"It's been over ten minutes, Sect Master," the young Vice-Sect Master said with a worried look on his face.
"I know that!" the Sect Master snapped. "What do you want me to do about it!? I also don't know what's going on!"
The Vice-Sect Master frowned. He had been a Vice-Sect Master for quite a while, and the Sect Master had been his fellow Vice-Sect Master just 50,000 years ago. The Vice-Sect Master also knew the previous two Sect Masters.
And in his opinion, their current Sect Master was the worst out of these three, by far. The other two had always remained calm, but their current Sect Master constantly lost her temper. Not only that, but she was also always acting like she had everything under control when, in reality, she definitely didn't.
However, what could he do? The Sect Master was appointed by the current Ancestor, and the current Ancestor had family ties with the current Sect Master. So, even if the Vice-Sect Master didn't believe that the current Sect Master was deserving of her position, the only option he had left was to deal with it.
"Check his Spirit Vial," the Vice-Sect Master said neutrally.
The Sect Master furrowed her brows. "You think he's dead?" she asked.
"Why else wouldn't he have returned by now?" the Vice-Sect Master asked. "In this time, he could have nearly gone around the world. Either he died, or he betrayed us."
"Impossible!" the Sect Master shouted. "There is no one in this world that can stop Sten from leaving! He knows the level six Law of Space!"
"So, he has betrayed us?" the Vice-Sect Master asked.
"Also impossible!" the Sect Master shouted. "Sten has everything in the Nine Elements Sect. He has nearly no obligations, and he can visit any Law Comprehension Area he wants for as long as he wants."
"Then it shouldn't be a problem for you to check his Soul Vial," the Vice-Sect Master said.
The Sect Master frowned. The current attitude of her Vice-Sect Master wasn't appreciated by her.
However, he had a point.
The Sect Master stretched her Spirit Sense into an area where only she and the Ancestor had access.
This was the chamber where the Soul Vials of the most important members of the Nine Elements Sect were located. Only Vice-Sect Masters and higher would have the honor to leave a small part of their Spirit in this hall.
Soul Vials were flasks that kept a small part of a Cultivator's Spirit. The lower world had something similar, but back then, leaving a part of one's Spirit somewhere else would weaken them slightly.
Of course, with the power of Immortal Emperors, leaving a tiny part of their Spirit behind wouldn't affect them at all. This tiny part of their Spirit wasn't even 0.00001% of their total. Exchanging this tiny bit to allow the Sect to keep track of their status was worth it. After all, if someone died, they would want the Sect to take revenge for them.
The Sect Master looked at the Soul Vials. One of them was already empty. This one had belonged to the old Vice-Sect Master that she had killed earlier.
The Sect Master looked at Sten's Soul Vial, and her brows furrowed.
The small part of his Spirit was still there. If he had died, his Spirit would have dissipated.
However, there was something else.
The other Spirits in the other Soul Vials slightly moved around and showed a certain liveliness. They were like gently burning flames.
Yet, Sten's Spirit was a sphere.
It was still there, but it didn't move. There were no undulations and no fluctuations. It just lifelessly levitated in the middle of the Soul Vial.
The Sect Master's face turned white in the great hall.
The Vice-Sect Master noticed her change in expression and sighed.
"His will has been destroyed," the Sect Master whispered with shock, all her rage gone.
The Vice-Sect Master knew what this meant. If a living being was lacking a will, it wouldn't be a living being anymore. One could liken it to a perfectly intact person that was still alive. Their organs were still working, and their body still generated Life Energy. Yet, their brain and mind just didn't work anymore. In short, one could liken the dissipation of a will to brain death.
The Vice-Sect Master was intensely shocked deep down, but he suppressed it. It was crucial to quickly find a solution. He couldn't be distracted now.
The Sect Master clenched her fists in frustration.
What was going on!?
How could Sten die!?
Then, the Sect Master took a deep breath.
"Uncle," she transmitted. "Something happened."
"Is the Nine Elements Sect in danger of being destroyed?" the Ancestor asked neutrally with a voice transmission.
The Sect Master took a deep breath again. "Sten has been killed."
"Is the Nine Elements Sect in danger of being destroyed?" the Ancestor asked again.
The Sect Master's shoulders shook slightly. "No," she transmitted.
"Then don't disturb me," the Ancestor said. "I told you when I gave you this position that you have the responsibility to guide the Nine Elements Sect. You are the highest instance of authority and responsibility in the Sect. You can't always come crying to me if something doesn't go your way."
The Sect Master's body shook, but she didn't dare to disagree.
"I don't know what happened," the Ancestor said with a slightly annoyed tone, "but as far as I know you, I can tell that this situation has something to do with you. I told you back then that you need to destroy this prideful and scheming self of yours. Cooperation is always better than suppression."
The Sect Master didn't answer, but the Ancestor knew that he had hit the nail on its head when he saw the Sect Master's reaction.
"Don't do anything hasty. Evaluate all your options. Don't jump the sword as soon as something doesn't go your way. You are not in the position of Sect Master to satisfy your own vanity but to guide the Nine Elements Sect into a brighter tomorrow. Herius was a better candidate for the position of Sect Master, and you know that. Yet, I have chosen you because you are my niece."
"I have abandoned duty for my family, but I also saw your bright mind and talent. I believed that you would have been able to grow with more responsibility. Take this situation as the last warning. Your methods have provoked something that even managed to kill Sten."
"Tell me, would what you have gained be worth the sacrifice of Sten?"
The Sect Master grimaced.
What would she have gained?
She would have gained closer cooperation with the All-Matter Sect, but that had been in the past. As soon as their Holy Son Candidate had died, their cooperation had been weakened significantly. Additionally, even if this had resulted in more favorable trades with the All-Matter Sect, it would never have been worth the sacrifice of one of their most powerful Cultivators.
The sacrifice was nowhere near enough for such a small profit.
The only positive thing that could have come out of this was that the Sect Master's grandson would have become the Holy Son of the Nine Elements Sect. That was also the initial reason for the Sect Master to go against Stella.
Yet, would that have helped the Nine Elements Sect?
No.
It would have only helped her and her grandson.
In short, the Sect Master had exchanged an Ascender for a more favorable position for her grandson.
It was not worth it.
The Ancestor noticed the subtle changes in the Sect Master and sighed with regret.
"I will repeat myself. Take this as the last warning. Adapt to your position and deal with the situation. If necessary, bow your head. You are not living for yourself or your family anymore, but for the Nine Elements Sect."
"The previous Ancestor has given me the position of Sect Master back then, and now, I feel like I have disappointed her by handing this position over to you."
"Prove to me that I have not made a mistake."
"Fix yourself!"
The connection was cut.
The last sentence had been shouted in the Sect Master's Spirit with quite some conviction and anger.
The Sect Master's body shook. This was the one person that she couldn't talk back to. Her uncle had helped her throughout her life, and he had always taught her that cooperation was better than suppression.
She was now above everyone else, but she was still below her uncle.
The Sect Master started thinking about how to solve the problem.
Yet, just a couple seconds later, her fists started to shake in anger again.
The frustration of being reprimanded by her uncle mixed with the rage of her plan failing and the fact that Underworld had gone against them.
'You want me to deal with the situation!?' she shouted to herself in her mind with rage.
'If there is no Underworld, there is no situation!'
"Summon the Holy Guards!"