In the large open courtyard, the weirdest event of the year was proceeding without a care for the audience present.
"Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones!" the Third Elder raised his hand.
"Eleven thousand low-grade spirit stones and a full year of commission waiver on the pills made for you for the next two years!" The Fourth Elder also didn't hold back.
"Twelve thousand low-grade spirit stones and a special custom-made artifact set after reaching Foundation Establishment!" the Sixth Elder chimed from the side.
Looking at the others trying to snatch his disciple, whom he thought rightfully belonged to him, the First Elder was utterly livid and wanted nothing more than to beat them all up. But considering his personal strength, he could only join in and bet with the others. He was not like the Sect Master who could wipe the floor with them at a moment's notice. "Two hundred mid-grade spirit stones," he announced with gritted teeth. That was his personal savings for the whole decade.
A deafening silence fell over the courtyard. Seeing that the Second Elder wanted to say something, the First Elder once again raised the bet. "Three hundred mid-grade spirit stones," he declared, making the Second Elder pause for a moment. But again, the Second Elder tried to speak, and the First Elder raised the bet to shut him up. "Four hundred mid-grade spirit stones."
A vein started to bulge at the temples of the Second Elder. This time, without waiting for the First Elder to finish his words, he snapped, "Give me back my fifty spirit stones!"
The elders and the disciples suddenly focused their gaze on the First Elder, who had just finished the words, "...stones." The First Elder was confused at first, then remembered that he had borrowed some spirit stones from the Second Elder a few years ago with a promise to pay them back in the future. He had simply forgotten to return them until now. But then a new thought hit him, and he looked at Tian Yao, who stared back and raised her right hand, spreading her five fingers. He had badly messed up this time.
The Fourth Elder chuckled from the side. "The First Elder's love for this disciple… is truly palpable. Using five hundred mid-grade spirit stones to retrieve her, I can only turn around and appreciate it from afar."
The Fifth and Sixth Elders, who were both females, brought their hands close to their mouths, covering their smiles. But the Third Elder smiled openly, looking at the dumbfounded expression on the First Elder's face and the stern look of the Second Elder. Old Second has played his move really well this time, he thought.
The soon-to-be-poor First Elder could only bring his hand to his storage ring and produce fifty shining crystals. Even those who had not yet begun their cultivation could feel their bodies being rejuvenated just by being in their presence. The Second Elder grudgingly accepted them and stored them away in his own storage ring.
Then the First Elder brought out another spare ring, storing five hundred mid-grade spirit stones inside it. Those were roughly equivalent to fifty thousand low-grade ones. He gave the ring to his unworthy disciple. This disciple even refused to call him Master and only insisted on being a student, not even a formal disciple. But with her talent, he could only cling to her thigh and assent to her demands.
After the initial commotion, the following process went smoothly. The two grandsons of the Grand Elder joined the Sword Peak, led by the Second Elder. Lingling had thoughts of pulling off something like Tian Yao, but her face was easily read by the Elders, who gave her a slight smile, which easily destroyed her small willpower, and she obediently joined the Artifact Refining Peak, led by the cheerful Sixth Elder.
Then came Rong Ning's turn, who joined the Yin Peak under the Fifth Elder. And Gu Yichen, who joined the Array Refinement Peak of the Third Elder. Gu Da followed behind his Young Master. Slowly, everyone else also joined one peak or another. Tieshan joined the First Peak, which was called the Peak of Combat, led by the now-impoverished First Elder.
At last, it was Xiaomeng's turn, and she was contemplating which peak to join. She already had quite good knowledge of pill refinement and was nearing her threshold to enter a new realm, that of a fourth-grade alchemist. She also had basic array refinement and artifact refinement knowledge taught by her parents. Her body was also being trained by her special method and would soon undergo a metamorphosis, becoming very strong, so selecting a battle-oriented peak was also not a problem.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a voice transmission. "Little one, join my peak. Although not as much, I will also give you a thousand low-grade spirit stones and a top-grade Foundation Establishment pill." This was the only push she needed. Quickly raising her sparkling eyes, she gave the Fourth Elder a deep bow. "Elder, please accept me."
The Fourth Elder showed an uninterested expression and said in a nuanced voice, "Although your talent is lacking, since you have decided to join my Pill Refinement Hall, I will take good care of you."
The other Elders snickered at his words. Was he starting to lose his memory as he got older? Their cultivation was greater than or equal to his, so even if they didn't know the contents of the transmission, they could at least determine that one had been sent and had a good grasp of what had been said. But in order to preserve the Fourth Elder's face after finally getting at least one new disciple, they kept quiet, at least externally.
"Old Third, how much did you think he offered?" the Second Elder transmitted to the Third Elder.
"Should be at least five thousand," the Third Elder transmitted back. "Our initiation itself is two thousand. He wouldn't go lower than that," he concluded. Other such discussions continued between them.
Unbeknownst to them, the Fourth Elder had already fooled the unsuspecting girl. Since she was unconscious for three days, Xiaomeng didn't interact much with older disciples like others did and didn't know many implicit things.
After the selection was over, everyone started to take their peak members back. But even after everyone left, a single faint presence still lingered. "Did they once again forget about me?" Zhao Feng's words spilled out of his mouth, but there was nobody around to listen.
Xiaomeng's vision spun, and she found herself back in the same courtyard from this morning. Senior Sister Lan was sitting there meditating. Feeling the changes in the air, her closed eyes shot open. She quickly got up and bowed to the Fourth Elder beside Xiaomeng. "Greetings, Hall Master."
The Fourth Elder nodded at this and said, "No need for formalities. This child will be a member of our Pill Refinement Hall going ahead. She will be under your care. Lead her properly." Completing the instructions, he disappeared again, leaving the two girls alone. That day, Senior Sister Lan gave Xiaomeng a tour of the Alchemy Peak.
It was divided into several parts and made up of multiple halls, with the most renowned being the Pill Refinement Hall and the Medical Hall. By the time night fell, Xiaomeng's feet were aching from all the walking. Her quarters were the same ones she had used this morning. Going inside, she jumped onto the bed and, within a few moments, fell into dreamland.
That night, in a dark cultivation abode, Lu Wancheng sat cross-legged, with his eyes closed. His divine sense spread over the whole sect. After observing no anomalies, he slowly called out, "Was this your doing?"
He was sitting there alone, nobody else present around him. For some time, there was no sound. Then, a mature female voice replied timidly, "Not all."
Lu Wancheng sneered at these words. "So you mean 'not all,' but most, right?" His words asked a question, but his voice indicated that he already knew the answer. There was again silence for some time.
"Did you bite your tongue?" Lu Wancheng mocked. This time, there was finally a reply. "I wouldn't have to do it if that thing of yours didn't break midway."
"Now you want to blame this poor System?" Suddenly, several beeping sounds filled Lu Wancheng's ears, and a green screen appeared in front of his eyes. The only thing written across the screen, covering its whole surface, was: ERROR.
Damn it! Lu Wancheng cursed in his mind.
"See, it's still not working," the voice spoke.
"Stop spying through my eyes," Lu Wancheng retorted.
"Well, that is the only method I can use to properly see it," the voice said, taking a defensive tone.
"Well, fine then." Lu Wancheng let out a sigh of accumulated frustrations. "What exactly are you plotting this time? After saving my life last time, you must have already exhausted most of your energy. If you push too hard, you may fall asleep again, and I would already be a skeleton in a closet by the time you wake up next time."
The voice went silent for some time and then replied in a serious tone, "I had a very bad premonition. I was dying, and everyone in the world was also dying with me. I didn't see who it was or why it was happening. Most likely, a strong cultivator concealed the Heavenly Secrets to prevent others from peeking at them. If it were not a matter of life and death, then even I would have been fooled and ignored it completely till the end."
This time, it was Lu Wancheng's turn to go silent. His gaze went to the ERROR message flashing before his eyes.
Just a century earlier, this thing had been working properly and would have helped him chart a way to the upper realm. But one day, it suddenly started to show an error and stopped working altogether. Even its basic functions were locked and inaccessible. He was already the strongest cultivator in this world during that time, so he didn't face any immediate problems. But his way to the higher realms was essentially cut off, and now he was stranded here.
"You don't have to worry too much," the voice spoke. "Even if enemies invade, they will not be too strong, or else their power will be detected by the upper realm, and some people may come to examine. It would also be a good chance for us to get back in contact with them."
Lu Wancheng dismissed the system, and the screen in front of him vanished. He didn't say anything further. Closing his eyes, he continued his cultivation.
The voice representing the will of the world also went silent.
It was a peaceful night for some and not so for others.
It was still some time before midnight. The First Elder made his way to the main courtyard of his residence, carrying a jade jar in his hand. Tian Yao was sitting on a stone bench with the dress around her legs pulled up. She was lightly applying medicinal ointment to the swollen crimson bruise on her left leg.
The First Elder went near her and extended the jade jar. "I got it made from the Fourth Elder just today. This ointment is better for healing external injuries."
Tian Yao looked at him and unceremoniously took the jade jar. Opening its lid, a stronger medicinal smell wafted out. Dipping her fingers inside, she took some out. It had a glossy green sheen and felt cold to the touch. She lightly applied it to her injury and felt a cold feeling wash over it, rapidly relieving the pain.
"Does it still hurt?" the First Elder asked from the side while looking at the swollen red bump.
Tian Yao just nodded her head in reply. "Then why don't you react?" he continued. From the time he had met this girl, he had never been able to get much reaction out of her.
Even after breaking her leg while kicking the senior cultivator during the test some days ago, there was no visible reaction from her. At first, when he saw the injury, he had taken a deep breath due to its severity. Only after fixing the splintered bone, did it look a lot better.
"It doesn't help," Tian Yao replied to his question in an expressionless voice while applying the new ointment. "You have to bear the pain no matter what. Reacting doesn't reduce it at all. So, there is no need to react."
The First Elder let out a soft sigh at this reply. After applying the ointment, Tian Yao started to go back to her room. The First Elder just looked at the small girl walking with firm strides. No sign of the injury she was hiding.
Tian Yao suddenly stopped and looked back. "I will pay for the ointment later," she said before continuing.
That is all my money that you have! he shouted in his mind. All sympathy he felt for the girl vanished in an instant.