Growing Further Apart

As everyone took their seats in the side hall, Cui Yan looked at Yi Xuan and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Who could have imagined that Rootless Person was once even on the verge of being expelled from the sect would one day become a pillar of the Azure Cloud Sect?

The Azure Cloud Sect is no longer a second-rate sect that relies solely on the old matriarch, a single Spirit Transformation cultivator.

Instead, it became the top power in Southern Frontier.

All of his achievements today are thanks to Yi Xuan is standing in front of him.

Thinking of this, Cui Yan stood up and led the elders in giving Yi Xuan a deep 90-degree bow.

Yi Xuan had not anticipated this situation at all.

Seeing the actions of the Azure Cloud Sect's high-ranking members, he was completely stunned.

What are you doing?

After realizing what had happened, Yi Xuan rushed to Cui Yan's side and helped the sect leader up.

Fortunately, Yi Xuan's physical strength had improved during his time in the Tomb of the Sea God, reaching the level of Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Otherwise, they might not have been able to lift Cui Yan, who was at the Golden Core Realm, up.

After feeling the force in Yi Xuan's hand, Cui Yan looked at Yi Xuan with a surprised expression.

"Junior brother... your... your strength... your body is healed?"

It's no wonder Cui Yan felt this way. Anyone else, upon discovering Yi Xuan's astonishing strength, would have immediately thought that Yi Xuan was healthy again.

Yi Xuan did not deny it, but nodded somewhat vaguely.

However, in everyone's eyes, Yi Xuan's attitude was tantamount to admitting it.

Although the sect had previously defeated the Mystic Snow Pavilion with Yi Xuan's help, and ultimately succeeded in becoming a top power in the Southern Frontier.

But family members understand their own affairs.

Everyone in the sect knows that Yi Xuan is Rootless Person.

Even though Yi Xuan possessed the strength to contend with powerful cultivators, the members of the Azure Cloud Sect were still somewhat worried.

In their view, although Yi Xuan possessed formidable combat power, this strength did not originate from his own abilities.

This is also a fixed mindset among cultivators, who instinctively feel that external forces are not as reliable as their own strength.

So, don't be fooled by the rapid development of the Azure Cloud Sect in recent years.

However, these high-ranking leaders who guide the development of the sect are walking on thin ice.

Everyone worried that Yi Xuan would one day lose his external support and become that Rootless Person again.

That would be a catastrophic disaster for the entire Azure Cloud Sect!

Those who hold high positions are extremely rare; once they lose power, only a very small minority can gracefully transition out of their predicament.

The same applies to sects. If the Azure Cloud Sect loses power, not kicking it while it's down is considered the greatest favor.

By then, countless forces will want to take a bite out of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Among them, those who are currently currying favor with the Azure Cloud Sect are the most prominent.

The more he fawns over others now, the bigger his mouth will be when the time comes.

Yi Xuan understood this principle, which is why he kindly offered Cui Yan and the others some comfort.

Everyone in the side hall was overjoyed, as if a great weight had finally been lifted from their hearts.

Just as everyone was chatting, three figures appeared at the entrance to the side hall.

The moment Yi Xuan saw the three figures, he jumped off his chair and knelt down in front of one of them.

These three were none other than the three Supreme Elders of the Azure Cloud Sect, while Yi Xuan was kneeling before his own master, Xiao Anhe.

Upon learning of Yi Xuan's return, Cui Yan immediately informed Xiao Anhe and the other two.

In fact, as the Azure Cloud Sect has developed faster and faster in the past two years, the three elders of the Azure Cloud Sect have become increasingly troubled.

They discovered that they didn't know how to get along with Yi Xuan, a former disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Fortunately, Yi Xuan never returned to the sect after the incident at the Mystic Snow Pavilion, thus avoiding an awkward situation for the three elders.

But how can one avoid something like this?

After learning of Yi Xuan's return, the three elders did a lot of mental preparation, and even Xiao Anhe, the master, planned to put aside his masterly airs in front of his disciple.

Little did they know, all of this was just their own wishful thinking.

Yi Xuan was still the same Yi Xuan, never changing despite his increased strength.

This is something the three elders only realized when Yi Xuan knelt before them.

Seeing Yi Xuan kneeling on the ground, Xiao Anhe quickly helped him up.

The two matriarchs, Supreme Elder Li and the old matriarch, looked at Yi Xuan, who had stood up, with expressions of satisfaction.

Upon seeing this, Cui Yan waved to the many elders behind him.

The elders quickly disappeared into the side hall.

Only the three elders, Yi Xuan, and Cui Yan remained.

Yi Xuan also took the initiative to speak, recounting how he found Junior Sister Mu in the Eternal Sea.

Of course, he glossed over all the dangers involved.

However, everyone present understood that despite Yi Xuan's nonchalant tone, the dangers involved were far beyond their imagination.

That is the Eternal Sea, a place that Human Clan cultivators call the Land Forsaken by Heaven.

To find a missing person there, one can imagine the hardships Yi Xuan must have gone through!

After briefly explaining his situation, Yi Xuan inquired about the scene he had witnessed at the Azure Cloud Sect.

Because of the delegation of power, although the three elders knew that the sect was thriving in the past two years, they had no idea of the specifics.

As the de facto leader of the Azure Cloud Sect, Cui Yan gave Yi Xuan a very clear description of the Azure Cloud Sect situation.

After listening to Cui Yan's introduction, Yi Xuan couldn't help but sigh at how terrifying the Azure Cloud Sect's development had been in the past two years.

Because of its abundant resources, the Azure Cloud Sect began to recruit disciples on a large scale.

In less than two years, the number of disciples in the Azure Cloud Sect more than doubled.

Furthermore, this was under Cui Yan's strict control; otherwise, the number of the Azure Cloud Sect members would have been much greater.

The group chatted enthusiastically about the development of the Azure Cloud Sect until it was getting late, at which point they consciously began to end the conversation.

Escorted by Cui Yan, Yi Xuan returned to his old courtyard.

He could push the door open, but Yi Xuan simply couldn't move his legs!

The place where Yi Xuan had lived for over twenty years now felt completely unfamiliar to him.

They were clearly under strict protection by the higher-ups of the Azure Cloud Sect, and even an open space was set up around them to prevent them from being disturbed.

But no matter how Yi Xuan looked at it, it didn't seem like a home, but rather a prison.

Ultimately, Yi Xuan had no choice but to leave Cui Yan behind and instead went directly to Xiao Anhe's temporary palace.

Xiao Anhe clearly knew that Yi Xuan was coming, so he even prepared tea and sat in front of the main hall to wait.

"Master, what's wrong...?"

Looking at the two cups of tea on the table, Yi Xuan was filled with disbelief.

Xiao Anhe smiled and pointed to the tea in front of him, gesturing for Yi Xuan to sit down.

"I knew you'd come! Now I finally understand why Senior Brother Chu left the Azure Cloud Sect back then!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Xuan's hand, which was holding a teacup, froze in mid-air.