The news of the demonic cultivators' surprise attack on the Danxin Sect and the ensuing battle had spread throughout the entire Lu Kingdom's immortal cultivation world.
The remaining three sects, therefore, heightened their vigilance and maintained strict defenses.
Concurrently, everyone was deeply impressed by the outstanding performance of two cultivators in this battle.
One of them, naturally, was Zhu Yu, known as the most handsome man in the Danxin Sect.
Zhu Yu's peerless beauty had long been renowned in the cultivation world. After this battle, people discovered that Zhu Yu was not only exceptionally handsome but also incredibly capable, holding his own against cultivators of the same level without falling behind.
In the eyes of most cultivators, this was already a dazzling performance, as they had few expectations in this regard, their focus being solely on his appearance.
However, Zhu Yu had also unleashed his trump card, killing the Evil Bone True Person of Yingshan Kingdom with a single blow.
This Evil Bone True Person was a seasoned expert, by no means ordinary.
With his good looks and considerable combat prowess, Zhu Yu instantly became an idol in the hearts of many male and female cultivators.
The other cultivator was, of course, Xiao Fei. Compared to Zhu Yu, he was considered rather unremarkable in appearance.
However, his ability to simultaneously contend with a Golden Core cultivator and over a hundred demonic cultivators, all while at the Foundation Establishment stage, was a feat that even many Golden Core cultivators admitted they could not match.
Therefore, despite his unremarkable appearance and only Foundation Establishment cultivation, he could barely be considered on par with Zhu Yu, and they were jointly dubbed the Danxin Sect's "Twin Jewels."
Whenever heroes of the world were discussed during leisure time, this pair, likened to the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix, would invariably be mentioned.
After Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu arrived at the front-line camp facing the Black Wind Cliff, they were inundated with visitors daily, their presence drawing a constant stream of admirers.
Of course, most of these visitors were there to see Zhu Yu, with Xiao Fei serving merely as a foil.
Zhu Yu possessed peerless beauty, formidable combat skills, and, most importantly, was a favored individual by a Nascent Soul expert.
Befriending Zhu Yu meant establishing an indirect connection with a Nascent Soul expert, which could prove beneficial if one ever needed assistance.
Seizing an opportune moment when no one was paying attention, Xiao Fei slipped out of the camp and finally met Huang Feifei by a small river.
Since the war began, Huang Feifei had been fighting on the front lines, enduring countless fierce battles, and fortunately, had survived.
It was known that during times of peace, any benefits from the sect were preferentially given to disciples like Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu who had backgrounds and patrons.
Disciples with connections feasted on the best, while those from humble origins with no backing were left with only meager scraps.
However, since the war broke out, the more dangerous tasks had largely fallen upon these disciples without backgrounds.
Over the years of war, most of the fallen cultivators were from impoverished families.
Huang Feifei, having no background, had survived since the war began not only through luck but undoubtedly also through her exceptional combat abilities.
Upon learning of Xiao Fei's arrival, Huang Feifei had rushed to see him immediately. Unfortunately, she was too late and couldn't push her way through the crowd.
After decades apart, Huang Feifei had now reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. Her face bore the marks of hardship, and several new scars had appeared.
The three cultivators who had emerged from the same place years ago were Xiao Fei, Zhu Yu, and Huang Feifei.
Although Xiao Fei had a peculiar aptitude and wasn't particularly lucky, he possessed the spatial artifact as his cheat, making him an invisible tycoon. He never lacked rare spiritual herbs, and his cultivation path had been relatively smooth.
Zhu Yu, on the other hand, leveraged his good looks to navigate society, receiving preferential treatment wherever he went, though it was somewhat taxing on his health.
Only Huang Feifei had endured the most arduous journey. Compared to disciples from aristocratic families and the "immortal second generation," she, as a child of a small rural landlord, was considered a poor disciple with no background.
Without any support from behind, she was at a significant disadvantage from the start. In her later cultivation, she received no assistance and had to rely entirely on herself.
Given her background, most people in her situation would remain stuck at the Qi Refining stage for life, and reaching Foundation Establishment would already be a stroke of immense luck.
After Foundation Establishment, cultivation resources became even scarcer, and every step forward required immense effort.
She had a Foundation Establishment master previously, but he couldn't offer much help and had died over forty years ago.
Huang Feifei could only struggle among the low-level cultivators, having witnessed the cruelty and deceit of the cultivation world firsthand.
Fortunately, she had long abandoned her former pampered young lady identity and transformed into a self-reliant, tough woman.
In order to undertake missions and earn cultivation resources, she had narrowly escaped death on numerous occasions.
Through her efforts, her cultivation had now barely caught up to that of many aristocratic disciples, reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage over several decades.
However, given her circumstances, the hope of obtaining a Golden Core pill and advancing to the Golden Core realm in this lifetime was virtually nonexistent.
It was worth noting that Xiao Fei had a large number of senior and junior disciples, all of whom were under the care of True Person Guangling, yet none had advanced to the Golden Core realm in recent years.
Golden Core cultivators were not commonplace; the entire Danxin Sect had only slightly over twenty Golden Core cultivators, which spoke volumes.
"Young Master! You've finally returned!"
Huang Feifei, having not seen him for decades, could not contain her excitement as Xiao Fei appeared before her. She rushed towards him, tears streaming down her cheeks and falling onto her chin, forming two strings of pearls.
In this moment, the decisive and resolute tough woman of the past was nowhere to be seen.
"I thought you were dead and would never see you again!"
Over the years, she had never given up searching for Xiao Fei, but he had vanished as if evaporated from the earth, leaving no trace.
After their long reunion, the two chatted by the river for a long time.
"I will be leaving again in a while. The battlefield is perilous; you must take care of yourself."
"Young Master is leaving again? Is there anything I can help with?" Huang Feifei instinctively wanted to lend Xiao Fei a hand.
"This journey is perilous, and one cannot have too many people."
Xiao Fei declined Huang Feifei's offer. Bringing along Zhu Yu was sufficient; he was at least a Golden Core level combatant.
"I have a spare pill here. I'll give it to you; you should find it useful."
As Xiao Fei spoke, he casually produced a jade bottle and placed it in Huang Feifei's hand.
Huang Feifei accepted the jade bottle and swept her divine sense over it, immediately startling her, her breathing becoming rapid.
"Young Master! This..."
"Don't speak of this matter; I have more."
Xiao Fei stopped Huang Feifei from continuing.
A single Golden Core pill held little use for him; the odds of failure were high.
He had already exchanged for the spiritual herb seeds needed to refine Golden Core pills from the sect and would be able to refine them himself soon.
With Huang Feifei's aptitude, taking this pill offered a high chance of breaking through to the Golden Core realm.
Furthermore, the "Primordial Five Elements Technique" he cultivated had a specific pill formula designed for breakthroughs by cultivators with his spiritual root aptitude.
In the following period, Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu participated in several battles on the battlefield. Zhu Yu performed exceptionally well, his reputation soaring further.
Xiao Fei, on the other hand, performed competently, neither achieving great merit nor making any significant mistakes.
As they were preparing to enter Yingshan Kingdom, a notice was issued by the sect a year later.
It announced that Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu had colluded with demonic cultivators and were therefore expelled from the Danxin Sect.