With a surge of his five fingers, Li Yundong brutally crushed Kuang Tianping’s skull like an overripe melon, sending a spray of red and white matter everywhere! Kuang Tianping’s vengeful spirit instantly left his body, fleeing toward the rear of the crowd, spewing a stream of curses.

Everyone present was stunned into silence, their eyes locked onto Li Yundong. Some female cultivators covered their mouths and turned away in terror; even Ziyuan couldn't help but furrow her brow before sending a sound transmission to Li Yundong: “Li Yundong, don't accumulate too much negative karma through killing.

Su Chan isn't here; I’ve checked for you, though I don't know where she is either. Hurry and ask Liu Ye, the sect master of the Fox Zen Sect, if he knows anything.” Hearing Ziyuan’s transmission, Li Yundong was momentarily taken aback, the anger boiling in his chest immediately dissipating.

He swept his gaze across the crowd to meet Ziyuan’s eyes, secretly nodding once, then let out a cold snort. He pointed the Seven Treasures Spirit-Connecting Fan before him, drawing a deep, long line on the ground, and spoke in a chilling voice: “Those who cross this line, die!” With that, he turned and strode toward Liu Ye.

With every step he took, his body made a series of sharp cracking sounds as he rapidly morphed back to his original stature. Ruan Hongling watched this transformation, bewildered and curious.

She sent a transmission to Ziyuan: “Sister Ziyuan, what kind of technique is that? It’s so strange!

I’ve never seen anything like it!” Ziyuan also frowned slightly and replied via transmission: “I don’t know either; I’ve never witnessed such a technique. However, I’ve heard of a specific technique that, after replacing the blood, flesh, bones, and internal organs, can ignite the maximum power and potential within a human body, instantly boosting one's metabolism tens or even hundreds of times over.

When cultivated to a certain realm, the practitioner can freely manipulate the changes in their physical body—not only growing taller or larger in an instant but even transforming into a being with three heads and six arms!” Ruan Hongling gasped: “There’s such a miraculous technique? What is it?” Ziyuan transmitted: “The Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Art!” Ruan Hongling was shocked again: “The Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Art?

Isn’t that lost to history? How does this fellow know it?” Ziyuan shook her head: “I don't know either.

We can ask him later when we have the chance.” While the two women were communicating privately, the cultivators from the other sects were also whispering amongst themselves in shock, secretly speculating about the nature of the technique Li Yundong had just used, finding it incredibly domineering! Li Yundong had walked back a few paces when a figure leaped out from the assembled cultivators.

Though not as burly as Kuang Tianping, he was not short. He roared loudly: “You murderer, give me back my senior brother’s life!” With a shout, he raised a hand and flung a triangular banner before lunging toward Li Yundong.

As the triangular banner flew into the air, its surface instantly snapped taut, whipping toward Li Yundong with a mournful howl. If it struck him, even with all his incredible abilities, he would never escape its entanglement.

But the moment the banner moved, the Seven Treasures Spirit-Connecting Fan sprang up violently. Its blades rattled like a chainsaw as they lunged forward, slicing the triangular banner apart with a sharp shhhhrrrriiiipp.

At nearly the same instant, as if his nape had eyes, Li Yundong recoiled like a cannonball just as the attacker was about to cross the line, darting into the man’s embrace in a flash. Li Yundong drew his limbs in tightly, his head slightly lowered, his back radiating a dense field of True Essence.

At that moment, someone might have struck his back with an iron hammer, but the blow would have immediately rebounded, knocked away by the pervasive True Essence! The attacker, slammed into Li Yundong’s embrace, felt as if he had been struck by a speeding express train.

He gasped, spewed a mouthful of blood, and was sent flying backward, crashing into several nearby cultivators, sending them sprawling and groaning painfully on the ground. A cultivator who dared to draw near checked on the man Li Yundong had struck.

He saw blood weeping from all seven orifices and his internal organs clearly damaged; he was clearly beyond saving. The man’s spirit quickly fled his body and began screaming curses into the air.

The crowd collectively sucked in a sharp breath. Someone roared in anger: “How venomous is your heart, to strike so cruelly!” Li Yundong turned back and said with chilling solemnity: “Did any of you show mercy when you struck?” He then let out a cold snort: “I repeat: Cross this line, and you die!

If you don’t believe me, you can try again!” Saying this, he turned and walked toward Liu Ye again. At this point, Cao Yi, the youngest disciple of the Fox Zen Sect, couldn't help but whisper to Liu Ye: “Martial Uncle Sect Master, this person carries an incredibly heavy malevolence!” Liu Ye, however, wore an expression of grim satisfaction.

Breathing heavily, he said: “You don’t understand. In this situation, only overwhelming force can suppress the avarice of these people!

Since this person is the master of the Seven Treasures Spirit-Connecting Fan, he must have some connection to Ao Wushuang, perhaps even Su Chan. He is likely one of us.

The more ruthless and decisive he is, the better it is for us! Do you think arguing reason with these so-called righteous cultivators will make them retreat?” Liu Ye looked at the cultivators behind Li Yundong, who were temporarily too intimidated to move, and let out a cold laugh: “See?

He killed two people in quick succession, and now everyone hesitates to act rashly. This is called using martial power to uphold the Dao!

If you had tried to reason with them from the start, they would have swarmed us by now, and we would all be finished!” He spoke so much in one breath that he was gasping for air. Several remaining disciples anxiously gathered around him, grasping his hands, transferring their scarce remaining True Essence to him.

Liu Ye took a few more breaths and waved them off: “Don’t waste it. You are all badly injured.

Donating it to this old man who is about to die is a waste. In the future, I think our Fox Zen Sect will rely on him.

Ha, this man’s appearance is a blessing for our Fox Zen Sect!” Seeing Li Yundong approach, Liu Ye struggled to raise his hand and beckoned to him: “Young hero, come over here. Your name is Li Yundong, correct?

Do you know Su Chan?” Liu Ye’s voice was suddenly dry and ancient. Hearing it, Li Yundong froze momentarily; the voice sounded strangely familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had heard it before.

Li Yundong considered it, finding no answer in his mind, and set the matter aside. He asked directly: “Yes, do you know Su Chan’s whereabouts?” Liu Ye let out a dry chuckle: “Of course, I know.” Li Yundong pressed urgently: “Where is she!” Just as Liu Ye opened his mouth to speak, he suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood with a cry, his eyes rolled back, and he slumped unconscious.

Li Yundong was immediately horrified. He quickly caught Liu Ye, shouting: “Hey!

Don’t you die! Tell me where Su Chan is first!” A woman nearby yelled angrily at Li Yundong: “How can you be like this?

Can’t you see our Sect Master is failing? Even if he were fine, with such great enemies arrayed against us, how could he tell you?

If he told you, would you just leave the moment you got what you wanted?” Li Yundong glanced at the woman. Though her hair was disheveled, her face retained its allure, especially the beauty mark near her mouth, which added a touch of glamour.

She bore a slight resemblance to Ao Wushuang. Li Yundong grasped Liu Ye’s hand and channeled some True Essence into him, then pressed a few vital pressure points on his chest to stop the bleeding.

Seeing him stir faintly and his complexion regain a little color, Li Yundong stood up and said sternly: “Sect Master, you want me to drive these people away?” Liu Ye managed a slight twitch of his lips and slowly nodded. Li Yundong nodded slowly: “Very well, I will drive them away for you!” This statement was easy to utter, but achieving it was a thousand times more difficult.

Even the remaining disciples of the Fox Zen Sect, who pinned immense hope on him and viewed him as their last straw, thought it unlikely he could succeed. Li Yundong walked back into the fray, calculating how to handle the current assembly.

Simple brute force would not suffice; if these people swarmed him, even with his strength, two fists couldn't fight four hands. The only advantage he could exploit was what he had observed earlier while in hiding: although these groups appeared united, they were internally discordant, each secretly hoping the others would fail so their own sect could benefit.

It was this spirit of ‘saving oneself by sacrificing a comrade’ that he could use to force them into attacking one by one! Having realized this, Li Yundong approached the boundary line, bowed to Zhang Tianhe, who led the group, and the representatives of the other sects, and stated gravely: “All of you are descendants of renowned orthodox sects.

Why resort to bullying the weak and preying upon the aged and infirm?” Li Yundong’s words placed him instantly on the highest moral ground, condemning the assembled cultivators from a position of superiority. The disciples of the great sects naturally objected, loudly refuting him.

However, Li Yundong’s initial preemptive strike—the ruthless killing of two men—had instilled a profound sense of awe in them, so for a moment, no outright insults were uttered. “You brat, where did you crawl out from?

What do you know? The Fox Zen Sect is a demonic heresy; they deserve to be purged by all!” “Exactly!

Why reason with demons and monsters? We are carrying out justice on behalf of Heaven!” “You are utterly unreasonable!

The Fox Zen Sect perpetrates heinous acts; yet you rush in here, trying to aid the wicked?” Li Yundong heard them clearly and immediately retorted loudly: “Then I must ask you all: What evil has the Fox Zen Sect committed!” Although his voice was not deafening, nor was he shouting, Li Yundong’s True Qi imbued his words, making them resonate as if spoken directly into the listeners’ ears. Despite the general clamor, every word was heard distinctly, without being drowned out by the noise.

At this, all the cultivators in the area stiffened. They knew such vocal projection could not be achieved without arduous, solid foundational training.

They secretly mused: The ruthlessness Li Yundong showed earlier was one thing, but how did such a young man cultivate such a solid foundation of True Essence and technique? Could this man possibly be the direct disciple of some reclusive, peerless Grandmaster?

The sharp-witted and well-read cultivators among them immediately began running through a mental catalog of the hidden, powerful masters in the cultivation world, trying to match each one to the young man before them. Li Yundong’s question left many speechless.

Some immediately thought to themselves: Indeed, besides the monstrous demoness Tianji Xuanhu, has the Fox Zen Sect ever been credibly linked to any great wickedness? Perhaps their conduct was sometimes unrestrained, but haven’t the so-called righteous sects also engaged in their share of illicit affairs between men and women?

The Fox Zen Sect might have minor faults, insufficient to warrant annihilation, but no great evil has ever been reported. More people understood the truth in their hearts as clearly as a polished mirror: All this talk of ‘executing Heaven’s will’ and ‘deserving to be purged’ was utter nonsense.

They were using the pretense of retrieving the Human Origin Golden Elixir to engage in opportunistic robbery! What they truly coveted were the Fox Zen Sect’s secret manuals and magical artifacts!

However, the elders of the major sects found it distasteful to engage in such open plunder. They lacked the nerve, yet they were unwilling to let the rich pickings of the Fox Zen Sect go untapped.

Thus, they had a clever idea: send the juniors! This would simultaneously train the juniors’ cultivation and allow them real-world experience.

Moreover, if any disputes arose later, they could simply declare, “It was just children squabbling; the young ones didn’t know any better,” and wash their hands clean. This calculation was undeniably slick, which is why none of the major sects had initially exerted their full strength.

When the Fox Zen Sect seemed on the verge of collapse with no power to resist, everyone was eager to rush in. But now that a dark horse had suddenly appeared, ruthlessly killing two people, the major sects had to reconsider: Was this a readily consumable piece of meat, or a hard bone to break?

Better not lose a tooth trying to swallow meat that turns out to be too tough! Seeing their sudden lack of arguments, Li Yundong pressed on: “Since the Fox Zen Sect has no publicly known wickedness, why are you pursuing them to this extreme?

Is it merely because they are foxes who have attained sentience that you must strike them down mercilessly? There are countless wicked humans in this world whom you ignore, yet you choose to torment a group of foxes who commit no evil.

Tell me, do you still deserve the title of ‘Renowned Orthodox Sect’?” Li Yundong’s words struck home hard. Some righteous cultivators among the sects showed shame.

Those greedy for the Fox Zen Sect’s artifacts, sensing the shift in momentum, quickly shouted: “The Fox Zen Sect disciple Ao Wushuang infiltrated the Gezao Sect to steal the Human Origin Golden Elixir! We are here seeking justice for that matter!” Upon hearing this, Li Yundong burst into loud laughter.