Chapter 181: Returning the Heavenly Spirit Ring

"The wind and snow are too heavy here; it is no place to talk. Since Junior Brother wishes to join our Daoyang Sect, why not come inside for a chat?" the old man said. He stepped aside, leaving half the path clear, and raised a hand in invitation.

The three people behind him also stepped back to clear the way. He pointed toward a grand hall halfway up the mountain, its golden eaves jutting out.

Jiuyou's gaze swept across their faces. He offered a perfectly measured smile, looking exactly like a man who had finally found his home. The joy radiating from the depths of his eyes was so convincing that even he almost believed it. Without hesitation, he cupped his hands to the group and flew after the old man toward the grand hall.

On the way, the old man secretly sized him up. Jiuyou noticed, but he feigned ignorance, flying straight ahead without a change in expression.

The old man withdrew his gaze. 'He has some guts,' he thought. 'To step so openly into the heart of our sect without the slightest hesitation... Could his words just now actually be the truth? I will report this to Eldest Senior Brother later and let him decide.'

A moment later, the group landed before the hall.

The hall doors were wide open, revealing a spacious, brightly lit interior built entirely from an unknown white jade. Golden patterns were inlaid in the walls, winding and stretching across the surface like veins. Diaphanous veils of interwoven blue and purple draped from the high ceiling, swaying without any wind and exuding an indescribable aura of profound tranquility. The stone tables and stools were warm to the touch and polished to a mirror finish.

The entire hall lacked even a trace of the mundane. It looked as though it saw little foot traffic, yet was meticulously maintained.

The group took their seats, with the old man taking the seat of honor. They sat there for several hours.

Once the conversation started, it flowed endlessly.

The old man asked about Patriarch Zhiyang and Senior Uncle Jinli. Jiuyou recited the contents of the ancient texts he had seen in the Azure Sun Sect. He fabricated what he could, and when he couldn't, he glossed over the gaps by claiming too much time had passed and he knew little. As for Senior Uncle Jinli's legacy, he merely stated he had obtained it by a stroke of luck and offered no further details. The other three did not pry, acting as though they had only asked in passing.

During their chat, Jiuyou also picked up on some unspoken implications:

Senior Uncle Jinli was said to have been a sword Grandmaster a thousand years ago. With his cultivation at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, he had been the strongest person in the Daoyang Sect at the time. Later, nearing the end of his lifespan, he traveled out into the world and was never heard from again. It was quite a surprise to them that his sword legacy had fallen into the hands of an outsider claiming to be Zhiyang's martial grandson.

As the conversation deepened, Jiuyou took the initiative to bring up Patriarch Zhiyang's defection. He knew that since he was joining the sect as "Patriarch Zhiyang's martial grandson," failing to address this hurdle himself would only leave it as leverage for others to use against him in the future.

His initiative in broaching the subject brought a hint of surprise to the faces of the others sitting across from him.

After a moment of silence, the old man spoke first, slowly recounting the events of the past:

Almost four thousand years ago, Patriarch Zhiyang was only a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator. Trapped in a bottleneck for hundreds of years without making an inch of progress, he watched helplessly as his peers surpassed him in cultivation one by one, breeding resentment in his heart.

Exploiting his position, he sneaked into the forbidden grounds and stole an Imitation Spirit Treasure, the Heavenly Spirit Ring. When he tried to take a second supreme treasure, he only had time to steal a strand of the Nine Yang True Fire's essence before he was discovered. He fled the sect in a panic and never returned.

That Imitation Spirit Treasure was exactly the bracelet that later ended up on Jiuyou's wrist, the Heavenly Spirit Ring. And that strand of Nine Yang True Fire had eventually found its way into Jiuyou's hands as well.

At this point in the story, the group's tone unanimously took on a touch of somberness. However, they did not vent these old grudges onto Jiuyou. Even when mentioning Patriarch Zhiyang, they still addressed him as "Patriarch," as if the hatred had long been worn thin by the passage of time.

"The Heavenly Spirit Ring... so that's how it is," Jiuyou said. His face remained completely impassive, but his heart was already churning. He had never expected that the bracelet he had coincidentally named the Heavenly Spirit Ring was actually an Imitation Spirit Treasure. Furthermore, he hadn't expected that the wisp of Golden Sun True Flame he had refined into the Golden Sun Mountain was merely a strand of the Nine Yang True Fire's essence.

He quietly weighed the situation in his mind:

'If the true body of that Nine Yang True Fire could be found, its power would likely far exceed imagination. Probably even a Deity Transformation Cultivator would have to fear it.' As for the Soul-Eating Insects, the group had not mentioned them from start to finish. They clearly didn't know of the insects' existence; they were likely another fortuitous encounter Patriarch Zhiyang had obtained later. Naturally, Jiuyou had no reason to volunteer that information.

The grand hall fell quiet for a moment, the atmosphere feeling as though someone had gently pressed down on one of its corners.

Jiuyou took a long breath, acting as if he had made a momentous decision. He slowly removed the Heavenly Spirit Ring from his wrist, held it up with both hands, and offered it to Zhou Chengshan in the seat of honor. His tone grew heavier. "Senior Brother Zhou, since this is an item my ancestor stole from the sect all those years ago, it is only right to return the object to its original owner now. I hope Senior Brother will accept it."

As he spoke, his expression was entirely candid and his gaze steady, looking exactly like a man who genuinely wanted to atone for the sins of his predecessor.

Zhou Chengshan stared blankly for a moment, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. He didn't immediately take the bracelet. Instead, he looked at Jiuyou, as if weighing the gravity of those words.

The other three also exchanged glances, their expressions showing varying degrees of being moved. They clearly hadn't expected Jiuyou to hand over an Imitation Spirit Treasure so decisively.

Zhou Chengshan pondered for a moment before finally reaching out to take the Heavenly Spirit Ring. He looked down at it, then raised his eyes to Jiuyou, his tone carrying a probing edge. "Although Patriarch Zhiyang took this item back then, it has ultimately become your serendipity. Are you truly willing to part with it?"

Jiuyou stood up, cupped his hands to Zhou Chengshan, and gave a fist-and-palm salute to the other three. His tone was firm. "This item belonged to the Daoyang Sect in the first place. I am merely returning the object to its original owner, which can also be considered adding a bit to the sect's foundation."

He paused for a second before continuing, "This was also my ancestor's intention. If I couldn't return this item, I would forever harbor guilt in my heart." He then showed a slightly apologetic expression. "It is just the other treasure, that strand of the Nine Yang True Fire's essence—I have already fused it into a magical treasure, and I'm afraid it can no longer be extracted."

Hearing this, Zhou Chengshan suddenly laughed and waved his hand. "No matter. It's just a strand of essence. After so many years, the Nine Yang True Fire has long since recovered; it isn't missing that tiny wisp." His tone carried a generous tolerance. "It is enough that Junior Brother has this sincere intention."

The other three also nodded in agreement. The gazes they directed at Jiuyou were much gentler than before, as if a thin sheet of ice wedged between them had finally cracked.

An incense stick's worth of time later, Jiuyou had a rough grasp of everything about the Daoyang Sect that could be freely spoken of. He didn't ask too many questions about sensitive matters; if they didn't bring them up, he didn't ask, acting as if those things didn't matter.

When the meeting dispersed, Zhou Chengshan personally brought him to a side hall, arranging for him to stay there for the time being. Upon parting, he said, "I will have to ask Junior Brother to make do for a few days. We will make a final decision after Eldest Senior Brother comes out of seclusion." His tone was a few degrees warmer than before, as though he had already tacitly accepted this newly arrived junior brother.

The side hall was not large, but it was kept spotless. The windows were bright and the tables clean, with all the furnishings arranged in perfect order.

Jiuyou closed the door and stood by the window for a while, gazing at the silhouette of the distant mountains cloaked in the twilight. His expression was as calm as ever.

In his mind, he reviewed the day's events. Returning the Heavenly Spirit Ring had earned him their preliminary trust without arousing suspicion, and he had also figured out a portion of the Daoyang Sect's foundation. As for that Heavenly Spirit Ring... he didn't care. At the end of the day, it was just an external object, and sooner or later, it would return to his hands.

What he cared about more was that this time, he was finally standing inside the gates of the Daoyang Sect, rather than outside them.