"W-Where did you come from? You startled me for a second there." Song Ling'er said to him in a dazed voice.
And she continued, "What happened to the Dragon Temple? You're out earlier than I'd expected."
"I finished it earlier than I had expected as well." Yuan nodded.
"Well, this makes things much easier for me, anyway." Song Ling'er proceeded to store the zither into her storage ring.
And she continued afterward, "You should know why I'm here, so I won't beat around the bush. I'm here to recruit you to the Heavenly Melody Academy. Join my sect."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot join your sect." Yuan immediately refused her offer.
Song Ling'er wasn't surprised by his response. In fact, she had expected it.
After taking a deep breath, she asked him, "What do I have to do in order for you to join my sect?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't intend on joining another sect while I am in the Lower Heavens, and I plan on leaving this place in the near future," Yuan said.
Song Ling'er sighed after hearing his words, and she said afterward, "I understand—"
However, she suddenly stopped in the middle of her speech, and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Y-You… Why are you emitting the aura of a Spirit Grandmaster?" Song Ling'er suddenly realized this fact that even Long Yijun and the others had missed because they were unable to detect Yuan's cultivation base, who was a Spirit Grandmaster, whilst being a Spirit Master unless they really focused on him.
"I am currently at the 3rd level Spirit Grandmaster," Yuan revealed his cultivation base in a casual voice, making it sound like it was normal for a young man like him to be a Spirit Grandmaster.
"T-Third level Spirit Grandmaster?! That's two whole levels higher than mine!" Song Ling'er exclaimed.
"Did the Mystic Realm affect your cultivation that much? You were only a first level Spirit Master before you entered!"
Yuan nodded, "Yes, a lot of things happened while I was inside, and my cultivation benefited a lot from it."
"Good heavens… And to think you were only a Spirit Warrior during the zither competition. At this rate, you'll reach Spirit Lord by next month…" Song Ling'er said, feeling all of her motivation to recruit him shattering into a thousand pieces.
After all, who in their right mind would be shameless enough to ask a Spirit Grandmaster to become a disciple?
If Yuan joins the Heavenly Melody Academy, he wouldn't be joining as a disciple but as the Sect Master instead!
"Young Master! You're out already?" The door to the building a few meters from them suddenly opened, and Feng Yuxiang and the others could be seen walking out of the building a moment later.
"Yuan? I thought you had an entire week inside. Did something happen?" Meixiu asked him.
Yuan shook his head and said, "No, I have accomplished everything I could inside, and it would simply be a waste of time if I continued to stay inside when there's nothing else to do, so I decided to leave early."
"Does this mean you'll be leaving the Dragon Essence Temple now?" Xiao Hua asked him.
Yuan nodded, "Yes, but I cannot just leave without saying anything. I still have to let the Sect Master and the others know."
"Wait… You're leaving the Dragon Essence Temple already?" Song Ling'er asked him in a dumbfounded voice.
"Yes."
"What are you going to do after you leave?"
"I'm going to explore the Lower Heavens some more with my friends before I ascend," he said.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Song Ling'er sighed, "Fine… I give up trying to recruit you."
And she continued, "However, I have another offer for you now."
"Before you leave the Lower Heavens, can you visit the Heavenly Melody Academy at least once?"
"That I can do." Yuan quickly accepted her offer.
"I am also interested in what a sect that's focused on music is like."
"Great! Let me know before you arrive so I can prepare for it." Song Ling'er reached into her robes and retrieved a jade slip before handing it to Yuan.
"This is my communication jade slip. You can contact me for other things if you wish." Song Ling'er said.
"Okay. I will definitely visit the Heavenly Melody Academy once before I leave." Yuan nodded.
"It's a promise. Then I will see you then." Song Ling'er said before flying away.
After Song Ling'er left the scene, Feng Yuxiang turned to look at Yuan and asked him, "Did you obtain anything good in the Dragon Temple?"
Yuan nodded, "I will tell you all about it, but let's sit down first."
They proceeded to enter the building Long Yijun left behind.
Once they were all seated, Yuan began recalling his experience in the Dragon Temple.
Although they were surprised about the priceless treasures he'd obtained, they were more shocked about the Shadow Realm and the banished Immortals within.
"Immortals from the Primordial Era… That's a really long time ago, and I mean really, really long ago." Feng Yuxiang said.
"How long are we talking about? A few hundred thousand years?" Yuan asked.
Feng Yuxiang chuckled and said, "More like a few hundred million years ago."
"What?! That long?!" Yuan was greatly shocked to learn this.
Does this mean the banished Immortals had been living in that hell for at least a few hundred million years? His pity for them grew even more.
"As for what they said regarding the Celestial Emperor… Indeed, that has happened in the past. It was called the Heavenly War of Immortals and Gods, and it was one of the first large-scale wars to happen in the Nine Heavens. Tens of thousands of Immortals and many Gods perished during that war. Though, I don't know much about it besides what I just said since it'd happened really long ago." Feng Yuxiang said.
"As for whether they can be trusted or not… I really can't tell you that since I don't know either of them. Ethereal Immortal Fairy and the Sect Master of the Immortal Monastery… I have never heard of them before, but if you go to the upper heavens, you might find more information about them."