A moment later, Yun Yan and Xu Qianlan walked out and took their seats.
“Say, Sect Master Yun, aren’t you going to give everyone an explanation?”
Luo Yan said with a sly expression.
“Haha, there’s nothing to explain. Everything is under this Sect Master’s control.”
Yun Yan stroked his beard and smiled faintly.
This only deepened Luo Yan’s suspicion.
“By the way, Sect Master Yun, what exactly is this Secret Realm of your sect?”
“That’s a good question, Brother Luo!”
Seeing Luo Yan raise this point, Yun Yan became a bit smug.
“This Secret Realm was left behind by our Ancestor! Only the Sect Master is qualified to possess it. Inside, there are countless high-grade cultivation manuals! It’s not an exaggeration to call it the Treasure Vault of our Shenxiao Sect!”
“Later, we thought it could also be used to temper one’s mind and decided to use it for trials!”
Upon hearing this, Luo Yan applauded.
“No wonder Shenxiao Sect has stood for ten thousand years, using two Secret Realms in succession. That foundation really makes us envious.”
Though he said this, Luo Yan was inwardly jealous and even complained to himself—this old guy is two or three hundred years older than him, yet still calls him brother. Is he trying to call Luo Yan old or himself young?
Yun Yan wasn’t so easily swept away by such flattery.
“All right, everyone, let’s take a look at what’s happening inside the Secret Realm!”
As he spoke, Yun Yan tossed out that same crystal ball, and images began to surface within it.
It showed a golden cave, where all the people from before were sprawled messily on the ground, as if they were dreaming.
“Sect Master Yun, these people aren’t in danger, are they!”
Normally, during such times, the Holy Demon Sect would send Feng Lie himself to Shenxiao Sect to recruit disciples.
But due to special circumstances, Luo Yan had come this time, and it was his first time seeing such a Secret Realm.
People went in and immediately fell asleep.
Yun Yan glanced at Luo Yan.
“Heh, you might not know this, but the main feature of this Secret Realm is the Illusion Realm—it makes people see what they fear most.”
As he spoke, both Yun Yan and Xu Qianlan grew worried—what about Jiang Che?
His inner demons had never been resolved. If he was hit by this, wouldn’t it be disastrous?
But Jiang Che wasn’t entering the Secret Realm for the first time. No one had ever entered twice before—what would happen, even Yun Yan had no idea.
At this moment, Female Emperor Xiyue, who had remained aloof the whole time, suddenly spoke. Her voice carried an invisible majesty; when she spoke, no one dared interrupt.
“Sect Master, this Secret Realm surely has more functions than just that, doesn’t it? If I recall, this Secret Realm can point out a suitable path of cultivation for those undergoing the trial—corresponding to the Sword, Pill, Talisman, Beast, and Formation branches of your Shenxiao Sect.”
“In fact, your sect didn’t always use this Secret Realm to test new disciples. It was originally used to temper Inner Disciples, wasn’t it?”
Yun Yan couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Haha, Your Majesty Xiyue, you’re truly well-informed. That’s right, it wasn’t used for testing new disciples before.”
Xiyue continued, “If I remember correctly, it was an Inner Disciple from many years ago who suggested this idea. As for his name…”
“Jiang Che.”
Suddenly, a voice chimed in from the shadows.
It wasn’t anyone present.
Everyone reacted differently—even Su Qingyue looked up, seemingly affected by that name.
A woman descended from the sky, landing in an empty seat on the high platform.
She wore an extravagant purple immortal gown, her makeup bold yet refined, lips red as fire, lashes long and curled.
Her steps were slow and graceful, her slender waist swaying gently, exuding a bewitching allure that instantly captivated everyone’s attention.
Witnessing this, Yun Xing was not surprised. Of course, the Holy Demon Sect wouldn’t be the only ones coming to poach disciples.
Yun Xing gave a faint smile, “So it’s the Hehuan Sect Master, Liu Xia. Forgive us for not welcoming you sooner.”
“Sect Master Yun is too polite. Speaking of seniority, everyone here should call you Senior. There’s no need for a grand welcome!”
Liu Xia replied, her voice naturally carrying a seductive tone—the Hehuan Sect had always excelled in this.
Luo Yan said, “Heh, I thought you weren’t coming. What’s this? Arriving so late?”
At the same time, Luo Yan secretly cursed ‘old witch’ in his heart. In terms of age, this old witch was at least fifty years his senior.
Liu Xia covered her mouth with a chuckle, her eyes sparkling, “How could I not come to a Shenxiao Sect event? I was merely delayed on the road by picking up a little cutie.”
Before she finished speaking, she waved her hand.
With a muffled “thud”, a figure bound tightly like a sack was thrown to the ground. Judging by the face, it was a young man.
“Here, this kid claimed to be from Shenxiao Sect. I didn’t touch him. Otherwise, anyone of this quality I come across usually ends up the same way~”
Liu Xia gently tapped her own bright red lips with a fingertip, her voice lazy and sweet.
“But, if I ever get the chance to meet your sect’s Jiang Che, even if he’s a Shenxiao Sect disciple, I might not be able to resist… That kind of peerless specimen.”
As soon as she said this, three or four intense waves of killing intent flared up in the hall.
The ferocity and number of those killing intents caught Liu Xia off guard—she couldn’t tell whose they were.
She hurriedly changed the subject, waving her hand to undo the bindings on the young man.
He quickly stood up, yanked the cloth from his mouth, and immediately knelt towards Yun Yan’s direction.
“Disciple, Lingjian Peak Inner Disciple! Zhao Zi’ang! Greetings, Sect Master!”
The hall erupted in a stir.
Some disciples had heard of Zhao Zi’ang.
They whispered quietly.
Supposedly, Zhao Zi’ang had vanished three years ago without a trace, saying he was going down the mountain to temper himself.
But at that time, he was only at the Qi Refining stage—who goes adventuring at that level!
Those who’d seen Zhao Zi’ang before were also surprised.
In their memories, Zhao Zi’ang wasn’t particularly handsome, just average. But now his skin was much fairer, and he seemed a bit taller.
Zhao Zi’ang gritted his teeth—how humiliating, returning to the sect like this! On the way back, he’d almost fallen victim to Yin Stealing, and had to declare his sect name—how shameful! Damn it!
But Zhao Zi’ang didn’t dare lose his temper and only bowed to Yun Yan.
“So, you’re Lin Yin’s disciple. Rise.”
“Thank you, Sect Master.”
Yun Yan scrutinized Zhao Zi’ang closely.
He did notice something different about him.
Not to mention appearance, but his cultivation had already reached late Zhuji Realm.
What exactly happened in those three years?
Speaking of Zhao Zi’ang, Yun Yan had always harbored a secret.
It was Wen Ping who kept pressing for answers. Many years ago, Yun Yan had calculated that Shenxiao Sect would face a Sect Calamity because of one person!
But Yun Yan was never able to determine exactly who that person was!
All these years, he had silently watched over everyone in the sect, but found not even a clue.
Until what happened three years ago.
The reason he kept silent about Jiang Che’s situation was because he suspected Jiang Che might be the one to bring calamity to the sect.
So, he had been waiting and watching.
But later, when Jiang Che was expelled from the sect, the outcome of his divination still showed no change.
Only then did he realize that doing nothing and going against his own conscience hadn’t changed anything—he’d only lost an excellent disciple.
That was why Yun Yan felt such deep remorse toward Jiang Che.
“Look! Someone inside the Secret Realm is standing up!”