CHAPTER 545: CHAPTER 507: THE VERDICT OF PUNISHMENT

Fairy Mei’s personality is not endearing, as she appears aloof and taciturn towards strangers.

Towards those she knows well, she tends to be sarcastic, which leads to her having few true friends.

Fortunately, Tian Lin has always had a good nature and understands her personality well. Therefore, he doesn’t take Fairy Mei’s sarcasm to heart.

"The secret realm can lead to another world, as Elder Yu communicated. The reason why the sect relocated into this secret realm was also due to Elder Yu’s suggestion."

After hearing Taoli’s explanation, Tian Lin asked him, "Besides the message, did my master leave any other messages? Or, does the sect know my master’s current whereabouts?"

Taoli shook his head and said:

"Elder Yu has always been elusive, with only him contacting the sect and the sect unable to reach him proactively. Therefore, other than receiving Elder Yu’s message, the sect knows nothing else."

Tian Lin frowned and couldn’t help but say, "So you’re saying the sect only received a letter suspected to be from Elder Yu? In reality, there’s no way to verify if this letter was indeed penned by Elder Yu?"

Taoli laughed, "There’s probably no one in this world who can impersonate Elder Yu’s handwriting or use his name to leave messages! So, the content of the letter can’t be false. Senior Brother is undoubtedly overthinking this."

What exactly is Elder Yu’s level of cultivation? This is not only a question in Tian Lin’s mind but also something even the elders of the Wenda Sect cannot clearly articulate.

Thousands of years ago, Elder Yu had been in the late stage of Divinity Transformation for a very long time. Now that thousands of years have passed, it’s not impossible to say Elder Yu has reached the Immortal Realm.

In any case, whether they’re close to, distant from, jealous of, or dislike him, no one doubts Elder Yu’s strength.

Therefore, they not only don’t believe anyone can impersonate Elder Yu’s name to do things, but they also firmly believe that what Elder Yu said about the secret realm connecting to another world is true.

"Perhaps I’m overthinking this!"

That’s what Tian Lin said, but he couldn’t shake a strange feeling.

Tian Lin found Elder Yu’s impression somewhat cold and indifferent.

For example, there was Elder Yue of the Yao Yue Sect, who always wished to be an inner sect disciple.

But despite eating dirt and bowing countless times to Elder Yu without once being disrespectful, this old man hardly received any concern from Elder Yu.

If Elder Yu had been willing, the so-called rule of eternal separation between the mortal and immortal realms of the Wenda Sect wouldn’t have stopped Elder Yue from becoming an inner sect disciple.

Unfortunately, until Elder Yue’s death, Elder Yu never helped this disciple fulfill his dream.

Instead, it was Elder Yue who won a promise from Elder Yu by knocking on the bell with his corpse for thousands of years: that is, to find a successor of Elder Yue from the Yao Yue Sect in the Yulong Continent to be taken as a registered disciple.

Although Tian Lin was fortunate to become Elder Yu’s registered disciple, he, in fact, never received any guidance from Elder Yu.

He himself felt that perhaps his perception and judgment were overly hasty!

But Tian Lin always felt that accepting Elder Yue and himself was just something Elder Yu did offhandedly.

Even though Elder Yu helped Elder Yue and himself enter the Wenda Sect, it was as if a fisherman casually tossed a disliked loach into a small pond nearby, just a whimsical gesture without any affection for the loach.

Similarly, the Wenda Sect was neither founded by Elder Yu nor, strictly speaking, was Elder Yu anything more than a guest elder of the Wenda Sect.

It’s like when Tian Lin was a guest elder of the Tong Family, merely treating the Tong Family as a temporary inn to stop and go at will.

Even with the Tong Family’s demise, Tian Lin didn’t feel any sadness—why should he care about the fate of the Tong Family?

So, Tian Lin doubted whether Elder Yu, who never returned to the sect, would care about the fate of the Wenda Sect?

"Since Brother Tao knows my master, then indeed there’s a significant connection between us. Unfortunately, if Brother Tao wishes to contact my master through me, it might be destined for disappointment."

Tian Lin candidly admitted he couldn’t contact Elder Yu either, to prevent Taoli from wasting his efforts.

But Taoli said, "Senior Brother, don’t misunderstand! While I certainly wish to personally thank Elder Yu, I sincerely want to seek your guidance, Brother Tian.

I have long heard that Brother Tian excels in the Seasonal Dao, and to me, an essence of plants and trees, the seasonal cycles are more intriguing than to human cultivators."

Tian Lin wasn’t sure whether what Taoli said was true or false, but just discussing Dao was acceptable.

Indeed, over the next two or three days, Taoli spent time discussing the Seasonal Dao with Tian Lin.

Not only did Taoli gain much, but Tian Lin himself also had significant insights.

The next morning, the Nascent Soul Realm elder who brought Tian Lin didn’t show up, but instead, Elder Xue knocked on Tian Lin’s door.

Seeing Tian Lin reading inside, he couldn’t help but laugh, "How can you still have the mood to read? Aren’t you worried about your situation at all?"

Tian Lin replied, "From the moment I learned my master sent a message to the sect, I knew the sect wouldn’t do anything to me."

Elder Xue nodded, "Indeed, since the sect is convinced Elder Yu is still in this world, they wouldn’t dare do anything to you, his disciple—essentially, unless you commit an act that outrages both gods and men, the sect will protect you. Not to mention, you only killed a peripheral member of the Tang Family?"

"But things always need to be explained to other disciples in the sect—"

After all, Tian Lin had killed someone, and it was a fellow sect member.

Such matters are forbidden in any sect.

"The explanation is that Elder Qu will face the wall for five years and cannot leave—"

Tian Lin was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized the reason behind this outcome.

The Elder Qu mentioned was the one who brought Tian Lin and Fairy Mei here.

The responsibilities of that elder, besides guarding the transmission array for entering and exiting the secret realm, included overseeing the disciples who guarded the transmission array.

If the sect does not want to accuse Tian Lin of killing a fellow sect member, they have to say the killed sect member was actually an evil spirit in disguise. This way, Tian Lin not only has no faults but instead has merits!

But the killed sect member held an important position guarding the transmission array, so how could an evil spirit disguise and infiltrate?

It must have been that Elder Qu failed to perform his duties, allowing the evil spirit to take advantage.

Hence, the sect doesn’t punish Tian Lin; naturally, they have to punish Elder Qu.

"Wouldn’t this be unfair to Elder Qu?"

Even with Elder Yu backing him, Tian Lin felt that punishing a Nascent Soul Realm elder this way could provoke Elder Qu’s ire, and might also displease other elders.

After all, those who managed to cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm long to enjoy a sense of superiority. If the sect punished them for the sake of a Golden Core cultivator, they would surely feel their Nascent Soul cultivation was not respected.

"Don’t worry! The sect is ostensibly punishing Elder Qu, but in reality, Elder Qu has already wanted to retreat for a breakthrough in cultivation. So, this punishment merely serves as an excuse for him to retreat.

Moreover, the sect will fully cover the costs of Spirit Stones and Elixirs needed for Elder Qu this time to break through from the early stage to mid-stage Nascent Soul. How can he be unhappy?"

Hearing this, Tian Lin nodded. This way, Elder Qu wouldn’t become hostile towards him, and the other elders wouldn’t view him as arrogant either.

The only ones unhappy might be the family members of that deceased Tang Family disciple.