2 years later.
Despite Yun Ping’s great efforts to prevent the news from spreading out into the outside world, the news still spread rapidly across all the factions near the Yan Immortal Dynasty.
The Supreme Elder of the Infernal Blaze Sect has died due to limited lifespan!
This sudden piece of news caused a stir among many cultivators.
A Innate Realm expert died just like that. The Immortal Dao was really impartial to all living beings, and nobody could escape its restraints.
Of course, this also made people have their own various speculations of the events that would unfold from there on.
Since the backbone of the Infernal Blaze Sect was no longer with them now, would the Yan Immortal Dynasty still remain as peaceful as before?
This thought clouded everybody’s minds.
At this point, in the Eternal Peak.
Yan Jingfei was chatting with Lu Qingfeng nonchalantly, but at this moment, a disciple at the Foundation Establishment Realm came running to them.
"Senior sister, senior brother, did you hear the news?
The Supreme Elder of the Infernal Blaze Sect has died!"
"What!?"
Yan Jingfei couldn’t help but widen her eyes in shock. Lu Qingfeng was also taken aback for a moment.
"Are you sure about that? Tell me the details." Yan Jingfei asked with a serious expression, her voice solemn.
"Yes. It’s said that he was unable to breakthrough, succumbing to his declining lifespan."
"This..."
Things have indeed deviated far too much from that of the previous timeline. There was no such event like this back then simply because the Luminous Jade Chamber had already wiped out the Yan Immortal Dynasty way before.
"You can go now." She dismissed the disciple who had just come to deliver the news.
At this moment, Lu Qingfeng suddenly looked at her and spoke, "Senior sister, does master know of this matter? If not, we should let him know immediately! We really can’t afford to delay such things."
He had also learned about the situation in the past few years, including the fact of how major problems could arise if the power balance of the Yan Immortal Dynasty was shaken up.
"Master would’ve most probably already known about this, but we should still let him know. Let me contact him through the Symphony of Infinite Distance." Saying this, Yan Jingfei immediately sent a message to Tian Yongheng.
But a few moments later, her expression relaxed as she heaved a sigh of relief.
"As expected, master knew about it." She said with solace, looking over at Lu Qingfeng.
Hearing her words, Lu Qingfeng also felt relief wash over his mind.
"Then, what does master intend to do?"
"Well, he just said to wait for a while till the end of his seclusion. I’m sure that with master with us, nothing will go wrong."
...
Meanwhile, At the White Firmament Sect.
A nearly 3 thousand feet tall mountain stood among multiple smaller mountains and hills. There were multiple large builds centered atop of it.
At the highest point of the mountain was a small cave abode, and one could see far into the horizon from there.
Outside of the cave abode, two old men with white hair and long beard chatted sat opposite eachother while sipping tea.
Both of them had a magnificent and powerful aura emitting out of them, constantly suppressing the surroundings.
"Fellow daoist Mo, are you really sure that this plan of yours is going to succeed?"
"Fellow daoist Li, are you doubting me right now?"
"Of course not, fellow daoist Mo! Why would I ever doubt you? Trust is the first and foremost aspect of friendship, after all. Not to mention that you are one of my oldest friends alive, and our powers have lived in peace since a long time."
Seeing the enthusiasm in the voice of the person infront of him, the person surnamed Mo nodded approvingly.
But deep down, he also knew that all this was merely a facade that would crumble apart instantly did the other party ever gain an advantage over him.
"So, when are we going to act on your plan?"
"We have to wait for a while. What would become of our faces if word got out that the Supreme Elder of the Sky Sword Sect, Li Chung and the Supreme Elder of the White Firmament Sect, Mo Chao attacked the sect of their once close friend right after his passing? Not only is our reputation going to be lost, but we’d also be deemed as traitors by other cultivators.
So, we need to wait for at least a couple decades before doing anything. After that, in the name of providing protection to the Infernal Blaze Sect, we will slowly dominate and convert it into a subsidiary force for us."
Mo Chao showed a sinister smile before continuing, "And nobody would be able to say anything against us, after all, we’re only protecting the sect of our deceased friend!"
"That sounds like a good idea, fellow daoist Mo. But, what are we going to do in case some variables appear?
For example...that rumored Master of Eternal Peak, Tian Yongheng. He’s rumored to be on par with Innate Realm cultivators! I also heard that the seventh daughter of Yan Zhangwei is his first disciple, and he has good relations with the Yan Family because of that. What if they decided to intervene?" Li Chung expressed his thoughts, his eyes glinting with a cold light.
"Hahaha, fellow daoist Li, do you really believe in those baseless rumors? Think about it yourself, can a Acquired Realm cultivator really defeat an Innate Realm powerhouse all by himself? He may be special, or even a genius, but still, this is too unrealistic!
There’s definitely someone else who intervened in the battle that day which caused Tian Yongheng to be famous across the land. It seems that person did not wanted to come in limelight, and thus let him take all the credit to himself." Mo Chao laughed, brushing off Li Chung’s worries.
Li Chung nodded hesitantly, "But we must still be careful of him. What if the mighty figure who intervened that day was someone related to Tian Yongheng? We can’t know for sure, after all. To be exact, we know nothing about him."
He paused for a moment before continuing,
"The worst kind of enemy one can encounter is the unknown."
"You need not fret, fellow daoist Li. I have prepared many countermeasures for even facing the unknown. Nothing will go wrong." Mo Chao reassured him, turning his gaze to the horizon.
Even when I say that...why do I feel this strange sense of unease in my heart? Surely nothing will go wrong. A cultivator’s intuition is never wrong, but it also can never be always right. I must be overthinking this way too much, and it may have caused a Heart Demon to form.
Yeah, that must be it. That’s why I feel uneasy. I should calm down so that Heart Demon can go away.
He couldn’t help but think of this as the only reason for his unease, not bothering about anything else at all.
But just to be sure, I should contact that senior...
...
Time passed by in the blink of an eye, changing the trajectory of mountains and rivers.
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
10 years later.
Tian Yongheng finally broke through, stepping into the Innate Realm!