"Snowflake Sect?" Evan Yang muttered.
"Yeah, looks like it's because you did something to the Snowpoint Sect elders. They brought those people to Snowflake Sect to investigate your identity." Winter Lu looked at Evan Yang. She was also surprised the first time she heard someone say Evan was from Snowflake Sect.
"I see." Evan Yang said thoughtfully.
"So you really are from Snowflake Sect?" Winter Lu asked curiously.
"Yeah, I'm from Snowflake Sect," Evan Yang replied, then walked over to Summer Lu and checked her condition. He found she was fine, just knocked out from the gap between her cultivation and Spirit-Wandering-level pressure, and hadn't woken up yet.
After Evan Yang confirmed it, Winter Lu was still a little shocked.
"So what are you planning now?" Winter Lu looked at Evan Yang curiously. Now that she knew his identity, he seemed even more mysterious.
"I guess I'll make a trip to Snowflake Sect," Evan Yang said helplessly.
"You're really going?" Winter Lu exclaimed.
"I'll just go take a look first," Evan Yang said. He had already planned to visit Snowflake Sect, so now was as good a time as any.
After saying goodbye to Winter Lu, Evan Yang arrived at the foot of Heavensnow Mountain, hopped onto his Firebird, and left. Relying on memories from more than ten years ago, he headed toward Snowflake Sect.
Flying high in the sky and with the Firebird's speed, even if Spirit-Wandering experts below noticed him, it would be hard to catch up.
So Evan Yang quickly reached the area above Snowflake Sect, had the Firebird stop in midair, and looked down.
He saw the scene inside Snowflake Sect unfold below him.
The most noticeable thing was three groups: one from Snowflake Sect, one from the Three Snow Eccentrics, and one from Ancestor Colin Pineson's group. Because he was so high up, Evan Yang could only see what was happening below, but couldn't hear what they were saying.
Actually, Ancestor Colin Pineson and his group had arrived the day before, just in time to see people from the Three Snow Eccentrics fighting with Snowflake Sect. When they showed up, both sides stopped. The Three Snow Eccentrics looked suspiciously at them, since their own reputation was so bad and seeing so many experts gathered here, they thought Snowflake Sect had called in reinforcements.
But then Ancestor Colin took out a bunch of people and asked Snowflake Sect about them. The sect master went up to check everyone and immediately saw it was Evan Yang's handiwork, feeling delighted inside. He had always thought Evan died in some accident, so he'd been entangled with the Three Snow Eccentrics, who believed the secret art was in Snowflake Sect and wouldn't let it go.
Since Ancestor Colin brought people to question them, the Three Snow Eccentrics didn't leave right away, but stayed to watch the drama unfold.
The Snowflake Sect master and his people coordinated their story, saying they didn't know Evan Yang and couldn't undo the sealing technique. The Three Snow Eccentrics shouted that Snowflake Sect had a beggar who escaped—the same one Ancestor Colin was talking about.
This left Ancestor Colin's group unsure whether to believe Snowflake Sect or the Three Snow Eccentrics. After all, the Eccentrics had such a bad reputation that most people disliked the three of them.
The three groups ended up in a stalemate, just hanging around.
Evan Yang stayed above, unsure what these people were up to and not wanting to go down just yet.
"What are they even doing?" Evan Yang wondered suspiciously.
So Evan Yang stayed in the sky for another half a day, wanting to see what they were up to.
After half a day, the sky gradually darkened, and Evan Yang saw the people below getting harder and harder to make out.
Evan Yang had no choice but to spend the night on the Firebird's back. The next morning, as soon as it was light, he watched the situation below and saw that Ancestor Colin's group had left, but the Three Snow Eccentrics remained, still pestering Snowflake Sect.
"They left?" Evan Yang muttered.
Not knowing for sure if they'd left, Evan Yang waited another half a day. Once he was certain Ancestor Colin and his group were gone, he descended from the sky.
The Firebird stayed hidden above, ready to obey Evan Yang's orders at any time.
Evan Yang slowly descended and walked forward. The Three Snow Eccentrics were busy fighting with Snowflake Sect and hadn't noticed anything happening around them.
This allowed Evan Yang to slip past everyone’s watchful eyes and hide under a large rock not far behind the Snowflake Sect master. He sent a voice transmission: "Master’s Wife!"
Sect Master Chen, who had been watching the situation unfold, was shocked to hear the voice, but quickly calmed down. Evan Yang then told her his location.
She extended her divine sense and found Evan Yang really was behind the rock, feeling overjoyed. To avoid attracting the Three Snow Eccentrics’ attention, Sect Master Chen kept standing there until the Eccentrics got tired and stopped fighting.
Once the Three Snow Eccentrics left, Sect Master Chen called back three people: two who looked like children, and a man from Purple Mountain.
Before entering the secret chamber, Sect Master Chen turned around and a shadowy figure dashed inside. The three people were about to curse, but the chamber door closed and torches lit up around them.
"Hello, senior brothers and sisters," Evan Yang said with a smile.
The three were shocked, not expecting the kid from more than ten years ago to have returned.
"Martial Uncle," Evan Yang addressed Sect Master Chen in front of outsiders.
Sect Master Chen couldn't wait and said, "You three stand guard here. I have something to discuss with your junior brother."
Evan Yang barely had time to chat with the three before Sect Master Chen impatiently pulled him into the inner secret chamber.
Following the woman, Evan Yang couldn’t help but admire Snowflake Sect. Though there were few disciples, he couldn’t see through any of their strengths—meaning each was either at peak Nascent Soul or Spirit-Wandering level.
Back then, Evan Yang just thought they were impressive, but never realized they were this powerful.
"Master’s Wife, what about Senior Sister?" Evan Yang only saw three people, but not the senior sister, and was worried about her.
The woman who brought Evan Yang into the chamber said, "She’s in seclusion."
"Is she alright?" Evan Yang remembered what Senior Sister said back then—she’d have to trade a hundred years of cultivation.
"She lost a hundred years of cultivation, but after another hundred years of training, she’ll be fine," the woman said lightly.
"Sigh, if it weren’t for me, Senior Sister wouldn’t have ended up like this." Evan Yang sighed helplessly, hearing she’d need another hundred years to recover.
"Don’t worry so much. Your Senior Sister told me about your situation back then. I thought you’d be caught by the Three Snow Eccentrics, but they kept coming here, so I guessed you hadn’t been captured. Still, Northsource Region is so dangerous, I feared something might happen to you. Only when Snowpoint Sect people came two days ago did I learn you were still alive," the woman said excitedly.
"Sorry for worrying you, Master’s Wife," Evan Yang said awkwardly.
"As long as you're alright," the woman said with a smile.
"Did the Snowpoint Sect people leave?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Yes, they left more than half a day ago. Maybe they couldn’t find you, and as for your seal, none of us can fully undo it, so they left," the woman replied.
"That’s good," Evan Yang said, relieved.
"How did you provoke them? Why are so many Spirit-Wandering experts looking for you?" The woman looked at Evan Yang curiously.
"Well, I had some disputes with Snowpoint Sect before, and recently ran into them again, so that’s how it happened," Evan Yang said with an awkward smile.
"What’s your cultivation level now?" the woman asked, curious. She noticed that everyone who’d been sealed was at least Nascent Soul level, so Evan Yang must be at least that.
Sure enough, when Evan Yang released his aura, the woman was shocked. "Just ten years, and your cultivation is already...?"
Evan Yang was already used to these looks—whenever people saw how much his cultivation had grown in just ten years, they’d always look incredulous.
"Opportunity," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Although the woman heard it was just opportunity, she still deeply admired Evan Yang’s talent.
The two chatted about the past years until the next day arrived, and sounds could be heard outside again.
"Looks like it’s the Three Snow Eccentrics again," the woman said, getting up as their conversation was interrupted.
"Master’s Wife, do they come at this time every day?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Yes. They said if we don’t hand you over, they’ll harass us like this every day and stop us from cultivating," the woman sighed helplessly.
"They’ve kept it up for more than ten years?" Evan Yang couldn’t help but admire the Three Snow Eccentrics’ perseverance.
"Yes, not a single day missed," the woman sighed again, helpless.
Evan Yang was speechless. To avoid the Three Snow Eccentrics noticing anything unusual, the woman had him hide in the secret chamber, while she led the other three out.
Evan Yang could only hear sounds from outside, unable to see what was happening—after all, this place blocked divine sense. Bored, he continued to study the murals in the chamber, waiting for the Three Snow Eccentrics to finish.
He’d seen most of the murals before, but after reaching the end, there were no more records—just what happened after the owner of the sealing technique disappeared.