198: visit

Inside the main hall of the Dao Seeking Sect, sandalwood smoke curled gently around the pillars.

Outside the hall entrance, four Cloud Sea Sect Cultivators, dressed in unified dark ink uniforms, stood tall and guarded the doorway.

Inside the hall, Elder Xu only brought three Disciples. Each held a brocade box, following slowly behind Elder Xu, too nervous to even breathe heavily.

When Elder Xu and his accompanying Disciples looked up and saw the white-robed figure sitting in the Sect Master's seat, they immediately bowed in salute, their movements perfectly synchronized and their tone exceedingly respectful: "Junior Xu of the Cloud Sea Sect greets Sect Master Chen!"

"Junior Xu of the Cloud Sea Sect greets Sect Master Chen."

Qin Tianxing stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Bro... Brother Chen, I came uninvited this time. I apologize for the disturbance."

Chen Xuan merely raised his hand slightly upon hearing this, his voice calm yet inherently authoritative: "Dispense with the formalities."

After everyone straightened up, Chen Xuan's gaze fell upon Elder Xu, and he asked lightly, "Fellow Daoist Xu, you came all the way to my Dao Seeking Sect. May I ask what important matter brings you here?"

Elder Li quickly straightened up, the smile on his face becoming a bit more genuine: "We Juniors have come this time, firstly, to apologize for the offense previously caused by the Third Elder, and secondly, to express our respect to Sect Master Chen. If the Dao Seeking Sect ever has a need in the future, the Cloud Sea Sect will certainly offer its full support."

As his voice fell, the three Disciples behind him immediately stepped forward and opened the brocade boxes one by one.

They contained two bottles of lustrous Medicinal Pills, the medicinal fragrance rich and mellow—clearly eighth-grade elixirs of excellent quality. The other brocade box held a Magic Treasure emitting a faint golden light. Although it was not activated, one could feel the profound spiritual power contained within; it was actually a Low Grade Magic Treasure approaching the Heaven Rank.

Such a generous gift was clearly the greatest sincerity the Cloud Sea Sect could offer.

"It's a small token of our regard, please do not despise it, Sect Master Chen," Elder Xu said, bowing, adopting an extremely subservient posture.

Seeing this, Qin Tianxing, who was standing nearby, spoke up with a timely laugh: "Brother Chen, the Third Elder of the Cloud Sea Sect has always been willful. The previous incident might genuinely have been a misunderstanding, and their intention in coming to apologize this time is sincere enough."

Chen Xuan glanced at him. It seemed Fellow Daoist Qin had already profited handsomely.

However, he didn't care much about it. After all, with his current Soul Transformation fourth-layer Realm, even without relying on an experience card, the small Cloud Sea Sect was nothing to fear, and he had never taken this small grievance seriously.

Chen Xuan thus spoke slowly: "I accept Elder Xu's intention, but since it was a misunderstanding, there is no need for an apology.

The Cultivation World inherently operates on the law of the jungle. The Third Elder acted improperly and met that end—it was his own choice and has nothing to do with the Cloud Sea Sect."

He paused, his gaze sharpening slightly, "However, I hope that from now on, the Cloud Sea Sect will properly restrain its Disciples and prevent them from provoking trouble again. Otherwise, the next time might bring disaster upon the Sect."

Elder Xu's heart tightened, and he quickly nodded in response: "Yes, yes, Sect Master Chen, please rest assured! After I return, I will certainly report to the Sect Master and strictly restrain our Disciples, ensuring we never cause trouble for the Dao Seeking Sect again!"

He could feel the deterrence in the words of the man before him—an absolute suppression of the weak by the strong—leaving him without the slightest thought of rebuttal.

Seeing that the matter was resolved, Qin Tianxing stepped forward, displaying his usual composed smile: "Brother Chen, the smooth resolution of this misunderstanding today is a weight off my mind. However, we have come to visit this time because there is another important matter we wish to discuss with you."

Hearing this, a flicker of curiosity crossed Chen Xuan's eyes, and he raised an eyebrow slightly: "Oh? Fellow Daoist Qin, please speak frankly. What is the matter?"

Qin Tianxing explained: "It concerns the allocation of the Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven."

"The Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven?" Chen Xuan truly hadn't expected it to be about this.

Qin Tianxing explained: "The Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven was previously jointly managed by four Sects: the Haotian Sect, the Cloud Sea Sect, the Bibo Palace, and the Yin Shen Sect, where I belong. Each party would dispatch Elders at agreed-upon times to enter and recruit Prodigy Disciples."

Now that the Haotian Sect has been destroyed and replaced by my Dao Seeking Sect—whose strength far surpasses the former's—the ownership of this Grotto-Heaven naturally needs to be reallocated. Chen Xuan slowly nodded after understanding the key points, his tone calm:

"I see. It is indeed time to renegotiate. Then, Fellow Daoist Qin and Fellow Daoist Xu, when do you intend to discuss this matter?"

Elder Xu quickly stepped forward, his attitude respectful: "If it is convenient for Sect Master Chen, the discussion can take place three days from now.

After I return, I will immediately send someone to contact the Palace Master of Bibo Palace, asking her to rush to the Cloud Sea Sect as soon as possible. We four parties can gather to finalize the details of the Grotto-Heaven's allocation so that all Sects may benefit sooner."

Chen Xuan pondered for a moment. Discussing it on any day was fine for him.

He currently had no urgent matters requiring his attention.

"Very well! Let's set it for three days from now."

After receiving the reply, Elder Xu bowed again in salute: "In that case, this Junior will take his leave now, so I can immediately make a trip to Bibo Palace."

Having said that, he cupped his hands toward Qin Tianxing, "Fellow Daoist Qin, I'll go ahead."

After Elder Xu left with his Disciples, Qin Tianxing took a folded piece of white paper from his robe, his expression instantly turning serious. He stepped forward and handed it to Chen Xuan:

"Brother Chen, the matter you entrusted me to investigate—the 'Gu influencing common folk below the mountains to Cultivate and drain their vital energy for cultivation'—has now been completely suppressed. I just didn't expect the Yao Race's influence to have reached this territory."

Chen Xuan looked at the list on the paper, which contained nearly a hundred densely packed Sect names.

He frowned slightly, looked up, and asked, "By the way, do you have any clues about the Yao Race member who destroyed the Haotian Sect? Where exactly did it come from?"

Qin Tianxing pondered for a moment, then said solemnly: "I speculate that the Yao Race member must have infiltrated from the neighboring Rain God Continent. However, we currently don't know its objective, nor do we understand why it specifically targeted the Haotian Sect for destruction."

Chen Xuan's heart stirred. He remembered that the Yao Race member was searching for something at the time, but he still had no clue what it was.

"Did the Haotian Sect ever have contact with the Yao Race previously? Could there be some enmity between them?" Chen Xuan suddenly asked.

Qin Tianxing was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "Although I dislike the Haotian Sect's style of conduct, frankly speaking, they definitely never colluded with the Yao Race. Furthermore, whenever Sects organized expeditions to the Rain God Continent to kill Yao, the Haotian Sect was always dedicated and never ambiguous."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan stopped dwelling on the matter and raised his hand to put away the white paper.

His immediate priority was still to increase his strength. Although there was no longer any threat to him in the Flame Continent territory, he was still insufficient within the vast expanse of the Profound Realm.

Chen Xuan changed the subject and smiled, "Since Fellow Daoist Qin has come to my Dao Seeking Sect as a guest, why not stay and have a cup of fine wine? Allow me to fulfill my duties as host."

Qin Tianxing laughed: "To be honest, Brother Chen, that is actually the main reason I came to visit the Dao Seeking Sect this time."