Is he...that brave?!

The Ninth Elder slowly spoke:

"Reporting to the Grand Elder, they are all at the Tribulation Transcending stage, and there is nothing unusual about them on the surface."

But behind the scenes, it's hard to say what might happen.

Everyone understood what the Ninth Elder meant, so they remained silent.

Silence fell again in the hall.

Just then, the Ninth Elder spoke again:

"Youyue just sent word that the sect leader will emerge from seclusion tomorrow, and we need to lead the sect members to welcome him."

The Third Elder snorted coldly:

"See? The leader has said he's coming out of seclusion."

The Seventh Elder, however, thought differently and addressed the First Elder:

"Brother! What are you hesitating for? Even if Chu Yuan intends to emerge from seclusion, it's only to stabilize morale, and he must be weak right now! Otherwise, given his past temperament, would he allow us to discuss this here? Send a few Golden Core cultivators to test the waters. If they succeed, we can achieve great things; if they fail, we'll only lose a few pawns!"

The Third Elder merely sneered:

"A pawn? Do you realize that if the cult leader is unharmed, this is tantamount to handing him a knife, giving him an excuse to purge!"

"Then let him clean it up!"

The Seventh Elder suddenly stood up, his body surging with murderous aura:

"It's better than this constant anxiety and guessing! When have we, the demonic path, ever been so timid and hesitant?"

The Third Elder rose and left, coldly saying:

"You guys are insane!"

He really couldn't understand why it wouldn't be better to just focus on cultivation.

Why target the cult leader?

The First Elder watched the Third Elder leave in silence, then his gaze swept over the crowd. Seeing that most of them already had a resolute look in their eyes, he finally nodded slowly.

"Seventh Brother is right. We'll find out if it's true or not with a test."

......

next day

The main altar of the Xuantian Sect.

On the vast plaza paved with obsidian.

Tens of thousands of believers stood solemnly in the three lineages, a dark mass, completely silent.

At the end of the plaza, atop nine levels of dark jade steps, stands a towering altar.

On either side of the platform, ten figures with profound and unfathomable auras stood with their hands at their sides, all wearing elder robes embroidered with different Dao patterns, their expressions solemn.

Their gazes, whether open or hidden, were all fixed on the heavy, closed stone gate on the north side of the square.

Beyond the stone gate lies the Abyss Hall, where the sect leader has been in seclusion for three years.

The three lineage leaders stood at the very front beneath the altar.

Youyue was dressed in a simple black outfit, her face veiled, revealing only a pair of cold, clear eyes.

Li Tu tried his best to maintain a calm expression on his rugged face, only occasionally glancing in the direction of the ten Supreme Elders, a hint of mockery would flash deep in his eyes.

Qianji remained shrouded in a wide black robe, standing quietly to one side.

"Thump—"

A deep, resonant bell tolled from the depths of the main altar, its sound deep and lingering, stirring the soul.

Then came the second sound, the third sound...

The bell tolled nine times, marking the highest level of welcoming ceremony performed by the Xuantian Sect.

As the echoes of the last chime still reverberated in the air—

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The black iron stone door, which had been silent for three years, emitted a deafening roar and slowly slid open from the middle to both sides.

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

Her dark hair was unbound, cascading loosely over her shoulders.

The visitor was none other than Chu Yuan.

Chu Yuan felt a surge of emotion.

As it turns out, there's nothing that can't be done if the resources are in place.

With the feeding of top-grade spirit stones, he simply followed the flow of spiritual energy from the original owner's memories to circulate it through his body.

He easily broke through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

It also solidified the first revolution of the Nine Revolutions Undying Body.

However, the real test is yet to come. Only by overcoming this hurdle can I buy myself enough time to recover my cultivation!

The square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Chu Yuan began to slowly walk forward.

Upon seeing this, the Grand Elder frowned slightly.

Why did the cult leader walk up there?

Didn't we used to just fly up there?

The others also saw it and looked surprised.

However, given the current situation, no one dared to speak out of turn.

Qianji stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

Then a bizarre scene unfolded.

Chu Yuan strolled uphill as if he were wandering through a garden.

Meanwhile, the followers on both sides were under immense pressure.

Although previous leaders were aloof, there was little contact with them.

They usually just release their breath and then leave.

Although the current cult leader is not releasing any pressure, the deep-seated fear is already etched into their minds.

At this moment, they dared not even breathe loudly, and waited with their heads down for the leader to reach the top.

On the high platform, a hint of disdain flashed in the eyes of the Seventh Elder.

It seems that the foundation has indeed been damaged.

Otherwise, why wouldn't they reveal even a trace of spiritual power?

Are they deliberately pretending nothing's wrong in an attempt to hide the truth?

But why did the cult leader glance at me just now?

Could it be that he knows what I'm thinking?

The Seventh Elder's heart skipped a beat, but he immediately relaxed.

No, he looked at everyone.

Haha, it seems I was overthinking it.

Chu Yuan slowly withdrew his gaze.

[Target: Xue Lie (Seventh Elder)]

[Cultivation Level: Early Stage of Tribulation Transcending]

[Fate's trajectory: Taking advantage of the chaos to launch an attack, intending to support a new leader and seize control of the cult's resources...]

Chu Yuan understood.

No wonder they are so hostile towards me.

The original owner needed many resources for cultivation.

So he waved his hand and directly put Youyue in charge of the sect's resources.

This allows me to access rare and precious materials for cultivation at any time.

The original owner of this body didn't care what the manager in charge did.

Chu Yuan shook his head and regained his composure.

He looked at the three elders with his Eye of Truth and already felt somewhat exhausted.

Most of them were dissatisfied with some of the strange actions taken by the original owner.

But let's get through this hurdle first.

Chu Yuan stepped onto the ninth jade step, stood in the center of the altar, slowly turned around, and faced the dark mass of believers below.

Is this what it feels like to be the best in the world?

"Whoosh—!"

Like a black tide collapsing, tens of thousands of believers knelt on one knee in unison, heads bowed, their unified voices transforming into a thunderous roar that shook the surrounding land:

"Welcome back, Master!"

On both sides of the altar, the ten elders also bowed in respect:

"Congratulations on the leader's emergence from seclusion!"

Chu Yuan nodded slightly, and everyone stood up.

The matter is actually over at this point.

However, the followers already knew that something big was about to happen.

Otherwise, so many people wouldn't have been gathered to welcome the leader out of seclusion.

So for now, we should stay where we are and wait for the leader's orders.

The Seventh Elder slightly raised his eyelids and quickly exchanged glances with a few inconspicuous figures in the crowd below the stage.

Immediately, three elders, whose cultivation was around the late Golden Core stage, walked down the jade steps of the altar and bowed in unison:

"Your subordinate greets the Master! Congratulations on your completion of seclusion!"

coming!

Chu Yuan's eyes remained calm, but he was indeed on high alert.

"What is it?"

The three exchanged glances, and the elder in the middle with the horse-like face slowly raised his head:

"Honorable Master! After three years of seclusion, your divine skills must have improved even further. This is truly a blessing for our Xuantian Sect!"

He paused, then abruptly changed the subject, his voice rising several decibels:

"However... during the sect leader's seclusion, many sect affairs have been neglected. Your subordinate, Zhao Qian, may I ask if the sect leader has given any explanation?"

In an instant, the once noisy square fell silent.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the three Golden Core elders.

Is he...that brave?!