As Zhang Huashui shot into the air, he suddenly saw Zhang Tongtian appear right in front of him, grabbing hold of him: "Junior Brother, don't be rash!"

Zhang Huashui roared, "Don't be rash? Sect Leader Senior Brother, our Qingcheng Mountain has suffered such a catastrophe, and you tell me not to be rash?"

Zhang Tongtian also bellowed, "If you rush over without proof, what will the other sects think of us? Hu Chan Sect lives in the middle of a bustling city. What if you alert the common folk? If this causes a major incident, it won't just be the Qingcheng Sect that suffers, but the entire cultivation world!"

Zhang Huashui's face flushed crimson, the veins on his neck bulging like cords, and he roared, "Are we just going to let the murderer go like this?"

Zhang Tongtian suppressed his anger and said, "There is a foul aura about this matter; I have a feeling it’s not that simple. Don't rush; let me investigate thoroughly first!"

Zhang Huashui was furious: "By the time you investigate, the murderer will already be long gone!"

Zhang Tongtian placed both hands firmly on Zhang Huashui's shoulders and said gravely, "Junior Brother, rest assured, anyone who dares touch our Qingcheng Mountain, I will not let them get off lightly—a blood debt must be repaid in blood! However, it is unwise to escalate things right now. Revenge can wait until we uncover the truth!"

Zhang Huashui took a deep breath, forcibly swallowing down his rage, and said, "Fine, Sect Leader Senior Brother, I will listen to you!"

Zhang Tongtian spoke with an icy expression, "Someone wants to stir up titanic waves in the cultivation world... Hmph, very well, our Qingcheng Sect will see this through to the end!"

With that, the two Golden Body masters of the Qingcheng Sect vanished in a flash of azure light, returning to where they came from.

Simultaneously, just as the Qingcheng Mountain suffered its terrible massacre, Li Yundong’s home received an unexpected invitation.

"Shen Wancai wishes to invite you to a dinner party? Who delivered this?" Ziyuan opened the heavy, gold-embossed invitation, glanced at it, and handed it back to Li Yundong.

Li Yundong nodded, "Yin Mengfan passed it to Zhou Qin, who then passed it to me. He invited you too; are you coming?" As he spoke, Li Yundong offered another invitation.

Ziyuan frowned, refusing to take the card, and shook her head, "Forget it. I don't like dealing with these merchants. You go yourself; I won't."

Li Yundong smiled, "You're not going? How can that be? What would I do going alone?"

Ziyuan chuckled, "He probably invited you because he's still hoping to apprentice under you. What would I go for?"

Li Yundong laughed, "Apprenticeship? Those two fellows actually think they can join my lineage? What a joke!"

Ziyuan countered, "You can't say that. Just because they aren't making progress now doesn't mean they won't later. Besides, the best way for a cultivation sect to expand its influence and strength is to recruit disciples widely. Relying only on Zhou Qin isn't enough. If you take Shen Wancai’s two children as disciples, at least you won’t be so financially strapped in the future, and you won't have to make those deals with Wan Zhenyuan, right?"

Li Yundong sighed and shook his head, "Are there no methods of cultivation that don't require money? Why does every mention of practice now involve money, money, money?"

Ziyuan laughed lightly, "Even Zhang Daoling, the founder of our Zhengyi Sect, charged tuition when establishing the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. How much more so now? If you think those two are not good enough, then just take one."

Li Yundong said with a serious expression, "Taking disciples is not something to be taken lightly. If you open one door, it becomes hard to close the rest. I have my own plans for this matter."

Ziyuan nodded, "As long as you have a plan, that’s fine. So, are you going to tonight's dinner?"

Li Yundong thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, I’ll go. Even if not for the host, I'll go for Zhou Qin’s sake."

Ziyuan smiled toward Zhou Qin's room, "How is she doing now? Is her injury better?"

Li Yundong nodded, "She wanted to come with me, but she’s practicing the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Art right now, undergoing bone and blood transformation, so she can't."

Ziyuan smiled, "Then find another companion; I don't want to go."

Seeing Ziyuan insisting, Li Yundong didn't press her and said with a wry smile, "Alright then, I'll ask Chan'er to come with me. But, I don't know where that girl has run off to; she hasn't returned yet."

As the two were speaking, two figures flashed onto the balcony—it was Ao Wushuang and Su Chan returning to Tiannan City from Qingcheng Mountain.

Li Yundong spotted Su Chan and Ao Wushuang at once and laughed, "Where have you two been all night?"

Su Chan was still shaken. Although the meticulous Ao Wushuang had helped her tidy up before they returned, her little heart couldn't stop pounding uncontrollably.

Hearing Li Yundong greet her, Su Chan opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to tell him about the terrifying things she had discovered that night. But then she heard Ao Wushuang give a subtle, pointed cough nearby, and the words ready on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.

Su Chan took a deep breath and forced out a smile, "Nowhere, nowhere."

Li Yundong was momentarily stunned by Su Chan's stiff expression, "What's wrong with you?"

Su Chan looked at Li Yundong, speechless and tongue-tied. Though normally cunning and quick-witted, having just experienced such a massive shock, and now facing Li Yundong, whom she loved deeply, made it almost impossible to lie with a straight face. What troubled Su Chan most was that she couldn't understand why her Master forbade her from telling Li Yundong these things?

This mysterious man in black wanted to frame the Hu Chan Sect. As the Sect Master of the Hu Chan Sect, shouldn't Li Yundong know?

But Su Chan also knew that her Master must have her reasons for making her do this. Yet, when she asked her Master, she refused to explain—it was driving her mad!

Su Chan managed a forced smile, one that looked worse than crying. In desperation, she turned her head toward Ao Wushuang.

Ao Wushuang, however, looked completely normal. She chuckled, "The Sect Master must have been worried. I took Su Chan out to practice."

Li Yundong didn't suspect anything and chuckled back, "I figured as much."

Fearing Li Yundong would corner her with endless questions, Su Chan said hastily, "Yundong, I—I'm going back to sleep first."

Seeing the girl practically fleeing toward her room, Li Yundong quickly called out, "Hey, Zhou Qin is practicing inside; you can use my room. But you won't get much sleep; we have to leave for the dinner party soon."

Su Chan froze instantly, turning back with a pitiful look toward Li Yundong, "Where are we going? Can I not go?"

Li Yundong put on a stern face and feigned anger, "Absolutely not! Ziyuan won't go, and Zhou Qin can't. You're the only one left to accompany me. Do you have some kind of condition that prevents you from going?"

Su Chan's eyes darted around. After thinking, she clutched her stomach and said, "I—I have a stomachache!"

Li Yundong’s eyes widened, "It didn't hurt just now, but it hurts now?"

Su Chan immediately put on a pained expression and cried out, "It just suddenly started hurting!"

Seeing Su Chan's look of distress, Li Yundong’s heart jumped, thinking the girl might actually be sick. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Why would your stomach suddenly hurt?"

Su Chan's mind was a complete mess, and she blurted out whatever came to mind, "Isn't a stomachache very normal?"

Li Yundong was momentarily taken aback and instinctively asked, "Is your period coming?"

Hearing Li Yundong provide her with an excuse, Su Chan automatically nodded, "Yes, yes, my period is coming, and the pain is severe!"

The moment she said this, Ziyuan let out a soft snicker and immediately turned her head away, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Li Yundong couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Give me a break. You've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage; you have an Impervious Body! How can you have a period?"

Su Chan instantly dumbfounded, staring blankly. Only then did she remember that anyone who achieved Foundation Establishment no longer experienced nocturnal emissions for men, nor did women have monthly menstruation. Because of this, cultivators beyond the Foundation Establishment stage were all Impervious Bodies, perfectly preserving their vital essence, qi, and blood from leaking out.

Su Chan secretly groaned: How could I forget that detail?

The girl offered a dry, hesitant smile, saying, "M-maybe there are exceptions to everything?"

Li Yundong shot Su Chan a look, "Stop talking nonsense! Go rest and freshen up quickly; we're going out soon!"

Su Chan reluctantly puffed out her cheeks and responded, "Oh!"

Watching her enter his room, Li Yundong turned back to Ao Wushuang with a wry smile, "This girl, I wonder where she was running wild all night."

But as he spoke, he noticed Ao Wushuang staring downward, her eyes flickering as if lost in thought, seemingly deaf to everything around her.

Li Yundong paused, then slightly raised his voice, "Senior Ao Wushuang?"

Ao Wushuang snapped back to attention, lifting her head abruptly. She answered irrelevantly, "Ah? I took Chan'er out to practice tonight, Sect Master; you don't need to worry." With that, she forced a smile at Li Yundong and shot into her room like a gust of wind.

Li Yundong looked at Ziyuan, utterly confused, "What's going on with this master and disciple pair?"

Ziyuan, however, was looking at Ao Wushuang with a confused gaze. She suddenly sniffed slightly, frowning, and whispered, "Did you smell a scent?"

Li Yundong sniffed the air too, shaking his head, "No, what scent?"

Ziyuan pondered for a moment, "It smells like blood, but very, very faint."

Li Yundong scoffed, "Don't tell me Chan'er actually lost her cultivation progress so badly that she got her period?"

Ziyuan couldn't help but chide him, "Nonsense! You can't just say things like that!"

While the two were joking outside, their clear voices carried into the room, but Su Chan heard none of it. She was pacing back and forth in Li Yundong's room like an ant on a hot pan.

"What should I do? What on earth should I do?" Su Chan bit her lip, digging her nails into her left palm. "Such a huge thing happened, and Master won't let me tell Yundong? I’m being driven mad! Why does this person want to frame our Hu Chan Sect? What deep enmity do we have with him? If others find out we did this, it means annihilation for our sect! Even if Yundong is powerful, he can't withstand such a catastrophic disaster!"

Su Chan was lost in thought, her snow-white teeth pressing two deep marks into her full, red lips, drawing out a bead of blood without her noticing. The little girl felt as if she had run headlong into a dark fog, surrounded by hidden killing intent, yet she couldn't locate the danger. Worse, she couldn't shout, couldn't make a sound, couldn't warn Li Yundong of this terrifying threat.

Her mind raced through countless thoughts, but they all converged on a few questions: Who is this person? Why did he massacre Qingcheng Mountain, and why frame the Hu Chan Sect?

The girl was utterly baffled. When frustration mounted, she couldn't help but stomp her foot softly, muttering, "Could it be just because we are the Hu Chan Sect, because we are fox spirits, that any dirty water in the world can be splashed onto us?"

Su Chan thought for a moment, then suddenly made a decision: No, I still have to tell Yundong, no matter what!

Just as she decided this, she heard a knock on the door. Li Yundong called loudly from outside, "Chan'er, are you rested? Let's go! It's getting dark!"

Su Chan turned her head and saw that outside, it was already nearing dusk. She had been agonizing in the room for so long that she hadn't noticed!

As soon as Li Yundong finished speaking, he pushed the door open himself. He stood in the doorway wearing a dark red Tang suit with gold thread trim, looking distinguished and imposing. He immediately saw Su Chan standing frozen in the room, staring at him blankly, looking like she had something to say but couldn't. He couldn't help but ask strangely, "You haven't rested? Why haven't you changed your clothes? Didn't I tell you we were going out?"

Su Chan opened her mouth to speak, but then she heard Li Yundong wave his hand and laugh, "Never mind, this will do. You are naturally beautiful no matter what, so you’ll look lovely even without dressing up. Let’s go; their car is already waiting outside."

The words were on the tip of Su Chan's tongue, but for some reason, she remembered Ao Wushuang's stern warning. She swallowed her words again, forced a smile, and said, "Then let's go."

Li Yundong offered the little girl a compliment, and usually, Su Chan would have been beaming, pouting coquettishly at him. But today she was unusually quiet, walking as delicately as if clutching her heart, like Xi Shi.

Li Yundong clicked his tongue strangely, "Has your temperament changed today? Are you trying to become a gentle lady?"

Su Chan kept her head down, full of worries, and walked out on her own.

Li Yundong was filled with questions but didn't dwell on it. He walked over with a smile, gently looped an arm around the girl's shoulder, and they left together, getting into the car.

Once seated in the car, Su Chan dared not look at Li Yundong too much, afraid that one more glance would reveal something. All the way, she kept turning her head to look out the window.

It was the dead of winter. Although Tiannan City was a southern metropolis, the night was already deepening. Streetlights had begun to illuminate the roads, and the city was a dazzling spectacle of neon and revelry.

Su Chan gazed out the window at the rapidly passing, bustling nightscape, but her mind kept replaying the terrifying sight of the Qingcheng Mountain's mass grave pagoda. She stared blankly at the hurried pedestrians outside, at the brilliantly lit skyscrapers, and the little girl suddenly shivered without warning, feeling as if a terrifying, savage murderous intent was emanating from this familiar world.

No one knew what was about to happen, nor what terrible tempests were brewing. Everything remained deceptively calm, like the quiet before the storm.