A day had passed since the tower's opening, and at that moment, Aotian had a smile on his lips inside his cave.
The reason? An utterly black lotus, distorting the light around it, with countless shimmering points across its body — was in the hands of his avatar Bao Wuji at that very moment.
Without a doubt, that was Aotian's newest acquisition: a terrifying Transcendent Sky-Lotus of Void-Tier.
If its previous versions merely resembled a fragment of the sky molded into a lotus shape, now it didn't just resemble it — it was exactly that.
It looked as if the night sky itself had been torn out and molded into that form. The blue traces from before had vanished, and the white specks now glimmered like true stars. Terrifying fluctuations radiated from it, slightly distorting the space around — which only added to its mystical appearance.
The Transcendent Sky-Lotus of Void-Tier was breathtakingly beautiful, but Aotian's focus wasn't on its looks — it was on its utility and potential.
'In such a short time, I'm already so close to perfecting my roots…' he exhaled softly, his heart filled with excitement.
He immediately sent Bao Hui to analyze the lotus, and while waiting for the results, he reflected on what it had taken to obtain it.
'One hundred thousand Formation-Tier lotuses in exchange for a single Void-Tier one. I must say, the price isn't small.'
His eyes gleamed, still surprised by the cost.
'If it weren't for the mass epiphany and the arrival of the new ancestor, Huo Meilin, from the Alchemy Pavilion, it would've taken me nineteen years to gather that amount, considering only the ten outer elders at the peak of Nascent Soul…'
'Probably, if that epiphany hadn't happened, I would've associated the current ancestor of the Heritage Pavilion with the Alchemy Pavilion instead, once I realized the need for such an absurd number of lotuses. Fortunately, things turned out far better than I expected.'
He sighed, relieved and satisfied.
His gaze then returned to the Transcendent Sky-Lotus of Void-Tier, and his eyes turned thoughtful.
'With its seeds, things will be much easier now. The elders and the ancestor of the Alchemy Pavilion have already used their abilities today, so I can only begin maturing the new lotus seeds tomorrow.'
'But with Huo Meilin's power, it won't take long before all my avatars have used the lotus and perfected the absorption technique. I currently have 1,327 avatars, and a Void-Tier herb reaches peak maturity in ten thousand years… let's calculate.'
'Err… let's ignore the outer elders — they're too weak to mature herbs like these. Even all twenty together could only mature one per day. If I relied on them, who knows when I'd be able to use it in my main body.'
He couldn't help but roll his eyes, mocking them playfully.
'Well, Huo Meilin will be the MVP once again. With her cultivation realm and the ability to maintain a medicinal garden that doubles the growth rate, she alone can mature around three hundred and twenty lotuses per day. For all avatars plus my main body, it'll take only five days to reach the required number.'
'Although I'll need to slow down the avatars' consumption so they have time to meditate on their insights and refine the absorption technique… maybe two to three avatars advancing per hour will be enough to maintain balance. With so many minds, the processing of insights is fast, and I'm just taking it slower to make sure I don't miss anything.'
'That being the case, at this pace… my main body will achieve perfect roots in twenty days.'
With the plan completed, Aotian forced himself to calm his excitement and closed his eyes, trying to focus while waiting for the days to pass quickly.
But before he could enter a meditative state, his eyes suddenly opened — a trace of panic flashing in them as he saw something alarming from the perspective of one of his new female elders.
'Oh no!'
…
It was an ordinary day in the Infinite Dao Sect when a strange scene caught the attention of a certain female avatar.
The avatar in question was called Yue Ling, and she belonged to the Sword Pavilion.
At that moment, she was leaning against the pavilion's entrance gate, calmly gazing at the sky as she enjoyed the day.
Aotian wasn't a lunatic obsessed with cultivation who did nothing else. He always took moments to relax with his avatars, and even with his main body, he didn't spend all his time locked away in his cave.
Thus, he killed two birds with one stone: besides relaxing his many minds while watching the clouds or engaging in other leisure moments, he also gave personality and liveliness to his avatars.
But Yue Ling's serenity — as she gazed at the blue sky and calmly breathed the cold morning air — was broken by the arrival of a certain disciple.
Flying at full speed toward the Sword Pavilion was Bai Yan, a core disciple from the Punishment Pavilion, his face filled with panic.
He landed at the entrance and was about to rush inside when he froze upon seeing one of the sect's new female elders leaning against the gate, looking at him with curiosity and calm.
"Why the rush, boy? Do you need something?" she raised an eyebrow.
The elder in question, like all the others in the sect, was beautiful, with long black hair and eyes of the same color. However, there was a hidden sharpness in her aura — like a sheathed sword.
Bai Yan opened his mouth but froze, unsure what to say.
In truth, he had come looking for Elder Jian Huiyin, the only female elder he was familiar with. The others had arrived only a few days ago, and he hadn't yet had the chance to interact with them.
Remembering their arrival, it all went back to four days earlier.
…
..
.
On that fateful day, the news of the female elders' arrival had spread throughout the entire sect, following the orders of Ancestor Zhen Yinghua from the Beasts Pavilion.
Naturally, such news shook the sect and stirred the curiosity of disciples of both genders.
The female disciples were thrilled, for there would finally be women to guide them. There had always been a certain awkwardness and restraint when dealing with male elders — even being alone with one could easily be seen as improper.
Moreover, certain matters and problems could cause discomfort if dealt with by an elder of the opposite sex.
Finally, it was also a matter of representation. With the arrival of female elders, the girls would feel more at ease, creating a more balanced environment within the sect.
Not that the sect was unfair or treated them as inferiors, but there was a general sense that the sect lacked a feminine touch — something they considered important.
As for the boys… well, they only wondered whether the new female elders were beautiful or powerful, without much deeper thought involved.
Thus, ten days after Ancestor Zhen Yinghua's announcement, all the disciples gathered at the mountain gate, looking outward and waiting for the arrival of the sect's fairies.
The elders were there as well, waiting calmly and watching the horizon.
Then, they arrived.
A sleek and elegant black flying ship appeared in the distance, approaching within moments.
Just from its speed, all the disciples grew serious. They knew that, at least in terms of strength, those new elders had to be terrifying.
What they didn't know was that all of them were still in the Nascent Soul Realm or below. Aotian hadn't had time to cultivate them with the Dew of the Dragon's Lament. So, to enhance their presence, an ancestor was discreetly piloting the ship — though she wouldn't appear.
When the black ship hovered above the sect's entrance, all eyes turned toward it.
Then, from within, hundreds of figures flew out, presenting a dazzling sight.
Hundreds of beautiful women dressed in red outer elder robes emerged, led by several women in purple inner elder robes. Their long sleeves fluttered in the wind, creating a mesmerizing scene — like immortal fairies descending from the heavens.
The female disciples looked at them with admiration and excitement, while the boys… well, if not for the fierce glares of the male elders, they might have forgotten to wipe the drool from their mouths.
"So beautiful!" some girls exclaimed, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"So beautiful!" some boys muttered, equally enchanted.
Despite the identical words, the intentions were quite different. Aotian, seeing it all, merely rolled his eyes, thinking that boys would always be boys, no matter the world.
Tian Zhu, the sect leader, also appeared at that moment, greeting the new elders with dignity. Then, along with the other elders, he escorted them into the sect, showing them around.
The disciples stayed behind, watching the group disappear beyond the horizon.
Nothing major happened that day; it was merely a formal introduction, preparing the disciples for their presence within the sect from then on.
…
..
.
Bai Yan awoke from his sudden flashback and looked, somewhat embarrassed, at the elder before him.
"Well… elder, something happened to my sister… I needed help, and since I don't know many elders, I came looking for Elder Jian Huiyin," he explained, quickly recalling the issue and becoming anxious again.
But his hopeful eyes made it clear that if this elder could help, it would be even better.
As a disciple, Bai Yan knew that although Jian Huiyin was an elder of the sect, there was a big difference — she was an elder recruited from outside, not one of the sect's original monsters.
Basically, aside from her experience and the strong personality shaped by having once been a sect leader, Jian Huiyin wasn't very different from a disciple — nothing comparable to the true monsters that were the sect's elders.
And the new elders who had arrived were part of that same group.
Elder Yue Ling, upon hearing there was a problem with Bai Jingjing, frowned and pushed the gate open with her shoulder, stepping aside.
"Your sister's in trouble? Why didn't you say so sooner instead of standing there? Quickly, lead the way," she said irritably, almost growling at his delay.
Bai Yan, seeing the elder's seriousness, felt something was off.
He couldn't help but feel she had misunderstood the situation.
But, seeing her urge him on, Bai Yan quickly closed his mouth, confused, and flew ahead at full speed, leading the way.
A few minutes later, the two arrived at his and his sister's cave dwelling.
He opened the door and led her to his sister's room, which was open. Inside, a little girl who had just turned twelve waited, holding a red cloth with a puzzled expression.
Aotian, controlling Yue Ling and fearing that the lively little girl had encountered some problem during cultivation, quickly entered the room, examining her closely.
His gaze first fell upon the cloth in the girl's hand — a pair of panties stained with clotted blood. Then, he looked at the confused twelve-year-old girl, then at the panties, then back to the girl, panties, girl, panties, girl, and then…
'Oh no!'