Sunlight filtered through the dense bamboo forest, casting mottled light and shadow as if it were a naturally painted ink wash landscape.
Everyone followed the master's footsteps along a quiet path, and before long, they arrived at an elegant bamboo dwelling surrounded by bamboo groves.
The master gently pushed open the ajar door, stepped inside, and sat down on a bamboo chair in the middle of the main hall, his gaze calmly resting upon the disciples before him.
"You should all sit down as well!"
The master's voice was gentle and steady, like a cool breeze sweeping past everyone's ears in this serene bamboo forest.
Everyone found a seat and sat down, while Song Yifan pulled Qiyue to an empty seat as well.
"While I was away, did anything happen on the mountain?"
Second Senior Brother Mu Yufeng hurriedly stood up to reply.
"Master, aside from the aptitude selection held once every five years and the administrative elders requiring us to take turns on duty to assist with the work, everything else on Ziyu Peak has been quite normal."
"What? Is manpower running short?"
Daoist Yunhe asked, furrowing his brow in great surprise.
"Where is the manpower running short? Master, he is clearly just bullying our Ziyu Peak! We haven't seen the disciples of the other four main peaks come over to help at all, yet they make us lead a whole group of outer disciples running around busy with everything."
Third Senior Brother Lei Yu protested indignantly.
Sitting beside him, Fourth Senior Brother Tang Yanchen kept tugging at his sleeve to signal him to stop talking.
"Stop tugging at my sleeve, Fourth Junior Brother! You might be so timid, but I am not scared at all."
"Will you stop talking!"
Tang Yanchen whispered repeatedly for him to shut up while gesturing toward the master with his chin, signaling him to look at the master's dim and lackluster expression at that moment.
"Alas! It is all this master who has dragged you down!"
Hearing the master suddenly say such words, Lei Yu instantly fell silent.
"If you still wish to have room for further advancement, and want to seek another path and switch to other peaks, this master will not mind!"
"Master, how can you say such a thing? No matter what, we will never betray our sect like that ungrateful wretch Yan Siming. Master, your kindness to us is as heavy as a second birth; no matter what happens, I will never leave your side even half a step. Isn't that right, everyone?"
"That's right, Master!" the others chimed in hurriedly.
From Lei Yu's expression, it was clear that when he mentioned the name Yan Siming, he was filled with boundless hatred and fury.
His teeth were clenched tightly, as if he wanted to tear Yan Siming to pieces, and his eyes blazed with a fierce fire, as if he intended to burn everything before him into ashes.
Clearly, there was an irreconcilable blood feud between him and that person.
Though her heart was filled with doubts, as a newcomer who had just arrived, Qiyue could only temporarily suppress her inner curiosity.
"Qiyue, these are all your senior brothers. You should have already met them just now, right? Aside from the sixth and seventh, you can slowly get acquainted with them when they return. Everyone has traveled a long way here and must be somewhat exhausted. Yufeng, Yifan, the two of you go arrange a residence for Qiyue and let her rest well for a few days. She will still need to participate in the selection ceremony together with the other new disciples."
"Understood!"
Once Daoist Yunhe finished giving his instructions, he waved his hand to dismiss everyone. Thereupon, the crowd dispersed one after another and began to busy themselves with their own affairs.
Mu Yufeng and Song Yifan led Qiyue to a row of bamboo houses.
"Junior Sister, all our disciples here are male, so we can only wrong you by having you live in the same row of bamboo quarters with us. But rest assured, it is completely safe here; our senior and junior brothers will protect you together. If anything comes up, just call out once and we will all be able to hear it."
Mu Yufeng smiled as he pushed open the middlemost door of this row of bamboo quarters, which had the character "Five" on it.
"This used to be Fifth Junior Brother's room. To make things more convenient for you, he sent word to us early on, asking us to help him move all his belongings to the room with the character 'Eight' at the very end."
With that, he cast a meaningful, smiling glance at the two of them.
"Fifth Senior Brother, isn't this... putting you to too much trouble?"
Song Yifan's face flushed slightly.
"Junior Sister, don't worry about it. I have few belongings, so anywhere is the same for me."
Qiyue thanked the two senior brothers and walked into the room. She saw that the furnishings inside were very simple and made entirely of bamboo.
A bamboo bed, a desk, four chairs, and a small cabinet. Simple though it was, it was remarkably clean.
"Junior Sister, if you need anything else, just tell me. The room is a bit crude; we're all men and are used to being casual."
Mu Yufeng spoke to her with concern.
"No, no, these are already very good."
Indeed, ever since she could remember, she had lived with cattle and sheep in a drafty shed. This place was countless times better than the thatched hut of the family who had taken her in.
Suddenly, her stomach let out a rumbling sound.
Mu Yufeng and Song Yifan couldn't help starting slightly and looked at Qiyue at the same time. Qiyue smiled awkwardly and rubbed her uncooperative stomach.
"Ah! That's right, Senior Brother, do you still have any Inanition Pills? Mine and Master's were used up long ago, and we've just been eating mortal food all along."
"You and Master sure have it good, getting to eat delicacies from land and sea every day, unlike us who eat this stuff every day with no taste at all."
A trace of sour jealousy laced Mu Yufeng's tone as he handed a small vial from his body to Song Yifan.
Song Yifan smiled sheepishly and turned to hand the vial to Qiyue.
"Junior Sister, eating just one of these can keep you from feeling hungry for half a month. Keep it, and if you run out, just ask Second Senior Brother for more."
"Right, right, right, if you run out, just come ask me!"
Qiyue looked curiously at the vial in her hand, opened it, and took out a pill the size of a corn kernel. Staring in disbelief at the tiny morsel, she suddenly remembered that Fifth Senior Brother had once given her one before, so she swallowed it in a single bite without hesitation.
Just like last time, as soon as the pill hit her stomach, the feeling of hunger vanished entirely, and she even felt rather full.
"It's getting late, so we won't disturb Junior Sister any longer as she rests."
With that, Mu Yufeng made to pull Song Yifan away with him.
"Fifth Senior Brother!"
Hearing this, the two of them turned around in simultaneous curiosity to look at Qiyue. Her face flushed slightly with embarrassment.
"There is something I'd like to ask Fifth Senior Brother!"
"Oh... I understand, I understand! You two chat slowly; I have things to do, I'll be leaving first."
Mu Yufeng shot the two of them a mischievous grin and turned to leave.
"Senior Brother, it's not..."
Before Song Yifan could finish, Mu Yufeng was already far away. Left with no choice, he turned back to Qiyue with a blushing face.
"Junior Sister, is there something else you wanted to find me for?"
"I want to know about Master!"
Along this journey, Qiyue had grown quite familiar with Song Yifan, so naturally she felt embarrassed to ask anyone else. Seeing his troubled expression, she added,
"Fifth Senior Brother, if it's inconvenient, i-it's fine not to say. I was just thinking that since I'll be staying here from now on, I'm afraid I might run afoul of any taboos he might have."
"Actually, there really isn't much to it!"
After a slight hesitation, Song Yifan began to tell Qiyue about the master.
Qingtai Mountain had been founded by Elder Yuankun, who had four disciples in total. Master Yunhe was the eldest disciple; the one they had seen today was the second disciple, Daoist Qingyang; the third disciple was his daughter, Daoist Ziying; and the fourth disciple was Daoist Xuanguang.
Master had originally possessed the best aptitude among them all and was even the first to reach Late Foundation Establishment, deeply favored by Elder Yuankun. But during a battle with an enemy, somehow or other, Master actually lost to an Early Foundation Establishment demon lord, and almost lost the most crucial South Gate of Qingtai Mountain into the bargain.
Consequently, Master fell out of Elder Yuankun's favor and was banished to guard the least important West Gate on the western side.
Strangely enough, ever since then, Daoist Yunhe's cultivation power never advanced again, and even he and his fellow disciples found it difficult to improve further.
Among Daoist Yunhe's fellow disciples, everyone except him had eventually surpassed him, all successfully reaching Early Golden Core. From then on, Master's reputation in the path of immortality plummeted, and no one wanted to become his disciple anymore, feeling that he had already reached his limit and was no longer worth utilizing.
People even felt that becoming his disciple meant one could at best cultivate up to Early Foundation Establishment and reach a dead end.
Hearing this, Qiyue couldn't help feeling a secret pang of sorrow for the master, while also resolving firmly to cultivate immortality diligently and win back some dignity for the master and the others.