Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

Upon entering the outside, they saw that a raging fire was also burning.

It seems that Zhang Meng not only wants to burn himself to death, but also wants to burn everyone in the abandoned hall to death!

This guy usually keeps a low profile, but I never expected him to be so vicious.

Li Ping'an frowned. He was about to shout to remind the disciples of the abandoned hall when he saw someone running out of their residence, shouting:

"Fire! Fire! Help put it out!"

Li Pingan called out twice casually, then turned and disappeared without saying anything more.

Right now, I absolutely cannot show my face.

If people find out that the fire didn't extinguish him, the person behind it will definitely have other ways to deal with him.

I'll hide myself for now and deal with it after the fire is put out tomorrow.

Just as he was about to find a place to hide, suddenly, a figure pounced on him.

Li Ping'an immediately felt a strong sense of crisis, and his whole body trembled with fear.

Li Ping'an subconsciously took out a talisman from his pocket.

This was a life-saving talisman that Qingyue had given herself, also known as the Golden Light Talisman!

Using this talisman, one can withstand a full-force attack from a cultivator below the Foundation Establishment stage!

The dark figure rushed in front of Li Ping'an in the blink of an eye.

Li Ping'an looked at the dark figure and immediately saw that the figure was tall and exuded a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation. It was holding a long sword and thrusting it towards Li Ping'an's face.

However, just as the sword light was about to hit Li Ping'an, Li Ping'an suddenly crushed the golden light talisman!

In an instant, a golden light enveloped Li Ping'an, rapidly expanding and completely enveloping him.

"Hmm? A golden light talisman? And a high-grade one at that?"

The man in black's pupils suddenly contracted, completely unexpected that an old handyman would possess such an expensive golden talisman.

Before he could react, a surge of immense power erupted from the golden talisman, instantly blasting the man in black away.

The man in black rolled several times on the ground, clutching his chest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He stared at Li Ping'an with a pained expression.

"Damn it, I was careless."

The man in black gritted his teeth. No one had told him that Li Ping'an possessed such a treasure!

Li Ping'an was still completely bewildered! It was his first time using the Golden Light Talisman, but he never expected it to unleash such a powerful aura.

The intense light was so blinding that he couldn't open his eyes.

However, he could vaguely see that the man in black seemed to have been directly knocked away.

The man in black glared at Li Ping'an with resentment and said coldly, "Hmph! You're lucky this time, but next time, you definitely won't be so lucky!"

The man in black uttered a harsh remark, then turned and sprinted down the mountain.

Li Ping'an watched the other person gradually leave with a cold gaze.

His brow furrowed slightly, and a look of confusion flashed across his face.

The other party's strength is clearly at the Qi Refining Realm, but I don't think I've ever provoked someone like that before. Who exactly is this person?

Who could this person be?

Li Ping'an stared at the disappearing figure, countless names flashing through his mind. He felt that this person looked a lot like someone else, namely Steward Wang!

However, now is not the time to dwell on these things, because the fire has already spread.

Li Ping'an quickly found a place to hide and circulated his energy until dawn.

The raging fire was not extinguished until dawn.

A group of exhausted disciples from the abandoned hall collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Seeing this, Li Ping'an slowly walked out.

He scanned the area but didn't see Zhang Meng.

Where did Zhang Meng go? Did he flee to avoid punishment?

The sudden fire was no small matter, and soon a group of sect disciples dressed in black rushed over.

They all had serious faces, with a fierce look on their faces. The leader, in particular, was a big, burly man with a long scar on his face and wide, fierce eyes. No one dared to meet his gaze.

This person was none other than Liu Jinhu, a steward of the Hall of Deacons.

His methods were ruthless, cruel, and decisive. As the person in charge of the sect's disciples in the Hall of Affairs, he was infamous throughout the sect, and ordinary disciples dared not look him in the eye.

He walked with his hands behind his back into the ruined hall, which was almost burned to the ground.

"Whatever the location?"

"I'm here!"

Manager He staggered to his feet, dusted himself off, and walked over to Liu Jinhu.

"Deacon Liu, you've arrived!"

"Um."

Deacon Liu stood there, glanced at him, and said:

"What happened? How did your place suddenly catch fire? Hmm?"

Manager He said with a worried look on his face:

"I don't know either. Everything was fine last night, and suddenly a big fire broke out in the middle of the night. The fire was very strong and large. Although we discovered it immediately, we still couldn't avoid the damage."

"Um."

Liu Jinhu nodded and said:

"This is your dereliction of duty, and we will report this situation truthfully."

"Okay, you can report it. I'm retiring soon anyway."

Manager He wore a wry smile.

Liu Jinhu didn't make things difficult for Steward He. After exchanging a few casual words with Steward He, he began to inspect the ruins of the burned-down hall.

He soon discovered that there were piles of firewood burned to charcoal next to many houses.

Although it had been burned to charcoal, it was still clearly a pile of firewood.

"Why are there so many stacks of firewood next to each of your houses?"

Liu Jinhu turned to ask Manager He.

Manager He was slightly taken aback and said:

"No, our firewood is always kept in the woodshed, how could it be here?"

"Um."

Manager He smiled slightly and said:

"That's it! This fire seems to have been intentional, not an accident! Hehe, that's interesting!"

Upon discovering this clue, Liu Jinhu's face immediately lit up with excitement.

Very good! Since someone deliberately set the fire, that's interesting!

Once this person is found, he'll have his fun again!

Upon hearing Liu Jinhu say this, all the disciples were taken aback.

Someone did this intentionally. Who was it?

Liu Jinhu's gaze swept over everyone present as he said:

"That goes without saying, it must be one of you! Otherwise, why would anyone else target you out of nowhere?"

"One of us?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with panic and unease.

"Manager He, are all the disciples of your abandoned hall here?"

Liu Jinhu asked.

Manager He squinted and counted, saying:

"It seems like everyone's here, but then again, it seems like one person is missing!"

"Is there any difference?"

Liu Jinhu was getting impatient.

Manager He was startled, and after thinking for a moment, he said:

"Oh, I remember now! It seems... it seems Zhang Meng isn't among them!"

"Yes!"

Only then did everyone realize.

"Where did Zhang Meng go? Did he burn to death?"

"That can't be!"

"Zhang Meng?"

Upon hearing this, Deacon Liu immediately became interested:

Where did Zhang Meng go?