Han Huijun glared at Shen Yuefu, who sat there calm and composed, and a surge of anger rose in his chest.
"Am I, the Sect Master, afraid of trouble? My only concern is that the Che Lingzhi might fall into someone else's hands!"
Shen Yuefu lightly sipped his spirit tea. "The turmoil in the Eastern Wilderness ensures that Che Lingzhi will not fall into anyone's hands. According to the reports from the Eastern Wilderness, Che Lingzhi has gained consciousness and may have taken human form. Whether it is still in the Eastern Wasteland is another matter."
His voice was cold and crystalline, like jade beads clinking together. Tang Xiangyin, who had just stepped into the hall, shivered at his tone and instinctively lifted her gaze to meet his pale blue eyes.
"Fairy Yao Ranran, Miss Tang, you've really returned!" Zhou Lili, who usually had no presence in the hall, suddenly saw two familiar friends and nearly cried from excitement.
She admitted that the threshold of Wuxiang Sect was too high for her to fit in.
She had intended to hug Yao Ranran and Tang Xiangyin both, but upon seeing Yao Ranran's even more elegant and otherworldly expression, she stopped halfway, only embracing Tang Xiangyin.
"Miss Tang, Fairy Yao Ranran, where did you go?"
"This… it's a long story…" Tang Xiangyin's eyes darted nervously toward Shen Yuefu, her heartbeat quickening.
So terrifying!
"He wouldn't see through my true form, would he?"
Yu Zhenyan frowned at Zhou Lili but did not care much, leading a few Wuxiang Sect disciples to bow to Han Huijun and Shen Yuefu in turn.
She turned and noticed Yao Ranran still standing frozen. Annoyed, she snapped, "Yao Ranran, after months in the Eastern Wilderness, have you even forgotten the Sect's rules?"
Yao Ranran had not spoken yet when someone suddenly rose from the corner of the hall.
Nie Rong bared his teeth in a grin and cupped his hands, shouting at Yu Zhenyan with a sudden change of face: "How dare you speak like that? This Fairy is my master. Does she need to bow to you like everyone else?"
Yu Zhenyan froze at the man's rebuke. Her mind raced through the faces of Wuxiang Sect elders, finally matching a few introductions to the man before her.
"You are… Elder Nie?"
"Indeed, Elder Nie is this Daoist!" Nie Rong puffed out his chest proudly.
Yao Ranran and Tang Xiangyin's eyes widened in unison.
This trickster really is Wuxiang Sect's Elder Nie!?
Zhou Lili wiped away her excited tears. "You didn't expect it, did you? He truly isn't a fraud. I followed him all the way here."
Yao Ranran and Tang Xiangyin exchanged incredulous glances.
Why does this feel like a dream? They might not have even left the Yan Family Fortress!
"No… no…" Yu Zhenyan recalled Nie Rong's records and spoke in a soft voice, "Elder Nie already had a lineage. His master has ascended. How could he take a Qi Refinement First Stage minor cultivator as his master?"
"The ascended master is already in the Upper Realm. Upper Realm people cannot control Lower Realm matters. My affairs are mine alone, and you, a yellow-haired girl relying on the Yu and Xing families' resources, have no right to question me!"
Nie Rong ruthlessly scolded Yu Zhenyan.
Yao Ranran and Tang Xiangyin were delighted.
Nie Rong had such a commanding side!
Yu Zhenyan's face turned red, furious and humiliated. She stomped her feet, nearly erupting into a fight with him.
"Enough! You need not take Elder Nie's words to heart. His master is only one, and no little girl can replace her!" Han Huijun stopped meditating and angrily swept up a cloud of dust.
"What gives you the right to decide for me? If I say she is my master, then she is my master!" Nie Rong shouted defiantly.
Han Huijun's veins bulged in anger. "You, you—"
"You unfilial brat!" Yao Ranran suddenly blurted out, recalling her Earthly days when siblings always tried to act as the other's parent, unintentionally cursing Han Huijun for him.
"..."
Silence fell over the hall.
Yao Ranran quickly added, "I mean, Sect Master, you should ask the Upper Realm Master. If he does not approve Elder Nie's… Elder Nie taking a master, then he cannot act in defiance here in the Lower Realm!"
Han Huijun narrowed his eyes. The fire of anger still burned, but slightly softened. "Nie Rong, what do you think of this idea?"
"Hmph, this is the suggestion directly from your little master. Do you dare to be dissatisfied?"
Nie Rong glanced at the composed Yao Ranran, rolling his eyes mischievously.
"The Fairy has approved of me, hasn't she?:
Otherwise, why suggest this? She must be worried that taking two masters might anger his Upper Realm master!
"Pfft!"
Han Huijun twitched at Nie Rong's sudden laugh.
"No problem, what my master says is what I will follow!" Nie Rong had already decided. No matter what message came from the Upper Realm, he would use a sleight-of-hand trick to alter it.
"Hee hee. Junior Brother Han has been Wuxiang Sect's Sect Master for years. How could he know I've learned this skill outside?"
Looking at Nie Rong's confident expression, Han Huijun's eyes flickered with suspicion. Could it be that he had already contacted his senior uncle?
"He wouldn't be colluding with Yao Ranran to trick me, would he?"
"Sect Master, isn't today's matter supposed to be something else?" Shen Yuefu's calm voice interrupted.
Han Huijun snapped back to attention. "Right, right. Yu Zhenyan, tell me—how did you emerge from the Buddha statue, and what is wrong with the statue at Guan Fan Temple?"
Yu Zhenyan frowned. "Sect Master… I… I can't explain clearly…"
She only knew the Yan Family Fortress was extremely strange. Many had died. Only when Pei Xianqiao cut through the mastermind's heart could they escape. How could she know the statue's problem?
"Sect Master, the issue was not the statue itself, but the black pearl atop the statue. Inside the pearl was a small world called Yan Family Fortress. Yan Family Fortress is full of deceptions. It was masterminded by the Master Mingzhi tens of thousands of years ago. We could do nothing inside until we destroyed the Master Mingzhi's heart to return to Central Continent."
Pei Xianqiao calmly explained the problem with the Buddha statue.
Yu Zhenyan looked at her with jealousy. All our hard work has been stolen by these two girls!
Han Huijun's gaze softened as he looked at Pei Xianqiao with satisfaction. "So that is the case. But why would the Master Mingzhi do this? Tens of thousands of years ago, he had already perfected his cultivation. Ascension would have been easy. Why set such a trap and leave you in that small world?"
Pei Xianqiao hesitated. "I suspect the Master Mingzhi set this trap to gain everyone's worship. After gaining worship… after gaining worship—"
"What happens after gaining worship?" Han Huijun asked expectantly.
Pei Xianqiao suddenly faltered, her gaze drifting, sweat forming on her temples.