Chapter 20: In the Forbidden Land, Grandmaster Qi Zibo Blows His Beard and Stares...

"What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket? I'm refining pills right now. Be careful, I'll disturb you next time you're drawing a high-level talisman too." Qi Zibo's gaze never left the pill furnace, his spiritual energy constantly controlling the heat.

Elder Yuan was an inner sect talisman cultivator. He had been secretly observing Shi Heming for a long time after listening to Qi Zibo's advice. After observing him, he admired Shi Heming quite a bit. He had planned to get to know him better in the next three days, but he hadn't seen him for two and a half days!

"Do you know where those two went?" Elder Yuan asked angrily as he casually sat down.

Qi Zibo seized the opportunity and added another medicinal herb to the alchemy furnace. "I don't know, but I'm still an outer disciple and haven't left the sect."

Elder Yuan: "I heard they all know you've taken on a disciple?" They were naturally referring to the elders.

Qi Zibo: "Hmm."

Elder Yuan's expression instantly turned anxious. "Oh no! I have to hurry and take Shi Heming as my disciple, lest someone else strike first."

As Qi Zibo watched Elder Yuan's departing figure, he couldn't help but wonder, "Are there so many people taking on disciples this year? In previous years, it wasn't common for elders to take on disciples."

One disciple from the outer sect was accepted as a personal disciple by an elder, and the inner sect, including Shi Heming, has three new disciples this year.

Judging from Elder Yuan's words, could it be that other elders want to take on disciples?

Qi Zibo: "This year is going to be lively."

Inside the bamboo hut, the gate to Shi Heming's courtyard was knocked on.

Shi Heming thought it was Song Yin who had arrived, so he quickly put down what he was doing and went to open the door.

A young, unfamiliar man stood outside the door, his hair meticulously combed back.

Once Elder Yuan sheds his unremarkable disguise, he stands out in the crowd with his extraordinary bearing, instantly recognizable.

Shi Heming: "Who are you?"

Elder Yuan immediately revealed his elder's badge, "I am an elder of the Dao Asking Peak."

Shi Heming and Qi Zibo had known each other for a long time and had seen the elders' identification badges.

He had heard Song Yin mention Wen Dao Peak; it was one of the six inner peaks, and all the disciples and elders of Wen Dao Peak had always been talisman cultivators.

Shi Heming was very clever; he immediately understood what was about to happen.

"Greetings, Elder. Please come in."

Elder Yuan stepped into the courtyard.

The gate to Shi Heming's courtyard was closed, and no one knew that a new disciple had become an inner disciple in this simple courtyard of the bamboo hut.

Song Yin next door was still wondering when her master would return. She had knocked on the door earlier, but no one answered. Qi Zibo would always stage a disappearance every few days, and Song Yin didn't mind. But things were different now; she hadn't yet undergone the formal apprenticeship ceremony.

Sister Yuan said that after becoming an apprentice, you can eat your master's spirit stones, which is also a good opportunity to test his limits. Perfect!

After Qi Zibo finished refining the pills, he went to his Daoist partner's place, then handed the pills over to the sect. Only after finishing his business did he slowly return to the bamboo hut.

He wanted to take Song Yin to the inner sect, so he went directly to the bamboo hut and knocked on the gate of Song Yin's courtyard.

"Master, I'm so glad to finally see you! What have you been up to these past few days?" Song Yin thought to herself, "Heaven is on my side!"

Qi Zibo: "Alchemy. Today I'll take you to the inner sect to offer incense to our Danque Peak's founder, and then we'll make a soul lamp for you. That way, your future safety can be assessed using the soul lamp."

Qi Zibo's words interrupted Song Yin's apprenticeship ceremony, and her attention was completely drawn to the inner sect. By the time she realized what was happening, she was already at Danque Peak in the inner sect.

The six floating islands of the inner sect are located at the back and are very high, protected by an array, so they are not visible from the outer sect, only appearing as blurry shadows.

Danque Peak was deserted, unlike Lingdan Peak, which had many other disciples.

"Is there no one on Danque Peak?" Song Yin couldn't help but ask.

Qi Zibo: "I didn't recruit any inner sect alchemy disciples to Danque Peak because I found it troublesome. I personally teach alchemy at the inner sect academy on weekdays, so whether Danque Peak recruits people or not doesn't matter."

Managing a peak is troublesome enough as it is; if a bunch of people are hired, it will be even more difficult. If he wastes his time on mundane matters, how can he possibly devote himself to the Dao of Alchemy?

Xin Huailiang of Lingdan Peak was strict in managing his disciples, but in the end, with so many people, it was difficult to attend to everyone, which led to the incident involving the Diling Pill.

The founder of Danque Peak did not leave behind a portrait of his face, only a back view. In the painting, the man stands at the highest point of Danque Peak, looking down at the Xianxiao Sect in front of him. Judging from the picture, the Xianxiao Sect did not have as many floating islands as it does now, and the Xianxiao Sect in the picture is probably what it looked like when it was first established.

Following Qi Zibo's instructions, Song Yin offered incense and kowtowed.

Qi Zibo remotely retrieved a drop of Song Yin's essence blood, which he then refined and integrated into the Soul Lamp.

The soul lamp will be lit automatically after completion.

Just then, a paper crane flew in from outside the door. Qi Zibo reached out his hand, and the paper crane flew into his palm.

Song Yin did not hear the sound from the paper crane.

Song Yin saw that there were three soul lamps in front of her, including her own.

Why are there three?

Upon hearing the news, Qi Zibo's paper cranes automatically turned to ashes. Hearing Song Yin's question, he pointed to the soul lamps one by one: "Yours, mine, and your master's."

"Grandmaster?" Song Yin was taken aback. Wasn't her grandmaster Qi Zibo's master?

Qi Zibo: "Ordinary people in the Immortal Cloud Sect know that the inner sect consists of six peaks, but there is actually a hidden forbidden area. In the forbidden area, there are seniors at the Integration Stage, Tribulation Transcending Stage, and Mahayana Stage. Once their cultivation reaches a certain level, they can resign from their affairs and enter the forbidden area to cultivate in seclusion, comprehend the Dao, and ascend to immortality."

“My master, who is also your grandmaster, is currently at the early stage of Mahayana cultivation. The paper crane just now was her telepathic message, telling me to take you to the forbidden area so she can meet you in person.”

Song Yin: "Mahayana, Mahayana, Mahayana period?" She swallowed hard and was startled again.

Now that she has some understanding of the cultivation world, she naturally knows what the Mahayana stage represents. She is currently in the Qi Refining stage, which is on the ground level of cultivation; her grandmaster is in the Mahayana stage, which is at the ceiling of cultivation.

Song Yin was in a daze. This world is truly amazing. I've learned so much! Haha...

Qi Zibo took Song Yin to the forbidden area, but the forbidden area was hidden. All six peaks of the inner sect have teleportation arrays to the forbidden area, but these arrays are not activated with spirit stones, but with specific tokens.

Upon arriving at the forbidden area, Song Yin was awestruck by the even denser spiritual energy. It was likely that no other place in the entire Immortal Firmament Sect could boast such a richer and purer spiritual energy!

"Oh, it's Shanyuan. Are you here to see your master?" The kind-faced old man greeted him with a smile.

Qi Zibo bowed and said, "Greetings, Uncle Master. I was summoned by my master to take on this disciple and bring my little apprentice to let her meet our grandmaster."

Song Yin quickly followed Qi Zibo in bowing.

She felt that this person was unfathomable, but he meant her no harm.

The old man continued with a smile, "This is a joyous occasion! What's the little one's name? How old are you? What kind of spiritual root do you have?"

Song Yin: "Replying to senior, my name is Song Yin. I am seven years old this year and have a wood spirit root."

The old man's eyes seemed to see through everything. He casually glanced at Song Yin a few times and asked, "How did you obtain your Pure Spirit Body?"

There's no shortage of people in the world who would spend their entire fortunes and use every method to acquire a spiritual body. To possess a pure spiritual body at such a young age likely means one has a powerful family behind them. However, inner disciples are only accepted from family members under special circumstances.

Qi Zibo saw through the other party's thoughts and immediately explained: "Uncle-Master, Song Yin comes from a farming family in the mortal realm. The night before her spiritual root was detected, her whole family was killed by bandits. She was not at home that night and thus escaped the calamity."

"As for the Purifying Spirit Body, it was an accident. Lingdan Peak mixed the Cleansing Spirit Pill into the Bigu Pill, which she bought at Wanbaolou and accidentally ate. Then..." Qi Zibo paused, feeling that the matter was really absurd, and said with an indescribable expression, "Then she had diarrhea for three days and awakened the Purifying Spirit Body."

The old man was initially pleased with Song Yin's background, but his lips twitched at the end.

There is no fixed method for awakening a spirit. He has lived for thousands of years and this is the first time he has learned that dying from an explosion caused by taking the wrong elixir can turn into having diarrhea for three days and then awakening a pure spirit.

He couldn't help but raise his hand to calculate on the spot, and soon his gaze towards Song Yin turned to kindness and affection. "This child is good. You have gained a good disciple. Quickly take her to show Junior Sister Lou. Remember to go to Xuanji Peak when you get back. Since it was Su Xiu who calculated your master-disciple relationship with Song Yin, it would be better for her to tell you."

The old man took out a jade bracelet and handed it to Song Yin, saying, "Good child, consider this my gift to you."

Song Yin was flattered, though she didn't know why the old man had suddenly changed his attitude and become so kind to her. She accepted the gift with both hands, saying, "Thank you, senior."

The old man said, "Good child, from now on, the Immortal Cloud Sect will be your home, and your master and the others will be your closest family."

After watching the old man leave, Song Yin and the others continued walking inside.

Although it is called a forbidden area, this place is actually a fairyland, with clouds and mist making the distant scenery appear and disappear. The mountains and rivers are beautiful and the scenery is picturesque, clearly an excellent paradise.

When we arrived at a house, the door opened naturally.

Behind the door stood a female cultivator with an ethereal, otherworldly air, her long, jet-black hair casually tied up. She held a spiritual herb that Song Yin didn't recognize to her nose and sniffed it lightly. Other spiritual herbs floated in front of her, neatly arranged one by one.

"Come in."

Qi Zibo: "Master."

Song Yin immediately followed up with a greeting: "Song Yin greets Grandmaster."

The grandmaster turned around and saw Qi Zibo, who was stunned. "What's wrong with you?"

Qi Zibo stroked his beard with satisfaction, "This is what it looked like when my master accepted me as his disciple."

The grandmaster was speechless, then beckoned to Song Yin, "Come here and let me take a closer look."

Song Yin obediently stepped forward and took the opportunity to carefully examine her grandmaster.

Compared to his master, who looked incredibly young and appeared to be in his early twenties, the middle-aged man Qi Zibo looked more like the master.

Grandmaster: "I've heard everything about your situation from Qi Zibo. The deceased cannot be resurrected, but you can cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage and then return to the mortal realm to take revenge."

There is a time limit for leaving a sect during the Qi Refining stage, but there is no time limit for leaving a sect during the Foundation Establishment stage.

Song Yin was slightly distracted. She probably wouldn't seek revenge. It seemed that her grandmaster didn't know that she had a bad relationship with the Song family. A little bit of guilt flashed through her mind.

The grandmaster, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed Song Yin's guilty conscience. A thought flashed through her mind: could there be something she didn't know? Qi Zibo had been obsessed with alchemy since childhood. Apart from alchemy, he didn't care much about anything else, so naturally he wouldn't pay special attention to the details of small matters.

Grandmaster: "Are you hiding something?"

Qi Zibo looked at Song Yin.

Song Yin was startled, but quickly regained her senses and shook her head in denial. Under the gaze of her Mahayana Grandmaster, Song Yin shrank back and whispered, "It's nothing serious, it's just that I don't get along with the Song family, and I won't avenge them."

Grandmaster: "From what you're saying, it seems it's not just that you don't get along with them, but that you harbor hatred towards them?"

Wow, a Mahayana stage cultivator, that's terrifying!

Song Yin dared not hide anything and poured out her experience and attitude all at once.

After listening, the grandmaster patted Song Yin's hair with emotion, "You've finally overcome your hardships."

Only Qi Zibo stood to the side, bristling and glaring.

He felt a pang of conscience back then, and would even stop cultivating to think, "What does it matter if I deserve to die!"

A note from the author:

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Qi Zibo: Give me back the sympathy I showed you back then! [Angry]

Song Yin: Master, you didn't ask me back then! [Pity][Sunglasses]

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[Empty bowl]