Lesser Strife Peak, rear mountain, Myriad Demons Cave.

“Senior Brother.”

“Senior Brother! We’ve come to see you.”

A group of people called out at the cave entrance.

After a few breaths, Linghu Jiu’s voice came from within, “Come in.”

Led by Lao De, the group of senior and junior brothers swarmed into the Myriad Demons Cave, each bowing respectfully to Linghu Jiu.

“Senior Brother, are you well here?” Lao De spoke first.

Linghu Jiu shrugged. “Everything is fine. It’s not like you don’t know—I’ve long gotten used to this environment.”

“What worries me instead is Little Junior Sister.”

“She’s always been lively, and now she’s been punished with confinement in her room. Wouldn’t that stifle her to death?”

The brothers sighed in unison and began chiming in, one after another.

“Yes, I’m worried just like Senior Brother.”

“Yesterday, I got my hands on six Note Gu and had her personal maid deliver them for her to play with.”

“Oh? Just the day before, I sent in a mechanical puppet.”

“I pleaded with Master, only to get a harsh scolding. Sigh…”

The camaraderie among the brothers was clearly strong. This was because, back when Lin Bufan took in disciples, he had deliberately chosen ones of similar age to raise from childhood.

Growing up together naturally forged deep bonds.

Lao De shifted the topic. “If you ask me, Little Junior Sister really went too far this time. Who knows what kind of bewitching soup that Ning Zhuo fed her, to make her help him so wholeheartedly!”

“Senior Brother, the rest of us pooled our funds to clear Little Junior Sister’s debts.”

“But that Ning Zhuo cannot be let off so easily. He needs to be taught a lesson. Otherwise, none of us will feel at ease.”

The topic turning to Ning Zhuo immediately resonated with everyone.

“Yes, yes! That Ning Zhuo is too sly. Relying on his good looks and smooth tongue, he tricked our Little Junior Sister!”

“We all gave so much, and he got the biggest benefit in the end. That’s absolutely unacceptable.”

“Senior Brother, among all of us, it’s you who treats Little Junior Sister the best. We don’t acknowledge anyone else—only you.”

“That’s right, Senior Brother!”

“Senior Brother, after some discussion, we agreed that if we act against Ning Zhuo ourselves, it would look bad. Instead, we should leverage the sect rules and incite the other external cultivators to give that brat some trouble.”

“You wouldn’t believe it. While Little Junior Sister is grounded and gloomy every day, that brat acts like nothing happened. He’s tossed her aside and spends his days sparring comfortably with his new buddy, Han Zhou!”

Upon hearing this, Linghu Jiu’s expression turned solemn. He shook his head and refused. “This must not be done.”

“There’s no wall in the world that doesn’t let wind through. If you incite other cultivators to go after Ning Zhuo, it would severely damage Myriad Medicines Sect’s reputation.”

“If word got out, all the hard work our sect has put in over the years would be ruined.”

“For the sake of petty personal grievances, to disregard the interests of the entire sect—is that what we should do?”

The group of brothers fell into silence, looking at one another.

Lao De spoke reluctantly. “Then Senior Brother, are we to let Ning Zhuo live so comfortably? He’s made rapid progress lately, but much of the cultivation resources came straight from our own pockets.”

“If we even hint at the idea, those external cultivators would pounce like cats smelling blood, eager to curry favor with us, willing to help deal with Ning Zhuo!”

“And to ensure secrecy, all we’d need is a signed contract.”

Linghu Jiu let out a sigh. “The human heart changes easily. Today, they cling to you with fanatical devotion; tomorrow, they might hate you just as fervently. It’s those who remain indifferent throughout who are far more trustworthy in nature.”

“Schemes like these are not the conduct of men of upright virtue. Let it go.”

“I’ve long been curious about Ning Zhuo. When I leave this cave, I’ll meet him in person.”

Lao De sighed. “If that’s the case, we’ll leave it to you, Senior Brother.”

The brothers chatted a while longer, sharing laughs and stories, before finally parting with reluctance.

Once they left Lesser Strife Peak, the rest of the brothers began muttering discontentedly.

“Are we really just letting it go like this?”

“Since even Senior Brother said so, let’s do it this way.”

“Senior Brother’s confinement will probably last a few more months. By then, the flower stew will have gone cold! Ning Zhuo might have already run off!”

“Say he’s just greedy for money, fine. But the key is, he deceived our Little Junior Sister’s feelings and used her—how can we tolerate that?!”

Lao De smiled faintly. “Senior Brother is only concerned that we’ll damage the reputation of Myriad Medicines Sect.”

“How about this—we won’t step forward ourselves, won’t privately speak with those stationed cultivators, not even hint at anything in secret.”

“We’ll just spread rumors! From what I see, Ning Zhuo has risen too quickly. At first, his cave dwelling ranked in the two hundreds, and now he’s suddenly in the top ten.”

“In that last battle, he swiftly defeated Chang Yan—does that really show true strength?”

“I believe there are quite a few who share my doubts!”

“As long as we stir up some rumors, others will likely take the initiative to challenge Ning Zhuo.”

The others’ eyes lit up as they heard this, bursting with praise.

“Excellent plan, excellent plan.”

“This method is good—we stay out of it and only blow wind.”

“Even if investigated, it’ll never come back to us.”

Lesser Strife Peak, training grounds.

Ning Zhuo was sparring with Han Zhou.

But unlike before, Han Zhou was clearly on the defensive, while Ning Zhuo firmly held the advantage.

The cause of it all was the mechanical arms and legs floating around Ning Zhuo.

These limbs, like Floating Hands, hovered in mid-air.

Ning Zhuo controlled them to repeatedly perform the martial art Frost Fist, and used those mechanical legs to execute the martial art Old Cold Legs.

If Han Zhou had faced just two arms and two legs, it might have been manageable. But the problem was—he faced a siege of ten arms and ten legs!

Han Zhou was like someone being ganged up on by a crowd, constantly forced to retreat and widen the distance, trying to find a weakness.

Yet to his shock, he found that Ning Zhuo’s level of mechanical control was extremely high. The way he manipulated these mechanical limbs was both smooth and precise, with tight formations and perfect coordination—there wasn’t the slightest overstep or opening!

“You… stop, stop!” Han Zhou, having been pummeled for some time, couldn’t endure anymore and waved his hand to call it off.

Ning Zhuo still wasn’t satisfied. “Brother Han Zhou, I haven’t yet mastered control. I’m getting many insights right now—maybe I can even use these mechanisms to perform Bitter Cold martial arts in an entirely new way.”

Han Zhou’s eye twitched.

From the bottom of his heart, he sighed in admiration. “Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo, I never imagined your mechanical manipulation would be this incredible. It’s definitely stronger than your martial arts—no, even stronger than your Five Elements Mana!”

Han Zhou had traveled far and wide and broadened his horizons. After personally exchanging blows and experiencing Ning Zhuo’s mechanism arts, he immediately revised his assessment and impression of Ning Zhuo in his heart.

“So it turns out, Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo was deeply hiding his strength—his true specialty isn’t Five Elements Mana at all.”

This was vastly different from the outside world’s assumptions!

“In that case, Brother Han Zhou, why don’t you take a short rest? Let’s practice again after.” Ning Zhuo’s smile was as gentle as a spring breeze.

Though Han Zhou didn’t look forward to another round, under the influence of Ning Zhuo’s Buddha Heart Demon Seal—no, under the influence of his smile—he still nodded in agreement.

Watching Ning Zhuo in place, meticulously controlling those mechanical arms and legs, training with focused effort, sometimes pausing to frown in thought, Han Zhou couldn’t help but look forward to the day Ning Zhuo would display this strength in front of the crowd—and to the reactions that would follow.

“Heh heh heh.” At the amusing thought, he couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

Ning Zhuo’s ears twitched slightly. Hearing Han Zhou’s laughter, a subtle joy welled up within him.

“Brother Han Zhou gets along with me quite well. When I first met him, he looked troubled. But now, he’s open-hearted, and his smiles are growing by the day.”

“This feeling of bringing happiness to those around me—it really is wonderful.”

In today’s sparring session, Han Zhou’s steps clearly faltered more, while Ning Zhuo wore a contented smile.

The outcome of the training had been excellent, and he felt deeply gratified.

He and Han Zhou parted reluctantly, like he had returned to the days when he spent time day and night with Lin Shanshan.

Han Zhou had taken a few steps away when he suddenly stopped and called back to Ning Zhuo. “Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo, I almost forgot—there’s been a bit of turbulence lately.”

“What is it?” Ning Zhuo’s face showed confusion.

Han Zhou replied, “It’s about you. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but recently on Lesser Strife Peak, there’s been some very unpleasant gossip aimed at you.”

“They say you’re arrogant, look down on others—that your strength is actually lacking, and in the battle with Chang Yan, you only gained the upper hand by luck in a quick offensive.”

“From what I see, it’s probably because you’re now holding a top-ten cave dwelling on Lesser Strife Peak, which made a lot of people jealous.”

“These people want to challenge you for your cave, but they’re afraid of losing. So they spread rumors to incite others to challenge you more, paving their own path.”

Ning Zhuo frowned immediately. “So this is what’s going on!”

“Brother Han Zhou, thank you for the warning. Otherwise, I’d still be in the dark.” Ning Zhuo bowed deeply in gratitude.

Han Zhou sighed. “Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo, you mustn’t train with your head buried all the time. Lesser Strife Peak isn’t like your family environment. Often, struggles are not just about open challenges—there are many schemes outside the ring.”

Ning Zhuo’s brows furrowed even more. “Then what should I do?”

Han Zhou didn’t have a great solution either, but he advised Ning Zhuo to stay vigilant. “I think you should challenge someone soon and display your mechanism arts. That way, all those slanders and rumors will disappear.”

“Many thanks for the guidance!” Ning Zhuo bowed again and expressed repeated thanks.

As Han Zhou walked away, he was still worried for Ning Zhuo. “Ning Zhuo is, after all, a young master from a family background—his thoughts are still too simple. He just set out on his travels and has no idea how treacherous people can be.”

“Just from those rumors, it’s clear that his previous life was rather peaceful and blissful.”

“Sigh… It’s shameful to admit—even I, who approached him and trained with him, didn’t have entirely pure intentions.”