Everything that had happened in the Spiritual Garden had spread in the entire Redcloud Sect and everyone knew that Elder Huode was not only acting as a servant for Young Master Bloodflame, but he even taught Li Sen a lesson and berated Guang Yuan.
Everyone wondered just where did this Young Master Bloodflame come from and why was Huode acting like this for him.
Some people speculated that perhaps Gu Qingfeng was truly extraordinary and although he had failed his Foundation Establishment, his background was definitely very powerful. So powerful that it could even surpass Windshadow’s Li family. If not, it was impossible for Huode to provoke the Li family over him.
Others said that this was because of Ouyang Ye and she must have asked Huode to protect her sweetheart.
People also said that Huode treasured too deeply Gu Qingfeng’s mutant body and he did not want to give up on him so easily.
There were many different opinions on this even but no one knew the exact reason.
This story had thrown up the entire sect in gossip and it started to get twisted. People even said that Guang Yuan was colluding with the Li family and he would show his arrogance just in front of disciples, but when he faced Huode he did not have the courage to say anything.
As a major deacon of the Redcloud Sect, Gang Yuan was obviously enraged.
“Huode, you old bastard!!”
Inside a hall, Guang Yuan was sitting on a chair, his face was still unsightly and his eyes were on the verge of spitting out fire. He clenched his fists and coldly said, “You didn’t even give me the slightest bit of face today! I want to see how long you can act like this!”
“That old bastard is getting more and more outrageous. He used to be a little more restrained, but now he is openly protecting that trash for just so he could experiment with his formations on him. This is preposterous! Does he really think our Li family is afraid of him?”
Li Ziheng was also pacing back and forth in the hall with a furious expression on his face. The more he thought about what happened, the angrier he became, “Hmph! I can’t let this end like this! The Li family won’t endure any humiliations!”
“Guang Yuan, I think we should not delay things anymore, otherwise Huode will continue to defy us and do whatever he wants. In my opinion, we’d better ask Elder Mude to intervene.”
“Even if Elder Mude intervenes, I’m afraid it won’t be of any help. The only person in the entire Redcloud Sect that can suppress Huode is my master.”
Just as Guang Yuan was speaking, an old man walked inside the hall. He was tall and thin, and a gloomy expression was plastered on his face. He was playing with two crystal balls in his hands.
Seeing this old man, Guang Yuan and Li Ziheng hurriedly stood up and respectfully saluted him, “Greetings, Elder Jinde.”
The old man was none other than Guang Yuan’s master, one of the Redcloud Sect’s official elders Jinde.
As soon as Elder Jinde appeared, the two began to explain what happened before. They accused Elder Huode of being selfish for protecting an outsider and ruining the sect’s reputation.
“He slapped my grandson who was already badly injured and even now he is still unconscious…” Li Ziheng wanted Jinde to step in and make justice for his grandson, but he was suddenly interrupted by Jinde before he could finish his sentence.
“Enough!” Jinde let out a furious shout.
Guang Yuan and Li Ziheng were both frightened and looked at each other in amazement, not knowing why Jinde was so angry. However, they did not dare to ask anything.
“You’re still arguing about trivial matters at a time like this?” Jinde’s anger and his gloomy eyes that were similar to a viper made people feel very uncomfortable, “How many times do I have to tell you to look at the bigger picture?”
Both Guang Yuan and Li Ziheng knew that Jinde’s so-called bigger picture was the competition for electing the disciple who will inherit the Sect Master’s position. All of them had been working hard for this.
Seeing that both of them were silent, Jinde’s tone calmed down a lot, but his voice was as gloomy as before, “Guang Yuan, how is the progress their cultivation base going?”
“Yuze already broke through the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm and will establish his true body in the near future.”
“Ying Yao has reached the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.”
Guang Yuan reported the cultivation base of several disciples who were candidates for becoming the next Sect Master.
“Good! Very good!” Jinde nodded, “Jingshan is still outside?”
“A few days ago I received Jingshan’s letter. He said that he is beheading devils and demons in the Cloudshine Mountain.” When Jingshan was mentioned, Guang Yuan was full of smiles, “Jingshan and the others have been practicing outside all these years, and they have really earned a great reputation.
“Tomorrow you will inform Jingshan and the others to return as soon as possible.”
“Master, I thought we still had two more years left.”
“When the Sect Master went out last time he promised that he will select his successor after two years, but we can’t wait anymore.” Jinde closed his eyes and played with the two crystal balls in his hand.
“The Nineglory Alliance’s power is growing bigger and bigger now. If we don’t act soon, I’m afraid that two years later, the Sect Master position will fall in Shuide’s hands. He’s been getting more and more rampant due to the alliance’s support. We can’t wait any longer, we must take action immediately!”
“I understand, master. Tomorrow, I’ll write Jingshan a letter and tell him to return.”
“Good!” Jinde opened his eyes and instructed again, “Ziheng, tomorrow I’m going to meet with your family for a discussion.”
Li Ziheng said, “Rest assured, Elder Jinde. Our family will fully support you!”
—
Redcloud Sect seemed as calm as ever on the surface, but turmoil was starting on the interior.
Gu Qingfeng was as carefree as ever, basking up in the sun and drinking wine. His weak body was slowly recuperating, and although he did not even start to cultivate seriously, the pores on his body were constantly absorbing spiritual energy. In just a few days, he could start his Foundation Establishment again.
However, he wasn’t in a hurry. After 500 years of cultivation where he did not even have time to relax, he had had enough and just wanted to relax a bit.
But things never went as good as people planned them, and Heaven had never been on Gu Qingfeng’s side.
After he luckily survived the Heavenly Dao’s judgment and returned, he planned to spend the next several years relaxing and reminiscing about the past with Huode, but this wasn’t the case.
Huode just followed him all day long, pandering to his every need. Even when he was sleeping, Huode still sat by the door, afraid that Gu Qingfeng might run away.
Gu Qingfeng was extremely helpless about this.
However, it was not Huode who had it the worst, but the master of the Redcloud Sect, Tude, who had been kneeling for several days. His cultivation base was gone, and after his Golden Core had dispersed, his organs began to fail and his flesh and skin were quickly aging.
Gu Qingfeng tried to persuade him, but since Tude did not listen and continued to kneel down, he did not bother with him anymore.
Gu Qingfeng was not a Bodhisattva or Buddha, and he did not have a compassionate heart and did not want to save others from suffering. If it were not for Huode’s sake, he would not have even looked at Tude.
Since Tude wanted to kneel, then so be it.
Ouyang Ye and her aunt, the owner of the Superb Villa, would also come to visit him every day.
He knew that these two girls were curious about his identity, and Ouyang Ye was still easy to fool since she was young, but her aunt was very shrewd and probed him through all kinds of methods.
However, Gu Qingfeng enjoyed this and he continued to spend his days drinking, eating, sleeping, and entertaining these two girls.
This was how a man should spend his days!
—
Midday.
Ouyang Ye had just finished her lunch and was about to head to the Spiritual Garden when Tan Siru suddenly walked in.
“What are you doing here?” Ever since she witnessed how Tan Siru tried to kill Gu Qingfeng for some benefits, Ouyang Ye stopped treating this woman as her senior sister.
“Hmph! I’ve heard that you’ve been going to the Spiritual Garden quite a lot of times during these past two days. Are you going to meet with your sweetheart again today?”
“That’s none of your concern.” It was as if Ouyang Ye was possessed and she felt that she would go crazy if she didn’t investigate Gu Qingfeng’s identity.
“It may not be my concern, but do you think it is our master’s concern?”
Hm?
Master?
Ouyang Ye was stunned and was about to ask something when a woman walked in.
She looked as if she was forty years old and was dressed in a luxurious dress, looking extremely elegant. However, she gave off a very cold and indifferent feeling.
She was none other than Ouyang Ye’s master, Daoist Fei Xue who was a major deacon of the Redcloud Sect, an elder in the inner sect, and the headmaster of the outer sect.
Due to her strong background and powerful family, coupled with her cold personality and high cultivation base, no one in the entire sect, apart from the official elders, dared to provoke her.
“M-master…w-when did you come back?” Seeing her master, Ouyang Ye instantly straightened up.
“You’re really audacious, Ye’er!” Daoist Fei Xue’s cold and emotionless face, coupled with her furious shout quickly caused Ouyang Ye’s face to turn pale.
“When you brought that kid into our sect I had some business to do and couldn’t handle him, but I ordered you to enter seclusion, didn’t I? Why did you not listen?”
“Why did you not cut ties with him, just like I told you to do?”
“It still would’ve been fine if you just disobeyed me, but you even let him beat up our disciples, and then you run up to Huode and asked him to protect him! Ye’er, do you still think of me as your master?”
“Master…” Ouyang Ye had a sad face and hurriedly explained, “Master, this isn’t what you think. He is not Young Master Bloodflame and I didn’t ask Elder Huode to protect him. He knew Elder Huode all along…”
Before she could finish speaking, Daoist Fei Xue snorted coldly and shouted, “Enough! Even now you still dare to complain! You are getting more and more audacious! From today on, you will enter seclusion and you will not exit without my permission!”
“That’s enough! Even now you dare to argue, you are getting more and more presumptuous! From today on, give me a closed-door culture, and don’t leave without my permission! ”
Having said that, Daoist Fei Xue turned around and left.
“Master!” Ouyang Ye cried anxiously.
Daoist Fei Xue stopped in her steps and shouted back, “Go back and enter seclusion immediately! As for that kid, I’ll handle him for you!”
Everything that had happened in the Spiritual Garden had spread in the entire Redcloud Sect and everyone knew that Elder Huode was not only acting as a servant for Young Master Bloodflame, but he even taught Li Sen a lesson and berated Guang Yuan.
Everyone wondered just where did this Young Master Bloodflame come from and why was Huode acting like this for him.
Some people speculated that perhaps Gu Qingfeng was truly extraordinary and although he had failed his Foundation Establishment, his background was definitely very powerful. So powerful that it could even surpass Windshadow’s Li family. If not, it was impossible for Huode to provoke the Li family over him.
Others said that this was because of Ouyang Ye and she must have asked Huode to protect her sweetheart.
People also said that Huode treasured too deeply Gu Qingfeng’s mutant body and he did not want to give up on him so easily.
There were many different opinions on this even but no one knew the exact reason.
This story had thrown up the entire sect in gossip and it started to get twisted. People even said that Guang Yuan was colluding with the Li family and he would show his arrogance just in front of disciples, but when he faced Huode he did not have the courage to say anything.
As a major deacon of the Redcloud Sect, Gang Yuan was obviously enraged.
“Huode, you old bastard!!”
Inside a hall, Guang Yuan was sitting on a chair, his face was still unsightly and his eyes were on the verge of spitting out fire. He clenched his fists and coldly said, “You didn’t even give me the slightest bit of face today! I want to see how long you can act like this!”
“That old bastard is getting more and more outrageous. He used to be a little more restrained, but now he is openly protecting that trash for just so he could experiment with his formations on him. This is preposterous! Does he really think our Li family is afraid of him?”
Li Ziheng was also pacing back and forth in the hall with a furious expression on his face. The more he thought about what happened, the angrier he became, “Hmph! I can’t let this end like this! The Li family won’t endure any humiliations!”
“Guang Yuan, I think we should not delay things anymore, otherwise Huode will continue to defy us and do whatever he wants. In my opinion, we’d better ask Elder Mude to intervene.”
“Even if Elder Mude intervenes, I’m afraid it won’t be of any help. The only person in the entire Redcloud Sect that can suppress Huode is my master.”
Just as Guang Yuan was speaking, an old man walked inside the hall. He was tall and thin, and a gloomy expression was plastered on his face. He was playing with two crystal balls in his hands.
Seeing this old man, Guang Yuan and Li Ziheng hurriedly stood up and respectfully saluted him, “Greetings, Elder Jinde.”
The old man was none other than Guang Yuan’s master, one of the Redcloud Sect’s official elders Jinde.
As soon as Elder Jinde appeared, the two began to explain what happened before. They accused Elder Huode of being selfish for protecting an outsider and ruining the sect’s reputation.
“He slapped my grandson who was already badly injured and even now he is still unconscious…” Li Ziheng wanted Jinde to step in and make justice for his grandson, but he was suddenly interrupted by Jinde before he could finish his sentence.
“Enough!” Jinde let out a furious shout.
Guang Yuan and Li Ziheng were both frightened and looked at each other in amazement, not knowing why Jinde was so angry. However, they did not dare to ask anything.
“You’re still arguing about trivial matters at a time like this?” Jinde’s anger and his gloomy eyes that were similar to a viper made people feel very uncomfortable, “How many times do I have to tell you to look at the bigger picture?”
Both Guang Yuan and Li Ziheng knew that Jinde’s so-called bigger picture was the competition for electing the disciple who will inherit the Sect Master’s position. All of them had been working hard for this.
Seeing that both of them were silent, Jinde’s tone calmed down a lot, but his voice was as gloomy as before, “Guang Yuan, how is the progress their cultivation base going?”
“Yuze already broke through the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm and will establish his true body in the near future.”
“Ying Yao has reached the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.”
Guang Yuan reported the cultivation base of several disciples who were candidates for becoming the next Sect Master.
“Good! Very good!” Jinde nodded, “Jingshan is still outside?”
“A few days ago I received Jingshan’s letter. He said that he is beheading devils and demons in the Cloudshine Mountain.” When Jingshan was mentioned, Guang Yuan was full of smiles, “Jingshan and the others have been practicing outside all these years, and they have really earned a great reputation.
“Tomorrow you will inform Jingshan and the others to return as soon as possible.”
“Master, I thought we still had two more years left.”
“When the Sect Master went out last time he promised that he will select his successor after two years, but we can’t wait anymore.” Jinde closed his eyes and played with the two crystal balls in his hand.
“The Nineglory Alliance’s power is growing bigger and bigger now. If we don’t act soon, I’m afraid that two years later, the Sect Master position will fall in Shuide’s hands. He’s been getting more and more rampant due to the alliance’s support. We can’t wait any longer, we must take action immediately!”
“I understand, master. Tomorrow, I’ll write Jingshan a letter and tell him to return.”
“Good!” Jinde opened his eyes and instructed again, “Ziheng, tomorrow I’m going to meet with your family for a discussion.”
Li Ziheng said, “Rest assured, Elder Jinde. Our family will fully support you!”
—
Redcloud Sect seemed as calm as ever on the surface, but turmoil was starting on the interior.
Gu Qingfeng was as carefree as ever, basking up in the sun and drinking wine. His weak body was slowly recuperating, and although he did not even start to cultivate seriously, the pores on his body were constantly absorbing spiritual energy. In just a few days, he could start his Foundation Establishment again.
However, he wasn’t in a hurry. After 500 years of cultivation where he did not even have time to relax, he had had enough and just wanted to relax a bit.
But things never went as good as people planned them, and Heaven had never been on Gu Qingfeng’s side.
After he luckily survived the Heavenly Dao’s judgment and returned, he planned to spend the next several years relaxing and reminiscing about the past with Huode, but this wasn’t the case.
Huode just followed him all day long, pandering to his every need. Even when he was sleeping, Huode still sat by the door, afraid that Gu Qingfeng might run away.
Gu Qingfeng was extremely helpless about this.
However, it was not Huode who had it the worst, but the master of the Redcloud Sect, Tude, who had been kneeling for several days. His cultivation base was gone, and after his Golden Core had dispersed, his organs began to fail and his flesh and skin were quickly aging.
Gu Qingfeng tried to persuade him, but since Tude did not listen and continued to kneel down, he did not bother with him anymore.
Gu Qingfeng was not a Bodhisattva or Buddha, and he did not have a compassionate heart and did not want to save others from suffering. If it were not for Huode’s sake, he would not have even looked at Tude.
Since Tude wanted to kneel, then so be it.
Ouyang Ye and her aunt, the owner of the Superb Villa, would also come to visit him every day.
He knew that these two girls were curious about his identity, and Ouyang Ye was still easy to fool since she was young, but her aunt was very shrewd and probed him through all kinds of methods.
However, Gu Qingfeng enjoyed this and he continued to spend his days drinking, eating, sleeping, and entertaining these two girls.
This was how a man should spend his days!
—
Midday.
Ouyang Ye had just finished her lunch and was about to head to the Spiritual Garden when Tan Siru suddenly walked in.
“What are you doing here?” Ever since she witnessed how Tan Siru tried to kill Gu Qingfeng for some benefits, Ouyang Ye stopped treating this woman as her senior sister.
“Hmph! I’ve heard that you’ve been going to the Spiritual Garden quite a lot of times during these past two days. Are you going to meet with your sweetheart again today?”
“That’s none of your concern.” It was as if Ouyang Ye was possessed and she felt that she would go crazy if she didn’t investigate Gu Qingfeng’s identity.
“It may not be my concern, but do you think it is our master’s concern?”
Hm?
Master?
Ouyang Ye was stunned and was about to ask something when a woman walked in.
She looked as if she was forty years old and was dressed in a luxurious dress, looking extremely elegant. However, she gave off a very cold and indifferent feeling.
She was none other than Ouyang Ye’s master, Daoist Fei Xue who was a major deacon of the Redcloud Sect, an elder in the inner sect, and the headmaster of the outer sect.
Due to her strong background and powerful family, coupled with her cold personality and high cultivation base, no one in the entire sect, apart from the official elders, dared to provoke her.
“M-master…w-when did you come back?” Seeing her master, Ouyang Ye instantly straightened up.
“You’re really audacious, Ye’er!” Daoist Fei Xue’s cold and emotionless face, coupled with her furious shout quickly caused Ouyang Ye’s face to turn pale.
“When you brought that kid into our sect I had some business to do and couldn’t handle him, but I ordered you to enter seclusion, didn’t I? Why did you not listen?”
“Why did you not cut ties with him, just like I told you to do?”
“It still would’ve been fine if you just disobeyed me, but you even let him beat up our disciples, and then you run up to Huode and asked him to protect him! Ye’er, do you still think of me as your master?”
“Master…” Ouyang Ye had a sad face and hurriedly explained, “Master, this isn’t what you think. He is not Young Master Bloodflame and I didn’t ask Elder Huode to protect him. He knew Elder Huode all along…”
Before she could finish speaking, Daoist Fei Xue snorted coldly and shouted, “Enough! Even now you still dare to complain! You are getting more and more audacious! From today on, you will enter seclusion and you will not exit without my permission!”
“That’s enough! Even now you dare to argue, you are getting more and more presumptuous! From today on, give me a closed-door culture, and don’t leave without my permission! ”
Having said that, Daoist Fei Xue turned around and left.
“Master!” Ouyang Ye cried anxiously.
Daoist Fei Xue stopped in her steps and shouted back, “Go back and enter seclusion immediately! As for that kid, I’ll handle him for you!”
