In the main hall of the marketplace at the foot of Crimson Cloud Mountain, Song Yuanhao, Song Linrui, and five or six other Golden Core Cultivators sat separately on wooden chairs.
Before long, another person entered through the doors. He first cupped his hands in greeting to everyone, then went straight to sit not far from Song Yuanhao.
"Senior Brother Song, you suddenly gathered us here. Has some news come down from the Patriarch?
"The marketplace has been under lockdown for nearly a month now. Every day, people have been coming to ask me when business will reopen. It has given me such a headache that I cannot even cultivate in seclusion in peace for a while."
The speaker was a gray-robed man seated lower down, named Li Xuanhe. He was a newly advanced Golden Core Cultivator of the Carefree Sect who had only successfully formed his core a little over a decade ago.
As he spoke, he carefully observed Song Yuanhao, who sat nearby, as though hoping to discern something from his face.
Yet in response to his complaint, Song Yuanhao merely shook his head calmly. "Junior Brother Li, you misunderstand. I was not the one who deliberately gathered everyone here today."
"If Senior Brother did not summon us, then who called us here to discuss matters? Could it be..."
Seeing Song Yuanhao raise a finger and point upward, Li Xuanhe immediately understood. He stopped speaking at once, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Senior Brother Song, did the Patriarch leave any instructions? What exactly happened on the mountain recently? Could it truly be that Senior Sister Huang has already formed her Nascent Soul?"
Just as Li Xuanhe sat down, a secret voice transmission quickly entered Song Yuanhao's ear, making him frown slightly.
"Junior Brother Li, where