“Ah, thanks to Palace Lord Dajiu, the Sect protects me.”
Qian Duoduo blinked.
Palace Lord Dajiu's spiritual power circulated through Qian Duoduo's body. Only after discovering that his cultivation was stable and there were no hidden injuries did he feel relieved and lower his hand.
He naturally didn't believe Qian Duoduo's words, but that wasn't important. An artifact exploding had killed even Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Qian Duoduo being able to return safely surely meant he had a fortuitous encounter. Having a fortuitous encounter was Qian Duoduo's luck, and also Qian Duoduo's secret.
Keeping secrets was everyone's right. As long as Qian Duoduo was loyal to the Refining Spirit Sect, that was enough.
He waved his hand, dismissing the Sect Disciples. However, Yu Yixiang, Wang Longyu, Huang Guiren, and others stood ten feet away, gathered in a group, unwilling to leave.
Once the crowd dispersed, Qian Duoduo realized that the memorial service was originally held in the Zi District of the Outer Sect, right in front of Buhuan Estate.
Tang Honggong's fingers moved, and the words on the tombstone changed to “Purple-Gold Disciple.” With a sweep of his palm, the grave behind it became flat ground, revealing the shattered Golden Claw Armor and Golden Rooster Sword in the soil.
“You're an Artifact Refiner now?” Tang Honggong asked gently.
“Third-Rank, high-grade,” Qian Duoduo replied softly.
Tang Honggong looked up and laughed a few times, “My nephew has made something of himself. I won't help you repair this armor and golden sword.”
During his escape, the self-detonation of the Magic Treasure played a crucial role in allowing him to counter-kill Cultivators with higher cultivation than him. One might be able to buy these Magic Treasures with money, but only an Artifact Refiner could make them self-detonate at will.
“It's not very suitable for you to live here anymore. Go back to the Azure Dragon District of the Inner Sect first; you'll have to make do for now.”
A Third-Rank Refiner, in the Refining Spirit Sect, was at least Elder level. And Elders could have better Immortal Caves than those in the Inner Sect.
“I think this is pretty good; let's not move,” Qian Duoduo said after a moment of hesitation. He mainly couldn't bear to part with the Estate; he had put in a lot of sweat to cultivate these two thousand acres of spiritual fields. If he moved to the Inner Sect, it would be inconvenient to take care of them.
“Alright.” Tang Honggong thought for a moment. “I'll have someone set up more Formations to concentrate the Spiritual Qi here, transforming the residence into an Immortal Cave. The one-tenth of income that the Estate originally submitted to the Sect no longer needs to be paid. If you expand the Estate further, you can still expand.”
“Really?”
“Of course. This is one of Meng Yuan Legion's rewards for you.”
“Expand as much as I want? Even to ten thousand acres?”
Tang Honggong was stunned for a moment, then nodded, “Yes, you can. Don't you just want to produce more materials yourself so you can refine artifacts? This is proper business. You are now an Inner Sect Disciple, and you can even bring a few Outer Sect Disciples.”
“That's great.” Qian Duoduo's eyes fell on the stone tablet, “Palace Lord Dajiu, what kind of title is this Purple-Gold Disciple? Is it more powerful than an Inner Sect Disciple?”
Tang Honggong glanced at Qian Duoduo, “In the Refining Spirit Sect's history of tens of thousands of years, including you, there have only been five Purple-Gold Disciples.”
“So few?”
“In the past two thousand years, you are the only one. The Purple-Gold Disciple is the highest honor of the Refining Spirit Sect. Your descendants, regardless of their cultivation level, will be born into the Inner Sect, allocated resources as Inner Sect Disciples, and the Refining Spirit Sect will protect your Family forever.”
Qian Duoduo was stunned. The benefits for a Purple-Gold Disciple were so good; wouldn't his sons and grandsons be much better off than his own miserable self?
“Among our Refining Spirit Sect's affiliated Families, the top four are all descendants of Purple-Gold Disciples, so they are also called Purple Gold Families. Of course, they are also the most loyal force of this Sect.”
Qian Duoduo scratched his head. As Huang Guiren would say, he wasn't even an adult yet. Descendants were still a bit far off for him. He couldn't enjoy the benefits given to them yet.
“The most crucial point is that, in the past, the honor of Purple-Gold Disciple was bestowed upon Disciples who died in Sect battles; it was for the dead. However, you survived.”
Qian Duoduo understood. No wonder Palace Lord Dajiu had asked the Sect Leader's opinion just now; it was about whether to still grant the Purple-Gold Disciple honor since he had survived.
Seeing that Qian Duoduo wasn't particularly happy, Tang Honggong patted Qian Duoduo and whispered, “Do you understand the greatest benefit of being a Purple-Gold Disciple?”
After a pause, he said, “That is, no matter who was behind it, if the matter of sending you to carry out this mission was just a mission, that's fine. But if there were other intentions, then you must be given an explanation.”
Qian Duoduo's heart trembled violently and immediately warmed. The Purple-Gold Disciple was an honor, but even more so, a protective talisman. For a commoner like him, a protective talisman was actually more important than anything else. In this Sect, Palace Lord Dajiu was the one who understood him best.
In front of tens of thousands of Sect Disciples, there were some things Qian Duoduo couldn't say. But not being able to say them didn't mean he felt comfortable.
Tang Honggong's figure flickered, and he returned to the mountaintop on his Flying Sword.
As soon as he left, Yu Yixiang, Wang Longyu, Huang Guiren, Wang Dahei, Wang Meiruo, and others immediately gathered around him.
Others would hug and then let go, but Wang Meiruo held Qian Duoduo's arm tightly and wouldn't let go, “Brother Bu Huan, I thought you were gone, and I cried several times a day.”
Her eyes were very swollen, so her crying was definitely not fake. Qian Duoduo also felt too awkward to push her away.
Wang Meiruo took out a Storage Pouch from her person and handed it over, “You saved my brother. On behalf of my father, this one million gold coins is a small token of our gratitude.”
Wang Longyu immediately looked embarrassed, “Meiru, don't measure our pure comradeship with money. Besides, what kind of talk is that, ‘on behalf of the old man’?”
Wang Meiruo rolled her eyes at him and took out another Storage Pouch, “Then let's add to the investment, another million. Brother Bu Huan can invest in the Estate if he wants, or refine artifacts if he wants.”
Yu Yixiang softly said to Qian Duoduo, “I didn't go back to Chifeng Mountain Range to look for you, you don't blame me, do you?”
Wang Longyu also looked at Qian Duoduo.
Qian Duoduo shook his head, “How could I? You were so badly injured. Even if you wanted to go back, the Sect wouldn't have allowed it.”
Yu Yixiang covered her mouth and smiled, no longer speaking. Wang Longyu put his arm around Qian Duoduo's shoulder.
Actually, Yu Yixiang didn't need to ask this question. After this experience, they knew each other's personalities. Yu Yixiang might have just been using this method to subtly express that she really wanted to go back and find Qian Duoduo, to save Qian Duoduo.
Huang Guiren's hair was as messy as a chicken's nest, as always.
He squeezed in front of Qian Duoduo, raised both hands, and snatched the conversation, “Junior Brother, you don't know, when Senior Sister Yu and Senior Brother Wang brought the news of the Helou Family's betrayal to the Sect, the commotion in the Sect, tsk tsk, it was like a fierce wolf entering a chicken coop, it just exploded… ”
The few of them, one word after another, recounted what happened after Qian Duoduo self-detonated and fell unconscious.
Qian Duoduo lured away the He Lou Clan members, Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu fled separately, and Yu Yixiang successfully broke through the Formation's shielding and sent the news back to the Sect.
Elder Bi of the Protectorate was the first to receive the message. In less than a quarter of an hour, Elder Bi confirmed the news and immediately rang the alarm. Within ten breaths, he assembled ten Elders, five hundred Inner Sect Disciples, and two thousand Outer Sect Disciples.
Green-robed, orange-robed, and blue-robed figures roared out from various Immortal Mountains, forming a Formation on Lingwu Avenue, boarding two hundred Winged Vehicles, arranged neatly in Formation, with Killing Intent soaring to the sky.
This scene was unprecedented and completely shocked all the Sect Disciples.
Even though the Helou Family only had one Foundation Establishment Cultivator and a few hundred Cultivators, the Refining Spirit Sect still intended to wipe out the Family with the force of thunder.
This was to show other Families and all Sect Disciples that anyone who dared to harbor thoughts of rebellion would only face death!
The grand Formation assembled, and Elder Bi rallied them at the front of the Formation, his voice shaking the Five Immortal Mountains, “By the Sect Leader's command, exterminate the entire Helou Family.”
Five golden lights shot out from the top of the Immortal Mountains, activating the teleportation Formation. The Formation roared, and just as it was about to begin teleporting, a red figure suddenly descended from the top of Mengyuan Mountain. That person was Tang Honggong, his face livid, standing on the Winged Vehicle at the very front of the expeditionary force.