The cosmic sect was an extremely beautiful place. It was based within the biggest galaxy that Ying Xiong had found in his journeys. It was a sect that floated in space, as its name hinted.
Just from a single glance, it was clear that Ying Xiong must have spent an extremely large amount of time designing it, and another long length of time gathering the materials and building it.
The cosmic sect was surrounded by a large ring, similar to some planets. On the large ring were a bunch of buildings. The place seemed like a city, but it was many times bigger than a planet.
Within the large ring was a much different scene. The only thing inside were a few large halls, many of which could be compared in size to a continent.
Multiple stars rotated around the cosmic sect. There were also many floating orbs that gave off different colors.
Each building seemed to be made out of space and stars, although that was just how they were designed.
Inside the centermost building of the cosmic sect, its only two members were cultivating silently.
It was hard to call it a building, as it was just a platform with a few starry pillars and a roof.
It was completely open to the outside.
Suddenly, Tong jumped as he had just heard footsteps outside the building. Ying Xiong's eyes snapped open in surprise, before he realized that he had a familiar visitor.
Tong looked around, and soon spotted Zhou Fan walking towards the building. Tong did not speak, and only looked at Ying Xiong in confusion.
"It has been a long time since we last met, Zhou Fan." Ying Xiong said.
"Really? It felt like yesterday to me." Zhou Fan joked, although he was somewhat serious.
"I suppose time would move faster for stronger people. This is my disciple, Tong. I don't believe that you've met." Ying Xiong said.
"Hello." Tong said.
Although he was very clearly an old man, he gave off a feeling of childishness.
"Hello, Tong. Just before I went into seclusion, I was watching you two start your journey. A pity that I missed out on most of it." Zhou Fan said.
Hearing his words, not just Tong, but even Ying Xiong was momentarily surprised.
"Your methods are truly incredible. I didn't sense a thing the entire time." Ying Xiong said, while Tong stayed silent in shock.
Zhou Fan nodded and spoke. "I saw what you were doing here and came to take a look. I must say that I admire you. I could never settle down like this."
Ying Xiong laughed, not knowing if he was truly being complimented or accidentally insulted.
"It took me a while, but I've realized my true passions. Exploration, teaching others, and tea." He said as he lifted a tea cup.
"Well I'm glad you managed to discover that. I almost forgot to mention, I've come with gifts." Zhou Fan said as he took out two large rectangle gift boxes with ribbons on top.
"Gifts? You never seemed like the type." Ying Xiong chuckled as he got up and walked over.
He could have dragged them over or used Qi, but it was a sign of respect to equal or superior cultivators to manually do some things.
As Ying Xiong pulled the wrapping paper down, he was surprised to see two 10 year old children in a rectangle block of ice.
"While I was in seclusion, I detected these two people's births, and thinking of you, I took them and put them in cryostasis until today." Zhou Fan explained.
In his freetime, he had mastered the art of cryostasis, which was what he had done to the manor long ago.
Different from then, his control and ability was on a different level.
The manor's cryostasis was imperfect, and Zhou Fan had fixed it once he had mastered the art.
Once he entered the true god realm, mastering the art took only a few seconds, which was why he had never mentioned it.
It was difficult to put someone in cryostasis, and even for mortals like the two in front of him, it took a large amount of Qi. Only a void traversing cultivators could produce enough Qi to keep them in cryostasis.
The only person that Zhou Fan could not put into perfect cryostasis with his current strength was Ying Xiong. He could do it to Tong, but it would require the constant use of nearly a fourth of his Qi, an unacceptable expenditure.
"These two are incredible talents, even I must say that. The boy on the right is only slightly less talented compared to Tong, and the girl on the left is in between Tong and you in terms of talent." Zhou Fan explained.
"I see. I have mixed feelings about the process, but I suppose it would be different for people like us." Ying Xiong said. As a Buddhist and the strongest member of the righteous path of the Zhou Galaxy, human trafficking and slavery were not something he liked. Still, there was a vast difference between that and Zhou Fan's actions.
"Don't worry about it too much. They'll live much better lives here than wherever they would have." Zhou Fan said.
"Anyway, let me describe these children's talents. The boy has a great affinity with dragon Qi, and some sort of dragon divine physique. The girl has a great affinity with Ice Qi, and also has some sort of Ice divine physique. You'll have to go over the specifics, I couldn't be bothered to check." Zhou Fan said.
Ying Xiong and Tong, who had come to accept the situation, studied the two with great curiosity. They could almost sense the talent radiating off of them.
Ying Xiong put his hands on the ice and began to melt the two blocks.
Soon, two children were standing confused. The girl had long white hair and wore white clothes, while the boy had dark black hair and wore yellow clothes.
Luckily, the two of them were born as orphans, so Zhou Fan did not need to bring any parents or relatives.
"Hello you two. I am Ying Xiong. Nice to meet you." Ying Xiong said in a gentle voice.