After the witch ripped out his heart, this mortal body began to lose control.

Yang Hongyuan thought to himself.

Lu Chengfeng's strength had long since reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and he was always secretive and extremely cunning.

I was no match for him back then, and I'm even less likely to win now.

Li Wanguan is a cunning fellow who has always been at odds with me. We should never trust his previous agreement.

We must act according to the circumstances and absolutely must not be the first to step forward.

At the same time, Li Wanguan was also secretly making plans.

I am only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and Yang Hongyuan, who is in the late-Foundation Establishment stage, is hesitant to make a move. How can I be the first to attack?

I'll just wait for the two of them to fight, then I'll reap the benefits.

……

Seeing this, Yang Hongyuan stopped beating around the bush and laid his cards on the table.

"Brother Lu, I know that your grandson brought out an ancient treasure from Qianlong Mountain."

The reappearance of this ancient treasure means something we all know perfectly well.

Our small border town suffers from the annual conflict between the Black Stone and Green Wood sects.

Moreover, there have been constant frictions between my Qingyun Kingdom and the Dayong Kingdom in recent years.

Who knows when war might break out again? Whether we can protect the people of this region then depends on the City Lord's Mansion.

Could you lend me the ancient treasure your grandson acquired, so that I may ensure peace and stability in this area?

Li Wanguan immediately chimed in, his chubby hands rubbing the black jade ring until it gleamed, a harmless smile plastered on his face:

"What that old scoundrel Yang said makes a lot of sense!"

In recent years, this small town of Yunyang has become increasingly turbulent. I know that Brother Lu is used to a life of leisure and doesn't want to get involved in these mundane affairs anymore.

Why not hand over that ancient treasure to my Li family and exchange it for some sought-after cultivation supplies? Wouldn't that be wonderful?

He had already planned ahead, intending to first use Yang Hongyuan's influence to force Lu Chengfeng to back down, and then find an opportunity to settle accounts with Yang Hongyuan after he succeeded.

Lu Chengfeng slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, the smoke rings lingering in the air for a long time.

He scoffed, his tone as cold as a knife:

"Ancient treasures have always been acquired by the capable!"

"With your combined strength, do you even have the right to take this ancient treasure from me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his spiritual energy surged dramatically, feigning peak condition, and an aura of power emanated from him.

This startled Yang and Li, who hesitated again, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly in their minds.

The two looked at each other for the fourth time.

Li Wanguan gestured to Yang Hongyuan with his eyes, indicating that they should not let go of this great opportunity.

But Yang Hongyuan ignored it.

He dared not completely trust Li Wanguan, and was even more afraid that this was a trap set by Li Wanguan, and that he would be used as a pawn after making a move first.

After deliberating for a dozen breaths, Yang Hongyuan cupped his hands in greeting to Lu Chengfeng.

"Since Brother Lu is unwilling to lend the treasure, I will not force you. I have other matters to attend to at my residence, so I will take my leave first."

After saying that, he flew away into the sky without looking back.

Seeing that Yang Hongyuan had left, and realizing he was left alone, Li Wanguan had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

After Yang and Li had completely disappeared, the oppressive aura surrounding Lu Chengfeng slowly dissipated.

Zhao Si, who was originally repairing the house, came to Lu Chengfeng's side.

"Brother, we deliberately spread the false news that they were injured, and those two took the bait."

These two have malicious intentions and may be detrimental to longevity. Should I take some men and secretly eliminate them?

As he spoke, Zhao Si made a throat-slitting gesture.

Lu Chengfeng glared at him.

What do you want to do?

Be mindful of your identity!

Do they still think they're bandits?

We are now just ordinary hunters.

Don't resort to violence so easily.

Don't underestimate these kids we've trained; they're all quite formidable.

Let them make their own way. It takes real ability to rely on themselves. What kind of business is it to rely on us?

Don't stand in their way at the slightest sign of trouble.

We can shield them for a while, but can we shield them for a lifetime?

The future of Yunyang City belongs to these young people; there are some things we need to let them do themselves.

……

On the other side, aboard the Shen family's flying boat, a completely different scene unfolded.

Shen Qinghe grabbed Lu Changsheng's hand and led him into the cabin.

She glanced meaningfully at Lu Changsheng behind her, and at the same time used her spiritual power to activate many restrictions in the cabin.

She held Lu Changsheng's hand tightly and never let go.

Her hands were like ice from ages ago, chilling and piercing.

Lu Changsheng could no longer endure this discomfort.

He was the first to break the silence.

"Young Miss, you can let go of me now."

With this remark,

Shen Qinghe quickly released his grip and spoke with difficulty.

"Sorry... you're cold!"

"It's alright!"

Lu Changsheng shook his head and smiled bitterly, his tone tinged with self-mockery:

"Miss Shen, I don't understand why you're willing to marry me."

Lu Changsheng knew perfectly well that with Shen Qinghe's looks, strength, and family background, choosing a Daoist partner would be a piece of cake.

It's not his place at all, given that he's a hermit cultivator from the countryside.

Grandpa must have made her a condition she couldn't refuse.

"I want to know what my grandfather promised you."

He looked up at Shen Qinghe, waiting for her reply.

Unexpectedly, her beautiful face suddenly lost all color, turning as pale as paper.

She couldn't help but tremble slightly, her jaw chattering.

"The Yin-type Cold Qi within me has erupted!"

A layer of fine ice crystals quietly appeared around her, her fingertips turned blue, her whole body trembled uncontrollably, and her clothes were covered with a light frost.

Even the wooden planks beneath her feet were frozen, and the icing was continuing to spread.

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng quickly said, "Quickly release the restriction, I'll go out and find someone to rescue you!"

At this moment, Shen Qinghe's meridians were freezing very quickly, and in no time, he would be completely frozen into an ice sculpture.

The sudden outbreak of the Yin Cold Fiend left her speechless.

She could only barely gesture with her eyes for Lu Changsheng to take out the storage bag at her waist, which contained the Crimson Sun Warm Jade that suppressed the cold evil.

After glaring at him with her beautiful eyes, she went limp and collapsed towards Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng quickly helped her up. Although he didn't know the specifics of the situation, he could guess the general meaning of her gesture.

She probably wanted me to save her, but I couldn't understand how she was going to do it.

Although he didn't know what kind of acute illness Taiyin Hansha was, he knew that it should be due to cold invading the body and required warming up and emergency treatment.

How can we warm her up? We can't exactly put her on a fire to roast her!

……

That's the only option left.

Thinking this, he looked at Shen Qinghe solemnly, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"The matter was sudden, and we are both engaged, so my actions cannot be considered frivolous."

"To save your life, this is the only way!"

Upon hearing this, he took off his coat and then Shen Qinghe's wedding dress, and embraced her through her underwear.

At that moment, he felt as if he were holding not a beautiful, living person, but a thousand-year-old ice sculpture.

Her delicate body was icy cold, and wisps of extreme chill seeped into Lu Changsheng's body through his dark skin.

The chilling spiritual energy flowed through his limbs and bones into his dantian, gently touching the five elements of spiritual energy within his body.

The next moment, Lu Changsheng felt that the five elements of spiritual energy in his body were being slowly drawn in and absorbed by her.

Oh no, this woman is dishonest!

I saved her life, but she drained my vital energy, and now I am doomed.

Lu Changsheng immediately became wary and wanted to throw the woman in his arms aside.

Unexpectedly, he was held firmly by a strange force and could not break free at all.

At this moment, Lu Changsheng felt several streams of extremely cold energy surging and crashing within his dantian.

Most of the five elements' spiritual energy within his dantian was absorbed.

The remaining power of the five elements was simply insufficient to suppress that extremely cold energy.

His dantian was about to freeze completely.

He had a sudden inspiration and quickly used his spiritual power to quietly integrate the jade pendant on his chest into his dantian to dispel the cold.

A gentle, warm current flowed quietly into the dantian along the meridians in the abdomen two breaths later.

Like the warm spring sun, it quickly dispelled the Yin coldness in the dantian.

He then transformed the chilling energy into pure ice-type spiritual power, which quietly merged into his five elements spiritual roots.

After a third of an incense stick's time, Lu Changsheng had completely neutralized the several streams of cold energy within his body.