After the ritual celebration and thanksgiving banquet at Shangzhen Palace ended, the True Lord saw off the guests but kept the River Lords and Lake Lords behind. He held a lengthy meeting in the palace, giving them instructions on many matters, then rode the Lion Lord away from the Daoist sanctuary and returned to the Three Pure Ones Immortal Sect.
Naturally, the True Lord's return to the sect called for another grand display. A sea of people gathered before the mountain gates, craning their necks in anticipation.
Cheng Xinzhan returned with True Person Hehe, waving as he entered the mountain gates. When he saw that the spectacle inside was even grander than outside, the corner of his eye twitched. He tugged at the Sect Leader's robe and asked quietly,
"Sect Leader, you didn't deceive me, did you? You really haven't brought me back to take over?"
At this, True Person Hehe grumbled inwardly:
If you were willing, of course I would let you take over! You asked eight hundred times along the way, looking ready to flee the instant anything seemed wrong. Now that you're a True Lord, I can hardly make you lose face, and I honestly don't know whether I could stop you if you wanted to leave. Otherwise, what would there be to discuss?
As things stood, however, Ji Hehe merely pulled his sleeve free in exasperation, shot him a glance, and said stubbornly,
"I've already survived my Immortal Tribulation and taken a Corpse-Liberation Pill. My essence and qi are sealed, and my immortal power doesn't leak away. Now the Immortal Tribulation doesn't trouble me, and earth qi doesn't hurry me along either. Everyone still thinks I'm in the fifth realm. I can go wherever I please now, instead of squatting in the Three Pure Ones Palace