Chapter 882: Carefree

At this moment, a faint sigh suddenly echoed through the main hall, followed by an unfamiliar, deep male voice saying, "Junior Brother Chen, Daoist Hua Yang has come from afar as a guest; you must not be rude."

Silence fell over the hall.

The cultivator surnamed Chen reined in his anger. "Senior Brother Sect Master, you've returned."

Old Daoist Hua Yang subtly raised his head. Facing the master of Misty Smoke Pavilion, he dared not show any disrespect, unlike how he had treated the cultivator surnamed Chen, given the master's status. The old Daoist bowed towards the empty space. "This old Daoist visited Misty Smoke Pavilion intending to discuss some matters with Daoist Qi, but unexpectedly, Daoist Qi was not present..."

"I was out attending to something important and have just returned to the mountain gate. As I am currently preoccupied with urgent matters, it is inconvenient for me to appear before Daoist Hua Yang. I hope you will not take offense."

The speaker was indeed Pavilion Master Qi of Misty Smoke Pavilion. He spoke in a casual tone, as if unaware of what had just transpired, conversing like old friends. The avatar stood with its hands clasped, appearing honest and dutiful. Inside the Sea of Qi, the Heaven-Eye Butterfly was also perfectly still, concealed and not daring to move. This individual was a renowned master from Landou Island, nearing the Nascent Soul stage, with a cultivation level even higher than Xiang Yi's. Fortunately, the Heaven-Eye Butterfly's second transformation could evade the perception of Golden Core cultivators. Now, as long as they remained cautious, there was no need to worry about being discovered. Furthermore, as long as the avatar did not stand beside Qin Sang, it would not be easily recognized.

Old Daoist Hua Yang quickly said, "This old Daoist's visit was presumptuous; how could I possibly blame Daoist Qi? You must have some idea about the matter I was discussing earlier with Junior Brother Chen, correct? This old Daoist is not a wicked person who seizes things by force; it is truly due to compelling circumstances. Of course, we would not let Daoist friends suffer a loss for nothing. If there are truly suitable disciples, we will offer ample compensation to your esteemed pavilion..."

Pavilion Master Qi gave a relaxed smile. "Misty Smoke Pavilion and Landou Sect are fundamentally one entity. Why speak of compensation? It's merely a few disciples; they can cultivate anywhere." The implication was that he seemed to agree to Old Daoist Hua Yang's request, and without any conditions. This secretly surprised Old Daoist Hua Yang; he had not expected Pavilion Master Qi to be so agreeable. Although Pavilion Master Qi had almost repeated his own words, with a hint of hidden sarcasm, Old Daoist Hua Yang could only pretend not to notice.

"Senior Brother!" The cultivator surnamed Chen was extremely displeased, having not expected the Pavilion Master to speak that way.

Old Daoist Hua Yang turned sideways and cupped his hands toward the cultivator surnamed Chen. "This old Daoist was rather offensive earlier; I hope Junior Brother will not take it to heart. Junior Brother also knows that our Yin-Yang lineage has almost draconian requirements for disciples; good talent alone is not necessarily sufficient. Among these disciples, it's possible that none of them will meet our criteria."

"Or perhaps you'll sweep them all away!" The cultivator surnamed Chen's face was filled with mockery.

"Junior Brother Chen..." Pavilion Master Qi called out to him, having secretly conveyed something. The cultivator surnamed Chen, his face flushed with anger, let out a cold huff but said no more, immediately turning and sweeping his sleeve as he departed.

"Wait!" Just then, Old Daoist Hua Yang suddenly appeared before the cultivator surnamed Chen, blocking his path, and pointed to Fang Ting behind him. "This young lady is also a newly admitted disciple, isn't she? Why not let her try the Yin-Yang Disk as well..."

"How dare you!" The cultivator surnamed Chen was already barely suppressing his rage. Seeing Old Daoist Hua Yang set his sights on Fang Ting, he was consumed by fury, disregarding even the ancestral hall's rules, and immediately drew his saber to strike. The saber, like autumn water, unleashed a swift, cold flash of light directly at the old Daoist's face. Old Daoist Hua Yang seemed prepared. He flicked his whisk, sending out countless white threads. His cultivation was a level higher than the cultivator surnamed Chen's, and he showed no fear.

The other people in the main hall had not yet reacted. Just at this moment, dense runes suddenly appeared on the walls of the main hall. Immediately afterward, the space inexplicably tightened, causing the saber light to vanish into thin air. At the same time, all the threads shot from the whisk also dissipated, returning to their original state.

"Enough! Junior Brother Chen, have you forgotten the ancestral teaching that forbids the reckless use of weapons within the ancestral hall? If you dare defy the ancestral teaching again, I will impose family discipline upon you!" Then, Pavilion Master Qi coldly said to Old Daoist Hua Yang, "Daoist Hua Yang, although my Misty Smoke Pavilion is a small sect, we do not permit anyone to insult our rules."

"This old Daoist was reckless." Old Daoist Hua Yang offered no explanation, merely looking at Fang Ting. "This old Daoist was simply overcome with joy at seeing the young lady's innate spiritual grace, which caused me to lose my composure."

Pavilion Master Qi sighed. "This girl's talent is indeed excellent, but she has already been accepted as a personal disciple by Junior Brother Chen, so she cannot be given to Daoist Hua Yang."

"Oh?" Old Daoist Hua Yang was still unwilling to give up. "I see no Misty Smoke Pavilion token on the young lady. She must be a new disciple who has just joined and hasn't yet had the chance to take a master, correct?"

The cultivator surnamed Chen, suppressed by the power of the ancestral hall, could not speak, his face flushed red with suppressed anger.

"Young lady, you must know about Landou Sect, right? If you join our lineage, not only will our Yin-Yang branch fully cultivate you, but if you encounter any obstacles in your future cultivation, you can also ask the Sect Master to personally guide you. The power of a Nascent Soul Grandmaster is unfathomable; this is an opportunity countless cultivators dream of..." Old Daoist Hua Yang ignored the cultivator surnamed Chen and patiently tried to persuade Fang Ting. Fang Ting had never experienced anything like this before and was completely flustered.

Pavilion Master Qi spoke unhurriedly, "I'm afraid Daoist Hua Yang will be disappointed. Fang Ting has been guided by Junior Brother Chen since childhood and has already formally acknowledged him as her master. Junior Brother Chen merely wished to temper her character, which is why he allowed her to come to Misty Smoke Pavilion alone to participate in this grand ceremony." Fang Ting finally reacted and quickly declared, "This disciple will obey her master."

"So that's how it is." Old Daoist Hua Yang displayed a look of regret. His discerning eye had quickly perceived that while others were merely mediocre, only Fang Ting was exceptional, no less talented than the top disciples previously accepted by Landou Sect. He had come to Misty Smoke Pavilion personally to 'snatch' disciples, even at the risk of losing face, precisely because he sought new disciples with exceptional talent like Fang Ting. The others, meanwhile, felt pity for Fang Ting. That was a Nascent Soul Grandmaster! What immense good fortune it would be to receive guidance from a Nascent Soul Grandmaster, yet the young girl had foolishly missed such an opportunity.

The avatar, however, felt that the young girl's choice might not necessarily be a bad thing. While Landou Sect was powerful and had abundant resources, competition there was also fiercer. How much effort the Yin-Yang lineage would truly invest in her remained an unknown. The so-called guidance from a Nascent Soul Grandmaster, while sounding wonderful, was merely an empty promise. When he was at Shaohua Mountain, before reaching the Golden Core stage, Qin Sang had never even met a Nascent Soul Grandmaster. Only top-tier individuals like Qiu Mubai could truly capture a Nascent Soul Grandmaster's attention and have significant effort expended on them. Through his cultivation journey to date, Qin Sang had long since come to a clear realization. Low-level cultivators faced their own difficulties, and Nascent Soul Grandmasters were similarly not free from concerns. Not to mention that the overall strength of cultivators in the Canglang Sea far surpassed that of the Little Cold Domain, and the situation was exceptionally complex. Above the Nascent Soul Grandmasters were even more powerful late-stage Grand Cultivators. The heavenly tribulation, occurring once every three hundred years, loomed over them like a series of death warrants! Fail to advance, and face death.

"Junior Brother Chen, take Fang Ting and withdraw for now. I order you to spend a year in solitary reflection, thoroughly tempering your character. I do not wish to see similar actions a second time." Pavilion Master Qi lifted the restrictions on the ancestral hall. The pressure on the cultivator surnamed Chen dissipated, and he walked out of the main hall without looking back. Fang Ting quickly followed him.