X-Dragon Era

For a moment, the entire secret chamber was engulfed in silence; it was indeed a problem. Now... Po Kong was only in his twenties, and Po Kong's father was just over forty, not yet fifty, right at the prime of his life, and most importantly, having acquired the fountain of eternal youth, he would live forever in such a state, his experience and wisdom growing richer and richer. Under such circumstances, was there really a need to keep changing leaders?

In the midst of the silence, Xin Yun said in a deep voice, "The reason I've been reluctant to agree to your requests has always been two-fold: not only are the spots limited, but the most important issue is actually this!"

"Are you suggesting... that Po Kong should succeed as the head of the Cangqiong Family?" Hearing Xin Yun's words, the Great Elder of the Cangqiong Family, who was also Po Kong's great-grandfather, hesitated.

Facing this question, Xin Yun smiled and shook his head with a bitter smile, "No... that's absolutely not possible. If Po Kong became the family head, given our relationship, I'm afraid it would become even harder to refuse your demands, just like this time. In fact, this may not even reflect Po Kong's own desires, but he can't go against your wishes. You tell him to come, and he comes, even if it's against his own interests."

Having said that, Xin Yun paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then said decisively, "In short, my meaning is very simple: not only must Po Kong not assume the role of family head, but I also hope that you can set him free!"

"What! Set him free? What do you mean by that?" Hearing Xin Yun's words, all the Elders cried out in astonishment.

Seeing the shocked expressions of the Elders, Xin Yun no longer bothered to beat around the bush and said definitively, "Let me be frank with you, unless one becomes a member of the Sky-opening Sect, no one can enjoy the privilege of eternal youth. And obviously... as the number one ranked Cangqiong Family, you would probably rather be destroyed than live under someone else's roof."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm..." Hearing Xin Yun's words, everyone nodded in agreement. Indeed, life is important, but for some people, there are things far more important than life itself.

Seeing everyone's agreement, Xin Yun continued with a smile, "So, my request is very straightforward. Since you no longer need Po Kong as a successor, then grant him freedom and let him become the Five Directions Heavenly Emperor of our Sky-opening Sect!"

As he spoke, Xin Yun abruptly raised his hand to stop everyone from speaking, and continued, "Only if Po Kong becomes one of our Five Directions Heavenly Emperors can I provide you with a hundred spots of eternal youth. As an entity only second to the Sect Master, his family should naturally be immortal. Those are the rules of the Sky-opening Sect!"

Upon hearing Xin Yun's words, the Ten Elders were dumbfounded, disbelieving what they had just heard—not that Xin Yun's demands were too high, but rather unexpectedly low!

In Xin Yun's eyes, although Po Kong was peerless in the world, in the eyes of these other parties, he was impressive, but not spectacular—just another Diamond Ten Stars master at best. For the Cangqiong Family at the moment, this was truly insignificant. It didn't matter whether he was a Diamond Ten Stars master or not; one more or one less of him didn't make a difference.

What? A king-level master! Sorry... but that was a secret only known in Xin Yun's mind. As for now, the Illusionary Realm hadn't even been opened, and no one was aware of the existence of the Illusionary Realm. To ordinary people, Po Kong was, at most, a Diamond-ranked master—precious, but not rare for the Cangqiong Family.

If, for the sake of a Diamond Ten Stars master, they could acquire eternal life for everyone, who wouldn't take such a deal? Only a fool would say no!

Moreover, once Po Kong joined the Sky-opening Sect, there were other benefits to consider, including the ability to secretly discern the true situation of the Sect. If anything went amiss, they could react in time. No matter what, Po Kong was and always would be a member of the Cangqiong Family, no matter where he went—a fact that would never change.

Watching the cunning expressions of the old foxes, Xin Yun smiled. He knew exactly what they were thinking, and they knew he knew, but neither side would say it out loud.

After a brief silence, Xin Yun said with a smile, "As long as Po Kong remains one of our Five Directions Heavenly Emperors, you'll enjoy the privilege of immortality until the day he leaves, and... he'll also act as the liaison ambassador between our two sides. What do you think?"

With that, the two parties finally reached a consensus. From that moment on, the family released Po Kong to freedom, and Po Kong, with his newfound freedom, became the fifth Deputy Sect Master of the Sky-opening Sect, one of the Five Directions Heavenly Emperors newly appointed by Xin Yun. As for the other four Emperors, they were of course Yi Luo Xiang, Yan Qingying, Ming Xuan, and Luo Fu!

Thus, Po Kong was firmly bound to the chariot of the Sky-opening Sect, no matter what the future held, he could not even dream of leaving, and it's likely he wouldn't want to. If he forced himself to leave, all members of the Cangqiong Family would lose the source of their eternal youth; it's feared the leadership of the Cangqiong Family would die out in an instant. From this perspective, neither Po Kong nor the leadership of the Cangqiong Family would ever allow it.

At this point, four out of the Nine Great Experts from the previous era had become members of the Sky-opening Sect—Po Kong, ranked first, Ming Xuan, ranked third, Yi Luo Xiang, ranked sixth, and Yan Qingying, ranked seventh. Add to them Luo Fu and Xin Yun, two masters who were no less formidable than anyone else and fully capable of claiming a spot in this lifetime, the future of the Sky-opening Sect was brighter and more glorious than ever!

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Adversity reveals true friendship! Thank you, brother Lian Yaoye! (To be continued. For the continuation of this story, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)