The Gathering Storm

In fact, Yao Ye was naturally tempted by the pill before her, but her reason eventually overcame her impulses. Zhang Nian had mentioned that he originally intended to give this pill to Yun Yun, which meant it belonged to Senior Sister Yun Yun. As someone who had just arrived at the sect, how could she take an opportunity that originally belonged to her senior sister?

This was a Grade 9 pill, after all; she imagined that even her master would have very few pills of this caliber.

Thinking of this, Yao Ye held the jade bottle in both hands and ran toward the door, only to discover that the door to the practice room would not budge no matter how she pushed. It seemed that her master, Zhang Nian, had intended it to be this way...

In other words...

Yao Ye looked at the Grade 9 pill in her arms. She could faintly sense that within the airtight room, there were subtle fluctuations caused by energy. She figured this must be what her master meant when he said that a Grade 9 pill would absorb the energy of heaven and earth to develop its own sentience.

Knowing she could no longer hesitate, she made up her mind. Her slender fingers removed the stopper, and she tilted her head back to swallow the golden pill in one gulp. The pill melted the moment it touched her tongue, and the golden medicinal power instantly surged through her entire body. At this moment, every meridian in her body glowed with a golden light. The warm sensation felt as if she were soaking in a hot spring, and her body began to float in the air, beyond her control.

Golden energy wrapped around Yao Ye, gradually forming an energy layer on the outside that took the shape of a beautiful lotus flower. Yao Ye seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, her beautiful eyes tightly shut as she lay quietly in the heart of the lotus.

Sensing the activity inside the room, Zhang Nian smiled slightly and began to cultivate on his own. Little did he know, the events that transpired after Yao Ye entered Zhang Nian's room had been turned into countless versions and spread wildly throughout the sect, eventually even reaching the outside world...

In the days that followed, Yao Ye did not appear again...

Until this day, when Yao Ye's maid, Xiang Cai, and Yun Yun's maid, Baojuan, were eating in the kitchen and brought up this fascinating story.

"Your mistress still hasn't come out of the Saint's room?"

The group sat around a small round table set with some leftovers. Because they were personal maids, these eight girls enjoyed the special privilege of sitting at a small round table. Baojuan's eyes lit up as she stared straight at Xiang Cai and asked.

"Not yet. I'm not sure either; it's been about four days now." Xiang Cai was somewhat indifferent. After all, for cultivators, three or four days meant nothing. Although she was a maid, she had served cultivators back at Miteer, and it was common for them to stay inside for ten days or half a month when they reached a critical moment of breakthrough.

"Four days..." Baojuan's voice was filled with hidden meaning, giving off an ominous feeling. This aroused Xiang Cai's dissatisfaction. Her mistress was only thirteen or fourteen years old, but after all, this was the private business of a Saint. She was new to this circle and not yet familiar with it, but these days, whenever they gathered to eat, these personal maids would always share stories about their respective mistresses, and she felt that this atmosphere wasn't exactly good.

"Oh, look at you all making such a fuss. What's wrong with four days? Even if she stayed with the Saint for a month, it's still the masters' private business. What kind of decorum is this, acting so startled?" The one speaking was Cailin's personal maid, Xiao Qing. She was feeling a bit jealous, only because her mistress was still in her human-snake form, so even if she had the heart, she lacked the conditions. It was this that allowed these later juniors to reap the benefits, and she couldn't help but regret telling them that method back then.

The reason Zhang Nian did this was simple: currently, Yao Ye's favorability was the same as Cailin's, and Cailin no longer needed this pill. Or rather, for Cailin, who had already consumed the Heaven-Seizing Creation Pill, the Fangzhang Butian Pill would not be of much use beyond increasing her strength. Strictly speaking, that would be a waste of resources. Many pills were not convenient to give away; auxiliary cultivation pills were generally not of high grade, and pills that increased strength could usually only be given once per cultivation stage. This meant that if he gave more, the system would detect it, ultimately resulting in a wasted gift.

The sect remained peaceful, and everything proceeded in an orderly fashion according to the established plan.

Half a month later.

Meanwhile, far away in the Central Plains, the Soul Hall was stirred by a message sent from the northwest, alarming all the Heavenly Venerates throughout the organization.

Soul Hall, Human Hall.

In the silent sky of the Corpse Burial Mountain Range, the sound of wind being torn apart suddenly rang out. Streaks of light flashed by, and several figures appeared on a mountain peak deep within the range. Their gazes were all fixed on the deepest part of the mountains, at the space hidden behind the tall, grey trees, which appeared faintly distorted.

Within that slightly distorted space lay a patch of black earth. Looking across it, one could occasionally see a hint of ghastly white on the black ground. Upon closer inspection, they were clearly broken skeletons, exuding an eerie chill.

Of course, for the Heavenly Venerates flying overhead, this was a common occurrence. Their only goal was the massive black palace standing in the center of this vast territory.

"Whoosh!"

A sound of wind being broken came from behind. The Second Heavenly Venerate, Gu You, was a Ban-Saint powerhouse known as Saint Gu You. His typically gloomy old face appeared before them. The Fourth Heavenly Venerate, Xue He, curled his lips into a sinister smile and said, "Greetings, Second Heavenly Venerate. I wonder what kind of message was sent back from the northwest to make the Hall Master gather all the Heavenly Venerates of the Central Plains and the Hall Master himself in one place. Could it be that something big is about to happen?"

Gu You glanced at Xue He. This old thing was as curious as ever. He chose not to respond, merely replying coldly, "You will know once we reach the main hall. Let's go; everyone is almost here."

After speaking, his figure turned into a streak of light, leaving Xue He far behind. The two had a difference of a full major realm in strength. Xue He helplessly curled his lips; seeing that the other party didn't want to bother with him, he didn't want to be a nuisance, so he simply headed quickly toward the Human Hall in the distance.

As they approached, countless extremely thick black chains extended from the massive black palace, plunging deep into the ground. On these chains, clusters of black mist swirled, faintly gathering into human shapes. From time to time, a luster would flash across the chains and sweep into the black mist, making it appear more solid.

The entire area was exceptionally quiet, broken only by the occasional sound of someone tearing through the air, shattering the eerie atmosphere.

Inside the cold, gloomy main hall, a dozen clusters of black mist suddenly appeared. The mist contracted, transforming into a dozen cold-faced figures. These people looked at each other, found their respective seats, and sat down slowly.

"It's quite lively today. But what kind of major event could it be? What good things could possibly appear in the barren lands of the northwest?"

"I don't know. This meeting was initiated by the Hall Master himself. We shall see when the time comes."