Volume 1, Chapter 57 – Times Have Changed

Two hours later, in Qingyun Hall.

The atmosphere inside this hall, the most important council chamber in Qingyun Sacred Land, was so oppressive that it seemed water could be wrung from the air.

All thirteen core elders of Qingyun Sacred Land were present, seated in two rows along either side.

Every one of them possessed Body Integration cultivation. Among them were also three Supreme Elders at the Mahayana stage, seated at the front with their eyes closed in quiet repose.

Chu Tianchen sat upright in the principal seat, his expression calm. Yet anyone familiar with him could see the turmoil hidden beneath that composure.

“Everyone here is already aware of what happened.”

Chu Tianchen went straight to the point, his voice echoing through the hall.

“What are your thoughts on this ‘Yaochi Immortal Palace’?”

After a brief silence, an elderly man with snow-white hair and beard and an austere, weathered face slowly spoke.

He was the Grand Elder of Qingyun Sacred Land. With mid-stage Body Integration cultivation, he was highly respected throughout the sacred land.

“Sacred Lord, there is something strange about this matter.”

“Qingyun Sacred Land was founded twenty thousand years ago. We know every faction in the Southern Region like the backs of our hands.”

“Yet we have never heard of this ‘Yaochi Immortal Palace’ before. It suddenly appeared out of nowhere and displayed such astonishing strength…”

“Either it is an ancient Dao lineage that remained hidden for tens of thousands of years and has now returned to the world.”

“Or… it is a powerful force from another region crossing into our territory.”

At those words, the expressions of everyone in the hall varied.

A hidden Dao lineage? A powerful outsider?

Neither possibility was good news for Qingyun Sacred Land.

“Has that girl Luoli truly been cured?”

Another elder could not help asking. He was the Enforcement Elder of the sacred land and possessed early-stage Body Integration cultivation.

“I personally examined that Dao injury. Her origin was damaged, and neither medicine nor spirit herbs could heal it! How could she possibly have recovered? How could she even be stronger than before?”

“The intelligence is accurate.”

Chu Tianchen looked toward Lu Mingyuan.

“Elder Lu, explain the details.”

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Lu Mingyuan rose and recounted everything that had happened in Qingyang City, including Gu Luoli’s condition when she appeared.

When they heard that a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator had been erased with the flick of a finger and that a Mahayana demon king had declared himself an elder, sharp breaths echoed throughout the hall.

“Erasing a Nascent Soul cultivator with a flick of a finger… Subduing a Mahayana demon king…”

A Supreme Elder at the early stage of Mahayana slowly opened his eyes, a keen light flashing within them.

“The Mountain-Covering Ape King possesses late-stage Mahayana strength. Even if the three of us joined forces, subduing him would be extremely difficult.”

“Just what sort of background does the Yaochi Immortal Palace have?”

That question made everyone’s heart sink.

In the Southern Region, Mahayana cultivators already stood at the pinnacle of combat strength.

Yet judging by the Supreme Elder’s words…

There were most likely experts beyond the Mahayana stage within the Yaochi Immortal Palace!

“Everyone.”

Chu Tianchen swept his gaze across the gathering and spoke in a grave voice.

“Now is not the time to obsess over the extent of their strength. Our most urgent concern is how Qingyun Sacred Land should respond.”

“Gu Luoli was once the Holy Maiden of our sect. Now she has joined the Yaochi Immortal Palace, her Dao injury has healed, and her double pupils have recovered… Is this a blessing or a disaster for us?”

The hall once again fell silent.

A blessing? A disaster?

Had an ordinary disciple joined another faction, it would naturally have been both a disaster and a disgrace. They would have had to purge that disciple from the sect as a warning to others.

But Gu Luoli’s situation was different.

She had chosen to leave of her own accord, and the sacred land had not tried to stop her. In a sense, the two sides had simply parted ways.

More importantly, the force standing behind her now was the Yaochi Immortal Palace, a faction suspected of possessing a mighty Tribulation Transcendence cultivator!

Qingyun Sacred Land also had an ancestor at the Tribulation Transcendence stage overseeing it, but he had very little lifespan remaining.

Unless the sacred land faced a crisis of life and death, they could not awaken him lightly.

“Sacred Lord.”

A middle-aged elder carefully chose his words. He was the Foreign Affairs Elder of the sacred land and was responsible for negotiations with outside forces.

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“In my opinion, we should not take a hard-line approach.”

“Gu Luoli may once have been the Holy Maiden of our sacred land, but she did not violate any sect rules when she left.”

“Now that she has encountered a fortunate opportunity and recovered from her injuries, strictly speaking, she bears no grudge against our sacred land.”

“On the contrary, if we can use this opportunity to establish good relations with the Yaochi Immortal Palace…”

He did not finish, but his meaning was already clear.

Turn a potential enemy into a friend, or at the very least, do not become enemies.

“Ridiculous!”

The Enforcement Elder snorted coldly.

“Most of Gu Luoli’s abilities were learned in Qingyun Sacred Land!”

“Even if she left, has she not now joined someone else’s sect? Is that not a slap in the face to Qingyun Sacred Land?”

“If everyone follows her example, where will the sacred land’s authority be?”

“Then why don’t you go to Qingyang City and bring her back?”

The Foreign Affairs Elder immediately retorted.

“Or are you planning to test the Deputy Palace Master’s strength? Perhaps you would rather exchange a few moves with the Mountain-Covering Ape King?”

The Enforcement Elder’s expression stiffened, and he could not utter a word.

Go and seize her? He had not lived long enough to become tired of life.

The atmosphere in the hall turned subtle.

The hard-liners believed Qingyun Sacred Land had lost face and needed to make some kind of response.

The conservatives believed they should not make enemies lightly and should even take the initiative to build friendly relations.

As for the three Supreme Elders, they kept their eyes closed and remained silent, as though they were detached from the entire matter.

“Enough.”

Chu Tianchen raised a hand and ended the argument.

He looked toward the three Supreme Elders and asked respectfully, “Martial Uncles, what are your thoughts?”

The three Supreme Elders exchanged glances. At last, the old man seated in the center, whose cultivation was the highest among them at the late stage of Mahayana, slowly spoke.

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“Tianchen, you are the Sacred Lord. This decision is yours to make.”

“We have only one thing to say: the sacred land comes first, while personal honor and humiliation are secondary.”

“If the Yaochi Immortal Palace is truly as unfathomable as the intelligence suggests… then Qingyun Sacred Land must act with caution.”

His words were blunt and cruel.

They had to act with caution.

The mighty Qingyun Sacred Land, one of the overlords of the Southern Region with a legacy stretching back thirty thousand years, had actually encountered a day when it needed to act cautiously.

But this was reality.

Before absolute strength, pride and dignity were worth nothing.

Chu Tianchen remained silent for a long time before slowly nodding.

“I understand.”

He looked at everyone, his voice regaining its usual steadiness and authority.

“Pass down this order: from this day onward, disciples of the sacred land are forbidden from discussing Gu Luoli. Anyone who violates this order will be severely punished.”

“In addition, prepare a generous gift and send it to the Liu family in Qingyang City in the name of the sacred land.”

“Congratulate the Yaochi Immortal Palace on opening its gates and accepting disciples. Also… congratulate young friend Gu Luoli on recovering from her injuries and wish her great prospects upon the Great Dao.”

The last sentence was difficult for him to say.

Young friend.

She had once been his disciple, but now he had to address her as “young friend.”

There was no greater proof of life’s unpredictability than this.

“Sacred Lord, this…”

The Enforcement Elder still wanted to say something.

“This is an order.”

Chu Tianchen glanced at him. His gaze was calm, yet it carried a will that brooked no challenge.

The Enforcement Elder lowered his head and said no more.

He knew the Sacred Lord had already made his choice.

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“You are dismissed.”

Chu Tianchen waved a hand, looking somewhat weary.

Everyone bowed and withdrew. Before long, Chu Tianchen was the only person left in the hall.

He sat alone in the principal seat and stared at the empty hall. Suddenly, he felt a chill.

“Luoli…”

His thoughts gradually drifted away, as though returning to seventeen years ago.

Back then, she had been like a newly risen star, entering his world with innocence and anticipation.

When she formally became his disciple, her eyes had been filled with hope for the future.

“Wow, Master, you’re so amazing! So many people have to bow to you. One day, I want to become as powerful as you!”

Those childish words had felt like a spring breeze, warming his heart.

Faced with his young disciple’s admiration, he smiled and replied, “Is that so? Then when that day comes, I will let you become the Sacred Lord of Qingyun Sacred Land.”

Yet the moment he finished speaking, his young disciple became worried.

She blinked her lively eyes and asked in confusion, “Sacred Lord? But… if Luoli becomes the Sacred Lord, then what about you, Master?”

Seeing the serious expression on his young disciple’s face, he could not help bursting into laughter.

“Hahaha! By the time that day comes, I will probably have become a Supreme Elder and begun enjoying a life of leisure!”

In the blink of an eye, seventeen years had passed.

The little disciple from back then had now grown into an adult, but her dedication to cultivation had never changed.

He had once believed that he could raise her into the future pillar that would support Qingyun Sacred Land.

Unfortunately…

“It was I, your Master… who wronged you.”

A sigh lingered through the hall before quickly fading into the wind.

Outside the window, clouds and mist still curled around Qingyun Sacred Land. Immortal cranes cried in the distance, presenting the tranquil grandeur of an immortal sanctuary.

But Chu Tianchen knew that some things were no longer the same.