Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

Three days later.

At the summit, the once steep and precipitous peak has been transformed into a wide platform, with the thirty-zhang-tall red copper alchemy furnace placed right in the center, the place with the most abundant spiritual energy.

Shen Shanshui was self-taught in both array formations and alchemy. His array formations were relatively easy; he often used spiritual energy to outline array patterns and picked them up very quickly.

Although he could refine pills, Shen Shanshui had no opportunity for practical experience. Therefore, for the quota of five hundred furnaces, he bought a thousand sets of pill-refining materials.

As expected, the first attempt failed. Although the furnace emitted a medicinal fragrance, as the fire went out, only a pile of black dregs remained.

"Hopefully we can avoid wasting too many materials; these are all spirit stones."

Shen Shanshui felt genuinely sorry for him.

[Warning! Warning!]

The sect leader's only disciple has been attacked!

"What!?"

When Shen Shanshui saw the system's sudden notification, he almost lost control of his aura!

Could it be that the forces behind the gray-haired old man from that day have sent people again?

His divine sense could cover a radius of a thousand miles, and he had been keeping a close eye on Tang Yan in case of any unexpected events.

However, in order to achieve the ultimate control over the fire while refining the pills, and also because he had already sensed that Tang Yan was on his way to Tianyi Mountain, he paid less attention.

Unexpectedly, an accident really happened at this moment!

"I was careless."

He only has this one disciple! If anything happens to him, the entire younger generation of the Heavenly Dao Sect will be wiped out!

[Locating Tang Yan's location for the sect leader.]

……

……

On the Cangnan River, a treasure ship, rented entirely by someone, was speeding from Qingyang County to Tianyang Prefecture. It had just left Qingyang County and entered Longshan County.

Traces of the foundation-building battle that took place half a year ago still remain on both banks of the river.

"Hiss~ Ah!"

Tang Yan felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and everything before his eyes was swaying. After visiting Tang Xiao, he was clearly heading towards Tianyi Mountain, but he inexplicably lost consciousness on the way.

It took Tang Yan a while to realize that he was tied up tightly, and the method was quite professional.

"woke up?"

The woman's voice came from ahead.

"Who are you? Why are you kidnapping me?"

Tang Yan's expression was gloomy, but he did not lose his composure. While questioning, he was also trying to break free of the ropes.

He soon discovered that he couldn't mobilize any spiritual energy at all, as there was an invisible force blocking his way.

"You don't need to know, just know that I won't harm you."

"Won't it hurt me?"

Looking at the woman in front of him, dressed in black, with a black veil and a bamboo hat obscuring her face, her entire body completely covered up.

Tang Yan felt that this statement was not convincing at all.

"Senior, we have no grudge against each other. My master is a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Why not release me? I promise I will not reveal that you kidnapped me."

In this situation, Tang Yan could only try to see if he could get his master's face to work.

Unfortunately, the woman was not moved at all by these words.

"No... Senior, you should at least tell me what grudge we have against each other."

Everyone in Qingyang County knows that I, Tang Yan, am of noble character, quite wealthy, and often help the poor and needy, and have never made enemies with anyone!

"Why would a senior like me, a righteous and dedicated immortal, make things difficult for me?"

Tang Yan couldn't think of any enemies he had. As for that gray-haired old man from before... he didn't know him either.

Are the two of them on the same side? Or is she after his vital essence?

If that's the case, then the world is being far too malicious towards this genius!

Upon hearing this, the woman turned her head slightly. Although her face was not clearly visible under the black veil, she was clearly speechless at Tang Yan's boastful question.

"Shut up!"

"If I wanted to harm you, would you still be alive?"

This time, I kidnapped you at someone's request; it was actually to save you.

I will take you to a safe place. You cannot stay in Jiangnan Prefecture; you will die there!

Tang Yan was in a state of confusion and couldn't tell whether the person in front of him was telling the truth or lying.

"Fellow Daoist, are you taking my disciple there? Where are you taking him?"

A cold snort echoed above the treasure ship, and Shen Shanshui appeared silently on the deck.

The woman in the straw hat seemed surprised that Shen Shanshui would appear so quickly, and she gripped the sword at her waist tightly with her jade-like hand.

"Master, save me!"

Upon seeing Shen Shanshui, Tang Yan was overjoyed and no longer cared whether what the woman said was true or false.

"Taoist priest, you should know that this kid is special."

"He was cured by me, so of course he knows."

Shen Shanshui narrowed his eyes, his aura remaining locked.

Since the other party didn't make a move immediately, he wanted to gather more information.

"Is it really you...?"

The woman in the straw hat spoke in a calm tone, which suddenly became more serious, but she quickly regained her composure.

"It doesn't matter, someone will come looking for you. Since you are his master, the right thing to do is to let me take him away."

"It seems to involve a great deal of people."

Shen Shanshui frowned; he had underestimated the allure of the Pure Yang Dao Body.

However, he had to accept the karmic consequences of his own disciples, no matter how great, even with tears in his eyes. Looking back and indulging in useless daydreams did not align with Shen Shanshui's cultivation philosophy.

"In any case, this is a matter between us, master and disciple."

Little girl, you have to respect his choice!

"Master is so domineering!"

Tang Yan had immense faith in his master. Hearing his master directly address the other person as "little girl," showing spiritual disdain, filled Tang Yan with pride.

"Senior, what if I absolutely must take Brother Tang Yan with me today?"

Inside the cabin, Gu Meng'er slowly walked onto the deck, her eyes filled with determination. She hadn't originally wanted to show herself, fearing that Tang Yan would hold a grudge if he found out.

To everyone's surprise, Shen Shanshui caught up so quickly. Under the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment True Person, how could a Qi Refining cultivator like her possibly hide?

"?"

At this moment, Tang Yan's mind was full of question marks.

"Brother Tang Yan, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep."

"Aunt Liu, knock him out."

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman in the bamboo hat flicked her finger, and a stream of spiritual energy shot out.

However, before that spiritual energy could touch Tang Yan, it was precisely blocked by another spiritual energy.

If word gets out that someone bullied their own disciple in front of their master, how will the Heavenly Dao Sect recruit future immortals?

"Taoist, do you really want to fight? Your aura is only that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator who has survived one calamity. If you really damage your body, I'm afraid you'll never be able to pursue the path of flesh and blood and the Golden Core again."

"Besides, I don't intend to harm Tang Yan; I'm doing it for his own good!"

The woman in the straw hat released a sharp aura, and sword marks quickly spread across the deck, clearly indicating that she had no intention of holding back any longer and was ready to take action at any moment.

"For his own good? In the whole world, only two people are qualified to say that. One is me, and the other is the head of the Tang family."

……

A thousand miles away, on a mountaintop, stood two people.

Wu Lianshan, clutching his knife, frowned deeply, seemingly extremely impatient. Their spiritual senses weren't strong enough to detect the conversation over there, nor did they know what they were talking about.

"Enough with the nonsense. Just go up there, chop him in half, and bring him back, isn't that enough?"

Liu Jiujiang quickly stopped him; he was truly afraid of Wu Lianshan's fiery temper.

"Can't you change your temper? We're enforcing the law across counties. Last time it was Longshan County, and this time it's the same. Even if the reason is legitimate, it's hard to explain."

Moreover, both sides seem to know each other, so we may not necessarily need to intervene.

"Besides, life is so bright and beautiful, can't we give it a chance? Why must we shatter it all?"

Shen Shanshui has always adhered to the principle of seeking help from the county government when facing difficulties, and this time he once again found the two model officials in charge of Qingyang County.

The reason is perfectly valid. As a local resident of Qingyang County, Tang Yan was kidnapped, and Liu Jiujiang and Wu Lianshan naturally have a responsibility to investigate.

……