At this moment, the greetings of Nie Nanshan and other members of the Nie clan came from the distance.
"Sectmaster Jiang!"
"Greetings, sectmaster!"
Hearing that Jiang Zhisu had arrived, An Shiyi instantly stopped arguing with Li Fan, and her expression grew calm yet serious.
Nie Donghai turned to Nie Tian. Voice low, he said, "The sectmaster is here. Think twice before you speak." Nie Tian nodded.
In a few seconds, the green-garbed Jiang Zhisu, accompanied by Nie Nanshan, appeared right there in front of Nie Tian.
As the master of the Cloudsoaring sect, Jiang Zhisu appeared to be only around forty-years-old, with a righteous face and a plain expression that probably wouldn't change under any pressure or difficulty.
Looking over at An Shiyi, he calmly said, "So, you're here too, kiddo."
"Greetings, uncle Jiang." An Shiyi smoothed away all her sharp edges when facing him and pretended to be modest and virtuous. "I happened to be in Black Cloud City when I sensed the changes caused by the spatial rifts appearing in the Nie clan. That's why I decided to come over and see what was going on."
After pondering for a moment, she continued, "Before I arrived, I didn't expect your honorable disciple Li Fan to be here. I was worried that members of the Nie clan wouldn't understand the dangers of the spatial rifts, and might make unadvised moves to hurt themselves. I'm only here to help.
"Fortunately, the space disruption zone wasn't fully formed. Apparently my worries were unfounded."
After hearing her explanation, Jiang Zhisu nodded. "I also happened to overhear what you just said to Li Fan. If a space disruption zone were to be completely formed in this place, our Cloudsoaring sect would surely invite the Spiritual Treasure sect to explore it with us."
"Thank you, uncle Jiang." An Shiyi bowed to express her gratitude, and then she smiled at Nie Donghai. "Sorry to have disturbed you."
After finishing these words, she winked at Nie Tian again and then left without a moment's hesitation.
It seemed all she had been waiting for was Jiang Zhisu's promise. After getting it, she simply walked out of the Nie clan, her mind settled.
Jiang Zhisu looked at Li Fan and asked, "Tell me what you've seen, and don't leave out any details."
Li Fan held nothing back, thoroughly explaining all the anomalies that he had witnessed in the Nie clan.
After he finished, Jiang Zhisu closed his eyes in thought for a while. Then he suddenly turned to Nie Tian and ordered, "This child stays. All the other members of the Nie clan may leave us for now."
Upon his order, Nie Donghai and his two brothers all bowed and then left, each with their own thoughts.
After all of them were gone, Jiang Zhisu gazed at Nie Tian and asked with a warm tone, "Child, I heard that you disappeared for ten days. Where were you during that time?"
Nie Tian took a breath and answered with a serious face, "Ten days ago, some similar spatial rifts appeared just like they did today. Then, I was sucked into one of them..."
"Sucked into it?" A strange light flashed in Jiang Zhisu's eyes. "Then what? What did you see? And how did you come back?"
Nie Tian described everything with a fascinated look on his face, as if he were immersed in a dream. "I saw a sky full of dazzling lights, as if there were countless meteors flying past me. It seemed like a magnificent dreamland, with sparks of light everywhere, and raining meteors of various colors. It felt like I stayed there for a long time, but at the same time it also felt like I was there only for a short while.
"Then, for unknown reasons, I was dragged out and returned to the Nie clan.
"I would've never expected that ten days would have passed. It's all so weird."
Nie Tian had confusion written across his face, as if he truly had no idea of what had happened to him.
Jiang Zhisu looked at him and listened to his story carefully. After quite a while, he nodded and gently said, "Alright, you may go to your grandfather now."
Nie Tian awkwardly mimicked Nie Donghai's previous actions, bowing towards Jiang Zhisu, and then left.
"Master, do you think the child told the truth?" Li Fan asked.
Jiang Zhisu's expression didn't change at all. "No."
"That little punk dared to lie to you?" Li Fan said angrily. "I'll call him back right now!"
Jiang Zhisu shook his head, a strange look in his eyes. It seemed he also felt that Nie Tian had some guts. "It doesn't matter if he was telling the truth. What matters the most is that something extraordinary indeed happened to him, right here."
"If we don't find out the truth, what should we do next?" Li Fan said indignantly.
Jiang Zhisu rubbed his chin in thought and added, "If it really was a space disruption zone that was on its way to being formed, it will show itself in the future. If it wasn't, then... there has to be something unusual about that child. I actually hope it was the child."
"What?!" Li Fan said, puzzled.
Jiang Zisu continued to explain, profound meaning filling his words, "Someone in our sect has already spotted him. Sooner or later, Nie Tian will be admitted into the Cloudsoaring sect. If it really was something on him that triggered the change, then after he becomes a disciple of our sect, he will naturally be a powerful asset. In the following period of time, you will stay in the Nie clan and see whether any more anomalies occur."
"I understand," said Li Fan.