"I-Immortal Ascension? Wait! It's even stronger than the Emperor Qing," explained Elder Gu's escort.
Elder Gu was speechless, She looked back to see Li Shen still standing by outside the sect gate. From her eyes, she didn't see any fighting happening there.
'If he is indeed an Ascension cultivator, why would he leave the Immortal Palace?Isn't that the place all cultivators dream of the most?' Gu said.
'What made him leave the place?There's nothing he can accomplish here, in the mortal world,' explained the woman.
Not long after, Li Shen re-entered the sect and met Ye Fa, Elder Gu and her escort. He walked up to the old woman, asking why she still stayed awake at night.
Ye Fa explained that she awoke because she heard a noise from outside the sect. Li Shen smiled, although they managed to escape with a teleportation slip, but the matter was over.
"You should go back and rest, I'll talk to them," Li Shen asked, Ye Fa nodded.
After she returned to her room, Li Shen turned his head to the side, seeing Elder Gu and her guards appearing to pay their respects bowing their heads to him.
"What have you discussed with her?" asked Li Shen.
"I'm sorry, Senior. We accidentally heard her story, as well as yours," explained Elder Gu.
Li Shen fell silent. He did not want anyone to hear his words this time. Li Shen stretched his hand forward, summoned blue qi energy and blasted it out, activating a Dao of Dreams that trapped Elder Gu and her guards in an illusory domain.
The scene of the sect turned into a beautiful place, clean, shiny, and filled with cultivators wearing light blue clothes. They passed by the place as though ignoring the two women's presence.
Li Shen walked ahead, approaching the two women. Every step he took, he dared to bring out his original cultivation stage.
From Nascent Soul, to Soul Formation, to Soul Ascension, to Void Tribulation, to Immortal Ascension, all the way to True Immortal.
Realizing Li Shen's strength exceeded what they had imagined, Elder Gu and her escorts immediately knelt obediently, saluting Li Shen who had the cultivation stage of a god.
"This is the Dao conception. The manifestation form of a cultivator's mind and heaven path at the Immortal Ascension stage," Li Shen explained, not hesitating to explain to them, "With Dao Conception, one can gain higher enlightenment into the next stage of cultivation."
"Junior has read and heard about it. It is lucky for Junior Gu to be able to see it in person," replied Elder Gu.
"The concept of Dao is diverse and unique, depending on each cultivator's life. I manifest dreams because everything I dream of always happens in dreams," Li Shen explained.
"Perhaps by implementing the concept of the dao of dreams, I can realize all those dreams."
"We understand, Senior," explained the two of them, nodding politely in understanding.
"Uhuk!"
Li Shen turned his head towards Elder Gu, aware that she was injured from the fight earlier. Li Shen activated his cultivation eyes, able to see a person's soul core, meridians, and even energy flow.
Elder Gu had significant injuries on her body, almost damaging the soul core she was forming. Her meridians and energy flow were smooth, not obstructed or damaged in any way.
"Elder Gu?" asked the escort, panicking.
"She's injured. The fight earlier likely caused the soul core she was forming to be injured," revealed Li Shen.
"I'm fine, Senior. Thank you for worrying about me," spoke Elder Gu.
The man swung his hand sideways, fading the illusion and returning the Pillar Azure sect's form to its original one.
Elder Gu's condition was getting worse, Li Shen saw that there was enemy qi energy trying to corrupt the woman's soul core from within her body.
"We'd better go back to the sect immediately to recover my body," Elder Gu said.
Right after a few steps of walking, the woman fell down again due to the impact of the enemy's extremely destructive qi energy.
Apparently, the Golden Core cultivator earlier gave Elder Gu an initial soul-damaging attack.
"With your condition, it's impossible for us to arrive at the sect any faster," the escort replied.
The bodyguard turned to Li Shen, hoping that the man could heal the symptoms in Elder Gu's body and restore her soul core. Li Shen intended to help, but there was another reason why he refused.
"You aren't disciples of the Pillar Azure sect. I have no duty to help her," Li Shen explained.
"Right too," the escort said.
Li Shen nodded. He brought up a ball of qi energy in his hand, then sent it into Elder Gu's body past her forehead.
With qi energy stronger from Li Shen, he could at least protect the woman's fragile soul core from destruction.
"But letting her get injured until she loses her soul core in my sect is not a good thing," Li Shen retorted.
"I have protected your soul core temporarily. After you return to the Mountain Goose Sect, perform a recovery using the Soul Restorer Formation. That will help you," explained the man.
"Thank you, Senior. Junior Gu promises to repay all your kindness," said Elder Gu, saluting.
"Let me escort you to your sect," Li Shen said.
They said yes without refusing, being given an escort by Li Shen who was actually a True Immortal made Elder Gu relieved.
With that man's abilities, no one would be able to harm them on the way back.
They flew away from the Azure Pillar Sect toward the north. The distance was long, but Elder Gu could still endure the turmoil in her body.
Li Shen flew by the side, guarding them from danger. Elder Gu's escort explained that night was a very vulnerable time, considering that many wandering cultivators roamed around and robbed other sects' disciples.
"There's no sect guarding the region, it's only natural for them to act recklessly," Li Shen said.
Elder Gu and her escorts fell silent. After 7 hours of non-stop flying over 7000 miles, they finally arrived in front of the Mountain Goose Sect's gate, with a huge white goose statue residing in front of the sect's large gate.
"Elder Gu!"
Several sect elders arrived and saw Elder Gu coming in injured. Through their checks, Elder Gu's soul core was vulnerable.
"Her soul core is eroded, but there is qi energy protecting her soul core," said another elder.
They shifted their focus to the front of the sect, Li Shen still standing in the sky without the aid of the flying sword. Two sect elders who were at the Early Nascent Soul stage came near Li Shen.
"Fellow Daoist, what happened?" one of them asked.
"The Lotus Hill Sect. They lost the auction, so they're trying to snatch the Cultivation Lightning Pill from Elder Gu's hands," Gu's escort replied.
"The Hill Lotus Sect? They're courting death!"
"Senior Li Shen from the Azure Pillar Sect helped us. He defeated them all," said the escort.
The sect elders gasped when they heard Li Shen was from the outcast sect. Not a few of them laughed out loud at the guard's statement, a disdainful laugh which Li Shen did not like.
"Pillar Azure is an outcast sect. The sect leader alone is a doddering granny trapped in Nascent Soul, there's no way he could have defeated them," explained one of the elders, leaving Elder Gu shocked.
Elder Gu got up while forcing herself up, she bowed her head respectfully as she apologized for the impudence of her sect elders.
"Senior Li Shen, I apologize for our sect elder's impudence," said Elder Gu, the woman who had only bowed her head to the sect leader, now turned to respect Li Shen.
"No problem. I don't mind that."
"Don't tell anyone about me. If I hear about it from others, you two will be the first ones I come to!" threatened Li Shen, Elder Gu and her escorts were obediently respecting Li Shen's decision.
Seeing Elder Gu's dignity humiliated in such a way made some of the sect elders furious. They flew to the sky and asked about what qualifications Li Shen had to dare to rule over them.
"How presumptuous of you to order our Elder Gu around! Aren't you afraid of us coming to destroy your wretched sect?" the elder asked, Li Shen smiled.
"So, you're planning to attack the Azure Pillar Sect?" asked Li Shen.
"Not just attack it, but I'll destroy everything remaining there. I'll remove the stones from the building, pull up the trees from their roots, and make that place a cursed one!" declared another elder, a Nascent Soul.
Li Shen was speechless at the threat, he didn't expect anyone to have such cruel evil intentions, even though Pillar Azure Sect had saved Elder Gu and her escorts.
Without the protection of Pillar Azure, Elder Gu and her escorts would not have survived!
But looking for trouble right now was not the right thing, he had no time to deal with them.
"If you want to destroy my sect, then come. I'll wait for you!" declared Li Shen, flying away from the sect.
"You challenged me, you bastard?!" snapped another elder, temperamental.
He ordered the three Nascent Soul stage elders to fly to arrest Li Shen, to teach him a lesson that he couldn't boss anyone around at will.
"Wait! Don't fight against him!" shouted Elder Gu, held back by her escort.
"Too late. We can't do anything," said the escort.
Li Shen's flight path was blocked. He saw three Nascent Soul cultivators surrounding him, encircling him until he had no chance to escape.
"You want to arrest me? You fools!"