While Liu Changxu led the entire Liu Lineage in a flurry of construction at their clan grounds and the installation of the Clan-Defense Grand Formation, his son Liu Fuyang finally arrived before the gates of the Heavenly Lake Sacred Land after numerous transfers through Ultra-Long-Distance Teleportation Arrays and long stretches of flight.
Since Liu Fuyang was not a disciple of the Heavenly Lake Sacred Land, he had no permission to enter and leave freely. After reaching the gates, he could only ask the cultivator on guard to pass on a message. Naturally, to see Guo Xuetang as soon as possible, Liu Fuyang privately slipped the gatekeeper a generous sum of spirit stones.
Having accepted the payment, the gatekeeper proved efficient. Before long, Guo Xuetang received the message and hurried over to meet Liu Fuyang.
Yet although Liu Fuyang had eagerly anticipated his beloved's smiling face, he did not see the joy he had expected when Guo Xuetang appeared before him. Worry faintly clouded her expression; she had clearly encountered a thorny problem.
"Fuyang, why have you come so suddenly? Has something happened?"
Upon seeing Liu Fuyang, Guo Xuetang immediately asked:
Liu Fuyang noticed something amiss in Guo Xuetang's expression and inwardly sensed trouble, but he did not show it. He merely said:
"My father has arrived at White Wolf Mountain. He wants to meet you."
"Oh! But I really can't spare the time right now. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint your father this time."
"If you don't have time, forget it. There will be other opportunities."
Hearing Guo Xuetang's words, Liu Fuyang instantly realized that a crack seemed to have appeared in their relationship. His original intention to tell her the joyous news of his father's advancement to Mahayana vanished without a trace.
He then continued:
"Since you're busy,