Still, I had to wait, because some asshole was blatantly using their divine sense to spy on me.
"Keep using your divine sense and I'll make sure to break your legs once I find you," I said with all the coolness of ice.
And almost immediately, the divine sense disappeared.
Annoyed by the sudden intrusion, I pulled a brush and paper and began writing inscriptions. Though many know I lost my cultivation, they know that inscription can be done without the need of a cultivation base, all I needed was good ink, good paper, and spirit stones to supplement the formations and I had those in abundance.
I wrote a few inscriptions on the talismans and threw them to stick on the interior of the manor, creating a powerful inscription that could jumble Divine Sense entirely, and make anyone that tried to spy feel like they entered the worst Acid Trip of their life.
"Good, now that's done." I muttered then pulled my token, "Let's check out on them." I said then entered the world of the Lord's Pagoda.
Immediately, I arrived at the third floor and saw the majestic Purple Cloud Palace sitting in the middle of the field, while many of its surviving disciples looked grim and gritty as they did something they never had the opportunity to do before.
They were burying their dead and paying respect to them.
As I walked forward, many disciples looked at me with estranged yet respectful looks. The sadness in their hearts was too much, for even escaping their calamity didn't seem like a victory at all.
I sighed from the despair that plagued the Purple Cloud Sect, all at the expense of one man's greed.
Soon, I arrived at the door of the Purple Cloud Palace, a few battered disciples stopped me, "Who are you?" one of them asked, but immediately, the second guy stopped him.
"Please! Benefactor, come this way, The sect Master is expecting you." He said.
"Right," I said and walked forward.
I could hear the two arguing, one of them saying that he shouldn't let me in, and the second promising hell untold if he had stopped me from entering.
Ignoring the two, I continued forward until I arrived at a pretty familiar and chilly room were a few people that I knew were gathered there.
"Damn, it's still pretty chilly here," I said in a humorous tone trying to liven up the mood. But my words fell on deaf ears, or at least, they weren't in the mood to be cheered.
Lao Bofan had a rueful smile on his face, so did elder Yun, and a few elders that I saved from the Volcano, but the one who remain without expression, even after so long was the sect master.
"Shen Bao, is that really you?" the Sect Master asked.
"In the flesh, I'm still the same person from back then," I said.
"It is strange, how come, you look…"
"Handsome?" I said.
Though the elders laughed, the Sect Master coughed saying, "Different."
"Right. Good luck, and fortuitous encounters." I replied.
"I'm pleased to see you prosper, but let me ask, why have you come back? You could have left, why did you try to save us?"
"Try? What do you mean try? I saved you all, we're already out of the Three-Legged Raven Sect." I replied.
"What?" the elders shouted.
"Ah, my bad, since you aren't able to interfere with the outer world you didn't know what happened in detail, well it goes like this…" I said as I fully recounted the rest of the story.
…
"Hmm, that really does sound impressive, I thought you had sent us to a sub-dimension but we were still in the hands of the Three-Legged Raven Sect, and you Lao Bofan how come you made such a discission without consulting me?" the sect master said.
"There was no time, back then, when Shen Bao was faking the break of the formation, he actually used the cracks masterfully to write a sentence for only the people inside the barrier to reading, it was to gather everyone inside the palace and prepare for escape. Then he used the commotion of that Divine Sense and swept the whole palace inside his treasure. thankfully it worked because I didn't know what to do but trust him.
"He could have easily been a member of the Three-Legged Raven Sect," the Sect Master said.
"Would it have changed our outcome if he was or was not?" Lao Bofan said. "If he was a traitor we would have died, and if he didn't interfere we would have died still, I had to make a discussion." Lao Bofan said.
"Though your discission was rash, it saved us all." The Sect Master said.
"Shen Bao, you did the sect a great service, what would you wish for your reward." The Sect Master said.
I shook my head, "I already have more than I need, and more than you can offer me." I replied.
"You really grew, Shen Bao," Elder Yun said.
"A bit, but I still can't beat you in a game of Go," I said.
"Well, one day," the elder laughed and this slightly livened up the mood.
Soon, I took note of the girl next to the elder, seeing the second one missing, my eyes locked onto the sect master and she shook her head.
"So many had died," I said, "And I know you want your revenge, heck, I can easily grant you the revenge you wish, but the risks outweigh the selfish benefits."
"What do you mean that you can grant us the revenge we wish? Could it be related to that Divine Sense? Do you have a powerful cultivator as a friend you can call?"
"Not entirely true and not false. But like I said, if I were to go and bring you your revenge, the cost will be far too much for you to bear. So I suggest that you all cultivate here and grow stronger so you can avenge yourself with your own hands."
"Shen Bao, what really happened to you?" the Sect Master asked.
"A lot of things, but first of all, you seem to have turned for the worse, how come the Ice Destruction Poison in you is even fiercer than before?" I asked.
The sect Master turned her face in shame, after all, I was like a dentist that was berating a kid for eating too much candy.
"The Sect Master had to use her Qi for a while to help us erect the barrier, but it was at a huge cost. Though she didn't lose her mobility, the Ice Destruction Poison is still as potent as before." Lao Bofan said.
"Right, well, now that I'm here, I'm sure I can treat it, also I know you failed your ascension to the Soul Formation Stage and were reduced to the Nascent Soul Stage, would you like me to help you with that?"
Though the words I spoke were casual, for the Sect Master, this was an opportunity that she couldn't believe, not only that everyone on the table turned to look if I was actually speaking true or I was just bluffing.
"So, what do you say, do you want to regain your cultivation base? though I can't promise I'll get you all the way to the Soul Transformation, but Soul Formation and treating your Ice Destruction Poison is now well within my ability." I grinned at the gobsmacked Sect Master.
"Yes, if you can, I would really like to regain my former cultivation base, Shen Bao," and for the first time I saw her smile, though it lasted for a moment, it was something beautiful.
"Then let's get started."