"So fragrant!"

Yang An sat on a stone stool, a cup of tea in his hands and a brilliant smile on his face.

However, he wasn't drinking the tea brewed by Elder Zhuan Yu, but rather some mountain spring water the elder had produced separately.

In Elder Zhuan Yu's words, only sissies drank that stuff.

But what the elder himself drank was not something an ordinary person could handle, so he didn't let Yang An try it.

As for the "tea leaves," they were actually the red flowers from the crooked-neck tree above them.

A strange sensation filled his mouth. The tea was ice-cold, a refreshing chill that seeped deep into him, yet at the same time, his entire body felt an incredible sense of relaxation.

It was as if he had been constantly on edge since arriving in this world, but now, he had unexpectedly unwound. It was unbelievably comfortable.

Of course, this tea was no ordinary thing. Drinking it came at a price.

The price was the brief, random loss of one of the five senses—sight, for instance, or touch.

But the moment the tea entered his mouth, Yang An used Purification on it, eliminating the cost.

'If I don't want Elder Zhuan Yu to find out later, I can just pretend I lost my sense of taste. It's not like the sense of taste is that useful for a Cultivator anyway.'

"I have over forty disciples in total. Now that you've joined, you're the youngest one. When we get back to the Golden Thread Pavilion, you'll have to properly meet your senior brothers and sisters. You'll need them to look out for you in the future."

Elder Zhuan Yu said to Yang An as he savored his tea.

Hearing Elder Zhuan Yu's words, Yang An instinctively jolted, nearly spitting out the tea in his mouth.

Over forty?!

'Holy cow! It's not going to be like the Life Crane Sect again, is it? Where none of them get along and they're all enemies?'

'If that's the case, that number is terrifying. The waters here run far too deep.'

"What are you worried about?"

Elder Zhuan Yu asked with great interest, seeing the look on Yang An's face.

Yang An quickly shook his head.

"I'm just used to being all alone. I couldn't help but get a little excited for a moment."

Elder Zhuan Yu smiled and said no more, continuing to drink his tea.

A short while later, he drained the cup of tea—which was brewed with blood—and set it down.

"We're here! Come with me!"

He said, standing up.

Yang An also hurriedly put down his teacup and followed behind Elder Zhuan Yu. A portal-like exit soon appeared in the void, and the two immediately left through it, finding themselves outside in the blink of an eye.

'This new master of mine is ridiculously fast!'

The Golden Thread Pavilion was located in the southwestern part of the Treasure Temple Domain. It occupied forty-nine states, with its headquarters in the Celestial Saint State.

The journey from Celestial Jing State to Celestial Saint State required crossing seven entire states, yet in the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they had arrived at the Golden Thread Pavilion's location in Celestial Saint State.

'Yang An found it hard to believe such speed was possible just by flying. It had to be legendary teleportation or spatial travel.'

And when they left the four-legged, winged serpent monster, Yang An finally noticed that this "Monster Martial Uncle" was covered in wounds.

Countless bloody gashes marred every inch of its body. The largest was over two meters long, as if something incredibly sharp had sliced through its flesh, leaving a perfectly smooth and regular cut.

Yang An became thoughtful. 'Perhaps that's why we traveled inside the Monster Martial Uncle's stomach instead of riding on its back.'

"You said you'd never seen the Golden Thread Pavilion. Look, there it is!"

Elder Zhuan Yu seemed to be pointing it out for Yang An intentionally.

Following Elder Zhuan Yu's gaze, Yang An's eyes instantly shifted. When he saw the true face of the Golden Thread Pavilion, he felt his mind go completely blank.

At first glance, from a distance, he saw a vast city situated on an endless plain.

The city was magnificent, teeming with warriors, but above it was an even more eye-catching city in the sky.

That city floated high in the heavens. One could vaguely make out splendid, magnificent palaces and various other structures, as if it were a place where Immortals cultivated.

Above it, a sea of clouds drifted like elegant sails. A single glance revealed an unpredictable fairyland, as ethereal as a dream. Beneath the clouds, clusters of flowers, trees, and grass were exceptionally alluring, looking as if they were draped in silver, picturesque and poetic.

The city below bustled with traffic and noisy marketplaces, but the city in the sky was as pure and quiet as a paradise. Its ancient, classical buildings seemed to carry the weight of countless eons of history, exuding an air of mystery and solemnity that could not be concealed.

It was like a jewel, brilliant and dazzling, hanging in the sky and radiating a captivating brilliance.

This was... the Golden Thread Pavilion!

No! That's not right!

Yang An seemed to fall into a daze, but he immediately snapped out of it with a shudder of alarm.

'Although that was what his eyes were seeing, what his perception told him was another matter entirely.'

The Golden Thread Pavilion was still the Golden Thread Pavilion, a magnificent, spectacular city floating in the sky. That part hadn't changed.

But hidden from sight, countless streams of a turbid, malevolent aura flowed and dissipated from that city in the sky.

At the same time, in Yang An's perception, innumerable thick tentacles hung down from above. They were invisible, yet they reached all the way to the ground, surrounding the entire city below like a cage and plunging deep into the earth.

A vast shadow enveloped the entire city below, with room to spare.

This was the true face of the Golden Thread Pavilion. In reality, only those with exceptionally strong perception could sense it; mortals were completely oblivious.

Seeing Yang An's utterly shocked expression, Elder Zhuan Yu seemed quite satisfied. With a wave of his hand, he made the four-legged serpent monster vanish into thin air. He then told Yang An to follow him and led the way, flying toward the Golden Thread Pavilion.

Although the Golden Thread Pavilion was level with the clouds, neither of them was ordinary, and they soon arrived at its entrance.

The Golden Thread Pavilion had a dedicated entrance. According to what Elder Zhuan Yu had told Yang An, trying to enter from anywhere else would result in being obliterated by the Array protecting it.

He led Yang An through the main gate, and they quickly landed on the ground.

Within the Golden Thread Pavilion, Sky Control was forbidden to anyone below the rank of Internal Affairs Elder. This was another rule.

The moment he stepped inside, Yang An felt as if he had been plunged into a frigid, polar wasteland. Everything around him seemed to be shrouded in a bizarre aura that sent a chill down his spine.

The sun was blazing high in the sky, and from this position, no clouds obscured it, yet Yang An felt a deep sense of discomfort.

Elder Zhuan Yu noticed his unease and chuckled.

"You'll get used to it."

He said it casually, without offering any explanation.

But just as Elder Zhuan Yu had said, after a few blinks, Yang An gradually adapted, and the physical sensation returned to normal.

But just then, the Bow Lady's joyous voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"You little brat! This place feels so good! This old lady has a feeling that if I can stay here for a long time, I might gain some huge benefits!"

The Bow Lady's sudden voice made Yang An subconsciously glance at Elder Zhuan Yu. Seeing no change in the elder's expression, it was clear he hadn't detected her presence, and Yang An relaxed.

However, he was puzzled by the Bow Lady's words.

The Bow Lady could see through the souls of living beings and could also devour them. Everything about her seemed to be related to souls.

'If she likes this place so much, does that mean the dense, bizarre aura in the Golden Thread Pavilion is also related to souls? Or is it... a form of pollution?'

"Why do you say that? Is there something special about this place?"

He asked the Bow Lady curiously in his mind.

"This old lady doesn't know, but it just feels so comfortable. This place gives me a warm and cozy feeling, like... like there's delicious food everywhere, but it's not actual food. This old lady can smell it! It smells so good!"

The Bow Lady was, by nature, undoubtedly a foodie; she just had a different palate than others.

"Is it souls? The aura of souls?"

"No! It's very similar, but it's not! This old lady doesn't know how to describe it to a little brat like you."

"..."

Yang An was speechless. But since even the Bow Lady had no clear answers, he could only suppress his curiosity for now.

'I'm a member of the Golden Thread Pavilion now, anyway. Once I get familiar with this place, I might be able to find the answers.'

Following behind Elder Zhuan Yu, he walked deeper into the Golden Thread Pavilion. Only by being here could one truly understand how vast the entire Pavilion was. If a mortal were to try to traverse it on foot, it would probably take a very long time.

They encountered many Cultivators from the Golden Thread Pavilion along the way. Although their attire and demeanor varied, they all carried themselves with a great deal of formality.

As one of the two hegemons of the Treasure Temple Domain, it was understandable that they adhered to strict rules and order.

It wasn't just the Golden Thread Pavilion; even the large and medium-sized factions beneath it had highly standardized sect rules.

Without rules, the existence of a hierarchy would be meaningless.

When these Cultivators saw Elder Zhuan Yu, they all bowed with great respect, appearing both reverent and fearful.

Only after Elder Zhuan Yu had walked past with Yang An did they notice the young man following him, their curiosity piqued.

And once the pair had moved further away, these Cultivators began to whisper among themselves.

"That young man behind Elder Zhuan Yu... could he be another new disciple the Elder has taken?"

"Most likely!"

"Elder Zhuan Yu is fond of taking disciples. Everyone in the Pavilion knows he has many of them."

"Then what about Senior Brother Yin Zhou? He's been hoping to be accepted as Elder Zhuan Yu's disciple for ages, but the Elder has never shown him any favor. Now that there's a new disciple, I'm afraid Senior Brother Yin Zhou won't be able to stand it."

"That's because Senior Brother Yin Zhou is too stubborn. Elder Wen Zhao values him so highly, yet he insists on trying to study under Elder Zhuan Yu. Elder Wen Zhao has always been bothered by this.

Both Elders are Internal Affairs Elders, and rumor has it that Elder Wen Zhao is even stronger than Elder Zhuan Yu. If it were me, I'd definitely choose to study under Elder Wen Zhao."