Chapter 46

Returning to the Tuo She Courtyard, Luo Li was full of enthusiasm, practicing and refining talismans at the same time.

In this Tuo She Courtyard, after the previous incident, he had become the unofficial first person under the three chief stewards. Countless fellow disciples treated him with utmost respect, and his days were going quite smoothly.

But on this day, someone suddenly delivered a message, saying that someone had come to see him. It was none other than Su Fairy, who had led him into the Lingdie Sect a year ago!

Su Fairy was still as dignified and beautiful, naturally pure. Seeing Luo Li, she smiled and said:

"Luo Li, everything you have done has been under our watch. You have passed the outer sect's test. From today on, you are an inner sect disciple of the Lingdie Sect. Report to the Lingdie Sect's Kongyuan Peak tomorrow!"

Luo Li let out a long breath and said, "Thank you, Fairy. I will definitely report tomorrow!"

Su Fairy nodded, gently flew up, and disappeared into the distance in a blink.

Upon hearing this news, Luo Li's friends immediately came to celebrate. After enduring so much hardship, Luo Li was finally about to enter the inner sect. They decided to hold a farewell banquet in the evening to see him off.

However, this good news was not what Luo Li wanted! Luo Li did not want to leave; he only wanted to stay in the outer sect, quietly earn spirit stones, and then leave. Now it seemed that his dream was shattered! But with the situation as it was, he had not yet accumulated enough spirit stones, so he had to leave the Tuo She Courtyard and report to Kongyuan Peak.

Now, he could leave the Lingdie Sect, but once he stepped out of the mountain gate, he would become a wandering cultivator, no longer protected by the sect, and without a path to cultivation. The outside world was full of dangers.

Moreover, entering the inner sect was not necessarily a bad thing. The inner sect's resources, methods, companions, and locations were ten times better than those of the outer sect. He would take one step at a time and see what happened. Perhaps this was a good thing.

At the banquet, Gao Peng and the others were envious, congratulating Luo Li one after another. However, Yongchuan did not congratulate him. When everyone was drunk and not paying attention, Yongchuan quietly said:

"Luo Li, be careful!"

Luo Li was taken aback and said, "Senior Brother Yongchuan, what should I be careful about?"

Yongchuan whispered:

"Everyone thinks I was demoted and sent here because my backer fell. But that's not true. I applied for it on purpose. It's better to suffer here than to die. After the incident at Kongyuan Peak, your ancestor asked me and two others to go there as stewards.

My senior advised me not to go, so I deliberately got demoted and did not go! As a result, the two people your ancestor sent there all disappeared, dying mysteriously.

It is said that your ancestor has gone mad. He has cultivated for a thousand years, and his spiritual lifespan is almost over. When a person is about to die, some become extremely crazy, unwilling to lose everything, and wish to take everyone down with them. So he caused the disaster four years ago, where all thirteen of the Lingqiao lineage's foundation builders and dozens of disciples were completely wiped out.

Then he used his golden core authority to force the most promising of the sect's ten geniuses, Su Fairy, to marry him as a concubine, completely acting against the norms.

Throughout history, many sects have been destroyed because of such powerful figures reaching the end of their spiritual lifespans, unwilling to die, and acting crazily, causing disasters. The sect is now afraid that he will do the same at the last moment. The True Men Hanhai, Mingxiang, and Shengwei are all guarding below Kongyuan Peak. Even when the Jingyu Palace discovered an overseas cave dwelling a year ago, our sect did not send anyone to explore it. When the moment comes, they will have to take action to stop his final madness.

So, you must be extremely careful when you go to Kongyuan Peak. It's very dangerous!"

Luo Li's mouth opened wide, not knowing what to say. In fact, he had thought about this a year ago, but he had not been able to avoid it.

Not going? How could he not go! Not going would mean defying the sect's rules and would result in punishment. Where else could he go?

If he wanted to stay in the Lingdie Sect, he had to go! Besides, he was just a small Qi Refinement disciple, at the second level, and a descendant of Xiyi the Old Ancestor. There should be no problem, and perhaps he would even inherit some of Xiyi the Old Ancestor's legacy after his death.

However, from what Yongchuan said, it seemed that the Fire Crow True Man, Xihua the Young Master, and the mysterious woman he had encountered were all there for the overseas cave dwelling discovered by the Jingyu Palace.

Thus, the night was spent in celebration. The next day, under the guidance of the second steward Situ Ya, and amidst the farewells of the crowd, Luo Li left the Tuo She Courtyard and headed for the Lingdie Sect's inner sect.

Following the mountain path, riding a grass mud horse, he slowly moved forward, leaving the outer sect's territory and entering the true mountain gate of the Ziyang Mountain Lingdie Sect, which was previously off-limits to outer sect disciples, who could only look from afar.

As he moved forward, the journey became increasingly pleasant. In the distance, the mountains were majestic, the peaks towering, and the terrain steep. This was the true Lingdie Sect.

Looking far into the distance, the entire Ziyang Mountain had seven peaks, spread over a hundred miles, with endless green pines and cypresses covering the mountains, like a dream. Up close, the ground was covered with green grass, and the trees provided shade, with wisps of white clouds floating and swirling at his feet, making it seem like a fairyland.

Situ Ya pointed and said, "Luo Li, the Ziyang Mountain has one main mountain and six peaks. The main mountain is where the Lingdie Sect's main gate is located. The ancestral hall, martial arts hall, scripture hall, battle hall, and other sixteen halls and pavilions are all on this mountain, now controlled by the Lingqiao lineage.

The sect's Grand Elder, Wei Li, a Nascent Soul True Man, is stationed there. With a Nascent Soul True Man guarding it, this mountain will never fall, and the Lingdie Sect can be passed down forever.

Besides the main mountain, the other six peaks are controlled by the other six lineages of the Lingdie Sect. The Kongyuan Peak you are going to is controlled by the Lingqiao lineage."

Luo Li suddenly remembered what Mu Yixing had told him and asked, "Senior Brother Situ, I heard that the Jianqiao and Hunqiao lineages of our Lingdie Sect used to be very powerful, but now they seem to have declined. Is this true?"

Situ Ya nodded and, seeing no one around, whispered, "Yes, this is not something we are supposed to tell you disciples.

Since you asked, I will tell you. At the beginning, the Jianqiao lineage controlled our Lingdie Sect. The current prosperity and glory of the Lingdie Sect were all achieved by them.

After the Luohou disaster, the world changed, and gradually, the Time Pattern Split Sword Butterfly and the Empty Cicada Holy Soul Butterfly, which our Lingdie Sect used to produce, no longer appeared. Without these two butterflies, our Lingdie Sect could not achieve the human-butterfly unity, and cultivation became like a tree without roots. As a result, the two most powerful secret techniques of these lineages were lost, leading to their gradual decline.

The remaining five lineages, including the Lingqiao lineage, can control the Lingdie Sect because, after the environmental changes, the Five Aggregates Multicolored Butterfly mutated into several types of spiritual butterflies, leading to a large number of disciples in this lineage, preventing it from becoming extinct, and thus controlling the sect."

Luo Li nodded, understanding. In their conversation, they entered the sect. Compared to the outer sect, the inner sect was more majestic, with countless pavilions and terraces spread across the mountains.

One of the most typical buildings was a memorial archway at the front of the sect, towering over thirty zhang high, with ten pillars, its eaves layered, and its body transparent green, like frozen waves of the sea. On it were carved divine beasts and spiritual birds, and on either side of the gate were towering statues of mighty warriors, creating a solemn atmosphere. On the archway, there was a short verse:

What joy is there in life, what pain in death!

This was the mountain gate of the Lingdie Sect, the central hub of the mountain protection array. Once activated, the array would protect a hundred-mile radius, and even ten thousand divine thunderbolts could not break through the mountain protection array by even a fraction.

Behind the archway, there were seven purple jade platforms, each five zhang square, standing like towers, forming a jade tripod. The entire jade platform was shrouded in mist, with the walls carved with the shapes of all things, from mountains and rivers to wind, clouds, rain, and thunder, to the sun, moon, stars, and even monsters and evil spirits, and insects and fish, all intricately detailed. In the center of the jade platform, there was a red glow, like a sun, spinning and radiating light, making it impossible to look directly at it. This was the Purple Yang Thunder, powered by the entire Lingdie Island's spiritual energy. The jade platform could launch the Purple Yang Thunder, with the entire Lingdie Island within its range, serving as the Lingdie Sect's attack restriction.

There were not just one but many such attack restrictions. In the void behind them, layers of clouds and mist covered the sky, with countless such mechanisms hidden within, both attack restrictions and protective arrays, guarding the entire Lingdie Sect.

In the sect, two people were waiting for Luo Li far away, one was Lao Sha, and the other was Brother Seven. They had received the news that Luo Li would enter the sect today and were waiting to welcome him.

Seeing them, Luo Li waved vigorously, and Situ Ya said:

"Don't be in a hurry. There are a few ceremonies to go through. After paying respects to the ancestral hall and registering your name, you will officially enter the inner sect. Then you can catch up with them."

Luo Li nodded. To enter the inner sect, he had to go through several ceremonies, including paying respects to the ancestral hall and registering his name on the legal register, to be officially recognized as an inner sect disciple.

A steward was waiting for Luo Li ahead to complete these ceremonies. At this moment, not far away, Su Fairy quietly walked by, followed by a man and a woman, the woman being none other than Luo Xin, who was closely following Su Fairy.

Seeing Luo Li, she frowned and said:

"Why are you so late? The two people in front of you took a full hour to complete their ceremonies. Do you want to wait another hour?

Forget it, those ceremonies can be done later. Follow us quickly!"

Su Fairy had waited for an hour for Luo Xin and the young man to complete their entry ceremonies into the inner sect and was no longer patient, not wanting to wait for Luo Li. She interrupted Luo Li's entry ceremony and took him away directly.

The steward, hearing Su Fairy's words, kept saying, "This, this, is not according to the rules, not..."

Su Fairy glared and said, "Not according to the rules? Hmph, what rules are there in our Lingdie Sect?"

With that, she extended her hand and summoned a flying vehicle, saying:

"Let's go!"

Luo Li had no choice but to enter, waving to Lao Sha and Brother Seven from a distance. There was nothing he could do; they would meet again later.

The four of them entered the flying vehicle, and Su Fairy controlled it to fly towards a distant peak.

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