Half an hour later, a deafening sound echoed.

A figure burst through the window from inside the house and flew out.

The people waiting outside immediately became vigilant.

"Catch Ye Guichen!"

With Zhang Chonglou's angry shout, he also rushed out.

At this moment, Zhang Chonglou's beard and hair were flying, his presence overwhelming, like a true immortal of invincible might, angrily pointing at Ye Guichen, who had fallen to the ground.

Ye Guichen wiped the bloodstain from the corner of his mouth, let out a mad laugh, and pointed at Zhang Chonglou, cursing, "Old fool, I said I didn't kill anyone, yet you refuse to believe me and even hurt me! Haha, just you wait, I'll be back for revenge!"

After saying this, his whole body leapt up, darting quickly outward.

The Heavenly Master Tao disciples waiting outside finally reacted.

"Catch him!"

"Don't let him escape!"

"Hurry, take action!"

However, Ye Guichen's speed was astonishing, far beyond what they could stop.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Guichen had broken through the encirclement, rapidly leaping downhill like a monkey.

Members of the Heavenly Master Tao pursued him at full speed.

Zhang Chonglou narrowed his eyes, filled with shock.

Originally, he thought Ye Guichen's cultivation was at most at the Grandmaster Realm.

Only after deliberately engaging did Zhang Chonglou realize that if Ye Guichen truly fought him, he might not stand a chance.

"This kid has grown so fast." Zhang Chonglou smiled wryly.

"Master, what happened?"

"Master, does Brother Ye truly have a problem?"

"Grandpa Zhang, what just happened?"

Luo Huasheng, Zhang Chongchen, Gongsun Fengying, Gongsun Zhi, and others approached, looking at Zhang Chonglou in confusion.

They couldn't understand how things had escalated so quickly.

Moreover, judging from his expression, Zhang Chonglou seemed extremely angry.

Zhang Chonglou glanced at them and sighed deeply, "That kid Ye Guichen aids the wicked, claiming there's nothing wrong with the Eternal Life Hall, and he admitted that he acted because he disapproved of Lao Wu. I acted out of anger, but I didn't expect to let him escape."

"What?" Everyone was puzzled.

Especially Luo Huasheng, who looked incredulous, "Master Zhang, you must be mistaken? How could Brother Ye say anything good about the Eternal Life Hall? Are you, are you...?"

Zhang Chonglou waved his hand, "I'm tired, I want to rest for a while."

He turned and re-entered the room.

The crowd exchanged glances.

Though confused, they said nothing more.

"Could Ye Guichen really be that kind of person?" Gongsun Fengying asked Zhang Chongchen doubtfully.

Zhang Chongchen shook his head, "I, I don't feel like it."

"What do you mean doesn't feel like it? It's simply impossible!" Luo Huasheng clenched his fist, "Though I've only met Brother Ye a few times, I know his character well. He wouldn't tolerate a grain in his eye, so how could he suddenly favor the Eternal Life Hall?"

Gongsun Fengying snorted, "But Fifth Master is dead."

Besides Gongsun Zhi, no one knew that Liu Xuanji was faking his death.

However, Gongsun Zhi seemed contemplative and said nothing.

A moment later, Gongsun Zhi appeared to have figured something out, his mouth curling as he murmured to himself, inaudible to others, "This boy has quite the plan."

In just half a day.

The Heavenly Master Tao had already issued a wanted notice for Ye Guichen.

The content of the wanted notice was intriguing.

Not only did it claim Ye Guichen killed Zhang Chonglou's fifth disciple Liu Xuanji, but also a young Taoist named Chou Lai.

He's like a demon, and it's called for the entire Taoist sect to join forces to eliminate him.

Those from other Taoist sects, who initially regarded Ye Guichen as a reclusive noble family expert, were all dumbfounded upon seeing the notice.

Upon inquiring, they discovered Ye Guichen wasn't some reclusive family expert, but merely a conceited young man.

Feeling deceived and insulted, members of the Taoist sect were furious, embellishing the notice and listing Ye Guichen's numerous crimes.

They even claimed Ye Guichen dared to impersonate a reclusive family expert and deceive Zhang Chonglou.

All of a sudden, Ye Guichen seemed to have become the public enemy of the Taoist sect.

Even Luo Huasheng received a call from the sect, urging him to stay away from Ye Guichen.

"How could this happen?" Luo Huasheng wondered, rubbing his bald head after receiving the stern order from the sect, still unable to comprehend what had transpired.

That evening, Ye Guichen, the person at the heart of the matter, quietly arrived at Lingquan Villa.

Lingquan Villa was specially constructed for that pool of spiritual spring, located at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain. Though not large, it spanned over thirty acres.

Not only was the environment beautiful, but the air itself seemed to carry a refreshing aroma.

According to Zhang Chonglou, the spiritual spring wasn't very large, situated in the very center of Lingquan Villa. To approach it, one had to pass through several patrol posts.

However, these were no obstacles for Ye Guichen.

Camouflaging himself in the shadows, seemingly merging with the darkness, Ye Guichen effortlessly reached the vicinity of the spiritual spring.

The spring seemed no different from an ordinary spring, with two people nearby, yawning and chatting.

Those two were clearly guarding the spiritual spring, preventing anyone from stealing the spiritual spring water.

"Have you heard? There's a rumor that someone named Ye Guichen killed Zhang Chonglou's fifth disciple, and it's spread all over Qingcheng Mountain!"

"Yes, I heard that the guy named Ye Guichen escaped from the Heavenly Master Tao's encirclement. Tsk tsk, even Zhang Chonglou only managed to injure him, seems that boy really has some skills."

"Have you only heard that Ye Guichen killed Liu Xuanji but don't know why? Heh heh, let me tell you, I heard it was a crime of passion! They fought fiercely over a woman named Gongsun Fengying, and in the end, a promising disciple met his demise."

"What? A crime of passion? Tsk tsk, who is this Gongsun Fengying, is she beautiful?"

"I don't know if she's beautiful, but I hear she's from the Gongsun Family in Quanzhou. Just based on her lineage, she could be an ugly duckling and still... Heh, if I could be her son-in-law, I wouldn't have to stand guard at this spring at night."

"Tch, you? Why would she be interested in you, no matter how ugly she is?"

"And she wouldn't be interested in you either," one of them retorted, irritated, "speaking of which, I also heard that Elder Gong lost three barrels of spiritual spring water he painstakingly collected, and I heard the Valley Master went into a rage. Elder Gong might be in trouble now."

"Really lost it?"

"Yes, it seems like it was stolen by that Ye Guichen. Tsk tsk, that boy has gained fame in just a few days. Not only is Medicine King Valley after him, but even the Heavenly Master Tao is too. You'd think he has three heads and six arms, yet no one has caught him."

"Heh heh, it's none of our business. By now, that boy named Ye Guichen is surely hiding somewhere. Even if you beat him to death, he'd never come out now. Once discovered, even if he had nine lives, it wouldn't be enough for them to take."

The two continued their increasingly excited discussion.

Suddenly, one of them felt a hand patting his shoulder, "Hey, stop messing around."

"I'm not messing around," the other replied, puzzled, turning to glance at his companion's shoulder, only to find an extra hand on it.

"Whoosh!" The man immediately stood up, drawing the sword in his hand, pointing it at Ye Guichen, "Who are you?"

Ye Guichen didn't expect the rumors to have reached such an astonishing level.

The notion of a crime of passion had even emerged.

"That old man Zhang, he's trying to ruin his reputation!" Ye Guichen inwardly cursed Zhang Chonglou for spreading rumors but looked at the pair with a smiling face, "I have questions for you, answer truthfully."