Chapter 224: Linghu Chong's Suspicion.

"Cihang Jingzhai! Ning Daoqi!"

After Ning Daoqi left, Yin Queen Zhu Yuyan remained where she was for a long time. Instead, she remained silent for a moment before reciting the seven words, each word in a measured tone.

A fierce glint flashed in Zhu Yuyan's eyes.

Leveraging the power of the diary, she had successfully advanced to Grandmaster status. She had initially imagined she could unleash her prowess, slay the Evil King Shi Zhixuan, unite the two sects of the Great Sui Dynasty, and crush the supposedly reputable and upright sects like Cihang Jingzhai and Jingnian Zen Temple.

But before she could make any move, Ning Daoqi arrived.

Crucially, she was no match for him.

Her initial excitement at her Grandmaster status cooled, and Zhu Yuyan immediately thought of the diary that had enabled her to ascend.

"Grandmaster level one is far from enough! If only I could gain more benefits from the diary—" Zhu Yuyan's eyes gradually lit up.

"The diary writer's favorability and the number of times they're mentioned in the diary are both crucial to gaining further benefits—perhaps I need to make a trip to the Ming Dynasty, or perhaps have Wanwan bring him from the Ming Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty. But the most important thing right now is to kill Shi Zhixuan!"

"Shi Zhixuan, where the hell are you hiding?"

Zhu Yuyan thought of Shi Zhixuan, and murderous intent welled up in her heart.

...

"I'm finally back." Linghu Chong looked at the familiar mountain gate with a complex expression of nostalgia, sighing, and sadness.

Compared to Linghu Chong, Ye Xiu and the others were filled with joy.

Meanwhile, those who had joined later, like Wanwan and others who had never been to Huashan before, surveyed the mountain with curiosity.

They were curious about what the place where Ye Xiu, the owner of the diary, had lived was like.

"Master's Wife, I'll trouble you with Master's affairs." Ye Xiu handed Ning Zhongze the secret manual of Zhang Sanfeng's Rama Internal Power, which he had obtained from Zhang Sanfeng, and asked Ning Zhongze to pass it on to Yue Buqun.

As for whether Yue Buqun would practice Rama Internal Power, that depended on Yue Buqun's own choice: did he want to become a man again, or continue to be androgynous—no, did he still want to be a woman? If

Yue Buqun wanted to be a man, then he would practice Rama Internal Power and strive to quickly regrow his roots. If Yue Buqun preferred being a woman, then Ning Zhongze would inform Yue Buqun that the renowned doctor Ping Yizhi had begun researching how to transplant female organs into humans. He would be told to wait patiently until Ping Yizhi successfully developed the technology, and then perform the surgery on him.

In this way, Yue Buqun could either become a man again or become a woman.

Whatever Yue Buqun chose, it would be far better than his current androgynous state.

"Okay, I'll go find your master right away." Ning Zhongze nodded, took the martial arts manual, and headed off to find Yue Buqun.

Linghu Chong, who had originally been feeling a complicated expression due to returning to the Huashan Sect and even lost in memories, felt a bit strange after hearing the conversation between Ye Xiu and Ning Zhongze. He didn't quite understand what the two were saying. It seemed as if something had happened to his master, Yue Buqun.

"Master's Wife, what's wrong with my master?" Linghu Chong asked hurriedly.

Hearing Linghu Chong's concern for Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze glanced at him with a complicated expression.

If Linghu Chong had passed on the Dugu Nine Swords to Yue Buqun after obtaining it, Yue Buqun would never have castrated himself to practice swordsmanship. Although Ning Zhongze knew that Linghu Chong truly cared for Yue Buqun, he still found Linghu Chong's expression a bit distasteful.

Ning Zhongze took a deep breath and forced a smile. "No, nothing. Your master has been in seclusion cultivating for a while. He doesn't want to be disturbed." "

Really? Is your master really in seclusion cultivating, and not in trouble?" Linghu Chong couldn't help but frown. Ning Zhongze's behavior didn't seem like Yue Buqun was alright.

Linghu Chong, though erratic, irresponsible, and even possessed numerous flaws, did care about Yue Buqun. Even if his concern was somewhat insufficient and even a bit biased,

Ning Zhongze's current behavior only made Linghu Chong more suspicious that something might have happened to his master, Yue Buqun.

"What could have happened? This is Huashan, very safe. Your master is doing well and is even very happy. Don't let your imagination run wild," Ning Zhongze had to say.

She was soft-hearted after all, and didn't want Linghu Chong to know about Yue Buqun's condition. Ning Zhongze knew that Linghu Chong would definitely feel guilty if he knew about Yue Buqun's situation, so he was reluctant to let Linghu Chong feel guilty about Yue Buqun.

After all, even if many of Linghu Chong's actions disappointed Ning Zhongze, it was Ning Zhongze who had watched him grow up.

It was like a parent: even if they encounter an unfilial son, even if the unfilial son's actions were extremely outrageous, even if they made the parents sick, they still couldn't help but think of their son when things went wrong.

Ning Zhongze's treatment of Linghu Chong was similar.

Linghu Chong looked at Ning Zhongze, who seemed to be trying hard to cover up something, and his heart became increasingly uneasy. He felt that his master, Yue Buqun, might really have had a problem, otherwise his master's wife wouldn't be like this.

However, Ning Zhongze's efforts to conceal the truth, as if he didn't want Linghu Chong to know, made Linghu Chong realize that Ning Zhongze would not tell him the truth.

So Linghu Chong pretended to know nothing, and then he secretly investigated.

After all, knowing that Yue Buqun was in trouble, yet he remained indifferent? He couldn't do that.

"Well, Madam, when Master's retreat is over, be sure to let me know so I can go and see him!" Linghu Chong said to Ning Zhongze with a smile.

"Yes, I will. I'll let you know as soon as your Master's retreat is over." Ning Zhongze breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Linghu Chong didn't press his questions.

"Madam, I've been away from Huashan for a while, and I haven't seen my fellow disciples in ages. I'm going to look for them," Linghu Chong said to Ning Zhongze.

"Well, go ahead. Liang Fa, Shi Daizi, and the others miss you too."

Linghu Chong looked beaming as he went to find Liang Fa, Shi Daizi, and the others.

"Big Brother, you're finally back!"

"Big Brother, it's so great to have you back."

"Big Brother, where have you been for all this time? Why didn't you come back sooner?"

"Big Brother..."

Liang Fa, Shi Daizi, and the others were also overjoyed and delighted to see Linghu Chong.

After all, before Linghu Chong left Huashan, Liang Fa, Shi Daizi and the others had been following him closely.

And after Linghu Chong left Huashan, Ye Xiu hadn't had much contact with Liang Fa and the others.

Especially later, Ning Zhongze began to supervise their training, even with a strict attitude. He required them to practice for a sufficient number of hours every day and to be extremely serious during each practice. Ning Zhongze was far more strict than Linghu Chong had been in the past.

Later, even Yue Lingshan was busy with her training, leaving her no time to play with them.

This made Liang Fa and the others feel very uncomfortable.

Being supervised by Ning Zhongze and even Yue Lingshan every day, practicing martial arts with such intensity, made them miss Linghu Chong even more.

Even though they had faced a crisis in the past where the Huashan Sect was almost wiped out, they had only focused on practicing diligently to improve their strength. But after the excitement passed, they returned to normal.

Then they missed Linghu Chong even more. After all, when Linghu Chong supervised them back then, he had never been serious. Every time they practiced, even Linghu Chong himself was a little perfunctory, and Liang Fa and the others were naturally even more perfunctory.

It was more like playing than practicing martial arts.

Therefore, Liang Fa and the others truly hoped Linghu Chong would return, so that everything could return to the way it was before, the carefree, playful days of the past.

It could be said that Liang Fa and the other Huashan disciples were truly ruined by Linghu Chong.

As disciples of a Jianghu sect, they didn't focus on training and improving their strength, but instead thought only of playing every day, especially after facing life-threatening situations.

Fortunately, there were only a few who held such thoughts. Later, after the Huashan Sect's alliance with the Wudang Sect, they accepted a large number of new disciples.

Ning Zhongze kept these new disciples under strict supervision. While they wouldn't become masters of martial arts, at least they wouldn't be as focused on martial arts as Liang Fa and his group.

"Junior Brother Liang, Junior Brother Shi, Junior Brother Ying..." Linghu Chong, seeing how happy Liang Fa and the others were, greeted them cheerfully.

After a while of pleasantries, the unfamiliarity that had built up during Linghu Chong's absence quickly faded.

"Junior Brother Liang, Huashan seems a lot more lively now than before!" Linghu Chong looked over to the nearby area, where many Huashan disciples were practicing basic skills.

"Well, it's indeed more lively than before. We've recently recruited quite a few disciples at Huashan. All in all, we're almost over a hundred," Liang Fa said, nodding.

"Almost over a hundred? That means our Huashan is truly prospering. Master must be very happy now. After all, our Master has always wanted to make the Huashan Sect flourish." Linghu Chong said, then turned the topic to Yue Buqun.

"Master—he should be very happy," Liang Fa and Shi Daizi said, looking at each other.

"Why? You look like you haven't seen Master in a long time?" Linghu Chong asked with a smile.

"Well, Senior Brother, it's true that we haven't seen Master for a while," Liang Fa hesitated, then replied.

"Huh? Why? Isn't Master in Huashan? How come you haven't seen Master in a while?" "

Well, actually, after you, Senior Brother, left Huashan, Master has been in seclusion quite a bit. The occasional appearances are always brief, and he'd return to seclusion again. And recently, Master has been in seclusion for extended periods. We haven't seen Master in ages." Shi Daizi recounted what he knew.

"Master is in seclusion quite often?" Linghu Chong frowned.

"Yes. I don't know if Master is about to achieve a breakthrough or what, but he's rarely appeared in front of us for a long time. Lately, even when Master's Wife and Junior Sister left Huashan, Master hasn't stepped forward to oversee Huashan's affairs. Master's Wife even asked Lin Pingzhi to look after the newly admitted disciples," Shi Daizi said, somewhat indignantly.

"That's right. We all joined the sect earlier than Lin Pingzhi. We are all senior brothers. After our Huashan Sect accepted disciples, the master's wife actually asked Lin Pingzhi to take care of it and refused to let us come. It's obvious that Lin Pingzhi is just a pretty boy--" Ying Bailuo's tone was mixed with envy and even jealousy of Lin Pingzhi.

"This may be because the master's wife wants you to concentrate on practicing martial arts, and Lin Pingzhi, the master's wife knows that he has poor aptitude for martial arts, so she asked him to arrange those miscellaneous matters." Linghu Chong also felt that there was something wrong with the arrangement made by the master's wife Ning Zhongze, but he did not say it directly, but made up an excuse.

Hearing Linghu Chong say this, Shi Daizi, Liang Fa and others looked at each other.

Ning Zhongze handed the affairs of the Huashan Sect to Lin Pingzhi to handle, so it was natural that the senior brothers were envious and jealous of Lin Pingzhi, and even a little dissatisfied.

So, during the time Ning Zhongze and his companions left Huashan for the Wudang Sect, they also troubled Lin Pingzhi, provoking him while he was teaching the new Huashan disciples, even challenging him.

However, since joining Huashan, Lin Pingzhi had been completely absorbed in martial arts training, seemingly practicing 24/7. Even though his aptitude wasn't particularly exceptional, his progress was remarkable given the intense training.

Especially after Ye Xiu avenged Lin Pingzhi, Lin Pingzhi seemed to have let go of his inner struggles, and his training accelerated.

Then, Shi Daizi, Liang Fa, and other long-time Huashan disciples were defeated by Lin Pingzhi in duels.

They felt so embarrassed at being defeated by Lin Pingzhi in public, in front of so many new Huashan disciples, that they even tried to avoid him when walking.

Now that Linghu Chong is saying that Lin Pingzhi has poor martial arts aptitude, then aren't those who lost to Lin Pingzhi even worse?

"What's wrong? Why do you all look so grim?" Linghu Chong couldn't help but ask when he saw Liang Fa and the others looking unhappy.

"No, nothing. Actually, Lin Pingzhi's martial arts aptitude is, well, not bad."

"Yes, Lin Pingzhi's martial arts aptitude is still pretty good."

"Of course, there's no way you can compare to Senior Brother Lin Pingzhi."

Liang Fa and the others stammered.

Seeing them like this, Linghu Chong couldn't help but frown again. He even guessed that Liang Fa and the others might have become Lin Pingzhi's defeated opponents.

However, Linghu Chong himself didn't care much about this, because Liang Fa and the others' strength was not something Linghu Chong took seriously. Lin Pingzhi was able to defeat Liang Fa and the others, so his strength wasn't that much stronger.

What Linghu Chong was most concerned about now was actually Yue Buqun's problem.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about him anymore. How is Junior Sister now? She seems to have changed quite a bit since I left." Linghu Chong took the opportunity to inquire about Yue Lingshan's condition.

"Junior Sister—I don't know if she's gone mad or what, but ever since you, Senior Brother, left, she's been practicing non-stop, spending most of her time practicing martial arts. She hasn't come to play with us in ages." Liang Fa looked dejected.

Shi Dai, Ziying, Bai Luo, and the others also nodded dejectedly.

It's been said before that the Huashan Sect disciples all harbored some feelings for Yue Lingshan, but because Yue Lingshan and Linghu Chong were so close back then, they were forced to suppress these subtle feelings, never revealing them.

So, when Yue Lingshan suddenly began to focus on her martial arts training and stopped coming to play with them, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Junior Sister spends most of her time practicing martial arts? That's true, otherwise she wouldn't have achieved her current level of cultivation—" Linghu Chong said this, yet he couldn't help but feel puzzled. Yue Lingshan's strength was increasing at an incredibly rapid rate, almost abnormally so.

According to Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan was already incredibly lucky to have reached the Xiantian realm. And now, Yue Lingshan had already reached the sixth level of the Xiantian realm, practically on the verge of reaching the late Xiantian realm.

"Anyway, we think Junior Sister has changed a lot." "

It's all because of that Ye Xiu—"

"That's right, that pretty boy Ye Xiu has been involved with so many women, and Junior Sister just happened to be hanging around him."

"He's just a pretty boy."

Liang Fa, Shi Daizi, and the others were arguing back and forth, their words becoming increasingly outrageous and agitated. If they continued at this rate, Ye Xiu would likely become an unforgivable villain in their eyes.

Listening to what Shi Daizi, Liang Fa and

the others said, Linghu Chong couldn't help but feel a sense of agreement in his heart. He still felt that the little junior sister's attitude had changed so much, and it was definitely related to Ye Xiu, the pretty boy. After everyone denounced Ye Xiu, Linghu Chong began to shift the topic to Yue Buqun.

"Why do you think Master keeps retreating? It's been so long?" Linghu Chong asked seemingly casually.

"I don't know."

"Isn't it said that Master's cultivation is about to break through?"

"Master's retreat is really long..."

Linghu Chong quickly reorganized the information said by Liang Fa and the others in his mind, and then analyzed it, trying to find out the hidden truth.