Lihuo Sect's Old Ancestor?

"Aren't you looking for this?"

Li Fan said.

"Yes, thank you, Senior! Thank you, Senior!"

At that moment, Mu Qianning was so excited she didn't know what to say. All she could do was tremblingly accept the Divine Water Stone!

Li Fan shook his head. Women really were like that—show them a jewel, and they got excited.

So materialistic. How vulgar!

Li Fan couldn't help grumbling to himself. He tied up the firewood and said, "Let's go."

Mu Qianning hurried after Li Fan, and they left Red Leaf Valley.

Ren Hong had been worried sick. When he saw Mu Qianning emerge unharmed, he and the others were stunned.

This Senior had really brought the Saintess out...

"Saintess, did you find it?"

Ren Hong asked.

Mu Qianning nodded and looked gratefully at Li Fan. "Everything is thanks to this Senior's generosity!"

Li Fan was speechless. It was just a stone. Was there really any need to make such a fuss?

"Anyway, I'm heading back to the village. Goodbye."

Li Fan turned and left.

Mu Qianning wanted to say something else, but Li Fan was already gone. Uneasy, she didn't dare bother the Senior any further.

After that, Mu Qianning led Ren Hong and the others back to their sect at top speed.

Lihuo Sect was a long way from here, but once they had left this dangerous mountain range, they could fly through the air.

They soared through countless layers of clouds before landing atop a vast mountain.

Buildings covered the mountain. This was where Lihuo Sect stood.

"Saintess, you're finally back! People from Lie Yan Mountain have come again!"

As soon as she arrived at the sect, Mu Qianning received the news.

Worry clouded her face, and she hurried toward the main hall.

Inside Lihuo Sect's main hall, two groups faced off, the air thick with hostility.

"Wei Yushan, your Lihuo Sect is finished. You have only one Nascent Soul Realm cultivator left, and you're about to fall to the rank of a One-Star Sect. Why haven't you submitted to us yet?!"

An old man spoke in a sinister tone.

He was Gongsun Qi, an elder of Lie Yan Mountain.

Across from him, Lihuo Sect's Sect Master, Wei Yushan, wore a grim expression. "You want to swallow up Lihuo Sect? Don't even dream of it!"

"Heh."

Gongsun Qi sneered. "If your Old Ancestor were still alive, I'd turn around and leave. But your Old Ancestor has been dead for so many years. What gives you the confidence to say that?"

"I know you've still got a Former Sect Master in the rear mountains, half-dead as he is. But even if he came, he'd be no match for us!"

He slapped the arm of his chair. At once, two old men beside him stood up with him, releasing their powerful auras.

Three Nascent Soul Experts!

Wei Yushan's expression turned utterly grim.

How could he fight three against one?!

"Wait!"

Just then, a woman's sharp cry rang out from outside.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

Mu Qianning strode in, resolute, and said through gritted teeth, "Sect Master, I have recovered the sect's treasure!"

She held the Divine Water Stone in both hands.

In that instant, everyone in the hall changed color!

"What? Lihuo Sect's Divine Water Stone has reappeared?!"

"Wasn't that treasure lost in the Forbidden Land when Lihuo Sect's Old Ancestor went in with it, never to return?"

"The Divine Water Stone can multiply a cultivator's strength several times over!"

Gongsun Qi and the others looked utterly grim.

Wei Yushan, on the other hand, was overjoyed!

He transformed into a streak of light and appeared in front of Mu Qianning the next instant. He took the Divine Water Stone, his whole body trembling with excitement!

"With this treasure, Lihuo Sect will never fall!"

He burst into laughter!

"Mu Qianning, where did you find this stone?!"

Gongsun Qi glared at Mu Qianning, his expression dark.

The stone had clearly been lost in the Forbidden Land. How could it...? Had Mu Qianning gone into that Forbidden Land?

Impossible!

Even the Mountain Lord of Lie Yan Mountain had gone to look, and he hadn't dared approach!

Mu Qianning enunciated each word. "A Senior told me to bring it back!"

At that, Gongsun Qi and the others' expressions changed abruptly.

"Your sect's Old Ancestor...is still alive?!"

Gongsun Qi looked utterly incredulous.

He had instinctively assumed that the Senior Mu Qianning mentioned was Lihuo Sect's Old Ancestor.

That man was an extraordinary figure.

If he was still alive, they were in trouble.

Mu Qianning said proudly, "You're not worthy of asking!"

Although she didn't know the Senior's true strength, Mu Qianning believed that Gongsun Qi and the others weren't even worthy of tying the Senior's shoes!

"Heh. I'd wager that even if your Old Ancestor is still alive, he's crippled by now!"

At that moment, another elder from Lie Huo Mountain spoke coldly. "Otherwise, why would he make you bring the stone back? Why not come himself?"

His question made everyone's hearts tighten.

That was probably the case.

Mu Qianning's expression didn't change. Instead, she released her cultivation aura.

"Golden Core Ninth Layer?! How is that possible? Our intelligence says you're only at the Golden Core Second Layer!"

Gongsun Qi was stunned.

"At such a young age... Lihuo Sect has actually produced an unparalleled genius?!"

The people from Lie Huo Mountain were all shocked.

"Qian Ning, you..."

Even Wei Yushan couldn't believe it.

"That Senior gave me a little guidance."

Mu Qianning replied calmly.

Everyone was astounded.

At that moment, the people from Lie Yan Mountain grew uneasy.

Just who was the powerful figure behind Mu Qianning? She had been gone for only a day, yet under that Senior's guidance, she had reached Golden Core perfection?!

Gongsun Qi realized that this was serious!

"Hmph! Don't think you can scare us like this. Sooner or later, Lie Yan Mountain will make you ours!"

With that, he turned into a streak of light and left.

With this situation unfolding, he had to report back to the Mountain Lord at once.

Once they were gone, everyone in Lihuo Sect let out a long breath of relief!

"Qian Ning, what exactly happened?!"

Wei Yushan hurriedly asked.

"We met a Senior..."

Mu Qianning recounted what had happened with Li Fan.

Wei Yushan was stunned.

He had walked into the Forbidden Land as if it were flat ground?

He had chopped Mystic Fire Wood with an axe?

He didn't even care for the Divine Water Stone, and had casually handed it to Mu Qianning?

He was shaken to the core.

What kind of terrifying existence could do such a thing?

"How can this be... I have to go and report this to the Former Sect Master!"

--At Lihuo Sect, the former Sect Master was still alive, but with little life left in him, he was nearly at the end of his rope and had been in seclusion for a long time.

Before long, an old man who was little more than skin and bones came with Wei Yushan.

This was Wei Yushan's master, Yu Qishui, the former Sect Master of Lihuo Sect.

Former Sect Master Yu Qishui said excitedly, "That person may be our Lihuo Sect's Old Ancestor!"

At this, Mu Qianning was stunned.

"But that Senior looked very young..."

Yu Qishui shook his head again and again. "You don't understand. The Old Ancestor may have undergone Nirvana in that desperate place."

"Otherwise, the Divine Water Stone wouldn't have acknowledged him, and he wouldn't have given it to you."

"Come. Take us to meet the Old Ancestor now!"

At that moment.

Lie Yan Mountain.

"Mountain Lord, something strange has happened. We didn't dare act rashly, so we came back to report!"

Gongsun Qi stood outside an Ancient Hall and made his report.

A faint voice came from inside the hall:

"It's fine. Even if Lihuo Sect's Old Ancestor really is still alive, he won't be above the Spirit Severing Stage. I'd like to see what he's capable of!"

After speaking, a flash of red light flickered through the hall. In an instant, it had left Lie Yan Mountain!