Lord Cheng Guang said to An Jing: [You can find Chenyin, he is wholeheartedly devoted to you, I need not say more. If there is something even Chenyin can’t solve, come directly to me]
[No matter what it is, as long as you want, you will, you ask, the Sect will stand by you. As long as there is, it will give you, fulfilling all your needs, all your wishes, even if you want to have more contact with the Divine Mirror, I see that the Divine Mirror quite likes you, so I will make the decision on its behalf and agree]
In the depths of the void, a fragment of the Haotian Mirror trembled slightly but did not voice any objections. Presumably, it must have agreed.
A promise from the Lord is as weighty as nine mountains.
Straightforwardly offering the conditions, Lord Cheng Guang was an elder who had witnessed turmoil and experienced the great wars of the Sect. He knew well, An Jing was so wise that he would not choose an option that would lead the Sect to destruction. Since that was the case, it was better to let him handle everything at his own will.
[But on the surface, some camouflage is still needed] Cheng Guang reminded: [Officially, your status is only as a Divine Mandate and a True Transmission of one peak. Of course, with the Mysterious Mirror not around, as his only disciple, you are the acting vice peak master（handling duties, enjoying the same treatment as a regular peak master）]
An Jing knew this was the ultimate expression of trust from Cheng Guang and the Bright Mirror Sect towards him. As someone who always reciprocated respect, he solemnly replied: "Ancestor, I have another matter to report."
An Jing recounted everything related to the Sky Tunnel Silver and Red Tower City, including Captain Lin’s discovery and Bai Luo’s resistance within the city.
Lord Cheng Guang swept his Divine Sense over the team following An Jing, immediately grasping the truth: [The Shangxuan Sect has always had ambitions towards us, or rather, they have ambitions towards all sects possessing Dao Courtyard relics]
[Our ’Haotian Mirror’, Taiming Sect’s ’Three-Life Mirror’, Huangyang Sect’s ’Ocean Stabilizing Pearl’... All the Upper Gates and some Middle Gates in the North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent have their relics, and the Heavenly Star Sect of Cang Yuan’s Jiheng Mountain supposedly possesses the Formation Map of the ’Complete Heaven Star Battle Formation’, while the Fengge Zhenling Mountain Daoxing Sect has the ’Upper Phoenix Nirvana Feather’. They have received far more harassment than us]
[The shadow of the Shangxuan Sect’s hand has always loomed over us. Of course, we are also eyeing each other’s relics. The conflict between the Bright Mirror Sect and Taiming Sect, besides being driven by the battle between the leaders of Chenyin, is also due to the relics]
Lord Cheng Guang provided An Jing with a historical overview, while Chenyinzi added, "The main reason is that the Shangxuan Sect also possesses a fragment of the Haotian Mirror, which they obtained through some means during the collapse of the Divine Court."
"But their fragment lacks Spiritual Wisdom; it’s just a pure fragment, whereas our Bright Mirror Sect’s Visible Empty Ancestral Master earned the recognition of the Haotian Mirror’s Spiritual Wisdom. The Mirror Spirit left with the fragment, making this side the true one."
An Jing understood. No wonder the Shangxuan Sect, as the strongest Heavenly Ancestor sect, never forgot the Bright Mirror Sect, a Middle Gate. Besides other reasons, their desire to complete the Haotian Mirror was also quite significant.
However, they dared not act openly, only secretly, because exposure would surely incite public wrath.
There are too many sects with Dao Courtyard relics. The anger of these numerous sects is something even the Shangxuan Sect cannot bear, and they might have to carve out a new Tianyi Demon Sect, having Lingxiao lead the Daoist Soldiers to flee.
Could it be that the Tianyi Demon Sect arose this way? A rebellion and a righteous split.
These ancient major sects certainly had many methods.
Dispel the fantasies. On the other side, Lord Cheng Guang closed his eyes, sensing the Shangxuan Sect Talisman within the Sky Tunnel Silver, then chuckled: [So that’s it, this Sky Tunnel Silver has two purposes]
[First, it can, while we connect with the Mysterious Mirror, get the coordinates of the world the Mysterious Mirror is currently in—the Great Wilderness Realm. This way, they can either capture the Mysterious Mirror or find a new world route. Essentially, they aim to leverage our Bright Mirror Sect’s resources to achieve their objectives.]
[The second purpose is even simpler: the activated Sky Tunnel Silver Great Void Altar cannot span the boundless Great Void to bring the Mysterious Mirror back, but it can clear a path across the vast Heavenly Sea. Once the time is right and we have internal strife for any reason, they could dispatch elite forces to quickly raid us and seize the Divine Mirror.]
[Their technique is meticulous; without careful observation, even I could have been deceived... But more importantly, even if discovered, what does it matter? They have insiders and multiple ways to send these things back to their sect, albeit it’s troublesome.]
At this point, Lord Cheng Guang pondered for a moment, then laughed heartily: [I’ve got it! Understood, so be it, we will play along and counteract. When the time comes, we will give those Central Continent fools a lesson!]
[An Jing, Chenyin, leave this Sky Tunnel Silver to me for now. I need to make some preparations. If you need anything, come to me. Now, I have something to do!]
Despite his age, Lord Cheng Guang was always energetic. He promptly acted upon his ideas. Before An Jing was teleported out of the Sect’s Cave Heaven, he asked quickly: "Regarding my teacher, without this Sky Tunnel Silver, how should I construct the Great Void Altar to contact him?"
[You and Chenyin take it slow. I will grant you the permissions later]
Lord Cheng Guang’s voice grew distant and ephemeral: [The child Mysterious Mirror is full of Destiny, I reckon he won’t die so easily. Let’s let him endure for a while]
In the next moment, An Jing and Chenyinzi were back at the summit of Bright Mirror Mountain.
Looking at each other, the young and old pairs laughed: "Haha, you little rascal... quite the secret keeper!"
"Let’s go. You return to Mingguang Peak, and I’ll head to the main hall to arrange some resources."
Chenyinzi spoke with emotion: "Initially, I was quite anxious to contact Guangchen as soon as possible. Now, it seems I need not hurry—after all, he is the master of Heavenly Mandate; he won’t die so easily."
Far away in the Great Wilderness Realm, Guangchen thought: "?"
—Please, I am facing the Seven Fiend Tribulation, not some Nature Master!
An Jing couldn’t hold back—a part of his Heavenly Mandate secret was indeed revealed, but the core ’Seven Fiend Tribulation’ remained undisclosed.
First, it was hard to explain why someone undergoing the Seven Fiend Tribulation could have intact parents and an unharmed master; second, An Jing vaguely sensed that his Heavenly Mandate in Embracing the Void might differ from the ’Heavenly Dao Responsibilities’ in the Tianyuan Realm.
In Embracing the Void, he was the Seven Fiend Tribulation, but in the Tianyuan, was he the Ex Nihilo or the Nature Master?
In short, he could not label himself purely as a Heavenly Mandate; possibly, he was an experiment in new forms of Heavenly Mandate by multi-realm Heavenly Dao.
Hard to explain, so he wouldn’t.
But this might lead others to misunderstand his master’s situation, believing the latter could somehow survive dire straits.
In reality, it’s uncertain.
—Never mind, since the sect is not worried, I will focus on worrying about my master.
Making up his mind, Chenyinzi suddenly listened and smiled: "Wait, An Jing, your senior brother Ming Heguang is coming, let’s go down to greet him."