Purple Spirit Sect, just a few days after the disciples entered.

Several figures sat in a large Hall that was decorated exquisitely with beautiful calligraphy and paintings. Each painting seemed to have its own individual charm; the Immortal Cranes exuded a mysterious and charming aura, while the small animals frolicked about playfully, bringing a smile upon the viewer, the Ferocious Tiger descended the mountain, forcing a sense of oppression on anyone that dared lay their eyes upon it. The Spirit Swans swam about elegantly in a picturesque lake, seemingly aloof from their surroundings, untouchable and unreachable. 

Yet, these individual paintings - despite their distinct aura - came together harmoniously, enhancing each other and giving off a sense of Natural Dao’s Charm.

One of the several figures commented, his tone filled with praise, “Daoist Brother Ji, your Dao of Painting seems to have reached a whole new realm! Each of these paintings has its own charm; yet, when joined together, they form a completely new charm that out the true charm of Nature… Marvellous! Truly marvellous!”

Another Elder nodded in agreement, “Indeed. Daoist Brother seems to be only a step away from that Realm!”

“Hoho! Daoist Brothers you overpraise me! My little skill in Painting is not worthy of such praise!” Elder Ji spoke humbly, yet his hand stroked his beard vigorously. So much so that one might think he was trying to light it on fire!

On the other side of the hall, a burst of loud, boisterous laughter echoed.

“Haha, Junior Sister Fang! I heard from the old bastard Su that you finally used your slot for the Demon Beast Haven’s Trial? The old bastard was clamouring because his grandson lost the chance to enter the Secret Realm.” A burly Elder whose fiery-red beard fluttered with his laugh queried.  “Did you decide to finally take in a disciple - in, what, a century?” He looked at Elder Fang in apparent surprise.

Elder Fang nodded, “I did indeed use my slot to let a genius Alchemist enter.” Then she shook her head, a wry smile carving itself on her pale complexion, “As for taking her in as a disciple? Forget it, my meagre skill isn’t worthy of teaching her!”

“Ho~? That’s quite the praise coming from you!” The red-bearded Elder’s blazing red eyes glinted with tremendous interest!

“Old Li, you should forget about it. You might be the best among us, but even you are unworthy of teaching her!” The middle-aged Elder Lu’s chin quivered. His eyes had a traumatised look in them - he still hadn’t recovered from the setback. Watching years of your effort being casually surpassed… Yeah, no one could bear that.

“You think I can’t teach her?!” Elder Li’s long beard flared and swayed, reminiscent of Fire. “I’ll have you know I cultivated seven Grade 5 Alchemists for the Sect! Even if my personal skill isn’t as good as theirs, I am still the best among us at teaching!”

“Her talent is no worse than Master An’s” Elder Lu gave the man a strange look.

Elder Li immediately shut his mouth. He… had quite the trauma because of that one fellow. He remembered having heard about a ‘genius like no other’ and immediately wanted to take him in as a disciple a few decades ago. Elder Li, back then, had already taught 6 Grade 5 Alchemists, so his nose was pointed straight to the sky, thinking that this young fellow would jump in excitement upon hearing his history of teaching!

However, when he actually tried to, he was just given a mocking look and asked, “Are you worthy?”

Obviously, Elder Li exploded in rage when a junior dared question his skill! There was a big incident and one thing led to another, resulting in a showdown where Elder Li ended up showing his Alchemy and Master An pointing out nearly 30 mistakes in his Pill refining ability and correcting them!

What was worse was that when he actually followed the other party’s instructions his skill in Alchemy advanced by leaps and bounds - directly reaching the pinnacle of Grade 4!

Elder Li’s confidence was so utterly decimated that he cried himself to sleep every day for the next half a decade!

He asked tentatively, somewhat reminiscent of a small injured animal, “Is she really…?” 

Elder Fang gave him a look of pity, “Grade 2 in less than 2 years.”

‘Fuck! Another one!’

Just as the Elders were chatting away merrily, a disciple barged in, his face pale. He shakily called out, “I-It’s bad, Elders!”

An Elder who had nearly spilt his Heavenly Super Awesome Tea barked out, “Unworthy Disciple, were you not taught any manners?!! It is taboo to barge in like that! Especially when we are your Elders!” He was wrathful beyond belief! He was looking forward to getting high on - ahem - he was looking forward to tasting Elder Ji’s Tea that he boasted about and this disciple nearly made him spill it! It was no wonder he was enraged!

The panicked disciple did not even pay heed to the Elder, “W-We lost contact with the Demon Beast Haven’s communicator!!”

““WHAT?!”” All the Elders’ eyes widened in disbelief! 

Splash!

The Elder really spilled his Tea this time.

Elder Feng directly appeared in front of the disciple, grabbing him by the shoulder so hard that he winced in pain.

“What do you mean when you say ‘lost contact’?!” she glowered at the disciple.

“I-I-I mean we’ve lost contact completely! From our side, it’s as if the Demon Beast Haven stopped existing altogether!” Despite the pain, the disciple squeezed out the words.

Elder Fang’s eyes widened. She promptly disappeared from her place. Elder Li turned to the other Elders, “Let us go as well!” 

They all disappeared from their spots, leaving Elder Lu who tossed a bottle of Grade 3 Healing Pills to the Disciple who barged in to warn them, “Take these, it should be enough to heal fully!” And then he too disappeared.

*** 

Inside a large hall, three figures sat in a triangular formation, each radiating a powerful aura. Their aura seemed to twist in the air, as though it had a mind of its own.

This was the half-step Fusion Realm! The strongest cultivation in the Outer Sect!  

Each of these three figures was at the half-step Fusion Realm that held the highest prestige in the Outer Sect.

These normally elegant, refined, haughty or aloof figures who held the utmost authority under the Inner Sect were now, all, sweating profusely, their faces twisted in exertion.

At the centre of the triangle formed by these figures, there was a basketball-sized deep blue globe floating. The intricate azure-coloured patterns imprinted all over the globe glowed softly, giving it a sense of mystery. Several concentric rings surrounded the globe, each of a different size, some spinning fast and some rotating slowly - almost languidly. The globe pulsed every few breaths, sending out tiny shockwaves of bluish Qi into the air continuously.

This was a Magic Treasure used to communicate with a similar Magic Treasure in the Demon Beast Haven Realm. It was a pair with the one inside the Demon Beast Haven Realm. This was used by the Sect to communicate and observe the general situation inside the Demon Beast Haven Realm. Obviously, the Sect would monitor them. Even if they were merely Outer Sect disciples, they were the best of the best among them - and all of them had a chance to become members of the Inner Sect. There was no way they would not take care of such valuable seedlings!

The shockwaves were continuously emitted with a small interval of time, as though it was waiting for a response. Yet, even after an entire day, there was no expected response at all!

The figures opened their eyes simultaneously, their expressions extremely grim and gloomy.

“We can’t communicate with the Demon Beast Haven Realm at all! It’s as if the whole Demon Beast Haven Realm has disappeared into thin air!” one of the figures frowned deeply, running a hand through his short, turquoise hair in frustration. “What do you think, Senior Sisters?”

“There’s definitely someone interfering with the communicator inside the Demon Beast Haven Realm! It isn’t destroyed, but blocked!” A middle-aged lady with greying hair spoke with conviction. “Otherwise the partner Magic Treasure would shut off.”

“I sensed a trace of Demonic Qi, in one of the last signals we received.” The other woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties spat out through clenched jaws. 

The other two frowned.

“Isn’t the Demonic Path supposed to be oppressed to the point that they couldn't breathe? How could they do something like this?” The blue-haired man frowned even deeper.

“Perhaps, it is a diversion?” the middle-aged woman. 

“I doubt it. It is most likely the Demonic Path!” the young woman was convinced of the involvement of the Demonic Path. She seethed, “It's impossible to fake Demonic Qi!”

“We know, but the other party might be using it as a distraction or a way to shift the blame onto the Demonic Path. They are the most convenient scapegoat.”

“Doesn’t matter, since they are involved in some way, we have to punish them!” the young woman’s tone was quivering from wrath.

The man and the other woman looked at each other helplessly, this lady held too strong a grudge towards the Demonic Path. Her usually calm judgement of things was immediately thrown out of the window when it came to the Demonic Path.

It was no wonder why - she had been stuck at the half-step Fusion Realm for almost two centuries now. If it weren’t for the Demonic Path, she might have been at the half-step Transformation Realm instead. With her talent, she might have even reached the Transformation!

The middle-aged woman shook her head, “Let’s inform the Inner Sect, it is beyond our capability now-”

“There’s no need, we’re already here.” A calm voice interrupted the woman. 

The three immediately snapped their heads towards the source to see a woman who looked like she had not aged a day since 21 walking towards them gracefully. Her long, golden tresses fell to her waist like a sunbeam through a gap in the clouds. Orbs of gold sparkled, like sunlight crystalised. She radiated a warmth like the morning sun, vanquishing the chill of the night.

Two young men walked behind her. One radiated a similar aura as the woman, but much weaker. His eyes were filled with admiration every time he gazed upon the back of the woman he followed. The other young man had a completely different temperament - like the cold moon, aloof from the world. Yet, even he had the same look of adoration as he looked at the woman.

The woman smiled, “I’m Song Siying, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Elders Luo, Shi and Su. I’ll be working along with you to investigate the situation in the Demon Beast Haven Realm.” A comfortable warmth spread to the Elders, relaxing their tensed nerves. Even the young-looking woman, who had been filled with resentment, relaxed.

Despite her obviously extraordinary aura, the Elders could not sense even the slightest hint of her Cultivation Base. And while they were only half-step Fusion Realm Beings, they could still sense the Cultivation of a true Fusion Realm being.  

This only meant one thing.

‘Transformation Realm!’ This thought struck the Elders. Immediately, they stood up, their postures straight and expressions respectful!

“Yes, Elder Song! We’ll help you to the best of our abilities!” the middle-aged woman spoke respectfully as she bowed.

“Hehe, there’s no need to be so stiff. We’re all people from the same Sect after all.” Song Siying smiled pleasantly. The Elders once again felt a warm aura cover them relaxing their tensed muscles. After reassuring them, her expression became serious. “Let's waste no time and get to work! Tell me everything!”

The three Elders nodded vigorously and explained everything.

“Demonic Qi you say…?” Elder Song Siying frowned deeply for a moment. Then as if thinking of something, her expression changed slightly before a cold look took over her face. 

‘Divine Qilin Empire, huh?’ Elder Song had recently received the news about a scandal that occurred before the Secret Realm Trial started, about Inner Disciple Bai Heng. When she heard about what happened, she was both disgusted and impressed by this Bai Heng. Impressed that would even brave decades in the God Sealing Tower - one the most torturous Punishments the Sect had in store - for his beloved.

While the fact that he would not care for his Sect members and even use them for his gains, disgusted her - even if the victim was merely an Outer Disciple.

However, that was not what she was here for.

She immediately connected the two incidents together. But there were still many things that didn’t add up.

‘Let’s go over first! We’ll know when we get there.’ 

Her eyes flashed with chilly Killing Intent, ‘As for those Demonic Path Cultivators… It is time for the Immortal Path to show them their place once again!’