Chapter 142 First Hearing Of The Ghost Sect (Part One)

Murray also did share the feeling of surprise to see Austin.

"Austin, you've also come to the area surrounding Grand Desolation Mountain to practice."

"Yes, Steward Zhu. I know I'm too weak. Hence, I've been racing against the clock to practice, never daring to slack off."

Murray gave a satisfied nod, gratified that Austin had become the go-getter he once was. He had known for several years that Austin had only one thing in his mind—absolute determination to become stronger. That was the main reason why Austin became the number one among the outer disciples three years ago, and the primary reason due to which Murray appreciated him profusely.

"Is this young man a disciple of our Sun Sect?" asked a sonorous, strong voice.

The speaker was a lean, short old man with unusually sharp eyes. He was Richard Cao, an Elder of the Sun Sect who commanded great respect amongst his peers.

Austin hurried to them, made a humble bow and said in a respectful tone, "Elder Cao, Elder Li, I'm Austin Lin, an outer disciple of Sun Sect.

And this is my friend I met in the area around the Grand Desolation Mountain."

Austin pointed to Fanny and introduced her.

Richard Cao was mildly pleased with Austin's polite and deferential manner. He gave Austin a slight nod in response.

Ordinarily, it was a great honor for the Sun Sect's outer disciples to see him.

As for Elder Li, who dressed up as a Taoist nun, looked as cold as the frost in late autumn, coming across as distant and unapproachable.

She ignored Austin's salute. Apparently, she had no interest in even looking at an outer disciple.

There was also a white-bearded old man in a purple robe, and a middle-aged man with a reddish complexion. They stood beside the other three and chose to remain silent.

Nobody enquired about Fanny. Austin, now 16 or 17 years old, was in his late teens and it was not unusual for him to have a relationship with a girl. After all, adolescent boys and girls always yearned for love.

Murray shot a few quick glances at Fanny without attracting much

stin thought of those mysterious men in black, who set the Soul Collection Array in the valley where the celestial energy ginseng was.

Their purpose was to hunt down all the cultivators in that valley and collect their souls ruthlessly.

Coincidentally, most of those cultivators in the valley were disciples of the five major sects in the Violet Orchid Empire.

"Recently, we've found that those who often attack the disciples of our five major sects may have sneaked into the surrounding area of the Grand Desolation Mountain and tried to attack the disciples practicing here," Murray stated with a dignified look. "That's why we came here."

Austin then realized that these Elders and stewards had appeared together in order to investigate this matter.

He was fifty percent sure that the mysterious black-clad men in that valley were the ones who hurt the disciples of the five major sects. That thought was making him increasingly uneasy.

"Steward Zhu, many unfortunate things have indeed happened in the surrounding area of the Grand Desolation Mountain recently."

Hearing his words, Murray and the other four suddenly rendered their undivided attention to the speaker.

"What do you know, Austin? Tell us honestly," Murray said.

"And take your time."

After a while, Austin revealed the five people about what had happened over the past two days.