"My father is out of seclusion!" Li Yitong shouted excitedly upon hearing this.
As she was about to rush out, Chu Fan grabbed her shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to go find my father!"
Chu Fan rolled his eyes, wondering what this girl was thinking. If she ran out now, wouldn't she be walking right into Ling Qianren's hands? If caught by Ling Qianren, even if her father was a seventh-rank Grand Master, she would immediately obey Ling Qianren's commands.
Huai Shan, being very intelligent and aware of the situation, quickly said, "Yitong, don't go out!"
After a simple explanation, Li Yitong obediently retreated behind Chu Fan.
Not long after, the Second Elder, Huai Jing, walked in from the doorway. He cupped his fists towards Chu Fan and said with a smile, "Young brother, thank you for your reminder and for taking care of the two children!"
Chu Fan waved his hand, indicating it was no trouble.
"Grandfather, what's the situation now?" Huai Shan asked curiously.
Huai Jing snorted and said, "With the Sect Master out of seclusion, of course, the situation was immediately suppressed. Those who were instigated by Ling Qianren have all stopped their actions."
"Ling Qianren has now fled from the Munan Sect, and the Sect Master has gone in pursuit!"
Upon learning that the situation had reversed, Li Yitong and Huai Shan were both overjoyed.
Huai Jing invited Chu Fan into the house and treated him warmly.
"Brother Wuming, I heard you asking earlier why he is surnamed Ling while Zuo Wenshan is surnamed Zuo, right?" Huai Shan suddenly asked.
At that time, he had only asked to stall for time. Chu Fan did not expect Huai Shan to still be thinking about it. Since there was nothing else to do for the moment, he nodded and asked, "Why?"
"It's like this, Ling Qianren's son, for some reason, had three children in a row, and they all died young!"
"Later, they found someone to check, and they said that for any child born thereafter to not die young, their name must be changed, and they could no longer bear the surname Ling."
Is that so? It was truly a dull question and answer. To avoid making the kind-hearted Huai Shan feel uncomfortable, Chu Fan, despite finding it uninteresting, nodded with a smile.
"Young brother Wuming, what do you think of Huai Shan's talent?" Huai Jing suddenly spoke.
Chu Fan raised an eyebrow, knowing what this old fellow was up to. With a slight smile, he said, "It's quite good. As long as he is willing to endure hardship and persevere through what ordinary people cannot, he will surely reach the Grand Master level in the future!"
Hearing this, Huai Shan's eyes immediately filled with excitement.
Huai Jing smiled in satisfaction and, after a pause of two breaths, asked, "Then… Young brother Wuming, there's something I'd like to discuss, if that's alright."
"Elder Second, there's no need to be polite, please speak!" At this moment, Chu Fan actually knew what Huai Jing wanted to say, which was to ask him to take his grandson as a disciple.
"It's like this, I want Huai Shan to become your disciple. What do you think, young brother?" Huai Jing looked at Chu Fan expectantly.
Huai Shan also looked expectant. He really wanted to take Chu Fan, this powerful individual, as his master.
Chu Fan hesitated slightly and replied, "Elder Second, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you!"
"Xiao Shan's talent is indeed very good, but I am extremely busy and have no time to teach him!"
"Secondly, I still have many enemies, and having him follow me will only increase his danger!"
Upon hearing this response, both grandfather and grandson were somewhat disappointed.
"However, if Huai Shan doesn't mind, I can offer him some guidance for a period of time. As for how much he can comprehend in the end, it will depend on his own abilities!"
Huai Jing, who had been somewhat disappointed, now had his eyes sparkle with gratitude. He urged Huai Shan, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and thank him!"
Huai Shan immediately stood up, bowed, and thanked him.
"Can you guide me too?" Li Yitong asked unwillingly.
Whether it was one sheep or two sheep, it made little difference to Chu Fan, so he nodded.
Li Yitong cheered with joy. Just then, a gust of wind sounded at the door, followed by the light dimming as a stern-faced middle-aged man walked in.
"Father!" Li Yitong immediately pounced into the middle-aged man's arms.
The middle-aged man was naturally Li Kuangshan. He walked up to Chu Fan and said very politely, "You must be young brother Wuming. Seeing you is truly better than hearing about you. Young brother, you are indeed stronger than I anticipated!"
"Thank you, young brother, for protecting Yitong earlier and for warning about Ling Qianren's rebellion. I, Li Kuangshan, and the Munan Sect, both owe young brother a favor!"
"Thank you very much!"
Since it was a favor gained effortlessly, Chu Fan did not demand anything more and exchanged a few simple pleasantries.
"Sect Master, what about Ling Qianren?" Huai Jing asked curiously.
"He fled!"
"But I have severely wounded him, and he can't cause any more trouble!"
"We'll issue a bounty later, making him a hunted rat with no escape!"
Huai Jing nodded and said to Huai Shan, "The two of you should not leave the Munan Sect recently. Although Ling Qianren is severely wounded, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. He might be hiding nearby, waiting for you to come out to attack you!"
Huai Shan understood the implications and nodded in understanding.
After that, Li Kuangshan invited Chu Fan to the别苑 (bié yuàn - separate residence/villa) to chat.
"Wuming, why did you go into the volcano?" Li Kuangshan asked proactively.
He had already learned about the previous events, where Zuo Wenshan had lured Huai Shan and the other into the volcano, planning to capture them as leverage. Chu Fan happened to witness it. As fellow strong individuals, Li Kuangshan knew that if Chu Fan had nothing else to do, he wouldn't have gone to the volcano, which had a very harsh environment.
"To absorb the power of the earth fire from that place!" Chu Fan directly stated his purpose.
Absorb the power of earth fire? Li Kuangshan was clearly surprised. He thought this was Chu Fan's cultivation method and, regarding it as a personal secret, nodded and asked no further questions.
Chu Fan then directly asked, "Sect Master Li, do you know of any place that might have ancient medicinal pills?"
"The main effect of this type of medicinal pill is detoxification!" Last time he came, Li Kuangshan was in seclusion, and Chu Fan found it inconvenient to ask. Now, after these events, their relationship had deepened, and he finally spoke of it. If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to expose his poisoning to Li Kuangshan, whom he had only met once. Although the strange poison had always been suppressed, the battle with Gu Lao made Chu Fan completely realize the importance of resolving it. Would he have fought so hard without the influence of the strange poison? Li Kuangshan, as the Sect Master of Munan Sect, Chu Fan believed he would have more information than the Second Elder. To find the medicinal pill that could resolve the strange poison, he had to ask even if it meant exposing his own flaw.
"Ancient Detoxification Pill?" Li Kuangshan looked at Chu Fan in surprise and asked, "Did someone in your family get poisoned by Gu Lao?"
"This poison should have been extinct by now, shouldn't it?" Chu Fan nodded, not directly stating that he was the one poisoned.
"Ancient Detoxification Pill!" Li Kuangshan murmured, falling into thought. As he pondered, he said, "I do know of a place that might have it!"
"But whether it can specifically detoxify the poison you want to remove, I'm not entirely sure!"
Having it means having hope for a cure. Chu Fan's eyes lit up, and he said with composure, "Sect Master Li, please tell me the specific location."