Inside Heavenly Wolf Pass, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

At Master Zhao’s command, the pass city immediately entered a state of martial law. Elite soldiers sealed off all entrances and exits, the Formations were fully activated, and powerful Divine Senses swept through every corner of the pass like an inescapable net, attempting to root out the audacious assassin.

However, the shadow assassin was clearly extremely experienced and well-prepared. He seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind. The search lasted for an entire day, but apart from sensing a faint, rapidly dissipating cold aura near the location where Fang Hao was attacked, nothing was found.

"Bastard!" The pass commander, a Black-Armored General at the Late Golden Core Stage, turned ashen with rage and slammed a fist into the city wall. "To dare attempt an assassination on a Guest Elder of the Prince’s Mansion within my Heavenly Wolf Pass! This is an utter disgrace!"

Master Zhao’s expression was equally unsightly. Fang Hao was someone he had brought; for him to be nearly assassinated under his very nose was not only a provocation to the Mansion’s majesty but also a severe slap to his own face. More importantly, this assassination occurred at the critical moment of repairing the ancient Formation, seriously interfering with the progress.

With the nourishment of the Medicinal Pills provided by Master Zhao and his own Chaos Qi, Fang Hao’s injuries temporarily stabilized, but his internal organs were heavily damaged, and his aura remained weak. He sat cross-legged in a temporarily arranged quiet room, his face pale, but his eyes were as cold as a frozen pond.

"The Gongming Family... as expected, they won’t stop until one of us is dead." His heart was filled with killing intent. The enemy had been able to track his movements so precisely and seize the split-second moment of the lightning storm’s backlash to launch a surprise attack; such patience and calculation were chilling. If the chaos pill cauldron hadn’t automatically protected its master at the critical moment, he would be a corpse by now.

"Guest Official Ning, how do you feel?" Master Zhao walked into the quiet room and asked with concern, his tone carrying a hint of guilt.

"Thank you for your concern, Great Master. I’m fine for now, I just need time to recover." Fang Hao forced a slight smile.

Master Zhao sighed. "It’s my fault for being careless. I didn’t expect the Gongming Family’s reach to be so long and their courage so great! Rest assured, the Mansion will never let this matter drop! I have already sent a message back to the mansion, and we will certainly investigate this to the very end!"

Fang Hao nodded. "I’m troubled you, Great Master. It’s just... the repair of the Nine Heavens Thunder Control Array..."

At the mention of the Formation, Master Zhao’s brows furrowed deeply, filled with worry. "The Formation repair has been completely disrupted. The array spirit was startled and is now restless, even more violent than before. Forcibly repairing it carries immense risk; I fear it might trigger another lightning storm or even lead to the complete collapse of the Formation Plate."

He looked at Fang Hao, his eyes holding a hint of complexity. "Furthermore, after this incident, the soldiers in the pass... especially towards you, might harbor some resentment. After all, the assassination was triggered because of you, and it nearly destroyed the Formation core."

Fang Hao fell silent. He understood Master Zhao’s meaning. Heavenly Wolf Pass was a strategic military location, and instability was its greatest taboo. His current presence, in the eyes of the pass’s soldiers, had likely become a trouble and a hidden danger. Continuing to stay in the pass would not only jeopardize his own safety but might also affect military morale.

Sure enough, not long after, the Black-Armored General arrived in person. Although his tone was polite, his meaning was clear: "Master Zhao, Guest Official Ning. The pass has just experienced an assassination, and the situation is unclear. For safety’s sake and to avoid affecting the repair of the great Formation, could Guest Official Ning please leave Heavenly Wolf Pass first? There is one of our army’s Outpost Camps a hundred miles outside the pass; it is relatively safe and can serve as a temporary place for recuperation."

This was a tactful order to leave.

Master Zhao’s expression changed slightly, and he wanted to argue, but seeing the general’s unquestionable gaze and then looking at the heavily injured Fang Hao, it eventually turned into a sigh. Military orders were like mountains; in a critical border area, stability was paramount.

"Guest Official Ning, what do you think..." Master Zhao looked at Fang Hao.

Fang Hao’s expression was calm; he had already anticipated this outcome. He slowly stood up and cupped his hands to the Black-Armored General and Master Zhao. "I understand. I’ve caused trouble for your pass. I will leave immediately."

He had no complaints or dissatisfaction. In this world where strength was revered, the weak had no say. If anyone was to blame, it could only be his own lack of strength, which allowed others to hunt him down to this point and made him a burden in the eyes of others.

Master Zhao felt a pang of pity and took out a bottle of precious healing Medicinal Pills, pressing them into Fang Hao’s hand. "Guest Official Ning, go to the Outpost Camp first and focus on healing. Once the situation in the pass stabilizes and there is hope for the Formation’s repair, I will bring you back."

"Thank you, Great Master." Fang Hao took the Medicinal Pills and thanked him again.

Half an hour later, a small military flying boat carrying Fang Hao left the heavily guarded Heavenly Wolf Pass and flew toward the desolate depths of the Gobi desert outside the pass.

On the flying boat, Fang Hao looked back through the porthole at the towering pass and the Formation core in the sky that still flickered with lightning from time to time, his gaze deep.

This trip to Heavenly Wolf Pass could be described as losing both the bait and the fish. The mission failed, his contribution points went down the drain, he was seriously injured, and he was even effectively expelled. All of it stemmed from the pursuit by the Gongming Family.

"Strength... I still lack strength!" Fang Hao clenched his fists. If he were a Golden Core Cultivator or even a Nascent Soul Cultivator, would the Gongming Family dare to act like this? Would the commander of Heavenly Wolf Pass dare to let him leave so easily?

The flying boat flew through the Gobi for about an hour before a small fortress built of giant stones appeared ahead, flying the flag of the Mingling Empire. This was the Outpost Camp, stationed with about a hundred soldiers responsible for monitoring movements outside the pass.

Fang Hao was placed in a simple stone house in a corner of the camp. The conditions were harsh and the Spiritual Qi was thin, far inferior to the inside of Heavenly Wolf Pass, and even less comparable to the Guest Elder’s courtyard in the Prince’s Mansion.

But he didn’t care. After dismissing those around him, he immediately set up concealment and protection Formations in the stone house, then sat cross-legged, sinking his mind into his Dantian.

"Chaos Grotto-Heaven!"

With a thought, his figure instantly vanished from the stone house, entering that grey, independent space filled with pure Chaos Qi.

As soon as he entered the Chaos Grotto-Heaven, the dense Chaos Qi enveloped his entire body. His injured Meridians and internal organs felt a wave of cool comfort, and his recovery speed suddenly accelerated several times!

"Fortunately, I still have this final trump card." Fang Hao let out a long breath. Within this absolutely safe Grotto-Heaven that no one could detect, he could heal in peace without worrying about any external threats.

He took out the Medicinal Pills gifted by Master Zhao and swallowed them. Combined with the nourishment of the Chaos Qi, he fully circulated the Chaos Evolution Dao Art and the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Scripture to begin repairing his injuries.

At the same time, he was calmly reviewing the lessons from this attack. The Gongming Family was like a maggot on a bone; they had to be dealt with as soon as possible. There were only two ways to solve this: one was to possess absolute strength that would make the opponent wary or even fearful; the other was to borrow momentum, using a stronger force to eradicate them.

"The Seventh Princes Mansion... perhaps I can borrow their power." A cold light flickered in Fang Hao’s eyes. The Gongming Family hunting a Mansion Guest Elder within the Mansion’s territory was already a slap to the Mansion’s face. As long as he showed enough value, it might not be impossible to prompt the Mansion to pressure the Gongming Family or even... uproot them entirely!

Of course, the prerequisite for all of this was to recover from his injuries as quickly as possible and enhance his strength!

Fang Hao focused his mind and stopped thinking further, throwing himself entirely into healing and cultivation. Inside the Chaos Grotto-Heaven, time passed quietly.

Outside, the winds and clouds shifted, and undercurrents surged. But within this square-inch Grotto-Heaven, a seed of revenge and rise was quietly sprouting. Fang Hao knew that when he stepped out of the Chaos Grotto-Heaven again, he would surely return with a stronger posture and sweep everything away. Gongming Family, just you wait.