Gu Tangyin had already made up her mind to visit the Guardian Chen Ye of the Lingyin Sect tonight.

But she couldn’t help but think of another matter.

Yang Qiu... died at the hands of the Lingyin cultivator.

But.

She had clearly ordered He Qinyuan to personally lead people to kill those three to intimidate Chen Ye and the many Yan cultivators.

A cold smile formed at the corner of her lips.

"Heh, whose idea was this? Was it He Qinyuan, Hua Wuyin, or the Zhong brothers?"

"Pretending to comply, yet secretly opposing, using a knife to kill. Once inside the Grotto Heaven, their intentions are as clear as day. Ridiculous, ridiculous, they really don’t take me seriously."

"If Yang Qiu hadn’t died, I might not have known about this... Tch, useless! Now that things have gone awry, how could those three just surrender themselves, obediently waiting for death at the foot of Yunduan Mountain?"

Gu Tangyin’s face grew increasingly somber.

Brings no success, only failure!

It can be said.

Gu Tangyin understood that these four harbored different thoughts.

They were all strong contenders for the position of the next Huayue Rising Dragon and also descendants of the great families of the Ruins Country, naturally unwilling to be beneath others.

But she could not accept this.

Her plan failed due to the arrogance of these four.

It was known,

that the projections of the Luoxiao Grotto Heaven were mostly random; after this, if Luoxiao Grotto Heaven no longer projected Chen Ye’s three disciples, it would be difficult to continue tracking them.

Moreover, even if Luoxiao Grotto Heaven projected them again.

By then, they might already be on their guard...

The more she thought about it, the more a fire burned inside Gu Tangyin’s heart.

As the Huayue Rising Dragon, wanting to kill three little girls, yet it’s this difficult!

...

In no time.

The news of Yang Qiu’s fall from the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect spread swiftly, reaching every corner of the vast Hunyuan City.

There were rumors.

Yang Qiu died in the rage of a Cloud Sleep Flower, suffering an undeserved misfortune, an extremely frustrating death.

Others said,

it was Gu Tangyin who instigated Huayue cultivators to hunt Yang Qiu in Luoxiao Grotto Heaven, attempting to sever the seed of hope for the Yan Kingdom.

In front of the Heaven-Suspended Tower, there was mysteriously much more emptiness.

The cultivators of the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect withdrew, and the disciples of Lingyin secretly rejoiced at the news, spreading it, and most left.

For instance, Wang Fu, who hurriedly rushed into Tingfeng Water Pavilion, overjoyed:

"Good news! Great news! Instructor Chen, that Ten Thousand Puppet Sect’s Yang Qiu has fallen!"

Inside Tingfeng Water Pavilion, the scent of tea lingered gently.

Chen Ye was reclining on a grand chair, holding a casual book, appearing indescribably relaxed and lazy.

Upon hearing Wang Fu’s boisterous voice, he didn’t even lift an eyelid, but leisurely turned a page, saying calmly:

"Guardian Wang, as a member of the Lingyin Sect, you must remain calm in matters. A mere True Inheritor of the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect dies, is it worth losing your composure like this?"

"Oh my, Instructor Chen, this is no small matter!"

Wang Fu hurriedly stepped to the front of the desk, his face flushed with excitement, gesturing,

"You don’t know, that Yang Qiu was a precious gem of the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect, with cultivation at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment. Not long ago, our sect’s True Inheritor Bai was also at the sixth layer, strutting among the younger generation in the entire Yan Kingdom! With his death, the sky has fallen for the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect, Guardian Zhang from the Myriad Puppets almost overturned a table in front of the Heaven-Suspended Tower in rage!"

Only then did Chen Ye sip his tea:

"Oh? Dead? How did he die?"

"There are many rumors!"

Wang Fu lowered his voice, leaning in mysteriously.

But Chen Ye waved his hand, indicating not to get closer.

He thought to himself: This Instructor Chen looks approachable, but is actually very cold.

Wang Fu had no choice but to stay in place and continue,

"Some say there was a Golden Core stage Cloud Sleep Flower hidden in Yunduan Mountain that roasted him together with his corpse puppet; others say it was the handiwork of Huayue Mansion in secret, trying to weaken our Yan Kingdom’s strength. In any case, it’s chaos outside, and everyone is laughing at the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect now!"

Upon hearing "Yunduan Mountain" and "roasted by fire," a slight curve formed at the corner of Chen Ye’s mouth.

A mad Golden Core demon flower?

Roasted by fire?

Such coincidences don’t exist in this world.

That Cloud Sleep Flower is a demon plant that doesn’t specialize in fire techniques; it must have been an eruption of earth fire beneath Yunduan Mountain.

And this could only be the handiwork of Jin’er.

"It seems Jin’er successfully obtained the Celestial Burning Treasure Scroll. And while at it, they used the opportunity to eliminate the pursuers chasing them, even roasting them directly."

Chen Ye was inwardly amused.

Which is just as well.

In his estimation, the three disciples might be able to win against Yang Qiu, perhaps needing to use an array plate to escape.

If they encountered him, a tough battle was inevitable.

But using the terrain to kill the enemy would spare the disciples from injuries.

"Instructor, why are you smiling?" Wang Fu looked at the smile on Chen Ye’s lips, somewhat puzzled.

"Guardian Wang, that’s quite amusing; aren’t you smiling at such good news too?"

Chen Ye responded softly.

"Ah... well... that’s true."

Wang Fu’s expression turned a bit awkward.

But he felt that the Instructor’s smile was different from his.

How to say it...

His smile was malicious with glee, completely different in meaning from the Instructor’s smile.

Chen Ye’s mood was jovial: "Guardian Wang, please inform everyone that tonight Tingfeng Water Pavilion will be closed to guests, as I need to enter seclusion for cultivation."

"Alright! I’ll take care of it right away!"

Wang Fu nodded repeatedly and wisely exited Tingfeng Water Pavilion.

After Wang Fu left,

Chen Ye suddenly extended his hand, tapping lightly twice beneath the large desk.

"Come out, he’s gone."

There was a rustling sound beneath the desk.

Soon after, Mao Qingzhu emerged from under the desk, her face flushed red, almost dripping with embarrassment.

Her clothes were somewhat disheveled, her hair slightly loose, and her eyes, like autumn water, were incredibly resentful, while she bit her lower lip tightly, her voice as soft as a mosquito: