Chapter 257: The Grand Elder’s Trump Card

"An esteemed guest?" The Grand Elder's expression shifted slightly, and he smiled at the steward. "Is it someone from the capital?"

In his opinion, for the steward of the Citylord to call someone an “esteemed guest,” and for that visitor to require the Citylord's personal attention, then it had to be some significant figure from the capital. It was very likely to be someone at the mid-stage Foundation Building Realm, too!

One guess after the other started to pop up in the Elders minds.

"Well... I can't say for sure. Let me inform the others and then I'll tell you," replied the steward with a wry smile before excusing himself and leaving.

"Hmm?" The Grand Elder's face turned doubtful, and he turned to look at the Second and Third Elders. "They shouldn’t be acting like this even if it's a senior from the capital."

"Could it be someone from the Qingzhou Sword Sect?" whispered the Second Elder. "That sword cultivator claimed to have killed Yao Dan. If the Qingzhou Sword Sect's leader catches wind of this, he definitely won’t sit around."

"The head of the Qingzhou Sword Sect is at the mid-stage Foundation Building Realm. If he's also in Spirit Void City, perhaps we can reclaim our sect's site," muttered the Grand Elder.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, can you stop dwelling on this?" The Third Elder smiled bitterly. "That's a sword cultivator we're talking about. Do you really want the trouble so badly?"

"That's true... but how can you swallow this, Third Brother?" The Grand Elder’s eyes turned cold. "Our treasures, spirit stones, and even spirit medicines and materials were all left up there. Not to mention the three Spirit Essence Pills the sect master gave us. We didn’t consume them because we wanted to wait till we obtained the Foundation Building Pills so we can take them all together to increase our chances at breaking through,” said the Grand Elder. “But now?"

"Well... yeah." The Third Elder's face turned conflicted. They had been avoiding consuming this Spirit Essence Pill because they had already reached the 12th stage of the Qi Refining Realm and taking it would be of no use. However, if they were about to advance to the Foundation Building Realm, then having a Spirit Essence Pill would slightly increase their chances of success.

"About us reaching the Foundation Building Realm... that’s something for the future. We all know this very well." The Third Elder sighed lightly. "Not to mention how difficult it is to find the material needed to refine Foundation Building Pills, even if we do get our hands on them, what then? The success rate of refining this pill is frighteningly low. Even if we can find a pill master who’d be willing to help us refine it, they might not be able to produce a single pill after attempting ten times over...

"The sect master was only able to obtain a Foundation Building Pill by chance in a secret realm of a fifth-tier empire, which allowed her to take that step into Foundation Building, but such opportunities are hard to come by. Now that we’ve butted heads with a sword cultivator, it’s better if we focus on finding the sect master instead of harping over issues we don’t have a solution for and wasting our energies. If we can find the sect master, the Spirit Void Sect can find a site to station our sect in like our old one. We don’t have to antagonize the sword cultivator; these people are all lunatics."

The Grand Elder and Second Elder both had a limited understanding of sword cultivation compared to the Third Elder, so they still weren’t convinced and still harbored some thoughts of retaliation.

"Is that so..." Suddenly, a crimson light flashed in the Grand Elder's eyes. "I'd like to see if this swordsman is as powerful as you say." He suddenly took out a spiritual talisman and activated it.

"A Communication Talisman?" The Second and Third Elders were surprised. "First Brother, are you contacting the sect master?" they quickly asked in unison.

"If what the sword cultivator said is true, then the sect master must’ve already turned tail and fled.” The Grand Elder's eyes flashed with a faint sneer. “Why would I contact her? The person I want to contact... isn't afraid of any sword cultivator!"

The Second and Third Elders were both startled. They didn’t expect the Grand Elder to still have a trump card up his sleeve.

Shortly after, the steward reappeared before them and smiled. "The Citylord invites the three of you over."

The three rose slowly. "Thank you."

Led by the steward, the three were taken to a banquet. When they saw a thin old man sitting opposite the Spirit Void Citylord, curiosity flashed in their eyes. They had never seen this thin old man before.

The three bowed and saluted. "We pay our respects to you, lord."

The Spirit Void City Lord nodded calmly. "You three rarely come down the mountain. Why are you here?"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across the Grand Elder’s face. After a few moments of silence, he said, "The Spirit Void Sect has been taken over."

The Spirit Void Sect has been taken over...?

The Spirit Void City Lord was surprised, and astonishment flickered in his eyes. "What about your sect master?"

"The sect master went to the Concealed Moon Hermitage to do something, but I heard that she had been seriously injured and fled,” replied the Grand Elder in a low voice.

The Spirit Void Citylord's eyes narrowed slightly. "Tell me in detail, what exactly happened?"

The Passing Dragon Island Master glanced at the three, then poured himself a drink, seeming uninterested in what they were saying. The Grand Elder slowly recounted the events. Having heard about the situation from Fang Chen, the details were embellished. However, he really exaggerated what he knew. When the Passing Dragon Island Master heard the mention of a young swordsman, his expressions shifted.

"A sword cultivator? Why would those lunatics appear in Spirit Void City? And why did your Spirit Void Sect provoke them?" The expression of the Spirit Void City Lord changed abruptly. He was a Foundation Building Realm cultivator who had once had the privilege of encountering a sword cultivator, so he had a very profound understanding of what these two words represented.

The Grand Elder showed a bitter twist. "I'm afraid even the sect master doesn't know where he popped out from. But now that Spirit Void Sect has been taken over by him, he’s probably going to start auctioning things off in a few days."

"I can't help you." The Spirit Void City Lord shook his head heavily. "Not to mention me, none of the hundred citylords in the Flame Empire would want to provoke a sword cultivator. You'd better choose another site for your sect and start over."

Although they had already anticipated this outcome, the three still felt somewhat disappointed.

Suddenly, the Spirit Void Citylord said, "You just said... that Yao Dan from the Qingzhou Sword Sect also died at the hands of this sword cultivator?"’

The Grand Elder nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard so, but I don’t know if it’s true.”

"Ah, I see." The Spirit Void City Lord nodded slowly. "Here, I’ll tell you what to do. Gather some spirit stones and buy back your sect site when he auctions it off."

With that, he casually found an excuse to have the steward see them off.

Seeing that the Spirit Void City Lord didn't even want to accommodate them, the three didn't try any further and took their leave.

"That old man turned so scared when he heard about the sword cultivator....” The Grand Elder sneered. “What a joke." He was very disdainful of that attitude.

"It's only natural," muttered the Third Elder.

As a man and a woman entered the mansion of the citylord, they brushed past the three Elders who were leaving. When the two saw them, they were surprised. "Aren’t those disciples of the Spirit Void Sect?"

When the steward, who had been showing the three out, saw the man and woman, his eyes lit up. "Young Lady, Young Master,” he called, “it's good that you're back. The Citylord is currently with the esteemed guest. Please follow me."

The woman had a fresh and ethereal appearance, with an otherworldly temperament no less than that of Fairy Yu. "What were the disciples of the Spirit Void Sect doing here?" she asked.

The steward shook his head. "I don't know."

"Zihan, let's go meet that esteemed guest first. Since the citylord was so urgent in calling you back, the guest should be someone important," the young man beside her reminded her in a low voice.