Chapter 49: Advancing Three Ranks at Once

On the far right side of the Luoxia Mountain main hall, there is a mysterious entrance.

From the outside, it is impossible to tell where it leads; the entrance is sealed by a massive Yin-Yang Array.

At this moment, several Elders of Luoxia Mountain are exerting all their strength to break the seal; judging by the sweat seeping from their faces, it seems opening the passage is not easy.

Yan Xiao walks up to the group and carefully examines the grand array; it looks somewhat like a teleportation array from a game.

"System, this is an array, right?"

"Owner, this is a Five Elements Sealing Array. To open the passage, one must unite the five elements to succeed," the System explains.

"One, two, three, four—there are only four of them?"

Yan Xiao counts the people and asks, puzzled.

"That is why they cannot break the seal even with all their might," the System replies.

Hmm? The System even knows the phrase "all their might"?

"Senior Brother... I feel I can no longer hold on. My True Essence is nearly exhausted. It seems that without gathering the power of the five elements, it is truly impossible to open the seal."

Sixth Elder Luo Tian says through gritted teeth, struggling immensely.

"Alas! Tomorrow is the Sect Master's succession ceremony. If we cannot even open the Spirit Cave, our Luoxia Mountain will be mocked by the other Seven Spirits."

Third Elder Luo Cang withdraws his magic power, his face full of disappointment.

As one of the Seven Spirits, being unable to open the Spirit Cave is truly shameful.

"Why not ask the City Lord for help and have him lend us a hand?" Fourth Elder Luo Hai suggests.

"Inappropriate. If the secret technique for opening the seal is passed to an outsider, the foundation of our Luoxia Mountain will not be secure."

The Third Elder shakes his head in refusal.

"Damn it, how frustrating. Back in the day, how glorious was our Luoxia Mountain? Now, the position of Sect Master... alas, we cannot even gather five Foundation Establishment cultivators of different attributes."

The Sixth Elder beats his chest and stamps his feet, hating his own lack of strength.

"Should I go up and help?"

Yan Xiao sees everyone ignoring him and feels quite awkward.

"Greetings to the uncles; the Sect Master has been brought here."

Zhang Ze coughs dryly, interrupting the Elders' sighs and groans.

Hearing this, the three look toward Yan Xiao simultaneously; Luosang looks gratified, while Luo Hai and Luo Tian look curious.

"The Sect Master has arrived, haha, please come in... please come in."

Luo Cang points toward the stone wall and says enthusiastically.

Yan Xiao has black lines on his face.

"Senior Brother, it's over here."

Luo Tian awkwardly turns Luo Cang around to face Yan Xiao.

"Has the Sect Master's journey been safe?"

Luosang stands up and bows, saying.

"It was fine. The scenery of Luoxia Mountain is quite nice; I enjoyed the beautiful views the whole way," Yan Xiao replies with a smile.

Luo Hai and Luo Tian look at Yan Xiao, feeling somewhat uncomfortable; after all, Yan Xiao's position as Sect Master seems bought, which makes them feel a bit ashamed.

"Why do you need to open this Spirit Cave? Is it very important?"

Seeing that no one is speaking, Yan Xiao has to take the initiative to ask.

"Tomorrow is your succession ceremony, and various factions will come to observe. Luoxia Mountain is already in decline; if we cannot even open the Spirit Cave, it will inevitably lead to gossip. Perhaps those with ulterior motives will seize the opportunity to make trouble and demand we hand over Luoxia Mountain and withdraw from the Seven Spirits."

Luosang explains.

"Shall I give it a try?" Yan Xiao asks tentatively.

"What is your attribute?"

The group is jolted, looking at him with anticipation, save for Luosang, who wears a bitter smile.

"Isn't the Sect Master of Fire attribute? We currently need a cultivator with Gold Attribute," Luosang replies.

"Gold Attribute? I can do that too!"

Yan Xiao gives a playful smile, extends a finger, and pours Gold Essence Qi into it; the finger immediately begins to shimmer.

"It really is Gold Attribute Qi!"

The group is overjoyed.

"Come, come, let us try again," Luo Cang shouts excitedly.

"Senior Brother, why don't we rest for a while? My essence has not yet recovered..."

"Mine is also nearly exhausted."

Luo Tian and Luo Hai are quite embarrassed; their cultivation is the lowest, and their practice regarding attributes is a complete mess, having long since exhausted their attribute Qi.

"What is the incantation? Let me familiarize myself with it first."

Yan Xiao walks to the array, reaches out to touch it, and feels it is quite fun.

"Owner, the Five Elements Divine Art can open it; no incantation is needed," the System prompts.

It's that simple?

Yan Xiao feels a surge of joy; the chance to show off has arrived!

Let this handsome guy put on a good performance and let you all know that me becoming the Sect Master of Luoxia Mountain is your good fortune.

Without waiting for Luosang to teach him the incantation, he has already circulated the Five Elements Divine Art; the array begins to operate according to the unique movement of the Five Elements Divine Art, finally turning into white light that scatters, and the seal at the cave entrance vanishes along with it.

"This... this..."

The Elders all open their mouths in astonishment, looking at Yan Xiao in disbelief.

"What happened? Why are you all stuttering?" the Third Elder asks, puzzled.

"Senior Brother, Yan Xiao... no, the Sect Master has undone the seal."

Luosang said excitedly; every time he saw Yan Xiao, he could bring him surprises.

"Really! That is truly wonderful.

Wait, no? What is the Sect Master's cultivation level? Could it be that you possess five attributes simultaneously?"

Luo Cang was first excited, then puzzled.

"What? Is he looking down on five attributes?" Yan Xiao muttered in his heart.

Could it be that this act of showing off wasn't successful?

"I do possess five attributes."

Yan Xiao said calmly, revealing an inscrutable smile.

"Hiss..."

Everyone present gasped, their shock unable to settle for a long time.

Fear Value +500.

Hmm... why did Fear Value even pop up? Is it that terrifying?

Yan Xiao looked bewildered, not understanding why.

"This must not be spread outside; everyone must keep it a secret. Sect Master, you must also be cautious in the future and try your best not to expose your five-attribute constitution."

The Third Elder's expression was serious, taking this matter very importantly.

"Sect Master, you must keep this in mind."

Fearing that Yan Xiao might not take it seriously, Luo Cang said earnestly.

"Senior Brother, the Sect Master is behind you." Luotian was speechless; why did he always face him when lecturing?

This made him very awkward, you know.

"Oh, Sect Master..." Luo Cang turned to face Yan Xiao and urged him again.

"Can you tell me the reason?" Yan Xiao was very curious.

"After the Sect Master's succession ceremony, you may browse the sect's records to look it up."

Luo Cang pondered.

"Everyone is being so mysterious; wouldn't it be over if you just told me directly..."

Yan Xiao rolled his eyes at them, very dissatisfied.

"Alright, take me to see Qingxue; I am a bit tired."

The few of them had strange expressions, which made him feel very uncomfortable; he wanted to leave their sight quickly.

"Sect Master, are you not going to take a look inside the Spirit Cave?" Luo Cang asked.

"Look at what? Are there beauties?"

Yan Xiao asked curiously.

"Beauties? You really might encounter them." Luotian laughed.

Yan Xiao became very interested; could there be something unusual about this Spirit Cave?

"Sect Master, it is like this: the Spirit Cave is a blessed land jointly created by the predecessors of the Seven Spirits.

Entering from here, one can meet disciples from the other six Spirit Mountains.

And to succeed as the Sect Master of any of the Seven Spirits, one must pass the Spirit Cave's assessment, so Senior Brother wanted you to go in and familiarize yourself with the environment."

"Assessment... does that mean I have to pass the trials set up by the six sects?"

Yan Xiao frowned; he had been wondering why Luoxia Mountain agreed so easily to let him be the Sect Master—it turns out there was this rule restricting him.

"I say, you old fellows are very dishonest, and what business is it of those six families who Luoxia Mountain chooses as Sect Master?"

What kind of messy, broken rule is this? Luoxia Mountain is clearly trying to scam him.

"That... this..."

The few of them wanted to explain something, but it seemed all explanations were weak; in fact, what they had thought from the beginning was to find Yan Xiao as a sucker to pay for fixing the sect's loopholes.

As for being Sect Master, how many days could he last? If he couldn't pass the Spirit Cave assessment, wouldn't he have to slink away?

"Refund the money, give my money back; I'm not doing this bullshit Sect Master anymore."

Yan Xiao spread his hands, demanding money from everyone; at this very moment, his heart was ice-cold—he had lost big on this one!