The Yuhua Sect was located within the same Greenwood Domain, but instead of the south, it occupied the eastern territory. As a result, it was quite far removed from the Greenwood Southern Forest.
Furthermore, the Martial Sacred Land was vast and bountiful, its territory staggeringly expansive. Even with the ancient teleportation formations, it still took several days before Chu Feng and his companion arrived at the Yuhua Sect.
At long last, Chu Feng and Sikong Zhaixing set foot within the Yuhua Sect.
It was a magnificent yet distinctly ethereal faction. The Yuhua Sect had established itself across the Yuhua Mountain Range.
This was a sprawling mountain range of breathtaking beauty. Peaks soared into the clouds, waterfalls cascaded endlessly one after another, and most notably, a species of unique bird inhabited these mountains — the Yuhua Bird.
A fully grown Yuhua Bird could reach ten meters in length. They were not demon beasts, merely ordinary avian creatures, yet they possessed incredible speed. The Yuhua Sect had domesticated them as mounts, making them perhaps the most recognizable feature of the sect.
At this moment, across the undulating mountain range, an endless sea of jade towers and magnificent palaces stretched as far as the eye could see. Yuhua Birds glided past from time to time, and vast white clouds drifted over the palace rooftops. The entire Yuhua Sect, viewed from a distance, looked like a celestial paradise.
In truth, in the eyes of ordinary people, the Yuhua Sect was precisely that — an immortal land. Those who cultivated here were all mighty and powerful beings.
Although the Yuhua Sect had an agreement with the Greenwood Southern Forest, there had been no exchanges between the two over the many years. Still, Sikong Zhaixing was the sect master of the Southern Forest, and he now possessed a Half-Emperor's cultivation. Upon their arrival, the Yuhua Sect elders treated Chu Feng and Sikong Zhaixing with a reasonable degree of courtesy.
"Sect Master Sikong, ever since you last visited our Yuhua Sect seventy-eight years ago, this has been only your second visit. You truly are a rare guest."
The one receiving Sikong Zhaixing and Chu Feng was a presiding elder of the Yuhua Sect. Though merely a presiding elder, he too had reached the Half-Emperor realm. Moreover, his standing within the Yuhua Sect was quite high, so he did not show Sikong Zhaixing much deference — instead maintaining an attitude of cordial equality between peers.
"Heh, Elder Zhou, what an excellent memory you have. Back then, Elder Zhou was only a Martial Monarch, and now you've become a Half-Emperor. That kind of progress truly puts me to shame," Sikong Zhaixing said with a self-deprecating smile.
"Indeed, back then I was merely a humble disciple, and now I've finally risen to the position of presiding elder. But I have to thank the Yuhua Sect's nurturing for that — without it, I never would have achieved what I have today," Elder Zhou said with a measure of pride.
"Words may be so, but that still comes down to Elder Zhou's exceptional talent. No matter how much one is cultivated, it would be impossible to break into the Half-Emperor realm without sufficient natural gift," Sikong Zhaixing continued to flatter him.
"Sect Master Sikong is right about that. Among our generation of disciples, I was indeed the most outstanding." Hearing Sikong Zhaixing's praise, the smug expression on Elder Zhou's face grew even more pronounced, and his attitude toward Sikong Zhaixing improved considerably. He then took the initiative to ask:
"Sect Master Sikong, I know you are not the type to visit a temple without a reason. May I ask what brings you to our Yuhua Sect today?"
"If there is something you need, please say it directly. Though I am only a presiding elder, I do have some authority. Whatever I can do, I will certainly help."
"Since Elder Zhou has put it that way, I won't beat around the bush. The truth is, I've come here for the Southern Forest Tower," Sikong Zhaixing said, cutting straight to the matter without further pretense.
"Oh? The Southern Forest Tower?" Elder Zhou's eyes flickered at these words. Then he said: "If I remember correctly, the last time Sect Master Sikong visited our Yuhua Sect, it was also for the Southern Forest Tower."
"But back then, the disciple you brought failed. Are you planning to have this young man try again this time?" Elder Zhou clearly understood what the Southern Forest Tower represented, and he directed his gaze toward Chu Feng.
"Oh? A first-stage Martial King — that's certainly a considerable improvement over the disciple you brought last time. At the very least, he's much younger." After examining Chu Feng briefly, a hint of surprise surfaced in Elder Zhou's eyes.
"We have indeed come for the Southern Forest Tower. I wonder if Elder Zhou might be able to accommodate us..." Sect Master Sikong seemed somewhat restrained. Though the Southern Forest Tower had been left behind by the Southern Forest's ancestors, it currently stood on Yuhua Sect territory. If they refused him entry, there was nothing he could do about it. In this moment, he was truly in the position of someone asking for favors, and he had to lower himself accordingly.
"Oh, Sect Master Sikong, there's no need for such modest words. Though I am only a presiding elder, I am well aware of the agreement between our two founders. Please, follow me." Elder Zhou smiled, then turned and led the way.
Seeing that Elder Zhou had agreed, Sikong Zhaixing let out a sigh of relief and secretly transmitted his voice to Chu Feng: "Chu Feng, the Yuhua Sect is not like the Constellation Observatory. Even though this was an agreement made by our ancestors, the reality is that we are the ones asking for their help."
"On top of that, so many years have passed. Our Greenwood Southern Forest has been here before, but no one has ever managed to obtain the token from the Southern Forest Tower. So it's only natural that the Yuhua Sect looks down on us."
"Unless... you can actually obtain the token. Otherwise, they will never take us seriously. So... if they give us a hard time later, that's perfectly normal, and we..."
"Sect Master Sikong, I understand. When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head. When patience is called for, I will be patient. But where patience is not called for, I absolutely will not submit. I have my bottom line, and I have my dignity." Chu Feng understood what Sikong Zhaixing was trying to tell him — it was nothing more than a request to rein in his temper.
"Mm." Hearing Chu Feng's response, Sikong Zhaixing said nothing more.
Under Elder Zhou's guidance, Chu Feng finally laid eyes upon the so-called Southern Forest Tower. It was a rather ordinary ancient pagoda — at least on the surface. But Chu Feng could tell that this structure was far from ordinary. It was an extraordinarily impressive formation, containing immense power.
Moreover, the formation within the ancient pagoda had already been put to use. Extending outward from the pagoda, an enormous secondary formation had been constructed.
Currently, atop this secondary formation, there were ninety-nine formation nodes. From these nodes, one could absorb the power that had been drawn out of the pagoda. That power, once processed by the grand formation, served to temper the physical body.
And in all ninety-nine formation nodes, ninety-nine young cultivators sat in meditation.
These young men and women were all quite strong. Nearly every one of them was in the Martial King realm, and three among them had even reached the second-stage Martial King level. Chu Feng didn't need to guess — these had to be the Yuhua Sect's Core Disciples. In terms of quality, they appeared to be somewhat stronger than the disciples of the Constellation Observatory.
It was now clear that the Yuhua Sect was using the Southern Forest Tower — built by Sect Master Baili — as a training ground, employing it to cultivate their own disciples.
Chu Feng could tolerate this, to a degree. After all, the Southern Forest Tower stood within the Yuhua Sect, and it contained such formidable power. It was only reasonable that the Yuhua Sect would put it to some use.
But what he absolutely could not tolerate was this: the entrance to the Southern Forest Tower was standing wide open. That meant the people of the Yuhua Sect were not only using the tower for training — they could actually enter it and leave as they pleased.
This kind of behavior was a blatant disrespect to the Greenwood Southern Forest. It was far too much.
Still, considering the current situation, Chu Feng swallowed his anger and said nothing, instead directing his gaze toward Sikong Zhaixing.
He noticed that Sikong Zhaixing's expression was not pleasant either. Furthermore, Chu Feng could tell that the secondary formation had not been constructed all that long ago — which meant that Sikong Zhaixing likely had no knowledge of the Yuhua Sect exploiting the Southern Forest Tower to provide cultivation resources for their disciples.
But Elder Zhou, at this moment, paid no attention whatsoever to how Chu Feng or Sikong Zhaixing were feeling. He simply said in a calm, indifferent tone: "Oh, I almost forgot. At this hour, it is the training period for our Yuhua Sect's Core Disciples. The two of you will need to wait here for a while."