Chapter 349: Greetings, Sect Master

The Great Elder's eyes widened, and he looked at Chen Che with a face full of terror.

Everyone else in the Taiyi Sect held their breath; for a moment, the scene fell into silence, and only Chen Che's heavy panting could be heard.

Chen Che's palm finally stopped two centimeters from the Great Elder's nose, and all the might in his palm vanished into thin air; his body had reached its limit.

"Cough, cough..."

Chen Che retreated a few steps, coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood, and finally, unable to sustain his strength, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the ground.

The Token flew out of his body and clattered to the side.

"Senior Brother, how is it?!"

The other three elders crowded over to ask about the situation.

The Great Elder was still looking at Chen Che, his soul not yet settled, and he subconsciously touched his own cheek.

"What kind of background does this person have? The four of us joined forces and were still nearly taken down by him."

"He looks only in his twenties, yet he already possesses the realm of a Post-Heaven Heavenly Master; among the many disciples of this Taiyi Sect, not one is this heaven-defying."

"But fortunately, his strength was exhausted at the last moment; otherwise, if Senior Brother had taken that palm strike, he would have been severely injured."

Listening to the words of his three junior brothers, the Great Elder shook his head and said, "You are wrong. He was indeed exhausted, but at the very last moment, he held back."

"What?!"

The three of them exclaimed in unison.

"This person is not only profound in his Martial Dao Cultivation, but the techniques he used were also unpredictable—Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, and Arrays, he had them all. That final palm strike gathered everything into one place, and as for its power... you have all experienced it."

The Great Elder spoke slowly; his voice was not loud, but in the quiet environment at that moment, everyone present heard it clearly.

The disciples of the Taiyi Sect were all Martial Artists, so they naturally understood the meaning of the Great Elder's words, and having witnessed the entire battle just now, their hearts were already churning with turbulent waves.

"This person actually almost defeated the elders... then what we did before..."

"Do you even need to think? He was just playing with us before! That's a Post-Heaven Heavenly Master! If he had gotten serious, we would have been done for!"

"How can someone so young be even stronger than the elders? Who exactly is he?"

For a time, the same question filled everyone's minds.

"Senior Brother, what do we do now? Do we really use the Soul Searching Technique?"

The Third Elder rubbed his hand bones and asked.

The Great Elder took a deep breath: "Use it! This person is too mysterious and is too deeply involved with the Taiyi Sect; we must get to the bottom of it."

The four of them took their stances and simultaneously formed seals to cast the Artisan Technique.

"Look!"

A cry of alarm came from among the disciples.

The four elders also discovered the anomaly at this moment.

The Sect Master Token that had fallen earlier was stained with Chen Che's blood, and at this moment, as the blood soaked into the World Tree pattern, the Token released a dazzling radiance.

As the light grew increasingly intense, a wisp of True Qi slowly drifted out from the Token, gradually manifesting into a human form—the image of an old man with the bearing of a celestial being.

The moment they saw the old man, the four elders' bodies all shook, and they instantly filled with tears, their expressions showing undisguised excitement.

The four of them bowed in unison and said loudly, "Greetings, Sect Master!"

For a moment, all the Taiyi Sect disciples were stunned; they followed suit, bowing and not daring to raise their heads.

Taixuan's figure remained flickering, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

He did not look at the people of the Taiyi Sect at all, but instead caught sight of Chen Che at a glance.

"Who did this?!"

Even though the old man was only a wisp of a spiritual body, this question, once issued, still carried great momentum, and the invisible majesty instantly made everyone present unable to breathe.

"Sect Master... he..."

Cold sweat streamed down the Great Elder's face, and he stammered, not knowing how to answer.

Taixuan did not listen to his nonsense and directly flicked his finger, shooting a wisp of True Qi into Chen Che's body.

Chen Che slowly opened his eyes and climbed up: "You... Master!?"

The moment he saw Taixuan again, Chen Che's eyes widened abruptly, his face full of joy: "Master, you... aren't you dead?!"

"That's right, can't you see I'm floating?"

Taixuan's smile was kind, completely different from the majestic appearance he had just moments ago.

"This... what is going on?" Chen Che asked excitedly.

"It's very simple. I stored a wisp of my True Qi inside the Token; otherwise, how do you think the Token recognized you as its master?"

Taixuan continued with a smile: "As for why I have come out now, it is because your blood resonated with my True Qi, which allowed me to emerge."

"I had originally intended to appear at your most critical moment and help you one last time."

Taixuan looked around, his gaze suddenly becoming sharp. Swept by his line of sight, the four elders all lowered their heads, terrified and dripping with cold sweat. "I just didn't expect it to be this kind of situation."

Chen Che smiled: "A small misunderstanding, but it counts as them being cautious."

"Then Master, how long can you stay?" Chen Che asked curiously.

"I am leaving immediately."

As Taixuan spoke, the body formed by True Qi began to burn like fire, dissipating bit by bit.

"Wait a moment, Master, I have many questions I want to ask you!"

"Go ask them about the Heavenly Book. I left the Taiyi Sect a long time ago, and I am not clear about what has happened with the later generations, nor can I provide you with answers.

As for the questions you want to ask regarding the Heavenly Book, this world, and the end of the path for Martial Artists, I think you will know once you have read the Heavenly Book."

Taixuan smiled at Chen Che, "Disciple, some things must be found by yourself. Your master practiced the Heavenly Book for a lifetime and could never break through the shackles of the human body, but you are gifted and far stronger than me; I believe you will certainly be able to comprehend the mysteries of the Heavenly Book."

Chen Che said hurriedly: "Alright, then I will only ask one question: why did they not recognize it when I said your name was Taixuan?"

"I have walked the world for many years; can't I have a few more aliases?!"

"Ugh... but this disguise of yours is setting up your disciple!"

"Alright, enough nonsense! Keep the Token safe. I haven't just stored a wisp of True Qi inside; at a critical moment, I will appear again. However, you had better hope I don't have to come out, because that would mean... you are in big trouble!"

The figure of Taixuan dissipated, appearing close at hand yet seeming to grow further and further away, the final words fading as if returning to the ages past.

Chen Che picked up the Token and held it in his hands: "Old man, I didn't expect you to actually leave behind a treasure. You really are worthy of being my own master!"

Stowing the Token away, Chen Che turned to look at the members of the Taiyi Sect, discovering that they were all staring at him with dull expressions, their eyes filled with a mixture of incredulous panic and overjoyed excitement.

"Are we still fighting?"

Chen Che spoke a single sentence.

The Great Elder was the first to fall to his knees with a thud, and the other three elders all knelt down as well.

"Great Elder of the Taiyi Sect, Lv Hong..."

"Second Elder, Shi Ning..."

"Third Elder, Zhong Xing..."

"Fourth Elder, Yin Jiang..."

"Greetings, Sect Master!!!"

Yuan Ming and all the other Taiyi Sect Disciples, seeing this, all knelt down in unison:

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

"Greetings, Sect Master!!"

"Greetings, Sect Master!!!"

Chen Che looked at the kneeling crowd and laughed: "You're too polite, too polite. Everyone, get up."

"We were blind and did not recognize the Sect Master, and even attacked you, Lord Sect Master. Please, Sect Master, punish us!"

The Great Elder said in a sincere voice.

The others echoed loudly: "Please, Sect Master, punish us!!!"

Chen Che shook his head: "Those who do not know are not guilty. Besides, your caution is a good thing."

"The Sect Master is magnanimous, but we cannot lack self-awareness."

The Great Elder said: "Everyone listen up, all those who attacked the Lord Sect Master today, myself included, will all kneel in the plaza for five hours!"

"Yes!"

Chen Che rubbed his forehead: "If you all kneel here, do you expect me to wait for you?"

"All of you, get up and go do what you need to do!"

Chen Che shouted angrily, "What? Are the Sect Master's words not effective?!"

Great Elder Lv Hong and the others were stunned, then once again looked moved and kowtowed to the ground: "Thank you, Sect Master!"

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

"Alright, find a place; I have things to ask." Chen Che waved his hand, interrupting these people's neurotic behavior.

"Sect Master, please follow me to the main hall." The Great Elder stood up and said respectfully.

"Oh, wait a moment."

Chen Che turned to look at Xie Wanning, who had just happened to wake up under the healing effects of the Ghost Gate Needle.

She clutched her chest, her face still somewhat pale, and looked at Chen Che and the Taiyi Sect members with a bewildered expression: "This... what is the situation?"

………