The door leading to the second floor of the tower slowly creaked open after Yao Shen inserted his Master Control Token into the circular slit that had opened on the side, after detecting his approach. Before the contents of the room fully revealed themselves to Yao Shen and Zhou Hui, who stood patiently at his side, a pungent medicinal smell wafted through the opening, assailing their collective senses.

Zhou Hui grimaced lightly, as he channeled his Wind Qi— generating a small gust of wind partly dispersed the pervasive smell, but it only seemed to return with a vengeance as the door opened in its entirety. Of course, as a Nascent Soul Cultivator Zhou Hui could simply isolate his sense of smell, but the situation hardly warranted such an extreme measure.

In front of them lay a hall that was the very embodiment of chaos— at the center of the room rested an ancient, mottled three-legged cauldron, its original exterior long eroded by the ravages of time. Surrounding it were a series of tables, shelves and cupboards arrayed in a haphazard manner, each accommodating dozens, no, hundreds of crystalline jars, that contained a different spiritual herb, medicinal plant or spiritual beast organs, barring one— a small, azure pill furnace unassumingly rested upon a table adjacent to the towering cauldron.

A young man floated two feet above the air, an elongated silver ladle held in his right hand that he used to stir the bubbling violet liquid that swirled within the Cauldron, emanating the strong medicinal smell they had encountered earlier, now threatening to engulf their olfactory senses. His sylvan green hair that were tied into a neat ponytail, high cheekbones and blemish free skin coupled with his light frame gave the impression of a well-dressed mortal scholar over that of a cultivator.

Detecting their approach, the young man shifted his position in the air so that he was facing his unannounced visitors, his focused expression breaking into a wide smile as his gaze landed upon Yao Shen.

“Congratulations, Master. This disciple humbly greets the new Soul Emperor!” The young man exclaimed, his voice exuding pure joy and exhilaration along with a tinge of relief, but no humility was to be found within.

Yao Shen let out a light, jubilant laugh, allowing himself a moment of shared joy with his disciple, before replying with mock chiding, “Why, Xiaoli, did you think your master would fail?”

“Of course not, Master. Even before your ascension you were unrivaled within the Azlak Plains, and now the demonic sects will quake at the mere mention of your venerable name!” Xiaoli Dai shamelessly heaped praises upon Yao Shen, the smile on his face only growing wider. He had long since known of his Master, Yao Shen’s decision to ascend to Soul Emperor, and he understood his character enough to know that Yao Shen was not one to act without sufficient preparations— even then, to reach the second stage of the Soul tier, Soul Emperor, was simply unheard of in the Azlak Plains, and Xiaoli would be lying if he claimed that he had not been worried.

He, of course, had wished to be at the site of his master’s ascension, but unfortunately it was an unwritten rule in the world of Eliria that disciples could not be present— the emotional bond between the two had the ability to shake the resolve of a cultivator, and even if the chance was slight, it was a risk that could not be taken.

“This disciple greets the Patriarch of the Han Family,” Xiaoli once again greeted, his attention split between the two patriarchs in attention and the half formed elixir in the cauldron that he kept stirring, rendering him unable to bow to the two second tier cultivators.

“Good,” Zhou Hui acknowledged the early-stage core formation disciple’s greeting, choosing to honor him.

Xiaoli’s expression grew thoughtful, and then a light flash of worry flashed over his face before he let out a resigned sigh. “Patriarch Hui, err,” Xiaoli scratched the back of his head as if he were dealing with a particularly vexatious problem, before continuing, “... are you here for the disciple senior sister Shadow kidnapped?”

“What?” Yao Shen’s flabbergasted voice echoed out in the chamber, and Zhou Hui too seemed astonished. Both of them had seen Shadow lead Yanyue to the second floor of the tower, and no one had passed them on the way up— when did Shadow get time to kidnap a disciple?

“Explain yourself,” Zhou Hui requested more than demanded, but as the previous Elder of the Enforcement Hall this was not an issue he could turn a blind eye to.

Xiaoli gazed at Yao Shen, who gave him a nod. He had already concluded that this was a misunderstanding, confident that Shadow would not do such a thing— making him more amused than anything else.

“Senior sister Shadow walked into the alchemy floor with an unconscious disciple held in her arms. The tempo of the disciple's breathing was relaxed and she was unharmed, otherwise I would have offered her a healing elixir. She then proceeded to the third floor,” Xiaoli reiterated the sequence of events calmly, having reverted to his confident demeanor that seemed to grow even stronger.

“You didn’t ask her why she had an unconscious disciple in her arms?” Zhou Hui asked incredulously, more bewildered than anything else.

“Patriarch Hui, please don't jest around with this little disciple. Senior Sister Shadow has never acted without noble intentions in her heart and….” Xiaoli paused for dramatic effect, before continuing,”.... I wish to live a long, healthy life.”

Yao Shen looked on with amusement, while Zhou Hui found himself tongue tied— after all, nothing Xiaoli had said was actually false. Shadow's reputation exceeded any core disciple in the sect by leaps and bounds, her honor and hatred for the demonic path bringing her great repute in the Heavenly Sky Sect. It made sense why Xiaoli would not be inclined to question his older sister's judgment, for all he knew the disciple could be a demonic sect spy.

“Besides, if there is still a disciple foolish enough to provoke my elder sister, her days were probably numbered anyway,” Xiaoli shrugged, his face slightly twitching as memories of his senior brother’s duel with Shadow resurfaced in his mind. Of course, Xiaoli didn't actually expect Shadow to truly harm the disciple, at worse, subjecting her to a light punishment.

That last statement seemed to agitate Zhou Hui because it was a flagrant violation of the Enforcement Hall’s rules and the slight disrespect Xiaoli had shown due to his casual answer irked him, but Yao Shen just placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Brother Hui, I think this is a misunderstanding,” Yao Shen had understood everything when Xiaoli had revealed that the disciple was a girl, and he proceeded to describe Yanyue’s appearance to him. Xiaoli immediately nodded, and Zhou Hui relaxed, albeit still remaining somewhat confused.

Xiaoli himself did not understand why the patriarch seemed so well acquainted with one whom he had believed to be a random disciple.

“Brother Yao, why would your new disciple arrive unconscious?” Zhou Hui asked with some concern, wondering if one of the Council members had done something rash.

“Do not worry, Brother Hui. If Xiaoli said that she was fine and Shadow did not raise the alarm, then there is no cause for worry. Come, let us leave him to his alchemy," Yao Shen remained calm, having his own conjectures upon the situation.

“.... Disciple?” Xiaoli blurted out incredulously, the two Patriarchs’ conversation and the implications behind it taking a few seconds to register in his mind. This time, he was the one to be shocked out of his wits.

Yao Shen lightly smiled, before replying, “Hurry up and finish your elixir so you can meet your new junior sister.”

They proceeded to the entrance of the third floor, leaving behind an alchemist that was frantically trying to stir his elixir to completion.