side, indicating a posture of non-interference.

The tall disciple swept past Li Yundong and vanished instantly into the dense forest.

Lin You rushed over, staring at the direction the tall disciple fled, stamping his foot and sighing. He yelled angrily at Li Yundong, "Why didn't you stop him?"

Li Yundong already had a grudge with Lin You. Even before reaching Foundation Establishment, he hadn't feared Lin You, and now with his strength skyrocketing, he feared him even less. He sneered, "Why should I stop him? Are we close friends?"

Lin You was momentarily stunned, his anger beginning to fade. He said gravely, "True Master Li, do you think he will appreciate your neutrality when he gets away? Let me tell you, the disciples of these prestigious sects are all more arrogant than the last. Do you think you can stand aside by not taking sides? Don't joke! Eventually, they will hold you accountable! Don't believe me? Just wait and see!"

Li Yundong snorted, "So what if they do? Do I need you to teach me how to conduct myself?"

Lin You's eyebrows shot up. "How ungrateful!"

Li Yundong coldly laughed, "What, you want to fight? Fine! But don't blame me for not warning you—you are no match for me!"

Lin You was furious. He reached up and pulled out the three long swords still stuck in his body, then adopted a fighting stance. "We'll only know after we fight! True Master Li, we never managed a true outcome in our previous clashes. Today is a perfect opportunity!"

Li Yundong looked at the blood profusely flowing from Lin You’s body and couldn't help but frown. "Forget it. Fighting you in this state would be an unfair victory for me. Wait until you've recovered from your wounds, and then we'll fight again!"

Lin You was taken aback. He sneered, "Do I need your pity?"

Li Yundong glanced at Lin You and stated calmly, "Perhaps I wasn't your opponent before, but the current you is far from my match. If you insist on fighting, that is courting death!" With that, he snorted through his nose—a sound carrying the sonic effect of the True Word Great Hand Seal—which made the surrounding air tremble.

Lin You felt as if his chest had been struck by a hammer, instantly finding it difficult to breathe!

He was greatly shocked: How has this brat advanced so quickly!

Only then did Lin You begin to examine Li Yundong seriously. Now that Li Yundong had successfully established his Foundation and passed the Heavenly Tribulation, he was no longer the ignorant person he once was. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became, forcing him to say, "Truly, when scholars are apart for three days, one must look at them with new eyes! You—have you encountered some kind of wondrous fortune? How could your progress be so rapid? Even describing it as a thousand miles a day doesn't capture your cultivation speed! Have you consumed some miraculous elixir?"

Li Yundong cast a faint glance at Lin You. The strong foe of the past now seemed utterly vulnerable in his eyes. A feeling of sublime transcendence suddenly arose in Li Yundong’s heart. He did not answer, as if disdaining to reply to Lin You's inquiry, and turned to leave.

Lin You, unwilling to let it go, chased after him shouting, "Hey, how exactly are you cultivating!"

Li Yundong ignored him completely, walking quickly. Lin You followed close behind, pleading, "I will pay a great price for your method, alright!"

Li Yundong secretly sneered. Were the hardships and experiences he endured along the way something that money could buy?

Seeing that Li Yundong still paid him no heed, a sudden idea struck Lin You. He shouted loudly, "I know the entrance to the secret grounds of the Fox Charm Gate! I can take you there together, how about it!"

Upon hearing 'Fox Charm Gate,' Li Yundong's heart immediately seized, and his steps stopped instantly.

Lin You secretly smirked inwardly: Hmph, you stop only when you hear that name. What difference is there between you and those hypocrites from the famous sects who covet the treasures of the Fox Charm Gate?

Lin You felt contemptuous in his heart, but he pressed on, "There are many magic treasures and secret manuals within the secret grounds. If you and I go together, we can split them equally!"

Li Yundong suddenly turned around and asked with a cold smile, "Do you take me for a three-year-old child? If you know about it, why aren't you going by yourself? Just as you said, if you found the entrance to the secret grounds, why come out instead of searching for the treasure yourself?"

When Lin You saw Li Yundong finally speaking to him, he became less anxious and chuckled, "If you come with me, you'll know why."

Li Yundong said coldly, "You can go by yourself; don't involve me!" With that, he turned to leave.

Seeing Li Yundong about to depart, Lin You couldn't help but panic, shouting, "What can you achieve by going up the mountain now? Besides the Six Great Sects, there are at least a dozen sects, large and small, on the mountain, with more than a hundred cultivators among them. If you go, you're just delivering yourself to death! Moreover, the path from the foot to the mid-mountain is guarded layer upon layer; by the time you fight your way through, you'll be exhausted to death! It's much better to take the secret shortcut with me, where we can sneak ahead of them without anyone noticing!"

This statement immediately struck a chord with Li Yundong. He thought: That's right. I'm unfamiliar with this place, I don't even know the paths. If I take the main route, I'm bound to clash with these cultivators from the renowned sects. I don't fear one or two, but if there are a dozen, I'll have to run. It doesn't matter if I run, but what about the little girl? If I delay, what if I can't save her?

With this thought, Li Yundong secretly made up his mind. He turned back to Lin You and asked with a mixture of belief and doubt, "Do you really know a shortcut?"

Seeing Li Yundong waver, Lin You was overjoyed. He smiled, "Of course. If I speak a single falsehood, may I be struck by lightning!"

Li Yundong snorted, "No need for heavenly lightning. If you dare lie to me, I will personally use lightning to strike you dead!"

Hearing Li Yundong's threat, Lin You secretly sneered: What an arrogant fellow. How old are you? If you can already use the Heavenly Thunder Art, then does Heaven's justice or the rule of law even exist in this world?

Though he thought this, he said aloud, "As a cultivator, I must keep my word. You just need to come with me to see if I am telling the truth or a lie!" Looking around quickly, he urged, "If you decide, make it quick. If we delay too long and cause a commotion that alerts the elders after dealing with the juniors, neither of us will escape!"

Li Yundong considered this, then decisively said in a deep voice, "Lead the way!"

=========================================== It seems that securing the eighth spot on the Flower Ranking is certain. Next week will feature three updates, still on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th days of the month.