The four of them continued without stopping until they reached the small town below the Emperor Sect.
This town was where Elder Yuan’s grandson, Yuan Mo, was injured. At this time, the eastern edge of the town had been leveled by someone, and in just a month, it hadn’t been rebuilt yet. The townsfolk still vividly remembered more than a month ago.
"...Those immortals of the Emperor Sect, they lack reason."
It turns out that after Ye Fan and Shen Biancheng left, Elder Yuan, in his rage to avenge his grandson, nearly destroyed the entire town. In his fury, one palm strike caused hundreds of casualties. But since he was an elder of the Emperor Sect, and the town was under the protection of the Emperor Sect, no one dared to hold him accountable.
Wu Ding laughed, "I feel a bit of pity for you, little junior brother. I hope Elder Yuan doesn’t recognize you, and if he does... just call him senior brother. Elder Yuan and we are of the same generation."
Elder Wu and Wu Ding were both around two hundred years old, being contemporaries with Elder Yuan. Doesn’t this mean that when he hit Yuan Mo, it was like "a grandfather hitting his grandson"?
On the way up Emperor Mountain, after walking up several thousand steps, they were about halfway up when they were stopped by a dozen outer sect disciples.
Wu Ding said, "I am Elder Wu Ding of the Tianxuan Sect, and also..."
"Who knows if you are? You might be an imposter." The outer sect disciples of the Emperor Sect were also somewhat arrogant and domineering.
Wu Ding had a bad temper as well and was about to lose it when Elder Wu pulled her back and handed over a letter of introduction, which finally allowed them to ascend the mountain.
Along the way, there were many mechanisms and traps, evidently, the Emperor Sect was also guarding against attacks from the Earth Element Sect and mysterious forces. Ye Fan once considered forcefully entering the mountain gate, but now it seemed that if he insisted on going up the mountain, he would lose his life to these mechanisms without needing the Emperor Sect’s people to act.
Emperor Mountain wasn’t very steep, at least not as steep as the gate of the Li Huo Sect’s Heavenly Peak Mountain. About two or three hundred meters below the summit, there were already many palaces and courtyards.
"The residence of the Tianxuan Sect is inside. Do not trespass into our sect’s forbidden area," an Emperor Sect disciple said.
Wu Ding replied disgruntledly, "Inviting us, only to host us in such a place outside the gate, is quite disrespectful."
Facing the people of the Emperor Sect, she spoke without any courtesy. After all, she was an elder of the Tianxuan Sect, and among the attendees of this gathering, her cultivation and status were quite high.
Inside the hall, disciples of the Tianxuan Sect came out to greet them, many of whom were disciples of Elder Wu and Wu Ding.
"Where is the Sect Master?" Elder Wu asked.
"The Sect Master is cultivating in Ning Hall," a disciple replied.
Elder Wu waved his hand, "Qing Neng, find a place to rest first. Your senior sister and I will go see the master. As for Qing Xu... don’t run around. The Sect Master didn’t originally allow you to come, so behave yourself here."
"Oh," Qing Xu nodded obediently.
Regarding meeting the Sect Master, Ye Fan didn’t need to go. Elder Wu and Wu Ding would report to him. He was to find Shen Biancheng and Bai He.
Wherever he went, the little girl Qing Xu followed.
"Junior sister, find a place to adjust your breath and regulate your energy," Ye Fan said.
"No way, there are so many bad people here. What if they want to kill me? Senior brother, you must protect me." Qing Xu now had a greater reliance on Ye Fan.
Ye Fan didn’t say more and made inquiries to find Shen Biancheng. That’s when he realized that the outer sect of Emperor Sect was also a very large place, comparable to a small human city.
Finally finding Shen Biancheng and Bai He, both of them greeted Ye Fan with some joy. Shen Biancheng smiled and said, "Junior brother, it’s good you arrived safely. I was worried you’d be delayed on the road."
Ye Fan replied, "Indeed, some things happened."
He explained the matter with the Xia Yan Sect and the Tianling Pavilion, then asked, "Senior brother, do you think this has anything to do with the death of senior brother, and the disappearance of master and second brother?"
"This... it’s hard to say. We’ve only arrived at the Emperor Sect for two days, and since we can only enter the inner sect of the Emperor Sect tomorrow... little junior brother, don’t be too anxious. Perhaps you’ll see your sister-in-law tomorrow."
Ye Fan looked up at the peak of the Emperor Sect and sighed in his heart, "I hope so."
Within the Emperor Sect, Li Zhaojun still remained in her training, but much like before, she was unable to break through the fourth level of the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra."
"You must concentrate. Without focus, how can you hope to attain immortality?" Fa Ying, much like a preaching monk, continually instilled the necessity of cultivation into Li Zhaojun.
"But master... I can’t calm my heart," Li Zhaojun looked troubled.
She couldn’t remember who Ye Fan was, but knew deep down someone or something she couldn’t let go of was buried there. The more she tried to forget, the stronger the obsession to know who it was became.
Qing Lian stepped out, looking troubled, "Senior sister, what should be done?"
"It seems we can only use the Ice Soul to expel her inner demons." Fa Ying showed a resolute look on his face.
"This Ice Soul, though, I’m afraid this girl won’t withstand it."
Li Zhaojun, however, was firm, "Master, let me try. I’m not afraid of hardship if it means expelling these inner demons."
Fa Ying gestured, "Come with me."
Fa Ying led Li Zhaojun to a snowy, icy part of the back mountain, where there lay a waterfall cave. The deeper they went, the colder it became, so cold that even a cultivator found it hard to endure.
Finally, they reached a pool, and Fa Ying said, "Jump in. This water underneath is the Ice Soul Water. Once it comes in contact with the body’s spiritual energy, it will freeze. Cultivating within the Ice Soul will allow you to dismiss all distractions."
Even Qing Lian felt a touch of sorrow for the disciple.
Li Zhaojun was about to jump in but was stopped by Fa Ying. He said, "Disrobe before you jump. How long you stay will be for me to decide. Until you achieve something on the fourth level, you will not come out!"
"Hm," Li Zhaojun disrobed and jumped directly into the icy pond.
The Ice Soul Water, initially calm like a water pool, suddenly emitted a mist and then began to freeze from all directions, eventually forming a massive ice chunk that imprisoned Li Zhaojun like a cage.
At this moment, Li Zhaojun resembled a saintess, becoming an ice sculpture, but her bodily form could still clearly be seen from the outside.
"Senior sister, will this... really work?"
Fa Ying sighed, "Her heart has a flaw. Without this method, she cannot dismiss distractions and break through the fourth level. Weren’t you worried that her intended person might break her cultivation after practicing the Nine Yang Divine Skill? This girl’s talent is exceptional. As long as she can reach the fifth level, even if that kid comes, he won’t break through her flaw with just two or three levels of cultivation."
Qing Lian thought for a moment and nodded, "I’m just afraid that kid might break through to the third level and reach the fourth level."
As Qing Lian and Fa Ying discussed these matters, Ye Fan was at the outer sect of the Emperor Sect not far away, cultivating the third level of the Nine Yang Divine Skill. He aimed to complete the third level before formally ascending the mountain the next day.
Because Ye Fan himself could feel the pressure, he didn’t want to fail at the last moment.