Not long after, they arrived at a secluded valley deep within the Ziwei Sect headquarters. There, in front of an ancient temple, they stopped.
This valley was the Ziwei Sect’s absolute forbidden zone, with over ten formations laid out from the outside in.
Normally, only the sect master and the six grand elders were permitted to set foot here.
On the temple gate’s plaque were inscribed four large characters: Ancestral Temple of Ziwei.
“Let’s go inside.”
Sect Leader Liu took the lead and walked into the ancestral temple.
Inside, the main hall enshrined three cross-legged statues, long since yellowed by incense smoke until their original colors were no longer discernible.
The side halls flanking the temple were filled with many spirit tablets.
Century-old incense burned ceaselessly in the temple’s sacred niche, its swirling smoke and fumes lending the interior a hazy sense of mystery.
“We pay our respects to the Ziwei Patriarch and all our ancestors!”
Upon entering the temple, Sect Leader Liu and the six elders all became reverent, offering greetings in unison.
Ye Yunfei also bowed in respect.
“Young man, let me introduce you. These are…”
Sect Leader Liu, having finished his salutations, began speaking to Ye Yunfei.
“That won’t be necessary. I know all three Ziwei ancestors. The one in the center is the sect’s founding patriarch, known as the Ziwei Great Emperor, who established the Ziwei Sect during the ancient Primal Age.
The one on the left is Patriarch Zihong, the founding patriarch’s direct disciple, and the second sect master of Ziwei.
The one on the right is the third sect master, Patriarch Zi Tian.
Apart from these three ancestors, all the spirit tablets placed in this ancestral temple belong to successive generations of Ziwei Sect masters and grand elders.”
Ye Yunfei stated.
“How… how do you know all this?”
Sect Leader Liu and the six elders were once again shocked.
This ancestral temple was the Ziwei Sect’s most sacred forbidden zone. Throughout history, only the sect master and the grand elders had been qualified to enter and learn its secrets.
Even the ordinary elders and deacons of the sect had no idea what lay within this temple.
Yet now, an outsider—a complete stranger—knew its details like the back of his hand!
At this moment.
“An invocation for our honored patriarch…”
Ye Yunfei suddenly walked up to the three statues in the main hall and bowed deeply toward the central figure, murmuring quietly.
“Does this kid really intend to awaken the patriarch’s edict?”
Seeing Ye Yunfei’s actions, Sect Leader Liu and the six elders were taken aback.
Boom…
The instant Ye Yunfei bowed, the central statue trembled violently and erupted with a roiling divine radiance that not only illuminated every minute detail within the ancestral temple but also burst through the roof to light up a vast expanse of sky, visible from thousands of miles away.
Next, a piece of yellow cloth hanging from the statue slowly floated up, blossoming with a blinding divine glow.
An immense pressure of energy unfurled from the cloth, roaring like a tempestuous gale, pounding like ten thousand stampeding steeds. It set the very land around the Ziwei Sect trembling, its tremors spreading thousands of miles.
For a moment, the skies above this vast land filled with a terrifying, supreme might that churned and surged like a continuous tsunami.
“What’s happening?”
Within a radius of several thousand miles centered on the Ziwei Sect headquarters, countless living beings—be they human or beast—were seized by terror. Their legs turned weak, and they dared not move an inch.
Many beings flying high in the sky were shaken loose, plummeting like dumplings dropped into a pot, hitting the ground with dull thuds, covered in dust and ash.
“The edict left by the patriarch… has truly been awakened!”
Sect Leader Liu and the six elders stood there, completely stunned, struck with utmost disbelief.
“Imperial aura! This is the Imperial aura left behind by our founding patriarch, the Ziwei Great Emperor!”
Sect Leader Liu stared at the yellow cloth, murmuring to himself.
This piece of cloth had hung here for untold centuries, remaining motionless and silent. Who could have imagined it would awaken today!
“Sect Leader! Quickly stop him!
If outsiders witness such a phenomenon, they’ll surely think our Ziwei Sect has unearthed a great treasure! We’ll be inviting disaster!”
Suddenly, an elder remembered something and urgently spoke to Sect Leader Liu.
“Young man, stop at once!
Make the patriarch’s edict calm down again!”
Upon hearing this, Sect Leader Liu and the other five elders snapped back to reality instantly.
After all, everyone on the Primordial Continent knew that the Ziwei Sect had a glorious past. Its first-generation founding patriarch was a Heavenly Emperor. Though the sect had declined, it might still possess precious legacies passed down from ancient times.
As a once glorious lineage that had produced a Heavenly Emperor, any item casually handed down could be priceless beyond measure.
In fact, many suspected that the Ziwei Sect might harbor an imperial-grade cultivation art or emperor’s treasure left by the Ziwei Great Emperor.
Consequently, many factions had always kept their eyes on the Ziwei Sect.
Several major powers had even openly sent forces to raid the Ziwei Sect headquarters, conducting thorough, excavation-like searches.
Now fully alert, Sect Leader Liu and the six elders realized that if news of this phenomenon in the ancestral temple were to spread, the Ziwei Sect would face immense trouble!
Ye Yunfei bowed once more to the yellow cloth.
Hum…
The cloth trembled gently, then fell silent, hanging once more upon the statue of the Ziwei Great Emperor.
All traces of the divine radiance and oppressive energy disappeared.
“Young man, you… you actually managed to awaken the edict left by our patriarch!
How did you do it?”
Sect Leader Liu and the six elders encircled Ye Yunfei, examining him as if he were some strange creature.
“I think I am qualified to become the Ziwei Sect’s master brother now, am I not?”
Ye Yunfei didn’t answer directly, but posed a question instead.
“That…”
Sect Leader Liu and the six elders faltered, unsure how to respond.
How could they make a complete stranger the master brother of the Ziwei Sect?
“It’s an ancestral decree left behind by the founders of the Ziwei Sect: ‘Whoever can awaken this edict shall be qualified to lead all disciples as master brother.’
Surely you’re not thinking of going against your ancestors’ will.”
Ye Yunfei stated.
“But, young man, you are not a disciple of our Ziwei Sect.”
One elder spoke up.
“After I become the master brother, I will later fully comprehend the complete Purple Mansion True Scripture.”
Ye Yunfei said calmly.
“What?
Young man, you can fully comprehend the Purple Mansion True Scripture?
How is that possible!”
Upon hearing this, Sect Leader Liu and the six elders all shuddered, their gazes fixed intently on Ye Yunfei.
“Impossible? Nothing is impossible. Since I could awaken the edict left by our patriarch, why should completely comprehending the Purple Mansion True Scripture be any different?
I believe you all know that the Purple Mansion True Scripture lies hidden within this ancestral temple, awaiting comprehension by a destined person.”
Ye Yunfei smiled.
“That is correct. The past ancestors of our Ziwei Sect all left testament saying the Purple Mansion True Scripture is indeed hidden within this temple. However, every generation of our sect masters, myself included, has spent immeasurable time and effort in bitter seclusion here, trying to perceive it, only to come up with nothing.
But that is our Ziwei Sect’s highest secret, young man. How could you possibly know that?”
Sect Leader Liu asked, his voice trembling.
He felt as though every secret of the Ziwei Sect lay laid bare before this unfamiliar youth!
Ye Yunfei merely smiled enigmatically, offering no further words.
Sect Leader Liu and the six grand elders withdrew and began to deliberate via sound transmission.
“Very well!
Young man, I agree! Henceforth, you shall be our Ziwei Sect’s master brother!”
Finally, after some consultation, Sect Leader Liu and the six elders reached a unanimous decision to accept Ye Yunfei as master brother.
“I shall announce it to the entire sect immediately. From this moment forward, you are the master brother of our Ziwei Sect.
Ah, by the way, young man, what’s your name?”
Sect Leader Liu asked.