As his voice fell, other colors gradually appeared in the void.
Wisps of smoke drifted in, and through the haze, the resplendent palaces slowly emerged, just as they had disappeared moments ago.
The crowd standing respectfully nearby, the elegant furnishings, the screen behind them... The entire Heavenly Vast Palace appeared fully within their perception.
Pei Ling realized he had returned to the main hall of the Heavenly Vast Palace. Beside him stood a figure clad in black, like the night itself: Li Lieyue.
A carpet patterned with entwined ghost chariots holding Manjusaka blooms stretched from beneath their feet to the steps of the dais. Not far away, a censer exhaled green smoke that drifted like clouds. Amid the vast, swirling haze, the Grand Elders, the three clans' Old Ancestors, and the Sect Master Couple all stood holding their breaths, their chins lowered and expressions deferential.
The entire hall was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping. Dead silence reigned.
No one noticed anything unusual. It was as though time in the outside world had stopped when the two of them entered that isolated space.
At that moment, Li Xin, the Li Clan Old Ancestor, was deathly pale, every hair on his body standing on end. Ancestor "Fu Qiong" had offered to take Pei Ling as his disciple, and Pei Ling had actually refused!
That took some nerve!
No!
This wasn't a question of nerve at all. It was a question of brains!
Whether Pei Ling could inherit the Sect Master Position no longer mattered to him in the slightest.
That the Jiu A Li Clan hadn't incurred Ancestor "Fu Qiong's" wrath was already a blessing from the heavens!
By comparison, Su Lijing also sensed that something was wrong.
Ancestor "Fu Qiong" was far too tolerant of Pei Ling!