The Grand Elder and other elders suddenly appeared before the disciples, and the disciples' mood finally calmed down, no longer so fearful and uneasy.

To them, the sect leader, the grand elder, and all the other elders were rare and unparalleled masters, their backbone and guardians. In that moment of crisis for the sect, only one thought echoed in their minds: why hadn't the sect leader and elders arrived yet? Did they truly not care about their lives?

This profound despair and pain, along with the fear of death, rendered them almost completely incapable of fighting.

Fortunately, the sect leader did not abandon them, nor did the elders.

The elder's kind face reassured the disciples: "Greetings to the elder and all the other elders."

"No need to go far, the sect was attacked, and the sect leader stepped forward and fought a great battle with the mysterious man. Although he forced the mysterious man to retreat, the sect leader himself was seriously injured and is currently in the back mountain. Please rest assured, the sect will never abandon you. Both the sect leader and we will protect you with our lives."

"Thank you, Sect Leader and all the elders."

"Now that the sect's crisis has been resolved, you can focus on your cultivation. The sect's protective formation suffered considerable damage and needs to be repaired as soon as possible. The Mission Hall will be issuing missions soon, and you can accept them."

After finally calming the disciples down, the Third Elder and several other elders led the First Elder to the Holy Light Pavilion at top speed. The First Elder was seriously injured and could not be delayed.

Pavilion Master Zhu Zhi examined the Grand Elder and said, "If it weren't for the Grand Elder's profound skill, his heart meridian would probably have been shattered, and there would have been no way to save him."

"I'm going to capture the Second Elder, that traitor, as well as the Sixth and Seventh Elders." The Third Elder's face was dark, and he was about to explode.

"Third brother, the sect has suffered a series of misfortunes and cannot withstand internal strife. Let's leave it for later."

"I can't swallow this."

Even a single Holy Light spell only restored a small amount: "It would require a King-level elixir to potentially heal the injuries within a year. Otherwise, it would take ten years."

Everyone on the continent knows there's some friction between the Illusionary Heaven Palace and the Pill King Hall. Both aim to heal and save lives, but their philosophies clash. Therefore, despite offering generous terms over the years, the Illusionary Heaven Palace hasn't produced any King-level Pill Masters; their highest level is a tenth-grade Pill Master, who spends eight out of ten years in seclusion. Every so often, they send out some pills. Healing and saving lives? Sorry, the Pill Master says that's what you specialize in; I can't do it.

These words caused the elders present to turn pale. Lian Jing had been thrown from mid-air by a True Immortal, his fate unknown. The Grand Elder was severely injured, losing all his fighting strength. The core fighting force of the entire Illusionary Heaven Palace had been weakened so much at once. If the Earth-Splitting Sect found out, they would certainly not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Sect Master, is there really no other way? Does the sect not have any King-level pills?"

“King-grade pills are extremely rare, and King-grade alchemists are highly respected figures in the Taiyan Continent. Within a sect, the Grand Elder can only use one King-grade pill. Given the Grand Elder's injuries, he will need at least three King-grade pills.”

"It's just three. If the Grand Elder's injuries don't heal properly, the sect might face a major disaster. If we wait until then, it will be too late."

"These are the rules, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Rules are rigid rules. What time is it now? Why are you still talking about rules?" The Third Elder was extremely anxious.

"The sect's elixirs are indeed very limited. The sect leader still doesn't know the extent of his injuries?"

The sect leader was also very troubled. The fact that the Grand Elder and the Sect Leader had both died on the same day was indeed a huge blow to the sect.

The Grand Elder will be staying at the Holy Light Pavilion for the next few days to facilitate his medical treatment.

Not long after, the Second Elder, Sixth Elder, and Seventh Elder carried in the unconscious Lian Jing.

"Sect Master, please help the Palace Master see what's going on!"

It was another powerful Holy Light spell, which directly healed all of Lian Jing's external injuries, and his internal injuries were also largely healed. What puzzled Holy Light the most was that the Palace Master's injuries were more pronounced external than internal. His meridians and dantian were intact, but his meridians were completely empty, without a trace of true qi flowing through them, and his dantian seemed to be sealed by a mysterious force. He had never seen this energy before, and he had no idea what kind of terrifying enemy the Palace Master had encountered.

"You said the Palace Master has been sealed away and is now equivalent to a mortal." The Second Elder was dumbfounded. Lian Jing was crippled, the Palace Master was finished, and the First Elder's faction would definitely not let him go. He knew better than anyone how heavy that palm strike was.

Wait a minute! The fact that the First Elder survived is already a blessing from heaven. Now, he's probably just a cripple like the Palace Master. So, he's actually the one with the highest combat power. The Second Elder's heart suddenly burned with excitement.

Perhaps this is a golden opportunity to eliminate the Grand Elder. With the Palace Master in seclusion, the next Palace Master will naturally be a junior, allowing him to firmly control the Illusionary Heaven Palace. This is a temptation that no one can resist.

"Let's wait for the Palace Master to wake up, find out the situation, and see if there's any way to break the seal."

"That's natural. Palace Master, you're doing this all for the sake of Illusionary Heaven Palace."

Lian Jing's injuries weren't severe, and he quickly regained consciousness. Upon realizing his body was completely empty, a complex mix of shock, pain, regret, and resentment flashed across his face. Was this the price the True Immortal spoke of?

He could never bring himself to lay a hand on Xiu Qiyu in his entire life, and now he was just a mortal again. All of Jing's ambitions vanished in an instant, and he only wanted to do something for the Illusionary Heaven Palace.

"Palace Master, you've finally woken up." It was the Second Elder's voice, and the tension, excitement, and joy in it were genuine emotions—was it from worry for him? Lian Jing didn't believe it. He knew the Second Elder better than anyone else what kind of person he was.

"Yes, go and call the other elders over! I have something to tell you about the mysterious expert."

"Yes, Palace Master."

The elders all left, leaving only Lian Jing and Sheng Guang in the room.

"Palace Master, I am powerless to help with your injuries."

"It's unspeakable, unspeakable. Let nature take its course." Perhaps only when the true immortal aura dissipates will they be able to let him go.

"In that case, I'm relieved."

"Holy Light, you must do everything in your power to heal the Grand Elder. From now on, the Illusionary Heaven Palace will be in the Grand Elder's care."

"Yes." Since the Palace Master has given the order, the Grand Elder can get two King-grade pills. Combined with the Holy Light Technique and a Grade 10 healing pill, the Grand Elder should be able to recover in at most two years. "When did the Sect Leader and the Grand Elder become so close? Oh well, none of this concerns him. Who's in charge of the Illusionary Heaven Palace is none of his business."