Chapter 448: Grand Elder: What Kind of Scenes Have I Not Seen?

Lu Yang's mental space was exceedingly lively, occupied by no fewer than five individuals, each a supreme powerhouse of peerless renown—one ancient immortal, three great cultivators of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and one Golden Core powerhouse.

Lu Yang could not help but wonder if his mental space was becoming a bit too crowded.

Furthermore, though it was ostensibly his own mental space, the chamber had been decorated by the Immortal Fairy in shades of tender pink, appearing in no way like the inner sanctum of a grown man.

At this moment, the Immortal Fairy, acting as the rightful master of this mental space, was lecturing the three captives.

"You three stay put and behave yourselves; this place is my domain, and this lad Lu Yang is the second-in-command of the Immortal Lineage, shielded by me. You shall treat him with the exact same respect you show me, is that crystal clear!"

The Immortal Fairy stood with hands on her hips, pointing and lecturing like a spoiled young lady from some noble house.

Wu Youdao and his companions, as Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, had long enjoyed boundless wealth and honor, accustomed to the absolute finest in food, clothing, shelter, and travel; Wu Youdao in particular, as the sixth Emperor of Yu and the second strongest among all the dynastic rulers of Yu, had once stood at the very pinnacle of the pyramid of power, a far cry from his current plight—confined to a narrow mental space, kneeling upon the ground to endure a lecture.

The three exchanged glances, bitterness welling deep within their eyes.

Even Wu Youdao had stripped away his customary arrogance.

Inferior strength left no room for recourse; it was simply the way of things.

They were merely at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, having slumbered for one hundred and eighty thousand years only to awaken at this specific nexus of time with the sole purpose of achieving immortality.

Yet the Immortal Fairy had attained immortality long ago, a gap between them that was utterly immeasurable.

Moreover, who exactly was this Supreme Great Heavenly Venerate?

The three racked their brains but could find no way to match this fairy before them with any of the four ancient immortals.

Lu Yang withdrew his consciousness from his mental space with peace of mind; with the Immortal Fairy present, those three Tribulation Transcendence cultivators could stir up no waves within his mind.

She could suppress three opponents of the same realm single-handedly, let alone now when she stood an entire major realm above them.

In the outside world, Sect Master Lu had successfully survived, to everyone's great joy; Qiu Jin'an and Governor Lü were still lamenting their failure to capture Wu Youdao and his two companions, entirely unaware that the trio was currently imprisoned inside Lu Yang's head.

"What a pity regarding Wu Youdao and those two; if we could have captured them, it would surely have been a monumental achievement."

"Do not be insatiable; that the national destiny remains unharmed and Hanshui City is safe is already an immense stroke of fortune."

Lu Yang had once pondered why the Immortal Fairy had not captured the three on the spot to hand them over to Qiu Jin'an, instead going to the great trouble of pretending to let them escape before dragging them back into his mental space.

There were likely three reasons: first, Qiu Jin'an and the others possessed limited capabilities and might not have been able to secure three Tribulation Transcendence cultivators of Wu Youdao's caliber.

Second, doing so might have exposed the Immortal Fairy's identity.

Third, fat waters should not flow into outsiders' fields—rather than giving them to Governor Lü and Qiu Jin'an, it was better to hand them over to the Single Qi Sect to exchange for contribution points.

Considering the Immortal Fairy's personality, she had likely only considered the third point.

Qiu Jin'an noticed Meng Jingzhou among the crowd and beckoned him over: "When I borrowed your body earlier, I promised that in exchange, I would teach you a five-elements spell; when you have the time, come to the Five Elements Sect to learn it."

Originally, Qiu Jin'an had planned to borrow Meng Jingzhou's body, deliver a punch to Ba the Second, and then take Meng Jingzhou away to fulfill his promise; however, developments had occurred too rapidly—first the backlash of karma, then the journey to the Desolate Province, and finally the rebellion of the Great Yu cultivators—and only now had the dust truly settled.

The great battle was over, but many matters required attention in its aftermath, such as clearing the lingering ghost plague from the city, searching for any remaining Great Yu cultivators hidden within, and soothing the emotions of the populace; Qiu Jin'an needed to remain here temporarily to assist Governor Lü with the cleanup.

During the recent combat, the Immortal Fairy had displayed divine might, reducing the Corpse-Driving Mountain Range to an unrecognizable ruin; the headquarters of the Corpse-Driving Sect was entirely gone, and the yin energy accumulated over tens of thousands of years had vanished completely.

Nevertheless, with Lu Baqian, that half-baked Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, present, the Corpse-Driving Sect would soon recover its former prosperity.

From the perspective of linguistic logic, a half-step Tribulation Transcendence stage and a half-baked Tribulation Transcendence stage amounted to the exact same thing.

Meng Jingzhou's karmic backlash was resolved, the objective of their journey to the Desolate Province was achieved, and Lu Yang and his two companions bid farewell to Zhao Po, boarding their carriage to return to the Single Qi Sect.

Before Lu Yang departed, a mighty powerhouse arrived at Hanshui City, followed by a vast host of elite troops and fierce generals flying through the sky, every single one of them at the Golden Core Stage.

These were troops stationed at the border between the Great Xia and the Golden Buddhist Kingdom, led by an old general of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage; the moment the restrictions were shattered, the old general had sensed the anomaly in Hanshui City, marshaled his forces, and rushed toward the city.

He had still arrived one step too late; the Immortal Fairy had already quietly resolved the matter.

"There were too many people just now so I didn't dare ask, but was the one who struck earlier the Immortal Fairy inside your body?" Meng Jingzhou could finally no longer contain his curiosity; having held it in for the entire journey, he finally blurted it out.

Meng Jingzhou, Mangu, and Old Ma had personally witnessed how Lu Yang had resurrected the Immortal Fairy.

There were no outsiders here.

"It was her doing."

Meng Jingzhou and Mangu sucked in a breath of cold air; they had seen with their own eyes how the Immortal Fairy, utilizing only the strength of the early Tribulation Transcendence Stage, had thrashed Wu Youdao and the other two as though they were helpless children.

Invincible within the same realm.

Meng Jingzhou had never expected the Immortal Fairy's combat prowess to be so formidable; he looked at Lu Yang with envy—to have an immortal offering guidance within one's body, it was no wonder Lu Yang's fighting strength was so terrifying, surely a result of the immortal's tutelage.

"Not only did she step in to resolve those three Great Yu cultivators, but the Fairy also captured their souls and placed them right inside my head!" Lu Yang pointed to his own skull.

Meng Jingzhou and Mangu were just preparing to suck in another breath of cold air when their bodies lurched, throwing them askew.

The carriage, which had been traveling smoothly all along, suddenly began to shake violently.

Meng Jingzhou poked his head out and saw that Old Ma, defying its usual demeanor, was utilizing spatial spells, its four legs churning wildly as it sprinted at breakneck speed, wishing nothing more than to arrive at the Single Qi Sect this very instant.

Old Ma had no choice but to rush; it was terrified—the carriage held not just three little Golden Core youngsters, but also the souls of three Tribulation Transcendence cultivators; how could it not hurry back?

Under Old Ma's desperate sprint, the three returned to the Single Qi Sect in the shortest possible time, allowing Old Ma to finally breathe a sigh of relief, feeling safe at last.

"You two head on back first; I need to visit the Mission Hall to give Senior Brother Dai an account of this venture," Lu Yang said, taking his leave of Meng Jingzhou and Mangu before heading toward the Mission Hall.

Upon arriving at the Mission Hall, Lu Yang politely questioned the senior sister keeping watch at the front desk.

Lu Yang recognized this senior sister; she had once lined up to beat him.

"Senior Sister Tang, is Senior Brother Dai in? I've returned from my trip with a few gains and would like to report to him."

"Senior Brother Dai is not here, but the Grand Elder happens to be in. If you have any gains, you can report them to him just the same."

Only then did Lu Yang recall that Senior Brother Dai was merely managing the Mission Hall on a temporary basis on behalf of the Grand Elder; the true person in charge of the Mission Hall was the Grand Elder himself.

"Very well."

"Senior Brother Dai left instructions before he departed, saying that if Junior Brother Lu had any business, he could go straight inside."

Lu Yang nodded, thanked Senior Sister Tang, and walked into the depths of the Mission Hall along a familiar path.

The Grand Elder had returned to the Mission Hall after a long absence, sorting through various intelligence reports, evaluating mission grades and danger levels, and judging future trends.

"Ah, young Dai truly does not know how to show consideration for this old man," the Grand Elder muttered painfully, rubbing the corners of his eyes as he lay back in his chair to rest.

"Grand Elder, are you in?" Lu Yang's knock sounded from the door.

"Ah, it's Lu Yang. Come in," the Grand Elder said, straightening his posture to maintain his personal image.

He recalled the words Dai Bufan had left him before departing.

'Master, when you sit in the Mission Hall, you must be careful around those two lads, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou; if they have something to report to you, it will certainly be a massive affair, so do not be shocked when the time comes.'

The Grand Elder had merely chuckled at this, thinking nothing of it; he knew well enough what Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had been up to—was it not just infiltrating the Immortal Sect, dismantling the Immortal Sect, establishing the Heavenly Court Sect, and deceiving the Nine Serenities Sect?

Young Dai was still too young, lacking exposure to the wider world, to be shocked by such matters.

He was a grand half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, the strongest beneath the Tribulation Transcendence stage; what manner of spectacle had he not witnessed? He could handle any major affair thrown his way.

"Lu Yang, I heard from the second elder and the others that you went to the Desolate Province; now that you are back, what is the matter?" The Grand Elder unhurriedly took a sip of tea, his demeanor entirely serene.

"It is like this: I went to the Desolate Province and captured the souls of three Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, and they are currently imprisoned right inside my head."

"Pfft—"

The second update will be at eleven o'clock.

(End of chapter)