On the other side in a dense forest, four shadowy figures were fighting a beast at the level of Foundation Establishment level 5. The beast had three heads; all of them were heads of a lion, but its body was huge like an elephant, with sharp nails in its paws. This beast is called the Three-Headed Lion Beast. Its core is good for Foundation Establishment cultivators; that's why the group of four was hunting the beast...
As the head of the group, a girl with a fiery look, a beautiful face, and hair tied in a single pony had the word "Fire" written on her black sect uniform and on her token. She is the personal disciple of the Fire Peak of the Eternal Sect, Huo Ling'er (Foundation Establishment level 5). She was fighting fiercely, using the power of fire from time to time to burn the ferocious beast.
Alongside her fighting with the beast was a boy with a sharp look; he is cold but sharp at the same time. He was fighting with an unsheathed blade in his hand, time to time injuring the beast here and there. He was wearing a uniform with the word "Blade" written on it and his token. He is the personal disciple of the Blade Peak Master, Zhao Tie (Foundation Establishment level 4).
Beside them, there were two others also attacking the beast from time to time. One guy was moving at the speed of wind, whooshing here and there, and punched the body of the beast time to time. The word "Wind" was written on his uniform and token. He is the personal disciple of the Wind Peak Master, Xiao Yun (Qi Condensation level 8).
And the last, a gentle girl, was continuously moving with those other three, healing them from time to time using some minor water healing techniques. Beautiful looking with short hair down to her shoulders, the word "Water" was written on her uniform and token. She is the personal disciple of the Water Peak Master, Lan Ruo (Qi Condensation level 9).
After a few rounds of attacking, suddenly a blade shadow hit the three heads of the lion beast. At the same time, Huo Ling'er sent a huge amount of fire at the gap of those wounds. The lion roared. But to his horrified eyes, he felt his whole body was bound by a wind and water force that he couldn't do anything about right now. Three heads were severed in a moment. The lion beast was dead. Everyone sat on the ground gasping for air; they had been fighting this Three-Headed Lion Beast for around an hour now. After this long time, they were able to kill this lion. Although Huo Ling'er is also a level 5 Foundation Establishment cultivator, still a beast is invincible in the same realm...
After a few seconds passed, "Are we going to return to the sect now?" said Xiao Yun.
"Yes, if those rumors were true that we heard on the road, then we need to go back to the sect soon," said Zhao Tie. Yes, they also heard many rumors on the road. Just today, they came to the nearby forest of the Red Brick City; after hearing those rumors, they decided to go back to the sect.
"Yes, let's go. I missed Master so much on this trip," said Lan Ruo.
"Let's go," Huo Ling'er sighed and said.
They collected the three cores from the Three-Headed Lion Beast, divided the parts that could earn them money, and put them all in a storage bag, then prepared to leave the forest and enter the Red Brick City.
They just entered the city and heard many, many rumors about their sect on the road. Some said the Eternal Sect got a huge opportunity; some said the Eternal Sect was always strong but they didn't show it to the public; some said the new Sect Master of the Eternal Sect is a divine being who changed the sect... there are countless rumors.
At this moment, Lan Ruo looked at a stall and shouted, "Senior brother! Senior brother!" Then she waved her hands and ran towards the group of four strolling the stalls at Red Brick City...
Lin Feng looked in that direction to see Lan Ruo run towards him. Lan Ruo is the youngest of them all; she's only 12 years old, and everyone likes her. Lin Feng smiled at her and said, rubbing her head, "Ruo, did you miss your senior brothers?"
Lan Ruo grinned and said, "Yes, I missed all of my senior brothers so, so much."
At this moment, the other three also came back to them and then laughed with each other.
After a few pleasantries, Huo Ling'er said, "What do you think about those rumors?"
Lin Feng answered for the group of four and said, "I think something big happened to the sect."
At this moment, Zhao Tie said, "Do you think that Senior Brother Huai took over the position this time?"
They all fell silent. They all knew Huai clearly; although they called him by the title Senior Brother, they knew clearly that his status was above all in the sect. He is the nominal Sect Master of The Eternal Sect; after the death of the old Sect Master, he is the only one who deserves that title because the old Sect Master only took him to the Eternal Peak.
At this moment, Da Zhuang said, "If he really took that position, then we should stop calling him Senior Brother and change it to Sect Master," while scratching his head... Everyone nodded. Just two years ago, they were all just children when Huai was taken to the Eternal Peak. In meetings at the square, they met him, but to their surprise, this Senior Brother Huai was gentle towards them, loved them, and even gave them many gifts whenever they met. They all liked Huai so much that they all saw Huai as their older brother.
But unfortunately, Huai couldn't cultivate, so they decided to protect Huai all his life. But if Huai really can cultivate now and became the Sect Master, then they are the happiest people in the sect. After a few minutes later, Mu Chen said, "Let's go back to the sect; then we'll know what happened to the sect." They all turned in the direction of The Eternal Sect and walked that way...
The group of eight came back to the sect. At the gate, they met the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper's face was filled with a smile after the incident that happened to the sect. His smile was never fading from his lips...
The group saw it and entered the sect. Bai Wei: "Really, something changed within the sect, something huge happened. Or else that gatekeeper wouldn't smile like that as if he was daydreaming."
Then Da Zhuang saw a middle-aged man who was singing a song slowly and pruning some flower plants to make them more beautiful. Da Zhuang went to the middle-aged man and looked at him clearly but didn't recognize him at all, so he asked curiously, "Hey! Uncle, are you newly joined to the sect?"
The middle-aged man looked at Da Zhuang and then looked at the seven other disciples. Then he grabbed an ear of Da Zhuang and shouted, "You ungrateful brat! What did that idiot Shi Yan teach you? You're starting to make fun of your ancestors now..."
Da Zhuang felt pain—severe pain in his ear—but still couldn't get rid of the hand that was punishing him by grabbing his ear. He looked at the man and shouted, "Ahhhh! Who are you? Why are you asking me to recognize you? I haven't even seen you before!"
The middle-aged man was getting even more angry; his whole face was red in anger. He cursed again, "You brat! I was the one who played with you when you were a child; every day you annoyed me to death, and you're telling me that you don't know me!"
Then he looked at the group in confusion, but the group of seven also looked at him in confusion and nodded in agreement that they didn't know him at all...
As if remembering something, he suddenly let go of the ear and coughed. Da Zhuang suddenly felt his ear free, so he ran towards the group of seven and, rubbing his ear with teary eyes, looked at the man.
The man remembered that just a few days ago, his face really changed and he became a middle-aged man, so he said to the group, "Hehe, I forgot, I forgot. Maybe because of my age, my face changed due to the cultivation breakthrough."
The group looked at the man and cursed in their minds: What old age? You are a complete normal middle-aged man. Just say that you want to beat around the bush.
The man looked at the group and coughed, "Ahem! I'm Gu Xuan, your ancestor."
Just by these words, the group felt as if a huge stone was thrown into a calm lake... they all knew Ancestor Gu Xuan. But now Ancestor was completely changed. He is a middle-aged man now. Lan Ruo ran towards Gu Xuan and asked, "Ancestor, is it true that you are Ancestor Gu Xuan?"
Gu Xuan smiled, "Hehe, little girl, you don't know how many changes happened in the sect. Let's all go to the Eternal Peak. The main hall has returned to the Eternal Peak. Huai took over the Sect Leader position; let's go and meet him..."
Everyone felt happy just by hearing the news. On the road to the Eternal Peak, Gu Xuan said everything that happened to the sect for the last few days: the Li family invasion, their schemes, the sect's demise, Huai's entry, killing the Nascent Soul Ancestor and Patriarch of the Li family, then the Li family's destruction—everything step by step.
Suddenly, Da Zhuang, thinking about something, asked Ancestor Gu Xuan, "But Ancestor, why were you the one pruning the trees?" The reason he took Ancestor Gu Xuan as a gardener was because of this.
Gu Xuan didn't look into his eyes out of guilt and said, "Oh, I just felt bored, that's why..." Da Zhuang felt his cheek burning in anger; why did he have to ask that question before? If he hadn't asked that question, he wouldn't have faced that ear-grabbing at all... he felt like crying to himself.
The group came to the main hall, but it was not time for a sect meeting, so Huai was not there at all. Huai was sitting in a chair beside a table, brewing some tea and enjoying the view of the Eternal Peak. He liked it here, watching the huge greenery from time to time. The mountain is filled with white spiritual qi that is very good for breathing.
Huai poured a cup and a gentle smile appeared on his face. He murmured to himself, "They are back..."
He took a sip from his cup when a knock sounded on the outside door of the courtyard. "Sect Master, I am Gu Xuan, wanting to see you with the juniors of the sect."
After a few seconds, a reply came over, "Come in."
The group entered the courtyard to see Huai sitting on a chair enjoying his tea. Lan Ruo ran towards him before anyone could react and shouted, "Senior brother, I missed you so much!" Just by saying this, she clung to one of the arms of Huai. Huai smiled, rubbed her head, and gently said, "I also missed you all, Ruoruo."
Everyone smiled, but then, remembering something with Ancestor Gu Xuan, even Lan Ruo let go of Huai's hand and stood up straight. Then, together with everyone, they bowed towards Huai and said, "Greetings, Sect Master."
Huai waved his hand and a gentle force swept over and helped them all to stand up straight again. Huai said to them, "There's no need to show courtesy in private. You are all my junior brothers and sisters; you only need to show it at meetings or outside."
They all felt happy inside themselves. Their brother hadn't changed at all; he was the same older brother that they had before...
Huai gestured for them all to sit. They sat together and enjoyed conversation about their journey—how the group of Lin Feng fought with bandits and eradicated many bandit groups from the territory of the Eternal Sect. And Huo Ling'er spoke of their journey hunting ferocious beasts that they encountered on this beautiful long journey.
After a few rounds of talking, everyone stood up from their seats, then one by one greeted Huai and went back to their own peaks to inform their masters of their return.
The mountain was quiet again, but the energy of the Eternal Sect had never felt more alive. The seeds of the future were home, and they were ready to grow under a new, powerful sky.