"You know what you said, but he entered the Buddha statue for less than a day, and now he's gone. Can we not be worried about the safety of the other disciples?"
Han Huijun pressed his brow in worry.
Shen Yuefu sipped his tea calmly, brushing past Han Huijun's forehead. "Your forehead is darkening today. The one you should worry about is yourself."
Han Huijun froze mid-motion. "What? I, the Sect Master, have no special arrangements today!"
"Report—"
A disciple rushed in, calling out loudly and bowing anxiously.
"Reporting to Sect Master, a handsome man outside the mountain gate claims to be Elder Nie and asks us to let him enter the sect!"
Han Huijun waved his sleeve impatiently. "Drive him away, drive him away! Do you not recognize what Elder Nie looks like? Handsome man? With that face, how could he even be called handsome?"
"This…" The disciple hesitated. "But his cultivation is decent, and he claims… he claims that Han the Fraud should leave to greet him…"
The disciple glanced nervously at Han Huijun, fearing a single displeasure could earn him a kick.
"Hmm?" Han Huijun suddenly frowned. "That tone… it's a bit like that Nie Zhang!"
"Let's go. I, Sect Master, will meet him!" Han Huijun swung his large sleeves and strode out with the disciples, imposing and commanding.
Shen Yuefu twirled his finger lightly. "Today's bad luck, here it comes."
Outside the mountain gate.
"Damn Fraud, where did you take my master?!"
Nie Rong, who had been waiting at the gate for a long time, jumped forward and punched Han Huijun squarely in the face.
Han Huijun, unprepared, staggered back clutching his face. The disciples quickly dodged to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Han Huijun lowered his hand, revealing a swollen red left cheek. He glared at the unfamiliar yet slightly familiar man before him. "Who dares strike the Sect Master?!"
It became clear to him—this man could not be Nie Rong. Nie Rong's master had long ascended. How could he come here crazed, asking for his master!
Han Huijun cursed his own carelessness for leaving himself defenseless and falling for this cultivator's trick.
But this cultivator's power was strange—why did two men appear before him at once?
"This man really is the Sect Master of Wuxiang Sect?!" Zhou Lili covered her mouth in shock.
Nie Rong grinned. "Of course, I already said I am Elder Nie Rong of Wuxiang Sect. Very unfortunately, I grew up with this shameless Sect Master!"
"Enough of your nonsense! I know what Nie Rong looks like. Does he even have one percent of your handsomeness?"
Han Huijun's eyes flared with anger. Swift as the wind, no matter how many copies of the man appeared, he could strike them all with a single move.
"You… you… you make me furious!" Nie Rong felt insulted and his power surged uncontrollably.
Zhou Lili was confused. "Is Elder Nie Rong really that ugly?"
"He is not ugly! He is the most handsome in this world!" Nie Rong waved his fists wildly, forgetting entirely that he was a law cultivator.
Han Huijun, seeking revenge, abandoned spiritual power and engaged in close combat.
But…
Nie Rong's face seemed to split into two, his fists multiplied into four. No matter how Han Huijun dodged, a punch always landed.
At this moment, Shen Yuefu slowly stepped out from the main hall, his tone icy. "The man's double illusion, and Elder Nie's split soul lamp… they are exactly the same."
Han Huijun abruptly halted.
Nie Rong swung a punch, cursing, "Even Shen Yuefu here is not one-tenth as handsome as I am!"
Han Huijun crashed to the ground, sliding three meters from the impact.
Nie Rong landed elegantly, propping his chin with his hand in a strikingly handsome pose. "Doctor Zhou, do you now realize how formidable I am?"
"So… so handsome!" Tears slipped from Zhou Lili's eyes despite herself, and she dabbed them with her sleeve in admiration.
"Even if you praise me, Doctor Zhou, I will not be pleased… I already know I am handsome!" Nie Rong laughed loudly at the sky.
Zhou Lili pushed past him and ran wildly toward Shen Yuefu.
"Senior… Senior, hello! I don't know that fool just now!"
Shen Yuefu's expression remained icy, ignoring her as he turned and walked away.
Zhou Lili: "This person is so cold. I really love him!"
-
Yan Family Fortress.
Yu Zhenyan frowned. "Not only is the child of Sister Yan a stillborn, but the children of Aunt Li in the east are also stillborn. Something is clearly wrong!"
"Perhaps they were not born dead, but someone ensures they die at birth," Mu Jialing said calmly.
"Why would they do that? The Yan Family Fortress has always welcomed outsiders. Why harm their own children?" Yu Zhenyan was puzzled.
Mu Jialing contemplated. "The Yan Family Fortress seems harmonious on the surface, with abundant spiritual energy and rapid cultivation, but inside it is rotten and cunning. The dead infants must be connected to the Yan family's prosperous life."
"Does the Buddha Son suspect the Yan family uses their children to gain cultivation or resources?"
"I do have that thought, but there is no evidence. When Yan Fang cried, she did not seem truly heartless. She seemed deeply saddened her child died… So my guess is wrong. Yan Fang is not selfish, yet the child is gone…"
Mu Jialing's long fingers moved the prayer beads, their crisp sound revealing his inner unrest.
Yu Zhenyan clutched her head, frustrated. "We still know too little. Their hidden truths are many, and what we know is just the tip of the iceberg…"
"Yes, you…" Yao Ranran finally spoke.
Before she could finish, Yu Zhenyan continued in pain. "I shouldn't have brought Zhao Jiu here. He kept telling me there were great opportunities, that if I passed, I could condense my Golden Core, and he could break his bottleneck. But they told us too little. This situation is impossible to solve!"
"Do not lose heart, Yu Daoyou. I will continue probing their intentions with Fairy Ranran. The day will come when we pierce the iceberg!" Mu Jialing encouraged the despairing Yu Zhenyan with compassion.
"Thank you, Boddha Son… But I really cannot go on. I am in so much pain. We know nothing! These people do not believe us, and they do not fully trust Yao Ranran! How can we pierce the iceberg?"
Yu Zhenyan could not bear the suffering, with other loose cultivators dying, she felt death was near…
"Hey, hey, hey, it is you who do not know, not me!" Yao Ranran finished her last sip of tea and, with difficulty, inserted a complete sentence between them.
It was mainly because Yu Zhenyan's voice was hoarse, and she could only speak after it quieted later.
"You useless thing. What could you possibly know?" Yu Zhenyan rolled her eyes at her through tear-filled eyes.
Earlier, the three had scoured the Yan Family Fortress and gathered hardly any useful information. She did not believe Yao Ranran's bold words.