Ember Lotus Peak seemed to look nothing like its name suggested. Zhiran could see that it resembled any other peak of the Divine Cauldron Sect, with incredible height shrouded in clouds and mysterious spiritual energy converging from everywhere.
However, when he approached the peak where the Peak Master resided, he finally understood why it was called Ember Lotus.
Zhiran saw that the tall mountain was directly carved through the middle by the vast Silvermist River, its waters glimmering like liquid silver.
At the very top lay a still pond, and from its bed a colossal lotus had sprung, its massive petals shrouding the peak.
The most striking part was that although it rose from water, its petals burned with brilliant fire, flickering without consuming themselves, casting sharp shadows on the river below, a breathtaking contrast that perfectly embodied the name Ember Lotus.
"Peak Master, I have... new disciples to the peak to report."
Xiao Lan immediately bowed as soon as she saw the back of the Peak Master standing right below the massive lotus.
Along with her, Mo Zhiran and Mei Xuan also bowed to show their respect without bickering like before.
After all, the person before them was an elder in the Golden Core realm.
"Umm... you did a good job."
Elder Yan Yue slowly turned around and nodded at Xiao Lan, signalling them that they could stop bowing. Seeing how calm she seemed, as if not surprised by the appearance of Mo Zhiran along with a girl, Xiao Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
'It seems Master won't blame me,'
she thought.
"Mo Zhiran and Mei Xuan, right? Welcome to my Ember Lotus Peak."
Elder Yan Yue spoke with a calm look while scanning Mo Zhiran and Mei Xuan.
From her expression, you couldn't tell whether she was happy or not about accepting two disciples at her peak.
"Thank you, Elder."
Mo Zhiran immediately thanked the elder, along with Mei Xuan, and finally lifted his head, looking at the mature woman with curiosity.
Because he was crippled in his last life and left the sect right after regaining his strength, he had very little knowledge about the Divine Cauldron Sect.
He just knew that this sect was later destroyed by a First Rank Demonic sect because Mo Tianyu offended someone he shouldn't have.
Of course, even before that, it was rumored that the sect was already riddled with demon sect spies, just like this Mei Xuan.
'Damn... is this the elder of Ember Lotus Peak? Isn't she... too big?'
It was fine if Zhiran didn't look at the elder, but when he did, he was dumbfounded.
That's because he found that Elder Yan Yue in front was too hot.
Adorned with the calm authority of a Gold Core cultivator, she looked effortlessly captivating. Her robes, elegant yet revealing, traced every bit of her graceful frame, tightly hinting at the generous curves beneath without losing their sense of dignity.
Her fair skin caught the light like porcelain, and when she moved, the slit of her robe shifted just enough to reveal a glimpse of smooth, thick thighs.
Not to mention the faint mark of a butterfly tattoo Zhiran noticed immediately, a detail that left much to the imagination.
Honestly, she was the perfect embodiment of both a warning and a temptation, wrapped in silk and power.
'Wait a minute...butterfly tattoo? Why do I feel like I heard someone mention that?'
Just as Zhiran stole a quick glance at Elder Yan Yue and marvelled at her beauty, he suddenly remembered some incident in his previous life after seeing that mark on her thigh.
An incident that was related to the Divine Cauldron Sect.
'An elder with the butterfly tattoo on her thighs killed the Young Sect Leader and turned out to be a spy from the Blood Lotus Sect.'
Zhiran's heart skipped a bit after recalling the piece of news he heard in his previous life.
It was related to the Divine Cauldron Sect and caused a massive uproar not only in Verdant Peaks but also throughout the Eastern Spirit Plains.
After all, the sect leader was the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator and had the potential to reach the Soul Formation realm. He heard he even had some connection with the Celestial Peak Sect.
Such a promising cultivator was killed in cold blood by betrayal.
That was also the reason why the war between the Righteous and Demonic factions escalated later.
But Zhiran wasn't thinking about all that, as it wasn't much of a concern for him. Rather, he was completely shocked by the realization he had just come to.
'Fuck... so the Peak Master of Ember Lotus Peak is a traitor?'
Zhiran cursed, unable to stop his heart from pounding wildly as he realized he had willingly dived into a quagmire, somehow.
'God damn, my bad luck.'
Now, he didn't care about the mature beauty of the Peak Master in front of him.
After all, all his calculations to peacefully grow powerful in Ember Lotus Peak went down the drain the moment he saw the Peak Master.
How unlucky.
"Do you like it?"
Just as Zhiran was trying his best to calm his pounding heart and mask his expression so no one would notice, Elder Yan Yue spoke softly.
"Huh? What do you mean, Elder?"
Xiao Lan asked, confused, just like Mei Xuan, as they didn't understand her sudden query.
"You, take her with you to the Internal Affairs Pavilion and get her registration done. She's just joined, so make sure she receives her identity token and disciple robes."
Elder Yan Yue didn't answer and simply ordered Xiao Lan. After that, she looked at Zhiran and said,
"As for you, stay with me for a while. I have something to ask you."
It seemed that although Mo Zhiran tried hard to hide his sudden change in expression and restless heart, Elder Yan Yue noticed it immediately.
After all, she was a Gold Core cultivator, and it was extremely easy to monitor a disciple at the Qi Condensation state, no matter how much of a genius he was.
How could he hide his sudden gaffe just because he immediately calmed down?
Zhiran could already see her scrutinizing gaze swooping to her
'Fuck, am I screwed?'