Bailian City.
The wind howled beneath the sunlight as darkness was dispelled by the blazing rays of the sun. Powerful gusts swept through the area, caressing the trees along their path.
Carried westward by the currents of air, the wind repeatedly struck Zhi Xuan's face as he arrived before the entrance gates of Bailian City.
Together with Zhou Rouxue and her companions, Zhi Xuan stood before the gate while chatting pleasantly.
Their feet moved forward as they followed the road leading toward the central plaza of Bailian City.
Upon arriving, Zhi Xuan frowned slightly after noticing a presence secretly observing them throughout their journey to the city square.
He turned toward Zhou Rouxue and her companions and asked,
"Do any of you have some kind of bodyguard or someone who has been protecting you all this time?"
Everyone immediately turned toward Zhi Xuan before shaking their heads.
"No."
Hearing that, Zhi Xuan shifted his gaze toward a narrow, dark alley located between two buildings.
That was precisely where the person observing them was hiding.
However, he was unaware of the fact that his own presence had long since been discovered.
The thought caused Zhi Xuan to chuckle softly.
"Why are you asking that, Senior?" the female disciple standing beside Zhou Rouxue asked.
Zhi Xuan merely shook his head and replied,
"It's nothing."
Naturally, the female disciple became confused and could only tilt her head in puzzlement.
After several incense sticks' worth of time had passed,
They arrived at the entrance gate of the Xuanwu Sect.
The gate was massive and wide, standing at least ten meters tall.
The sect itself was built upon the mountain range behind Bailian City.
As they attempted to enter through the gate, a pair of long spears suddenly blocked their path.
The two gate guards holding the spears asked,
"Who is the person behind you?"
Naturally, the question was directed at Zhou Rouxue, since she was the leader of the group.
However, Zhou Rouxue answered casually,
"This person is one of the disciples here, but due to certain circumstances, he lost both his disciple robes and his identity token as a disciple of the Xuanwu Sect."
Upon hearing that, the two guards appeared somewhat hesitant at first.
Yet after pondering the matter for a while, they ultimately allowed him to enter.
Beyond the gate.
The moment they stepped into the sect, dozens of buildings filled their field of vision.
They were tall and grand.
However, compared to the structure standing at the center of all the other buildings, the difference was like heaven and earth.
The central building possessed magnificent decorations, and above its entrance hung a row of large characters.
"Xuanwu Sect Main Hall."
Zhi Xuan turned his head and shifted his gaze toward several mountains standing far behind the building.
Each mountain seemed to contain a somewhat mysterious magical formation.
At present, Zhi Xuan was unable to determine the purpose of those formations.
When his gaze landed upon the peaks of those mountains, he noticed several residences built atop them.
Zhi Xuan could clearly sense cultivator auras emanating from each mountain.
Some belonged to cultivators at the Peak Jindan Realm, while others had reached the Initial Yuanying Realm.
Judging by their cultivation levels, Zhi Xuan could already guess that these cultivators were the Peak Masters of the various mountains within the sect.
Looking forward once more, Zhi Xuan saw Zhou Rouxue speaking with an elder while wearing a serious expression.
Even from this distance, Zhi Xuan already knew what they were discussing.
Especially after seeing the look in the elder's eyes.
He merely smiled faintly while looking at the elder.
The next moment, the elder nodded after discussing something with Zhou Rouxue for a while.
The elder's gaze shifted toward Zhi Xuan before she approached him with a slight frown.
The elder spoke,
"If I may ask, what kind of matter do you wish to discuss with the Sect Leader?"
The elder appeared to be a woman in her thirties.
She was neatly dressed, with silver hair tied above her head like a crown.
Her bright blue eyes possessed double pupils that gave off a cold and distant feeling.
As she spoke, a trace of suspicion could be seen on her face.
However, Zhi Xuan merely sighed and replied with a faint smile,
"I wish to discuss something regarding Zhou Rouxue with the Sect Leader of the Xuanwu Sect. Would you allow me to enter?"
Although this elder was still incredibly beautiful, judging from her expression and demeanor—which resembled that of an elderly woman—Zhi Xuan could already guess that she was at least over a hundred years old.
Yet her beauty had not faded with age.
On the contrary, her skin was fair and smooth, appearing as soft as that of a newborn child.
Zhi Xuan even found himself wondering what it would feel like to touch such skin.
However, he immediately shook his head and reminded himself not to be overly aggressive when facing a beautiful woman.
That would only make him appear unsightly in the eyes of others.
Zhi Xuan let out a long sigh.
"I need to discuss this matter with the Sect Leader first before making any decisions. Please do not take it to heart if the answer you receive later is not what you were hoping for."
The elder spoke as she turned around.
Before leaving, she glanced back toward where Zhi Xuan was standing and said a few more words.
Then she walked through the curtain hanging at the entrance of the hall.
On the other side,
Zhou Rouxue and her companions exchanged glances before nodding after whispering among themselves for some time.
Zhou Rouxue stepped forward and approached Zhi Xuan.
"Senior, would you be willing to spare some time to have a meal with us?"
"A meal?"
Zhi Xuan was slightly stunned for a moment.
Soon afterward, he smiled lightly and replied,
"If you don't mind, then I'll gladly accept."
"Of course!"
The female disciple standing behind Zhou Rouxue suddenly revealed an excited expression.
Without realizing it, she jumped high into the air before landing heavily on the ground.
Unfortunately, her footing slipped.
She instantly lost her balance and ended up falling headfirst toward the stone pavement!
"Hey!"
Zhi Xuan was slightly startled and intended to help her.
Sadly, the female disciple's head had already struck the ground first.
Boom!
Dust billowed into the air before gradually dispersing with the wind.
"Oww..."
The female disciple's pained groan echoed through everyone's ears.
The next moment, Zhou Rouxue scolded her.
"Good grief. It's fine to be happy, but don't hurt yourself in the process!"
"Oww... Hehehe, sorry, sorry," the female disciple replied while scratching her head awkwardly.
Seeing this, Zhi Xuan finally felt relieved.
A breath escaped from the corner of his lips as a smile appeared on his face.
Fortunately, this female disciple was a cultivator.
Otherwise, that fall would have undoubtedly left her seriously injured.