Jin Yuyan let out a cold laugh.

She had just attempted to force her way through.

Unfortunately... those two were on the same level as her, though weaker. They couldn't defeat her head-on, but stopping her by entangling her was a piece of cake.

If it weren't for this, she wouldn't have wasted so much time here.

"Yue Dewen courting death is his own affair, but your actions against the Celestial Treasure Palace, is that not too much?"

"Too much or not, if you see it as part of the Jade Void Palace, naturally it is too much. But if not, then Yue Dewen is asking for it himself." West Sect's Yuan Li smiled.

"It's getting late. Instead of wasting time here, why don't we return to Ze Province, and in the future, we won't interfere with each other. What do you think?"

He looked like an old monk on the verge of death, but after several encounters, Jin Yuyan was well aware that among the two, this Yuan Li was the more troublesome one.

She immediately fell silent, with a cold smirk, closing her eyes to meditate.

Yuan Li and Chunrong also kept silent, sitting quietly at the edge of Yi River, cultivating the Cultivation of Literature.

The two sides joined forces to first clear the Great Dao Teaching out of the scene. This was something they had agreed upon long ago.

Now that Jin Yuyan of the Jade Void Palace had personally intervened, it was also within their calculations.

But at this moment, even though Jin Yuyan knew she couldn't succeed, with the two of them blocking her, she still refused to retreat.

In this... the two were inexplicably puzzled. Up to now, the situation had blurred for them.

If at first, they were holding back Jin Yuyan together, now it seemed the situation had changed.

It had become Jin Yuyan holding them both in check.

What was her true objective!?

She should know that for them as Spirit Generals, the outcome of victory or defeat actually didn't matter.

Due to the nature of a Spirit General, they might be defeated, but it was almost impossible to kill them.

*

*

*

Qingchuan Prefecture, backyard.

Zhang Rongfang was savoring the battle from earlier.

In that final moment, he used all his might, and the sudden surge of power from his back elevated the potency of his strike to another level.

And from the look of the scene then, that guy before dying seemed to recognize what that strange power was.

He mused while quietly watching the newly transplanted white Qinghua Tree.

All the flowers and trees in the backyard had been replaced with Qinghua Trees.

He liked the white color; the sea of white and the fragrance at the tip of his nose felt like the first time he saw the Celestial Treasure Palace, as if washing away the fatigue and weariness from his heart.

"Shang Dingye is dead. The Shang family might not notice in the short term, but with time, they will certainly take the investigation seriously. After all, he was a Grandmaster; we don't know if our arrangements will be effective." Zuo Han voiced his worries softly from behind.

"Don't worry." Zhang Rongfang turned around, "With Yue Shi gone, the Great Dao Teaching doesn't hold much attachment for me anymore. If discovered, we can simply leave here and hide out elsewhere.

The only ones who could do anything about us are multiple Grandmasters or a Grandmaster. But in the vast world, how many such Grandmasters can there be? Most are figures of great power and influence. Would they spend long and great efforts just to track us down?"

"The Crown Prince speaks the truth." Zuo Han agreed with this notion. Grandmasters are not to be found everywhere.

Even in the vast territories of the Great Spirit, each top power probably only counts them with single digits. Each one is the cream of the crop.

Like Shangguan Feihua of this area.

This person likely achieved perfection after breaking through to Grandmaster, advancing no further and finally deified.

Such strong figures are exceptional and command vast networks of followers and connections behind them.

They cannot be casually stirred.

"Now that Yue Shi is gone, the Crown Prince might as well give up this empty position and return to the Moon God Palace with me, and considering the secrecy of the Moon God Palace, it wouldn't be too late to go out again after reaching the limits of cultivation?" Zuo Han, though not in the center of the storm now, already felt the oppressive calm before the storm.

The Great Dao Teaching and the Jade Void Palace had mobilized in full force; so many Grandmasters and Super Grandmasters involved, where did they go? Why has there been no news for so long?

The death of the Sect Leader, nobody would believe that the Great Dao Teaching would have no response.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for the first counterattack by the Great Dao Teaching.

That counterattack was like a sword, ready to fall at any moment, but no one knew where it would strike.

"Yue Shi had high hopes for me and put in a lot... But achieving Sect Leader status is not what I wish for..." Zhang Rongfang sighed softly.

In fact, rather than going to the Moon God Palace with uncertain conditions and potentially facing the Moon God, he might as well stay within the Great Dao Teaching. At least with Jin Yuyan, the grand aunt in the Jade Void Palace, there seemed to be a further potential connection.

Moreover, he had been so well taken care of by Yue Shi.

Leaving at this moment wouldn't be right.

"By the way, you know the word that guy said at the end, Uncle Zuo? How was my final move different from my usual bursts?"

Zhang Rongfang shifted the topic. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

As for Shang Dingye's death, outwardly, he, Zhang Ying, was just an external medicine Super Grade, completely unrelated to Shang Dingye's death.

Thus, even if the Shang family investigated, without understanding his real strength, they could not pin it on him.

What currently concerned him more was the word Shang Dingye uttered at the end.

The purplish-red tumor on his back, what was it, perhaps Shang Dingye had seen it before.

"Things within the Dao Door, I don't know either, but the Crown Prince's final move had a subtle unique penetrating power. It's hard to describe," Zuo Han frowned, "It's like an Extreme Realm move, suddenly mobilizing more of your inherent flesh power."

Lacking words like muscles, when he mentioned it, he used flesh as a substitute.

"Extreme Realm..." Zhang Rongfang noted it silently.

"Let's not dwell on this. Uncle Zuo, I plan to establish a secure base in Ze Province, a place that truly belongs to us. No longer wandering as before, with no place to settle."

"This can be done. But, the key is to maintain a good relationship with the Jade Void Palace," Zuo Han stated gravely. Despite his extreme aversion to the Jade Void Palace, he also knew that lacking strength and the right opportunity, they couldn't afford to openly clash with such a behemoth.

Zhang Rongfang also noticed his intentions. The two of them then proceeded to make detailed plans on arrangements, development, and further advancements.

Moreover, with Sun Chaoyue and the cooperation of others in various responsibilities, affairs in Qingchuan Prefecture were being handled neatly.

Zhang Zhenhai and Zhang Yunqi were tasked to lead members of the Rebel Sect, to search around for materials for the Golden Toad Skill and gather necessary information.

The Thousand Stone Sect, coordinated with the Agarwood Palace's core team, was looking for ways to generate wealth, as this was different from Cituogang Port.

Though Qingchuan Prefecture also had a port, the throughput was not large, and it required a detour to trade nations, making costs high, unappealing to sea merchants.

Furthermore, the local Twelve Sect Mansions already controlled nearly all industries.

Therefore, obtaining more money and resources was extremely challenging.

In his downtime, Zhang Rongfang followed a routine of practicing alchemy every few days to produce Fasting Pills.

The rest of the time, he secretly wandered around aimlessly.

He was searching for new hosts to replenish his flesh and blood.

The drastic changes within the Great Dao Teaching and the mysterious death of his mentor had sharply heightened his sense of impending danger.

He had to quickly enhance himself.

He needed to ensure he wasn't swallowed by the impending great storm.