Deep within the Five Elements Sect, in the forbidden area of the Back Mountain.
The place was wrapped in cloudy mist, ancient trees towered into the sky, and exotic flowers and rare grasses gave off an aura that calmed the mind. A murmuring stream wound through craggy rocks, letting out clear, ringing sounds. Several quiet rooms of simple, unremarkable design were arranged throughout this secluded valley in a well-ordered fashion.
These quiet rooms looked simple, but in truth, they were equipped with complex and advanced spirit-gathering and defensive arrays. They were the cultivation sites with the densest, purest energy in the Five Elements Sect, and also the safest. Ordinary disciples and even normal elders were not allowed to approach. Only a handful of the most core figures, such as the sect master Lin Ming, Elder Yao, Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and Ya Fei, were qualified to enter secluded cultivation here.
On ordinary days, this place was so quiet that only the sounds of wind, water, and the occasional birdcall could be heard, as if even the passage of time had slowed.
Yet today, this serenity that had lasted for a long time was savagely shattered by a sudden, extremely violent explosion!
"Bang—!!!"
The huge boom was like a thunderclap from level ground. It shook the valley until it buzzed with echoes, sent the stream splashing backward, and frightened the birds in the forest into scattering in panic. Several elders guarding the outer perimeter of the Back Mountain or handling sect affairs nearby were all startled by the tremendous sound. One after another, stunned gazes filled with suspicion and vigilance instantly turned in unison toward the source of the noise.
They saw that not far away, the quiet room exclusively used by Sect Master Lin Ming—the sturdiest room, with the