Accompanied by a burst of unbridled laughter, everyone looked up toward the mist-shrouded area halfway up the mountain.
Suddenly, a flying sword flashing with a cold glint darted over like lightning. As the flying sword drew closer, Qiyue watched in astonishment as a figure stood firmly atop the blade!
Her jaw dropped immediately, and she thought to herself, "Could... could this be a legendary immortal?"
Just as her knees grew weak and she was about to drop to the ground in worship, the Fifth Senior Brother beside her reacted with lightning speed, reaching out to grab her arm.
"Don't kneel! He's no immortal, he's just our uncle-master!" Fifth Senior Brother quickly whispered a reminder.
"M-Master-uncle?"
Qiyue looked incredulously at the senior brother beside her, and Song Yifan nodded affirmatively.
At that moment, the flying sword arrived before them, and a figure leaped down from it. With a wave of his hand and a flash of dazzling light, the flying sword in the air shrank back to its normal size and slid into the scabbard behind his back.
Qiyue finally saw the newcomer clearly. He was short, with a wretched appearance and a cunning smile plastered across his face.
He wore a purple Daoist robe identical to the one worn by her master, Daoist Yunhe.
His appearance filled Qiyue with doubt: How could someone so unremarkable be the junior brother of her deeply respected master?
Meanwhile, the crowd at the foot of the mountain preparing to enter the grounds had also stopped, staring with curious eyes at the mysterious old daoist.
He seemed to sense the gaze of the crowd, but paid it no mind, swaggering over regardless.
"Senior brother, it's been quite a few days since you took the fifth junior nephew down the mountain for training. Now that you're finally back, you've really given your junior brother quite a longing for you!"
Looking at the expression on the man's face, Qiyue felt a strange discord in her heart. The words spoken by this person clearly expressed closeness to her master, yet his demeanor and behavior failed to reveal even a shred of respect.
Daoist Yunhe wore a dark expression, merely cupping his fists slightly in response as he said, "Junior brother, there is no need for such formalities!"
"Not at all, not at all, this is only right!"
The man replied with a beam. Then, he shifted his gaze past Daoist Yunhe, looking straight at Qiyue and Song Yifan.
"Greetings, master-uncle!"
Seeing this, Song Yifan quickly and respectfully offered a bow. Qiyue, however, was completely lost in her own thoughts and remained entirely oblivious to everything happening around her.
Seeing this, Song Yifan hurriedly nudged her with his elbow to remind her to mind her manners.
"Huh? Ah! Greetings, master-uncle!"
Daoist Qingyang ignored the two children and instead turned his attention back to Daoist Yunhe.
With a curious look on his face, he asked, "Senior brother, you haven't taken any disciples in nearly a hundred years. I originally thought you would never take another one! I never expected you to suddenly take one now, and a little girl at that. I wonder which aristocratic family this little girl hails from?"
His voice was laced with doubt and incomprehension, as if he found it utterly astonishing that Daoist Yunhe had taken in this young girl.
"She... she is just an ordinary mortal."
"A mortal? Oh—I see, I see, I said as much! Senior brother, you haven't taken a disciple in a century, so why would you suddenly take one and ruin a young life? Turns out she's just an ordinary mortal, well that explains it, ha ha ha—"
Hearing these words, Qiyue found them grating to the ear. She acutely perceived that these remarks were full of disrespect toward her master and contempt for herself.
A surge of anger welled up in her heart, and she was about to step forward to argue her case when her senior brother signaled her with a look and gave a slight shake of his head.
In truth, Daoist Qingyang had seen at a glance that Qiyue was nothing more than an ordinary mortal. From her plain attire, he could even surmise that she likely came from the most impoverished walks of life at the very bottom of society.
Therefore, he had deliberately questioned Daoist Yunhe in this manner precisely to humiliate him in public and subject him to mockery.
Daoist Yunhe's face turned ashen. How could he not understand his junior brother's intentions? Yet, facing this situation, he was helpless and could only silently endure the humiliation.
By this time, the people nearby who were preparing to ascend the mountain heard this exchange and began whispering among themselves.
"So that's Daoist Yunhe!" someone murmured.
"I never thought he'd take an ordinary mortal as a disciple..." another chimed in.
"Now that is a rare sight!" a third agreed.
"I heard that a hundred years ago, he was the most formidable senior disciple under Elder Yuankun on Qingtai Mountain!"
"You guys must not know the whole story. Back in the day, when the Myriad Moon Cult of the Demonic Realm came to seize the spiritual veins of Qingtai Mountain, Elder Yuankun personally assigned him to guard the most crucial South Mountain Gate. Everyone expected his Late Foundation Establishment strength to hold the line with ease, but the result shocked everyone—he actually lost to an enemy whose cultivation was merely at the Early Foundation Establishment stage! He almost let Qingtai Mountain fall into the hands of the Myriad Moon Cult. Fortunately, at the very last moment, Elder Yuankun's other three disciples turned the tide and successfully reclaimed Qingtai Mountain. Ever since then, he completely lost Elder Yuankun's favor and regard."
"And that's not even the half of it. Word has it that ever since then, he has been utterly broken and incapable of making any further progress. Nowadays, his junior brothers and sisters have long since broken through to the Early Golden Core realm, while he remains stuck in Late Foundation Establishment without a shred of advancement."
"Oh, is that so? Well, when I pick a master, I must be extremely careful and absolutely never choose him."
"Indeed! If I were made to take him as my master, I'd rather give up cultivating here and head straight down the mountain than suffer such torment."
"Precisely!"
These discussions reached Qiyue's ears, filling her with immense grievance and sadness. Though she did not know whether their words were true or false, through the days they had spent together, her master and senior brother had been truly good to her, showing her every consideration and never looking down on her just because she was an ordinary mortal.
Thus, she secretly resolved in her heart that she must cultivate diligently, prove her worth, and never let anyone look down on her or her master again!
Hearing the crowd's chatter, Daoist Qingyang was immensely pleased.
"Senior brother, since you're back now, shall we head back up the mountain together?"
Daoist Qingyang offered a hypocritical invitation.
"No need, junior brother, you head back first! I still have some matters to attend to."
"Oh!"
Daoist Qingyang's gaze deepened as he cast a thoughtful look at Qiyue, a cunning and meaningful smile flashing in his eyes.
"In that case, I shall no longer disturb senior brother." He spoke softly, his voice carrying an unspeakable profoundness.
Before his voice had even faded, a streak of silver light flashed abruptly, taking everyone by surprise.
When the sword had flown out again, no one knew, but it darted through the air like an agile silver snake, tracing a beautiful arc. With nimble agility, Daoist Qingyang leaped lightly and landed steadily atop the flying sword. His posture was ethereal, as though he had merged with the flying sword, and like a brilliant shooting star, he sped straight toward the summit of the mountain.
Seeing him depart, the crowd gradually dispersed. Daoist Yunhe stood rooted to the spot in silence for a long time.
Seeing this, Song Yifan and Qiyue did not even dare to breathe heavily.