Chapter 40: Let the Matter Drop

That afternoon.

Above the summit of Sacred Flame Peak, on a wide expanse of white jade square, a white rainbow shot through the air from afar and slanted down.

After the遁光 converged, a middle-aged man with a fair, beardless face and a scholar's headcloth appeared.

This man, clad in a Confucian robe, drifted slowly downward. As soon as he landed, he heard a male voice behind him:

"Brother Nangong."

The Confucian-robed middle-aged man turned to look and saw, several hundred zhang away, a black-bearded Daoist wearing a Five Peaks crown and a green cloth Daoist robe walking toward him.

The man did not appear to walk quickly, but behind him trailed a series of afterimages, each step spanning dozens of zhang, and in the blink of an eye he was before him.

"Brother Zhuang, let's go together." The Confucian-robed middle-aged man smiled and greeted the black-bearded Daoist.

"The last time we mobilized such a force was over ten years ago, wasn't it?" The black-bearded Daoist nodded, his gaze sweeping over several streaks of遁光 speeding in from the distant horizon.

These two were the peak masters of Chuyun Peak and Luoxia Peak, Nangong Changshan and Zhuang Ziyou.

"It's most likely about the previous theft in the Sutra Library; I'm afraid we can't avoid some accountability." Nangong Changshan shook his head and sighed softly.

"Although I was busy refining a furnace of elixirs earlier, I heard some talk. Everyone says this theft was quite strange... The thief managed to penetrate layer upon layer of restrictions and enter the inner hall, and even Elder Huyan couldn't stop him." Zhuang Ziyou's expression also turned grave.

"This matter is indeed somewhat bizarre. I imagine that at the meeting later, the Supreme Elder will explain a bit." Nangong Changshan nodded.

As they spoke, they crossed the square and arrived before a majestic vermilion palace. Both tacitly fell silent, ascended the steps in a few strides, and entered the hall side by side.

Inside the hall, the central seat of honor was raised three feet above the floor, with a wide carved armchair upon it. Below it, rows of seats were arranged on left and right, facing each other.

The pillars behind the seats were inlaid with gold and jade, carved with various rare birds and exotic beasts.

On the leftmost seat nearest the main seat sat a red-haired man in a crimson Dharma robe. His build was like an iron tower, his expression gloomy as water, and his whole body exuded a terrifying aura.

Nangong Changshan and Zhuang Ziyou exchanged a glance, chose two adjacent seats, sat down, and closed their eyes to rest.

After waiting a while, people filed into the hall one after another, and soon all the seats were filled.

Everyone seemed to be at the Void Refinement stage; not a single cultivator below the Nascent Soul stage was present.

But at the moment, their expressions were all somewhat unnatural. At most, they nodded to each other as a greeting, as if no one was interested in speaking.

The atmosphere in the entire hall was somewhat oppressive and沉闷.

After the hall was nearly full, about half a stick of incense's time passed before two figures emerged from the inner chamber of the hall.

Seeing this, everyone in the hall immediately rose to their feet, including the red-haired man, and bowed in unison, saying:

"Greetings to the Supreme Elder, greetings to the Sect Leader!"

The one walking in front, with snow-white hair and a handsome, clear-featured face, wearing a purple robe, was the sole Supreme Elder of the Cold Flame Sect, Sima Jingming. Accompanying him, with a solemn and dignified expression and a tall crown, was the Sect Leader of the Cold Flame Sect, Liu Jingzhu.

Sima Jingming arrived before the main seat but did not sit down. His gaze slowly swept over everyone below.

His aura was not revealed at all, but simply standing there casually, he exuded a suffocating pressure that made everyone tremble with fear. All bowed their heads, not daring to breathe heavily, let alone meet his gaze.

After a long while, this Great Vehicle stage elder of the Cold Flame Sect spoke slowly:

"Some days ago, incidents occurred successively in the Talisman Hall and the Sutra Library. Today, I have invited all peak masters here precisely for these matters." His voice was not loud, but it carried an indescribable authority.

Everyone's heart tightened, and they all remained silent, waiting for the Supreme Elder's reprimand.

But then this Great Vehicle stage powerhouse, in an unquestioning tone, said something that left everyone stunned:

"This matter ends here. Cease all internal investigations and searches; no further probing is necessary."

Hearing this, the people in the hall could hardly believe their ears and could not help but exchange bewildered glances.

For a moment, no one dared to speak up directly.

"Senior Brother Sima, the theft in the Sutra Library is of great importance. I..." The red-haired man standing at the front could not help but step forward half a pace, cupping his hands to break the silence.

Before he could finish, Sima Jingming coldly interrupted: "Junior Brother Huyan, do I need to repeat my words?"

With that, he flicked his sleeve, turned, and strode directly toward the inner chamber, leaving the red-haired man and the peak masters in the hall utterly bewildered.

At that moment, Sect Leader Liu Jingzhu also spoke:

"Meeting adjourned."

He said only these two words, then likewise flicked his sleeve and drifted away.

A moment later, on the white jade square outside the hall.

"Cease the search? So many precious scriptures were lost from the Sutra Library, and we just let it go?" Zhuang Ziyou seemed still not to have recovered, unable to help asking Nangong Changshan.

"The loss of scriptures is not a problem; the sect has copies retained. But if these secret manuals are leaked outside, it would be very unfortunate. The Supreme Elder's decision naturally has its reasons; we should not speculate recklessly." Peak Master Nangong said with a smile.

Though he spoke thus, the doubt in his heart did not diminish in the slightest.

...

Before long, all the disciples of the Cold Flame Sect discovered a puzzling matter.

Two important places in the sect had been burglarized, yet the sect suddenly ceased all investigations and searches.

Although everyone discussed it endlessly, the peak masters were tight-lipped about it, seemingly unwilling to talk much.

Thus, such a shocking event that had shaken the entire mountain sect was muddled through and let drop.

Han Li, the instigator, was completely unaware of the series of changes within the sect. He simply hid in his cave dwelling, pondering the Little Dipper Star Origin Art.

Earlier, he had only skimmed through it, but now the more he pondered, the more he felt the profound mystery of this technique, and he was extremely excited.

Speaking of it, since he had entered the world of immortal cultivation, he had encountered many body-tempering techniques. Some focused on淬炼 muscles and sinews, some on refining bones, and some on training the internal organs—like the Five Zangs Forging Origin Art he had practiced.

However, this Little Dipper Star Origin Art took a different path, cultivating the 'Mysterious Cavities.'

What are Mysterious Cavities?

Han Li was completely in the dark. The Little Dipper Star Origin Art did not elaborate, but the cultivation process described in the text was extremely mysterious. Even with his insight and experience, it took him a long time to barely comprehend it.

Simply put, if this technique could be cultivated to great completion, a single punch would be enough to shatter the void, and its power would be comparable to that of an ordinary immortal.

However, correspondingly, there were also many drawbacks.

First, the process of cultivating this technique was extremely painful; those without firm resolve could not persist to the end.

Second, drawing in the power of starlight was extremely difficult, as the stars were far away in the depths of spacetime, so this technique also took a great deal of time to cultivate.

Han Li directly ignored these and immediately planned to begin cultivation.

He first went out for a trip and did not return until the next day. Then he activated all the restrictions in the cave dwelling area.

In the following time, he made a round of the cave dwelling, selected a suitable secret chamber, and even opened a large hole in the ceiling that directly exposed the sky.

After doing all this, Han Li sat cross-legged on the ground and quietly began to regulate his breathing.

To cultivate a technique passed down from the immortal realm, one naturally needed to restore body, mind, and spiritual power to their optimal state, in order to handle any situations that might arise later.