Xu Yan's thoughts raced.
*No spatial fluctuation… no qi disturbance… not even a shadow of intent.*
He hadn't sensed her arrival.
Not late.
Not faintly.
**Not at all.**
The realization sent a chill straight through his meridians.
He had heard of cultivators capable of suppressing their presence—but this was different. This wasn't concealment. It was as if her existence itself **overwrote the world's awareness**, replacing what should have been perceived with absolute absence.
Then the guard's earlier words resurfaced in his mind.
*"The Li clan sought aid from the Azure Serpent Sect… an Immortal Elder returned with the young lord…"*
Xu Yan's breathing slowed.
Under normal circumstances, he would have doubted it. Rumors were unreliable, and the title *Immortal Elder* was often exaggerated by mortals who lacked any understanding of true power.
But now?
There was no doubt.
*Elder Lianhua.*
The name alone carried weight throughout the cultivation world—an existence whom even sect leaders treated with reverence rather than authority.
Xu Yan lowered his head further, discarding the last trace of pride an inner disciple might possess.
"So it truly is her," he thought grimly. "No wonder the Li clan survived at all."
Lianhua's gaze lingered on him for a fraction longer than on the others.
Not probing.
Not pressuring.
Just… aware.
"You need not enter," she said calmly.
The words were simple—but final.
Xu Yan's heart skipped a beat. He responded immediately, his voice respectful and steady despite the pressure gnawing at his core.
"This junior understands," he said. "We only wished to confirm the rumors before reporting to our sect. Since Senior is present… there is no need for further verification."
The female disciple beside him tightened her grip on her sword for a heartbeat before relaxing, following his lead without question.
Lianhua turned her gaze toward the distant forest beyond the city walls.
"The disciples you lost," she said evenly, "did not die within White Hollow City."
Xu Yan stiffened. "Senior?"
"They entered **Blackvein Forest**," she continued at last. "They strayed too deep."
Her tone carried neither reproach nor sympathy.
"It is no longer a place suitable for investigation."
She paused briefly.
"The forest you traced," she added, "is no longer somewhere Cloud River disciples should approach."
Xu Yan felt his scalp prickle. He bowed again. "This junior will relay Senior's warning in full."
A brief silence followed.
"Your missing disciples," Lianhua continued, "met their end swiftly. They did not suffer long."
Xu Yan's jaw tightened—but he did not ask how she knew.
He already understood.
"That is sufficient," she said.
The air shifted.
Not violently—just enough to remind them that **she decided when this encounter ended**.
Lianhua turned slightly, her attention already drifting elsewhere.
Xu Yan's fists clenched within his sleeves. "Senior… may this junior ask—were they killed by the same beings that attacked the city?"
Lianhua was silent for a breath.
Then—
"Yes."
The single word struck like thunder.
The female disciple inhaled sharply despite herself.
Cu Tan's thoughts reeled.
*The same creatures…*
Lianhua's gaze returned to them, steady and unmoved.
"You have confirmed what you came to confirm," she said. "Return to your sect."
Xu Yan hesitated. "Senior, should we—"
"No."
The refusal was gentle.
Absolute.
"If the Cloud River Sect values its disciples," Lianhua said quietly, "it will not send more into Blackvein Forest."
A chill spread through Xu Yan's limbs. The weight of her words settled into his bones.
"Yes, Senior," he said at once. "This junior will obey."
The female disciple and Cu Tan echoed him in unison, voices tight.
"Thank you for Senior's guidance."
Lianhua took a single step forward.
The world folded.
She was gone.
The pressure vanished as if it had never existed.
Only then did Xu Yan straighten—slowly, carefully—his back damp with cold sweat.
Cu Tan finally sucked in a trembling breath. "Senior Brother… that was really—?"
"…Senior Brother," he whispered, voice unsteady, "that was truly Elder Lianhua, wasn't it?"
Xu Yan did not answer immediately.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low and grave.
"Yes. You recognize her as well," he said. "And if *she* has taken action personally…"
He looked toward the forest—then back at the wounded city behind them.
"…then whatever stalks this land is no longer a matter for clans."
The female disciple exhaled slowly. "Then the rumors were understated."
Xu Yan nodded once.
"Greatly understated."
He glanced toward the Li clan estate, then toward the road leading away from White Hollow City.
"Change of plans," he said. "We return immediately. No embellishments. No speculation."
His gaze hardened.
"If even she has intervened… then whatever hunts beneath the heavens is not something our sect should test lightly."
Behind them, the battered gates of the Li clan creaked shut long after the Cloud River disciples departed.
They understood now—clearly, terrifyingly:
White Hollow City was no longer standing at the edge of disaster.
It stood at the **center** of something far greater—
Something that had stirred forces even Immortals could no longer ignore.