After spending several days with his son and women, Xiang Shaoyun busied himself again. Instead of cultivating, he utilized both his main body and clone to strengthen the formations within the sect, greatly increasing the defensive and offensive capabilities of the formations. Only by turning the sect into an impenetrable fort would the sect remain safe.

At the same time, he also laid out the formations leading to the Xiang Clan and the angels. Previously, he had obtained a batch of resources from the Xiang Clan. If it wasn't for the Devil Hunting Expedition, he would have completed the teleportation formation leading to the clan. Three years had passed since then. With the growth of his cultivation, laying out teleportation formations became a much easier task for him.

With his main body and clone working together, he laid out the formations at an astonishing speed. While working on the formations, he was able to enter a human heaven unity state, a feat only formation grandmasters could accomplish. Even he himself was shocked when he realized what he was doing.

Perhaps this was the effect of recovering his memories from two lifetimes ago. He was merely regaining the formation mastery he once had. In a flash, two months passed. Not only had Xiang Shaoyun upgraded the sect's formations, but he had also completed the teleportation formations leading to the Xiang Clan and the angels.

Just as Xiang Shaoyun was about to start connecting the nodes leading to the Xiang Clan, the envoys from the Brightflower Chamber arrived. As the sect's main decision-maker, Xiang Shaoyun had to meet the envoys. That was a matter of etiquette.

After taking a bath and putting on clean clothes, Xiang Shaoyun arrived at the grand hall. When he saw the envoys, he was astonished. The envoys were actually 18 beauties, each of them incredibly attractive. Even someone who had seen much of the world like Xiang Shaoyun would be stunned upon seeing the 18 beauties.

While Xiang Shaoyun was observing the beauties, they were studying him as well. He was handsome and capable and had a certain bearing that was both charming and sinister at the same time. They were completely stupefied when they saw him. They had seen many talented youths, but Xiang Shaoyun was still the most extraordinary youth they had seen.

"This is our young sect master," introduced Tian Ji.

Recently, Tian Ji had been slowly taking over Pang Tongyuan's job. After all, Pang Tongyuan still carried a sickly body. As Pang Tongyuan's disciple and Xiang Shaoyun's attendant, it was only natural that Tian Ji would appear in the grand hall.

After the 18 beauties bowed to Xiang Shaoyun, one of them said, "I heard before that the Ziling Sect's young sect master is a giant among men who had risen above all others during the Devil Hunting Expedition. Today, I have learned that the rumors were true. You are truly someone worthy of respect."

The woman who had spoken was probably the leader among the 18 beauties. She was the prettiest of the bunch and was a Soul Foundation Realm cultivator. Her name was Liu Yanran. She fixed her gaze at Xiang Shaoyun with her luminous eyes, which seemed to fully showcase her adoration for Xiang Shaoyun. A regular man would instantly be embarrassed upon meeting such eyes.

Xiang Shaoyun replied indifferently, "There's no need to keep praising me. Just get straight to the point."

Liu Yanran was surprised by such blunt words. She had no choice but to swallow all the sweet words she had prepared.

"Young Master Xiang is quite a straightforward one. Yanran shall be honest, then. The Brightflower Chamber wishes to ally with the Ziling Sect, and I believe you're already aware of that. However, we have waited for the reply for quite a while. Therefore, we're here today to seek your confirmation. What do you think of the proposal? Or perhaps you look down on us and find the alliance beneath you?" asked Liu Yanran.

Xiang Shaoyun replied, "Miss, it's not that serious. The Ziling Sect and the Brightflower Chamber have never been involved with each other and have coexisted in peace. Is that not good enough? The sudden alliance proposal caught us off guard. That's why we're having a hard time making a decision."

"Is that really the case?" asked Liu Yanran.

"Of course. I believe you are clear that we have just undergone a great change not long ago. We have finally managed to catch a break, so we really don't have the ability to get involved in anything else. Of course, if you're really interested in allying with us, you would have to tell me the benefits we stand to gain from agreeing. With benefits, allying won't be an issue. But if the alliance will only bring us trouble without any benefits, I'm afraid we won't be able to agree," said Xiang Shaoyun bluntly.

In other words, they were open to forming an alliance. However, they would only agree if there were benefits and no trouble.

The woman said, "After forming an alliance, we naturally need to advance or retreat together. What's the point of forming an alliance otherwise? It's rather unfair if you only want benefits and no trouble."

A different woman said, "That's right. If you ally with us, we will definitely help when required. With our help, not even the Dragon Society would dare to provoke you anymore."

The beauties were quite eloquent, singing endless praises to the alliance, as though forming an alliance with the Brightflower Chamber was the smartest choice the Ziling Sect could ever make.

Xiang Shaoyun smiled with a look of disdain in his eyes. Liu Yanran noticed Xiang Shaoyun's expression. She couldn't help herself and asked, "Young Master Xiang, what do you think about the alliance?"

Instead of replying, Xiang Shaoyun looked at Tian Ji and said, "Bring the young ladies to their accommodations. Treat them well. Don't let anyone think that we don't know how to treat our guests well."

"Yes, sect master," replied Tian Ji respectfully. "Young ladies, please come with me. A banquet has been prepared for you."

"Young Master Xiang, what is the meaning of this? Are you looking down on us?" asked Liu Yanran in an unresigned manner.

Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand and said, "Not at all. You must be tired after spending so much time here. Let's have some food. If you have anything to say, feel free to inform my people. I have something else I need to attend to."

He then left, completely ignoring the 18 beauties. Their expressions changed when they saw him leave without hesitating. They had a feeling that their proposal had already been rejected.

"Young Master Xiang, you're being too disrespectful," shouted Liu Yanran furiously.

Xiang Shaoyun stopped, turned around, and solemnly said, "If you really want to form an alliance, show some sincerity. Otherwise, you may leave. I don't have the time to keep bickering with you."