And just now, regarding the "little girl" mentioned by Bao Kai who could speak with considerable authority in the North Pass Sect, the only person He Qingling could think of was one individual.
Si Youyou.
This little girl, only a year younger than her, had already far surpassed her own cultivation level by the age of six.
In the eyes of the world, Si Youyou's talent for immortal cultivation was even considered to exceed that of Qin Qingyu, the current era's Peak Elder of the Star Heaven Sect who was hailed as the one most likely to achieve Immortal Ascension.
It's just that her subsequent development was considerably slower than what the world had imagined.
And more than two years ago, she even disappeared along with the North Pass Sect's Sect Leader, Si Chen.
Gazing at the back of the young cultivator in the gray daoist robes, a certain speculation couldn't help but arise in He Qingling's heart—
Was it possible that this senior who called himself "Bao Kai" was also somehow connected to that famous North Pass Sect Leader, Si Chen?
...
He didn't know what matter this Great Senior, whose cultivation was unfathomably profound, wanted to ask him about.
Besides that, the information about his current hiding place was now completely known to the Xuan Sheng Sect.
Leaving aside the distant future, speaking of the immediate problem, how to deal with the two lackeys sent by He Chengjie from the Xuan Sheng Sect to hunt him down was also an issue.
If the Great Senior before him could take action to protect him...
Judging from what he said in the sword manor's main hall earlier, this Great Senior seemed to have some connection with the North Pass Sect from the Northern Region.
Although whether in terms of heritage or strength, the North Pass Sect was completely unqualified to compare with the Xuan Sheng Sect, being at least two whole tiers lower.
But the network of connections accumulated by the North Pass Sect's former Sect Leader, Si Chen, was the real deal.
After Si Chen's disappearance, over a dozen Unity Realm cultivators jointly vouched for the North Pass Sect, something that simply exceeded the imagination of the vast majority of people.
What kind of charm did Si Chen possess, that he could make these Upper Three Realms Great Powers, without any prospect of personal gain, take care of the North Pass Sect on Si Chen's behalf?
Only those Upper Three Realms cultivators who were on good terms with the North Pass Sect and jointly signed the petition with Si Chen understood why they did this.
These Upper Three Realms cultivators, who knew the contents of the letter and jointly signed the petition, knew exactly how the Great Dao of the Chenping Continent recovered.
It was related to that letter from Si Chen.
And after the Great Dao of the Chenping Continent recovered, Si Chen immediately vanished without a trace.
Disappearing along with him was that little girl who stepped into the Martial Spring Realm at the age of six, Si Youyou.
There was something very fishy about this whole affair.
Just who was Si Chen, really? Was he truly just an ordinary Upper Three Realms cultivator, as simple as that?
Those Upper Three Realms cultivators who knew the truth naturally also had various speculations and apprehensions about Si Chen's true identity.
Giving the North Pass Sect a helping hand was, for these Upper Three Realms cultivators, merely a trivial matter they could do in passing.
They certainly didn't want to offend that mysteriously vanished Si Chen.
"The Setting Sun Sword Manor is currently the largest immortal cultivation sect within the borders of Jin'an Country."
Chen Yan said slowly:
"I wonder, Manor Lord Zhao, how much control do you currently exert over this Jin'an Country?"
"Replying to Senior's question."
Upon hearing this, Wei Tai bowed respectfully and said:
"My Setting Sun Sword Manor's roots in Jin'an Country are not deep, and its establishment time is barely ten years... therefore, my grasp of the control over and the situation within the immortal cultivation world of Jin'an Country can only be described as so-so."
The Setting Sun Sword Manor currently had only a little over a hundred disciples in total and had not established an outer court.
With just the current manpower, forget about controlling the entire immortal cultivation world of Jin'an Country, even controlling Jincheng was somewhat strenuous.
Yet the Setting Sun Sword Manor was still the largest immortal cultivation sect in Jin'an Country.
With a Manor Lord possessing only Qi Sea Realm cultivation, wanting to control the entire Jin'an Country was clearly impossible.
The real reason the Setting Sun Sword Manor could dominate the situation within Jin'an Country was because Zhao Zheng, or rather Wei Tai, had subdued over twenty small and medium-sized immortal cultivation sects within Jin'an Country's borders.
These twenty-plus cultivation sects were completely dependent on the Setting Sun Sword Manor.
Compared to an outer court of the Setting Sun Sword Manor, these sects were obviously more independent and autonomous, yet they also received the Setting Sun Sword Manor's protection.
At the same time, these small and medium-sized immortal cultivation sects also had to bear the responsibilities that should have been undertaken by what would have been the Setting Sun Sword Manor's outer court.
And the Setting Sun Sword Manor's control over Jin'an Country also relied on these cultivation sects.
"Since the Setting Sun Sword Manor became the largest immortal cultivation sect in Jin'an Country, what events have occurred in this Jin'an Country?"
Chen Yan continued to ask.
"Pardon this junior's dullness... what kind of events does Senior refer to?"
Wei Tai clearly didn't quite understand what Chen Yan was asking about.
"Any event, things you think would draw your attention."
Chen Yan said.
Upon hearing this, Wei Tai pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head:
"Senior, during these ten years since the Setting Sun Sword Manor gained control over Jin'an Country, everything has been very peaceful. No unusual phenomena that would draw my attention have occurred... or rather, none occurred until just now when those Xuan Sheng Sect cultivators came knocking."
This was completely within Chen Yan's expectations.
Given the Setting Sun Sword Manor's scale, it was basically impossible for it to have any connection with a Dao Basis left behind in the mortal world by an Immortal Ascension Realm cultivator.
But he had a second question to ask.
"During these nearly ten years, have any Star Heaven Sect cultivators visited Jin'an Country?"
When he heard the three words "Star Heaven Sect," Wei Tai's expression first turned slightly grave.
For any cultivator living in the Southern Region of the Chenping Continent, the weight of the three words "Star Heaven Sect" was like a massive mountain; merely hearing them would make one feel breathless.
"Naturally, Star Heaven Sect cultivators have visited Jin'an Country. Almost every year, dozens of Star Heaven Sect outer sect disciples come and go here. However, the Star Heaven Sect disciples have not had any interaction with my Setting Sun Sword Manor."
Outer sect disciples, that was quite normal.
"But, Senior..."
Wei Tai suddenly seemed to remember something and changed the subject:
"About a year ago, Star Heaven Sect inner disciples also once came to Jin'an Country. To be frank with you, Senior, this junior was once a member of the Xuan Sheng Sect. Thirty years ago, I also led disciples from the sect to participate in the Dao Inquiry Assembly of the Chenping Continent. There, I saw many of the Five Great Sects' prodigies, so I've seen a bit of the world, you could say.
"Therefore, this junior recognized the style of the daoist robes worn by those Star Heaven Sect disciples—they were disciples of the Moon Void Sect."
The Moon Void Sect?
Chen Yan's brow furrowed slightly.
The Star Heaven Sect was different from the Kongshan Sect. In the Kongshan Sect, only Kongyuan Mountain was the direct lineage; every successive Sect Leader of the Kongshan Sect had to be a successor from Kongyuan Mountain.
Even the later True Person Minghua and True Person Caiyun failed to let Yuanhua Mountain and Qingchan Peak replace Kongyuan Mountain's status.
But the Star Heaven Sect was different; the Star Heaven Sect did not have a clearly defined direct lineage.
It's just that currently, with Qin Qingyu's rising prominence, the Moon Void Sect held an absolutely dominant position within the Star Heaven Sect at this moment.
"What did the people from the Moon Void Sect do here?"
Chen Yan asked.
"This junior doesn't know, and this junior didn't dare to interfere in any way with the actions of the Star Heaven Sect cultivators..."
Wei Tai bowed and said:
"I only heard from my subordinates that the Star Heaven Sect people seemed to be looking for something."