The gate guard’s arrogant expression twisted into a look of horror. His throat seemed to lock up and he couldn’t even stammer out an apology or drop to his knees like he wanted to. Instead, he felt a hand around his throat and his feet dangling in the air. The man he’d chided had instantly turned into a demon in his eyes and he was helpless to resist.

The lines of people waiting to enter the territory of the Holy Flame Sect were shocked into stillness. The other enforcers had their mouths hanging open and they didn’t dare to even move let alone speak another word. The mortals nearby had already fallen to their knees from the residual spiritual pressure of Sage’s aura. On the Inner World, Sage studied one of the Fu Clan techniques to control the release of his aura, preventing it from harming the mortals that were in line around him. There were many low level cultivators coming to do business with the Holy Flame Sect on a daily basis and many of them traveled with their families of which many were mortals. Even so, just the mere hint of his aura was enough to terrify many of them into dropping down.

As for the fellow who had started it all, he was so afraid that even urinating in his own pants would have been an improvement. As it was, he felt that his heart had stopped and it wasn’t going to restart again. Especially since he was a cultivator at the peak of the third rank and close to breaking through to the fourth. Losing control over his entire body was not something he’d ever imagined possible. He looked into the golden eyes of the man, or monster, that he’d insulted and felt truly miniscule. He wasn’t sure if it was the man’s eyes or the lack of control over his own body but he just couldn’t look away. His mind felt heavy and then everything turned warm.

Sage’s eyes had taken on a strange look. His pupil had split into three smaller circles, with a thin red outline around them. The three pupils undulated, moving up and down like a wave was passing through them and his golden irises released a strobing light. He lowered the guard back down to the ground, releasing his hold on the man’s throat and then walking through the checkpoint. When he did, the gate guard who’d challenged him followed on his heels and called out to the others, “Carry on here, I am escorting this esteemed one into the Sect.”

It had been quite some time since Sage used the Hypnotic Eyes, but they were still quite effective. Without the enhancements of his old cobra body he could no longer mesmerize those of the same rank as himself, only those a full rank beneath him. Unfortunately for this guard, he was three ranks higher which meant not only could he mesmerize the man, he could also implant suggestions and even completely hypnotize the fellow. This guy really had no idea who he was messing with and it was too late to regret.

Once they’d crested a ridge, Sage brought out the Red Comet and had the man step up behind him. They shot into the sky and flew over the large fields and past the prying eyes. Sage brought the man into a secluded ravine he remembered from long ago and landed the flying tool. Then the man disappeared into thin air, sent into the Inner World. A few seconds later the man reappeared in the real world and Sage shot towards the center of the province. Landing outside the city the guard jumped off the Red Comet and then walked over to where the city guards were stationed. Sage walked behind the man, and after a quick exchange the fellow bowed deeply to him, “Please be on your way, Esteemed One.”

Sage walked past the guards without showing his token or brandishing his aura, only catching a few strange looks from the city guards that had been given a story by the hypnotized man.

That man had been hypnotized and sent to the Inner World where he was used to gather information. There was no need to use torture or that Storytime Elixir that he had to use upon that Jinxi fossil. The border guard was just too weak. Such a weakling was far from being any sort of mastermind so Sage merely used him to keep a lower profile, as well as to gather information about the current big events in the Sect and also the reason why he was so openly belligerent.

Sage stopped at the edge of an alleyway and looked up at a large message board where a crude drawing of his face was tacked up. There was a sizable number just beneath it, as well as a list of his ‘crimes’. I really do have a wanted poster. I’m only worth 100,000? What a joke!

The information listed him as a core formation cultivator, so it was obviously far out of date, but even so it was still something of an insult to be such a small number. Even back then he was involved in an auction where hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones were changing hands and he only got such a measly bounty? Sage pulled the page from the wall and he carried on, heading towards the enforcement office. Once inside he went up to the counter and his eyes flashed. The attendant at the counter ran off and brought back a superior who Sage also hypnotized. This man was at the fourth rank, so he had to settle for making the fellow remember Sage as a friend from his childhood.

“Commander! I’ve got an important visitor! My old friend is here to speak with you over a pressing issue.”

The fourth rank fellow started talking him up, and Sage gave him a salute, “Thank you for your help. I can handle it from here.”

The commander was a powerful individual, a Core Formation Cultivator, and quite impressive in his own right. Unfortunately for him, Sage was not just here to make a backroom deal or hand out a bribe. Sage walked towards the man and held up a cupped fist to give a salute. His mouth opened, “Greetings-” Pwit!

In the middle of his sentence, something shot out of Sage’s mouth and struck the man’s face. The poison sunk into his body almost instantly. It shocked his Qi and nervous system, preventing him from resisting the silk that Sage rapidly wove around him. The man was wrapped into a cocoon from his neck down to his toes and then thrown to the Inner World. Without missing a beat, Sage walked around behind the man’s desk and started going through his belongings and skimming through the piles of paperwork.

Then, the man reappeared, without the cocoon, sitting upon his chair. The fellow was currently unconscious, and Sage didn’t pay him any more attention. He walked over to the open window frame and leapt out. A line was attached to the frame and he swung down to the ground floor, releasing the thin line without missing a step. Luckily, that Core Formation Cultivator knew just who had put forth the order to distribute the wanted posters.

I’ve always wanted to meet the other two Peak Masters.