Although Tianji Peak still stood tall and imposing, its former splendor was gone.
Back in those days, not only the main peak, Tianji Peak, but even the other six peaks were teeming with people.
Who would have thought that while the green mountains remained, the grand scene of prosperity had vanished?
“How many tens of thousands of disciples does our sect have now?”
Xu Chengfeng looked toward Feng Mingfei at his side.
“Tens of thousands?” Feng Mingfei cautiously glanced at her Grandmaster’s expression.
Grandmaster isn’t joking, is he?
A sect with tens of thousands of disciples….let alone in Lingju Prefecture—
Even across the entire Chu Yue Kingdom, that would rank among the very top great sects.
Could it be that when Grandmaster founded the sect, there were actually tens of thousands of disciples?
Tens of thousands…
Just thinking about it felt impossibly distant.
Seeing Feng Mingfei’s expression, Xu Chengfeng understood that the sect was no longer what it once had been.
In his prime, he had commanded no fewer than a million disciples. Yet now, there weren’t even ten thousand left.
“Then are there several thousand?”
“Several thousand?” Feng Mingfei thought to herself. A sect with several thousand disciples could dominate a region in Lingju Prefecture.
“At least a few hundred, then.”
Xu Chengfeng watched as Feng Mingfei lowered her head further and further, and knew he was still overestimating.
“Don’t tell me our sect only has a few dozen people now?”
Xu Chengfeng gave a wry smile. “Surely it’s not so bad that we don’t even have a few dozen…”
Watching Feng Mingfei nod, Xu Chengfeng could only give a bitter smile. “Tell me about the sect’s current situation first.”
“Our sect now has seven people…” Feng Mingfei said slowly as she studied her Grandmaster’s expression. “Although there are only seven of us, even the disciple with the lowest cultivation has reached the Core Formation Realm.”
She had thought that would cheer him up a little, but Xu Chengfeng let out a long sigh instead. “Has it been a long time since the sect accepted any new disciples?”
“How did Grandmaster know…” The words slipped out before Feng Mingfei suddenly realized she had given herself away. By the time she tried to cover her mouth, it was already too late.
“Let’s return to the sect first.”
Xu Chengfeng sighed softly.
It was obvious.
In its current state, Lingyue Sect could never attract cultivators who already had some foundation in their training.
That meant the disciples would normally be ordinary mortals without any cultivation background.
Yet now there were no newly inducted disciples at all. Even the one with the lowest cultivation had already reached the Core Formation Realm. It seemed the sect had not taken in a single new disciple for at least several decades.
Xu Chengfeng walked up the steps.
The stone stairs were mottled with patches of moss, and wild grass grew thick along both sides of the path.
If he had not still remembered this main road, Xu Chengfeng would have thought he had wandered into some desolate mountain wilderness.
The pavilions and terraces around them had long since crumbled into broken walls and ruins.
When he reached the summit,
The only thing that brought Xu Chengfeng a trace of comfort was that, though battered and worn, the main hall still stood.
Beneath the moonlight, the hall faintly retained a hint of its former grandeur.
The doors were tightly shut, yet Xu Chengfeng stepped straight inside.
As a spirit body, he had no need to open them.
Inside the hall,
A hazy mist filled the air.
Through the fog, he could vaguely make out a large wooden bath.
Beside the tub stood the back of a somewhat youthful-looking girl, right in front of him.
Her figure was delicate and exquisitely shaped.
Her hips were perfectly round and full.
Beneath her slender waist were two shallow dimples at the small of her back.
From her tailbone rose a fluffy, snow-white fox tail, held high.
It only made her full, peach-like hips appear even more alluring.
She wasn’t wearing anything at all!?
How could there be a member of the demon race inside his sect’s main hall?
“Who are you!”
Xu Chengfeng activated his divine power.
The little white fox’s delicate body trembled. She looked up at the unfamiliar man before her, so startled that her fox ears shot upright. In the next instant, a scream that pierced the night rang out.
Immediately after, Xu Chengfeng saw a flash of cold light shooting straight toward his throat.
***
In a side hall of Lingyue Sect, Xu Chengfeng floated cross-legged in midair. Before him stood the little white fox who had been bathing in the main hall.
The little white fox hurriedly put on her clothes. Moisture still clung to her dark hair.
The two white fox ears atop her head drooped downward. A few droplets slid down her cheeks, soaking into her collar. After being dampened, the thin fabric became even more translucent.
Though her frame was petite, her figure was soft and well-rounded.
“Disciple Bai Lingxue greets Grandmaster.”
Feng Mingfei stood behind the little white fox, her face tense. It seemed she had already explained Xu Chengfeng’s identity to Bai Lingxue.
“Explain this to me. How did our sect’s main hall end up like this?”
Xu Chengfeng thought to himself that it was fortunate he had the identity of the sect’s Grandmaster.
Otherwise, barging in on a young girl bathing…he’d be lucky if he only received a slap.
And asking her for an explanation?
Unthinkable.
Still, it wasn’t entirely his fault. Who would have imagined that such a solemn and dignified place would be used for bathing?
“Well… the sect’s bathing area is actually at Misty Spring in the back mountain. It’s just too remote, so for convenience, everyone converted the main hall into a bath…”
Feng Mingfei tried to give Grandmaster a reasonable explanation.
Misty Spring…
That was a hot spring source in the back mountain. When Xu Chengfeng had first taken charge of the sect, he had designated it as the disciples’ bathing area.
The natural hot spring there was rich in spiritual energy. After cultivation, soaking in the waters of Misty Spring could relieve fatigue and enhance the effects of body tempering.
Back then, Misty Spring had been located slightly behind the center of the sect and had been bustling with activity.
But now that the sect had fallen into such decline, Xu Chengfeng didn’t need to think to know that the place had long since become desolate.
With only seven people left in the sect, it was understandable that they didn’t want to go all the way to Misty Spring to wash.
However, there was one thing Xu Chengfeng still couldn’t figure out.
“There are so many vacant halls and buildings around. Why choose the main hall of all places?”
Feng Mingfei hurriedly explained, “That’s because… the main hall has an array that can detect people nearby. As long as someone approaches, the bells inside the hall will ring, so bathing there is relatively safer…”
She looked at Xu Chengfeng with a pitiful expression. “All seven members of our sect are girls. When we bathe, male disciples from neighboring sects sometimes lurk around our grounds. Once night falls, a few shameless fellows try to take advantage of our disciples. “
“……”
“Although they’ve never succeeded, over time it’s inevitable that there might be some oversight. So setting the bathing area in the main hall was truly a last resort.”
Xu Chengfeng frowned. “Disciples from other sects can make it up to the main peak? What about the sect’s mountain-protecting formation…”
He had intended to ask why they hadn’t activated the sect’s grand protective array.
But on his way up the mountain, Xu Chengfeng had noticed there wasn’t the slightest fluctuation of a formation. It was likely that it had been damaged long ago.
“And the other disciples?” Xu Chengfeng realized that on the entire main peak, there were only Bai Lingxue and Feng Mingfei.
According to what Feng Mingfei had said, there should have been five other disciples.
Hearing this, Feng Mingfei looked at Bai Lingxue in confusion, as though she herself didn’t know why Bai Lingxue was the only one left in the sect.
“The other senior sisters also wanted to help the sect through this crisis, so they went out to look for solutions…” Bai Lingxue shook the droplets from her fox ears as she replied,
“This disciple’s strength is too shallow, so I was assigned to guard the mountain gate…”
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