"It was precisely because we upheld Kaoshan Ancestor Master's Survival Dao philosophy that our sect had endured on this Eastern Domain land for tens of thousands of years."
"A tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. Our sect has no imperial artifact, so we cannot appear too dazzling."
"After all, no leader likes subordinates whose achievements overshadow their master and steal the limelight."
Daoist Xuanhe, who had remained silent all this time, slowly spoke with a smile on his face.
He was greatly gratified that everyone understood the sect's philosophy and did not do foolish things.
"It was also because we kept our strength hidden that the sect had never encountered any great calamity."
"Those openly stronger than us looked down on us, while those openly on our level could not beat us if we fought."
"So it was better to lie low. Concealing our strength was a virtue. The Ancestor Master truly did not deceive us."
Hearing Daoist Xuanhe's explanation, everyone laughed.
The Survival Dao had always been a Kaoshan Sect tradition.
Of the one hundred and thirty elders seated here today, the lowest cultivation they displayed was early Divine Infant Realm.
But who among them was truly at the early Divine Infant Realm?
In Kaoshan Sect, if you did not hide at least a little of your cultivation, you would not even have the confidence to speak.
You would be too embarrassed to say whose disciple you were.
True Lord Yuntian said, "Since everyone agrees, let them make a fuss over this Immortal Ranking. Kaoshan Sect will not participate."
Everyone nodded at his words.
Daoist Xuanhe said, "Cultivate peacefully, everyone. Hide a little more of your cultivation, and when you travel the world in the future, you will have a bit more confidence."
"Yes!" the elders answered with smiles.
Then, at True Lord Yuntian's signal, the elders rose and adjourned the meeting, filing out of Kaoshan Hall one after another.
At this moment, only Daoist Xuanhe, True Lord Yuntian, and the six peak masters remained in Kaoshan Hall.
True Lord Tianji glanced at True Lord Yuntian and Daoist Xuanhe, then asked, "Senior Brother, why did you keep us behind? What else is there to discuss?"
True Lord Yuntian said, "Naturally, it is about the matter of the Sun Moon Divine Cult we just mentioned."
At this, True Lord Wuji, who had the fiercest temper, raised his brows excitedly. "Senior Brother, are you planning to take on a Holy Land?"
True Lord Xiaxuan frowned. "Senior Brother Wuji, you should watch your words. You are several hundred years old already, yet you are still so crude."
True Lord Wuji awkwardly scratched his head and rephrased himself. "Senior Brother, do you have a countermeasure? Are you planning to deal with the Sun Moon Divine Cult?"
True Lord Yuntian smiled faintly. "There is no countermeasure, exactly. But a great figure of the sect will soon return. After I told him about this matter, he already went to the Sun Moon Divine Cult."
"He already went?"
Hearing this, even True Lord Dishén, who had not uttered a word, looked over in surprise.
What kind of great figure had such a fierce temper that he charged straight for the Sun Moon Divine Cult?
That was a Supreme Dao Holy Land!
True Lord Yuntian looked at Hua Yunfei, who had been acting as though the matter did not concern him and hanging it high above himself.
Hua Yunfei froze for a moment, a guess forming in his heart. He cautiously asked, "Could it be... my father?"
His father, Hua Cangqiong, had left the sect thirty years ago. Aside from occasionally contacting him through a Sound Transmission Stone, there was almost no other news.
Hua Yunfei did not even know where his father had gone.
The only thing he knew for certain was that he was not in the Eastern Domain.
"In all of Kaoshan Sect, who has a worse temper than your father?"
"When it came to temper, even your Martial Uncle Wuji had to call him big brother."
True Lord Yuntian spoke with a laugh. Even he had not expected that after Hua Cangqiong learned the sect had nearly been schemed against, he had turned around on the spot in fury and rushed toward the Sun Moon Divine Cult.
True Lord Gouyuan said helplessly, "Thirty years have passed, and he is still the same. In cultivation, he is the best at lying low; in temper, he is the worst; in strength, he is the strongest."
True Lord Tianji curled his lips. "If I had grown up at Dao Origin Peak too, I could also..."
"Stop pretending. With your Heaven Tier Qualification, do not try to force yourself into the comparison."
True Lord Gouyuan chuckled softly, shooting True Lord Tianji a sidelong glance as he bluntly shot him down.
"I..." True Lord Tianji ground his teeth in anger, truly wanting to strangle this fellow.
True Lord Wuji also glanced at him. "Senior Brother Tianji should keep a lower profile. After all, your qualification is right there, isn't it, everyone?"
Both openly and between the lines, he was hinting at the Blood Demon Clan secret realm incident.
"Hmph!"
True Lord Tianji said nothing more, sneering inwardly.
He had now broken through to the Perfection Level Heavenly Human Realm. He was only one step away from the Lin Dao Realm.
Just keep showing off, you old fogeys. Once I get a few more benefits from Dao Origin Peak, I will grind every last one of you into the ground.
Once my cultivation was high enough, I would definitely find an excuse to fight all of you.
Then I would let you old fools know why flowers were so red!
After learning that it truly was his father, Hua Yunfei felt somewhat speechless. That old man was always saying the sect's affairs had nothing to do with him and telling them not to exploit him, yet when the sect truly encountered trouble, he was still this impulsive.
That was a Supreme Dao Holy Land.
At his age, he did not even think about Hua Yunfei's mother.
Oh... right. His mother had a violent temper too.
"Do not worry. Cangqiong only went to stake out the Sun Moon Divine Cult. Without an opportunity, he will not act. They are a Supreme Dao Holy Land, after all. Even someone as hardheaded as him knows that reckless brutes die."
True Lord Yuntian said this, still confident in Hua Cangqiong's strength.
When he left thirty years ago, he had already displayed mid-stage Lin Dao Realm cultivation. Now that thirty years had passed, his true strength should not be weaker than Master Xuanhe's.
Hua Yunfei said, "I hope he can truly hold himself back. What if the Sun Moon Divine Cult sends some high-ranking figure out alone..."
At this, True Lord Yuntian and the others all nodded. That was right—the old man absolutely could not resist such temptation!
How could a fierce wolf resist a sheep passing right before it?
"Enough."
"Let Cangqiong weigh his own actions. Presumably, he will not do anything too excessive."
"Since our sect does not intend to participate in the Immortal Ranking struggle, we may soon have to face trouble from the new Nine Great Immortal Sects."
True Lord Yuntian said, "Those ancient clans and reclusive sects have hidden themselves from the world for years, and less than one-tenth of their industries remain. To accelerate the growth of their sects and make a name for themselves, they may target the former Nine Great Immortal Sects."
"They will step on the former Nine Great Immortal Sects to raise the prestige of their own clans, then seize all the resources of the defeated sects for themselves."
"This will absolutely happen."
"Therefore, the sect's top priority is to reinforce the sect-protecting formation. Bring out several more formations left behind by our ancestors, just in case."
"Those ancient clans have too many methods. Last time, Ghost Nether Mansion borrowed the Sun Moon Divine Cult's formation-breaking treasure and easily broke our Sacred Tier Low Grade formation from within. This time, we must be prepared."
Hua Yunfei said, "Dao Origin Peak has an isolation formation, the Shattering Void Formation. It can serve as the core of the sect-protecting formation and can resist the spell corrosion of most formation-breaking treasures!"
True Lord Yuntian smiled. "Very good. The sect itself has countermeasures as well. But taking both measures at once will be safer."
"Junior Brother Gouyuan."
True Lord Gouyuan immediately said, "Leave this matter to Gouyuan Peak. I will handle it properly together with my nephew Yunfei."
Gouyuan Peak was the peak responsible for the sect's formations. Most of Gouyuan Peak's disciples possessed talent in formations.
"Mm."
"Since that is the case, let the mountains and rain come if they will. We shall wait for the results of this Immortal Ranking!"
Before you continue