"Xiao Lao, how dare you speak to an elder like this?" the first elder said.
"Xiao Lao, you are here to listen and not speak nonsense," the elder from before condemned her.
"I heard enough. You want to betray every ancestor before you and move the clan. How can I be silent?"
"Enough, Xiao Lao, you are just..."
"Stop!" Xiao Li, the current clan leader, said.
"I agree with Xiao Lao; the mountain lord is a mythical being akin to a god. He is not dead, and we will not move. Our identity and purpose as the Xiao clan is to protect this mountain and honor the mountain lord. We will not move!"
The elders, of course, knew the position of the clan leader, but after years and years of rejection. From unconditional support in the beginning, the elders attitude shifted more and more towards arguing and disobedience.
"If you believe so, find him. Not one of us ever saw the mountain lord. Not one of us ever got to experience this miracle described in our ancient text. Where the sea of spiritual energy sweeps across the mountain, down to the clans, and makes the land a holy land of cultivation. For all we know, the texts could be fake, and there never was a mountain lord, and we are the last idiots to follow something that never existed."
The argument got heavier and heavier. In the end there was no choice; the clan head needed to find the mountain lord, or the clan would move away.
The general opinion of everything related to the mountain lord was at an all-time low, and most people just didn't believe in him.
So Xiao Li and Xiao Lao, who begged to come with him, climbed the mountain.
They ascended slowly with care; traps could be everywhere, and the scenery of the holy mountain should not be destroyed.
To their surprise, there was no barrier, no formation, nothing hindering anyone from ascending. There were a few formations, which could not be identified by Xiao Li, but these weren't for deterrence.
"Is this the trust the mountain lord put in us?" Xiao Lao asked in surprise. She knew that the mountain lord was kind and strong, but the trust he put into them surprised her.
Xiao Li did not respond, as he didn't know. He himself just marveled at the complexity of these formations. He understood nothing.
Arriving at the mountaintop, they didn't find the mountain lord, but what they found was almost as impressive.
Mountains upon mountains of treasure. Spirit stones, artifacts, and techniques. More wealth than they could imagine, sadly no trace of the mountain lord.
They searched and searched but couldn't find him. Xiao Li had lost hope, but Xiao Lao was still enthusiastic.
Xiao Li was about to tell her to go back, but then he found something. A hidden formation?
Xiao Li walked towards this seemingly open place on the mountain, and he finally felt it. An illusion.
As soon as he felt it, the illusion vanished, and what he found wasn't the mountain lord but a black oval.
He didn't know what it was, but it was something mysterious, something he couldn't fathom. He quickly called over Xiao Lao, telling her about what he found, and before he could warn her about any dangers, she just touched the portal.
"Well, and then we saw you," Xiao Li said.
He couldn't quite fathom what had happened, but seeing that the mountain lord was alive and well was all that mattered. His clan could be saved.
"Oh, sorry about that..." Yi scratched his head. During the trial he totally forgot about the formation he designed as he started to cultivate on the mountain.
It would funnel the spiritual energy towards him, but instead of taking it from the surrounding air, he took it from the cosmos and distributed some of it to the areas around the mountain.
Since he didn't cultivate using the array for the time of the trial, the spiritual energy reaching the nine clans gradually thinned.
"Mountain L... Yi, we from the Xiao clan are so glad that you are alive," Xiao Li bowed, trying not to cry.
From birth until now, he fought with the elders. His father always told him to trust the mountain lord, but after years and years of disagreements, he started to waver himself. Luckily his granddaughter believed more than anyone.
"Mountain Lord, how can we return to our clan?" Xiao Li asked with excitement.
"Ähmmm, well, about that. I don't know." Yi answered with some embarrassment.
"You don't know?!" Xiao Li shouted out before realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry, Lord Yi."
"Hmph, grandfather, why do you care about that stupid clan so much?" They wanted to leave the mountain lord anyways. Now that we are here, we should be his most loyal servants," Xiao Lao said.
Shaking his head, Yi just answered. "You don't need to serve me. Instead, I owe your clan for staying for so long and protecting my home. I will try to help you return to your clan and fix your situation," Yi decided.
He felt some guilt towards these two, and trying to find a way to return wouldn't be bad for him if he decided to leave. The only problem was that he couldn't find a way yet, so for now the plan to help them was put aside.
Xiao Li was devastated that even the mighty Mountain Lor... Yi! could not return, while Xiao Lao was excited to spend more time with her idol.
Discussing all of this in front of Yan Yuiling, her head was full of questions. Yi had talked about his world before, but not about his standing. Now seeing people treating him as a god, she didn't quite know how to react.
"So anyway, Yan Yuiling, what was the plan you wanted to discuss?" Yi asked her, skipping any explanation.
"First of all, I have one question," Yan Yuiling said. Through the entire discussion, one thing stood out to her above all.
"How old are you?"