Chu Ningyan shook her head, then turned to Zuo Qiu, extending her hand to press lightly on her forehead. “I’ll seal your cultivation for now. Don’t leave the City Lord’s mansion before we get to the Tianjian Sect. Otherwise, I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a disciple of the Lian Shen Sect.”

“Understood!”

Zuo Qiu nodded eagerly, feeling a wave of relief wash over her.

She had already passed the first hurdle, and the current situation was far better than she had anticipated. She had feared she might be imprisoned, but now it was just a matter of sealing her powers and restricting her movements.

It seemed that Bai Feng was valued by the Tianjian Sect more than she had imagined. Without his intervention, it was hard to say whether she would even survive this ordeal.

At that moment, Bai Yumo tugged at Bai Feng’s sleeve, leaning in to whisper with a hint of dissatisfaction, “Brother, are you really going to take her on as a servant? She was just trying to attack us before. Keeping her around is too dangerous.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not that foolish. I’ll definitely keep an eye on her,” Bai Feng waved his hand dismissively. “Besides, I’m not letting this go easily. I need someone to help me deal with Heilian, and she just happens to have had some ‘interaction’ with Heilian.”

“But I still feel it’s a bit unreliable…”

Though Bai Yumo was still somewhat displeased, she had to admit that Bai Feng had a point, so she reluctantly nodded in agreement with his decision.

Seeing Bai Yumo still pouting, Bai Feng reached out and gently rubbed her chubby little face. “So, when you get back, you need to work hard on your cultivation. Stop getting involved in all this trivial stuff. The stronger you get, the safer I’ll be. I’m counting on you to protect me.”

“Okay… I’ll work hard on my cultivation.”

Bai Yumo nodded, and her mood lightened a bit upon realizing that Bai Feng wasn’t planning to add any new ‘bodyguards.’

After all, Zuo Qiu was an outsider. When it came to protecting herself, Bai Feng would surely trust his sister more.

Meanwhile, Chu Ningyan paid no mind to the younger generation’s bickering. She glanced at the distant retreating figure of the divine cultivator, and without the divine cultivator’s assistance, Xue Tu found himself in an even more precarious situation, on the verge of defeat.

She turned to the others and said, “Alright, the battle is nearly over. You all should head back and rest.”

……

In the Central Plains.

In a dim cave, five shadowy figures sat around a stone table.

One of them surveyed the others and remarked, “This must be the largest gathering we’ve had in hundreds of years, right?”

“Hahaha, after all, who could have predicted that Heilian would cause such a ruckus in the Northern Region?” a sinister voice chimed in. “Now those holy lands are quite displeased with us!”

“Not only that, but Heilian, you’ve gone too far this time.” A burly figure glared at the graceful shadow of Heilian. “We recruit cultivators, not for you to play with like firecrackers!”

“Yeah, if you had succeeded, it would have been one thing, but now you’ve wasted so many lives and still lost,” a smaller figure nodded in agreement. “I’m starting to doubt whether you can still hold onto your position.”

“Hmph, you all simply don’t understand the value of my successor!” Heilian sneered. “If we succeed, not only the holy lands, but even all the righteous sects combined wouldn’t stand a chance against us.”

“But you failed.” The first shadow spoke again. “Let’s not talk about the future; it’s meaningless and will only make you look like a petulant fool. We don’t play by the righteous rules.”

“I propose we send Heilian to confront the holy lands as a punishment.”

“Agreed.”

“Sounds good.”

“No objections.”

Heilian half-closed her eyes and scanned the room. “Aren’t you going to ask for my opinion?”

“This mess was caused by you. Don’t expect us to clean up after you.”

“Tsk! Fine, I’ll go play with those holy lands,” she sighed as if giving up. “Just hope you won’t regret it later.”

……

After the divine cultivators left, Xue Tu was naturally no match for the master of the Divine Sword Peak. Moreover, with Chu Ningyan now free to act, it wasn’t long before he was defeated and had his head severed by the master of the Divine Sword Peak.

With that, the construction of the formation faced no further obstacles.

However, City Lord Gu and the Tianjian Sect did not relax their vigilance. The city remained under strict lockdown until the formation was completed. Bai Feng took this opportunity to modify the formation for the temporarily closed Yulinglong.

“Isn’t this advertisement a bit too small?” Yu Yao pondered, constantly offering various reasonable or unreasonable suggestions, revealing the true face of a demanding client. “And here, I think we should showcase the clothes I made.”

“...You really want to cram everything into a screen this size?” Bai Feng clenched his fists, unable to hold back his complaints. “Do you understand the concept of white space? If it’s too cluttered, no one will even look at it.”

“Hmm, you have a point!” Yu Yao scratched her cheek. “Alright, little junior brother, you handle it. I won’t make any more suggestions.”

“You’ve already said that half an hour ago,” Bai Feng replied flatly. “And since I entered Yulinglong, you’ve repeated that three times. This is the fourth.”

“Hahaha…” Yu Yao laughed awkwardly. “This time, I really won’t say anything.”

After saying that, she covered her mouth with her hand.

Bai Feng sighed and focused on modifying the ‘messy code’ left by the previous formation master.

At that moment, he deeply felt the vast difference between large sects and loose cultivators.

Large sects generally had a more mature system, while loose cultivators or even small to medium-sized sects relied on formation books or legacies they didn’t even know where they came from, mixing them together without any coherent structure. It was truly a miracle that they could even function.

If it weren’t for his Yin-Yang Eye, which was akin to a cheat, he doubted even his master, Liu Meng, could make the modifications.

Rebuilding was far more efficient than making small changes!

“Senior sister, next time, don’t skimp on those few coins. Hire a professional to build the formation,” Bai Feng complained while modifying the formation.

“Actually, I did hire a well-known formation master nearby. I didn’t skimp on the budget…” Yu Yao muttered under her breath, then looked up at Bai Feng with a smile. “Then I’ll find someone even more professional to rebuild it!”

Bai Feng felt a bit uneasy under her gaze. “What are you staring at me for?”

“Who else could be more professional than you, little junior brother?” Yu Yao suddenly lunged at him. “You’ll agree to help your senior sister, right?”

“I charge a lot,” Bai Feng said, pushing her head away as she leaned in. “Don’t think you can save money from me.”

But Yu Yao waved her hand generously. “No problem, money isn’t an issue. If it comes to it, I’ll just give you half of my Yulinglong branch!”

Bai Feng stared at Yu Yao for a few seconds, then stroked his chin, suspiciously asking, “You’re not actually trying to seduce me, are you?”

---

**Chapter 124: Let’s Manage Yulinglong Together!**

“You’re not actually trying to seduce me, are you?”

“Where did that come from? What I meant was, as the young lady of Yulinglong, even if I give you half the store, I won’t shortchange you!” Yu Yao placed her hands on her hips, her expression radiating ‘I’m rich, come take advantage of me.’

Then she scrutinized Bai Feng for a moment, a smile playing on her lips. “Of course, if you’re looking for a partner, you can come to me. I won’t miss such a good investment opportunity!”

“So you’re investing in yourself?” Bai Feng shot a teasing glance at the grinning Yu Yao.

“As a qualified businesswoman and the young lady of Yulinglong, I should have the determination to take risks!” Yu Yao puffed out her chest proudly.

Bai Feng stared at her for a few seconds, then set down his work and walked slowly toward her.

“W-What are you doing, little junior brother?” Yu Yao’s demeanor shifted to panic before he even got close. “Wait, I was just joking!”

“I haven’t done anything yet!” Bai Feng stopped in his tracks. He had initially planned to scare her with a playful wall slam, but she had already backed down after just a couple of steps. “If you can’t handle the heat, don’t say strange things.”

Yu Yao muttered softly, “Well… at least show me a bit of respect!”

“Respect? That went out the window when you sent me that Spring and Autumn gift.”

After Bai Feng’s retort, he continued modifying the last part of the formation.

“Wasn’t that gone from the start?” Yu Yao huffed, clearly annoyed.

“Alright, let’s get back to business.”

Bai Feng took a step back, then reached out to grab Yu Yao’s arm, pulling her closer.

“Hey! Little junior brother, what are you doing? I’m not ready yet!”