The three adopted sons... ascended to the terrace?
Witnessing this scene, Old Master Zhong's heart skipped a beat, a foreboding unease spreading through him.
"They wouldn't... They're just on the terrace, asking their masters for the Breaking Limit Pill. They'll surely succeed," Old Master Zhong murmured to himself, trying to quell his growing dread.
Yet, upon reaching the terrace, the three adopted sons stood silently behind their respective masters, speaking no words on their behalf. Their masters, cold and indifferent, simply cast dispassionate glances below, awaiting their fellow disciples to ascend.
When all were gathered, Zhong Shijiu, among the adoptees, mounted his flying sword alongside his master and disciples. Without a word, they took flight, leaving the valley far behind.
Watching Zhong Shijiu's departure, the faint glimmer of hope in Old Master Zhong's heart finally shattered.
"Unfilial! Utterly unfilial! Wretched sons, each one of them!" he roared inwardly, but decades of restraint and composure held him back. Eyes closing, he suppressed his fury, his heart heavy with sorrow.
Zhong Di and Zhong Xuan followed suit, standing behind their masters and awaiting the other disciples to finish their arrangements. During the entire process, they didn't so much as glance at Old Master Zhong.
The eldest adopted son, Zhong Tian, quickly grasped the gravity of the situation. His astonishment was evident. How could this happen? How could they betray us like this?
Unable to contain himself, Zhong Tian took a bold step forward.
"Zhong Di! Zhong Xuan! What do you think you're doing?" His voice boomed with rage.
Heads turned towards Zhong Tian. The immortal disciples frowned but refrained from intervening. Others observed curiously but didn't interfere.
Zhong Di and Zhong Xuan shot him a single glance, their disdain evident.
"Ungrateful wretches!" Zhong Tian shouted, his voice trembling with righteous anger. "Do you not remember who took you in as starving beggars? Who clothed and fed you? Who gave you the riches you now enjoy? It was your foster father! Is this how you repay him?"
Old Master Zhong's heart softened as he watched Zhong Tian's impassioned defense.
"You heartless beasts! Have your souls been devoured by dogs? Seeking immortality at the cost of your humanity! If this is the path of cultivation, then you are nothing but demonic scum!" Zhong Tian bellowed.
At that moment, Zhong Di whispered something into his master's ear. The master's eyes flashed coldly, and with a flick of his hand, a spell was cast.
Boom!
A deep pit, three meters wide, appeared before Zhong Tian. It was a warning, not an execution. Had the immortal wished, Zhong Tian would have perished on the spot.
Everyone present understood the situation clearly: Zhong Di had uttered a few honeyed words to his master to silence Zhong Tian.
Zhong Tian's blood boiled. From childhood, he had been raised by Old Master Zhong, and his very life belonged to his foster father. To witness such vile betrayal from his foster brothers, compounded by their master's warning, was unbearable.
"All this... for a mere Breaking Limit Pill? Is my foster father's life so insignificant in your eyes? Am I nothing but an ant beneath your feet?"
Zhong Tian's grief and fury reached their peak. Without hesitation, he seized a large boulder and hurled it towards the terrace where Zhong Di stood.
The crowd gasped in shock.
Is he mad? Does he have a death wish, attacking an immortal disciple?
"Reckless fool!" Zhong Di's master roared, summoning a gleaming silver sword to shatter the incoming boulder.
Boom!
The stone exploded into fragments, and the flying sword, moving with deadly precision, raced towards Zhong Tian.
Alarmed, Old Master Zhong slammed his dragon-headed staff forward, hoping to block the attack. But the sword's speed was overwhelming, closing in on Zhong Tian in an instant.
Hum!
A golden sphere of light materialized before Zhong Tian, repelling the flying sword.
From above, a bald monk descended, the golden orb transforming into prayer beads in his hand. He regarded Zhong Tian with a glimmer of joy.
"Such strength! Born with divine power?" The monk's voice carried a hint of surprise.
Zhong Tian was stunned. Old Master Zhong, lowering his staff, furrowed his brows in contemplation.
"Will you take me as your master?" the monk asked with a smile.
The crowd erupted in whispers. Fortune amidst calamity? This brute earns a stroke of luck?
Even Zhong Di's master hesitated, withdrawing his flying sword. The monk, after all, hailed from the higher sects of the immortal realm.
Zhong Tian froze, but Old Master Zhong nudged him forward, snapping him out of his daze.
"Disciple Zhong Tian greets his master!" he exclaimed, falling to his knees and kowtowing thrice with fervor.
"Rise. Follow me back to the mountain," the monk said warmly.
Zhong Tian, however, remained kneeling. "Master, I have but one request."
"Oh?" The monk raised a brow, intrigued by his disciple's boldness.
"Master, I beg you to grant me a Breaking Limit Pill," Zhong Tian pleaded earnestly.
The monk's eyes narrowed briefly before he turned to glance at Old Master Zhong. A knowing smile tugged at his lips.
"A Breaking Limit Pill is beneath me, but if my disciple desires it, then as his master, I shall procure one."
The monk turned to the crowd, producing a radiant golden pill the size of a dragon's eye. Its divine aroma instantly filled the air.
"To all present, I offer this Infant Formation Pill in exchange for a Breaking Limit Pill."
Gasps filled the valley. The Infant Formation Pill—a treasure of the heavens—offered for a simple Breaking Limit Pill?
A lower-sect disciple fumbled through his storage pouch and triumphantly retrieved the sought-after pill, exchanging it eagerly for the monk's gift.
The Breaking Limit Pill soon found its way to Zhong Tian's hands, who in turn presented it to Old Master Zhong with reverence.
Old Master Zhong, knowing the stakes, wasted no time. With his dragon-headed staff planted firmly into the ground, he swallowed the pill, sitting down to cultivate amidst the envious stares of the mortals and the disinterest of the immortals.
As the Breaking Limit Pill unleashed its power, Old Master Zhong's golden qi swirled violently. By the seventy-second cycle of refinement, his energy transformed into radiant violet-gold. Purple mist emanated from his body, and his youthful vigor returned, his white hair and beard regaining their former jet-black sheen.
The transformation was complete. Old Master Zhong had entered the innate realm.
Zhong Tian, kneeling nearby, was filled with awe. The monk looked on with approval.
"Father, have you succeeded?" Zhong Tian asked eagerly.
"Yes, and it's thanks to you," Old Master Zhong said, his voice tinged with gratitude.
"Master, I am ready to follow you," Zhong Tian said, turning to the monk.
"Let us leave," the monk said, summoning a cloud beneath them.
As they ascended, Old Master Zhong murmured to himself, "Tian'er, you've truly found an exceptional master."