Volume 1, Chapter 50: The Arrival of the Supreme Sword Sect

With that said, Lin Yang suddenly remembered something and said to Lin Hongye,
"Right, Hongye, I've already acquired the Grievance Flame. Let's concoct the Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill as soon as possible."
Lin Hongye: "..."
Lin Hongye was somewhat speechless. She had no choice but to say with a helpless sigh, "Master, I know you're eager to refine pills, but the problem is we can't just do it on a whim."
"Just a few days ago, you were still wondering where to find the Grievance Flame. How could you possibly have it now..."
"Boom!"
Before Lin Hongye could finish her sentence, a green flame materialized in the palm of Lin Yang's hand.
The moment Lin Hongye saw this cluster of flames, she was dumbfounded, for this green flame was undoubtedly the Grievance Flame.
"Master, how—how on earth do you actually possess the Grievance Flame?"
Lin Hongye felt her mind turn into a complete mush. How could Lin Yang pull out the Grievance Flame simply because he said so?
Hearing Lin Hongye's perplexed tone, Lin Yang merely grinned.
"Left behind by my master."
Lin Hongye was instantly rendered speechless. It turned out that everything was left by the Grandmaster. Just how heaven-defying were the Grandmaster's methods?
Knowing that Lin Yang didn't want to elaborate, Lin Hongye wisely refrained from asking further and continued instead:
"Very well, Master. Since you have the Grievance Flame, we can indeed proceed with the Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill."
"Good, then let's head to the alchemy chamber right now."
...
The two arrived at the alchemy chamber. Before going in, Lin Hongye deliberately instructed Lu Chen that until the two of them came out, no one was allowed to enter.
Once inside the alchemy chamber, the two sat cross-legged on the ground. Lin Hongye took a deep breath, then asked Lin Yang with a solemn expression:
"Master, the alchemy process this time won't be short. At the very least, it will take three days."
"During these three days, your spiritual energy must be supplied continuously without a single moment of interruption, or all our previous efforts will be wasted. Are you sure you're ready?"
Lin Yang grinned and replied with absolute confidence: "Rest assured. Forget about three days and nights; even for a month, my spiritual energy would be more than enough."
This was not idle boasting on Lin Yang's part. With the system's assistance, every breakthrough in his cultivation realm had left him with the most profound foundation and the sturdiest realm.
In other words, once Lin Yang made a breakthrough, he became the absolute strongest within the same realm. When it came to spiritual energy, he naturally had nothing to worry about.
Hearing Lin Yang say this, Lin Hongye finally set her mind at ease. Her gaze sharpened, and she commenced the pill refinement.

...
Three days passed, and aside from the surging waves of heat continuously venting outward, the alchemy chamber remained entirely devoid of any other movement.
Lu Chen squatted outside the alchemy chamber, his face filled with gloom. He turned to ask Zhou Xiao, who was beside him:
"Junior Brother, when do you think Master and Senior Sister will come out? Does refining a pill really take this long?"
Zhou Xiao's expression was even gloomier. Ignoring Lu Chen's question, he retorted speechlessly:
"Leaving everything else aside, let me ask you: they told you to stand guard here, not me. Why did you drag me into this?"
Lu Chen chuckled sheepishly. "It's just that having someone to chat with helps me pass the time."
Zhou Xiao shook his head helplessly. Over the past few days, apart from eating, sleeping, and going to the latrine, he had been stuck squatting outside the alchemy chamber with this fellow Lu Chen, unable to do a single thing.
He couldn't very well resist; after all, if he resisted and Lin Yang found out about it when he came out, a severe beating was practically guaranteed.
Seeing Zhou Xiao's bored expression, Lu Chen decided to strike up a topic to chat and pass the time.
Suddenly recalling something, he eagerly turned to Zhou Xiao and asked:
"Zhou Xiao, have you heard about what happened to our Sect Master?"
Zhou Xiao shook his head, a spark of interest instantly flashing in his eyes as he hurried to ask:
"What could possibly happen to Zhang Xianfeng? Tell me about it."
Lu Chen clicked his tongue in displeasure. "What do you mean, 'Zhang Xianfeng'? Even I have to call him Sect Master. Who gave you permission to address the Sect Master by his full name?"
Hearing this, Zhou Xiao收敛ed his demeanor and offered an awkward, ingratiating smile:
"Right, Sect Master, Sect Master. Then tell me, what happened to the old man?"
Only then did Lu Chen nod in satisfaction and explain:
"For these past few days, the Sect Master hasn't shown his face at all. All the affairs of the sect have been handled by Peak Master Wang."
"Therefore, rumors have been spreading in the outside world that ever since the righteous-demonic war, the Sect Master's cultivation has been crippled, which is why he dares not show his face."
"Not only is this rumor spreading outside, but even within our own sect, people are talking about it."
"Yet, even with things escalated to this extent, the Sect Master still hasn't come out to offer any explanation."
Listening to Lu Chen's words, Zhou Xiao's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Naturally, he was well aware of the incident where Zhang Xianfeng had been ganged up on by his own father and the sect elders on the battlefield that day.
Although Lin Yang had stepped in later to rescue him and save his life, it was hard to say whether Zhang Xianfeng's cultivation had truly been crippled.

Seeing Zhou Xiao's thoughtful look, the corners of Lu Chen's mouth curled into a smile as he asked:
"How is it? Are you dying to know whether the Sect Master's cultivation has been crippled or not?"
Zhou Xiao nodded repeatedly. After all, if Zhang Xianfeng's cultivation really was gone, that would be a monumental event.
He could simply transmit this news back to his sect and let the Blood-Thirsty Demon Sect launch another attack on the Great Desolation Immortal Sect.
When that time came, could Lin Yang alone, standing at the late Transformation stage, possibly block them?
Two late Transformation stage experts would be terrifying, but if there was only one, he wouldn't be worth worrying about.
Lu Chen let out two hums and explained: "I'll tell you the truth, the Sect Master's cultivation *was* indeed crippled."
Upon hearing this news, the smile on Zhou Xiao's face instantly turned immensely joyful.
However, before he could revel in his joy for even a moment, Lu Chen's next sentence completely extinguished his excitement.
"But being crippled doesn't matter. Master has already begun refining the medicinal pill. Once this pill is successfully refined, it will be the moment the Sect Master's cultivation recovers."
Hearing Lu Chen say this, Zhou Xiao's heart instantly grew cold.
Noticing Zhou Xiao's expression, Lu Chen asked suspiciously:
"What kind of attitude is that, kid? Aren't you happy that the Sect Master is going to be fine?"
Recovering his wits, Zhou Xiao immediately offered an awkward, smiling remedy:
"How could that be? I couldn't be happier."
"Boom!"
At that exact moment, two massive spirit boats flew into the sky above the Great Desolation Immortal Sect, instantly causing the firmament to violently vibrate.
The entire Great Desolation Immortal Sect trembled, and countless disciples within the sect raised their heads to look at the two colossal spirit boats blotting out the sun, filled with bewilderment.
"What is going on with these spirit boats? Why have they flown directly above our Great Desolation Immortal Sect?"
"I have no idea. I thought the Blood-Thirsty Demon Sect had come to attack our sect. Isn't this far too tyrannical and overbearing?"
"Those two spirit boats look like the ones belonging to the Supreme Sword Sect... Aren't they a righteous sect just like us? How could they do something like this?"
Just as they were speaking, the spirit boats slowly opened, and countless disciples of the Supreme Sword Sect poured out into the air.