Zhang Liufang’s jaw dropped in astonishment at Deng Jiao’s words, leaving her utterly dumbfounded as she stammered, "Wh-what? Li Yundong is your classmate? You, you were previously..."

Deng Yu, straightforward as always, blurted out, "Of course! I was a freshman at Tiannan University, and Li Yundong was my senior."

A look of profound shock washed over Zhang Liufang’s face. She thought to herself: Do the two Sword Souls chosen by Martial Uncle Zhang Ling still retain memories of their past lives? Impossible! Logically speaking, the Sword Souls of the Three Absolutes Formation should have had their past memories erased! How could this be?

Although Deng Jiao possessed a reserved nature, she was keenly perceptive. She quickly noticed the anomaly in Zhang Liufang’s demeanor and instantly felt a prickle of caution.

Deng Yu, however, remained oblivious. She gazed at Li Yundong with rapt attention, sighing emotionally, "I never imagined... he was actually a cultivator, and such a powerful one at that!" With that, Deng Yu made to step forward and shout loudly to Li Yundong.

But just as Deng Yu moved, she felt a gentle tug at her side. Turning her head, she saw her older sister, Deng Jiao, looking at her and shaking her head subtly.

Though puzzled, Deng Yu trusted her sister implicitly and instinctively clamped her mouth shut.

Her eyes darted quickly, and she turned to Zhang Liufang, asking, "Senior Sister Liufang, what should we do now?"

Despite the deep-seated suspicion and strangeness churning within her, Zhang Liufang managed to suppress those thoughts for the moment. She shook her head and replied plainly, "I don't know either. Let's just wait and see what happens. Master is here; everything will be fine."

Just then, Zhang Kongyun also walked onto the scene. The surrounding Taoists breathed a collective sigh of relief upon seeing him, whispering amongst themselves, "It's settled now, Martial Uncle Zhang is here!"

Zhang Kongyun frowned, approaching Zou Ping. He glanced around and said in a deep voice, "What is going on here?"

Zou Ping glared venomously at Li Yundong and spat out, "How should I know? The moment I returned, I saw these two strung up like that! Damn it, this Li Yundong is too arrogant!"

Zhang Kongyun, usually possessing the air of an old prankster, now wore a face full of wrath. He sternly hissed in a low voice, "Nonsense! Why haven't you taken them down? Are you just going to let people gawk like this? Aren't you ashamed?"

Zou Ping’s face contorted with displeasure. "How can I get them down? There are so many people watching! They are several meters high! Am I supposed to fly up there in front of everyone?"

Zhang Kongyun thundered, "Then how did Li Yundong hang them up there in the first place?"

Zou Ping’s face grew even uglier under Zhang Kongyun’s reprimand. She mumbled, "How would I know? I saw them like this as soon as I arrived!"

Zhang Kongyun snorted in anger. He turned to Zou Ping and commanded, "Send two people to the side to prepare to catch them."

Although Zou Ping didn't know what Zhang Kongyun intended, she knew her junior grand-uncle possessed astonishing divine abilities and formidable magical power, and he surely had a way to get the pair down. She quickly turned, whispering a few words into the ears of two nearby Taoists.

The two Taoists nodded and swiftly moved to the sides, anxiously watching their fellow disciples above, who resembled two corpses dangling from the eaves.

Without seemingly gathering any external energy, Zhang Kongyun shot a furious glare at Li Yundong, stomped his foot lightly, and though the action seemed insignificant, the entire mountain peak suddenly lurched violently!

The tourists nearby erupted in panicked shouts: "Earthquake! It's an earthquake!"

The two Taoists hanging from the eaves immediately plummeted down with the jolt, and the two Taoists waiting below caught them steady and safe.

They quickly checked the pulses of the two fallen men and, relieved, nodded to Zou Ping.

Zou Ping also let out a slight sigh of relief, turning back to Zhang Kongyun. "Junior Grand-Uncle, you are truly incredible!"

Zhang Kongyun merely hummed dismissively. "Are they unharmed?"

Zou Ping sneered, "Even if Li Yundong had ten times the guts, he wouldn't dare inflict serious harm on someone from the Orthodox Unity Sect!"

Zhang Kongyun let out a scornful laugh. "Are you out of your mind? The man dared to hang our Orthodox Unity Sect members up in public view!"

Saying that, he ignored the mortified and flustered Zou Ping, whose complexion shifted between green and white, and walked directly up to Li Yundong. He scrutinized Li Yundong from head to toe and asked, "You are the Li Yundong known as Li Wudi?"

Li Yundong’s attention had been fixed solely on Zhang Kongyun since the latter appeared. He smiled broadly, cupped his hands in salute, and replied, "I dare not claim to be unrivaled! I am Li Yundong. May I ask the esteemed senior’s distinguished name?"

Seeing Li Yundong's gentle smile and humble tone, Zhang Kongyun was puzzled; this did not seem like the disposition of a reckless person capable of publicly humiliating a major sect like the Orthodox Unity Sect.

Zhang Kongyun frowned and asked, "My name is irrelevant. What matters is... how dare you act so presumptuously here? Do you even know where this place is?"

Li Yundong smiled faintly. "Of course, I know. This is the sacred land of Taoism, the ancestral court of the Orthodox Unity Sect—the very center of Taoism in the world. It is the equivalent of Jerusalem to Christianity, Mecca to Islam, and Mount Wutai to Central Plains Buddhism!"

Zhang Kongyun’s face darkened with rage. "Since you know, how dare you still be so audacious? Humiliating our sect in front of these mortals? Do you truly believe yourself invincible and that the Orthodox Unity Sect has no capable members?"

Faced with Zhang Kongyun's severe questioning, Li Yundong simply smiled and said, "Senior, if you were in my shoes, having arrived at Longhu Mountain with sincere intentions to seek an audience with the Sect Master, only to be maliciously refused. Furthermore, to be persistently provoked by the sect’s disciples, even subjected to physical attack, what would you do?"

Zhang Kongyun paused. "Such a thing happened?"

Su Chan, who had been leaning close to Li Yundong, spoke up, "Yes, I can testify! That tall Taoist was terrible; he ambushed my Yundong!"

Zhang Kongyun’s face immediately elongated upon seeing her, and he scoffed inwardly: Hmph, a bewitching siren. How could I trust anything you say? It was because of enchanting vixens like you that Wang Yuanshan met his current fate!

Zhang Kongyun’s expression turned grim. Without even glancing at Su Chan, he stated solemnly, "True Master Li, even if our Orthodox Unity Sect disciples struck first, is this how you respond? Is this the demeanor of a Sect Master?"

Li Yundong smiled pleasantly. "I certainly wished to speak with them civilly, but my repeated tolerance only encouraged them to push further. Thus, I was forced to hang them up high, lest they never learn their limits and continue to press their advantage time and again."

As he spoke, Li Yundong suddenly shifted the topic. "Moreover, I came here with genuine sincerity to resolve past conflicts with the Orthodox Unity Sect, hoping to meet your Sect Master. I did not expect the Orthodox Unity Sect to treat guests this way. Is this the hospitality afforded by a major sect? Down below the mountain, I saw a couplet hanging that read: 'A thousand sincere pleas receive a thousand answers; ten thousand earnest thoughts grant ten thousand blessings.' I came with such sincerity; why was I met with a closed door?"

Zhang Kongyun saw that although Li Yundong’s words were gentle, they were subtly barbed, making him difficult to deal with. Since Zhang Kongyun was not skilled in verbal sparring, he frowned and said, "Our Sect Master is indeed in seclusion; I can guarantee you that! Furthermore, once our Sect Master emerges from seclusion, there will inevitably be a manifestation of Dragon-Tiger Aura—no one in the Orthodox Unity Sect could miss it!"

Seeing Zhang Kongyun’s earnestness, Li Yundong felt a sliver of doubt creep into his heart: Could the Orthodox Unity Sect Master truly be in seclusion? Then the Tribulation expert who came last time... was he merely an embodiment of the Sect Master’s nascent soul while in seclusion? Impossible! If a nascent soul avatar alone possesses Tribulation power, then... then that is terrifyingly powerful! And who is the other Tribulation expert of the Orthodox Unity Sect?

Li Yundong paused in thought, sighed faintly, and said, "If that is the case, then I have been presumptuous. I shall pay my respects another day when the Sect Master of the Orthodox Unity Sect concludes his seclusion."

Seeing Li Yundong and Su Chan preparing to leave, Zhang Kongyun stepped forward, blocking Li Yundong's path, and stated in a deep voice, "What, trying to leave?"

Li Yundong raised an eyebrow and retorted sharply, "What, planning to keep me here?"

Zhang Kongyun said grimly, "True Master Li, you have publicly disgraced our Orthodox Unity Sect in front of so many people. If I do not retrieve that honor, how will the world’s cultivators view us?"

Su Chan, unable to restrain herself any longer, exclaimed loudly, "You provoked us first!"

Zhang Kongyun glared fiercely at Su Chan and hissed under his breath, "Insolent little fox demon, how dare you act wildly on Longhu Mountain! Be silent!"

Zhang Kongyun’s low, angry shout was imbued with the pure essence of the Orthodox Sect’s Golden Body vitality. The profound and pristine True Essence surging from within him caused the surrounding air to tremble violently.

Su Chan’s demonic energy was instantly shaken by the Orthodox Sect’s pure vitality, nearly forcing her to revert to her true form right there in front of the gathered mortals.

Fortunately, during her recent minor dual cultivation with Li Yundong, a trace of primordial Yang energy had settled within her. Just as her Yin energy was violently surging to the point of shedding its sheath, this primordial Yang energy acted like roots, firmly grasping the floating primordial Yin energy within Su Chan and slowly drawing the agitated Yin energy back down.

Faint, ethereal patterns of fox fur instantly flickered across Su Chan’s skin, and the corners of her eyes flashed momentarily with the sharp glint of a fox’s eye!

Su Chan was terrified that a mere low-voiced reprimand from Zhang Kongyun had nearly forced her true form to manifest. She shrunk back in fright behind Li Yundong, trembling, "Yundong, this man is terrifyingly powerful!"

Seeing that Su Chan had only partially revealed herself before instantly reverting, Zhang Kongyun was inwardly shocked, yet he sneered, "So, a Seven-Tailed Divine Fox! No wonder you dare set foot on Longhu Mountain! Bold indeed! Besides Tianji Xuanhu and Ao Wushuang, you are the third fox demon to dare tread these peaks. Hmph, you've come today, but you won't be leaving!"

Zhang Kongyun and Wang Yuanshan had once shared an extremely close friendship, but the emergence of Ao Wushuang began to fracture their bond. Zhang Kongyun had desperately pleaded with Wang Yuanshan to see reason and abandon the fox demon Ao Wushuang to return to the Orthodox Sect’s righteous path, but Wang Yuanshan resolutely betrayed the sect, causing their friendship to end abruptly.

It was Zhang Kongyun himself who had set the trap, using his own body as bait, to lure Wang Yuanshan back to Longhu Mountain where he was deceived—and Zhang Kongyun was the one who personally captured Wang Yuanshan!

To this day, Zhang Kongyun vividly recalled the moment his closest friend severed ties with him. That scene haunted him, leading to an intense, subconscious hatred and rejection of fox demons.

In Zhang Kongyun’s mind, without Ao Wushuang’s interference, Wang Yuanshan would likely have become the foremost cultivator in the world! Wang Yuanshan’s entire future had seemingly been buried by that fox spirit, Ao Wushuang!

Such is the nature of hatred by association. Even though Zhang Kongyun did not know Su Chan was also Ao Wushuang’s disciple, he hated Su Chan by extension and attacked her without regard for propriety.

But the moment Zhang Kongyun moved, Li Yundong stepped in front of Su Chan, coldly laughing, "Senior, for a cultivator of your stature, attacking a young girl seems quite inappropriate, does it not?"

Seeing Li Yundong interpose himself, Zhang Kongyun let out a cold laugh. "Perfect. I’ve been wanting to see just how much weight this 'Li Wudi' carries! Since you dared to hang our disciples just now, now it’s time you taste the feeling of being suspended yourself!"

With that, he took a deep breath, and a series of sharp cracking sounds echoed through his joints. He stomped his foot down, embedding two clear footprints, deep up to his ankles, into the bluestones beneath him as if they were soft cheese. Longhu Mountain seemed to shudder under the impact as if struck by a giant, and the pavilions atop the peaks rattled loudly.

A terrifying, immense force erupted from Zhang Kongyun’s withered frame and surged toward Li Yundong. He sneered, "Rise!"

Exhausted, heading out to sleep now! A