Chapter 866 Do you want to hear a story?

"Can I know something about Li Hongyi's arrival at the Eight Immortal Palace?"

Lin Xuan knew nothing about Li Hongyi's trip to the Immortal Realm, and even if he wanted to get close to Li Hongyi, he didn't know where to start.

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle.

Although Lin Xuan and Li Hongyi were very familiar with each other back then, decades have passed, and Li Hongyi's Supreme Dao of Forgetfulness has become increasingly profound, so it is natural that some preparations need to be made.

Nangong Qingyi already knew about Lin Xuan's past, but seeing him join the Holy Flame Hall for Li Hongyi still made her feel disappointed and sad.

Nangong Yue remained silent. She didn't know much about Lin Xuan's past. It seemed that Lin Xuan might have had more than one Daoist partner, after all, there was also her younger sister.

"Speaking of Li Hongyi, she is indeed no ordinary person. This Li Hongyi is a master who joined our Eight Immortal Palaces eighteen years ago. She was personally invited by the head of the Li Department and became the hall master of the Holy Flame Hall as soon as she entered our Eight Immortal Palaces."

When Li Qingyue talked about Li Hongyi, she couldn't help but praise her.

Lin Xuan had no time to listen to these questions and immediately pressed on, "And who is the leader of this Li tribe?"

"The leader of the Li Department is the strongest among the eight department leaders. He has always kept his whereabouts hidden. Even I rarely see him. But I saw him once eighteen years ago when he brought Li Hongyi back to the Eight Departments Immortal Palace and directly appointed Li Hongyi as the hall master of the Holy Flame Hall. Even the inner hall masters of the Divine Dragon Hall did not change his approach."

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly; this leader of the Li tribe was very suspicious.

Large forces like the Eight Immortal Palace have extremely strict internal assessments. Even disciples who have been trained throughout their training need to undergo a rigorous assessment before they can sit in a high position within the palace. This is even more true for cultivators recruited from outside the palace.

Naturally, all the backgrounds of the cultivators recruited from outside must be thoroughly investigated to prevent them from being members of the evil race or spies planted by the evil race's lackeys.

Lin Xuan found it hard to believe that Li Hongyi could gain the full support of the leader of the Li tribe without some shady dealings involved.

However, Lin Xuan has not met the leader of the Li tribe, nor does he know what has happened to Li Hongyi during her time in the Immortal Realm, so he cannot make any judgments.

“Li Hongyi is very strong. When she first entered our Eight Immortal Palaces, she fought against several hall masters from the Northern Region Hall, the Sunrise Hall, and the Thousand Yin Hall. Without exception, none of those hall masters were a match for Li Hongyi. They couldn’t even withstand ten of her moves. In my opinion, Li Hongyi’s realm is at least at the Fifth Tribulation Immortal King Realm.”

Li Qingyue's words evoked some emotions in Lin Xuan.

At the beginning, Li Hongyi was just a cultivator in the Tianyuan Small World. Initially, he only had a little reputation in the small land of the Great Wilderness. Who would have thought that in just a few decades, Li Hongyi would become a generation of Immortal King, and even surpass many veteran Immortal Kings to firmly hold the position of Hall Master of the Eight Immortal Palaces.

Lin Xuan possessed a system and even consumed the Tianyuan Small World, becoming a realm master. Despite having such a powerful cheat, he still couldn't catch up with Li Hongyi's cultivation speed, which truly shocked Lin Xuan.

"Hehe, Lin Xuan, it might be difficult for you to win back your ex-woman. After all, her current level is quite high, and I feel like she doesn't even recognize you."

Li Qingyue's words added another question to Lin Xuan's mind.

It seems that most people in the Eight Immortal Palaces are unaware that Li Hongyi has cultivated the Supreme Forgetfulness Technique, and assume that Li Hongyi is a quiet person who doesn't like to talk or chat.

Lin Xuan didn't mention the Supreme Forgetfulness Technique, he just smiled.

"Maybe it's because there's too much of a gap between us, but that's okay. Even if we don't get along, we still have to talk things out."

Lin Xuan's open-mindedness touched Li Qingyue.

"You're quite responsible, that's the mindset a cultivator should have. Alright, for what you said, here you go."

Li Qingyue flicked her finger, and a white ball of light floated in front of Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan took the ball of light, which contained a pill.

"This is a Golden Immortal Pill, which can help one advance to the Golden Immortal realm. It is priceless, and even I would have a hard time getting my hands on one."

Li Qingyue's generosity even made Nangong Yue a little envious; she herself had never received such a reward from her master.

"Moon, stop looking. Your cultivation is still a bit lacking. After about ten years of consolidation, I can give you a Golden Immortal Pill to help you break through to the next realm."

Li Qingyue looked at Nangong Yue with a smile.

Nangong Yue nodded solemnly.

Lin Xuan did not refuse. When he ascended the Immortal Tower, he was nourished by many streams of pure Origin Qi. At this time, Lin Xuan had reached another breakthrough threshold, mainly due to the help of the Tianyuan Small World.

As Lin Xuan's personal strength grows stronger, his realm also benefits the Tianyuan Small World. There are now more and more True Immortals in the Tianyuan Small World, and some people have already begun to break the shackles of the Tianyuan Small World and are preparing to break through to the Profound Immortal Realm.

"Then Lin Xuan thanks the Hall Master for bestowing the pill."

Lin Xuan smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute. After exchanging a few more words with Li Qingyue, he left Xuan Yue Hall.

"Master, is Li Hongyi really that outstanding?"

As soon as Lin Xuan left, Nangong Yue pressed him for an answer, still unwilling to give up.

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyue simply sighed softly.

"I can't see through this woman, Li Hongyi, not even the head of the department. I'm afraid only the head of the Li department knows her true nature."

Nangong Yue sighed with disappointment upon hearing this answer. Although she, Nangong Yue, was quite outstanding, she paled in comparison to a woman like Li Hongyi.

Lin Xuan had nothing to pack, so he led Ao Cang towards the Holy Flame Hall.

Saint Flame Hall is one of the nine halls under the Li Department, and it is currently the strongest hall under the Li Department. This is mainly because Li Hongyi is powerful and somewhat domineering. The other hall masters cannot afford to offend Li Hongyi. In addition, Li Hongyi is highly regarded by their department leaders, which makes the other eight hall masters helpless and can only let Saint Flame Hall develop strongly.

"Who is coming?"

Outside the Holy Flame Hall, the disciples guarding the hall immediately began questioning Lin Xuan upon his arrival.

Without saying a word, Lin Xuan first threw out his Holy Flame Hall steward's token.

"Lin Xuan, the newly appointed deacon of the Holy Flame Hall."

Upon seeing the token, the disciples guarding the hall immediately bowed respectfully to Lin Xuan.

"So it is the newly appointed Steward Lin. I hope you will forgive me for any offense I may have caused."

"Hehe, ignorance is no excuse. Get up, all of you."

Lin Xuan had just taken office and was already acting like a loving father.

The disciples were somewhat relieved to see that Lin Xuan was so easy to talk to.

"I am also new to the Holy Flame Hall and am quite unfamiliar with everything about it. How many deacons are there in our Holy Flame Hall now?"

When you arrive in a new place, the first thing you naturally need to do is figure out the distribution of power in that place.

Where there are people, there is a world of its own; this saying would apply perfectly even to the celestial realm.

"Reporting to Deacon Lin, there are currently 176 deacons in our Holy Flame Hall. If you are included today, there will be a total of 177 deacons."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan couldn't help but marvel. The Holy Flame Hall alone had 177 stewards, and the entire Eight Immortal Palaces had 72 halls, so the number of stewards was probably over 10,000. It seemed that the Golden Immortal realm was not very valuable in the Eight Immortal Palaces.

Not only that, but there are also seventy-two other halls, more stewards in the eight departments, core disciples, and those key cultivators being cultivated in the Divine Dragon Palace. There are probably more Golden Immortals than can be seen.

"Which deacons in the Holy Flame Hall have the most influence?"

Lin Xuan continued to ask directly, and in order not to make things difficult for the disciples guarding the hall, he even gave away a batch of resources.

Several disciples at the Earth Immortal Realm were overjoyed to receive Lin Xuan's resources, and their gazes towards Lin Xuan became even more respectful.

"Hehe, to be honest, Deacon Lin, although our Holy Flame Hall has more than a hundred deacons, only a dozen or so of them actually have real power. The other deacons are basically just holding the title of deacon and enjoying the treatment of a deacon. They don't even need to show their faces when there are important decisions to be made."

Lin Xuan nodded slightly upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "It is indeed so."

A single branch of the sect doesn't need so many powerful deacons. A dozen or so would be more than enough. It's not that the others don't want to compete, but they can't. They can only obediently sit aside.

A seemingly honest and simple-minded disciple from the Earth Immortal Realm immediately added to Lin Xuan's statement:

"Among them, Zhang Zhitian, Qiu Saitian, and Duan Yinfeng are the three with the most power, mainly because these three deacons are all at the Eighth Tribulation Golden Immortal realm, making them the strongest, and each has a powerful backer..."

"Ahem, ahem..." Before the nodding disciple could finish speaking, a disciple beside him, who looked much more shrewd, coughed twice and looked at Lin Xuan with a forced smile:

"Deacon Lin, now that you've just arrived at our Holy Flame Hall, just be careful not to antagonize these three deacons. There's much more to be done, and we disciples hope that Deacon Lin will soon ascend to the throne!"

The other disciples immediately followed suit with some meaningless flattery.

Lin Xuan simply smiled and didn't ask any further questions, because he already knew enough to know.

As for Li Hongyi, even Li Qingyue knows so little about her, so these disciples at the Earth Immortal Realm probably know even less.

Stepping into the Holy Flame Hall, one is immediately enveloped in the intense heat of the flames.

Lin Xuan exhaled a scorching breath, recalling Li Hongyi's eyes, which were almost as cold as ice. He couldn't help but clench his fists. The Supreme Forgetfulness Technique was truly ruthless, actually making Li Hongyi forget him so completely.

You have to understand that Li Hongyi waited for him day and night for years, and her true feelings for him were absolutely genuine.

That's why Lin Xuan wanted to bring Li Hongyi back. After all, Lin Xuan had genuine feelings for Li Hongyi and didn't want to see her become an emotionless machine.

"May I ask if the visitor is Steward Lin?"

As Lin Xuan was walking, a figure suddenly flew towards him.

The newcomer was a Golden Immortal Realm expert, and judging from his attire, he was a steward of the Holy Flame Hall.

"My name is Lin Xuan. May I ask who you are, fellow Daoist?"

Lin Xuan bowed slightly to the newcomer and asked with a smile.

"Hehe, I am Zheng Qing, the chief steward of the Holy Flame Hall. I am here on the orders of the hall master to wait for Steward Lin's arrival and to register you."

Zheng Qing and Lin Xuan were both stewards with the same position, and Zheng Qing was also a senior member of the Holy Flame Hall, but he showed Lin Xuan three points of respect, lowering his own status by three levels.

Lin Xuan knew very well that Zheng Qing, as a steward, must have heard about his deeds, which was why he was so respectful to him. In this world, strength is paramount, and high talent is also a way to gain respect.

Especially for someone like Lin Xuan, who has also gained favor with several leaders and the Divine Dragon Palace, turning his talent into a part of his strength is incredibly easy.

"Then I'll have to trouble Steward Zheng."

Lin Xuan smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zheng Qing, appearing amicable.

Zheng Qing quickly smiled and waved his hand: "Hahaha, Deacon Lin, there's no need to be so polite. Just call me Old Zheng, that's what everyone calls me. Come with me, I'll take you to see the Hall Master."

Zheng Qing led Lin Xuan to the main hall of the Holy Flame Hall.

The main hall of the Holy Flame Church is not very grand, but rather simple and elegant.

"This was built by our previous head hall master, and Head Hall Master Li was too lazy to make any changes, so he just kept this style."

Zheng Qing explained to Lin Xuan in a low voice.

Lin Xuan nodded slightly, not caring about these things.

"Master, Deacon Lin has arrived."

Zheng Qing led Lin Xuan into the hall, where Li Hongyi sat in the main seat, seemingly having been waiting for Lin Xuan for a long time.

"Okay, you go down first."

Li Hongyi opened her eyes and glanced at Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing immediately left the main hall, leaving only Lin Xuan and Li Hongyi behind.

"Have we met somewhere before?"

Li Hongyi's first words sent a jolt through Lin Xuan's heart.

From this, it seems that Li Hongyi still has some impression of herself; the Supreme Forgetfulness Technique has not completely devoured Li Hongyi's seven emotions and six desires.

Lin Xuan remained expressionless, merely sketching a faint smile on his lips.

"Why do you say that, Master?"

Lin Xuan's composure made Li Hongyi narrow her red eyes.

"You don't seem to respect me much?"

"Hehe, Hall Master, you are mistaken. Hall Master is a Celestial King, while I am merely a Golden Immortal. How can I not show you respect?"

“But I can’t sense any respect from your eyes or your tone.”

Li Hongyi was curious about the person in front of her. For twenty years, no one had ever stirred her emotions except for the person in front of her, and only the person in front of her had such a unique attitude towards her.

"Master Li, would you like to hear a story?"

Lin Xuan stared intently at Li Hongyi, not giving an inch.

Li Hongyi's heart trembled slightly again.