The extravagance here was justified since this place was meant for dao lords and top masters during the golden age of the conference.

Alas, the peerles beings no longer participated once the conference was deemed unnecessary. The scale gradually declined and the courtyard and rooms were reserved for elders and ancestors from the big sects instead. Nonetheless, the quality of this place remained.

Of course, this was relative. The decorative items that were considered priceless by members of Little Diamond could be seen everywhere in the behemoths’ main branch.

The youths saw everything being embedded with diamonds and jades and were amazed. They looked like mortals standing in front of a golden mountain.

The pillars, gem screens, and tiles… these things alone were worth more than their entire sect.

“This is the resource of the top powers.” Elder Hu smiled wryly. His sect was inferior to a single courtyard meant for guests.

This made the youths realize the immense disparity between them and the top cultivators of this world.

Li Qiye didn’t care about this and told them: “Go rest now.”

They didn’t need to be told since they were already tired from the long day.

Once they settled down, Li Qiye wasn’t interested in the ward. He rested for a bit before deciding to enter the broken-peak area for a look.

“You must be Sect Master Li.” The moment they got out of the door, another group came and greeted them.

It was none other than Gao Qixin and his entourage. Due to him potentially being able to join Dragon, he has been enjoying warm reception everywhere. In fact, the sect masters greeted him respectfully, hoping to earn his favor.

Therefore, it was rare for him to take the initiative to greet someone. Elder Hu and the youths weren’t used to such treatment and became surprised.

“What is it?” Li Qiye glanced at the youth and said with an indifferent tone.

“Your fame precedes you, Sect Master Li. I would love to have a drink with you when you have time.” Gao Qixin cupped his fist.

Some nearby took note of this. An elder whispered: “Gao Qixin is trying to get close to Li Qiye.”

“It’s because Li Qiye has a strong backer, that’s why he’s perfectly fine after killing Eight Tiger Master.” A sect master responded.

The death of Eight Tiger caused quite a stir among the weaker sects. This went double for Li Qiye’s immunity. They believed that he must have a stronger backer in one of the great powers.

Otherwise, he would have been punished severely for killing someone at the ward.

“This makes sense then.” Another elder said.

Gao Qixin might join Dragon in the future but he wasn’t a member of that sect now. Nothing bad could come from befriending Li Qiye who had more connections.

“No time.” Li Qiye refused right away.

This response caught everyone off guard. They thought that Li Qiye was being too blunt and didn’t give Gao Qixin any face.

After all, the guy politely asked so even if Li Qiye was actually busy, he should have been more tactful.

“That’s alright, Sect Master, it doesn’t have to be right now. Another day will be…” Gao Qixin looked a bit awkward. He coughed and tried to give Li Qiye a way out.

“No need.” Li Qiye waved his hand and interrupted him again. He then moved on with the group.

Gao Qixin’s expression changed drastically after the second offense. A disciple from Maple Ravine was furious and shouted: “You!”

However, Gao Qixin stopped this disciple and shook his head. He then stared at Li Qiye’s departing figure for a while without saying anything.

The other sect members thought that Li Qiye was unreasonable.

“This new sect master is too arrogant. There’s no need to be so rude.” One of them said.

“Right, it’s one thing to say no to Young Noble Gao.” Another youth felt bad for Gao Qixin: “Does he think he’s actually from a great power?”

The elders and sect masters refrained from commenting because they didn’t know Li Qiye’s backer. Thus, they didn’t want to offend Li Qiye or Gao Qixin.

***

“Sect Master, Young Noble Gao was just being nice.” Elder Hu said softly after they left the ward.

As a member of a small sect, he always tried to avoid trouble when possible. Offending people was out of the question.

Li Qiye stopped and stared at the group. He preached: “We cultivate the dao, not relationships. Being friendly with everyone doesn’t guarantee a smooth path towards the apex.”

He let them digest this for a bit before continuing: “Have you ever seen a polite dao lord or a humble master?” 

“Well…” Elder Hu and the youths couldn’t respond.

Li Qiye smiled and concluded: “A strong dao opens all paths. As long as you’re strong enough, relationships will flow in your favor.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Sect Master.” Elder Hu understood and bowed.

Gao Qixin didn’t come to Li Qiye today because he wanted to befriend a common sect master. He only cared about Li Qiye’s hidden backer.

The group kept this in mind as they moved forward, wanting to focus on the dao more instead of unnecessary things.

By this point, they had delved deeper into the mountain range. The ward was built near the base to receive guests. Now, this was the real Myriad Sect Mountain.

Though the geography was magnificent and grand, the vegetation seemed to be withering and suppressed.

There were still tiles and bricks scattering across the valleys and cliffs, meaning that this place was extremely prosperous once. Alas, the great lineage had fallen during the calamity.

“So this is Heavenguard Mountain?” One disciple asked.

“Yes, an extremely powerful sect in the legends.” Elder Hu said. He didn’t have a good grasp on the actual history and only heard a few legends about it.

Li Qiye only sighed while looking at the ruins and didn’t reply.

He then asked Wang Weiqiao: “Notice anything strange?”

Weiqiao has been following right behind him. He was a man of few words and only spoke when spoken to.

He pondered for a moment before answering: “Master, I have a strange feeling. This place, hmm, everything here seems to be withering.”