While Xukong was pondering about the phenomenon that had just happened, there was something else happing at the Sky precepts sect.
At the star catching peak, in a large hall, disciples could be seen sitting in their respective positions on the formation. The formation was glowing and would sometimes show things on an ethereal screen that hung in the air. There were hundreds of disciples sitting on the formation with a majority being peak qi refining realm cultivators and some core condensation realm cultivators.
In a separate hall from that, twenty Grey robed elders were sitting on a formation array similar to the disciples previously. Except this formation array was much more complex than the other one and had multiple layers to it.
These twenty Grey robed elders all had the design for star catching peak embroidered on the front of their robes and were the nascent soul realm elders of the star catching peak.
If it were anywhere else, any of these twenty elders could make a sect of their own. Just this showed the power and reserves of the Sky precepts sect.
At the head of this formation array sat another elder, but this elder was not a man but an old woman. She had faint wrinkles on her face and seemed to be in her mid fifties. She was dressed in a black robe and similarly had the symbol of the star catching peak on her robes.
The aura that emitted from her told one that she was higher than the other elders and was at the Dao shell realm. She was none other than the peak head of the star catching peak.
All the elders and the disciples of the star catching peak were currently engrossed in operating the star catching formation array and were fully focused on it, except for the peak head. She was merely looking at the screen and did not participate.
Just as she was looking at the screen, she felt someone's presence behind her.
"What brings you here head elder Han?" The peak head spoke in a calm voice.
The person that was standing behind was none other than the black robed elder Han. He had appeared behind her soundlessly, and it was not clear how he had reached there.
"I've just come to assess the progress of the new batch of disciples." Head elder Han spoke in a friendly tone.
The peak head snorted lightly and turned to look at head elder Han.
"If you were here for that you would have directly gone to see them and would not have come to the core chamber like this." The peak head spoke.
"Ah Peak head Meili, you know the situation had not been well lately. So I just wondered how you were faring after the recent loss." Head elder Han replied.
~Hmph~
Peak head Meili did not respond and simply turned back to look at the screen that was showing a mass of characters that would switch and change around.
~Cough~
An awkward silence descended and head elder Han coughed to dispel it before speaking.
"Well, it seems like I should head on to check on the disciples then."
He was just about to leave when suddenly the formation array disappeared and the screen faded away as well.
The twenty nascent soul realm elders that were sitting on the formation array all simultaneously opened their eyes, and so did the other disciples.
"Oh! Seems like the disciples could no longer handle it." One of the nascent soul realm elders spoke.
"Yes, they did last longer than before though." Another one spoke in a praising tone.
A few seconds later the formation started glowing again, and the screen appeared once again. But while the nascent soul realm elders were talking amongst themselves, the expressions on the faces of Head elder Han and Peak head Meili were of dread. They looked at each other for a moment and subtly nodded.
Peak head Meili turned to the twenty elders and spoke.
"Seems like we can give the new disciples a break for now. Let them return to their abodes, I need to go do something as well."
The twenty elders stood up and cupped their hands in acknowledgment.
"As you command, Peak head." They all spoke in unison.
Peak head Meili lightly nodded and left along with Head elder Han. They appeared outside the core room and soon moved to a secluded building that was located on a corner of the star catching peak. They moved at a blinding speed and reached there in less than a minute.
After reaching there, peak elder Meili gestured in the air and a string of characters appeared. They arranged themselves in a formation and soon a barrier was formed around the building.
"Now no one can hear us." Peak head Meili spoke.
"That's good, we don't want anyone except for the two of us to know about this or it will lead to chaos." Head elder hand spoke in a serious tone.
"So was it really what I think it was?" Peak head Meili questioned with apprehension.
"Indeed, you should have read the old records. You know what this pertains." Head elder Han answered.
"But if the World barrier really disappeared, why was it only for a few seconds? Back when the tragedy occurred, the entire peak had shut down for months now. We could only repair the formation and get it functional, a little while ago." Peak elder Meili spoke in a doubtful tone.
"Because this time it was not an expert undergoing ascension who broke through the world barrier. But rather something else that caused the world to lower its own barrier. This is all that I can deduce." Head elder Han spoke in an unsure tone.
Peak head Meili suddenly had a change of expression, as if she had realized something. She withdrew a jade slip from her storage treasure and held it for a few moments and closed her eyes. She then opened her eyes, which had hints of fear in them.
"So you figured it out? What did you see in the hidden records?" Head elder Han asked.
"Invader… but not any invader, but an old one. The ancestors… they missed someone."
"Or one survived..."
