Han Li and the old man stepped out of the room together. Xiao Cui, who had been standing at the courtyard gate, heard a series of booming bell sounds. Upon seeing this, the old man furrowed his brow, walked a few steps over, and whispered a few words to her, after which her expression returned to normal. Then, upon a simple greeting to Han Li, the two of them took to their flying vehicles and headed straight for the Hall of Council. Along the way, Han Li noticed many cultivators flying in the same direction, most of them being disciples at the Qi Condensation stage—clearly indicating that the overall strength within the valley was now greatly insufficient. He presumed that even with the protective array defending the valley, the magical forces would not be able to hold out long once they launched their attack. The two, frowning throughout, remained silent for a while, until they arrived at the grand stone hall. At that moment, hundreds of cultivators had gathered at the hall's entrance, yet they were all blocked by the guards, who only permitted those at the Foundation Stage or above to enter for deliberations. Han Li and the old man, naturally possessing sufficient status, quietly made their way in, despite the complex glances from As soon as Han Li stepped into the hall of the council chamber, he was taken aback. The scene was not the bustling chaos he had expected—instead, the nearly one hundred arriving cultivators remained utterly silent, all respectfully gazing at a single figure seated at the head of the dais. This figure was clearly not the official abbot of Huang Feng Valley, Zhong Ling Dao, since the abbot himself stood quietly to one side. Seated in the chief position was an elderly man dressed in fine robes, with white hair and beard. His face was yellowish, his eyes dull and lifeless, and his appearance was truly unattractive. Yet, for some reason, as soon as Han Li saw him, a sudden jolt went through him—his hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. "What on earth is going on?" Han Li thought, stunned. The elderly man merely glanced at Han Li and the small old man as they entered, but that single glance sent a chill through Han Li's body, leaving him deeply uneasy, as though all the hidden secrets had been revealed to him. He immediately grew pale. "Huh!" "Your spiritual cultivation is quite impressive—have you been practicing any techniques specifically aimed at strengthening your spirit?" The elder, after glancing at Han Li, his eyes flashed with a touch of surprise as he asked gently. Upon hearing this, Han Li was deeply startled. What was even more astonishing was that he could not detect any presence of spiritual energy emanating from the elder—this clearly indicated a vast disparity in their cultivation levels. Yet, among the other Dan-jing stage cultivators like Li Hua Yuan, he had never experienced such a sensation. This elder was truly exceptional. After a brief moment of reflection, Han Li's initial anger melted away entirely, and he responded with profound respect: "Excuse me, Elder. Indeed, I have been practicing some techniques related to my spirit cultivation. Your insight is truly remarkable!" Han Li silently praised the elder. Upon hearing Han Li's response, the elder smiled slightly and then gently waved his hand. At once, Han Li and the younger elder moved gracefully to join the crowd. After another meal's worth of waiting, another dozen Foundation-stage cultivators arrived one after another. At this point, Zhong Ling then respectfully addressed the elder: "Master Elder, all the Foundation-stage cultivators currently in the valley have now arrived. Huang Shishu is currently at Tianshi Peak and will likely not be able to return for some time." Upon hearing this, the dressed-in-embroidered-robes elder slightly furrowed his brow, then immediately composed himself and issued the command: "Those who haven't arrived—well, that's fine. Right now, we're saving lives as if we're fighting a fire. We don't need to wait for them anymore. Let's begin." "Yes, Master Elder," Zhong Ling promptly agreed. The dressed-in-embroidered-robes elder smiled gently, yet said nothing further. "Brothers and sisters, allow me to introduce you to our long-time respected Elder Ling Fu. He reached the Immortal stage three centuries ago and is the only Grand Elder of this sect. Now that our sect faces an unprecedented crisis of extinction, all arrangements shall be handled by Elder Ling Fu." "Zhong Ling said a few words to maintain the formality and then quietly stepped back to one side. Though most of the gathered guests had already guessed the identity of the Jinyi Elder, they were still agitated upon hearing his words, all casting him with a sense of wonder and awe. After all, this was the only Yuan-Enlightened cultivator in Huangfeng Valley in nearly a thousand years—said to be nearly eight hundred years old, truly a living immortal of the Valley! Seeing the commotion below, the Ling Fu Elder gently cleared his throat, and the hall instantly fell silent—no one dared to overlook such a venerable elder. "Since you've heard the Jinding Bell, I have no further formalities to offer." "The seven allied sects have already suffered a decisive defeat ahead. Our cultivators have sustained heavy casualties. Though we've managed to reestablish our camp at the second defensive line, the failure is now inevitable." "As the elder spoke these few words, the numerous cultivators in the hall suddenly turned pale. Han Li and the elderly man exchanged a look filled with complex emotions, each silently at a loss for words. 'Master Elder, how is this possible? Our decisive battle against the demonic sect hasn't even begun yet—there's still over a month left!' an intermediate-aged cultivator stepped forward, unable to contain his astonishment. 'Precisely because the people ahead of us thought just like you did, that's why the demonic sect launched a surprise attack and suffered a crushing defeat!' the dressed-in-royal-clothes elder沉ed his face, sharply reprimanding the man. The man, now flushed with embarrassment, bowed deeply and hurriedly retreated. Seeing this, the others could no longer remain silent—though they were full of questions, they listened attentively as the Lún Xū Elder continued. 'In truth, this defeat cannot be entirely blamed on the leaders at the front for being careless or failing to anticipate deception. Rather, among our seven sects, there has been a traitor.' The spiritual-beast mountain's disciples had secretly opened the outer array while our party was on high alert, allowing the magicians to enter—this was how they achieved such a decisive defeat. The elder spoke with growing frustration. Upon hearing the elder's explanation, the numerous cultivators suddenly realized what had happened, and immediately began cursing the spiritual-beast mountain disciples, causing the scene to grow even more chaotic. "Now that we've said all this, what good does it do? The other side has clearly outclassed us—we can only yield. What matters now is to ensure our sect avoids total annihilation. After all, the remaining cultivators ahead can at best secure us just two or three days. We must evacuate the Yue state promptly." Master Lingfu spoke with remarkable composure. "Evacuate the Yue state?" As soon as these words were uttered, the entire hall fell silent—no one spoke, as if everyone had been struck speechless! For these native Yue cultivators, leaving the country was an utterly difficult prospect, and no one immediately voiced agreement with the elder's proposal. "How?" "Are you really unwilling to give way?" the elder said calmly, showing no signs of alarm, as if he had anticipated this very situation. "Master Elder, it's rare that you and other senior Yuan-Stage cultivators have stepped in—yet even together, you cannot drive back the demonic sects?" Finally, a young man in his thirties asked hesitantly. "Of course we can. If we combine our efforts, we can easily eliminate the demonic cultivators currently opposing you." The elder replied without hesitation. "Then, Master Elder, how come..." "But you must not forget that the Six Sects of the demonic path have achieved such renown precisely because they possess a large number of Yuan-Stage cultivators. We've already fought several battles against their senior figures. Yet, we've found ourselves at a disadvantage. As a result, they've compelled us to make solemn vows—just like themselves—so that none of us may personally participate in this great battle. This conflict is thus restricted to the level of Ji-Dan Stage cultivators." Lü Fu Elder sighed softly, revealing a significant secret that had been unexpected. Only then did Han Li suddenly realize why no cultivator at the Yuan婴 stage had appeared during the great battle. "Unless we evacuate, the entire Huangfeng Valley will be completely surrounded and wiped out. Bound by my vow, I won't be able to intervene. Therefore, my decision is final—our entire sect must leave the Yue Kingdom. Moreover, not only will we be leaving, but the other five sects will join us in this retreat as well. Once we reach a new, unfamiliar terrain, we'll have the chance to rebuild and rise again. Then, when our strength grows, we'll reclaim the Yue Kingdom." Lingfu the Elder said with a cold smile. Clearly, leaving the Yue Kingdom was not something she found difficult to accept. Seeing that the Elder spoke with such determination, even those who had different opinions found themselves unable to voice them, and thus followed her lead. "All other matters are straightforward, but there is one matter that remains risky and requires someone to take on this responsibility." Lingfu the Elder suddenly said a sentence that startled everyone, causing the others to exchange puzzled glances. "The ones I'm pointing at, follow me to the rear hall. The rest of you stay here and listen to Master Zhong's arrangements for evacuation!" After saying this, the elder stood up from his seat, walked steadily toward the gathered group with a composed expression, leaving everyone still stunned. "You, and you..." He was not at all courteous, successively pointing at most of the present attendees, including Han Li and the elderly man. After finishing his gestures, the elder continued on his way to the rear hall without further delay. Han Li and the others grew increasingly uneasy, hesitated a moment, and then followed him steadily.