Meeting the Grand Elder

Li Zhu, having finished his session of cultivation, got out of the Yin pond he had created, while refining the remaining yin energy inside his meridians.

At that moment, though, he began hearing voices, which was unusual considering his current location.

"Li Zhu! Over here!"

Confused, he turned around towards the entrance, where he saw Hua Shu and Yu Hui yelling a him from the other side of the ice.

'They actually came to rescue me!?' Li Zhu was undeniably surprised, not expecting anyone to even notice his absence.

A warm, fuzzy feeling spread over his ice covered body, as he realized there were still people that cared for him.

"I cannot breakthrough this barrier! Some peak core consolidating realm expert set up a defensive formation!" yelled Li Zhu, explaining his current situation.

Hearing this, Yu Hui was shocked, since he knew how rare an expert of that caliber was in the sect. For someone with that power to trap Li Zhu in a cave for no apparent reason, trouble must be brewing.

Ignoring his suspicions, though, Yu Hui neared the ice barrier, examining the formation. Formations had the same ranking system as talismans, and were also made by formation masters.

This defensive formation was of the second rank, probably bought for a sky high price. Formations could either be set up on the spot by formation masters, or stored in small disks, which could be bought by anyone as long as they had enough spirit stones.

Since his master was an expert in formations, Yu Hui knew much about them, even though he himself was an alchemist.

After a short while of examining the formation, though, he seemingly gave up on cracking it, and simply pulled out the seal of his master, the Grand elder.

As a formation master, the Grand elder had made the seal himself, and it could be used for both defense and offense, though as all talismans, it would eventually run out of energy.

Yu Hui slammed the seal into the barricade of ice, and the massive projection of the grand elder appeared once again, this time punching the defensive formation, shattering it on the spot.

Being a rank three talisman, the Grand Elder's seal contained the power of a golden core realm expert, which could easily destroy a barricade set up by someone in the core consolidating realm.

Li Zhu, having extensive knowledge, immediately recognized the rank three talisman, and looked at Yu Hui in a strange manner. According to what he knew, a small country like Crouching tiger kingdom would only have a few such talismans, since they gave a person the power to contest a golden core realm expert, which was the peak of cultivation in such small places.

'I guess I was right about him keeping some secrets' thought Li Zhu, finally coming out of the cave he had been stuck in for weeks.

"Li Zhu, why were you sent here?" asked Yu Hui, wanting confirmation that he had actually been wrongfully accused by elder Song as a form of revenge.

"Oh, the elder that I outbid blamed me of stealing his spirit pills, but they were the ones you made for me!" Li Zhu grew furious just at the thought of it.

"In that case, you are free to leave Solitude Peak" said Yu Hui, having no more doubts about the situation. The spirit pills he had made were very high quality, which gave elder Song the perfect opportunity to accuse Li Zhu of thievery, since disciples would normally not have such pills.

As Li Zhu was about to walk off with Hua Shu, though, Yu Hui stepped in front of them, asking, "Before you leave, would you come with me... I think my master would be interested in your skills"

The ability that Li Zhu had to refine Yin energy was something that Yu Hui had never seen before, and that the Grand elder had attempted many times, before finally giving up on Solitude Peak.

His master would without a doubt be interested in Li Zhu's Yin refining skill, which could potentially allow him to harness the forces in the Yin spring to make spirit pills and talismans.

Hua Shu, hearing this offer, immediately whispered into Li Zhu's ear, "Accept! His master is the Grand elder of the sect, one of the most powerful figures in the kingdom. Also, he healed you once"

Li Zhu, who had been hesitating, unsure what to make out of the strange request, decided to follow Hua Shu's advice and accept, although he had no idea what she meant by the last part.

"Okay, sure, let's go"

"Amazing, my master will be thrilled!" Yu Hui looked ecstatic, clearly wanting to gain his master's approval by bringing Li Zhu, and his peculiar ability, to him.

The three then traveled towards the center of the sect, where the Grand elder probably lived. Most people thought he had been in seclusion for years, yet he had surprisingly been quite active, acting as teacher to a disciple.

Surprisingly, they did not stop at the center, and Yu Hui led them beyond most peaks, to the far south of the sect.

"My master likes to live in a quiet place, so he has a house in Formation Peak, where he is the only member" explained Yu Hui, seeing the confused expressions on Hua Shu and Li Zhu's faces.

Yu Hui then led them to a small wooden hut, and simply opened the door, without even knocking.

"Yu Hui, how many times have I told you, knock the door when you enter! Ahhh, what a disciple that I've got myself, can't even learn basic etiquette." the voice of an old man came from the hut, as he began complaining about Yu Hui.

After a few seconds, though, the voice suddenly stopped, as the man asked, "why have you brought guests here? You know I don't like being around too many people!"

As he said this, though, his voice suddenly froze, before continuing, "Ahh, if it isn't the miss who almost got assassinated and her unfortunate friend! I didn't expect to see you two here!"

With this, the tall old man finally came out of the hut, wearing a friendly smile, as he pulled Yu Hui aside, before glancing at Li Zhu.

The glance was short, but the look in his eyes at that moment was profound, as though he had seen through Li Zhu, who unconsciously shivered.

Yu Hui then whispered some things into the Grand elder's ears, before the old man spoke up, "Li Zhu, come with me in the hut, as for the other two... you can wait outside or walk around the peak"

Li Zhu followed the old man into the wooden hut, poorly adorned, with only a bed and a few items, scattered around.

He was not surprised, though, since many experts chose to let go of material needs, and focus on their cultivation. This was quite common in Heavenly Dragon Empire, and Li Zhu had seen it many times before, with some cultivators living without anything.

The grand elder, sitting on his bed, faced Li Zhu, before proposing, "Li Zhu, I have heard you are able to refine the Yin energy in Solitude Peak, and use it as your own. I won't lie, this skill intrigues me, and I hope you could teach me your method. Of course, there will be a reward for helping me"

'Ohh, that's why he wanted to meet me!' Li Zhu thought, the purpose of his visit now becoming clear.

Any alchemist or Formation master would want to find ways to harness violent energies as their own, so it was not surprising that the Grand elder was interested.

"Senior, I have no problem telling you the method, but you need to understand it will not work for you" Li Zhu wanted to make sure the elder understood this concept, so that he would not be angry later.

"Although it is unfortunate, I already expected this" replied the elder, undeniably disappointed.

"Well, I am a summoner, and this spirit beast can help me absorb Yin energy, since it is related to ice" said Li Zhu, bringing Blue out of his pocket, where he had stayed for the trip over here.

Li Zhu was sure that the elder would not recognize Blue, since even he himself had not been able to. Because of this, it was not likely that the elder would try to take Blue from him, considering that he was an elemental cultivator, and would not be able to use the skill that Blue had.

"Ahhh, so it's the skill of a spirit beast... interesting. Well, I guess you can go now, but I thank you for the information, since it could help me in the future. I will reward you later on, since I currently have no item suitable for your cultivation" said the elder, finishing their short conversation.

"Then I will take my leave, senior" replied Li Zhu, lightly bowing, before heading towards the exit. He was more than glad to get out of this place, where the powerful elder could potentially see through his secrets.

As he was bout to get out of the hut, though, the elder spoke again, "And kid, have no ideas about taking revenge on those two elders. I will deal with them as I think proper, but I do not want you to get involved in my sect's business. If you don't cause harm to the sect, then you and I will be on good terms, Li Zhu. Or should I say... Jian Long."