Chapter 1702: The Powerful

“Hehe… This is indeed the disciple I found, Li Yan. Li Yan, come quickly and pay your respects!”

Above the lake, when Dong Fuyi saw the beautiful woman asking about Li Yan, a trace of pride appeared on his face. He immediately told Li Yan to step forward and greet the two. After Dong Fuyi exchanged a few simple words with them, they all entered the black ring together.

Because Dong Fuyi had asked him to pay his respects, Li Yan learned the identities of the two. The middle-aged man who looked like an old farmer was his Second Martial Uncle, Shi Ligui. This was Li Yan’s direct Martial Uncle, a true cultivator of the Kui Water Immortal Sect. Li Yan had heard the name Shi Ligui long ago; it was first mentioned to him by Ping Tu during their first meeting. After several hundred years, Li Yan had finally reached the Kui Water Immortal Sect.

The gorgeous woman was Fairy Ning Ke of the Yi Wood Immortal Sect, and she was Li Yan’s Martial Aunt.

When the group entered the Kui Water Immortal Sect together, Li Yan knew his guess was correct. That black ring was something like a sect gate, the Kui Water of the Five Immortals Sect. Upon entering, what met his eyes was a landscape of pavilions, towers, flowing water, and rocks. Even more pavilions and towers were situated on the mountainsides or summits of several peaks. Clouds and mist wound around the peaks like silk ribbons, making the buildings appear half-hidden like celestial orbs. The pavilions were scattered, and their numbers did not seem very large. However, set amidst the majestic peaks, it felt like a dream, giving off an ethereal sense of an immortal mountain where one could wander at will.

Finally, they arrived in a grand hall. After the three elders took their seats at the head of the hall, Li Yan sat on one side below. Just as they sat down, Li Yan’s expression shifted slightly. He heard the sound of rushing air approaching from afar, rapidly flying toward them.

As figures flickered at the entrance, seven people arrived almost together. They were male and female, old and young. Their cultivation bases were mostly at the Void Refining stage, with only two at the Spirit Transformation stage. After they arrived, their gazes instantly fell upon Dong Fuyi and Li Yan.

“Why haven’t you paid your respects to Sect Master Dong Fu!”

Fairy Ning Ke looked at the group and let out a soft cry. These people had been summoned via voice transmission by her and Shi Ligui.

“Greetings, Martial Uncle Dong Fu!”

“…”

The group hurried forward to bow.

“Junior Brother Dong Fu, you have been away from the sect for too long. Back then, everyone left the sect to search for disciples, and the sect here had become quite desolate. But fortunately, Heaven has looked upon us with favor. Over the long years, we have all successively found successor disciples. At least we haven’t lost our respective heritages, and we have all slowly returned here…”

Shi Ligui spoke to Dong Fuyi and then began a brief introduction. It turned out these seven people came from the five immortal sects and were successor disciples of their respective sects. There were even disciples from the Ji Earth and Kui Water sects. However, the disciple from the Ji Earth Immortal Sect was not Pei Buchong, but a successor found by True Lord Qianchong’s junior brother.

The other disciple of the Kui Water Immortal Sect was a young woman who looked elegant and refined, wearing a pale green dress. Her large eyes were particularly spirited. Her cultivation was at the initial stage of Void Refining. She was the successor disciple found by Shi Ligui. Li Yan was quite interested in her. This was because he was very familiar with the Kui Water spiritual power emanating from her; she was his true fellow sect member.

The young woman in the pale green dress was named Ling Yao. she was also constantly looking at Li Yan, likely having the same thoughts as him. Afterward, these people met Li Yan one by one. Although they belonged to different sects, everyone seemed very humble and was very polite to Li Yan.

The five sects shared the same breath and branches. Outside, they were mysterious and powerful, but together they numbered no more than a dozen or so. Every disciple entering the sect was constantly taught by their elders about the vital interests between the five sects; they had to huddle together for warmth.

Dong Fuyi waved his hand, signaling the disciples to sit below, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

“It seems that everyone hasn’t been idle all these years. There’s no problem with the next generation of our Five Immortals Sect. Our efforts haven’t been in vain. But this only solves the problem of a broken heritage. When we have time later, we must continue to expand the sect’s strength…”

Finding a single disciple was extremely difficult for them. Fairy Ning Ke and the others had summoned these disciples specifically so that Dong Fuyi and Li Yan could understand the current situation; otherwise, she would have had to explain everything one by one. This matter was too important for the Five Immortals Sect. Every generation faced the possibility of their line ending at any time. No matter how many enemies coveted them outside, they didn’t care. What truly gave them a headache was not how to deal with those enemies, but how to ensure their own heritage continued. That was the key.

Seeing these people, Dong Fuyi couldn’t help but think of when he had emerged from seclusion back then. The other four sects had been empty. It seemed to him that many people might have perished outside. But in the end, it wasn’t as he had feared. This made his mood even better. He turned his head to look at his senior brother.

“By the way, Second Senior Brother has returned. Is there no news of Eldest Senior Brother, or has he not returned? And what about Senior Brother Qianchong, Zhu Tian, and the others?”

Except for Fairy Ning Ke and his second senior brother, the others here were all juniors. However, Dong Fuyi still directly asked about the whereabouts of the others. The Five Immortals Sect had few members, so it didn’t have as many secrets as large sects that required hiding many things. Everyone here knew they were constantly being watched by outsiders. Therefore, Dong Fuyi followed his old habits. Unless it was an extremely secret matter that his master required them to avoid, he wouldn’t shy away from asking. When they served by their masters’ sides in the past, their masters wouldn’t specifically ask the brothers to leave when discussing many matters.

None of them bothered to explain the reason for this, but everyone understood it in their hearts. The sect had too few cultivators, and heritage was difficult to maintain. Some things might not be remembered for teaching disciples on ordinary days, but who knew when one might unexpectedly perish. Therefore, as long as it didn’t involve too profound a secret, they would let the disciples hear it. This was considered a form of daily heritage to prevent everything from being completely cut off if someone were to die.

“Eldest Senior Brother has already reached the Grand Ascension stage and has gone to the Immortal Ascension Platform. He insisted on staying, but his cultivation has already been restricted in this world. Anyway, we have the ability to deal with those Grand Ascension cultivators outside; there was no need for him to stay. So, I had him leave the sect first. Before he left, he sat before the Ancestral Hall for a long time! Back then, he left the position of Sect Master to you and had me and the others go out to find disciples. It wasn’t until I found Ling Yao that he breathed a sigh of relief. But there was never any news of you, and he was always very worried. I finally persuaded him to leave. I hope you don’t mind! Later, Zhu Tian and Feng Yu of the Ding Fire Immortal Sect, Xing Jia of the Xin Metal Immortal Sect, and Qing Ze of the Yi Wood Immortal Sect all reached the Grand Ascension stage. Among them, Zhu Tian and Qing Ze also went to the Immortal Ascension Platform and have had no further news. However, Xing Jia and Feng Yu are currently out on business. I’ll explain that in detail later. As for the rest, besides me and Fairy Ning Ke, some have been in seclusion for a long time, and some are out. Additionally, Xuan Hou and Fang Zhan both perished when they were in the Body Integration stage. After Senior Brother Qianchong returned, he and his disciple, along with his artifact spirit, entered a long period of seclusion!”

Shi Ligui quickly recounted some matters, though he didn’t explain certain details. Dong Fuyi was stunned. He hadn’t expected his eldest senior brother and two other senior brothers to have already gone to the Immortal Ascension Platform, and that two others had perished.

Sitting below, although Li Yan only heard a few brief sentences, he was already dumbfounded. The Grand Ascension cultivators mentioned by the other party were mentioned one after another as if they cost nothing. It was just like him talking about Void Refining cultivators. And his Second Martial Uncle had added the sect names before many names, which was clearly for his benefit. Otherwise, anyone here should know which sect those people belonged to. In the entire Five Immortals Sect, besides his master, he only knew of Martial Uncle Qianchong and the other two, but they were all in seclusion—and the long-term kind. This made Li Yan think of the pride Dong Fuyi couldn’t hide when talking about the Five Immortals Sect’s cultivation methods. At that time, he said their techniques were powerful. Moreover, they became even more powerful in the later stages, and advancing was relatively easy. Now, hearing about one super-strong individual after another appearing like characters from a myth, Li Yan found it hard to accept…

“Xuan Hou and Fang Zhan… perished?”

After a moment of daze, Dong Fuyi took a deep breath.

“Yes, it was during a clash with that sect. But we also killed three of their Body Integration and one Tribulation Transcendence. Another Tribulation Transcendence wants to recover his combat strength; I think even now, it’s impossible! Xing Jia, Feng Yu, and several other senior brothers have not returned since they went out. This is likely related to this matter. The two of us are staying behind to guard this place!”

Shi Ligui knew what Dong Fuyi wanted to ask, so he directly stated the result. Below, Li Yan’s heart was thumping violently.

‘Those two, Xuan Hou and Fang Zhan, I wonder which of the four sects they were from. Being only at the Body Integration stage, they actually managed to kill so many Tribulation Transcendence and Body Integration cultivators? When did such terrifying old monsters become so worthless, dying just like that? Is that sect the Yin-Yang Primordial Chaos Sect…’

Just from a few words from his Second Martial Uncle, how many high-level cultivators had died on both sides? Master Dong Fuyi hadn’t said how many people were in their generation, but it surely wasn’t many. For two to die at once was a heavy loss.

Dong Fuyi nodded. He gained even more information from these few sentences. First, the reason why Xing Jia and Feng Yu, who had reached the Grand Ascension stage, and other brothers were out was self-evident—they were certainly seeking opportunities for revenge. Although the enemy’s fallen cultivators sounded simple in his second senior brother’s mouth, accomplishing it was extremely difficult. Especially for such high-level cultivators, they rarely came out, and the other side also had Grand Ascension cultivators.

Secondly, among the fallen mentioned by his second senior brother was a senior brother from the Ji Earth Immortal Sect. Looking at the current cultivation of his second senior brother and Fairy Ning Ke, one was at the late-stage of Tribulation Transcendence, and the other was at the mid-stage. Back when he left the sect, the strongest person in the Ji Earth Immortal Sect was True Lord Qianchong, who was in the mid-stage of Body Integration. Of the remaining three, two were in the initial-stage of Body Integration, and both had gone out to find sect successors. Only one Void Refining cultivator was left in the sect to guard the gate, much like his own situation. The fallen Xuan Hou was exactly that cultivator from the initial-stage of Body Integration; his cultivation must have improved later, but he still perished.

However, once True Lord Qianchong returned and learned this news, he would surely be even more distressed. He was originally the strongest person of their generation in the Ji Earth Immortal Sect. But in the end, because he had gone to the lower realm, his cultivation had been stuck. The other four sects had already seen Grand Ascension powerhouses appear—some even having two. The Ji Earth Immortal Sect not only had no Grand Ascension cultivator, but in the end, his own junior brother had perished. No wonder True Lord Qianchong had gone directly into seclusion; he must have gone into a “death seclusion”! He would surely not emerge until he reached at least the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Pei Buchong’s situation was likely the same, also because too much time had been delayed.

‘Yin-Yang Primordial Chaos Sect… just killing our Body Integration won’t be enough…’

Dong Fuyi thought to himself. He had only killed one of their Body Integration cultivators and had felt quite good about it at the time, but now he felt he had suffered a great loss. Therefore, after guiding Li Yan for a period of time, he would certainly choose to go into seclusion as well. He was very confident in his breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Moreover, he felt that by the next time he and Qianchong emerged, they should at least reach the mid-stage of Tribulation Transcendence. Only then could they truly deal with the enemy.

Next, they talked about some matters within the sect. Then, Dong Fuyi began to take out many magical treasures, pills, and refining materials, giving them one by one to the seven disciples. Li Yan saw that those things were all extraordinary; even he felt a bit envious. Why hadn’t his master given them to him? At that time, he had only been given two True Essence Pills. Treasures that could make even Li Yan envious were surely hard to find even in the Immortal Spirit Realm.

“Kid, what you eat, you’ll eventually have to spit out. When the Five Immortals Sect grows stronger in the future, this rule must go; it’s too much to bear.”

While Li Yan sat silently below, watching the seven people joyfully accept the treasures and perform grand bows to Dong Fuyi, Dong Fuyi’s somewhat helpless voice rang out in his mind. Li Yan didn’t immediately understand what his master meant. He saw that after Dong Fuyi gave the items, the seven people thanked him and left one after another. However, a young man and the green-robed Ling Yao remained. From the previous introductions, Li Yan knew that the young man, who was already in the late-stage of Void Refining, was the disciple of Fairy Ning Ke of the Yi Wood Immortal Sect. Perhaps he wanted to leave with his master.