The death of the Cabinet Chief brought grief to the entire dynasty.

The scholars of the world cried at his passing.

The Cabinet Chief's biography could be said to be the model example for scholars.

He assisted four emperors in his lifetime. Other than the first emperor where he wasn't in a management role, for the other three emperors, he was fully deserving of being the number one person in the court.

He was influential with an authority that could encompass the entire dynasty. Despite that, he didn't form alliances with others for his own personal gain. Instead, he lived in seclusion and passed down orders that greatly offended others.

He also didn't use his influence to recommend anyone to the imperial court.

His greatest achievement in life was his assistance to the Yuhua God Dynasty while its reforms were still developing. Thanks to his assistance, the citizens of the Yuhua God Dynasty were able to live a better life.

His second greatest achievement was that the books he had written managed to spread throughout the world. The various scholars of the world were all astonished by the books he had written and they only had nothing but praise for his foresight.

The simple words in the books had clearly defined the Yuhua God Dynasty's weaknesses. Not only that, but he also proposed practical solutions within the book that were clearly for the people of the world, not just for the dynasty.

His altruism gained the praise and respect of many.

Thus, his obituary immediately suppressed the discussions regarding Lin Jiufeng.

This made Lin Jiufeng very happy.

When Lin Jiufeng left the imperial capital, what he heard wasn't about himself nor the siege of the imperial capital.

Everyone's topic consisted of the Cabinet Chief's achievements.

He had served a noble career. But most importantly, he was a person with high morals.

He married one person in his life and had no concubines.

His children spent their entire life as officials in another city and never became a part of the dynasty's imperial court through nepotism.

Such selfless actions made everyone give him a thumbs up.

Lin Jiufeng passed by various cities along the way and heard such discussions.

On this day, he arrived in the Northwest Territory with the white cat.

It only took Lin Jiufeng one day to travel from the imperial capital to the Northwest Territory. This was even taking into account that he had stopped in a few cities and enjoyed the discussions of the residents, which delayed his journey for a while.

If not for this, then with Lin Jiufeng's current speed, he could've arrived sooner in the Northwest Territory.

Passing through the Central Plains and entering the Northwest Territory, what greeted his eyes was a desolate land.

The city serving as the gates to the Northwest Territory was called the North Gazing City!

[Do you want to Sign-In in the Northwest Territory?]

It has been a long time since a sign-in notification appeared.

Lin Jiufeng was pleasantly surprised.

"Sign in," Lin Jiufeng said without hesitation.

[Sign-In successful. Received Mountain Sea Key!]

A key appeared in Lin Jiufeng's hand.

It was as huge as his palm.

There was a painting of the mountains and seas carved on it.

"What's this?" Lin Jiufeng was confused.

Lin Jiufeng's confusion didn't last that long as a stream of information entered his mind.

Lin Jiufeng saw a line of words.

"The Mountain Sea Key is the key to open the Mountain Sea Mystic Realm!"

In the stream of information, only a line of words was available.

Lin Jiufeng furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Where is the Mountain Sea Mystic Realm?"

"Is this key the only one, or are there many others like this key?"

"What exactly is in the Mountain Sea Mystic Realm?"

Lin Jiufeng walked into the city with a stomach full of questions.

The common people here lived and worked in peace. Unlike the gentleness of Jiangnan, the men of the Northwest Territory were mostly half-naked. With their bare chests revealed to the world, they wore towels on their heads and simple smiles on their faces.

As Lin Jiufeng drank a cup of tea, a group of people gathered together and discussed the death of the Yuhua God Dynasty's Cabinet Chief with each other.

Lin Jiufeng watched silently from the side.

"This Cabinet Chief is really loved by the citizens here." The white cat laid on Lin Jiufeng's shoulder and looked at the people around her.

"He did a good job. That's why they love and respect him."

After a cup of tea, Lin Jiufeng continued his journey through the North Gazing City.

There were many cultivators in the city, but their cultivation bases weren't that high.

The most powerful ones among the cultivators here were only at the Grotto-Heaven Realm.

As the very first city that a traveler would stumble upon in their journey to the Northwest Territory from the Central Plains, why was it that the cultivators here had low cultivation bases?

Strange…

"Is there any major sect in here?" Lin Jiufeng asked curiously.

There didn't seem to be any major sects in this city.

"You're actually looking for a sect in the Northwest Territory?"

A martial artist passing by heard Lin Jiufeng talking to himself.

He chuckled and shook his head.

"Why not?" Lin Jiufeng looked at him, puzzled.

"As you can see, this is a pretty desolate place that only has a vast expanse of land going for it… If you go deeper into the Northwest Territory from here, you will see that whenever the wind blows, yellow sand will fill the air which eventually turns into a storm."

"The citizens here have already moved out long ago. Those that cannot afford to do so are doing their best to hide from the yellow soil. If a sect established itself in a place like this, how many people do you think will willingly become a disciple of that sect?"

The martial artist explained.

"The citizens of the Northwest Territory have long abandoned this place to join sects that are far away from the Northwest Territory. Those that are still here are mostly bandits. Considering that, how could any sect survive when they also have to fight bandits along with the weather conditions here?" The martial artist shook his head.

"So are you saying that there isn't a single sect in the entire Northwest Territory?"

Lin Jiufeng asked.

"No…"

"In fact, there's more than one sect here."

"But considering the challenges that they have to withstand after establishing a sect here. They are all located close to the borders of the Northwest Territory."

"As for around here, only one sect exists. It was only established in recent years."

The martial artist suddenly remembered something as he said with a smile.

"Come. Have a cup of tea with me and tell me more about it."

Lin Jiufeng brought him to the tea shop.

He ordered a cup of sweet tea and handed it over politely.

"You are a kind young master. If you were any other young master, you would've looked down on us rogue cultivators." The martial artist sized up Lin Jiufeng and treated him as a young master of an aristocratic family.

Lin Jiufeng smiled. He didn't clear up the misunderstanding.

It was his fault for being born handsome.

He was fair and elegant-looking.

Dressed in clean clothes and the dust-free suit that he received from signing in, he looked valiant and handsome.

But to be honest, Lin Jiufeng himself was worried about his appearance.

He was already more than a hundred years old, yet he still looked so young and handsome.

The people he interacted with often regarded him as a young master of an aristocratic family.

But he knew that such a misunderstanding was convenient for him.

Thus, he decided to silently endure through it.

The martial artist took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. Then, he spoke. "What I said before was right. It's not easy for sects to establish themselves in the Northwest Territory…"

"Even if a few sects do exist here, they are still different from the sects in the Central Plains, Jiangnan, and other places."

"And the sect that has recently appeared here is more similar to the latter." The martial artist explained.

"What's the name of that sect? Why is it different?" Lin Jiufeng asked curiously.

"The name is Heavenly Dao Sect. They don't have a fixed address. The disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect all depended on their fates to become a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect."

"Their Teacher Master often brings them around the Northwest Territory to cultivate. Since they do not have a fixed address for their sect, bandits aren't able to rob them. And since they are also always on the move, they are able to avoid the threat of the elements."

The martial arts explained.

"Heavenly Dao Sect…" Lin Jiufeng pursed his lips.

He suddenly remembered someone.

Someone whom he had long placed in the deep recesses of his mind.

Miss Hong!

She was the reason why Lin Jiufeng was banished to the Cold Palace.

She was the Holy Maiden and ruler of the Great Yan Dynasty. Back then, she even sent troops to rescue Lin Jiufeng from the Cold Palace.

But Lin Jiufeng stopped her.

One thing led to another and Miss Hong gave a few books that had records of the previous era to Lin Jiufeng. Afterwards, the relationship between them came to an end.

Since then, they have never contacted each other again.

The Holy Maiden of the Great Yan Dynasty—Miss Hong—called herself a member of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

This was why when Lin Jiufeng heard about the Heavenly Dao Sect, the first person he thought of was her.

"Who is the Sect Leader of this Heavenly Dao Sect?" Lin Jiufeng asked the martial artist.

"Let me think about it. I've heard of her before. She's a woman. What's her name again?"

The martial artist scratched his head.

"Is her name Miss Hong?" Lin Jiufeng asked softly.

"Yes, yes, yes! Everyone calls her Miss Hong. She's just a girl, yet she managed to establish a sect on her own. She's truly a talented individual." The martial artist clicked his tongue. He was obviously envious of Miss Hong's achievements.

Lin Jiufeng's expression remained calm.

He didn't get excited hearing the martial artist's confirmation.

He deduced it after all.

Heavenly Dao Sect, Miss Hong, and her identity as a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

The only woman who was talented enough to lead a sect in Lin Jiufeng's eyes was none other than Miss Hong.

'Back in Jiangnan, Monk Qingyun said that he had no idea where Miss Hong was…'

'I didn't expect that she would come to the Northwest Territory and establish the Heavenly Dao Sect here.' Lin Jiufeng lamented in his heart.

"Do you know where to find the disciples of this Heavenly Dao Sect?" Lin Jiufeng asked.

"Are you going to look for Miss Hong?" The martial artist chuckled and asked.

Lin Jiufeng didn't answer.

The white cat was originally sleeping on Lin Jiufeng's shoulder.

But at this moment, she was startled awake with her eyes wide open.