"Fellow Daoist Zhenru, have you been quite content with your stay these past few days?"
After Zhenru returned from the Collection Peak, the Qingxuan Sect leader was busy with other matters, so the two did not meet immediately.
Today, when I saw the Qingxuan Sect Master again, he wasn't alone, but with others, including Qin Yue.
Qin Yue had just emerged from seclusion when he heard that the sect leader had met Zhenru, and he was quite anxious.
He brought Zhenru back with him, and he knew that the sect wanted to see Zhenru, but the feeling Zhenru got from his presence was completely different from when he wasn't there.
His failure to introduce Zhenru and instead simply handing her over to the sect was extremely impolite and disrespectful to his friend.
Qin Yue originally wanted to apologize to Zhenru first, but the sect didn't give him any time at all. As soon as he came out of seclusion, he was taken to the sect master's hall by a group of people.
Just as everyone was seated, the sect leader directly called out Zhenru's name, making Qin Yue even more embarrassed. He quickly looked at Zhenru with an apologetic smile and took over the conversation:
"My senior brother, the sect leader, is really biased. As soon as he sees Fellow Daoist Zhenru, I'm worthless."
The Qingxuan Sect Master naturally understood that behind Qin Yue's joking remarks lay his dissatisfaction with his unauthorized meeting with Zhenru. He did not explain, but only looked at Zhenru.
Having visited the Classical Peak, Zhenru no longer cared about these trivial matters and said calmly:
"Thank you for your trouble, Sect Master. Everything is very well done. However, if I have damaged the Qingxuan Dao Sect's scriptures, I should apologize to you."
The Qingxuan Sect Master's face remained completely expressionless; his smile even widened, as if he were secretly hoping for the destruction to happen. He waved his hand with a grin and said:
"It's nothing, just a small matter. The Qingxuan Dao Sect values you as a friend, so it's only right that we help each other."
The Qingxuan Sect Master stopped there, indicating that the important matters to be discussed should be postponed until another time.
Zhenru wasn't in a hurry. She smiled and nodded, then quietly picked up her teacup and began to drink.
The rest of the time was spent on polite social interactions.
Qin Yue introduced Zhenru and his group to the Qingxuan Sect Master one by one. After exchanging pleasantries, the Qingxuan Sect Master invited Zhenru and his group to become guest elders of the Qingxuan Dao Sect.
Zhenru had already told them about this via telepathy on the way here.
However, if it is true, the Qingxuan Sect Master may extend this invitation, and whether or not one accepts it is entirely up to them.
After inquiring with Zhenru and receiving a positive response, the others all indicated that they would accept the invitation if the Qingxuan Sect Master truly extended one.
Although they had already made this guess, everyone was still somewhat surprised when the Qingxuan Sect Master actually extended the invitation, just as Zhenru had guessed. As they accepted, they all glanced at Zhenru.
Including Lei Wuxin and Jianxing Zhenren.
The Qingxuan Sect Master, seated at the head of the table, observed all of this. A smile appeared in his lowered eyes as he pretended to take a sip of tea before speaking again.
"Qingxuan Dao Sect welcomes all of you talented individuals for your temporary joining. The relevant disciples of the sect will assist you with the following matters."
After saying that, he winked at Qin Yue, then turned his gaze to Zhenru and said:
"Please let Junior Brother Qin handle Fellow Daoist Zhenru's formalities. I have a couple of things I'd like to say to Fellow Daoist Zhenru, is that alright?"
Zhenru nodded naturally.
Before leaving, Qin Yue gave Zhenru several meaningful glances. Only after receiving a reassuring look from Zhenru and seeing that she seemed genuinely pleased did he lead his people away.
"Junior Brother Qin is quite protective of Fellow Daoist Zhenru."
Watching everyone walk away, the Qingxuan Sect Master spoke with a joking tone.
Zhenru also replied jokingly:
"Fellow Daoist Qin is open-minded and sincere; he is a friend worth making."
He wasn't as open and honest as he seemed; he was just engaging in witty banter with the Qingxuan Sect leader, as he claimed.
The Qingxuan Sect Master didn't care about the verbal exchanges, and just smiled kindly before getting down to business with Zhenru.
“I have been to the Collection Peak. Since Fellow Daoist Zhenru has already seen the items, he should have a good idea of what they are.”
Zhenru neither nodded nor shook her head, but instead casually looked at the Qingxuan Sect Master and said:
"Not really. I have a pretty good idea of what the Qingxuan Dao Sect wants me to see, but I'm quite uneasy about what they're planning to do."
The Qingxuan Sect Master nodded, no longer smiling. His usually smiling round eyes now held a rare seriousness as he said:
"I don't want to beat around the bush with Fellow Daoist Zhenru, so I'll just say what I have to say."
Seeing that Zhenru remained unmoved, the Qingxuan Sect Master continued speaking directly.
"Fellow Daoist Zhenru should be able to see that the one who can make the decision on this matter is not me, but the entire Qingxuan Dao Sect."
"Actually, I have no idea what Fellow Daoist Zhenru saw on the Collection Peak... or rather, not two people in the Qingxuan Dao Sect know."
Zhenru's eyes turned serious, and her back straightened even more.
It wasn't because she heard any incredible information, but because she hated dealing with those top-tier ancestors.
This reminded her of those old things in the Sunrise Realm.
But this was unavoidable; her solemn attitude and upright posture could only represent a change in her emotions.
The Qingxuan Sect Master, unaware of the underlying meaning, assumed that Zhenru was finally adopting a serious attitude, so he spoke even more sincerely.
"My instructions were to tell Fellow Daoist Zhenru that the Qingxuan Dao Sect would assist Fellow Daoist Zhenru in finding the whereabouts of the remaining Golden Crow essence blood and would do its utmost to help Fellow Daoist Zhenru fully activate the Golden Crow bloodline."
"In addition, the sect's patriarch will do everything in his power to provide protection for Fellow Daoist Zhenru—there is something Fellow Daoist Zhenru may not know, your enemies have been making preparations in the lower realm for a long time."
"My enemy?"
Zhenru repeated herself, then realized that the "enemy" the Qingxuan Sect Master was referring to must be the enemy of the Golden Crow God Clan, the one who prevented the Golden Crow God Clan from reviving.
Zhenru raised her eyebrows; she was certain that what the Qingxuan Sect Master said about not knowing what she saw on the Collection Peak was very likely true.
The Qingxuan Sect Master's words clearly implied that he believed Zhenru was a descendant of the Golden Crow God Clan.
If Zhenru did not deny this identity, even if her guess was wrong, the result would be the same for her.
Leaving that aside, what is even more important from what the other party said is that the Divine Realm, or rather the Upper Realm that received the Divine Realm's orders, is still hunting down the Golden Crow God Clan.
However, it seems that Zhenru did not feel this at all in the Sun Realm.
The only ones in the Sun Realm who oppose her are Liu Yunzhao and the remnant soul within Liu Yunzhao's body.
However, based on past experiences, it is almost certain that the remnant soul was driven by greed and merely wanted to absorb the fortune of the Sun Realm, a realm on the verge of annihilation, rather than hunting down anyone.
"But so far, I haven't felt any pursuit from the upper realm."
If Zhenru had thought of this, she would have spoken directly to the Qingxuan Sect Master.
The Qingxuan Sect Master was not surprised at all, and explained to Zhenru with a smile:
"You did ask about this, and there's a reason for that."
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