Chapter 111 Outrageous

"Qingyun Old Ancestor?"

The hearts of the three Qingyun Sect Disciples skipped a beat.

It was impossible for anyone in the Qingyun Sect not to have heard of such a title, but those great figures who founded the Sect were people they could rarely reach; even seeing them once was a luxury.

In other words.

Except for a few Elders, many Qingyun Sect Disciples did not know what the Qingyun Old Ancestor looked like.

At this moment.

Mu An inadvertently revealed his strength; his terrifying Foundation Establishment Peak cultivation Realm flashed by in an instant.

Yet, even in that brief moment, the three Qingyun Sect Disciples broke out in a cold sweat, as if they had walked before the gates of hell; their hearts pounded violently and would not stop.

They hurriedly lowered their heads, cupped their hands in a salute, and spoke with great respect.

"Disciple greets the Qingyun Old Ancestor!"

Such an identity token…

Such terrifying strength…

It almost entirely confirmed the identity of the 'young man' before them!

As for whether it could be a fake?

They cast that thought aside after only a moment's consideration.

Pretending to be the Qingyun Old Ancestor within the Qingyun Sect was like a mouse knocking on a cat's door—it was purely courting death!

"Hmm."

Mu An nodded calmly.

After a moment's thought, he added,

"Remember to come to the Qingyun Square later for a general meeting of all Sect Disciples."

A general meeting… of all Sect Disciples?

Hearing this somewhat unfamiliar term, the three Qingyun Sect Disciples' minds blanked for a moment.

But they quickly nodded and responded.

"Yes!" (x3)

Watching Mu An and his group leave on their swords, they quietly breathed a sigh of relief and could not help but whisper to each other.

"As expected of our Qingyun Sect's Old Ancestor; his Realm is unfathomable. Just the tiny bit of aura he accidentally leaked almost scared me into wetting myself! I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to Cultivate to that Realm in this lifetime…"

"Stop whining. Didn't you hear the Old Ancestor say that all Sect Disciples need to head to Qingyun Square for a meeting later? Let's hurry over!"

"I wonder what the Old Ancestor wants to announce. It couldn't be that another cultivation Sect is coming to attack our Qingyun Sect, could it? Or perhaps, he's going to fully open the Sect and end our seclusion?"

"But what about guarding the mountain gate?"

"What's the point? With the Sect-protecting Formation in place, it's unlikely an outsider will break in even in a hundred years. Besides, now that the Old Ancestor is personally overseeing the Sect, what mere scoundrel would dare to cause trouble?"

The three of them hurried toward Qingyun Square as they discussed this.

This was mainly because a brief message had already arrived on the tokens at their waists.

[All Qingyun Sect Disciples and Elders: Assemble at Qingyun Square immediately! ——Qingyun Old Ancestor]

The one who sent this message was, naturally, Mu An.

Holding the Qingyun Sect's most important token, he had fully taken over the Qingyun Sect. The Sect-protecting Formation that originally protected the Sect had now become a 'cage' that prevented anyone from leaving.

…

Qingyun Square.

Countless Qingyun Sect Disciples looked at each other, each more bewildered than the last. They had no idea why the Sect's Old Ancestor, who hadn't been active for many years, suddenly wanted to gather everyone in the square.

Could he be about to announce something major?

Some Disciples speculated silently.

It wasn't just the Qingyun Sect Disciples who were confused; the various Qingyun Sect Elders were also unaware of the full story.

Before long.

Except for the Cultivators in deep seclusion, the vast majority of the Qingyun Sect had gathered here.

Mu An scanned the crowd; there were roughly three thousand people.

That didn't sound like many; any school in the real world could easily outnumber the Qingyun Sect.

But one had to remember that these people were not Mortals; they were all Cultivators with cultivation.

In the outside Mortal world, any one of them would be respectfully addressed as 'Revered Master Immortal'!

…

Under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Mu An and his two companions slowly landed on the high platform.

The man's expression was calm as he spoke indifferently.

"Today, I, the Sect Master, have gathered all Qingyun Sect Disciples and Elders for only one purpose—to… slay the demons!"

Upon hearing this, a few Elders' expressions changed drastically.

As the small handful of people who had met the Sect Master before, they knew all too well that the young man before them was definitely not the Qingyun Old Ancestor.

[Who exactly is he?]

[When did he sneak in? How dare he impersonate the Qingyun Old Ancestor?]

[And he has the audacity to talk about slaying demons! Such… unmitigated gall!]

Because the true Qingyun Old Ancestor (Red-Blooded Old Turtle) had fallen so suddenly, many people were not yet aware of the news.

Even Wei Yinan and Ning Yuan, who had rushed back to the Sect due to their injuries, were unaware.

They had left the scene early and had not learned what happened.

"You impudent brat! The Qingyun Sect is not a place where you can run wild!"

A short, black-robed Elder shouted angrily.

Mu An merely glanced at him and silently revealed the identity token in his hand.

In an instant, the man's expression changed drastically; he clearly recognized what it was.

Yet, he was filled with even more confusion.

How could the treasures of an existence like the Qingyun Old Ancestor be so easily seized?

The black-robed Elder only dared to consider the possibility that it had been 'stolen'; he never once entertained the possibility that the Qingyun Old Ancestor had been killed.

There were very few beings in the world capable of killing such a powerhouse, so he naturally did not believe that these greenhorns before him possessed such strength.

*Snap.*

Mu An casually snapped his fingers.

The next second, the light from the Qingyun Old Ancestor's identity token surged.

While the Sect-protecting Formation 'trapped' everyone and prevented them from leaving, it also removed certain concealment effects.

This caused a wave of panic among the many Qingyun Disciples present.

They discovered that the people beside them had suddenly changed their appearance; they had lost their human forms and revealed their true, ugly, monster faces.

"A… a Great Monster!"

A Qingyun Sect Disciple exclaimed, retreating several steps in terror from the person beside him.

"Revered Master is… a Great Monster?"

Seeing the short, black-robed Elder suddenly transform into a massive black spider Essence Spirit, Wei Yinan's eyes widened in disbelief.

No matter how hard she tried to understand, she could not comprehend that the Revered Master who had once taught her to Cultivate was not even human!

Her worldview was completely shattered; for a moment, her mind was like stirred paste, filled with nothing but bewilderment and confusion.

Mu An scanned the crowd.

Just as he had seen earlier through the [Enemy Detection Radar].

Many of the Sect Elders were actually Essence Spirits, with strength generally ranging from the Early Stage to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Furthermore, there were many low-cultivation Essence Spirits among the Qingyun Sect Disciples.

Many people found it hard to accept that those they had addressed as Senior Brothers were not truly human.

Many, upon discovering that their Dao Companions were Essence Spirits, cried out that the sky had fallen; their vision went dark, and they nearly fainted.

They had actually been that despicable 'grass-roots lover,' engaging in Dual Cultivation with those ugly Essence Spirits?

"Damn you! What have you done?"

The 'short, black-robed Elder' roared angrily at the perpetrator, Mu An.

Seeing his Disciple Wei Yinan and the others standing before him with swords drawn,

his anger flared even further, and he spoke bluntly.

"What are you doing? What are you trying to do? Are you committing treason by killing your Revered Master?"

"That guy used a Demonic Technique to deceive your senses! Do not be easily deceived!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Yinan and the others did indeed hesitate. Recalling the past, the swords in their hands felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and their hearts were filled with an immense burden.

How could their Revered Master have become a Essence Spirit?

…