Gray Pigeon soon reported Jiao Tongzi's strange behavior to the sect.
But the sect offered little response. Gray Pigeon sighed. He knew all too well what that meant: the sect had given up on Senior Brother.
After that, Gray Pigeon asked no more questions. He simply went to Lake-in-the-Mountain every two or three days to visit Senior Brother.
What reassured Gray Pigeon a little was that, since that day, Senior Brother had shown no further signs of anything amiss. He behaved as he always had, and his spirits even seemed to be recovering. But on the day news arrived about Dao Yezi of the Kunlun Sect, something changed that left Gray Pigeon uneasy.
"So that's how it is." Jiao Tongzi seemed delighted by the news. "He must have seen his way clear. Only then could he step into the Longevity Realm in a single stride."
Gray Pigeon was astonished. He knew Jiao Tongzi had once regarded Dao Yezi as a formidable rival, and the two had debated the Dao several times. Now that Dao Yezi had reached the Longevity Realm first, how could Jiao Tongzi be so calm? Why did he even look pleased?
At the thought, Gray Pigeon's heart sank. He knew Senior Brother had fallen into an inner snare after all. That Heart Demon...
Buzz!
A sudden roar filled Gray Pigeon's senses. He felt something stir and looked sharply at Senior Brother, his eyes widening—
Jiao Tongzi's aura changed abruptly, swelling one moment and drawing in the next. As it shifted, an ethereal air spread from him.
"Wait, what..."
Gray Pigeon stared, speechless. How could he fail to see it? Senior Brother was on the verge of a breakthrough!
Jiao Tongzi had always been among the finest of his generation, and the sect had placed great hopes in