(Thanks, Alliance Leader Lin Meimei Ya)

Qinghe Temple.

Inside the Patrol Warden Office.

Chen Zhihan gently brushed the dust from his Daoist robe and took his favorite long sword from the wooden rack before him.

He slowly drew the blade. Fine cloud patterns were engraved along its body.

He sighed.

Xiao Rong had personally given him this sword back then, yet now he had to personally send his old friend on his final journey.

"There are many things in this world that one cannot help but do."

"Not good, Master!" A disciple suddenly cried out urgently from outside.

"What is it?" Chen Zhihan asked displeasedly. He hated being disturbed while resting and thinking.

It would seriously affect his mood.

"Supervisor has led a group down the mountain, and an inside contact just sent word back—officers from the Huaxin County Hundred Household Office have also appeared! They're probably all going after Senior Brother Wuyou!" the disciple explained in a hurried tone.

"Chen Tan from the Hundred Household Office?" Chen Zhihan's expression changed slightly. He could still deal with the Supervisor alone, but if Chen Tan had personally moved, the nature of things was entirely different.

That meant Chen Tan had definitely obtained irrefutable evidence. Otherwise, Qinghe Temple belonged to the Great Dao Sect and fell under the Assembled Sages Institute's jurisdiction. It was not yet the Local Garrison's place to handle it.

After pondering for a moment, he sheathed his long sword again.

"Pack our things. Come down the mountain with me!"

"Master, where are we going?"

"We'll go down first and investigate the situation." Chen Zhihan had a faintly ominous feeling in his heart.

He knew more or less about his son's scheme. He had also tacitly approved of the plot against his old friend Xiao Rong.

His main energy had all been focused on competing for the position of Palace Master, leaving him no time to concern himself with it.

Besides, he had placed quite a few people and inside contacts within Qinghe Temple, and had won over many Confidant Subordinates.

Even if his son failed, he could shed his tail like a gecko, cutting off the implicated part so it would not reach him.

But... that was his own son, after all. After hastily gathering his things, Chen Zhihan led First Squad of Patrol Inspectors swiftly down the mountain, hurrying toward the direction where the Message Tube fireworks had exploded earlier.

Yet they had not even made it halfway.

On a sloping patch of Woodland, he abruptly stopped. Two corpses with twisted, broken necks lay clearly before his eyes.

Morning light filtered through the branches, sliced into countless fragments that fell across the grass, the rocks, and the two bodies that had long since lost all breath.

Like fallen branches, dead leaves, and animal bones commonly found in the forest, the corpses were being gnawed on by two wild wolves that looked like Black Back.

Chen Zhihan swayed, his eyes reddening slightly as a trace of pain showed in his pupils.

He slowly walked over. Once within ten meters, he suddenly lunged forward and, in an instant, brought one palm crashing down onto a wolf's waist.

Puff.

Caught completely off guard, the wolf had no time to defend itself. Its waist snapped on the spot, and it collapsed without rising again.

The other wolf was so frightened that it turned and ran, vanishing into the forest in the blink of an eye.

Chen Zhihan walked to his son Chen Wuyou's corpse.

He reached out and lightly pressed his hand against the fatal wound on his son's neck, comparing the shape of the hand. Then he looked at Jiao Teng's corpse beside him.

"Master... what do we do now?" several disciples behind him asked tremulously.

"Take the bodies to the county. Someone will help us avenge them." Chen Zhihan's voice was low.

By now, how could he still fail to realize that his influence within Qinghe Temple had already been swept away by the tide?

His son was dead. Supervisor Tang Sha had led people down the mountain. An inside contact had reported that the Hundred Household Office was bringing troops—every single thing proved one point.

That old bastard Tang Sha had completely flipped the table.

They had been caught red-handed in Qinghe Temple, and Chen Baihu, who had always remained neutral, had actually chosen to support Tang Sha.

There would no longer be any suspense over the position of Palace Master. Since that was the case, it no longer mattered whether he stayed.

"Go!" Chen Zhihan made his decision at once, picked up the body, and hurried down the mountain.

He had lost this game, but there was still room to turn over at his wife's side in the county! When the time came... this blood debt for his son... ***"Save her, quickly!" Zhang Rongfang panted as he carried Zhao Dacong into the Elixir Room.

Seeing this, the two Servant Daoists in the Elixir Room did not dare delay and quickly stepped forward to receive Zhao Dacong.

The two carefully carried her inside and laid her on the Treatment Table. They lowered the curtain, leaving the Female Daoists of the Elixir Room to treat her.

Zhang Rongfang stood outside the door and let out a long breath.

He had brought her back. As for whether Senior Sister Zhao could survive this ordeal, that would depend on Heaven's Will. He had not expected that Chen Wuyou would choose to strike the moment he left, nor that Jiao Teng would stand entirely on Chen Wuyou's side.

Had he not feigned weakness and launched a Sneak Attack along the way, he would absolutely have been no match for the two of them in a direct fight.

Zhang Rongfang found a Stone Stool outside the Elixir Room and sat down. When he rolled up his sleeves, two clear swollen welts showed on his forearms.

Those were the injuries left when he had forcibly smashed through Jiao Teng's blocking Moves.

In the end, although I've trained the Yue Type Talisman to its Limit, my physical qualities can't perfectly wield Heavy Mountain.

This ultimate killing move inflicts enormous damage on the enemy, but the backlash also injures me badly. I must use it with caution.

Sitting on the Stone Stool, Zhang Rongfang watched the Incense Guests coming and going along the main road leading through Profound Heart Hall, and his heart gradually settled.

No matter what, he had done his best.

Not long afterward, the Daoist Priest from the Elixir Room came out and quietly said a few words to him.

The tense look on Zhang Rongfang's face eased as well.

Senior Sister Zhao Dacong was no longer in danger of dying. She had merely lost too much blood and suffered too many wounds, so she needed rest and recuperation.

The wounds also had to be watched for festering. But that was something to consider later.

For now, she was temporarily out of danger.

"How is Senior Sister now? Has she awakened?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

"Senior Sister Zhao is still unconscious. If things go smoothly, she will probably need several hours of rest before she can wake. We have already given her internal healing medicine and Trauma Medicine," the Daoist Priest replied softly.

"That's good." Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"Junior Brother Rongfang!" A shout suddenly came from not far away.

It was Zhang Xintai.

There was a shallow bloody cut on his cheek. His robe was mostly intact, though his right sleeve had been torn open in a long gash.

"Senior Brother Xin Tai." Zhang Rongfang's heart stirred, and he quickly went to meet him.

"Do you know where I just went? What I did?" Zhang Xintai's expression was solemn.

"I ask Senior Brother to enlighten me." Zhang Rongfang clasped his fists in salute.

Zhang Xintai immediately told him everything that had just happened, recounting every detail: Xiao Rong's Death, Xiao Qingying being kidnapped, Chen Wuyou having Disappeared, Jiao Teng stabbing Xiao Rong in the back, and that whole string of developments.

Zhang Rongfang was left dumbfounded. After hearing it all, aside from speechlessness and lingering fear, he did not know how to judge Xiao Rong and Daughter.

"Then what will happen to Senior Sister Xiao in the future?"

Zhang Xintai gently shook his head.

"Her father had several old friends in the Dao Palace. Once Supervisor becomes Palace Master, he will offer her some care as well. But..."

Zhang Rongfang understood. Xiao Qingying's father was dead, killed by the person she loved most.

And she herself was the chief culprit who had indirectly caused her father's death.

She had also fallen into the hands of Mountain Bandits. Even if she truly remained innocent, she could never be clean again.

That succession of blows, dealt to that once willful and delicate Miss... she likely...

"Do you want to visit her?" Zhang Xintai asked.

"...Forget it. What difference would it make whether I went or not?" Zhang Rongfang shook his head.

He then told Zhang Xintai about how he had followed the group down the mountain to buy medicine and discovered Senior Sister Zhao Dacong.

Zhang Xintai said nothing. He merely patted Zhang Rongfang's shoulder, then went into the Elixir Room to have the wound on his face treated.

***Xiao Rong's Death and the Disappeared Chen Father and Son caused an enormous uproar within Qinghe Temple.

The entire Qinghe Temple had only a little over a hundred Daoists, excluding the servants, and Martial Cultivators made up only one-third of them.

Among those thirty-odd Martial Cultivators, the Chen Father and Son's faction accounted for another third.

After Supervisor Tang Sha conducted a round of cleansing, several of the Martial Cultivators left behind by the Chen Family voluntarily surrendered their allegiance.

A small number of former diehards had their Daoist Registries directly revoked and were driven down the mountain.

Thus, the number of Martial Cultivators in Qinghe Temple rapidly dwindled to barely more than twenty.

After excluding those assigned to Patrol Inspector duties at the Dao Palace, there were not even enough remaining to rotate through the county's outlying stations.

Supervisor Tang Sha was forced to adopt a new arrangement, with one Martial Cultivator leading a team of Servant Disciples to form new patrol squads.

To strengthen the Dao Palace's security, Tang Sha also assigned some disciples among the Martial Cultivators who had not Entered the Ranks to rotate through the Huaxin County stations.

He also began selecting new Cultivation Disciples from among the Servant Disciples.

And under such circumstances, Qinghe Temple began, extremely slowly, to recover its vitality.

Winter departed and spring arrived.

In the blink of an eye, it was a new year.

Bang! Zhang Rongfang and Zhang Xintai each retreated, faint white steam rising from the sweat atop their heads.

"Again!" Zhang Rongfang did not use the Dragon Snake Movement Technique. He simply fought using the Yue Type Talisman and the Vitality Talisman.

Compared with over a month ago, he had become far more proficient with the Vitality Talisman.

When the Vitality Talisman was combined with its accompanying Bewildering Smoke Step, each move immediately displayed an effect of appearing and vanishing unpredictably, like a maze without a trail.

This was also the core of the Vitality Talisman, reputed to be the most powerful talisman in the Returning Spring Purifying Time Talisman Classic.

"Good!" Zhang Xintai smiled. His hands swept repeatedly, as though drawing circles, his palms continuously catching the incoming Moves with precision.

This was the Gathering Spirit Talisman, one of the two Talisman Arts in which he had already achieved Breaking Limits.

As a Second Grade, his attack speed and strength both surpassed Zhang Rongfang's.

Now, as he blocked and exchanged blows, he appeared thoroughly at ease.

The Gathering Spirit Talisman sounded elegant, but its true principle was to gather a trace of True Spirit from the opponent.

The True Spirit of this talisman art was, in fact, the Eyes serving as spirit.

Thus, every move of the Gathering Spirit Talisman revolved around the enemy's Eyes.

Gathering spirit, gathering spirit—it gathered human eyes.

This set of talisman art had fewer openings than the Yue Type Talisman, and its Moves were light, swift, and yin-soft.

After barely a dozen exchanges, Zhang Rongfang was caught off guard when an opening was seized, and a strike landed mere centimeters before his eyes.

Zhang Xintai's hand blade hovered before Zhang Rongfang's eyelid. With a faint smile, he withdrew it.

"Very good. Your Vitality Talisman is far more proficient than before. Once you understand the footwork, you must slowly train it into your body's instinct. Only then can it be considered an entry."

He paused.

"Right, how is your Yue Type Talisman's Breaking Limits coming along?"

"I still haven't found the thread. But it should be soon." Zhang Rongfang exhaled.

He had to calculate the timing of his breakthrough, lest it be too exaggerated and attract too much attention, envy, and suppression.

Sparring with Zhang Xintai made him increasingly aware of his own level.

Against a master who had cultivated the Talisman Canon to Second Grade, if he did not launch a Sneak Attack, he could not guarantee victory in a direct fight.

Secret Skill Mountain Press could only be used twice in a short period before both his arms became sore and powerless. If those two strikes failed to hit the opponent and finish them off, then he would be the one to lose.