The two women standing in the arena were one small in stature yet captivatingly graceful—that was Liu Yuehong of the Fox Zen Sect. Beside her stood a woman of profound allure and intoxicating beauty, Cao Yi, who had previously vanished.

Yan Fang, catching sight of them in one swift glance, felt a jolt of alarm. "How are the two of you here?" she demanded, but she quickly regained her composure, glaring at Li Yundong through gritted teeth. "So, you knew all along?"

Li Yundong remained expressionless, not even opening his eyes, offering no reply.

Liu Yuehong, her face etched with frost, spoke up, "Indeed! The Sect Master knew long ago!"

Yan Fang bellowed, "Impossible! When did you find out I possessed Zhuang Yating?"

Liu Yuehong merely snorted. "You played your part well, but the net of heaven is vast and misses nothing!"

Yan Fang sneered, "And you think the two of you, along with this dullard Li Yundong, could possibly detect it?" With a sharp turn of her head, she fixed her glare on Ziyuan, spitting venomously, "It was you who figured it out, wasn't it?"

Ziyuan finally opened her eyes and nodded slightly. "That is correct, I was the one who sensed it, but Li Yundong confirmed it!"

Yan Fang roared in frustration, "Impossible! Where exactly did I slip up?"

Ziyuan spoke calmly, without haste. "Ever since we went for that buffet last time, and Li Yundong asked us to buy clothes, allowing you a chance to manifest—I became suspicious. At that moment, your Yang Shen was exceptionally robust. Unless you had a host, your power shouldn't have shown even the slightest regression. So, I immediately went to where the Fox Zen Sect disciples were changing. Everyone else was outside; only you and Cao Yi were in the changing room. That’s when I locked my focus onto the two of you."

Yan Fang stared intently at Ziyuan, letting out a cold, mocking laugh.

Ziyuan continued smoothly, "Of course, I also speculated that you might have intentionally revealed yourself, hoping to sow suspicion and discord among the Fox Zen Sect members, leading to internal strife. Am I wrong?"

Yan Fang's face shifted; she huffed but remained silent.

Knowing she had guessed correctly, Ziyuan pressed on. "But what I cannot fathom is why, after hiding so perfectly, you suddenly appeared, lured us to Mount Gezao, and then tried to expose Li Yundong in front of everyone, intending to take his life. Why?"

Yan Fang studied Ziyuan for a long moment before suddenly bursting into booming laughter. "So, there are things even you don't know, Ziyuan? How astonishing, how pitiable!"

Ziyuan met Yan Fang’s ridicule with a placid smile. "My existence is bounded, but knowledge is boundless. It is utterly normal to have things I do not know. What's so surprising about that? Didn't Senior Aunt always pride herself on her meticulous scheming? Surely you must be curious to know precisely when Li Yundong discovered that Zhuang Yating was you?"

Yan Fang’s face drained of color, and she immediately pressed, "When did he figure it out?"

Ziyuan chuckled softly. "When the Earth Three Immortals organization was established, and Director Cao came to offer congratulations, you were utterly shocked the moment you saw her. Afterward, Director Cao left the Earth Three Immortals and mentioned where she was staying. That very night, she was nearly murdered. And only those of us present knew her residence. Therefore, the culprit could only be among us! When Li Yundong visited the crime scene, he inadvertently discovered evidence—evidence that was a lapse in your otherwise brilliant planning, a single oversight in your hundred precautions!"

Yan Fang’s expression darkened. "What evidence?"

Ziyuan gave a dry little laugh. "Though the blood left at the scene was minimal, matching the blood-stained clothing Li Yundong later had Su Chan find in Cao Yi's room, Li Yundong subsequently used a certain method. On both the clothes and at the crime scene, two distinct blood traces appeared: one belonging to Cao Yi, and the other, yours!"

Yan Fang looked uncertainly shocked. "How is that possible! How did you determine that?"

Ziyuan cast a look of pity toward Yan Fang and let out a gentle sigh. "Senior Aunt, you truly were brilliant your whole life but foolish in this one critical moment! Have you forgotten that we live in modern society, where science called blood testing and DNA analysis exists?"

Yan Fang stiffened throughout her body, her mouth slightly agape, an expression of sheer disbelief. It seemed she could not fathom that she had been undone by the simplest of mistakes after such meticulous planning!

Ziyuan sighed again. "When the police delivered their report the next day, Li Yundong knew that both you and Cao Yi had been at Director Cao's residence, yet you claimed you hadn't stepped out. Wasn't that a self-indictment? All your hard work to frame Cao Yi, and you were brought down by this, of all things?"

Yan Fang’s face contorted several times, and she ground out, "No wonder Li Yundong appeared there again later! Hmph!" Unwilling to concede, she turned her cold gaze to Cao Yi. "You must be enjoying this immensely?"

Cao Yi stared back at Yan Fang with ice in her eyes, replying noncommittally, "You are facing death. Do you have any final words?"

Liu Yuehong, standing nearby, glared at Yan Fang with fire in her eyes, shouting sternly, "Junior Sister, what more is there to say to this person? How many people has she harmed? From Senior Sister Mo Ashi, to Ye Yu, and then Zhuang Yating? Today, I will see you pay in blood!"

With that, Liu Yuehong let out a sharp shriek and lunged furiously at Yan Fang, her fingers curved like hooks, as if intending to snatch out Yan Fang’s heart with one hand.

But just as Liu Yuehong’s hand made contact with Yan Fang's body, Yan Fang suddenly moved. She clamped down hard on Liu Yuehong's arms, twisting violently, then shot a leg upwards, kicking Liu Yuehong hard in the torso.

Liu Yuehong hadn't anticipated that Yan Fang would still be capable of movement. She cried out in agony as a sickening crack signaled her arm was broken, and her body was sent flying sideways like a discarded sandbag.

This sudden turn of events startled everyone present. None of them had expected Yan Fang to be the first to recover!

Su Chan, Zhou Qin, and the others watched with dramatically changed expressions. Ziyuan's face also suddenly turned grim.

Yan Fang laughed maniacally. "Didn't expect that, did you!" Her eyes blazing with murderous intent, she turned toward Li Yundong. Yan Fang knew that if she could just kill him, the Fox Zen Sect would collapse without a fight!

Cao Yi saw the intent immediately and coldly interjected, "If you want to kill the Sect Master, you'll have to get past me first!"

Yan Fang glared fiercely at Cao Yi. "You’re always opposing me! Hmph, do you think you’re any saint yourself? Perfect. I'll settle all our old and new scores at once!"

With a sharp cry, she prepared to pounce.

Unexpectedly, Li Yundong suddenly opened his eyes, and a gaze of unimaginable sharpness shot out like an arrow toward Yan Fang.

Yan Fang’s heart clenched. Damn it, has this brat recovered already?

Her ingrained fear of Li Yundong was profound. She instantly abandoned the thought of attacking. Yan Fang’s mind raced; she quickly reasoned: Even if this villain has recovered, it doesn't matter. As long as I seize the Immortal Brush, even if he has heaven-defying abilities, he can do nothing to me!

With this thought, Yan Fang abruptly halted her forward lunge. Her body twisted sharply, and she instead darted toward Wan Zhenyuan.

Wan Zhenyuan, afflicted by the Level One Divine Immortal’s Paralysis Toxin, was completely unprepared. He could only watch helplessly as Yan Fang closed in, striking toward his chest with an open palm.

Wan Zhenyuan’s thoughts moved like lightning; being cunning and experienced, he instantly grasped Yan Fang’s objective. Consequently, Wan Zhenyuan gathered all his remaining strength and hurled the Immortal Brush forcefully into the arena.

Then, he bolted away like a streak of smoke!

Yan Fang sneered inwardly. She didn't even glance at Wan Zhenyuan, spinning around to snatch the Immortal Brush. But as she watched the brush tumbling through the air, it landed with a soft pat on the ground, and a young girl bent down, reaching out to pick it up.

This girl was tall and dressed in fashionable beauty—who else but Ding Nan?

Yan Fang gasped in shock. She hadn't expected anyone else to have recovered. She immediately snarled menacingly, "Put down the Immortal Brush!"

Ding Nan had started her cultivation later than Zhou Qin, and she lacked the benefit of the Human Origin Golden Elixir. Crucially, she had never even entered the initial stages of Foundation Establishment. Her cultivation level was thus the lowest present.

However, the intense power of the Level One Divine Immortal’s Paralysis Toxin was such that the higher one's cultivation, the deeper the poisoning. Conversely, those with lower cultivation recovered more easily!

Ding Nan saw the Immortal Brush flying towards her and instinctively caught it. But this immediately drew Yan Fang's killing intent. For a moment, she was gripped by fear and indecision: Should she throw the brush away, or keep it?

Unexpectedly, Zheng Yuan, standing nearby, abruptly opened his eyes and shouted, "Ping'er, run!"

Without a second thought, Ding Nan instinctively twisted around and fled.

Yan Fang roared in fury, "Stop!" Her movement was like electricity; in the blink of an eye, she caught up to Ding Nan's back, grabbing at her neck with one hand like a predatory tiger seizing a lamb.

At this moment, the only ones capable of movement in the arena were Yan Fang, Ding Nan, and Cao Yi, who stood vigilantly protecting Li Yundong.

And Cao Yi’s entire focus was fixed on Li Yundong. As long as Li Yundong was safe, it seemed the deaths of everyone around her would not cause the slightest change in her expression.

Seeing Yan Fang about to catch Ding Nan, Zheng Yuan suddenly pulled a jade ruyi sceptre from his robes. He swiftly bit his index finger until it bled, smeared the blood onto the sceptre's jade handle, and shouted, "Yan Fang!"

As soon as the ruyi sceptre touched the blood, countless swirling black tendrils erupted, making it look terrifying and fierce. An invisible black mist instantly surged toward Yan Fang’s body.

Startled by Zheng Yuan’s shout, Yan Fang felt a violent wrench in her heart, as if someone had squeezed it—it nearly suffocated her, draining all strength from her body!

Yan Fang lost control of her limbs momentarily and collapsed onto the ground with a thud. But she quickly regained strength, scrambled back up, and stared at Zheng Yuan with shocked fury. "What kind of magic item is that?"

Duels between cultivators often involve lightning and thunder, resolved in an instant. In that fleeting moment, Yan Fang had nearly lost all control of her body. For a cultivator like her to fall to the ground was utterly inconceivable!

If Zheng Yuan had not been partially recovered himself, only able to exert effort weakly without being able to press the attack, Yan Fang would likely be dead by now!

To Yan Fang, the artifact in Zheng Yuan’s hand was insidious and wicked. Caught completely off guard, even a Golden Immortal expert would suffer a major setback, possibly leading to eternal damnation!

After this shout, Zheng Yuan’s face turned deathly pale, and a layer of fine sweat beaded on his forehead. He turned to Ding Nan and said, "Ping'er, you go first. I’ll hold her off!"

Ding Nan was already standing by the railing on the second floor, staring at everyone present with wide, wary eyes. With the slightest movement, she would vault the railing and flee.

But the calculating Ding Nan also knew that, being unestablished in Foundation Establishment, even if she escaped, she wouldn't get far. Holding the Immortal Brush was like a child clutching a gold ingot walking through a busy market—disaster was certain!

Therefore, she did not rush to flee. Instead, she feigned deep concern and anxiously called out to Zheng Yuan, "Master, if you aren't leaving, neither am I!"

Zheng Yuan was deeply moved; the last vestiges of suspicion he held toward Ding Nan vanished. He took a deep breath, and an eerie flush of crimson spread across his pale face. He smiled coldly at Yan Fang and declared, "True Person Yan, I am taking this Immortal Brush today! If you don't wish to die, then come and try!"