Sang Jinghe stood on the field outside the caldera and bowed to the man ahead. "Senior, I've made up my mind."

Luo Chen did not turn around. "What have you decided?"

"I am willing to follow you and serve you with all my heart."

Hearing this decisive answer, Luo Chen smiled faintly. "Good. Such resolve is rare."

That faint smile made the tension in Sang Jinghe's chest loosen at last. This decision had not come easily; by choosing to follow Luo Chen, he was also choosing to give up everything his granduncle had left behind, including the Earth Mulberry Sect, which had finally gained some standing within the Myriad Immortal Society. Yet after thinking it through, Sang Jinghe knew the sect's prospects were not as bright as they seemed. 

It had many disciples now, but no truly influential figure to support it. Even if he returned, setting aside whether he could form a Golden Core himself, simply keeping the sect stable would be difficult. At most, he would only be preserving what already existed. By comparison, following the renowned Adept Azure Yang would bring far greater possibilities. 

Only now did Sang Jinghe finally understand why his granduncle had refused to let him return to the sect and had instead made him stay on Purple Spirit Island for so many years. It was so he could hold tightly to Azure Yang's powerful support.

After a brief pause, Luo Chen added, "There's something I didn't tell you earlier. During my trip to the pocket world, I managed to offend Moon Hermit. With her temperament, she won't let me go. Anyone connected to me in the Myriad Immortal Society may be dragged into this, and the Earth Mulberry Sect is no exception. If you had chosen not to follow me, I would still have advised you not to return to the sect too soon. For Fellow Daoist Sang's sake, I would have also left you some means to protect...