Hundred Flowers Lake.
Situated at the highest point of the Heavenly Sound Sect, it resembles a Heavenly Lake.
Surrounding the lakeside are clusters of blooming flowers, and the water is clear and calm, occasionally disturbed by Spirit Beasts surfacing and creating ripples.
In the center, an island stands tall, surrounded by flowers, which enhance the Crimson Flower Pavilion.
At this moment, a woman in red stands under the pavilion with her brows furrowed, her eyes filled with coldness. As she lightly taps her front, a hint of disgust further clouds her eyes.
A gentle breeze blows through the sea of flowers.
A graceful and beautiful woman in white lands in front of the pavilion, looking at the woman within with surprise and respect:
“Sect Master, have you emerged from seclusion?”
The woman in red shifts slightly to see who had spoken from behind her. Her stunning face leaves an impression on the woman in white, but the coldness in her eyes makes the latter lower her head in fear.
“Bai Zhi, has no one remembered the Heavenly Sound Sect in recent years?”
Sect Master of the Demonic Sect, Heavenly Sound Sect, Hong Yuye.
Before she came to power, the Heavenly Sound Sect was just a second-rate sect. With her leadership, it rose to become a first-rate sect.
On the very first day of becoming Sect Master, she launched a war that swiftly subdued all surrounding minor forces.
The war lasted thirty years, resulting in rivers of blood.
Over thirty years, the Heavenly Sound Sect fought and grew stronger, amassing vast resources, with the name of the Heavenly Sound Demoness echoing everywhere.
After the war ended, Hong Yuye began to manage the sect, and within ten years, she had balanced everything, setting the sect on the right path and allowing the Demonic Sect to operate autonomously.
Thereafter, she went into seclusion for sixty years.
“Please enlighten me, Sect Master.” Bai Zhi knelt down in fear.
Bai Zhi, one of the four guardian elders of the Heavenly Sound Sect, was deeply trusted by the Heavenly Sound Demoness and temporarily assumed leadership of the sect.
If the sect's reputation had diminished over the years, it could only be due to her negligence and inefficiency.
How could she not be terrified?
Hong Yuye stared at Bai Zhi, her expression unchanging and her lips unmoving.
Besides the sound of the wind, only Bai Zhi's uneven breathing was audible. After a while, Hong Yuye slowly retracted her gaze.
During her sixty years of seclusion, everything should have proceeded smoothly, but at a critical point, she was ambushed.
Not by someone from the Demonic Sect but by someone using the Three Purities Art of Azure Sky Mountain, employing vile tactics.
Especially since the assailant had hidden additional toxins in her body; after being killed, the poisons would infiltrate everything around, making it impossible to defend.
Poison infiltrated, and with inner demons taking hold, the end result...
She ended up at the nearest base of Broken Hearts Cliff.
Leading to last night's events.
That was an indefensible method, one that Azure Sky Mountain shouldn't possess.
“Has there been any movement from the respected sects lately?” Hong Yuye asked with a poised and authoritative demeanor.
“None at all,” Bai Zhi hurriedly shook her head and continued:
“Azure Sky Mountain is the nearest respectable sect to us, but they have been busy with the Dao Debate Conference lately, with no spare resources to do anything else.
Not to mention, Sect Master, you've faced them before, and with their strength, they wouldn’t dare act recklessly.”
“Is that so?” Hong Yuye replied with a meaningful smile.
Seeing Bai Zhi dare not speak, she continued:
“Keep my emergence from seclusion a secret for now, and continue overseeing the Heavenly Sound Sect.
Also, investigate the sect disciples, see how many spies from other sects there are.”
“Yes,” Bai Zhi replied hurriedly, not daring to question further.
After another moment of silence, Hong Yuye suddenly asked:
“Bai Zhi, you're not a spy from another sect, are you?”
Thud!
Bai Zhi's head hit the ground hard, trembling with fear:
“Sect Master, how could I, Bai Zhi, have the audacity or ability to be one?”
Seeing this, Hong Yuye slightly nodded, saying softly:
“You may leave.”
Bai Zhi trembled as she got up. As she turned to leave, the Sect Master’s voice echoed again:
“By the way, organize the sect’s records and outline the arrangements of recent years. I want to see what you've done all these years.”
“Yes,” Bai Zhi retreated from the island.
As Bai Zhi departed, Hong Yuye gently raised her hand, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, and coughed twice.
Sixty years ago, she trusted Bai Zhi, and sixty years later, she still believed in Bai Zhi. However...
Her secluded cultivating place was known only to Bai Zhi, and the first thought after the ambush was Bai Zhi's betrayal.
But presently, from what she could see, she still deemed Bai Zhi useful.
Afterward, Hong Yuye slowly closed her eyes, and the surroundings became silent once more.
...
...
Broken Hearts Cliff.
Spirit Herb Garden.
Jiang Hao made his way to the entrance of the Spirit Herb Garden, intending to gather some white bubbles.
To increase his strength.
This place was quite a distance from where he lived, situated in a central spot.
Broken Hearts Cliff, similar to a mountain valley, had a small stream flowing from a corner, so Jiang Hao's residence was off in a corner.
Quiet and free.
The Spirit Herb Garden was protected by a formation, guarded at the entrance by two outer disciples.
They were both at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, which was commendable.
Being at the eighth level of Qi Refinement before the age of twenty allowed one to enter the inner sect.
He had accomplished just that.
To secure a position as an inner disciple after forming the Foundation, if one couldn’t achieve Foundation Establishment by forty while still holding the inner disciple status, it was best to take on tasks outside.
Otherwise...
One would be scorned by fellow disciples and ostracized by the sect.
Cultivation resources would be snatched away, with no hope of rising again.
He had witnessed it himself a few years ago.
Back then, having just entered the inner sect, during a resource collection, he saw a forty-year-old at the ninth level of Qi Refinement being mocked and robbed of resources.
Out of naive kindness, he gave a pill to the other when no one was around.
It left the person questioning their own existence.
He never saw that person again.
It was said they took up a mission and left, most likely perishing outside.