At Mount Longhu, in the Shangqing Palace of the Zhengyi Sect, Zhang Ling brought the younger generation of Taoist priests and priestesses back to the mountain. She then issued a stern gag order: "If any of you dare to gossip, you can prepare to live out the rest of your days on this mountain!"

Though they were cultivators, these inner-circle disciples were young and yearned fiercely for the outside world. They often gathered to discuss which senior brother had gone down the mountain, or which senior sister had acquired a splendid new outfit while away.

Zhang Ling knew well that these young people loved to gather and chatter, often twisting a simple matter until it was unrecognizable, spreading rumors throughout the entire Zhengyi Sect within minutes.

Hearing Zhang Ling's sharp rebuke, the juniors of the Zhengyi Sect secretly stuck out their tongues and quickly dispersed.

Zhang Ling suddenly called back the youngest of the group, a junior sister, saying, "Liufang, wait a moment."

Zhang Liufang stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at Zhang Ling with confusion. "Martial Aunt-Master, is something the matter?"

Zhang Ling hesitated for a moment, then said, "Fetch your master in a bit; I need to speak with him."

Zhang Liufang smiled faintly. "Alright then." With that, she skipped away happily.

Zou Ping watched the receding figure and murmured softly, "Master, why are you calling the Third Martial Uncle?"

Zhang Ling let out a soft sigh. "Given the current state of the cultivation world, having no Golden Body masters isn't enough to hold the line anymore. The Zhengyi Sect has three living Golden Body masters. One is Wang Yuanshan—never mind him. Another is the Sect Leader, who is currently in seclusion. The third is Zhang Liufang's master, Zhang Kongyun."

Zou Ping's mouth fell open in shock. "Zhang Kong—what? Third Martial Uncle is a Golden Body master? No way! Him? With his character, he's a Golden Body master? You never told me that!"

Zhang Ling merely snorted, offering no reply. Zou Ping immediately understood: if her own master wasn't a Golden Body master, why would Zhang Ling bother telling her about others?

Zhang Ling's face grew grim. After a pause, she slowly spoke, "Although my Third Martial Brother has an eccentric temperament, he is a rare cultivation prodigy in our Zhengyi Sect, second to none. By the time he reached the Golden Body realm, you hadn't even been born yet!"

Zou Ping forced a sheepish smile. "It's just that I've heard so many people say the Third Martial Uncle is eccentric." As she spoke, her curiosity deepened. If a peak Yang Spirit realm expert was already so formidable, what must a Golden Body master be like?

A while later, Zhang Liufang returned, leading someone. From a distance, Zhang Liufang waved her arms and shouted, "Hey, Eldest Martial Aunt-Master, I brought my master!"

As she spoke, she reached out to tug at the sleeve of the person beside her.

Zou Ping looked closely and saw a man of extremely short stature, only about 1.5 meters tall. He was stooped over, his back bent as if carrying a boulder weighing ten thousand jin; his face was a roadmap of wrinkles, so ancient he looked like he'd lived for centuries. His eyebrows were long and white, drooping down toward his cheeks, and the goatee under his chin was sparse and scraggly, making him look comical.

Zhang Liufang pulled on Zhang Kongyun's sleeve as they walked, urging him on. "Oh, Master, hurry up! Go faster!"

Zhang Kongyun sighed heavily. "What is it with you, girl? I'm busy!"

As soon as he drew near, Zou Ping caught a strong, pungent odor and couldn't help but wrinkle her nose, covering it. "Third Martial Uncle, what were you just doing? It stinks so much!"

Zhang Liufang pinched her nose too, making a funny face and giggling, "Master was just fertilizing the Napa cabbage!"

Zou Ping nearly fainted, caught between laughter and tears. "Third Martial Uncle, why are you messing with that now? Didn't you say last time you wanted to be a carpenter? How did you become a vegetable farmer?"

Zhang Kongyun’s hands were covered in dark mud. He rubbed them together, causing clumps of old dirt to fall away. He chuckled, "Versatility doesn't weigh you down! Versatility doesn't weigh you down, hahahaha! It's a skill to fall back on!"

Zou Ping felt helpless but amused. "Third Martial Uncle, you are truly humorous. With your cultivation level, where in the world can't you go?"

Hearing Zou Ping praise him, Zhang Kongyun’s eyebrows practically sprang to life. He beamed proudly. "That's right! These few cabbages I'm growing are so white and big, and so crisp! Ordinary people can't grow them!" Saying this, he reached out to tug at Zou Ping’s sleeve, chuckling, "Little Martial Niece, come take a look with me, you'll see!"

Zou Ping saw his pair of black hands reaching toward her clean clothes and, being inherently fastidious and fond of beauty, she jumped back in alarm, every hair on her body standing on end.

But Zhang Kongyun seemed to anticipate her recoil. He firmly grasped her arm, leaving a distinct black five-fingered print on her clean sleeve.

Zou Ping was so angry she shouted, "Third Martial Uncle!" Yet, constrained by seniority, she dared not scold him directly, her pretty face turning crimson with suppressed frustration.

Zhang Ling couldn't watch any longer. She sighed. "Third Martial Brother, can you please not torment my disciple the moment you show up? What is this behavior? Let go, have some propriety!"

Zhang Kongyun gave a sheepish grin, releasing his grip. He used his dirty, black hand to scratch his head. "I just got a bit excited seeing the little martial niece! Oh, right, Eldest Martial Sister, what did you call me for?"

Hearing that old term, Zhang Ling’s face immediately fell. "How many times have I told you not to call me Eldest Martial Sister? It’s Eldest Senior Sister!"

Zhang Kongyun nodded and bowed subserviently, placating her. "Yes, yes, Eldest Senior Sister, you are correct!"

Zhang Ling was so angry she almost burst an aperture. She took a deep breath, thinking to herself: If it weren't for the fact that my martial brother is in seclusion, who would bother dealing with this old fellow? How hateful!

Zhang Ling forced down her anger and explained the matter of the Lotus Gathering. Then she continued, "Third Martial Brother, now that Wang Yuanshan has left the sect and the Sect Leader is in seclusion, you are the only one who can keep this Li Yundong in check. You cannot just sit by while our Zhengyi Sect is bullied right under our noses!"

Zhang Kongyun blinked, his small, black-bean eyes darting around. He suddenly turned to Zhang Liufang and asked, "This Li Yundong is that powerful? Are there no cultivators from other sects who can defeat him?"

Zhang Liufang couldn't hide the intense admiration and worship on her face. She nodded vigorously. "Yes! This person is terrifying! They call him Li the Invincible!"

"Li the Invincible... Li the Invincible?" Zhang Kongyun stroked his beard thoughtfully and nodded slightly. He said, "Oh dear, he reached the Golden Immortal realm so young?"

Zhang Ling choked, annoyed. "How is that possible? At best, he is only at the peak Yang Spirit realm."

Zhang Kongyun looked surprised. "Then how dare he claim to be invincible? In the world, I know of ten living Golden Body masters, and there are five living Tribulation Lightning masters! Whether there are Golden Immortals walking around, I couldn't say. It won't be too late to call him invincible once he reaches that stage!"

Zhang Liufang, standing nearby, suddenly inquired, "The Ten Great Golden Body Masters? Who are they?"

Zhang Kongyun twisted his beard. "Of the Ten Great Golden Body Masters of the world, three are in the Zhengyi Sect, two are in the Quanzhen Longmen Sect and the Qingcheng Sect, and the remaining five are scattered among the Jinshan Sect, the Louguandao, and the Donghua Sect. Well, those ten can definitely overpower any Yang Spirit expert. This Li Yundong is being too presumptuous, daring to call himself invincible at the Yang Spirit realm?"

Zhang Ling scoffed. "He reached the peak Yang Spirit realm at such a young age! Who knows how far he’ll cultivate in the future?"

Zhang Kongyun tilted his head in thought. "Very well, let’s wait until he reaches that level." With that, he turned to leave on his own.

Zhang Ling quickly called out to stop him, urgently saying, "Third Martial Brother, you don't have any attitude about this?"

Zhang Kongyun turned back, confused. "What attitude?"

Zhang Ling snapped, "Are you just going to watch a junior bully us to our doorstep?"

Zhang Kongyun grinned slyly. "Are we being bullied? I don't feel it. Wait until he actually bullies us on Mount Longhu before you come looking for me!"

After saying this, he shook his head and ambled away by himself.

Zou Ping, while rubbing the dirt mark off her sleeve, complained to Zhang Liufang, "What is wrong with your master? How annoying!"

Zhang Liufang offered Zou Ping a placating smile and said cautiously, "Senior Martial Sister, you know his temperament."

Zou Ping snorted and asked Zhang Ling, "Master, what do we do?"

Zhang Ling's expression shifted between dark and gloomy. She gritted her teeth internally: This old devil, I knew he was unreliable! Dammit!

After a moment, Zhang Ling was about to speak with a huff when a clear cry of a crane echoed from the sky. Before long, an immortal crane fluttered its wings and landed nearby.

Zhang Liufang immediately spotted the ethereal, noble, and beautiful crane, her face lighting up with joy. She ran over and hugged the crane’s neck, laughing. "How strange! Why is there an immortal crane here?"

Zhang Ling frowned slightly and told Zou Ping, "Go take a look."

Zou Ping walked over. After a brief inspection, she noticed something tied to the crane's wing. She carefully untied the wing, pulled out a small bamboo tube, and handed it to Zhang Ling.

Zhang Ling glanced at the note inside and couldn't help but let out a series of cold laughs.

Zou Ping, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "Master, what is this?"

Zhang Ling coldly handed the note to Zou Ping, snorting, "Read it yourself! Hmph, Zhang Huashui that brute hasn't changed at all; he’s quite overbearing!"

Zou Ping glanced at it. The writing on the note was crude, and the tone was filled with bossiness and condescension. She couldn't help but become furious. "What does the Qingcheng Sect think they are? A thousand years ago, they were merely a branch of our Zhengyi Sect! How dare they order us around and bark orders like this?"

By now, Zhang Ling had calmed down. She suddenly let out a dry laugh. "They want an answer... Heh, fine! Although Zhang Huashui is crude, he wouldn't be ignorant enough to think that this wording would incite conflict between the two sects. I suspect he wants to cause trouble for Li Yundong. And his senior martial brother, Sect Leader Zhang Tongtian, is cautious and a stickler for rules, so he must have restrained Zhang Huashui, making him investigate thoroughly before causing trouble for Li Yundong. Therefore, hehe, Zhang Huashui sent over a letter with such an arrogant tone."

Zou Ping tentatively asked, "Then, Master, what should we do?"

Zhang Ling laughed heartily. "Zhang Huashui is one of the Ten Great Golden Body Masters. If he wants to cause trouble for Li Yundong, why shouldn't we oblige him? Write a reply! Send him a reply!"

Zou Ping asked again, "Should I write it?"

Zhang Ling couldn't help but scold, "Nonsense! Do you expect me to handle such a trivial matter myself?"

Zou Ping, having been chastised, didn't get angry. Instead, with a spirited look, she took the letter and left.

The junior sister Zhang Liufang looked at Zou Ping curiously, then glanced back at Zhang Ling, utterly unable to comprehend why her Eldest Martial Aunt-Master and Senior Martial Sister were so set against this Li Yundong.

Zhang Liufang blinked, thinking to herself: May the boundless fortune be upon us. I heard that Zhang Huashui of the Qingcheng Sect is known as the fierce Zhang Fei of the cultivation world. If he goes after Li Yundong... now that will be a good show!

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