Chapter 16 praises, but I don't know what to write.

As the number one sect in the cultivation world, Qingyuan Sect, apart from Tingxue Peak where Fu Yunshu is located, has dozens of elders and thousands of disciples on each of its six remaining peaks.

Song Wenzhuo served as the head of Qingyuanzong for over two hundred years, never daring to slacken his efforts for a single day, always diligent and conscientious in his duties.

However, his energy was limited, and he couldn't interfere in the internal affairs of each peak. Therefore, Song Wenzhuo had never discovered the dirty deeds that some people, represented by Pan Hongru, were doing behind the scenes.

Now that he's been caught, Song Wenzhuo naturally doesn't intend to let it go and must be dealt with properly.

The disciple-acceptance ceremony following the entrance examination will be attended by many elders and disciples of the Qingyuan Sect. That will be the best opportunity to expose Pan Hongru and his associates. The existence of Pan Tianlei, his nephew, will be the most powerful thorn in his side.

Fu Yunshu guessed Song Wenzhuo's plan. He highly recognized the junior's abilities and didn't say much.

It was already late morning, and the previously sparse crowd had become lively, with people gathering in twos and threes to play and joke around.

Pan Tianlei was probably warned by Pan Hongru, because he has been very well-behaved since he appeared today and has not caused any more trouble.

"Look over there!" someone exclaimed.

Everyone looked up and saw a figure riding a sword through the clouds. His figure was as upright as a pine tree, his black robes fluttering in the wind, his nose was high and straight, his eyebrows and eyes were cold and deep, and every feature seemed to contain a sharp and cold aura. It was Gu Zhinan.

Gu Zhinan landed on a rock and calmly surveyed the group of people below. When his eyes met Fu Yunshu's, he nodded slightly as a greeting.

"I am Gu Zhinan." His voice, as cold as ice, was low and deep, carrying a chilling and intimidating force.

A commotion arose from below. Gu Zhinan, the peak master of Sword Peak, was another sword genius of Qingyuan Sect after Immortal Venerable Fu Yunshu. He established his foundation at the age of twelve, formed his core at the age of twenty, and formed his nascent soul at the age of forty. He had already reached the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm when he was over five hundred years old. He was an undisputed genius.

However, the noise quickly subsided; Gu Zhinan's presence was too oppressive. Even without doing or saying anything, his cold expression alone was enough to make people feel suffocated and dare not murmur anymore.

Upon seeing Gu Zhinan like this, Fu Yunshu was momentarily dazed.

Of the six peak masters, besides Song Wenzhuo, Gu Zhinan was another junior he knew somewhat. The two of them entered the sect together back then, and their talent, strength, and other aspects were evenly matched. In the battle against the demon race three hundred years ago, almost all of Song Wenzhuo's master's generation died. The senior brother had no choice but to pass on the position of sect master to his grand-disciple Song Wenzhuo, and appointed Gu Zhinan as the peak master of Sword Peak to assist Song Wenzhuo.

At that time, the two were only a little over two hundred years old and had just reached the Void Realm. The former sect leader had specifically asked Fu Yunshu to take good care of the two juniors.

However, these two were quite capable. Internally, Song Wenzhuo managed all the affairs of the sect in an orderly and flawless manner; externally, Gu Zhinan, at the Void Transformation stage, defeated three Tribulation Transcending stage elders of the Nine Yang Sect, deterring some people who coveted the position of the Qingyuan Sect.

At that time, Gu Zhinan was a renowned genius sword cultivator. Although he was not talkative and was cold to people, he was confident, proud, and spirited at heart.

After a sword duel with Song Wenzhuo, he would smile knowingly; when Ning Xuexi and Wen Xun were playing around in front of him, Gu Zhinan would helplessly try to mediate; when Ye Xiuzhu lacked important refining materials, he would silently go out to find them with his sword on his back; when Du Zhun suddenly had a whim and angered the spirit beasts of Beast Taming Peak, he would rescue him without hesitation.

But now, he is nothing more than a stagnant pool devoid of life.

No wonder Song Wenzhuo still harbors resentment all these years; no one misses the brilliant Gu Zhinan more than he does.

Fu Yunshu sighed inwardly, hoping that the turning point Lu Yanci had mentioned would arrive soon.

"The trial in the secret realm will last for three days," Gu Zhinan waved his hand, and a wooden plaque and a Qiankun bag appeared in front of everyone. "This is a teleportation plaque. If you cannot persevere in the secret realm, break the plaque, and it will teleport you out."

Gu Zhinan lowered his voice slightly, "But breaking the wooden plaque means failing the assessment, so I hope everyone will think it through carefully."

"There are some weapons and pills that you might need in the Qiankun Bag."

"Peak Master Gu," someone asked timidly, "what is our mission?"

"In addition to spending three days safely within the secret realm, each of you must find ten Spirit Gathering Grasses, five Snake Gu Flowers, and one Azure Moon Spirit Fruit; otherwise, you will be considered to have failed the assessment."

Many of the people present were ordinary civilians who had never been exposed to these spiritual flowers and herbs. Gu Zhinan then made a hand seal, and several huge phantoms appeared in front of the crowd.

"Well, can you remember it?" Fu Yunshu looked at Yin Lisheng, who was focused on his work.

"I've got it," Yin Lisheng said earnestly.

"Such a good memory, not bad at all." Fu Yunshu praised without changing his expression.

Yin Lisheng turned her head slightly away from him, her ear tips turning red.

These past few days, Su Yun has been acting like he's possessed by a demon. Even something as simple as pouring him water can earn him several compliments, and he doesn't know how to compliment at all. He just keeps repeating the same few phrases over and over, and I have no idea what he's trying to do.

Fu Yunshu was somewhat disheartened. He had specifically learned about raising children from Song Wenzhuo and the others, and had been providing Yin Lisheng with a lot of emotional support these past few days, hoping to cheer him up. But it seemed that it wasn't very effective.

"Whoosh—"

Gu Zhinan slashed forward with his sword, and suddenly a hole appeared in the air.

"From here you can enter the trial's secret realm. Line up and enter in an orderly manner."

The crowd quickly formed a long queue and obediently entered the venue.

When it was Pan Tianlei's turn, a barrier suddenly appeared at the entrance to the secret realm, blocking his way.

"What happened?" Pan Tianlei's tone was unfriendly, but probably because he had already been reprimanded, his expression wasn't particularly bad.

Gu Zhinan said coldly, "Take down anything that shouldn't be in the Qiankun Bag."

Pan Tianlei, panting heavily, wanted to argue, but his henchmen behind him held him back tightly.

This is Gu Zhinan, not some junior like Yin Simiao. Even if Pan Hongru himself were present, he would never dare to offend him.

Pan Tianlei suppressed his anger and handed over the Qiankun bag.

"This good-for-nothing can't cause any more trouble now that he's handed over the Qiankun Bag. That's great news!" Qiu Nan said gleefully.

Gu Zhinan glanced in their direction, and their eyes met. Qiu Nan was slightly taken aback, but Gu Zhinan quickly looked away.

Fu Yunshu: "Ignore him, he won't be able to keep shouting for long."

After everyone had gone inside, Gu Zhinan put away the secret realm and found a place to meditate.

That person just now... gave me a really strange feeling.

The location for teleporting to the secret realm is randomly assigned. Fu Yunshu opened his eyes and saw a lake with shimmering light.

This secret realm and the previous illusion were both left behind by the patriarch. Fu Yunshu had never been here before, but the most urgent task was to find Yin Lisheng.

A note from the author:

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I uninstalled a bunch of entertainment apps, now I'm going to focus on my three daily tasks and writing [procrastination].