On Yi Xiang Peak stood a plain, unadorned courtyard, utterly different from the surrounding palaces, whether resplendent in gold and jade, exquisitely magnificent, or with eaves jutting like pecking birds.
Few disciples of Yi Xiang Peak appeared here. Even those who occasionally passed by in front of it were solemn. Not only did they look upon the courtyard with yearning, but they also softened their footsteps, as though some extraordinary figure lived within.
The courtyard gates had remained shut for years. Though no one came to clean them, the area before and behind the rooms was remarkably tidy, no different from anywhere else.
Before the gates, which no one had approached for a long time, four people now arrived.
At their head was the white-haired Cult Master, followed by Peacock, Chen Chen, and Rain Swallow.
Standing before this utterly ordinary courtyard, Abbess Jingyi seemed filled with emotion. She merely stood quietly, gazing at the gates without speaking. Peacock and the others stood respectfully three feet behind Abbess Jingyi in a triangular formation, their hearts equally stirred.
After a moment, Abbess Jingyi said softly, "This place... should have been called the Transmission Hall. Yet for a long time, everyone has called it the Inheritance Palace, as a mark of respect. Really... is a name so important? As long as one holds respect in one's heart, is that not better than anything else?"
Then she turned back. "I imagine you all know of this place. You must have long guessed at what it contains. You may look at whatever is inside, but you must absolutely not spread it outside. That is the strict command of our sect's predecessors!"
"Yes, Cult Master."
Hearing this, Abbess Jingyi smiled again. "Sixty years ago, I too was like you, following behind the previous Cult Master with