Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 257
Chapter 257: The First Elder’s Ace
“Esteemed guest?” The Spirit Heaven Sect’s first elder smiled at the butler. “Is it someone from the capital?”
Someone whom the City Lord Manor deemed an esteemed guest, such that the city lord himself had to personally welcome them, had to be an important figure from the capital.
Such a person was likely to be a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator!
This sparked some thoughts in his mind.
“This… I’m afraid it’s not my position to divulge any details. Please allow me to first announce your presence to the city lord,” the butler replied before taking his leave.
“Hm?” The first elder was startled. He looked at the second elder and the third elder with a frown. “They wouldn’t have been so discreet even if the guest is a Foundation Establishment powerhouse from the capital. Could it be that person from the Qing Province Sword Sect?”
“That sword cultivator said he killed Yao Dan. That person from the Qing Province Sword Sect would step forward if he learns about it,” the second elder replied.
“The Qing Province Sword Sect Master is at mid Foundation Establishment. If he’s currently in Spirit Heaven City, we might just be able to get our base back,” the first elder murmured.
“First Senior, Second Senior, can’t we let this slip?” the third elder asked bitterly. “That fellow is a sword cultivator. Are you that tired of living?”
“I understand your concerns, but Third Junior, can you accept such an outcome?” the first elder said with cold eyes. “We left all our artifacts, ki stones, spirit medicine, and all spirit materials on the mountain. Even the Spirit Origin Pills we received from the sect master are there. We were planning on consuming it together after acquiring Foundation Establishment Pills, so as to boost our chances of reaching Foundation Establishment. Are you fine with losing that too?”
“This…” The third elder looked conflicted.
They had kept the Spirit Origin Pill for so long because they had already reached twelfth stage Ki Refinement, so there was no benefit to them eating it. However, having a Spirit Origin Pill to fall back on during their breakthrough to Foundation Establishment would boost their chances of success.
“Foundation Establishment… is far away for us. We all know this. It’s tough to acquire the spirit materials required for forging a Foundation Establishment Pill, but even if we manage to gather them, the success rate of forging the pill is terrifyingly low. We might not even get a single pill in ten batches…” The third elder sighed.
“Our sect master was fortunate to have found a completed Foundation Establishment Pill in a secret realm in a grade-5 state, but such fortuitous encounters are hard to come by. Rather than to fuss about the distant future, we might as well focus on reuniting with our sect master.
“As long as we find her, we can find another good location for our Spirit Heaven Sect. There’s no need to make an enemy out of that sword cultivator. Those bunch of people are madmen.”
The first elder and the second elder’s grasp of swordsmanship wasn’t as deep as the third elder’s, so they still harbored hopes of killing the sword cultivator and returning to their home.
“Is that so…” The first elder’s eyes suddenly turned red. “I’d like to see if that sword cultivator is as strong as you put him out to be.”
He suddenly took out a talisman and incinerated it.
“A communication talisman?” The second elder and the third elder were stunned. “First Senior, did you just send a message to our sect master?”
“If the sword cultivator wasn’t lying, and our sect master is on the run, it would be pointless to contact her. The person whom I just reached out to wouldn’t fear a sword cultivator!” the first elder sneered.
The second elder and the third elder were startled. They didn’t expect their first senior to still have an ace up his sleeves.
Shortly after, the butler returned and addressed the three of them with a smile, “The city lord invites you over.”
The three of them exchanged looks before rising from their seats. “We have troubled you.”
The butler led the three of them to the banquet.
Curiosity flickered across their eyes when they saw the skinny old man seated opposite to the Spirit Heaven City Lord. They had never seen that old man, so they didn’t know his identity either.
“Paying respect to the city lord.” The three of them clasped their fist
The Spirit Heaven City Lord nonchalantly nodded. “You three spend most of your days in the mountains. What brings all of you here all of a sudden?”
The first elder’s complexion turned awful. It took seconds before he finally replied, “Someone has taken over the Spirit Heaven Sect.”
Taken over…?
The Spirit Heaven City Lord was baffled. “Where’s your sect master?”
“Our sect master went to Moon Monastery to settle some issues, but we have received news that she has sustained severe injuries and is on the run,” the first elder replied.
The Spirit Heaven City Lord’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me more in detail.”
The Flood Dragon Island Master eyed the three of them before drinking on his own. He wasn’t interested in their affairs.
The first elder slowly recounted the incident. As for what happened to the Spirit Heaven Sect Master, he simply relayed what he had heard from Fang Chen.
When he mentioned that the intruder was a young sword cultivator, the Flood Dragon Island Master’s gaze changed.
“Sword cultivator?! Why did those lunatics suddenly appear here?! What was your sect master thinking to provoke those madmen!” the Spirit Heaven City Lord exclaimed in anger.
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had once met a sword cultivator, he had a deep understanding of what those two words signified.
“I fear that our sect master doesn’t know his background. Now that the Spirit Heaven Sect has been taken over, it’ll probably be auctioned off in a few days’ time,” the first elder bitterly replied.
“I can’t help you.” The Spirit Heaven City Lord shook his head. “It isn’t just me. None of Infernoblaze’s hundred city lords will want to make an enemy out of a sword cultivator. I advise you to find another base and start anew.”
Despite having expected as much, the three elders were still disappointed.
“You mentioned that the sword cultivator… killed the Qing Province Sword Sect’s Yao Dan?” the Spirit Heaven City Lord asked.
“That’s what the sword cultivator said, but we haven’t verified it.” The first elder nodded.
“I see.” The Spirit Heaven Sword Sect nodded. “Let me give you a suggestion. Gather some ki stones and buy your sect location back when he sells it off.”
With that, he casually found an excuse to have his butler send them off.
The three elders could tell that the city lord was reluctant to house them, so they left the City Lord Manor together with their disciples.
“That old fool was intimidated by the words ‘sword cultivator’ too,” the first elder sneered in disdain as he walked out of the City Lord Manor.
“It’s only to be expected,” the third elder murmured.
“Aren’t they cultivators from the Spirit Heaven Sect?”
A man and a woman entering the City Lord Manor saw the first elder and the others walking out, and surprise flickered across their eyes.
“First Miss, young master Lin, it’s good that you have returned. The City Lord is already hosting the esteemed guest. Please follow me.” The butler’s eyes lit up upon seeing the two of them.
The woman had a ravishing face and a transcendental disposition that wouldn’t pale in comparison to the Great Xia’s Jade Fairy. She turned to the butler and asked, “What are the Spirit Heaven Sect’s cultivators doing here?”
The butler shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m not sure.”
“Zi Han, let’s meet the esteemed guest first. The guest be of high standing for the City Lord to urgently call you back,” the young man beside her advised.
