The moment this scoff rippled out, it instantly went for the incoming aura and slammed into it.

But instead of the expected loud explosion, the soundwave from the scoff simply drowned the aura completely.

​​

Then everything went back to normal as the two Ancient Sage Elders sighed in relief before bowing and sending their thanks reverberating through the space tunnel to the person on the other side.

Then the pouting, angry voice of little girl who shouldn't be any older than eleven-years-old sounded from the other end of the tunnel.

"You ugly gramps, what are you still standing there for? Go and begin reparation plans immediately!"

The moment the two Ancient Sages heard the voice coming out of the other end of the tunnel, their eyebrows twitched aggressively.

They both laughed awkwardly at each other as the Seasons Sage sent a mental transmission to his twin brother; "This little devil has finally exited seclusion."

"The Enforcement Hall is about to be plunged into another series of nightmares now that she's out. I guess his majesty would also be having several episodes of headaches."

His twin brother also nodded in confirmation as they felt a glare from the other end of the tunnel before vanishing from the spot with haste.

Within the- (sighs… well what is left of the hall), the old man phased back into existence as he smacked the youth on the back of the head and berated him;

"What the f*ck were you thinking? Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"You might as well have opened your eyes and obliterated the entire dimension. Now you are going to make me have to kill and barbecue a dragon for that little devil."

The man was so infuriated that bullets of saliva were flying through the air like shrapnels as every single strand of his beards were pointing at different angles.

The youth then turned towards the man and spoke very solemnly zapping the man out of his angered state; "Have you found out who it is yet?"

The man paused seemingly apprehensive that the youth isn't talking to him as a disciple towards his master anymore but rather as an Emperor towards his subject.

Thus, the man straightened his robe and went down the stage and bowed towards shrapnel's the youth before speaking respectfully;

"No, your majesty. Whoever it was that did it must at least be an expert in the God stage. Moreover, he seemed to higher in the comprehension of the Karma Dao than I am."

"Thus, I suspect it must be someone from the Ji Clan."

The man knew the son which they were talking about was more important to the youth than the entire dimension.

The youth suddenly stabbed his hand into the empty air and that spot suddenly rippled as a hand-sized portal opened.

Then he dragged out his hand and a golden cloak with a black hood came out of the portal.

Then he donned the cloak and wore its hood over his head before opening his eyes.

The moment he did, his eye glowed briefly with a multicoloured light before returning to normal. He then asked; "Do you think it is father?"

The elderly man then looked up when he noticed that the youth had donned the hood before explaining;

"Though I am not half as powerful as your father, but I am still a little bit familiar with how he does things."

"If he wanted to be elusive, I don't think anyone in the physical realm would sense it."

"So, I guess it must be one of the other clans who doesn't want your son to obtain that thing from that realm."

"Furthermore, despite the fact that your dad doesn't like her majesty,"

"I don't think he would disregard his reputation and stoop so low to kill a kid. That is why I suspected that it must be the Ji Clan."

"After all, they are the only ones who possess a bloodline affinity with the Karma Dao." The old man added.

"Whatever happens, make sure she doesn't know anything about this."

"You can clearly remember what she did when she noticed that her clone had been killed and father refused to let her go down there. We can't have her go on another rampage again."

"Now that she has had another breakthrough, even father might not be able to fully restrain her." The boy sighed softly as he warned the old man.

"I understand fully well your majesty. But what do you think we should do about this matter?" The elderly man asked.

The youth went silent in thought and after about ten minutes, he once again spoke;

"We have to be really subtle about this since she is watching my every move. Is he still connected to that spirit?" he asked.

"I can still sense it to be so. But the realm which the spirit is currently residing is blocking me from connecting to that spirit."

"I guess the entity who created that realm must be someone from the Spirit Domain." The elderly man replied.

"Then I guess we have no choice then. Send the weakest member of the clan to the lower realm and have him find my son and report everything back to you."

"Then you can easily update me on the situation." The boy replied.

"Yes, your majesty. But even the weakest of our clan members is in the Peak Nascent Soul stage, there is no way he can travel through the barrier without the Elders or her majesty sensing it."

"Especially now that she is paying close attention and protecting that dimension." The old man explained once more.

"This is truly troublesome. Even father is also paying attention to that realm in a bid to make sure that I don't interfere with his life."

The youth then sighed in frustration as he sat back on his throne before looking to the old mas as he spoke; "You may rise."

The old man heard this and rose from his bowing posture as he looked to the youth and seeing the condition the youth was, he felt a little sad for the youth.

"Why don't you send him one of your cloaks."

"We can tie the karma of the cloak to an inheritance ground in the lower dimension and then tie the karma of your son to it."

"That way he can get it and wear it, then no one will be able to peer into his karma anymore." The old man suggested.

"That truly seems like a nice idea, but anyone below the Nirvana stage who wears my cloak would be crushed to death in body, mind and soul." The youth responded.

"Though I can seal its power with different seals and let them break as he breaks through to higher stages of cultivation."

"But I still won't be able to tie any karma knot without my father noticing it." The youth added;

"I can sacrifice one of my Daos and tie the knot and also send it down to the realm. But if I tie the knot, your father might ignore my actions and only punish me."

"But if I send it down there, he will surely kill me." The old man sighed as he replied.

Before they could speak anymore, a space tunnel appeared behind the throne as a little girl's image sneaked out of the tunnel like a tigress sneaking upon its prey.

She then looked towards the elderly man as she placed a finger on her tiny little lips, signalling the elderly man to keep her presence a secret.

Then she jumped out of the space tunnel looking to hug the youth from behind as she happily thought to herself;

"Haha! I got you today!"

But just before she could land on the youth, the youth smiled and spoke;

"Lian'er are you done sneaking around?"

Hearing that statement, she froze in shock as she lost control of her flight and was about to fall when the youth turned around and caught her in his embrace.

Then he rotated round and round about ten times as the little girl giggled in his embrace.

Then the youth sat down on the throne and placed her on his laps as a doting smile appeared on his formerly expressionless face.

"Did you sneak away from the Grand Elder once again?" The youth asked the little girl on his laps.

The little girl was incredibly beautiful with emerald eyes, light brown hair and a height of about four feet.

She looked and acted sweet and her childish and innocent vibe only added more to her already graceful and loving disposition.

"No, I already formed my fourth nascent soul. So, that old hag couldn't stop me when I told her I was coming to see you." The little twelve-year-old girl chimed smugly as she responded.

When the elderly man heard the little girl refer to a Grand Elder who was her teacher and also happened to be his wife as an 'old hag', the corner of his mouth twitched intensely.

Then as if remembering something, the little girl frowned slightly and asked;

"Father, teacher had to put a bit of effort to subdue your aura earlier. Did this grumpy old man make you angry? If he did, tell me okay, so I can help you mop the floor with his butt."

When she spoke this time around, it was the youth who had his brows twitching in frustration.

Instantly, he turned the little girl over as he lightly spanked her butt.

"Is that how you talk to your elders? If you keep up with this behaviour, I don't mind sending you to your mother to spend the rest of the year."

He softly chided the little girl who blanched when she heard that she was going to be sent to her mother as she quickly pleaded;

"No no no no no. please don't send me to mommy, it can be anywhere but that place."

"I don't mind sweeping the entire island but please don't send me to mommy."

She pleaded with her big puppy eyes as she began to sulk with tears already gathering in her big emerald eyes.

The youth saw this and immediately melted but he still covered his face with a fake angry expression as he snorted and added;

"Hmph! Then you had better apologise to Grand Elder right now if you don't want to go to your mother."

Instantly the little girl's expression turned into a respectful one as she looked to the elderly man and apologised;

"I am sorry for calling you and your wife names, can you find it in your big old heart to forgive me?" She also turned to the elderly man with her earlier sulky expression.

The man could only laugh lightly at her behaviour as he bowed to her;

"It is nothing little princess, you don't need to be apologising to this grumpy old man." He replied.

Thinking that her sulky pretense really worked wonders, she winked at the old man before turning to the youth avoiding his gaze as she instead began to play with the amulet on his chain as she replied;

"You see daddy, he said it is fine."

But the youth faked another anger as he chastised once again;

"No it is not fine. if I ever hear you calling any of the Grand Elders names again, I will ignore your apology and personally drop you off with your mother."

"Furthermore, if you go around causing mischief with the Enforcement Hall now that you're out, I will extend your stay with your mother to two years. You hear me?"

The youth held up two fingers as he spoke. "Yes daddy!"

Knowing that she is already of the hook, she smiled sweetly at the youth before giving him a kiss on his cheek and snuggling into his arms, falling asleep almost instantly.

The elderly man smiled at her behaviour before speaking to the youth;

"Your majesty, how do you think we should go about the matter on ground?"

Hearing this, the youth's expression went solemn again as he spoke;

"As for your Dao, I can go to the Treasure Hall and get you another one."

"Though it might not be as strong as the one you have, but it will surely not be a far cry from it, and you will be able to return to your peak in less than a year of seclusion."

"As for sending it down there, I might send Lian'er over to father to distract him from noticing you, and I will personally visit my wife so as to take her mind of it

"Lian'er might be able to buy you enough time with father. But I will only be able to buy you at most thirty minutes with my wife before she starts suspecting my abrupt visit and start asking me about him."

"So, you will have to be very quick about it."

"That is more time than I need. I should get going before the little princess wakes up."

The elderly man began to phase out of existence as the youth spoke once again;

"Be careful. I don't want any other person getting a hint about this."

Then the elderly man replied;

"Surely, your majesty. I would be very subtle about everything." He reassured as he completely phased out of existence.

----------------------------------

Two days later, within the void (Yes it was the void not space) a slender old man who looked to be in his late seventies held a slender cane in his hands and was currently treading through the void when his eyes abruptly opened and shined with a mysterious light.

Then he grabbed out as a thin green thread appeared in his hands then he tugged it as the karma thread snapped then he spoke;

"Little Fan, this is the last time I am going to punish you for going against my orders. The next time this happens, I will personally take your life."

Back within the pocket dimension on the floating island...

The elderly man who the youth referred to as master suddenly threw up a mouthful of blood as he visibly aged about ten extra years.

Then he spoke to the empty air; "Thank you for having mercy, master."

Then he heard a cold snort echo through time.

It was like the echo came from his future, then the old man spoke once again;

"From now henceforth, do not refer to me as master anymore. You shall refer to me by my title…"

The elderly man heard this and smiled bitterly as he sighed in loss before responding;

"Yes patriarch!" then he felt the connection between them shut off.

Three days later, something that looked like a star fell from the sky and landed somewhere extremely far away from the Dogon Empire.

But despite the distance, Min Hong who was currently walking towards the gate of the Desert Sun Sect with Long Sha and Min Qing suddenly paused as he felt something about him change.

It felt more like a sixth sense that was directing him towards a certain location.

Then he looked towards the West of his position which coincidentally was roughly the location where the star had fallen.

Then he held his heart which had begun to race slightly with a sense of urgency. Min Qing was the first to notice as she turned backwards and asked;

"Hong-ge, what is it?" Min Hong then looked to her and smiled;

"It's nothing. I thought I felt something but I guess it was just my imagination." He told another half-truth as he caught up to them.

Then they resumed their conversation as they continued towards the Desert Sun Sect.

After walking for about another half an hour, they finally arrived at the gates of the Desert Sun Sect.

Due to the speed of their carriage, they happened to arrive an entire day earlier than expected. So, for the entire day, they explored the surroundings of the sect.

Though not many people paid attention to them, but there were still some unusual few who couldn't stop staring at them.

They were mostly looking at Min Qing but none of it mattered to her because she was currently engrossed in the things she was seeing.

They eventually found a place to stay just outside the sect's gate. Everything they owned were in their storage rings, so they had nothing to unpack.

For the rest of the night, Min Qing and Long Sha had a very deep and long night rest, but for Min Hong he began to meditate on both the [Chant of the Cherubs] and the [Scripts of Buddha].

But before he knew it, the sun had already rose into the sky and it was finally time for them to partake in the Desert Sun Sect's annual entry selection exams.

Early in the morning, many teenagers could be seen running towards the Desert Sun Sects entrance from every direction.

Some, like Min Hong and Min Qing, came from a different Empire entirely.

The Desert Sun Sect's main gates were two relatively large stell doors with each of them standing about 5 metres by 4 metres in size.

Carved on the surface of these doors was a massive sun shining over a desert with several desert beings of different species. Right above these gates were characters that read;

'Desert Sun Sect'.

Seeing the gates alone was enough to a stoke the burning drives of the crowd, to want to try more than their best to get selected.

The crowd grew larger and larger until someone finally materialised out of the thin air in front of them.

It was a young lady who didn't seem to be any older than her late twenties, with a slender body of snow-white skin and supple bosoms which were of generous proportions and a hair had different shades of the red colour.

She gracefully sat there on one of the large gates as she looked as though she was a deity looking down upon mortals.

"Quiet down, the selection exams would be starting very soon."

"There are three parts to this year's selection exams."

"The first would be the talent and potential test, while the second would be a test of cultivation strength and the last being a battle competition to for those who ended up failing the second test."

"Note that, the first and second tests are the most important ones and the determining factor in the selection process and the remaining tests are just a chance given to those who have the potential to improve in the future."

"The arrangements would be separated between male and female. Boys are required to form a line to my right while girls should form another line to my left."

"Failure to follow these simple instructions will result in your immediate disqualification."

"Furthermore, depending on your level of talent, some of you might be selected by inner court Elders to become inner disciples or if one possesses a monstrous talent be even selected by the Elders, Grand Elders and even possible the Sect Leaders of the Sect to become a Core disciple."

"But if you happen to pass the tests and still fail to gain the recognition of the Elders, you will still become an outer court disciple until you have enough qualities to be selected."

"Lastly, every one of you must conduct him/herself properly."

"When you step into these gates, you should strip the mentality of your status and that of the background of your Family, Clan or Kingdom and dump it outside the gates."

"Impetuous behaviours will be one of the reasons why many of you will be disqualified in this exam."

"Status and other things of similar values are not valid within the sect."

"If you are not comfortable with that,t thenI suggest you turn around and return to your homes immediately."

After seeing that none of them had the intentions of returning, she then nodded and continued;

"Good, you may all enter now."

"Remember to do your best and if you are not selected this year, you may come back next year if your age still falls under the entry selection category."