"Patriarch Hua certainly played his cards right." Jing Luo spoke.

"Indeed. It was the right decision to let him handle that." Lin Mu replied.

Jing Luo and Lin Mu were sitting in his courtyard currently. The meeting with the three elders of the Long Cloud sect had ended six hours ago, and they were now preparing to leave for the sect.

"Never thought I would have to make up an act like this today." Lin Mu said, finding it all a bit embarrassing.

"If anything, you were good. Thankfully, Patriarch Hua had already informed us of the negative inclination of the elders beforehand. Being a little strong handed was necessary." Jing Luo replied with a chuckle.

"But what Senior Lin Mu said was not false either. If anything, that was the greatest truth." A third person said. All content is property © .

This was none other than Elder Liqiang, who was helping Jing Luo in making the components for the teleportation gate. While most of them were already prepared, there were still some minor adjustments and finishing touches to be done.

"Hmm… perhaps. Still, this is not the end. We still have to meet the actual elders of the Long Cloud sect and perhaps even their patriarch before we can come to a final decision. Hopefully everything goes well and we can start the next step." Lin Mu spoke.

"Yeah… I'm ready on my end with the entrance token as well." Jing Luo stated.

"Oh? You finally finished it?" Lin Mu said with surprise.

"Yes, I did it yesterday. Now we can head to the ancestral grounds at anytime and meet with grandfather." Jing Luo said in a slightly emotional tone.

It had been over fifty years since he had seen him and he had been yearning for his family now.

"You will be going to meet Ancestor Jing Wei?" Elder Liqiang said with surprise.

"Yes we will." Lin Mu replied.

"I've heard stories of him before, though I've never met him myself. But he is a great expert." Elder Liqiang said with veneration on his face.

"Once we get in contact with him, you will be able to meet him too if you want to." Jing Luo replied.

"Really?" Elder Liqiang asked.

As a formation master himself, he had heard a lot about Jing Wei and his skills. Even if his specialty was in weapon forgoing, the man was a formation grandmaster too. Only if one was well versed in formations, would they be able to make strong spirit weapons and tools.

"We'll definitely go there. Plus, with the teleportation gates we will be able to make travel very efficient. It won't make it hard for us to travel between the different locations." Lin Mu added.

"Then I'll look forward to that day." Elder Liqiang spoke with faith in his voice.

Lin Mu nodded his head while Jing Luo continued to work on the components. They spent the rest of the day getting everything ready and finally night arrived.

Elder Liqiang felt the communication jade slip on his waist hum and he held it for a moment.

"They are ready now," Elder Liqiang spoke.

"Time to leave then…" Lin Mu said as he stood up and sent a message to Little Shrubby.

"Let's go, no use in tarrying." Jing Luo said.

The three of them left the courtyard and made their way to the main hall of the sect. In less than two minutes, they were inside where everyone was waiting for them.

"Don't hesitate to inform us if you need anything, junior Lin Mu." Patriarch Hua said.

"I will if the need arises, Patriarch Hua." Lin Mu replied with a smile.

~WHOOSH~

And just as he said that, a red blur appeared next to him.

"There you are," Lin Mu said to Little Shrubby, who had rushed in.

~step~

The three elders of the Long Cloud sect were a bit taken aback by the beast and couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"What is this?" Elder Wenyan asked.

"This is my tamed beast, Little Shrubby." Lin Mu answered.

"That is a tamed beast?" Elder Boqin said in a stunned voice.

The three of them could very well feel the spirit Qi fluctuations coming from Little Shrubby that were far stronger than them. Even if all four of them were at the Adult Soul stage of the Nascent soul realm, it was very apparent that Little Shrubby was still beyond them.

'The man was already enough, now even his beast is stronger than us…' Elder Peizhi thought, finding it all rather absurd.

They could only accept it for now and continue to what they were doing.

The entourage entered the secure hall where the Teleportation gate was set and quickly entered it.

~shua~

One by one, five people and one beast passed through the gate. The three elders felt their bodies going through a strange tunnel and their vision darkened for a moment. When it returned, they found themselves standing in a rather large cave which was carved out into an elaborate hall.

"Even if this is my second time, it is still strange." Elder Peizhi said in an amazed tone.

"I still can't tell what formation arrays these are… they are simply marvelous. Such intricate spatial formations are hardly ever seen." Elder Wenyan added.

Lin Mu and Jing Luo calmly heard their praise but did not respond to it much. They could tell that it was their way of gaining back a little favor, seeing how they had acted with Lin Mu earlier.

'Senior was right… as long as one has power, everyone would want to respect them. And if not respect… fear works too.' Lin Mu thought to himself.

"This way," Lin Mu said as he activated another gate.

This gate was for the Hong Lin kingdom and the elders had come through there before as well. Lin Mu quickly sent a message informing the Adviser that they were coming there.

~shua~

They walked through the gate and finally arrived in the secure hall of the Hong Lin royal palace.

"Welcome! Senior Lin Mu.." Adviser Liu greeted.