"What? Master's gone?" Lanqin woke up to find the bedside empty. She immediately slapped her head and sat up abruptly. Last night, Sisi insisted on making love to her; was it just to keep her sound asleep?

Lanqin blushed. She had actually slept so soundly on such an important day. How could that be?

"Master, when he left, he instructed me to let you stay here." Si Hua began to make the bed for Lan Qin.

"No, I want to go to the Golden Tripod!" Lanqin said.

“But Master ordered that you not to go. You should listen to Master and stay here,” Shui Ling said as she came in to help Lan Qin put on women’s clothing.

"Don't wear this. Please put on the Taoist robe instead," Lanqin said.

“Master, as long as you stay here and don’t go out, no one will see what you’re wearing,” Shui Ling said.

"I said I'm going to Jin Ding, quickly put on my Taoist robe!" Lan Qin said resolutely.

Si Hua and Shui Ling couldn't dissuade Lan Qin, so they had no choice but to help her put on a Taoist robe. As soon as Lan Qin was dressed, she said to Su Peisheng and Gesang outside, "You two come in! I have something to say."

Su Peisheng and Gesang were waiting outside. As soon as they heard her call, they went inside.

“Su Peisheng, Gesang, you two go to Xuanyue Gate now. Once Ling Feng brings reinforcements, take them to Jinding immediately,” Lanqin said. “Try to get close to the Taoists guarding the gate. It would be best if you could take their place and guard there.”

Su Peisheng said, "Consort, if the Second Steward could give us his instructions, wouldn't that be much simpler?"

Lanqin said, "I'm afraid he's no longer here. So you'll have to figure it out yourselves."

"Understood, Consort, this servant will go now." Gesang suddenly spoke, then pulled Su Peisheng out.

"Sihua, and Shuiling, come with me to Jinding," Lanqin said, turning to her two maids.

“Master, none of us know martial arts. If we go, we might cause trouble for you. He will also have to take care of you.” Shui Ling said.

“Yes, Master, I think Shui Ling makes a good point,” Si Hua nodded in agreement.

"We can just hide in the shadows and not cause them any trouble," Lanqin said. She really didn't want to hide here and wait idly; it was too agonizing.

The two maids were still hesitant, but Lanqin was unwilling to stay, so the three of them had no choice but to set off alone for the Golden Cauldron, the highest peak in Wudang Mountain.

When the three of them came out, they hardly encountered anyone, as if all the Taoist priests had disappeared from Wudang Mountain overnight.

"Master, why can't we see a single Taoist priest?" Si Hua looked around and said with some surprise.

“The Taoists here are basically under the jurisdiction of their respective leaders. Now the disciples of the second leader have all gone to the Five Dragons Palace, and they are probably at odds with the disciples of the fourth leader. The disciples of the first leader have all gone to Nanyan, and I reckon they are fighting right now. Naturally, you won’t see a single person here,” Lanqin said.

“The Quanzhen Sect is in complete chaos!” Shui Ling said.

"Yes, the Third and Fourth Masters have betrayed the Quanzhen Sect and actually imprisoned their own master in the dungeon. The one on the Golden Cauldron is an imposter!" Lan Qin said.

"Master, how do you know so much?" Si Hua asked in surprise, not expecting such a thing to exist.

As Lanqin walked, she told the two maids everything that had happened at the Five Dragons Palace.

"My God, such a thing actually happened. That Sect Leader Zhou is so pitiful, being imprisoned in a dungeon by his own disciple for fifteen years," Shui Ling said.

“Yes, if Master hadn’t accidentally wandered into that place, he would probably still be living in darkness. Master, now that you mention it, I also want to go and see who that fake sect leader really is,” Si Hua said.

“That’s right, let’s go. Let’s hide in the shadows and see if we can help Master. If we can’t, we’ll just stay hidden and watch,” Lanqin said.

The three quickened their pace.

At this moment, the eldest disciple, Yuan Xinghui, was already seated in the council hall of the Golden Cauldron. The second-in-command, Zhou Xingchuan, was also seated to his left. Opposite them sat the third-in-command, Zhou Xingkun, while the fourth-in-command, Wang Xingbin, had not yet arrived.

Their master, the leader of the Quanzhen Sect, has not yet arrived.

"Third brother, you don't look well. Didn't you sleep well last night?" Yuan Xinghui, the head steward, suddenly said.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I just caught a slight cold recently, it's nothing serious," Zhou Xingkun said with a forced smile, suppressing his discomfort. Every time he came here, it was to ask that person for the antidote. He actually hated that person very much, but he had no choice but to bow down to him.

Zhou Xingchuan recalled that every time he came to Jin Ding, the third brother always seemed to look unwell. When asked, he would almost always say that he was feeling unwell. But what a coincidence that he was always unwell?

"Third brother, how is your Golden Core cultivation going?" Zhou Xingchuan asked.

"It's not done yet, I'm ashamed to face my master," Zhou Xingkun said. It turned out that under the fake sect leader's guidance, the four masters had begun refining golden pills according to his instructions. The secret formula for the golden pills naturally came from the fake sect leader, but they had to find the necessary medicinal herbs themselves. Moreover, the number of golden pills each person could refine each month was fixed, and anyone who failed to meet their quota would be punished.

“Iron-skinned oaks are hard to find these days, so it’s normal that you haven’t mastered the technique,” ​​the head steward said.

“Yes, it’s the dead of winter now, and many herbs have withered, so it’s hard to find them,” Zhou Xingkun said.

“I’ve already refined a few, I’ll give you one,” Zhou Xingchuan said.

Zhou Xingkun's expression shifted, and he said to him, "Thank you, Second Senior Brother. I am unworthy of such a favor, truly unworthy!"

Just then, footsteps sounded outside, and then the figures of the four stewards came into view.

"Third Senior Brother, what do you mean by feeling unworthy?" Wang Xingbin said.

"Fourth Junior Brother is here. Second Senior Brother just saw that I hadn't finished refining my Golden Core this month, and wanted to give me one. I said I was unworthy of it, unworthy of it!" Zhou Xingkun hurriedly said.

“I see. Second Senior Brother has always been righteous and kind, and I admire him greatly. I wonder if Second Senior Brother has any extra Golden Pills that you could give to me?” Wang Xingbin glanced at the two people sitting opposite him and said.

“I’m sorry, I noticed that Third Junior Brother looked unwell, so I gave him one. Fourth Junior Brother has a loud voice and looks very well, so there’s no need to give him one,” Zhou Xingchuan said.

"It was just a joke, Second Senior Brother, why take it so seriously?" Wang Xingbin quickly said.

"I know that Fourth Junior Brother always likes to joke, so he won't take it seriously," Zhou Xingchuan said casually.

Just then, a young Taoist priest came in and shouted, "The sect leader is here!"

Immediately, the four stewards composed themselves, straightened their sleeves, and stood up to greet the sect leader.