BOOM-!
Only a few seconds after the death of Lord Windfall, a terrifying aura erupted from the core of the Hollow Thunder Family located in the capital city. Making the guards standing around guarding the core area of the Hollow Thunder Family start looking at each other with fearful expressions plastered all over their faces.
"Wha-what in the world is this!? Who is unfortunate to have offended the old master!?
"I-I don't know, b-but I'm sur they won't be able to survive after a-angering the old master to this d-degree..."
"Indeed, I think-"
BANG-!
As they all came to the same conclusion that the person who had ended up offending the old master of their family was as good as dead, the large doors leading into the core area was thrown open before an old man filled with killing intent stepped out. Instantly scaring all the guards into silence. None of them daring to say a single word in the presence of the old man.
The silence lasted for close to a minute without the old man moving a single step. Only looking out into the distance with a terrifying glint in his eyes.
"O-old master... I-is there something we can help with...?" Not able to take the silence any longer, one of the guards managed to work up enough courage to step forward and say this-
"Hm?"
But quickly regretted his choice after the old master turned around and focused his attention on to him.
"I-I'm sorry for asking such a rude question old master, I will go to the discipline hall and accept my punishment!" Not wasting a single second in saying this, the guard who had asked the old master ran away the moment he had finished talking. Understanding very well that staying would be a bad idea. Especially so when considering the reputation of the old master...
"All of you, leave!" Not caring too much about the guard that had escaped, the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family just turned towards the remaining guards before saying this. Making it obvious to anyone that he wanted to be alone.
"Yes, yes! We will leave immediately!"
Whoosh~!
Whoosh~!
Whoosh~!
Flying across the paved stone path of the ground the moment they heard what the old master said, the guards soon disappeared. All of them taking the chance they had been given to leave the scary old master filled with killing intent. Not forgetting to warn the rest of the guards that they met along the way that it would be best to leave the core area completely for now if they cherished their life!
"Elder Green Wing!? One of the elders from the Green Mountain Sect dared to kill my brother in-law!? Does he really believe that my Hollow Thunder Family will just stand by doing nothing!? Not to mention us, the imperial family will probably also want to deal with this!" Following the guards having left, the old master muttered this to himself filled with killing intent.
"If not for the fact that I left behind part of my will in the talisman I gave him, I would probably never have learnt that the person behind the death of my brother in-law was someone from the Green Mountain Sect!" Remembering the image that had been transferred to him of his brother in-laws body getting erased by Elder Green Wing, the old master could not help trembling in anger.
No matter how strong a major sect was and the fact that they all had the backing of powerful kingdom that would at least have one person in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, there was no way he could just brush this matter aside. Especially because the person who had been killed was none other than his brother in-law!
"Hmph! Even if those major sects are hard to deal with under normal circumstances, I don't believe I won't be able to kill that Elder Green Wing. All I need to do is bring this matter to the imperial family!" Filled with killing intent as he said this, the old master turned to look in the direction of the imperial family before taking a step forward in that direction.
Even if he had to work together with the imperial family for this matter, he was going to make sure that the Green Mountain Sect, and more importantly, Elder Green Wing, regretted killing his brother in-law!
...
Thump-!
At the same time Lord Windfall met his end at the hands of the sword left behind by Xuan Hao and the old master of the Hollow Thunder Family was trembling in anger thinking about ways to take revenge on the Green Mountain Sect, Mui collapsed on the ground exhausted inside one of the special areas along the path leading up towards the peak of the mountain.
"Hah... That... Hah... Was far more exhausting than I expected!" Breathing erratically as she laid down on the ground, Mui did not hesitate to use her now working favourite ability ever, summon delicious fruits, to summon forth a delicious and sweet fruit!
Chomp~!
Not wasting a single second before biting into it, the exhausted expression from climbing up the mountain was soon replaced by one of bliss. The delicious fruits did not only taste great, but they also helped ease her exhaustion.
Remaining on the ground as she looked around at the beautiful trees and other lush plants that surrounded the small special area isolated from the terrifying soul pressure outside, Mui could not help feeling a hint of sleepiness.
At this point in time, she had already spent the last eight hours trying to climb the mountain. Fighting the terrifying soul pressure at every moment. Only stopping at two other special areas to rest so far.
The only positive thing that had happened, being that the constant pressure bearing down on her had allowed her to break through from the First Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.
Although this was just an increase of a minor realm, the increase in strength was what had allowed her to reach the third special area. If she had not managed to break through, there would have been no way for her to endure the soul pressure between the second and third special area!
Chomp~!
Being filled with energy after eating the last bit of the delicious fruit, Mui turned her attention towards the fourth special area that was located farther up the mountain... But upon doing this, a sense of helplessness welled up inside her after seeing that the distance between the fourth and the third special area was almost double that of the distance between the third and second special area.
Even without starting her journey yet, Mui clearly understood that she stood no chance of reaching the fourth special area in her current state. Especially considering that she had just broken through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and still needed to stabilize her cultivation base...
Before continuing towards the next special area, I should consolidate my cultivation realm... Maybe getting some sleep after I finish stabilizing my cultivation base isn't a bad idea either... Ah! I also need to take a few of the delicious fruits along with me!
Understanding just how unprepared she was when it came to attempting to climb to the next special area, Mui ended up deciding to stay inside the third special area for now. Wanting to make sure she was well rested and strong before challenging the difficult climb to the fourth special area.
Not that this was a difficult decision. After all, she was more than happy with staying inside the special area filled with delicious fruits for longer. Time was not a problem and she still had over six days before the time limit for the trial was up. Not to mention, the third special area was located around the halfway point of the mountain.
Keeping all of this in mind, Mui felt like resting for a day to stabilize her cultivation base and get some sleep in was not a bad idea. Especially if it meant that she wouldn't have to risk failing on her way from the third special area to the fourth.
Thump~
Having come to a decision on what to do, Mui plopped down on the soft grass below before starting the process of stabilizing her cultivation realm through the usage of her cultivation mantra. Not something that would take a more than a few minutes to half an hour considering that she had only broken through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Not a major realm or something like that.
Whoosh~
"Hm? It only took half a minute!?" However, to Mui's surprise, it only ended up taking half a minute for her to stabilize her cultivation base at the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Although she had no idea what the normal time required to stabilize one's cultivation base after breaking through to the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, she still somewhat understood that her speed of stabilizing her cultivation base should have been faster than normal.
"Is it because of the weird pressure that it's easier for me to stabilize my cultivation base? Hm... I think that should be the reason. After all, it does involve some weird stuff with the soul... On the positive side, I get more time to sleep now!" Not having any real understanding or explanation as to why she had managed to stabilize her cultivation base so fast, Mui just linked it together with the weird pressure she had experienced while climbing up the mountain and threw it away before finding a comfortable spot to sleep inside the special area.