In the front hall of the Taiyan Sect, several master uncles sat gathered together.

Zi Luo stamped her feet anxiously: “Master Uncles, please think of a solution!”

“What solution is there?” Fourth Master Uncle Li Danshu adjusted his gauze cap and spoke unhurriedly: “You know how terrifying Gufeng Mountain is at night. Over twenty years ago, a group of new disciples entered the mountain. One disciple, relying on his high cultivation, became greedy and lingered in the mountain forest after sunset. When the Sect Master led people to rescue him, not only was his cultivation completely ruined, but one arm was also destroyed, and he could never cultivate again for the rest of his life.”

On the other side, Third Master Uncle Cui Yufu, who specialized in talismans, snorted coldly: “That was still considered good. Over ten years ago, a disciple wanted to gather spiritual fruits for pill refinement. He secretly snuck into the mountain when no one was paying attention and disturbed the fierce beast, Twin-Headed Yaksha. He was torn in half, and even his primordial spirit was devoured completely, leaving only scattered bones on the ground. After that incident, the Sect Master set up restrictions at the mountain entrance – after sunset, no one is allowed to enter Gufeng Mountain.”

“Junior Sister Zanxing isn’t someone who harbors greedy intentions,” Zi Luo explained. “She must have encountered some trouble inside. Master Uncle,” she looked at Li Danshu, “if it weren’t for searching for that Night Vine branch, Junior Sister Zanxing wouldn’t have encountered danger. I don’t care – you have to think of something!”

Li Danshu coughed lightly: “How would I know… *cough*, girl Zi Luo, I also want to rescue her, but I can’t break the Sect Master’s restrictions either!”

“That’s right,” Yueguang Daoren sighed, “Zi Luo, don’t make things difficult for your master uncle.”

“Is there no one who can break the Sect Master’s restrictions?” Zi Luo said, “So if the Sect Master is in closed-door cultivation and a disciple encounters danger, our Taiyan Sect just ignores it and refuses to help?”

“If Seventh Junior Brother were here, we could still try,” Yueguang Daoren shook his head: “But…”

This person had already left the sect for a year – who knew when he would return?

Yueguang Daoren said, “Right now, we can only hope that the little girl is clever enough to safely get through the night. When dawn breaks and the restrictions are lifted, several of us will enter the mountain together to search for her.”

Cui Yufu threw cold water on this hope with an expressionless face: “By dawn, that girl will probably be eaten down to the bones. In all these years, aside from the Sect Master and Little Seven, no one has ever spent a night in Gufeng Mountain and emerged unharmed.”

Zi Luo was burning with anxiety, but could do nothing about it.

…

Frost condensed into white dew, rolling off the broad leaves of tree branches and dripping onto the nose of the person sleeping beneath.

The woman’s nose twitched slightly, then suddenly – “Achoo!” – the sound rang through the entire morning.

Zanxing opened her eyes and looked toward the distant horizon.

The starlight and night curtain dispersed together. Before her was the white mist shrouding Gufeng Mountain and the faintly visible giant dragon statue of the Taiyan Sect at the end of the peaks.

She raised her head, wiped her face, and stood up, slightly surprised in her heart. Without realizing it, an entire night had passed.

Last night, she had walked while holding the golden egg, wandering around until she got lost. She had intended to rest under a tree for a bit and didn’t even know when she had fallen asleep. Right, the egg – Zanxing looked down at the egg she was clutching tightly in her arms. In daylight, the golden egg’s color had dimmed considerably and was no longer warm, looking just like an ordinary colored egg prop.

But thanks to this egg last night, she definitely would have gotten sick from the cold.

Zanxing looked around. In daylight, Gufeng Mountain had returned to its usual scenic beauty – a fairyland on earth with morning light and rosy clouds. Zi Luo had said that Gufeng Mountain at night was very dangerous, with fierce beasts roaming about. Last night, she had walked for a long time and slept under a tree for an entire night, yet nothing had happened to her at all.

Could it be that the Xiaoyuan Pearl was secretly protecting her?

That was good. Having safely passed the night, and with dawn now breaking, she would push forward in one effort to leave Gufeng Mountain. Once she returned to the Taiyan Sect, she would tear that bastard Hua Yue into pieces.

…

At the hour of Chen, the dawn rooster flew up to its perch and began crowing accurately and without fail.

The waning moon hid behind the clouds as a round of sunlight gradually emerged from between the peaks with fiery colors.

The rising sun and boiling colored clouds.

Zi Luo, who had been dozing, startled awake and hurriedly got up to wake the few people around her who had fallen asleep while waiting: “Master Uncles, dawn has broken, the restrictions are lifted!”

“Are they lifted?” Li Danshu rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. The sunlight outside made him squint as he said, “Ah, it’s gotten so late.”

“Hurry up,” Zi Luo tugged at Li Danshu’s sleeve, pulling him up from the ground: “Junior Sister Zanxing is still on the mountain. Quick, let’s go rescue her…”

“Rescue whom?” A voice came from behind, carrying a hint of teasing laughter: “Girl Zi Luo, why are you in such a frantic hurry? Where are you going?”

Zi Luo turned around in surprise. A middle-aged man walked in. This man wore coarse brown hemp clothes, but his features were refined and elegant. His long hair was tied with a hairpin of the same color, and he had grown a small pointed beard on his chin, giving him a somewhat cunning appearance. At first glance, he looked like a scholar or perhaps a folk storyteller.

“Fifth Master Uncle?” Zi Luo was stunned: “Didn’t you go traveling with Seventh Master Uncle? How did you come back?” Her heart stirred: “Could it be…”

“What?” A clear, youthful voice came from outside the door, carrying a hint of arrogance: “You only welcome him, but not me?”