He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

The moon rises and sets, flowers bloom and wither, through countless rounds of scorching sun and gentle breezes, another frosty autumn arrives.

In the scenic Maple Forest Garden of the Refining Peak, next to the ancient maple tree that takes three people to encircle, there is an exquisite courtyard, which is Leng Huan's residence. The servant disciples come and go, taking care of it on time. It can be seen that the ancient maple has been red leaves for three years since Leng Huan went into seclusion.

Suddenly, a woman's excited voice broke the tranquility of the courtyard:

"Senior Brother Leng, you've finally emerged from seclusion!"

Following the female cultivator's gaze, a young man emerged from the fallen red leaves in the chilly autumn wind. His robes fluttered, and his long, flowing red silk hair cascaded over his shoulders. A small fox hairpin was casually tucked into his hair. Hearing the female cultivator's words, the young man smiled, blinked, and asked in a clear, gentle voice:

"Junior Sister Lin, it's been a long time."

"Woof! Woof!"

Suddenly a big yellow dog ran out of the yard, barking loudly. Leng Huan looked at Sang Biao running towards him. It had completely grown into a strong big yellow dog, only its eyes were still clear and stupid.

“Sang Biao, it’s been a long time.”

She bent down and reached out her slender fingers to ruffle Sang Biao's dog head. Her long hair slid down her shoulders, revealing a beautiful profile. A red silk ribbon hung beside her cheeks, making the red appear even redder and the white even whiter.

-

With the master's return, the courtyard became lively again, with servants and disciples coming and going, arranging everything properly.

"Senior Brother Leng, you've finally emerged from seclusion!"

"All these flowers and plants are taken care of!"

"The bedding is all newly made..."

Having not seen his disciples for several years, they all acted as if they were watching a spectacle, taking the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Leng Huan. Only after the enthusiastic disciples had all left did Leng Huan return to his room, feeling that nothing had changed—except for the people, of course.

Lin Miaoyan was only sixteen years old back then, and now she's nineteen, while she herself is twenty-one. Ah, she's the second one to turn twenty-one.

After a long period of seclusion, Leng Huan sometimes felt a little dazed. If she hadn't transmigrated, he would have already graduated.

"Senior Brother Leng, have you gone to see the elder?"

Looking at the graceful Leng Huan, Lin Miaoyan was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, seeing her late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, she was filled with admiration. Reaching such a level in just three years—she had truly worked incredibly hard!

"Yeah, I just came back from the main hall. I came out of seclusion at dawn. My master kept testing my weapon-refining skills, it never stopped. Luckily, my senior brother came back, and I was able to escape!" Leng Huan gulped down a cup of spiritual tea.

She now looks like a proper young woman, and her face is pretty, but her height hasn't changed much. Through her efforts, she has successfully grown... half an inch.

He grew from 167 to 169, which rounds up to 170, though Leng Huan always thought he was 180.

Slumped on the couch without any regard for appearances, staring at the intricately carved beams, Leng Huan closed her eyes to rest for a while. Her mind, which had been working at high intensity for three years, was a little fuzzy. She asked, "Junior Sister Lin, has anyone been looking for me?"

Lin Miaoyan thought for a moment, "That was when you had just gone into seclusion, and Junior Brother Yin came to see you."

Huh? Leng Huan belatedly realized that she had forgotten to send a message to her friend in her haste. She sat up abruptly and quickly sent a message to Fu Xun.

Unexpectedly, no one responded. At this moment, Lin Miaoyan spoke up: "The disciples of Sword Peak said that Junior Brother Yin is also in seclusion."

Leng Huan understood.

-

Woof! Woof!

The warm sun shone on the entire Maple Forest Garden. Leng Huan sat casually on a tree branch, reading a book on weapon crafting, when he suddenly heard the dog barking. He turned around and saw that it was indeed Sang Biao who had returned from playing outside.

Unsurprisingly, its backpack was full of food and trinkets given to it by the disciples, which was normal. However, why was there a fluffy white creature following behind it?!

“Sang Biao—”

Leng Huan narrowed her eyes, jumped down from the tree, and Sang Biao barked happily at her, then turned to look at another... Holy crap!

Upon closer inspection, isn't that a Snow Wolf?

It was the same size as the sangbiao, pure white without a single blemish, with delicate features, majestic and awe-inspiring, and very beautiful!

Sang Biao liked it very much. He barked and gestured for the white wolf to come over so he could show it to its owner.

Sang Biao: "Woof woof!"

Snow Wolf: "Awooo!"

Leng Huan: "..."

Her expression changed, and she glared at the dog:

"Sang Biao, who is it? Why did you bring it home?!"

The noise was a little louder, and Lin Miaoyan heard the commotion and rushed over, just in time to find Leng Huan interrogating Sang Biao. When she took a closer look, her expression changed immediately, and she didn't even bother to plead for Sang Biao.

Startled, she stammered, "Senior brother, this, this, this! Isn't this the spirit pet of the Fairy of the Misty Clouds?"

"Fairy of the Misty Mountains" is the respectful title given to the sect leader's daughter. She is the only one in the entire sect who possesses a Snowfield Spirit Wolf.

Leng Huan: !

It really did curve! It's curve!

At that moment, a voice seemed to come from the horizon:

"noob……"

The voice is melodious and gentle, like a clear sound emerging from water. Listening to it makes one unconsciously imagine how beautiful and extraordinary the owner of such a voice must be.

The next moment, a pale white figure, as graceful as a startled swan, slowly landed in front of the dumbfounded Leng Huan and his companion.

—The ethereal fairy!

With her flowing skirts, seemingly floating on air, possessing a face as beautiful as a flower and as lovely as the moon, Leng Huan racked her brains for all the adjectives she could think of and concluded that she was a celestial fairy!

but!

No matter how beautiful she is, Leng Huan has to quickly shift the blame!

"Ahem, greetings, fairy. So this white wolf that came from who-knows-where is your spirit pet?" She lied through her teeth.

“Exactly.” Fairy Piaomiao nodded.

"In that case, please take it back and take good care of it, fairy. It's not good for it to wander around in these mountains and valleys."

"Indeed, I haven't been keeping a close eye on things lately, causing trouble for my junior brother and me."

Sang Biao, being just a dog, would definitely not run away from the mountain. Leng Huan had already informed the disciples of the mountain gate that the dog would not be allowed to go down the mountain.

Therefore, this snow wolf must have wandered off on its own.

“Then…” Leng Huan turned her head and saw two people cuddling and kissing intimately next to her. She immediately looked at Fairy Piaomiao and saw that she also had a complicated expression.

"noob!"

"Sang Biao!"

The two men each scolded their own pets.

However, it was clearly useless. Snow Wolf lifted his foot, pressed down on Sang Biao, and licked his head with saliva. Sang Biao actually enjoyed it and groaned.

"..." Silence is golden.

After a long while, Leng Huan looked up at the sky, then at the ethereal fairy, and asked hesitantly, "Is it winter now?"

Fairy of the Ethereal World: ...

After a moment of silence, she explained sheepishly, "This snow wolf is female, and there are no seasons in the snowy region. It...it probably saw that this dog looks like it..."

He cursed Xiaobai in his heart for being so useless; how could he choose a mongrel!

No wonder they've been disappearing without a trace lately; it turns out they've come to the Refining Peak.

Leng Huan suddenly realized, "No wonder that noble white wolf fell for that country bumpkin, Sang Biao. Apart from the color, they do look a bit alike."

Seeing Sang Biao's good fortune with women, Leng Huan covered his face and tentatively asked, "Then, fairy, what do you think we should do?"

The ethereal fairy blushed and sighed gently, "Never mind, it was my oversight to find it a companion. If you don't mind, junior brother, let them play by themselves."

Leng Huan agreed, looking embarrassed.

I can't help but think that even winter can't stop animals from falling in love!

Having accepted that Sang Biao had gained a wife, Leng Huan turned around and plunged back into the weapon-refining pavilion to start working again.

-

In a certain inn in Fairy Town.

In the center of several Leng family disciples dressed in light blue robes, a young man sat prominently. He had handsome features and clearly bore the blood of the Leng family.

Suddenly, a disciple rushed in from outside the door: "Young master, I've found out that the young lady emerged from seclusion a month ago..."

The person in the main seat wore a light blue robe with gold snowflake patterns, which lacked the colorful silk threads of the family head's robe. This person was Leng Feng, the holy son of the Leng family, the future head of the Leng family, and Leng Huan's cousin.

He raised an eyebrow, his face expressionless, and asked in a calm voice, "Is she still on the Refining Peak? What is her cultivation level?"

The disciple respectfully replied, "Still here. Three years in seclusion, late stage of Foundation Establishment."

Late Foundation Establishment? The other disciples exchanged glances, all sharing the same question: how could the young lady, who was like a pretty vase, suddenly have such a rapid increase in cultivation?

You should know that Leng Feng, who is three years older than her, is only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, which is already considered an outstanding genius of the Leng family's generation!

The room fell silent for a moment, then a cool breeze blew in, causing everyone to shiver. They glanced at the cold wind's expression and shut their mouths, not daring to say a word.

After a long pause, Leng Feng finally said "Oh," and added, "I didn't expect my sister to improve so quickly. It seems that the top sects really live up to their reputation!"

He seemed a little surprised and glanced at the disciple who had reported: "Send a note to the Weapon Refining Peak for me, saying that the Leng family of Beijun has come to visit the eldest young lady, Leng Huanxue."

“After all, when I visited her three years ago, the timing wasn’t good either.”

-

Because Fu Xun was still in seclusion, Leng Huan himself continued to study day and night, and recently he had become very interested in weapon forging, going to the training pavilion every day.

Although her water elemental root makes it less easy to learn weapon crafting than her innate fire elemental root, she can still make small items. The furnace has a constant, unextinguished fire, so she doesn't need a fire elemental root. Of course, it would be inconvenient if she were traveling.

With clanging and banging, after several days of tinkering and twice frying the ingredients, she finally managed to forge a... frying pan, looking disheveled and exhausted!

It looks twice as big as Red Wolf's, and is entirely black. It looks light, but it contains a kind of black iron, making it quite heavy.

She felt that he weighed at least 100 pounds, if not 300.

It can be used as a brick, a powerful blow to the head. One pot of it is definitely more effective than sleeping potion!

She could now wield the enormous pot with ease; her strength after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was now incomparable to what it used to be. For the past three years, day and night, she had cultivated her divine soul, tempered her body, practiced water-attribute techniques and movement skills, and even mastered a sword manual. These cultivation manuals were all given to her by Jiang Ruoyu, and their quality was quite high. It was about time to test the results.

"Junior Brother, you really are here!"

Hearing footsteps approaching from outside the pavilion, the person called out a moment later. Leng Huan snapped out of her daze at the sound and realized that the person was indeed her senior brother, Wang Shen, who had rescued her from Jiang Ruoyu that day.

Wang Shen has the highest talent in weapon crafting among them. He is already a high-level weapon crafter with a cultivation level of late Golden Core, just like the Leng family head. Speaking of which, the age difference among the brothers is too great. For example, this senior brother Wang Shen looks young, but he is already over forty years old and still looks like he is in his early twenties.

He had a dignified appearance and was the kind of person who easily inspired trust; he seemed to be a highly accomplished master. Leng Huan didn't dare ask his master's age, but he figured he was quite old. Wang Shen often went down the mountain on his master's behalf to handle some orders, or to serve as a judge at events organized by the Great Immortal City Refining Alliance.

"Senior Brother, what brings you here?" Leng Huan quickly greeted him.

"Haha, I'm going down the mountain tomorrow morning, so I came today to give you something." Wang Shen laughed heartily, took out an exquisite light sword from his spatial storage, and handed it to Leng Huan, saying, "This is the spirit sword you asked me to forge for you before. I'm not a master weapon forger, so under limited conditions, this is the best I could do. Give it a try..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Leng Huan took the sword and drew it with a "whoosh." The sword weighed no more than ten pounds, and she wielded it perfectly. She repeatedly thanked him, saying, "Thank you so much, Senior Brother! That's wonderful!"

The blade was sharp and cold as snow. Leng Huan thought that even if he lost, he would not lose face. The weapon must be intimidating. He was very satisfied.

"Thank you so much, Senior Brother!" Leng Huan suddenly paused. "This sword is so good, Senior Brother is too modest. But, how much does this sword cost..." she asked cautiously, secretly estimating her purse. She had only wanted an ordinary spirit sword, but she hadn't expected Senior Brother to be so generous.

"Hahaha!" Wang Shen laughed out loud when he saw his expression. "You little rascal, you are Master's last disciple and the youngest junior brother. I can't charge you. Consider it a gift to celebrate your completion of seclusion."

"I have to go now," Wang Shen said before leaving. "Remember to ask your second and third senior brothers for a congratulatory gift!"

Leng Huan: "..."

Watching his figure disappear into the pavilion as soon as he finished speaking, he thought to himself, "He really is a big shot, so unconcerned with trivialities."

-

(Shangqing Crescent Moon Sword Technique) Preparatory stance, horizontal sword, pointing sword, knee-raising thrust, stepping forward to point sword, stepping forward to chop sword, swirling sword, turning and thrusting sword, cloud sword, crescent moon stance...

Beneath the enormous ancient maple tree, the sound of sword blades slicing through the air could be heard incessantly. A figure as lithe as a dragon unleashed a fierce sword light, the sword energy stirring up the red leaves on the ground. When the sword was sheathed, the red leaves instantly shattered into pieces, transforming into countless red butterflies.

Leng Huan sheathed her sword and stood still, quickly returning it to its original position. She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead; if it weren't for the power of her Foundation Establishment cultivation filling her entire body, her hand would have been ruined...

"Senior Brother Leng!" Lin Miaoyan waited for her to stop before speaking, "A disciple just delivered a message saying that your family sent a visiting card to Elder Jiang, saying... they want to visit Miss Leng Huanxue of the Leng family..."

Throughout the entire Refining Peak, there is only one disciple personally taught by an elder, whose surname is Leng.

"..." Leng Huan took a moment to react, then looked at Lin Miaoyan with a strange expression, "Who did you say came... to visit whom?"

"The Leng family is visiting Miss Leng!"

“…” Leng Huan picked up his sword and left.

Lin Miaoyan quickly followed.

The Leng family?

"Damn it!" Leng Huan cursed inwardly, leaping back to the courtyard. She was a little flustered, so much so that she forgot to put her sword back into her storage space.

Three years! Why haven't they given up yet? They've lost the original owner, can't they just find another vase?

Three whole years! How could they have such perseverance!

Leng Huan frowned, spinning in circles. This wouldn't do; with them here, her identity would be exposed, and her peaceful days were about to end…

In fact, she didn't know that not all girls from the Leng family could be called saintesses. Firstly, and most importantly, they had to have a single water spirit root or a mutated ice spirit root. Secondly, their talent couldn't be too bad; at least they needed resources to boost their cultivation. Thirdly, they had to have outstanding looks.

Meeting all three conditions simultaneously is not easy.

-

In the ethereal immortal city, another group of people also learned that Leng Huan had emerged from seclusion.

In the main hall of Fengsheng Tower, several disciples guarded the person in the main seat. The person being guarded was none other than Murong Qin, who was dressed in a magnificent purple robe.

He looked at the head steward of Fengsheng Tower opposite him and slowly said, "Oh, the eldest son of the Leng family has already sent his invitation?"

The chief deacon nodded; it wasn't hard to find out. "They're going to visit the elders of the Weapon Refining Peak tomorrow."

Murong Qin smoothed his sleeves, raised his sharp eyes, looked ahead, and said, "Then why not seize the day? I'll go and join Young Master Leng in the fun. More people, more fun, right? Send out invitations; I'll pay you a visit tomorrow!"

He didn't specify anyone, but one of his disciples immediately responded and left.

-