Chapter 1567: Joyful News from a Magpie's Call

After hearing everything, Li Yan had a general understanding of the situation. He pondered for a moment before saying to Chongyangzi, “Senior, I cannot decide this matter on my own. I must consult with Senior Brother Shangguan and the others.”

“Mm, you should all discuss this matter thoroughly first. After all, the risk of perishing in the assessment does exist. If things go wrong, the Broken Army Sect might lose even the favorable situation it has now. I have no other business here. You can go and ask them now. If you are willing, I will record it. When I return to the sect, I will confirm this matter with the other elders. The origins of the three of you are, of course, not an issue. If you can’t decide now, you have three years to do so. This is because even if the Pure Yang Hall approves your application, it will still need time for preparations. That’s why the assessment for the Bright Flame Sect was set for ten years after its approval. Other than that, do you have any other requests?”

“Senior, I am already extremely grateful for these matters!” Li Yan immediately bowed respectfully. Chongyangzi was very decisive. The fact that he was willing to wait here for their decision made Li Yan feel deeply grateful.

Seeing this, Chongyangszi smiled and waved his hand, dismissing the restriction. As for what Mu Guyue needed, Ting Lan could just tell him later.

When Li Yan walked out of the main hall, he saw Shangguan Tianque and Ren Yanyu standing under a large tree not far away. Ting Lan and Mu Guyue were nowhere to be seen, likely having gone to Mu Guyue’s Cave Residence. Yu Banjiang was also not here.

Seeing Li Yan emerge, the two under the tree quickly looked over. Li Yan, in turn, walked briskly toward them. The three of them stood under the tree, and Shangguan Tianque immediately asked, “What were Senior Chongyangzi’s instructions?”

The two of them hadn’t dared to leave, waiting here all along for Chongyangzi’s summons. But now, only Li Yan had come out, while Chongyangzi remained alone in the main hall. Since Li Yan hadn’t beckoned them over, they had no idea what other business Chongyangzi had.

“There is indeed one matter that I need to ask you, Senior Brother and Senior Sister. In his conversation with me just now, Senior Chongyangzi mentioned something…” Li Yan then briefly explained the matter of the sect promotion. In his heart, he naturally wanted to use this opportunity to quickly obtain supreme-grade Spirit Stones! For the sake of crossing realms, he had to make all preparations in advance. Now that such an opportunity had presented itself, Li Yan naturally didn’t want to let it go.

After he finished speaking, the looks in Shangguan Tianque’s and Ren Yanyu’s eyes changed. They began to look Li Yan up and down. Being stared at like this, Li Yan couldn’t help but touch his nose and smile apologetically. “Ahem, it was only in the secret realm this time, under the constant threat of life and death every day, that I managed to break through. And in the secret realm, the dangers were too great, so I could only conceal my cultivation to better hide. After coming out, it became a habit. It wasn’t intentional concealment…”

But before he could finish, Shangguan Tianque started laughing. “Junior Brother Li, no need for too many explanations. I said when you returned this time that I felt your cultivation had advanced. It seems we weren’t wrong after all.”

As he said this, he also grumbled to himself, ‘You were probably a Spirit Transformation cultivator when you ascended!’ He and Ren Yanyu had discussed this matter privately more than once. They felt that Li Yan was afraid of usurping their roles and had been unwilling to reveal his strength, so they were actually somewhat grateful to him.

At this moment, Ren Yanyu also shot Li Yan a sideways glance. “If you had revealed your cultivation earlier, would we have needed Senior Chongyangzi to tell us this? We might have already considered it. Promoting the Broken Army Sect to a third-rate sect has always been a major goal of ours. Moreover, since the Spirit Subduing Manor and the Heavenly Mountain Garden left, too many sects have been eyeing that piece of fat meat these past years. But we’ve been struggling because we couldn’t meet the conditions. This is truly wonderful. Junior Brother, in the future, why would you need to hide such good news? The more, the better!”

Ren Yanyu and the others had actually wanted to invite Spirit Transformation Guest Elders, but their own cultivation was only at the Initial-stage of Spirit Transformation. Even if they invited a Guest Elder of the same rank, that person might not necessarily submit to them.

Seeing them say this, Li Yan knew the two were no longer angry. But he also felt frustrated in his heart. He could sense that the two of them didn’t believe he had only just succeeded in reaching Spirit Transformation. His own breakthrough had indeed happened in a secret realm. Although that secret realm was not this secret realm, on this matter, he, Li Yan, was definitely not lying.

After a brief pause, Li Yan quickly changed the subject. “So, Senior Brother and Senior Sister are also interested in this matter? But the risks involved are great. Although this is the first time I’ve heard of it, I did ask Senior Chongyangzi. He said the assessment is not simple and that we need to think it through carefully. If things go wrong, it’s possible for us to perish in the assessment. At that point, we might lose even the favorable situation we have now!” Li Yan said with a grave expression.

“There’s nothing to consider about this matter. As long as you’re willing, Junior Brother, then there’s no problem at all. You should be very clear about my and my junior sister’s wish. It’s to continuously elevate the Broken Army Sect that we built with our own hands. Until one day our strength is exhausted, and we can only rely on the younger generation to continue the effort,” Shangguan Tianque said without hesitation.

He and Ren Yanyu had been distressed for a time because they couldn’t meet the conditions. In fact, after Li Yan returned this time, they had wanted to ask him if he was concealing his cultivation. But Ren Yanyu ultimately felt that since Li Yan was hiding his cultivation, he must have his concerns. Was it appropriate for them to ask? So, the two of them had been considering this issue these past few days. In the end, they decided not to bring it up for the time being! They were both already at Spirit Transformation. If their previous guess about Li Yan’s concerns was correct, then before he returned, he didn’t know Ren Yanyu had reached Spirit Transformation, so he still had a reason to hide. But now that he knew Ren Yanyu had succeeded, yet he still didn’t reveal his strength, what was he thinking?

Unexpectedly, Li Yan had admitted it himself today. This was truly an unexpected joy. What else was there for them to hesitate about?

Seeing that Shangguan Tianque and Ren Yanyu had no hesitation at all, Li Yan also felt a sense of relief. It seemed his future plans had a chance to be realized. “In that case, let’s go in and tell Senior. He’s waiting for our reply!” Li Yan said with a smile.

A quarter of an hour later, Chongyangzi left the Broken Army Sect with a sullen Ting Lan. Ting Lan had wanted to stay and watch Mu Guyue’s elder induction ceremony a few days later, but Chongyangzi had flatly refused. This time, he was taking Ting Lan directly back to the Pure Yang Hall to have her cultivate by his side. She would only be allowed out when she succeeded in reaching Spirit Transformation. He could see that his brother-in-law simply couldn’t control Ting Lan; he was too indulgent. This time, Ting Lan had been lucky to return alive, but where would she find such good fortune next time! Ting Lan was not a rogue cultivator, yet she was doing things that only desperate rogue cultivators would do. If at all possible, very few cultivators below Spirit Transformation were willing to go to the Heavenly Demon Prairie. To put it bluntly, they were forced by circumstances or had an urgent need, which was why they ventured into the Heavenly Demon Prairie, unlike Ting Lan, who did it for excitement and fun.

In the end, Mu Guyue did not make any requests of Ting Lan. She currently lacked neither cultivation methods nor Spirit Stones. And most crucially, she wanted to enter seclusion to focus on breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm. So, even though Ting Lan pressed her for a long time, she just smiled and said nothing.

This made Chongyangzi look at Mu Guyue in a new light as he was leaving. He also felt that although Ting Lan was reckless, she had made a good friend because of it. This was also a part of Ting Lan’s immortal fortune. Chongyangzi did not force any Spirit Stones or pills on her. He had already made himself clear; if she didn’t want them, that was her business. If he forced them on her, it would feel like he was trying to immediately settle all debts of gratitude. So, he simply went along with Mu Guyue’s wishes.

Several days later, the Broken Army Sect held the induction ceremony for Elder Mu Guyue. But it was merely a formality, to allow the returning disciples to recognize this Elder Mu. Mu Guyue only made a brief appearance, spoke a few words with Shangguan Tianque and the others, and then left gracefully. Shangguan Tianque and the others could see that besides being aloof, Mu Guyue was also eager to enter seclusion to cultivate…

Not long after, the Broken Army Sect received an ultimatum jade slip from the Pure Yang Hall, informing them to begin preparations for the sect promotion assessment in just over nine years. In the meantime, the Pure Yang Hall would come again for a final confirmation. This immediately let Shangguan Tianque and the others know that Chongyangzi must have acted as a guarantor, which was why the ultimatum had been issued so quickly.

This news soon spread throughout the sect, and the entire Broken Army Sect erupted in a frenzy. They had never imagined that their sect’s strength had reached the point where it could be promoted. For any disciple in the sect, this was a matter of great fortune. If the sect prospered, they would naturally prosper with it.

And their sect had welcomed a third Supreme Elder, Li Yan! Although Li Yan had been an elder before and didn’t care about status or power, in the private view of many disciples, apart from his seniority, his status was not much different from the other two Guest Elders. Only those like Yu Banjiang, who had witnessed Li Yan in action when the Broken Army Sect was on the verge of annihilation, knew that the relationship between Li Yan, Shangguan Tianque, and Ren Yanyu would never change due to differences in cultivation.

But now, to suddenly learn that Li Yan was also a Spirit Transformation Realm expert, left many disciples in disbelief. Yu Banjiang, in particular, emerged from his master’s presence with a complex and inexplicable expression. He had never thought that a single thought of his back then would lead to such a change in the sect…

And this matter was quietly spread. Shangguan Tianque and the others made no deliberate effort to hide it. Such a major event couldn’t possibly be concealed. The Blood Lantern Sect probably received the news even a little earlier than the Broken Army Sect received the ultimatum jade slip.

And then, the Broken Army Sect became a lively place. Not long after, many sects came to visit upon hearing the news. These sects were, more or less, on good terms with the Broken Army Sect, at least on the surface. For entertaining these guests, only Yu Banjiang and his master Shangguan Tianque handled it. Even Ren Yanyu tried to avoid making appearances as much as possible. Given this situation, with Li Yan’s personality, he had long since washed his hands of the matter. He wouldn’t even show his face in public once. All day long, he stayed in his Cave Residence, waiting for someone.

On a certain day, someone from the Donglin Family finally arrived. The great elder of the Donglin Family had now also successfully reached Spirit Transformation. It had to be said that breaking through bottlenecks in the Immortal Spirit Realm was much easier than in the lower realm. Of course, this was also the result of their accumulated efforts over the years.

Many people from the Donglin Family had come. Donglin Tingyue, wearing her silver mask, did not go to see Shangguan Tianque. Instead, after inquiring with Yu Banjiang, she was led by a disciple to Li Yan’s Cave Residence. As expected, Li Yan did not avoid her. He personally came out of his Cave Residence to welcome Donglin Tingyue. He had been waiting for her arrival.

Once the news of the Broken Army Sect’s promotion spread, powers on good terms with them, like the Donglin Family, would definitely come. And she would inevitably learn that he had returned to the sect. Donglin Tingyue would certainly come looking for him. After all, he had assisted her on that trip to the Heavenly Demon Prairie, and he had been missing for so long afterward. From any perspective, Donglin Tingyue would come.