Young Master Qian woke up. He was awakened by pain. The first person he saw after waking up was none other than the uncle he had always admired, Qian Furen.

"Hang them all from the city walls. If they're still alive after eight days, we can spare their worthless lives. This is the punishment for offending the young sect master. Remember this, everyone," said Qian Furen coldly.

Young Master Qian and his friends all had their legs chopped off before being hung from the city walls to serve as a warning for everyone else in the city. One could say that their future was completely ruined after this.

"U-Uncle, please don't. Please spare me! I wouldn't dare do something like this again!" Young Master Qian struggled and cried.

The others also used the final bit of energy they had left to plead for leniency.

Unfortunately, they only received Qian Furen's merciless gaze. He said, "Because of you guys, even my position as the governor is threatened. How am I supposed to spare you?"

He then ignored them all and left. With great difficulty, he finally had the chance to enjoy the life of a governor. He had also been trying hard to work with the Ziling Sect to consolidate his position in the city. He could not allow a tiny mistake like this to ruin his and his clan's future.

At this time, Xiang Shaoyun had returned to the sect. His return created a massive commotion. He had vanished for no reason for about half a year. Nobody knew his whereabouts. The sect remained leaderless for a period of time. Fortunately, Pang Tongyuan could take charge in his absence. He announced that Xiang Shaoyun had gone into secluded cultivation, finally stabilizing the sect's morale.

Of course, the three Saints—Duo Ji, the turtle, and the toad—had also played a great role in maintaining peace within the sect. About half a year ago, the Dragon Society came for the two tier-6 organizations under the Ziling Sect, trying to recruit the two organizations for themselves. If it wasn't for the timely appearance of three Saints, the two tier-6 organizations would have thoroughly defected.

The Dragon Society was shocked when they learned of the three Saints. After suffering some losses, they finally realized that the Ziling Sect had actually grown stronger after the internal turmoil.

Zhuma City's Ma Clan and Qingxiu City's Qingxiu Manor were forcefully suppressed by Duo Ji, having their patriarch and manor master replaced. This served as a warning that further disloyalty would be punished by complete elimination.

After Xiang Shaoyun returned, the sect's higher-ups naturally gathered in the grand hall. When everyone arrived, Xiang Shaoyun officially introduced the angels. In the sect, he did not wish to hear any insults regarding the angels.

After the introduction, he received the reports about the sect. As a whole, the sect had been developing well. They had recruited a new batch of disciples, replenishing their dwindling numbers from their subordinate organizations. As of now, there were about 15,000 members in the sect.

However, they still lacked Emperors and Sovereigns. Experts of that level were not easy to replenish. Apart from that, the sect also lacked all sorts of resources. Without sufficient spirit crystals and materials to support the members' cultivation, they would probably start losing support.

The first issue the sect needed to solve was the cultivation resources. Only after solving the issue would they be able to increase the strength of their members and stabilize the sect's strength. It was easy to list out the two issues, but they weren't easy to solve. Furthermore, both issues required time to solve.

Xiang Shaoyun felt his head aching after hearing the reports. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, It really isn't easy to be a sect master.

He had someone arrange the accommodations for Pudi's group while he impatiently rushed to the forbidden zone. The abyss at the forbidden zone was what led him to the grotto, allowing him to harvest the dao of time. But when he had left, he found himself in the Southern Wasteland, a place unimaginably far from the sect. He even felt like everything was a dream.

What he wanted to do now was to check if the underground river was still there and if anything else might happen in the abyss. When he reached the forbidden zone, he found that the mist surrounding the place had reduced in level. 

The place was still as desolate as ever, and the abyss was still there. However, the abyss was no longer emanating a unique aura. No underground river was found either. The abyss had been reduced into a regular deep hole. He was baffled, not knowing what exactly had happened.

"Did this place vanish alongside the Spacetime River? But why did all the signs of the river once existing vanish as well? Was the silver-winged owl aware of what was underneath the abyss?" Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself. 

After searching around, he thought of something. He immediately circulated his yin and yang energies, displaying the little bit of comprehension he had of the two powers. Abruptly, some changes happened in the abyss. Through Xiang Shaoyun's observation, he saw some blurry memory fragments in the abyss.

During an unknown time period, this place was once an entrance to the grotto. That was also when this place came to be known as the Buried Monarch Mountain Range. The grotto's entrance had always appeared randomly all over the world. This particular entrance was the earliest entrance to have appeared, so this place was somewhat interlinked with the grotto through fate. By sheer coincidence, Xiang Shaoyun had come here and obtained the inheritance in the grotto.

It was as though everything that had happened was the arrangement of fate. After learning all this, Xiang Shaoyun stopped thinking about it. The grotto had disappeared. There was no point in further keeping the abyss a forbidden zone. Instead, he planned to turn it into his personal cultivation zone.

After all, the abyss could also be considered an ancient vestige. Cultivating the dao of time here would bring him great benefits. He returned to his residence with thoughts of meeting Tuoba Wan'er and Gong Qinyin. However, he found that both of them were in secluded cultivation. He felt slightly disappointed, but he also felt greatly gratified.

As for Ye Chaomu, she had returned to Wuxie Valley. There were no updates about her. Perhaps she was having some difficulties dealing with her master. Scarlet Flame Monarch and Little White had still not returned from the Buried Monarch Mountain Range. It was unknown how they were doing right now. Han Pojun had also not returned from his trip back to the Han Clan.

Not long ago, Devouring Ghost had brought away Du Xuanhao and went  looking for the Saber Devil inheritance, which had gone missing for many years. Long ago, Devouring Ghost had promised Du Xuanhao to help him with the inheritance. It was now time to fulfill that promise.

There were still many things waiting to be done at the sect. Xiang Shaoyun urgently felt the need to improve his strength. While his thoughts were in a mess from thinking, Qian Furen requested an audience.