[This turn of events took you somewhat by surprise. You had not expected the Beast Emperor and Golden Pouch Mountain to act this way.]
[But their actions were undoubtedly a gesture of goodwill toward the Taihua Sect.]
[Ying Yuan and the others were shaken as well. The Taihua Sect had bordered the Myriad Beasts Sect for years and had long suffered its bullying. No small number of its islands had been seized.]
[Yet in recent years, not only had every lost island been returned,]
[but today the other side had even lent a hand. And it was not alone: Golden Pouch Mountain, Artifact Refining Valley, the Divine Mechanism Sect, and even the Mindheart Sect all seemed similarly inclined.]
[The change left everyone astonished and moved.]
[The Taihua Sect had risen from the bottom of the Outer Dao to its newly flourishing state. All of it, of course, stemmed from the middle-aged Daoist before them.]
[Three years ago, you had slain Fu Hai and the Dragon Prince in the East Sea. Half a year later, you had killed the Flood Dragon King. Your fame had spread across the Three Daos, and your standing within the Taihua Sect had climbed ever higher.]
[The sect's disciples regarded you as its most outstanding sect master in a thousand years—the one who could restore its former glory.]
[You nodded slightly and looked down over the vast sea. A jade sheen surfaced in your eyes, as though they reflected the light of heaven.]
[During this seclusion, you had fully comprehended the first two volumes of the Ziwei Heavenly Book, gaining a deeper understanding of the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Treasury.]
[After you obtained the first volume of the Ziwei Heavenly Book aboard the Fate Star Sect's treasure ship, Xingyao had sent you the second volume just three