"Hmm?"
Upon hearing the Great Elder's proposal, Mu Jinyu's eyes flickered. He understood his intentions clearly.
Having a portion of the female Elders from the Heavenly Sword Faction join Mingyue Valley in its reconstruction, would that still be considered Mingyue Valley?
It would essentially just be a puppet of the Heavenly Sword Faction.
Mu Jinyu initially intended to reject the offer outright, but upon reconsideration, he realized that the fate of Mingyue Valley, with or without the intervention of the Heavenly Sword Faction, wouldn't be much different either way.
After all, the upper echelons of Mingyue Valley were all slain, and only a small number of disciples managed to escape. Even with disciples like Ji Li who had reached the Divinity Transformation Realm, if he were to help Ji Li rebuild Mingyue Valley and gather back these few disciples, it was destined to become a minor sect.
And with the rise of the Heavenly Sword Faction dominating the Yan Kingdom, even the Beixue Mountain Villa, which had preserved its strength, trembled before the might of the Heavenly Sword Faction, let alone the ruined and rebuilt Mingyue Valley.
Even with his connections there, he couldn't stay in the Heavenly Sword Faction forever, much less in Mingyue Valley.
Thus, after its reconstruction, Mingyue Valley was destined to depend on the Heavenly Sword Faction to survive!
If that was the case, having the Heavenly Sword Faction participate and assist might even allow Mingyue Valley to develop better.
Moreover, considering their relationship with him, the Heavenly Sword Faction would surely not deliberately oppress Mingyue Valley.
However, this was not something he could decide. He still had to ask Ji Li to see what she thought about it.
Mu Jinyu pondered slightly and said, "I'll ask Ji Li about this later and see what she decides."
"Alright." Although Xie Yuan had some interest in the reconstruction of Mingyue Valley, he wouldn't act recklessly.
Even the Liuyun Sect, which made him a bit wary, wielded its spiritual and secret treasures. Mu Jinyu single-handedly wiped it out within half a day, how could he dare to treat Mu Jinyu as just a disciple?
So, even if Ji Li ultimately rejected the Heavenly Sword Faction's involvement, he wouldn't be angered and would still contribute to the reconstruction of Mingyue Valley.
"Okay." Mu Jinyu nodded slightly. Then when Xie Yuan asked about the details of the destruction of the Liuyun Sect, he didn't hide anything and told them directly.
The Elders of the Heavenly Sword Faction were shocked upon learning about the Liuyun Sect's means, and the special elixirs that could elevate one's realm by several levels at once frightened them as well.
Thankfully, the Liuyun Sect hadn't truly taken root and developed in the Yan Kingdom, otherwise, once stabilized, its Elders could have all reached the Fanxu Realm.
If they were to go to war with the Heavenly Sword Faction and consume such elixirs, wouldn't the Liuyun Sect pose a threat even greater than the Blood Sword Sect?
However, this latent threat had been preemptively eradicated by Mu Jinyu.
"Is there any more of that elixir?" Xie Chenkun, after hearing about the effects and drawbacks of the 'Twin Armor Extreme Breaking Pill' from Mu Jinyu, was cautious of the side effects but felt having such an elixir on hand would provide the Heavenly Sword Faction with an extra trump card.
In the event of another Blood Sword Sect-like crisis, having the "Twin Armor Extreme Breaking Pill" could prevent a repeat of the day's humiliating scene.
"There should be. I remember seeing it in their storage bags."
After annihilating the Liuyun Sect, Mu Jinyu took the storage bags from Fang Xiuyuan and the others. He hadn't thoroughly checked them yet, but he vaguely remembered seeing them.
It wasn't because there were too many storage bags and he couldn't check them all, but because he hadn't had the time. Even the storage bags from the Blood Sword Sect's Zhou Yun weren't checked; he had been busy running around.
After explaining, Mu Jinyu retrieved a few storage bags from the Liuyun Sect's members out of the dozens tied to his waist and handed over a few "Twin Armor Extreme Breaking Pills" to Xie Chenkun and the others.
The group, upon receiving them, played with them for a while, both delighted and fearful.
After Elder Cheng sniffed the fragrance of the elixir, he commented, "This should be a Third Grade Elixir. Jinyu, did you find any pill formulas?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't checked these storage bags thoroughly yet. Once I get back and if I find any, I'll send the pill formulas from the Blood Sword Sect and Liuyun Sect to you, teacher," Mu Jinyu replied.
Although Elder Cheng's strength wasn't the highest among the Elders present, he had shown Mu Jinyu the kindness of a mentor. If it wasn't for his sharing of his knowledge and a piece of the Sacred Wood Branch, Mu Jinyu wouldn't have broken through to the peak of the Third Layer of the Fanxu Realm so swiftly.
Thus, although Mu Jinyu wouldn't call him Master, he still addressed him respectfully as teacher.
"Good, then I'll await your message." Elder Cheng replied with a gratified smile, his eyes filled with anticipation.
He had no interest in the secret manuals looted by the Blood Sword Sect, but the pill formulas intrigued him. Alas, there were no pill formulas in the Scripture Pavilion; it seemed that the Liuyun Sect's Alchemist, much like him, kept the formulas to himself.
The likelihood was that the Blood Sword Sect's Alchemist had also perished at Mu Jinyu's hands, meaning the pill formulas would likely have fallen to Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu didn't have time to check now, but once he did and learned them, Elder Cheng could also study the Blood Sword Sect's pill formulas.
He had always been intrigued by the Blood Demon Life-Reducing Pill from the Blood Sword Sect and wondered whether they had the formula, or if those elixirs were relics obtained from ancient ruins.
Seeing there wasn't much else to report to Xie Yuan and the others, and feeling Elder Cheng's eager look as almost a prompt, Mu Jinyu took his leave and headed towards his residence on Tianlan Peak.
On the path back to Tianlan Peak, many disciples who saw Mu Jinyu stopped in their tracks, respectfully shouting "Senior Brother," and only started excited discussions once he passed.
Their conversation never strayed far from topics about Mu Jinyu.
Quickly, Mu Jinyu arrived back at Yard No. 1 at the summit of Tianlan Peak.
Wen Rou and the three women Jian Ruyan weren't cultivating. Seeing Mu Jinyu return, Wen Rou and Ji Li gathered around, expressing their concern.
Jian Ruyan didn't move but gave Mu Jinyu a few more glances. Seeing that he was safe and appeared in good spirits, she sighed in relief.
Originally, when Mu Jinyu went with Xie Yuan and the others to destroy the Blood Sword Sect, they weren't too worried, knowing the top combatants of the Blood Sword Sect had all been decimated by the Heavenly Sword Faction.
But as Xie Yuan and the others returned and Mu Jinyu didn't, and learning that Mu Jinyu had gone to settle scores with the Liuyun Sect for Ji Li, they all grew concerned.
Now, seeing Mu Jinyu return safely, Wen Rou and Ji Li couldn't sit still.
Ji Li approached, her eyes filled with gratitude and concern, asking, "Young master, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Mu Jinyu nodded to Wen Rou and ruffled Ji Li's hair, saying, "I've annihilated the Liuyun Sect, avenging you."
"Thank you, young master." Ji Li said with gratitude, pressing her lips together.
Mu Jinyu then explained to Ji Li about the reconstruction of Mingyue Valley and Xie Yuan's proposal, leaving the decision to her whether to allow the Heavenly Sword Faction's involvement.
If they did involve themselves, Mingyue Valley's status as a vassal to the Heavenly Sword Faction would be unavoidable.
Hearing this, Ji Li had difficulty making a decision.
Rebuilding the Mingyue Valley, no matter how weak, would still be independent, but she feared whether it could stand on its own with just her and a few sisters' efforts?
While Ji Li was struggling with the decision of whether Mingyue Valley should become a vassal of the Heavenly Sword Faction, startling news arrived.
The Sect Leader of Beixue Mountain Villa, accompanied by the senior Elders, personally came to the Heavenly Sword Faction, expressing their submission and their willingness to become a vassal to the Heavenly Sword Faction from henceforth.