After bidding farewell to the disciples, Yun Zhou accompanied Elder Xiang Su and Shi An to the grand hall to pay their respects to the sect master.
Although the sect master was a disciple of Immortal Venerable Yun Zhou, the protocols of propriety could not be neglected.
Inside the hall, alongside Elder Xiang Su, were the sect master, the five peak masters (representing the Sword, Artifact, Elixir, Array, and Talisman peaks), and four senior administrative elders.
They had already received word that Yun Zhou had been injured and that Shi An had fallen into demonic cultivation. While they knew the outcome, they remained unaware of the exact cause. Because the matter involved the two men’s private affairs and neither of them carried any lingering aura of sin or malice, the assembly chose not to press further.
Their attitude toward Shi An remained entirely unchanged. In fact, they even gathered a considerable number of spiritual artifacts and elixirs to help him stabilize his mind and nourish his soul.
What they were far more eager to discover, however, was the current condition of Immortal Venerable Yun Zhou. While they could not explicitly tell that the red-robed youth standing beside them was the venerable master himself, they could sense a familiar, comparable aura.
A wave of barely believable suspicion rippled through the crowd. Chu Xuanzhi’s hand tightened slightly beneath the cover of his sleeve, Elder Suyue discreetly produced a voice-recording stone, and the Talisman Peak Master subtly readied an image-capturing stone, aiming it stealthily at Yun Zhou.
The remaining elders exchanged glances; some had the corners of their mouths twitching slightly, yet they maintained an air of solemn dignity, keeping their gazes locked onto Yun Zhou without a single blink.
Could this child possibly share some profound connection with Immortal Venerable Yun Zhou?
Over the years, many of them had sought counsel from Immortal Venerable Yun Zhou on various matters and had even exposed their own embarrassing secrets to him. Now that a situation involving the venerable master had surfaced, their worry was entirely genuine, and their curiosity was equally intense.
Feeling the piercing, almost freezing gaze of his master directed at him, Shi An struggled with his phrasing for half a day, desperately trying to find a way to break the news without stripping his master of all dignity.
After hesitating for ages and failing to form a proper sentence under the intense scrutiny of everyone present, he finally blurted out at top speed: “Shizun is completely fine now, and his cultivation is recovering; it’s just that his physical form and appearance are currently a bit difficult to control.”
Though they understood the explanation, the Sword Peak Master felt compelled to confirm further: “So… this person beside us is indeed Immortal Venerable Yun Zhou, correct?”
Yun Zhou had long since stopped caring and simply nodded in confirmation. However, the Sword Peak Master’s next remark nearly shattered his composure.
“Oh, so he’s not your son? I actually thought Shi An was about to abdicate and step down.”
Shi An glared murderously in his direction. “Baili Jian, do you suddenly have too many swords on your hands?”
Baili Jian let out an awkward, dry laugh and wisely fell silent. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to provoke him—he simply couldn’t win a fight against him.
Once the gathered leaders grasped the full situation understanding that Yun Zhou currently needed to rebuild his cultivation and Shi An required soul nourishment they unanimously decided to keep Yun Zhou’s true condition a secret. To the outside world, he would simply be introduced as Shen Qingchen, a newly accepted registered disciple of Immortal Venerable Yun Zhou.
They then rummaged through their private collections, pulling out numerous rare spiritual herbs capable of nourishing Shi An’s soul and accelerating Yun Zhou’s recovery.
Nangong Wanyue, the Elixir Peak Master, grabbed Elder Suyue by the arm and immediately summoned her flying sword back to the Elixir Peak, determined to brew the necessary medicines to piece Shi An’s fragmented soul back together completely.
As they departed, Shi An quietly used his spiritual energy to shatter the voice-recording and image-capturing stones the elders had hidden. He then hung pieces of Spirit-Warming Jade which he had acquired in the past around their waists as a token of gratitude for their assistance.
He planned to sort through more rare artifacts and treasures later as formal thank-you gifts to be delivered to them. Even though he would have to endure this embarrassing state for a little while longer, he figured he might as well minimize how much black history he left behind.
The sect master hastily dismissed the rest of the assembly, leaving only Yun Zhou and Shi An behind. Though he knew this incident was tied to Shi An’s destined tribulation and understood that he could not place the blame on Shi An, he was still furious yet because he couldn’t beat him, he had nowhere to vent his frustration.
He looked at Shi An, shook his head, and sighed deeply, then looked over at his master and sighed once more. In the end, he had no choice but to accept reality.
He informed his master and Shi An that Zhanlan Peak had been continuously maintained and cleaned in their absence, meaning they could return and settle back in immediately.
Then, turning serious, the sect master added: “Lately, there have been abnormal spiritual qi fluctuations in several regions, suggesting that a new mystic realm might soon manifest.
All the sects have been monitoring the situation closely during this period. If that turns out to be the case and you two wish to join in on the excitement, you must wait until Shizun has substantially recovered before even considering it.”