Not long after riding Zhuang Hu’s flying sword out, Ye Anping saw and heard the thunderous roar in the sky above Profound Star Sect’s rear mountain. A simple thought made him realize that Lei Wanjun was probably furious.

Now, he felt relieved as well.

His plan had successfully achieved its first goal.

Lei Wanjun was likely seething with anger towards the Seven Killers Sect by now, probably itching to fly over their headquarters and unleash hundreds of thunderbolts upon them.

But the prerequisite for unleashing thunder was for Lei Wanjun to know where the Seven Killers Sect’s headquarters were located.

The Seven Killers Sect had existed in the Zhou Star Realm for almost a thousand years. If their headquarters were so easily found, they would have been eradicated by their peers long ago.

So, if Profound Star Sect wanted to eliminate the Seven Killers Sect, it was essentially like dealing with rats.

Rats couldn’t really threaten Profound Star Sect, but as the saying goes, rats dig holes that connect everywhere.

Even if the Profound Star Sect was really determined, it would take at least ten or twenty years to wipe them out completely.

Ye Anping had always believed in the saying “do not let grievances linger overnight.”

The longer this matter dragged on, the more uncontrollable it would become.

Who knew, Profound Star Sect might suddenly realize, while they were chasing after rats, that they were being used as pawns. That would be the end of it.

Therefore, he had to lend a hand and pass the location of the Seven Killers Sect’s headquarters to Profound Star Sect.

As for how to pass this information, he definitely couldn’t openly go and meet Lei Wanjun, then tell him face to face, “The Seven Killers Sect is over there! Hurry and destroy them!”

That would be far too obvious, and anyone with eyes would see that he was being used as a pawn.

However, Ye Anping had thought of a plan.

The only thing he wasn’t sure about was whether Feng Yudie would be willing to be tied up and stuffed into a sack?

…

After he and Zhuang Hu found a hilltop to erect a tombstone for “Second Brother” and held a simple funeral, they went their separate ways.

When Ye Anping returned to the marketplace of Profound Star Sect, it was already mid-morning.

The sun had risen above the mountains.

The morning market in the marketplace was lively, and he bought a bowl of soy milk and fried dough sticks from a breakfast stall. He overheard everyone discussing yesterday’s commotion on the rear mountain of Profound Star Sect.

Ye Anping felt quite pleased, happily finishing his breakfast and then returning to the therapy center. He had decided not to open for business today and planned to rest for a couple of days.

During the past two days when he had taken Zhuang Hu into Profound Star Sect’s rear mountain, he hadn’t slept a wink.

After taking a simple shower, Ye Anping lay down on his bed and fell asleep in no time.

After exhaustion, sweet dreams would naturally follow.

Indeed, Ye Anping dreamt about the “Xi Yue” girl he had always wanted to marry.

The two of them walked hand in hand along the West Lake, their eyes meeting and exchanging tender glances. Just as Xi Yue was about to press her lips against his, suddenly…

Bang!

A sound from within the therapy center shattered his beautiful dream.

Startled, Ye Anping tried to get up, but he suddenly felt his body becoming overheated, as if his dantian had caught fire.

He hesitated for a moment and didn’t pay further attention to the noise in the therapy center. He quickly used his divine sense to examine his body.

His divine sense followed his meridians and acupoints, and then he realized that he had actually broken through. His cultivation had jumped from the third level of Qi Refining directly to the fifth level.

However, due to this sudden advancement, a large amount of pure yang energy had accumulated in his sea of qi, with no outlet for release. His body could only passively release this energy through copious amounts of sweat to cool down.

“This…”

Ye Anping was a little shocked, but he quickly remembered what Wang Shouren had said…

—Practicing both the Four Oceans Sect’s Heart Technique and the Nine Elements Heart Technique can easily lead to excessive yang energy, which accumulates in the internal organs. Without proper regulation, problems would arise.

“So, that’s what it meant…”

At that moment, a male and female voice came from outside.

“Be gentle! Why so rough? Keep searching, who allowed you to smash the door!”

—It sounded like Bai Yuelin’s voice.

“Ah… Senior Sister Bai, let’s search the marketplace thoroughly. This shop hasn’t opened for business the past few days… You’re aware of what happened on the rear mountain yesterday. This shop is highly suspicious…”

Bai Yuelin argued logically, “How could this shop be suspicious?! It’s just a coincidence. Several other shops have been closed these days too!”

“Yes, we know that’s why we’re planning to search the other shops too.”

“Then just go to the other shops… There’s absolutely no issue with this shop. The owner is a young cultivator, how could he be connected to the Seven Killers Sect?!”

“But…”

Hearing this, Ye Anping also understood what had caused the noise just now.

He had anticipated that Profound Star Sect would come knocking at his door. Originally, he had planned to use the excuse of “visiting my parents at Hundred Lotus Sect,” but now, because of his excessive yang energy, he looked like he was unwell.

So…

Ye Anping quickly got out of bed, pushed open the bedroom door, and walked out, pretending to be sick and coughing a few times.

“Cough, cough—What’s the matter?”

Seeing Ye Anping’s flushed face and weak appearance, Bai Yuelin quickly approached and asked, “Anping, what’s wrong with you?”

“I’ve been feeling feverish these days, as if I caught a serious cold. So, I had to close the shop and rest.”

“Ah?!” Bai Yuelin reached out to touch his forehead and hurriedly took out a pill from her storage pouch. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have taken care of you. Haven’t you been lying in bed these past two days?”

At this moment, the Profound Star Sect disciple who had just argued with Bai Yuelin walked over. Based on his attire, he was a mid-level disciple of Profound Star Sect, responsible for patrolling and maintaining security around the sect.

Approaching, he gave Ye Anping a once-over and asked, “Are you the owner of this shop?”

“Yes… I am,” Ye Anping pretended not to understand and asked in response, “What’s the matter?”

“Can you inform us about your activities in the past three days…”

“Can’t you see how weak he looks? Why are you still asking?” Bai Yuelin furrowed her brows and glared at him, interrupting, “Go away, I’m telling you he’s fine!”

Feeling somewhat helpless, Ye Anping replied, “As you’ve seen, I caught a severe cold these past few days… I’m currently at the Qi Refining stage, so I’ve been resting in my room during this time.”

“I see…” The disciple nodded, made a note in his small book, and then asked, “Do you have any proof of identity or the like?”

Ye Anping quickly took out his identity token from his storage pouch and handed it over for the man to inspect.

Seeing that he was a young master of Hundred Lotus Sect, the man didn’t ask further. After offering an apologetic salute, he quickly led his team away.

As they were leaving, Bai Yuelin rushed after them, shouting, “Hey! You damaged someone’s door. Shouldn’t you compensate for it…”

However, when she reached the doorway, she thought of Ye Anping and rushed back, only to find that Ye Anping had already returned to his room and had bolted the door.

“Anping, why did you lock the door…”

A voice came from inside the room, “Senior Bai, this is my bedroom, not the living room.”

“What’s wrong with the bedroom…” Bai Yuelin pouted and murmured softly, “I’ve been inside before… Besides, didn’t we sleep together…”

“…”

Bai Yuelin waited at the door for a while. Seeing that Ye Anping was determined not to open the door for her, she didn’t want to force her way in and could only give up.

She glanced at the courtyard that had been untidy for the past two days, then decisively picked up a broom and started tidying up for Ye Anping. She went to the small kitchen at the back and cooked a pot of colorful porridge for him.