Seeing the secret realm authority token Lu Ming handed over, the Grand Elder and the others were all shocked.
They had not expected that Lu Ming would be willing to give such a thing to the sect.
Even Big Yellow and Huang Tianbao were a bit surprised.
Having been around the cultivation world for so long, they understood the importance of a secret realm.
Generally, only large sects possessed their own secret realms.
But even then, secret realms as large as the Equality Secret Realm were extremely rare.
But a moment later, they came around. Once it was given to the sect, they could still use it.
As for why Lu Ming wanted to give the secret realm to the sect, it was because he had previously taken the sect's Weapon Vault.
Using the Weapon Vault outside all these years had been an absolute breeze; it was incredibly handy.
He felt that this Weapon Vault was definitely out of the ordinary, a trump card treasure of the sect.
Since he had taken it, he ought to leave behind an equally valuable treasure for the sect.
Thus, he had decided long ago to give the Equality Secret Realm to the sect...
The Grand Elder looked at the wooden box in Lu Ming's hand, then at Lu Ming.
“Second Elder, what do you say?”
The Grand Elder turned to ask Huo Furong. Huo Furong looked at Lu Ming, then at the secret realm authority token, and suddenly spoke up:
“Oh my... I need to go refine pills. We have so many spiritual herbs in the sect now; we can't let them go to waste.”
With that, before the Grand Elder could speak, her figure flashed and she vanished.
“Third Elder...”
Before the Grand Elder could finish his sentence, Hanyan spoke up directly:
“I am going into seclusion to break through to the Nascent Soul stage...”
He vanished as soon as he finished speaking.
Finally, the Grand Elder said:
“Lu Ming, as the Eldest Senior Brother of the sect, you should keep it. I'm afraid I might end up selling it. You know how much I love gold...”
He made up a flimsy excuse to brush it off.
Lu Ming's lips twitched. He really couldn't fathom why the Grand Elder, as a cultivator, loved gold as much as he did.
Speaking of gold, Lu Ming recalled something.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lu Ming took out over a dozen golden chairs from his storage bag.
He had packed these away during the Blood Fiend Tower's auction.
Seeing the golden chairs, the Grand Elder's eyes lit up, and he immediately swept them away.
“Where did you get these? Are there more?”
Lu Ming wasn't stingy either. He immediately brought out a table, complete with a teapot and teacups.
The Grand Elder beamed with joy as he put them away.
Seeing that the Grand Elder was in a good mood, Lu Ming finally spoke:
“Grand Elder, I've recruited a group of disciples for our sect. What do you think we should do with them?”
After all, he still needed to coordinate with the Grand Elder regarding Diao San and the others.
“Come in!”
Following Lu Ming's shout, Diao San and his group filed inside.
They watched the Grand Elder warily. Not a single one of them dared to underestimate this old man.
To be able to nurture three such outstanding sect masters, how could he be a simple elder?
Not to mention, the three sect masters constantly talked about him.
“Greetings, Grand Elder!”
The crowd hurriedly cupped their fists in salute.
Just then, the Grand Elder flicked his sleeve. The amiable smile on his face vanished, replaced by a unique, heavy pressure.
Diao San and the others were instantly startled, feeling as if an invisible mountain had slammed down upon them.
In an instant, cold sweat drenched their robes, and an intense wave of fear surged in their hearts.
Is the Grand Elder really only at the Golden Core stage? It doesn't seem like it!
Diao San and the others couldn't help but speculate.
Seeing this, Lu Ming exchanged glances with Big Yellow and Huang Tianbao, all of them sharing a knowing smile.
To be honest, the Grand Elder's posturing was quite convincing.
Back then, they had also been thoroughly intimidated by this pressure.
However, Lu Ming and the others remained silent. He still hoped the Grand Elder could put some pressure on Diao San's group.
This would prevent them from thinking they were on equal footing with the Grand Elder just because they were also at the Golden Core stage.
And thus failing to show proper respect to the elders...
Right then, the Grand Elder abruptly withdrew his pressure.
“They can only be outer sect disciples.”
Lu Ming's eyes flickered. He was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected the Grand Elder to only admit them as outer sect disciples.
After all, Fu Chen and Fei Jiujin's talents were by no means low.
Though he didn't know the reason, he didn't speak up on their behalf either.
Since he had decided to let the Grand Elder establish his authority, he wouldn't interfere.
Big Yellow and Huang Tianbao kept quiet as well, taking their cues from Lu Ming.
If their Eldest Senior Brother had no objections, they had none either.
“Hurry up and thank the Grand Elder.”
Diao San and the others quickly expressed their gratitude: “Thank you, Grand Elder...”
“No need for such politeness, no need...”
The Grand Elder reverted to his kindly expression:
“Ahem... Now, I will say a few brief words!”
Diao San and the others quickly lined up.
They watched the Grand Elder intently, waiting for his instructions.
“In the future, whether you have business or not, do not come looking for me. Look for your Eldest Senior Brother. If he isn't around, look for your Second Senior Brother. If he isn't around, look for your Third Senior Brother... In short, just don't look for me.”
Lu Ming and Huang Tianbao were instantly dumbfounded.
How was it still like this?
Diao San and his group were also completely bewildered. What was going on?
“Grand Elder, why?”
Lu Ming really couldn't help but ask.
“Well... I'm getting old, my memory is failing, and I easily make mistakes...”
Lu Ming blanked out for a moment. Getting old, my foot!
“You are a cultivator!”
“Can't a cultivator grow old?”
Lu Ming was instantly choked up. Fine, that actually made a lot of sense.
“Well... Lu Ming will handle the arrangements. I'm off to eat the Star Snow Lotus...”
With that, the Grand Elder's figure flashed as he prepared to slip away.
Watching the speed at which the Grand Elder vanished, Lu Ming couldn't help but mutter:
“How does he seem to run even faster than me?”
The Grand Elder, who was just about to vanish from sight, quickly feigned a stumble and almost fell.
“Whoa! Easy there...”
After the Grand Elder left, Lu Ming looked at Diao San and the others, wondering how to arrange them.
Glancing at the Qingshan Sect, which consisted of only a few houses, he waved his hand grandly:
“Rebuild the sect...”
As Lu Ming's order was handed down, Diao San and the others busied themselves.
The soil they had bagged, the trees they had uprooted, and the wild flowers they had plucked during their previous plundering expeditions were all put to use.
After a complete round of construction, the small, barren hill bulked up significantly.
It was transformed into a majestic mountain.
This was because Lu Ming and the others had brought back simply too many things...
They had packed away an immense amount of soil and mountain rocks alone.
“Recalling the past, tears run dry; how arduous is the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage...”
How exactly did he break through to the Nascent Soul stage back then?
Hanyan hid inside his seclusion chamber, gloomily trying to recall his own process of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and how his aura had shifted.
Sigh... What did he do to deserve this? He actually had to fake a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage!
Rate on N.U.
