The Elder Priest opened his eyes. His gaze was calm and indifferent, without the slightest ripple, as if nothing in this world was worth his concern anymore.

"Jun'er’s cultivation has already reached the Golden Core stage. Besides us old fellows who refuse to leave, who else could possibly trouble him?"

"Exactly, Master. That’s what I thought as well. However, Senior Brother gave the messenger a Three-Chime Talisman."

"A Three-Chime Talisman?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, since the Three-Chime Talisman was used, Jun'er must have run into trouble. Where is the messenger?"

"I have already brought him inside the mountain gate, Master."

"Inside the mountain gate?" A sharp glint suddenly flashed in The Elder Priest’s eyes. "Did you act on your own?"

"Master." Brian Lee’s expression changed, and he immediately knelt down, respectfully saying, "While speaking with that person, I accidentally discovered something."

"What is it?" Although The Elder Priest’s voice was unhurried, as a disciple who had followed him for many years, Brian Lee knew well that The Elder Priest was already angry.

He dared not delay and quickly explained, "Master, I discovered that this person possesses a spiritual root."

"A spiritual root?" The Elder Priest stood up abruptly, clearly shocked by this news, to the point that he could hardly contain himself.

"You discovered it?"

"Yes."

"Your cultivation is only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. If even you could detect it, then his spiritual root must be..."

Brian Lee looked up and saw an uncontrollable excitement on The Elder Priest’s face.

He had been a disciple for decades, yet this was the first time he had seen The Elder Priest so out of composure. Indeed, given the old man’s cultivation, for him to be so agitated, one could imagine how he felt.

"His spiritual root is the most profound I have ever seen in my life. That’s why I took the liberty of bringing him inside the mountain gate without permission. Please punish me for overstepping, Master."

"Haha..." The Elder Priest burst out laughing and said, "Punish you, my ass."

Brian Lee was stunned, only to see The Elder Priest suddenly stop laughing, a rare look of embarrassment appearing on his face.

It turned out that he had gotten too excited and blurted out without thinking. In decades, this was the first time he had cursed in front of his disciples.

"You did the right thing, absolutely right." The Elder Priest coughed a few times, regaining his solemn and dignified demeanor. His expression suddenly changed slightly as he asked, "Did you make sure he’s not a disciple from another sect?"

"Yes, Master. He doesn’t know any spells at all. Just one of my lightness talismans scared him out of his wits. He’s definitely a complete novice who has never come into contact with Daoist arts." Brian Lee said firmly.

However, he didn’t know that although Ethan Cooper was amazed by his magical abilities, he wasn’t so frightened that he couldn’t speak.

While running, the speed was so fast that he simply couldn’t open his mouth. Once they stopped and suddenly entered a wondrous, dreamlike place, it was natural to feel a bit lost, but it was definitely not from being overly frightened.

"Good, good..." The Elder Priest praised repeatedly. "You did very well. You’ve already shown him the wonders of Daoist arts, but that’s far from enough. I’ll personally take action and let him witness the essence of the Daoist sect, so that he develops a heart for the Dao. Then, everything will fall into place, and he can be accepted as a disciple."

...

Looking around at the houses exuding an ancient and elegant charm, Ethan Cooper was secretly amazed. This was definitely a place he had never seen before.

"What are your names?"

"We are Henry Scott (Grace Scott)," the two young Daoists answered in unison.

Ethan Cooper nodded slightly, but didn’t really know what to do. What had just happened was far beyond his understanding. Fortunately, he was not an ordinary person to begin with, or he would have been scared stiff by now.

Even so, his heart was still pounding fast. The journey just now had been quite a thrill.

"Sir, please have some tea."

The two young Daoists attentively brought over warm, moist towels, poured tea, and prepared delicate pastries.

Feeling a bit hungry, Ethan Cooper casually picked up a piece that looked appealing and popped it into his mouth.

"Did you make these yourselves?"

Perhaps it was because he was truly hungry, but this cake was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

"They were made by the head chef in the kitchen."

"How many people are there on the mountain?"

The two young Daoists looked troubled. Perhaps thinking of Brian Lee’s authority, they finally replied, "There are about thirty people in total."

"What kind of people are they?" Ethan Cooper naturally noticed their hesitation, but since he knew nothing about this place, he thought it best to gather as much information as possible, so he pretended not to notice and continued asking.

"Besides the Patriarch, there are only five inner sect elders. The rest are all servants attending to the elders."

"Ah..." Ethan Cooper was secretly shocked. There were only six masters here, yet more than twenty people served them. What kind of life did they lead, to be so extravagant?