Water vapor howled through the air as three Gu Immortals streaked toward the refining chamber in the midst of roiling clouds.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" The leading Gu Immortal was none other than the Supreme Elder of Spirit Affinity Hall.
All three — the Supreme Elder included — wore expressions of urgent anxiety.
It turned out that Zhao Lianyun had forcibly sent away the Fifth Transformation Gu Master guarding the refining chamber. Once outside, the Gu Master had been struck by panic and immediately contacted Spirit Affinity Hall's higher-ups to report what had happened.
The moment the news arrived, the Supreme Elder and the others could no longer sit still. They rose at once and rushed over!
Nothing must happen to Feng Jinhuang!
Previously, even though the rebellion of Feng Jiuge during the Battle of Fate had caused Mother Qingyue and Feng Jinhuang — this mother-daughter pair — to lose their standing, the Heavenly Court had handled the matter coldly, never truly punishing either of them.
By the rules of the Righteous Path, it would have been difficult to impose punishment anyway. Neither Mother Qingyue nor Feng Jinhuang had betrayed the sect, and Feng Jinhuang was still a disciple of Dragon Lord.
During the pursuit of Fang Yuan, Qin Dingling had issued an emergency order. The Supreme Elder of Spirit Affinity Hall had personally operated the Immortal Gu house, carrying Feng Jinhuang aboard, and watched with her own eyes as Feng Jinhuang collected every last scrap of dream that Fang Yuan had left behind.
This was no small contribution!
Moreover, just before departing, the Supreme Elder had received a secret transmission from Qin Dingling, instructing her: take good care of Feng Jinhuang. Even if the Fate Gu had been destroyed, the Dream Path was still the great trend of the future.
Spirit Affinity Hall's leadership immediately understood the Heavenly Court's intentions — Feng Jinhuang was still favored, quietly being cultivated from the shadows. The dreams Feng Jinhuang had collected, she had brought back with her; not a single one had the Heavenly Court reclaimed!
The three Gu Immortals shot straight into Refining Chamber Number One.
"Fairy Lianyun, you must stay calm— eh." The three froze in surprise.
They did not see Feng Jinhuang dead. Instead, the scene before them was a standoff between Feng Jinhuang and Zhao Lianyun.
Blood still lingered at the corner of Feng Jinhuang's mouth, but under the three Gu Immortals' probing methods, they immediately discovered that Feng Jinhuang was perfectly healthy, unharmed in the slightest.
"What is going on here?"
"Could it really be that Zhao Lianyun saved Feng Jinhuang?"
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"This is too strange. Zhao Lianyun has always been a member of the anti-Feng faction. Feng Jinhuang's refining failure — the timing of her arrival is clearly suspicious; she obviously came to make trouble. But then why is it like this?"
The three Gu Immortals were thoroughly confused.
Judging from the atmosphere, it was actually Feng Jinhuang who held the upper hand, while Zhao Lianyun's complexion was rather grim.
"Feng Jinhuang, you're very good!" Zhao Lianyun gave Feng Jinhuang a long, meaningful look, delivered those portentous words, turned, and left.
She passed shoulder to shoulder with the three arriving Gu Immortals, not even bothering to exchange a greeting — a stark departure from her usual manner, revealing just how foul her mood was.
Feng Jinhuang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand in a single motion, then smiled and paid her respects to the three Supreme Elders.
The three Gu Immortals understood at once, and inwardly marveled.
"It seems this must have been Feng Jinhuang's stratagem. She must have discovered something, turned their own scheme against them, and lured the snake from its hole, exposing Zhao Lianyun and her cohorts."
"Ever since the Battle of Fate, Feng Jinhuang's progress has been remarkable. Adversity truly does temper a person."
"But this conflict between the two sides — what is to be done?"
The three Gu Immortals were silently agonizing.
On one side stood the anti-Feng faction. Xu Hao and Li Junying were its core pillars; they had single-handedly installed Zhao Lianyun as the current fairy of Spirit Affinity Hall. With Zhao Lianyun's addition, this faction had already become the greatest power within the hall.
On the other side were Mother Qingyue and Feng Jinhuang. Neither in this mother-daughter pair was easy to deal with, and both had deep roots. Feng Jinhuang might appear down on her luck, but in truth she still enjoyed the Heavenly Court's favor. And let us not forget — her father was still Feng Jiuge. Though Feng Jiuge had betrayed the Righteous Path, as long as he remained alive, Spirit Affinity Hall could never forget his existence!
The strife between these two factions had become Spirit Affinity Hall's greatest internal crisis, and the Supreme Elder found herself utterly helpless.
"Feng Jinhuang, in the future, if you wish to refine Gu, you are welcome to come to my main peak." The Supreme Elder gazed at Feng Jinhuang in silence for a moment before speaking in a genial tone.
She was pretending not to know about Zhao Lianyun's earlier provocation.
After all, there was no evidence.
The only evidence had been consumed in the refining and destroyed.
Moreover, even had there been evidence, the Supreme Elder would likely have suppressed it. A public confrontation would only detonate the internal crisis and accelerate the sect's decline.
The Supreme Elder was a seasoned leader. She knew: Spirit Affinity Hall's current internal strife was like a volcanic crater that would inevitably erupt in the future. What she needed to do was take a lid, cover the crater, and do her utmost to conceal it, buying time. Within that borrowed time, she had to carve open the proper channels through which the magma could flow and spill, releasing the internal pressure, maintaining stability.
Zhao Lianyun flew back to her own Affection Peak, her face iron-green the entire way.
She did not enter the hall. Instead, she stood at the summit, gazing at the overcast sky.
She knew someone would come.
Sure enough, before long, Xu Hao and Li Junying arrived together in flight.
The married couple's expressions were none too pleasant. On the way here, they had already learned that this scheme had failed. But the specifics — they would have to hear from Zhao Lianyun's own mouth.
Before Xu Hao or Li Junying could open their mouths, Zhao Lianyun preemptively demanded: "You two, how did Feng Jinhuang discover the flaws in the Gu materials? The plan has been exposed — what do you have to say for yourselves?"
Xu Hao was struck dumb.
Li Junying said somberly, "I underestimated Feng Jinhuang. Lianyun, you know my title is the Annihilation Illusionist — this sort of thing has always been my forte. Especially recently, I have advanced to become a Grandmaster of the Shadow Path. Even if the Gu materials were placed directly before the Supreme Elder, she might not have noticed anything amiss."
Zhao Lianyun's face darkened, and she flicked her sleeve in anger. "But the fact remains — what explanation do you two have for that?"