"Elder Ji, it's not that I don't want to become your disciple, it's just..."
Yun Ze looked at him earnestly, gritting his teeth, and cursed, "I have sworn an oath that until my parents' revenge is avenged, I will not slacken for a single day! If I were to become your disciple, I would naturally care for your daily needs. If I were to think of my parents still unable to rest in peace in the underworld, I would surely be restless day and night! Xiao Hanshi killed my entire family and deceived and toyed with me! If I don't cut this villain into a thousand pieces and offer his head to my parents in heaven, how can I have the heart to take a master!"
Elder Ji listened and nodded thoughtfully. Although everything the young man said was true, for some reason, he felt a chill down his spine. Forget it, he was just a young man with considerable talent in swordsmanship. If he couldn't be taken in as a disciple, so be it. There was no need to waste any more effort.
"Elder Ji!"
Seeing Elder Ji remain silent, Yun Ze conceived another plan. He bowed and clasped his hands, "Elder Ji, your cultivation is profound, and you must be able to slay that Xiao Hanshi! If you would be willing to help me get revenge, I..."
"Cough, cough!"
Elder Ji coughed twice, interrupting him, "The extermination of demonic cultivators is the responsibility of the Immortal Mansion. It is not appropriate for us to interfere. This matter is not to be mentioned again!" Killing Xiao Hanshi? What a joke! That person was already an ancestor-level figure hundreds of years ago. My superficial cultivation is only at the Core Condensation stage, and even my true cultivation is far inferior to his! Killing him? Perhaps another thousand years of arduous cultivation would be more like it!
"Little Yun."
Elder Ji withdrew his sword domain and placed his hand on Yun Ze's shoulder. "Congratulations, you are now a member of our Guiwu Sword Sect. Once the other two disciples are chosen, we will depart for the sect. If you have any lingering attachments in the mortal world, go now."
This implied Bu Bu. Once this Immortal Ascension大会 concluded, that person would surely soar to great heights. Building a good relationship now would be forging a good karma. His earlier desire to take Yun Ze as a disciple was also partly motivated by this. That was a Xiu family! One of the behemoths of Zhongxuantian, a force that even the Immortal Mansion had to be wary of! Let alone having a connection with their future young madam, even being distantly related to a steward or servant within their household would be a source of immense honor for one's ancestors!
"Thank you, Elder."
Yun Ze clasped his hands and left, glancing at Yu Xian on the ninth-tier high platform. He didn't know when this fellow had fallen asleep again, currently nodding like a pecking chick while leaning against the wooden board. Forget it, he wouldn't bother with him for now. After all, approaching him now would be too conspicuous. He would discuss his suspicions about Elder Ji later.
Yun Ze strode down from the eighth-tier high platform. Just as he was about to descend, he saw the woman in red walking up from the seventh-tier high platform. It seemed she had also passed. Their eyes met. Yun Ze raised his hand and called out, "Junior Sister, no need to rush. No one is chasing you from behind."
"Thank you! Senior Brother! For your guidance!"
The woman in red gritted her teeth, enunciating each word, wishing she could devour Yun Ze whole, yet she still uttered the words "Senior Brother." Yun Ze's lips curved upwards. Just as he was about to say a few words befitting a senior brother, he saw the woman in red bring her fair and slender hands in front of him.
"What are you doing?"
"Red envelope for changing address!"
The woman in red smiled matter-of-factly, "I've already called you Senior Brother, so if I don't get a red envelope, it would be too stingy! Don't worry, I'm not asking for too much. Eight thousand is not too little, eighty thousand is not too much!"
Eight thousand? You wouldn't be worth eight thousand even if you were sold!
"Cough."
Yun Ze immediately took a step back and smiled, clasping his hands. "Fellow Daoist, you haven't passed the final test yet. Calling me Senior Brother is perhaps a bit premature. You should focus on your efforts!" As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Ze sprinted downwards using his Shadow Chasing technique. This Junior Sister... he didn't need her!
"Hmph, cheapskate!"
The woman in red cursed Yun Ze's retreating back and turned to walk towards Li Shi. Business matters were more important!
Yun Ze ran all the way to the fifth-tier high platform. Upon seeing Chen Xiao, the high platform was already gathering nearly thirty candidates. He pondered for a moment before finally walking up to Chen Xiao. He clasped his hands and apologized!
"Senior Brother Chen, I apologize. I misunderstood you earlier!" This was a necessary step! He had to appear like an idiot, a fool being manipulated by them! Only then could he enter the Guiwu Sword Sect and slowly bide his time! His earlier banter with the woman in red was precisely to pull himself out of his vengeful emotions, ensuring he wouldn't reveal any flaws!
"Ah?"
Chen Xiao looked bewildered, as if he didn't know what Yun Ze was talking about. "Junior Brother Yun, what do you mean?"
"Alas! I... I can't really say!" Yun Ze found it impossible to utter the so-called 'facts' and could only sigh and shake his head. "Senior Brother, you should ask Elder Ji later. He knows everything about this. I... I find it too difficult to speak of!"
Chen Xiao tilted his head, looking even more confused. Yun Ze clasped his hands towards Chen Xiao again and turned to walk to Bu Bu's side. "Bu Bu, let's go down."
"Okay."
Bu Bu didn't say much, simply walking down with Yun Ze. As soon as they descended from the high platform, the elder from the Youzhen Sect darted down and approached Bu Bu with a smile. "Little Ancestor, your brother has also completed his assessment. What shall we do next..."
"No rush."
Bu Bu calmly replied two words. "We two have something to discuss. Come back in half an hour."
"This... half an hour..." Elder Xu's face immediately showed difficulty. After a few moments of thought, "That's fine! But I'll have to guard nearby." He was so afraid Bu Bu would disappear!
Bu Bu frowned slightly and directly said, "Didn't you say you would satisfy all my requests?"
"Of course!"
"Then I want items to expand my Qi Sea, the more the better."
"No problem!" Elder Xu thought this was something Bu Bu needed and turned to look at the Taoist nun on the eighth-tier high platform. "Elder Su, how much stock do you have left? I want it all!"
"Ten one-turn Casting Qi Pills, three three-turn Condensing Qi Pills, and one six-turn Casting Qi Pill. You want them all?"
"All of them! How much spirit stones in total?"
"One turn five thousand, three turns fifty thousand, six turns five hundred thousand, a total of seven hundred thousand spirit stones."
The Taoist nun took out three bottles of pills, tossed them down from the high platform, and they flew directly to the old man. "Payment."
"Deal!"
The old man pulled out a pouch and tossed it to the Taoist nun, then directly handed the three bottles of pills to Bu Bu. "Anything else you need?"
"..."
Bu Bu looked speechless and casually handed the pills to Yun Ze. "Pills like these, give me another set. I want to refine them on the spot!"
"This... Little Ancestor, refining pills is a meticulous task. It's normal to take ten days to half a month for a single furnace. If you want to refine it on the spot, then..."
"Refine on the spot, or leave for an hour. You choose one."
"Hey, wasn't it half an hour?"
"Two hours."
"One hour it is!"
The old man quickly flew towards the high platform, not forgetting to remind Yun Ze, "Little Yun, you must protect your sister. If anything happens to her, you'll be in big trouble!"
Yun Ze rolled his eyes and ignored him. He quite disliked this old man.
"Let's go."
Bu Bu turned and walked towards the outside of the Immortal Ascension大会. "It's too crowded here, not suitable for conversation. Let's talk outside."
"...Okay."