The junior disciple shook his head like a rattle, "None, none at all."
"Then which disciple has caused trouble?" Elder Qingfeng's expression turned slightly stern.
"No, none of them. It's the Sect Ancestor! She's returned!"
"Sect Ancestor?"
Elder Qingfeng froze for a moment, then an expression of immense joy spread across his face. He vanished from the disciple's sight in a flash.
The disciple looked at the constantly swaying empty lounge chair and exclaimed, then also ran off.
"Sect Ancestor, you've finally returned!"
"Sect Ancestor, Sect Ancestor, we missed you so much!"
"Sect Ancestor's cultivation has advanced again! I wonder when you'll have time to guide us!"
"..."
As soon as Xu Yi reached the entrance of the Xuanji Gate, she was discovered by the disciples and then surrounded by disciples who had heard the news.
Xu Yi hadn't enjoyed the treatment of a Sect Ancestor for many years, and for a moment she felt unaccustomed to it. She could only nod as she searched the crowd for someone who could rescue her.
"Sect Ancestor!"
A loud voice directly drowned out the voices of the surrounding disciples and captured Xu Yi's attention.
Xu Yi focused her gaze, and the smile on her face deepened.
"Elder Liu!"
Elder Liu, who managed the Affairs Hall, skillfully parted the disciples blocking his path with spiritual energy and came before Xu Yi, tears streaming down his face.
"Sect Ancestor, you've finally returned, and your cultivation has greatly increased. This is truly, truly joyous news..."
Elder Liu was the same elder who had gifted Xu Yi the Divine Speed Boat. Xu Yi had relied on the Divine Speed Boat to escape several life-or-death crises, and she was extremely grateful to Elder Liu.
Seeing Elder Liu overcome with emotion, she felt both apprehensive and touched, and quickly stepped forward to comfort him.
When True Person Qingfeng arrived, he saw the disciples gathered outside with strange expressions, and in the middle, Xu Yi was gently consoling a shriveled old man.
Elder Qingfeng's mouth twitched, "Elder Liu's acting skills are getting more exquisite."
"Sect Ancestor!"
"Elder Qingfeng!"
Xu Yi looked at Elder Qingfeng with a look of relief.
Thank goodness, finally someone arrived who could save her from this predicament.
By the time Xu Yi and several elders reached the sect's main hall, it was already an hour later.
Because every elder who saw Xu Yi was overcome with emotion and looked as if they might faint at any moment, Xu Yi had to patiently comfort them one by one.
"Sect Ancestor, are you not leaving this time after returning?"
Elder Fang wiped away nonexistent tears and looked at Xu Yi with anticipation.
The other elders also looked at Xu Yi in unison, their burning gazes seeming to want to melt her.
"I won't be leaving for the time being."
Xu Yi said with a smile, bearing immense pressure.
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the genuine smiles on the elders' faces, which also made her feel a lot of guilt.
After escaping from the secret realm, she hadn't stayed long in the Xuanji Gate, yet everyone in the Xuanji Gate had been constantly thinking of her. She was an unworthy Sect Ancestor.
To reassure the elders, Xu Yi proactively offered to help them handle sect affairs.
The moment she spoke, she had a premonition of something ominous.
Because she saw the elders exchange glances and then give her a meaningful smile.
Xu Yi: ...
She wondered if it was too late to take back her words now.
...
One month later.
True Person Qingfeng looked at Xu Yi, who had occupied his lounge chair and refused to leave, and said helplessly, "Sect Ancestor, Elder Zhao is looking for you everywhere outside."
"Hush."
Xu Yi peeked outside furtively, confirmed that Elder Zhao had not appeared outside, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Elder Qingfeng, please spare me and let me be lazy."
Xu Yi had not expected the elders to be so insane as to assign her a pile of tasks covering the affairs of the five halls of the Xuanji Gate.
Xu Yi had been working non-stop for a month and was truly exhausted today, so she had come to True Person Qingfeng for refuge.
As long as True Person Qingfeng did not betray her, she should not be caught and brought back anytime soon.
True Person Qingfeng shook his head, took out an identical lounge chair from his storage bag, placed it beside Xu Yi, and then lay down as well.
After lying down with her eyes closed for a while, Xu Yi suddenly asked, "Elder Qingfeng, I've been away from the sect for so long and now I'm back, why hasn't the Sect Master finished his seclusion yet?"
From the day Xu Yi returned to the Xuanji Gate, she had heard that the Sect Master was in seclusion, so she had never met him.
When she returned this time and still hadn't received any news from the Sect Master, it made her feel strange.
As she thought of it at this moment, she naturally brought up the question.
"Ah, that..."
True Person Qingfeng did not expect Xu Yi to suddenly ask and was momentarily speechless. Seeing Xu Yi open her eyes and examine him suspiciously, he could only make up a story.
"The Sect Master is in closed-door seclusion and will not emerge until he reaches the Mahayana stage."
"Closed-door seclusion? But I remember there's a sect rule in the Xuanji Gate that if the Sect Master goes into closed-door seclusion for cultivation, he must select the next Sect Master to take over the sect's affairs."
Closed-door seclusion generally had only two outcomes: a successful breakthrough or death. It was extremely risky.
Therefore, from the moment the Sect Master decided to enter closed-door seclusion, he had to abdicate his position as Sect Master and focus entirely on his cultivation.
Why did the current Sect Master, Ji Buwang, not have to abide by this sect rule?
"This... the Sect Master decided this temporarily after entering seclusion, so there wasn't enough time to select the next Sect Master."
Xu Yi frowned. This was too irresponsible.
She pondered for a moment and then said, "In that case, why don't we start selecting the next Sect Master now? The Xuanji Gate cannot remain without a Sect Master for long."
"There's no hurry!"
True Person Qingfeng almost jumped up from the lounge chair.
If he were to select the next Sect Master while the current Sect Master was away, then when the Sect Master returned, he would at least be beaten half to death, if not killed.
"Elder Qingfeng, are you hiding something from me?"
Xu Yi wasn't blind. How could she not see True Person Qingfeng's strangeness?
True Person Qingfeng looked up at the sky, not daring to meet Xu Yi's gaze, "No, nothing."
Xu Yi stared at True Person Qingfeng for a long time. Seeing that he refused to speak, she didn't press further.
True Person Qingfeng couldn't possibly want to harm the Xuanji Gate. He must have his reasons for doing this.
True Person Qingfeng, seeing that Xu Yi had given up, let out a long sigh and was about to lie back down on the lounge chair when he heard Xu Yi say something that almost made him fall down.
"Elder Qingfeng, is Sect Master Ji a descendant of Fairy Jinghong?"
"Cough cough cough cough!"
True Person Qingfeng coughed until his face turned red and he looked pained.
Xu Yi was startled by his reaction and quickly took out some spiritual water to help him breathe.
After a while, True Person Qingfeng asked in a strange tone, "Why do you have such a guess?"
True Person Qingfeng couldn't understand how Xu Yi had linked the Sect Master to Fairy Jinghong.
"Isn't it?"
Xu Yi was even more surprised than True Person Qingfeng.
When she had previously perused the sect's ancient texts, she indeed hadn't found any records about Fairy Jinghong and Ji Buwang.
However, in a dream, she had personally heard Ji Xiu, a suitor of Liu Jinghong, say that if he and Liu Jinghong had descendants in the future, they would be named Ji Buwang.
The current Sect Master's name was Ji Buwang. This couldn't be a coincidence, could it?
"But the two of them indeed have no connection. The Sect Master had not yet been born when Fairy Jinghong ascended."
Xu Yi:?
How could this be?