By the time Ling Qingshu saw Xu Yang again, it had already been three days.
Xu Yang returned to the Tianlan Sect alone, carrying with him some spirit herbs that were now considered little more than weeds.
Under the strange gazes of the Tianlan Sect disciples, their ancestor, Xu, walked into the grand hall of the sect.
"Xu Ancestor!"
Upon seeing Xu Yang, Ling Qingshu called out. Over the past three days, she had gone through all the ancient texts passed down in the Tianlan Sect.
Among those texts, she found a few scattered mentions of Xu Yang, most of them referring to him as being in seclusion, with no word on his life or death.
This only made Ling Qingshu more certain that the Xu Yang before her was truly an unfathomable figure.
This was because the oldest of those texts were from over three thousand years ago.
Three thousand years—Golden Core cultivators only lived a little over a thousand years.
To have lived for three thousand years, how could he not be a Celestial Realm cultivator?
Of course, if she knew that Xu Yang was the true founding disciple of the Tianlan Sect, a being who had lived for a hundred thousand years, she would probably have been so shocked that she would have lost her composure.
"Ancestor, this is the list of spiritual items brought back from Yunshan Sect, along with some items that other sects have sent in recent days. Please handle them as you see fit."
Xu Yang did not take the list; in his eyes, the items on that list were far less important than the spirit herbs he was holding.
Ling Qingshu thought that this was the true demeanor of a master. Those trivial items were beneath his attention.
"Tell me, which lineage do you belong to? Which generation of sect master are you?" Xu Yang asked, sitting in the main seat. He naturally accepted the tea Ling Qingshu handed him.
Upon hearing Xu Yang's question, Ling Qingshu straightened up, her expression turning serious as she slowly spoke.
"I, Ling Qingshu, am a disciple of Tianlan Sect's 11,065th generation sect master, Tian Xiang. I am the 11,066th generation sect master of Tianlan Sect."
The number 11,066 was vague in Ling Qingshu's mind.
She couldn't fathom how a sect that had been passed down for ten thousand generations had fallen into such a state.
In fact, except for Sect Master Ling Qingshu, the entire Tianlan Sect was unaware that their sect was actually an ancient sect with a lineage stretching back ten thousand generations.
Xu Yang asked many more questions, mostly about the surrounding forces and some hidden secrets.
After all, it had been ten thousand years since he last traveled the world.
Once Ling Qingshu had roughly answered all of his questions, Xu Yang had a general understanding of the current state of the world.
The Ten Great Holy Lands, the powers that once clung to the Tianlan Sect, had they become the strongest forces in the world now?
Those former friends and juniors of his had all risen to the status of ancestors and ascended to immortality.
In ten thousand years, the world had truly changed beyond recognition.
While Xu Yang and Ling Qingshu were still talking, a commotion suddenly sounded from outside.
Both of them furrowed their brows.
Ling Qingshu furrowed her brows because someone dared to interrupt her while she was explaining things to the ancestor.
Xu Yang, however, furrowed his brows for a different reason. He was displeased that, after so many years, two disturbances had occurred at the gates of the Tianlan Sect's grand hall in such a short span of a few days.
If this had been ten thousand years ago, anyone daring to make a commotion at the gates of Tianlan Sect would have been severely punished by Xu Yang's disciples, who were known for following his example with the harshest methods.
Ling Qingshu quickly stepped outside to see what was happening, and Xu Yang stood up and followed her.
"Tianlan Sect is nothing but this," a voice rang in Xu Yang's ears as soon as he stepped out of the hall.
"You say your sect killed the Sect Master of Yunshan Sect and that Tianlan Sect will dominate Qi State again? Ridiculous!"
A burly man was standing at the gates of Tianlan Sect, with one of the sect's rare Foundation Establishment elders lying unconscious before him.
"With you bunch of useless fools, you even destroyed Yunshan Sect? Bah! Don't even know whose cheap tricks you've picked up."
The burly man was extremely arrogant. In his eyes, Tianlan Sect was nothing but a group of weaklings he could easily manipulate.
"I heard your sect master isn't bad looking. How about this: let your sect master come and be my cultivation furnace. You also hand over all the spiritual items from Yunshan Sect, and today I'll spare Tianlan Sect."
As soon as Ling Qingshu stepped outside, she overheard these words. She immediately drew her sword and charged toward the arrogant man.
The burly man was not startled by Ling Qingshu's sudden action. Instead, a powerful aura burst from him.
A Golden Core cultivator! Ling Qingshu's heart skipped a beat, but her sword showed no sign of retreating. Once the sword was drawn, no matter if her opponent was a Golden Core, Yuan Ying, or an undefeatable figure, she could not back down.
This was the first lesson her master taught her on the first day she started learning the sword.
"Not bad, little girl. You must be the sect master of Tianlan Sect. Come, obediently be my furnace!"
The Golden Core man activated his spiritual power and launched a spell, sending Ling Qingshu's sword flying.
With a swift grab, he attempted to capture Ling Qingshu.
Just as she was about to fall into the hands of the Golden Core man, another sword appeared in his path, blocking his attack.
"Who?" The man squinted, recognizing the person who had intervened: Xu Yang.
Upon sensing Xu Yang's Qi Condensation Realm aura, the burly man was not angered but instead laughed. His large eyes widened as he taunted Xu Yang.
"Well, well, a Qi Condensation brat daring to make a move against me. If you kneel down and give me a hundred kowtows, I might just take you as my disciple.
Also, once I'm done with this woman sect master, I'll give her to you.
How about it? As your master, I'm pretty generous, aren't I?"
"I think you should wash that mouth of yours," Xu Yang said.
Before the words left his mouth, Xu Yang vanished from his spot. A sword aura suddenly appeared at the burly man's chest.
The man staggered back, but a long wound more than a foot in length appeared on his chest.
"Such speed! Kid, you're looking for death," the burly man snarled.
Being injured by someone in the Qi Condensation Realm caused the man to lose face, and he vowed that everyone who had witnessed this would die.
With a fierce murderous intent, he quickly retrieved a bell.
"Watch this, brat," he sneered, infusing his Golden Core power into the bell.
A huge sound blasted through the ears of all the Tianlan Sect disciples present.
All the Qi Condensation disciples of Tianlan Sect felt their true qi become chaotic. Their usual cultivation methods seemed to be spiraling out of control, as if they were about to go astray.
"This Chaos Soul Bell is so powerful that even a Golden Core cultivator can't withstand it, let alone a bunch of useless disciples from Tianlan Sect like you."
Seeing the plight of the Tianlan Sect disciples, the man grinned fiercely, and with a flick of his wrist, he prepared to shake the bell again.
Ling Qingshu, being at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, was the most powerful cultivator in Tianlan Sect at the moment.