"What?"

Under the 'First Elder's' gaze, Zhang Xuan's Primordial Spirit stiffened. He quickly curled up and drove his Soul Depth to enter the state of Heart of Tranquil Water, concealing every last hint of emotion and aura he was emanating.

Despite the massive size of his Primordial Spirit, after cultivating the Heaven's Path Divine Art and undergoing the tempering of multiple lightning ordeals, it had already grown as wholesome as a crystal. As long as he did not intentionally release any trace of himself, it would be difficult for Saint 9-dan cultivators or even experts stronger than that to notice his presence.

"What's wrong, First Elder?" Surprised by the abrupt actions of the First Elder, the other figure quickly turned her head around to examine the surroundings as well.

With her keen eyes, the First Elder examined the pile of snow closely and even scanned the area using her Spiritual Perception, but in the end, she could not find anything at all. Thus, she could only rub her glabella and say, "It's nothing much. It might be due to my lack of sleep recently that I've gotten a little too sensitive."

She was certain that she had felt some fluctuations in the surroundings earlier, but when she tried to check it, the presence had vanished altogether. However, she did not think that there was anyone in this world who was capable of escaping her detection, so since she was unable to find anything, it could very well just have been her imagination.

Seeing that the First Elder had not found anything, the other party replied with a chuckle, "While the security of the Glacier Plain Court can't be compared to that of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, it still isn't a place that just anyone can enter. First Elder, you need not think too much about it!"

"Un." The First Elder nodded slowly before continuing to advance toward the Chanting Serenity Hall.

She really is the First Elder!

When the duo was finally some distance away, Zhang Xuan rose from the pile of snow and gazed at the two distant figures with narrowed eyes.

From their conversation, it seemed like they were trying to force Zhao Ya to do something, but she was unwilling to carry it out, thus resulting in a conflict.

Given Zhao Ya's personality, if she's willing to go so far as to oppose the First Elder, the matter that they want her to carry out is probably nothing good.

To think that the Glacier Plain Court, one of the top powers of the Master Teacher Continent, would actually stoop so low as to coerce its own young court chief into doing something that she was unwilling to do. Not only so, they actually had no qualms about holding him hostage so as to threaten her. Were they not being a little too despicable?

Let me head over and take a look, Zhang Xuan thought as he proceeded forward silently.

Very soon, the gates of the Chanting Serenity Hall came into Zhang Xuan's sight. He saw the First Elder and the other figure walk up to the gates, and the First Elder tapped her finger lightly in the air. A token materialized right in front of her, and following which, a rift swiftly opened up in the formation, creating a passageway for them to pass through.

The duo made their way through the rift, and as soon as they stepped in, it started closing.

Alarmed, Zhang Xuan hurriedly rushed forward, and fortunately, before the rift could fully close, he managed to slip in. As soon as he entered, he abruptly felt his connection with the external world being severed, as if he had entered a folded space.

It was actually a decoy? Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment.

He had thought that the Chanting Serenity Hall was just a building with a powerful defensive formation around it, but who could have thought that the formation was actually just a distraction. Even if he had breached the defensive formation, he still would not have found anything in it at all.

Rather, the true Chanting Serenity Hall was located in a folded space!

Furthermore, this folded space was extremely stable, similar to the place where he had discovered the Dongxu Gourd back then. Even if he used his Eye of Insight, if he did not know the exact location of the folded space beforehand, it would have been nigh impossible for him to find it!

Calming his astonishment, Zhang Xuan swiftly assessed his surroundings.

The folded space that he had entered was not too big. In essence, it was actually not much different from entering a larger room. Were it not for the fact that he had comprehended the 3-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, he would have thought that he had walked through a doorway into a building instead of being transported into another dimension.

While scanning his surroundings, he slowly advanced forward.

As he was within a folded space, he dared not make any big movements for fear that it would cause a spatial disturbance. Otherwise, once the First Elder noticed his presence, he would not be able to escape.

As such, it took him five whole minutes just to advance ten meters. As soon as he arrived by the doorway to the main hall, he could hear the infuriated voice of the First Elder.

"I have told you many times, this is the only way to fully awaken the Pure Yin Body! Why are you so obstinate about this?"

A bell-like voice yelled back, "There's no way I'll do it! Even if I'll never awaken my Pure Yin Body, I still won't do it!"

Hearing the bell-like voice, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. I'm really at the right place

He could tell that the owner of the voice was none other than Zhao Ya.

Even though it had been half a year since they had last met, her voice was still fresh in his mind. There was no way that he would recognize it incorrectly.

Zhang Xuan sneaked in the main hall and carefully moved behind a particularly thick pillar before warily taking a glance forward. He saw Zhao Ya sitting on the ground. Unlike what he had expected, there were no shackles on her body.

It seems like Elder Bai isn't aware of the exact situation either

Previously, Elder Bai had said that she was bound by the Heaven Sealing Lock, but that was nowhere to be seen at all. Perhaps, there might be some error in the information that she had received.

"I'll give you some time to think it through. However, you should know that I have already failed once, and I'll never allow it to occur again. You may refuse if you want to, but I have plenty of ways to change your mind. I would prefer it to not come to that, but if you push me, I will have no choice!" the First Elder said as she flung her sleeve.

"There's no need for that. Give me all the time you want, and I'll still make the same choice!" Zhao Ya replied obstinately.

"Very well! Let me see how long you can hold out for then!" Harrumphing coldly in anger, the First Elder turned around and stomped away.

The other elder in the main hall glanced at the departing First Elder and shook her head. "You are also well aware of the First Elder's temperament, so why do you still choose to go head on against her?"

"Second Elder, you need not say anything else. There's no way I'll compromise on this matter!" Zhao Ya said resolutely.

"Since she's able to awaken your unique constitution, naturally, she wields the ability to destroy it too. That person is an example of that. Are you really going to walk down the same path as her?" the Second Elder exclaimed anxiously.

"Even if I am crippled, I will have no regrets at all!" Zhao Ya replied with an air of valiance.

This was simply how she was. Once she had set her mind on something, no amount of persuasion would make her change her decision.

In fact, thinking back on it, it was precisely due to that attitude of hers that initiated the series of events that eventually led to her becoming Zhang Xuan's student.

"Jeez, you Forget it! Just give the matter some good thought, alright?" Seeing how adamant the young lady was on her stance, the Second Elder shook her head before heading out.

Seeing that the two elders were walking over, Zhang Xuan quickly went into the wall and remained completely motionless, not even daring to look at all.

Experts of the First Elder's caliber possessed a keen sensitivity that allowed them to perceive the presence of others just by sheer instinct. Even if he remained perfectly calm, the First Elder might still be able to sense his gaze.

"Hmm?"

Just as Zhang Xuan had managed to seal his aura completely, the First Elder arrived before the pillar, which he was hidden in, and shot a perplexed look at it.

"First Elder?" the Second Elder called out from behind.

The First Elder shook her head and said, "It's nothing. It's just that I have been getting a rather weird vibe today, as if someone is following me!"

"Following you? How could that be? Even that Zhang Wuheng wouldn't be able to follow you without getting noticed!" The Second Elder chuckled away the First Elder's concerns.

"That's true" The First Elder nodded. Still feeling a little uneasy from the feeling that she had been getting, she instructed, "Just to be safe, I want you to help me conduct a quick survey of the surrounding area. If you were to notice anything, report to me immediately!"

The intuition of an expert of her caliber was rarely wrong. Since she had felt something, something had to be going on.

Perhaps, someone might really be observing every single one of their actions.

"Very well." Understanding her concern, the Second Elder nodded lightly before the two of them left together. Returning to the entrance, they took out their tokens and swiped them lightly. The next moment, they vanished from the spot.

Seeing that the two of them had left, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. As he slipped out from the pillar that he was hidden in, he saw Zhao Ya staring dazedly at a book in front of her. Soft whispers escaped from her mouth.

"Teacher I really miss you"