"There's no discussing this."
Ning Zhongze's attitude was firm.
The main reason was that this place was too special. She didn't mind if Yue Lingshan caused a fuss elsewhere, but this was Yue Buqun's study, and also where he secluded himself to cultivate. The Huashan Sect's Sect Leader cultivation method, the Purple Haze Divine Skill, was even stored inside.
She herself rarely entered, let alone Yue Lingshan.
Fortunately, it was Yue Lingshan. If it had been someone else, that would have been tantamount to coveting the Huashan Sect's cultivation method—a feud that would end only in death.
Even Linghu Chong, who would eventually be acknowledged as the future Sect Leader of the Huashan Sect, would have been punished by being sent to the rear mountain's Reflection Cliff to face the wall for several months.
"Ah!"
Hearing her mother's tone, Yue Lingshan deflated, her head drooping.
She already had to spend five shichen on her daily lessons. Add another shichen, and half the day would be gone!
Once she subtracted the time needed for meals and sleep, the thought of having only one or two shichen to rest each day made her feel as though life held no joy.
"Mother, do you know what Father is doing in seclusion? I haven't seen him in ages."
Since she hadn't accomplished what she'd come here for and had even been punished for it, Yue Lingshan felt she needed something to make up for it.
At least she could satisfy her curiosity!
"Why are you prying into that?"
Ning Zhongze regretted saying it as soon as the words left her mouth. Her daughter had only asked because she was worried about her father.
"Your father is in seclusion to break through to the Grandmaster realm. He should be able to come out in a few days. For now, go back and sleep."
"Huh? But Eldest Senior Brother said Father was worshipping a god. I thought Father was cultivating to become an Immortal."
Yue Lingshan blinked in confusion.
She'd only come to sneak a peek out of curiosity because she'd heard her father was cultivating to become an Immortal. Otherwise, who would come here for no reason? And now she'd been caught and punished with an extra shichen of lessons.
"Cultivating to become an Immortal?"
Ning Zhongze froze too. Then her expression grew grave as she fixed her eyes on Yue Lingshan and demanded, "Did your Eldest Senior Brother say that?!"
She knew that her senior brother had always regarded restoring the Huashan Sect as the sole ambition of his life.
If such rumors spread and everyone came to believe that the Huashan Sect's Sect Leader was a superstitious man who prayed to gods and Buddhas, all the effort they'd put in over the years would be wasted.
"I... I heard it from Eldest Senior Brother..."
Ning Zhongze's stern gaze left Yue Lingshan stunned. She'd never seen her mother look like that before.
"Eldest Senior Brother also said he saw Father bring a statue made of pure gold into the rear courtyard with his own eyes."
Hearing Yue Lingshan stammer out everything in a rush, Ning Zhongze began to hesitate.
She had watched Linghu Chong grow up, so she knew his character. Though he was carefree and seemed unreliable, he never lied.
Besides...
Ning Zhongze glanced doubtfully at the brightly lit study. When she brought her senior brother meals while guarding him in seclusion, she could faintly smell sandalwood drifting from outside the study.
Could her senior brother really have become obsessed with gods and Buddhas?
The thought made Ning Zhongze anxious.
As the daughter of the former Sect Leader of the Huashan Sect, she was a true member of the Martial World.
Naturally, she didn't believe in ghosts and gods. In fact, anyone with a bit of standing scoffed at such things, knowing they were merely tools for controlling the ignorant.
Otherwise, why would even Shaolin Temple, that sacred Buddhist sanctuary, have so many renegade disciples?
"Perhaps carrying the burden of reviving the Huashan Sect alone was too much for him, and in the end he placed his hopes in an Immortal manifesting."
Ning Zhongze felt a pang in her heart at the thought, and guilt toward Yue Buqun welled up inside her.
In her view, if her father hadn't entrusted the sect to Yue Buqun on his deathbed, why would he have taken on the Huashan Sect's mess and kept striving to revive it?
And Yue Buqun had placed his hopes in an Immortal. He'd been like this for a whole month, shutting himself away in the study, and she hadn't noticed his state of mind in time.
If not for her daughter, she wouldn't have known any of this.
At that thought, she no longer had the heart to discipline Yue Lingshan. She hurried toward the study.
"Mother, wait for me!"
Yue Lingshan froze. When she saw her mother turn and leave, she followed without thinking.
At the study entrance, the distinct scent of sandalwood only confirmed her suspicions.
She was about to go straight in, but after a moment's thought, Ning Zhongze decided to knock first.
Her senior brother deserved at least a little time to prepare. In any case, he had ended up like this because of her, so she planned to talk him out of it. She was even ready to accept that the Huashan Sect might never regain its former glory, as long as her family could live happily and safely.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Senior Brother, how much longer will you be in seclusion?"
Ning Zhongze's voice trembled, but she forcibly kept herself under control.
"Creak!"
When no answer came from inside and Ning Zhongze was about to knock again, the study door opened on its own.
Ning Zhongze instinctively looked into the room. Amid the curling sandalwood incense, the most striking sight was a golden statue.
A statue of Emperor Donghua!
Ning Zhongze was quite familiar with it. The Huashan Sect's founding patriarch had once been a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, Hao Datong.
The Quanzhen Sect worshipped Emperor Donghua, and naturally the Huashan Sect had carried on that tradition.
Looking down, she saw her husband seated cross-legged beneath the statue, holding the Five Qi Towards Origin posture, his eyes nearly closed.
"Senior Brother?"
Ning Zhongze called out uncertainly. Aside from the statue and the incense filling the room, the scene before her did indeed look like someone in seclusion.
Remembering that Yue Buqun had told her he was going into seclusion to break through, she hesitated again. What if he really was breaking through?
After all, he did look like he was meditating.
As she stood there lost in thought, a phantom suddenly appeared above Yue Buqun's head. Its features were indistinct, but it radiated divine light. An imperial aura spread through the room, making it seem as though he were the ruler of all Immortals and king of all gods. A white lotus appeared beside him, dazzling like a host of stars surrounding the moon.
"This..."
Yue Lingshan turned to Ning Zhongze and said blankly, "Mother, you still say Father isn't cultivating to become an Immortal?"
Before Ning Zhongze could reply, moonlight from beyond the heavens pierced the sealed roof and enveloped Yue Buqun. With every breath he took, the silver light slowly flowed into his body.
His cultivation was rising without pause.
"Grandmaster... Great Grandmaster..."
Ning Zhongze rubbed her eyes, staring at the scene before her in disbelief. Her throat had even grown hoarse.
"A... a Land Immortal!"
Feeling the aura within Yue Buqun, she grew more and more numb with shock. This was a Land Immortal.
Even the founder of the Quanzhen Sect had never reached this realm. In the past thousand years, only the True Man Zhang Sanfeng, a hundred years ago, had become a Land Immortal.
The title Land Immortal was synonymous with the utmost power.