"I believe that all the elders and disciples of the entire temple think the same way, so I want to temporarily preserve the Great Elder’s body. When we reopen the Azure Dragon Temple in the future, we’ll hold a grand funeral for him."
Upon hearing Zhao Ya’s resolute words, Guo Luming shook his head.
"Do as you like. I’m heading back. Haven’t slept all night and I’m really tired."
With that, he turned and left.
Watching the somewhat stumbling figure of Guo Luming, Zhao Ya felt quite sad.
Once upon a time, this Elder Guo Luming was extraordinarily spirited, and during a book gifting at the Library, he caught all my attacks single-handedly.
Yet, as time passed, Guo Luming now seems like an ordinary old man.
Zhao Ya shook his head, dispelling that bit of sadness.
At this moment, everyone had already paid their respects to Guan Xuejiang’s remains.
Zhao Ya took out a small packet and evenly sprinkled the powder inside over Guan Xuejiang’s body.
This powder was something Zhao Ya had just prepared.
It had only one purpose, which was preservation.
With this, even through the scorching summer, Guan Xuejiang’s body wouldn’t decay, lasting until the day he is buried.
Once everything was handled, Zhao Ya, along with Shen Yunshen, Qin Jianji, and several other elders, lifted the huge coffin lid and gently placed it on the coffin.
Then, Zhao Ya used both hands and directly lifted the large coffin, moving it into the grand hall.
Guan Xuejiang’s coffin would be placed here temporarily until the day of burial.
This was deliberately done by Zhao Ya so that everyone could always see the coffin, thereby remembering this period of history and inspiring themselves.
After finishing these tasks, Zhao Ya gathered Shen Yunshen, Qin Jianji, and the other elders and told them of his plan to seal the mountain, close the gates, and recuperate.
Qin Jianji was the first to express support.
"So be it."
Other elders also expressed their agreement one after another.
Only Shen Yunshen remained silent.
Zhao Ya looked at him, "Elder Yun Shen, what do you think?"
"I naturally have no objections. I was just thinking, how long should we seal the mountain?"
At this point, a hint of murder appeared on Shen Yunshen’s face.
"Those bastards at the Wanghai Tower actually want to take advantage of the situation. If I weren’t injured, I would have already gone to settle accounts with Jiang Shengwu."
Zhao Ya pondered for a moment, "I don’t know, but at least three years."
"Three years...," Shen Yunshen pondered for a moment, then nodded heavily.
"Okay, three years it is. But promise me, when the time comes, no one will compete with me. I want to go to Wanghai Tower first to settle accounts with them."
It was evident that Shen Yunshen harbored deep hatred for the covert attacks orchestrated by Wanghai Tower, to the point of wanting to kill them brutally.
Zhao Ya smiled at the words, "Alright, everything will be according to you then."
Since none of the elders had any objections, Zhao Ya quickly decided to seal the mountain without delay.
The news spread, and the major sects Beyond the World weren’t particularly surprised.
After all, they had witnessed the entire great battle themselves.
Even though the Azure Dragon Temple won, it was a pyrrhic victory with severe losses, so sealing the mountain was understandable.
However, this also drew more criticism.
Many had earlier thought that the Azure Dragon Temple had already fallen to a second-rate sect, and retaining its rank among the Beyond the World Thirteen Sects seemed unmerited.
Thus, some proposed to remove the Azure Dragon Temple from the Beyond the World Thirteen Sects.
After this mountain-sealing, these people had more reason to argue.
After all, throughout history Beyond the World, countless sects had sealed their mountains, but those who truly managed to rise again from the mire were few and far between,
most becoming obscure and fading quietly into the long river of history.
The reason is that after sealing the mountain, a sect’s reputation and appeal would drastically decline.
At that point, recruiting outstanding disciples would be extremely difficult.
One must know that without a supply of fresh blood, even the strongest sect would find its continuation challenging.
Let alone a sect that’s barely hanging on for dear life.
Thus, sealing the mountain is akin to gambling, but the odds of winning... are very small!
Amid the heightened discussions about kicking the Azure Dragon Temple out of the Beyond the World Thirteen Sects,
in the Wanghai Tower, Jiang Shengwu’s expression was so dark it could almost drip with water.
"Sealing the mountain, closing the gates, huh! Well done, Guan Xuejiang, well done, Guo Luming. Killing my elders and then planning to hide like cowards?"
In the end, Jiang Shengwu was so furious that he shattered a large stone table with one palm.
No one in the room dared speak.
Everyone kept their heads down, afraid of further angering Jiang Shengwu.
Many people appeared sorrowful on the surface, but in reality, their hearts were full of schadenfreude.
Previously, Shen Jiu was too domineering in Wanghai Tower.
It could be said that in the absence of Jiang Shengwu, he was the second-in-command.
Many people had long been discontented about this, but they dared not say anything.
Now that he’s dead, the happiness of these people is imaginable.
In the entire scene, there was only one person who was truly heartbroken.
Pei Quan’an cried so much that his eyes were swollen, his heart filled with despair.
Despite Shen Jiu’s many faults, he was at least kind to him.
Relying on his master’s influence, Pei Quan’an had flaunted his power among the disciples of Wanghai Tower, living quite a carefree life.
Yet unexpectedly, his support crumbled overnight, naturally leaving him terrified.
Given his previous actions, without Shen Jiu’s protection, who knows how many people would be eyeing him covetously.
He cried as if he were mourning his own father.
Fortunately, at this moment, Jiang Shengwu gradually regained his composure and then looked at him with his endless tears.
"Are you Shen Jiu’s disciple, Pei Quan’an?" Jiang Shengwu asked solemnly.
Pei Quan’an trembled, then instinctively knelt to the ground.
"Yes, my master is indeed Elder Shen!"
"Ah, Shen Jiu contributed greatly to Wanghai Tower, and now that he’s dead, I am truly saddened. Seeing you cry so mournfully, it is clear you have a sincere heart."
Jiang Shengwu sighed, looked around, then pointed to one of the elders.
"Elder Zhen, you will be this child’s master in the future. Please take good care of him and do not treat him poorly."
The one who was pointed at was a middle-aged man with a horse-like face.
Upon hearing Jiang Shengwu’s words, he quickly bowed.
"Yes, I will certainly take good care of him."
At this moment, Pei Quan’an came to his senses, first thanking Jiang Shengwu for his kindness, then turning to Elder Zhen to give a kowtow.
"Master, please accept my bow as your disciple."
Zhen Juncheng hurriedly helped Pei Quan’an up, "Good disciple, we are family now, there’s no need for this."
"Although I’m not as capable as Elder Shen, I will do my utmost not to disappoint the tower master."
"Thank you, Master!"
For a moment, the master and disciple appeared very harmonious.
Jiang Shengwu looked on with satisfaction, waving his hand and said, "Alright, whatever you need to say to each other, discuss it privately."
Then he solemnly surveyed everyone present.
"Now the Azure Dragon Temple has sealed its doors, but this doesn’t mean the matter is over. As my order, from today on, closely monitor the movements of Azure Dragon Temple, and be ready to act when the time is right. I want this sect erased from the world."
"Yes!"
Jiang Shengwu left.
Everyone else dispersed.
Pei Quan’an followed closely behind Zhen Juncheng, after some pleasantries and expressing deep feelings of the master-disciple bond, they reluctantly parted.
But upon returning to his own quarters, the smile on Pei Quan’an’s face gradually faded, replaced by an extremely grave expression.
He knew better than anyone that the seemingly sincere and affectionate Zhen Juncheng actually didn’t care about him at all.
Because earlier, he had subtly hinted several times that he wanted to move in with him, yet he had deftly diverted the topic each time.
It was clear that Zhen Juncheng wanted to keep his distance.
This was not a good signal.
It suggested that Zhen Juncheng was merely paying lip service to Jiang Shengwu and did not want to get involved in his matters.
Just as Pei Quan’an was feeling both frightened and anxious, Nangong Yanran cautiously approached with a cup of tea.
"Senior brother, have a sip of tea."
Currently, Nangong Yanran was also in a state of great fear and unease.
Because Shen Jiu had died, her senior brother’s support was gone, what would she do?
Knowing that from the moment she entered Wanghai Tower, she had been following Pei Quan’an, she was now in complete darkness.
So at this moment, she was terrified that Pei Quan’an would no longer want her.
Yet, looking at Nangong Yanran’s charming face, Pei Quan’an felt a surge of irritation.
Just as he was about to lose his temper, he suddenly thought of something, swallowed back the harsh words on the tip of his tongue, and said with a smile,
"Yanran, I remember your family is quite close to the Gui Family of Ink Sea City, right?"