It was only then that Bai Rou felt more and more that something was wrong, because she had just discovered that her own sect was several times larger than before.
She then remembered something she had ignored in her grief: on her way here, within a radius of several thousand li, the other sects seemed to have disappeared.
In the cave, Bai Rou brought her thoughts back. To think that this suddenly returned Ancestor could have met Junior Brother Li Yan.
And the Ancestor had even "snatched" the ancient ape puppet back from Li Yan. After learning of her situation, she had used this ruse to trick her into coming back. She felt that all of this was somewhat fantastical.
"Little girl, are you lovesick again?"
Just then, a charming voice came through. Bai Rou's pretty face flushed red, and she quickly stood up and said, "A-Ancestor, what... what are you talking about?"
Beside her, a blurry figure slowly materialized, silent and unnoticed.
Although the figure was blurry, one could still make out a curvaceous young woman in a purple dress. If Li Yan were here, he would recognize her at a glance. It was the Nascent Soul great cultivator—Shuang Qingqing.
"Hee hee hee, I think that Junior Brother Li Yan of yours is not bad. That little guy has quite a few secrets, and his strength far surpasses those of his peers."
"Mmm, although he is a bit ugly, cultivators care about strength. And he's quite a bit younger than you..."
As soon as Bai Rou stood up, she heard these words, and her face turned crimson with shame. She quickly said, "Ancestor, you... please don't joke with your disciple. I've only met him a few times, and... besides, he's not as ugly as you say. It's just that you've seen countless people, so he's just average."
"Average is average. What do you mean, 'average'? If so, why, out of all the cultivators in the world, did you give my Thousand Luo Ancient Ape to him?"
Shuang Qingqing clearly knew the reason, but her beautiful eyes still darted around as she deliberately spoke.
"Ancestor, you... when can your main body come out of seclusion?"
Bai Rou knew this Ancestor never played by the rules and often appeared and disappeared like this, just like how she had quietly appeared beside her today. She had no choice but to quickly change the subject.
Shuang Qingqing knew that this disciple had a gentle personality and was very thin-skinned, but she was also extremely intelligent, and she was very fond of her.
Moreover, she had something to discuss today, so she stopped teasing.
Shuang Qingqing had only returned to the Wood Flow Sect half a year ago. Originally, with her cultivation, even as a remnant soul, as long as she had the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape, she wouldn't have to worry about anyone below the Nascent Soul realm.
But she had another urgent matter to resolve: she had been searching for a physical body on her way back, a body that was compatible with her soul.
It took her more than half a year to finally find one that was acceptable. Even though she was still not entirely satisfied, she knew it was not wise for a remnant soul like herself to wander outside.
Her Nascent Soul aura would sooner or later be sensed by other Nascent Soul cultivators, and then she would be in danger. So she captured that female cultivator and then, following the general location described by Li Yan, found her way to the Wood Flow Sect.
In the cultivation world, it was taboo for ordinary cultivators to possess others' bodies; it was against the laws of heaven. But at Shuang Qingqing's level, she no longer had any such scruples.
If she took a fancy to a body, she didn't care if the other person lived or died. Shuang Qingqing's return caused a huge stir throughout the Wood Flow Sect. They couldn't believe that their old Ancestor was still alive.
Next, Shuang Qingqing went directly to the back mountains, chose a cave residence, and began the process of possessing the body. The original owner of this body was only at the mid-stage Golden Core. With Shuang Qingqing's methods and experience, she was not at all worried about whether the possession would succeed.
And at the same time, she also split off a sliver of her divine soul to handle the sect's affairs. On her way back, she had already inquired a lot about the current situation of the Wood Flow Sect.
This showed how meticulous this former Great Elder of the Wood Flow Sect was. Her first act was to drive away all the sects within a three-thousand-li radius.
If she wasn't concerned about only having a sliver of her divine soul to control the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape, in her prime, she might have directly exterminated their entire sects.
Even if a Nascent Soul from the Malevolent Spirit Sect came, they wouldn't offend a Nascent Soul cultivator over a few minor sects.
But after all, today was not like the past. She could only summarily kill a few people to intimidate and force the others away.
Next, she devised a plan to have Bai Rou return to the sect, and the result was a great shock to both sides.
Bai Rou was shocked that not only was her master's body fine, but the Wood Flow Sect had gained a mysterious Ancestor out of thin air. But Bai Rou had always been gentle by nature, so she wasn't angry and simply followed all of her master's arrangements.
Shuang Qingqing, on the other hand, was shocked by Bai Rou's talent in artifact refining. This talent was almost on par with her own. If the Wood Flow Sect had had a few more disciples like this, they probably could have survived that great war.
Next, this sliver of Shuang Qingqing's divine soul began to personally teach Bai Rou skills. These skills had long been lost in the Wood Flow Sect, and many were from Shuang Qingqing's own experience, a unique inheritance.
Of course, a brilliant person like Shuang Qingqing would not put all her hopes in one basket. She would also guide the several elders of the sect on their cultivation problems.
She also re-inscribed some of the secret arts she knew onto jade slips, making up for the loss of the sect's treasured texts. Then, she personally placed restrictions on these jade slips, which were to be kept by the current sect master. In the future, as long as a disciple in the sect met the corresponding conditions, the sect master would decide whether to impart the corresponding cultivation methods, immortal arts, and secret artifact refining techniques.
As for the current "Great Elder" of the Wood Flow Sect, after the return of this former Great Elder, how could he still dare to call himself "Great Elder"? He had long since gone into secluded cultivation.
For a time, the Wood Flow Sect experienced a period of prosperity, especially the sect master and several elders with the highest cultivation. They were not all mediocre.
Otherwise, they would not have been able to successfully establish their foundation in the dire circumstances of the Wood Flow Sect, having lost almost all normal cultivation resources.
With the appearance of these former high-level cultivation methods and the newfound security of the Wood Flow Sect's survival, their cultivation experienced a rapid explosive growth phase in a short period.
"The integration with the possessed body will take at least three to five years, ten at most. What? Your so-called Golden Core master from the Malevolent Spirit Sect has sent another message asking you to go back?"
"Hmph, after I come out of seclusion, I'll have to meet this master of yours!"
Shuang Qingqing heard the meaning in Bai Rou's words. Bai Rou had been back for three months, and the other party was already urging her to return.
Hearing this, Bai Rou was instantly terrified. Her Ancestor usually spoke to her without any regard for seniority, but her temper was unpredictable.
Last month, just after hearing an elder mention that a cultivation family had come to buy puppets and was still pressing the price down extremely low with an arrogant and superior attitude as before, Shuang Qingqing, regardless of her status, immediately flew into a rage at these juniors.
This kind of thing was very normal for the Wood Flow Sect in previous years. Without strong military force to protect themselves, the Wood Flow Sect could only painstakingly refine batches of puppets and then sell them at low prices in exchange for a few cultivation resources.
The Wood Flow Sect's artifact refining skills were not weak; no one within a ten-thousand-li radius could surpass them. Many sects had long wanted to swallow up the Wood Flow Sect.
It was only because the few largest powers were of similar strength, and no single one had the ability to swallow the Wood Flow Sect whole, that it had managed to survive.
But the result was a "tiered" effect. These sects, from strong to weak, from many to few, exploited the Wood Flow Sect layer by layer. In the end, the price of each puppet the Wood Flow Sect worked so hard to refine was almost no different from being given away for free.
But the Wood Flow Sect could only swallow their anger and not dare to speak out, nor did they dare to easily leave this place. Other places might not even have this delicate balance; they would be swallowed in one bite, leaving not even a scrap behind.
The cultivation family that came this time was from a bit farther away and probably hadn't caught up with recent events, still swaggering up to their door as before.
Then they opened their mouths and demanded fifty Tier-2 puppets, limited to delivery within a year, and for less than sixty thousand Spirit Stones.
After subtracting the cost of refining materials and consumed Spirit Stones, the Wood Flow Sect, working for a year on nothing else, would at most earn two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.
This amount of Spirit Stones was far from enough for the cultivation and expenses of a third-rate sect with dozens of people. It was undoubtedly daylight robbery.
But the Sect Master and elders of the Wood Flow Sect had been used to swallowing their anger for so many years that for a moment, they could only think of pleading and negotiating.
That sliver of Shuang Qingqing's divine soul was constantly patrolling the surroundings. Seeing this, her willow-leaf eyebrows shot up in anger. Without a word, she went out and instantly killed the five people from that family.
Then she fiercely reprimanded the disciples of the Wood Flow Sect, chewing out the Sect Master and two elders until they didn't even dare to breathe.
Next, Shuang Qingqing rode the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape and charged directly to the door of this cultivation family, killing their Golden Core Ancestor on the spot.
She was still concerned about causing too much of a commotion, which would be difficult to clean up. After extorting a huge sum of Spirit Stones, cultivation materials, and a large number of medicinal pills, she finally stopped.
From then on, the Wood Flow Sect's fierce reputation spread even further in the vicinity. The slightly larger sects and families all knew that the sky had changed for the Wood Flow Sect.
Bai Rou had only heard about her Ancestor's previous rampage, forcing away the cultivation sects within a several-thousand-li radius. But this time, she had experienced it firsthand.
Because when Shuang Qingqing charged out of the cave and all the way to that cultivation family, she had taken her along. In Shuang Qingqing's words, "The Wood Flow Sect walks the path of killing with puppets. For no reason, who told you to be a proper shop? If something similar happens again, I will personally refine you into a puppet."
So, Shuang Qingqing wanted Bai Rou to see the bloody side of things.
Now, hearing that this Ancestor had set her sights on her master from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, although she knew the Ancestor wouldn't dare to cause trouble at the Malevolent Spirit Sect, being targeted by a Nascent Soul cultivator was definitely not a good thing.
Her heart tightened with fear. "Ancestor, my master did not urge me to go back. He was only asking about my recent situation and the affairs of the Wood Flow Sect. On the contrary, he advised me to use the name of the Malevolent Spirit Sect if I encountered any problems I couldn't handle."
After hearing this, Shuang Qingqing's charming lips curled up. "His little tricks can't fool me. A little over three months, counting your travel time, how long have you been in the sect? Does he need to send two messages? Seeing as you're pleading for him, we'll let this matter rest for now."
Hearing that her Ancestor's tone had softened, Bai Rou's heart relaxed. But she still thought, 'I must find an opportunity to speak more of Elder Chigong's kindness to me in front of the Ancestor, to make the Ancestor completely give up the idea of 'dealing with' my master, who has been caught in this undeserved disaster.'