Liu Mei shook her head without any hesitation as she stared at the Grand Elder, before she said seriously
''Grand Elder, Long-ge is still in seclusion and has yet to come out. I won't let anyone disturb him until he comes out by himself.''
Liu Mei's eyes flashed with a serious glint as she said the last part, even though the person she was facing was the Grand Elder of the Holy sect himself, an existence that stood at the peak of the Dao Emperor realm.
The Grand Elder's eyes widened momentarily when he heard Liu Mei's response before a troubled expression covered his face soon after.
Naturally, he didn't take offense by the last part of Liu Mei's sentence since he actually agreed with her in his heart.
Since Shun Long was still in seclusion, disturbing him right now may truly end up harming him if he was in a critical part of his cultivation.
Besides, the Grand Elder knew that, right now, they weren't in the Holy sect but in the Northern Sovereign's estate instead.
Even if the Grand Elder wanted to forcefully bring Shun Long out of his seclusion, he wouldn't dare to do it while they were guests in the Northern Sovereign's estate either.
After all, it was clear that the Northern Sovereign valued Shun Long quite highly and she had already expressed her desire to rope him in, so doing something like that would not only offend Shun Long but also the Northern Sovereign herself!
At that moment however, Xingyi's master, Elder Mao Jing shook her head and took a step forward as she faced Liu Mei and the others, before she asked in a questioning tone
''Shun Long is still in seclusion? How is this possible? Don't tell me that he didn't notice this earthquake just now! Does he think that he can have all of us wait here for him until he ends his seclusion?''
Mao Jing said angrily as her fierce gaze brushed past Jiang Chen, Bai Longtian, and Liu Mei, lingering on Xingyi's body for a bit longer, before she finally calmed herself down and continued
''Do you even know what the earthquake just now signified?
I don't mind telling you that it was actually the sign that the 'City of Immortals' has now opened! Coincidentally, we just arrived in the Northern Sovereign's city a few days ago and we were planning on taking a look at the shops around the city, but since the 'City of Immortals' has opened, we will leave right away! As a disciple of the Holy sect, Shun Long is also obligated to follow us now that he is also a Dao King!''
At that moment, furious looks appeared on Liu Mei's, Jiang Chen's, and Bai Longtian's faces as they stared at Mao Jing, while even Xingyi didn't hide her displeasure as she looked at her master.
Sensing the tension in the air that was growing worse and worse with every passing moment, the white-robed old man next to Mao Jing, the head of the inner court Elders, Sun Wen shook his head and interjected calmly
''Although Mao Jing's words are harsh, there is also merit in them as well. The 5 of you are now Dao Kings and you should enter the 'City of Immortals' along with the rest of the disciples from the sect. Shun Long being in seclusion at such a critical point is indeed problematic.''
Sun Wen then turned his gaze towards the Grand Elder and continued
''Grand Elder, I know that you look at Shun Long quite favorably and I also have to admit that I didn't expect for his Heavenly Tribulation during his breakthrough to the Dao King realm to be so terrifying that it even managed to alert the Northern Sovereign, but we can't possibly wait until he exits from his seclusion before we leave for the City of Immortals.
After all, what will we do if his seclusion ends up lasting for a couple of years or even longer? The City of Immortals itself has only stayed open for 10 years in the past, and we don't know if it will be any different this time around!
I suggest that you choose someone else to lead the outer court disciples inside the City of Immortals instead of him. Since Yang Hui has decided to follow the young princess of the Bai clan, we can either choose Qiao Min, Liu Mei, or we can even have one of the inner court disciples be the leader instead.''
The Grand Elder stayed silent as he was clearly put in a difficult position.
Even before the Martial Roll of Honor tournament back in the Holy sect had ended, the Grand Elder had already decided to have Shun Long enter the 'City of Immortals' along with the rest of the outer court disciples, and have him lead everyone during their time inside.
Although that decision of his was bound to raise some complaints from some of the stronger outer court disciples of the sect, the Grand Elder didn't care about those disciples in the slightest.
However, the current situation was indeed problematic.
After all, it was one thing if Shun Long remained in seclusion for a few more days or even a few months, but if he didn't come out even after 10 years and ended up missing the opportunity to enter the 'City of Immortals', it would indeed be a disaster.
At the same time, the Grand Elder knew that Sun Wen and Mao Jing were also correct.
Even if he was selfish, the Grand Elder couldn't possibly keep all the outer court disciples of the Holy sect waiting until Shun Long exited his seclusion.
At that moment however, before the Grand Elder could make his decision, Liu Mei took a step forward and stared at Sun Wen and Mao Jing in front of her, before she said in a calm but determined voice
''Lead the outer court disciples? I am not interested in that.. Until Long-ge comes out of his seclusion I won't enter the 'City of Immortals' either.''
