Hearing Qi Yuan agree, Jiang Lingsu felt the stone in her heart finally drop.
"Greetings, Senior Brother!"
The remaining six candidates looked at Jiang Lingsu with a hint of envy.
Kang Fulu breathed a sigh of relief. Qi Yuan hadn't taken the person he had set his sights on.
"My pick is made. Everyone, I'll take my leave," Qi Yuan said.
The eldest disciples of the other peaks all nodded.
Though Qi Yuan might be somewhat touched in the head, he remained quite well-mannered.
"Farewell, Junior Brother Qi Yuan!"
"Junior Brother Qi Yuan, see you tonight!"
They warmly called out their goodbyes, the atmosphere harmonious.
As long as their interests weren't at stake, they were more than happy to give Qi Yuan face.
However, Zhuge Miao of Divine Medicine Peak hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Junior Brother Qi Yuan, I have a few questions regarding the pill formula for the Origin Nourishing Pill. I wonder if you might have time to offer me some guidance? If you can resolve my confusion, I am willing to present you with a Foundation Establishment spiritual item."
Zhuge Miao spoke with utter sincerity.
Reminding Qi Yuan to pick first earlier had simply been an opening to strike up a conversation with him.
His words drew varied expressions from the other Divine Light Sect disciples present.
Qi Yuan looked at Zhuge Miao. "I'll be walking my pet at the foot of the mountain toward dusk. I can take a look for you then."
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Miao was overjoyed.
Meanwhile, when Xu Yiyi of Myriad Methods Peak heard Qi Yuan mention his pet, she seemed to recall something, and a faint smile appeared on her usually cold face.
"Junior Sister, let's go," Qi Yuan called to Jiang Lingsu, and the two walked away from the crowd.
Only then did Kang Fulu speak up: "Junior Brother Zhuge, are you sure you want to consult Qi Yuan on matters concerning pill formulas?"
The other disciples present also wore looks of puzzlement or slight smiles.
None of them believed Qi Yuan could be of any help to Zhuge Miao.
"Junior Brother Qi Yuan is strikingly gifted and always comes up with astonishing ideas. He may well have insights of his own regarding the Dao of Alchemy," Zhuge Miao said.
Half a month ago, he had crossed paths with Qi Yuan while he was walking his pet and discussed a pill formula with him. To his surprise, the perspective Qi Yuan offered had proved immensely helpful.
"If he's really that capable, how could he fail to even scrape together a single Foundation Establishment spiritual item?" Battle Peak's eldest disciple, Kuangren, was blunt as always. "Junior Brother Zhuge, I'm afraid you're throwing a Foundation Establishment spiritual item down the drain."
Foundation Establishment spiritual items were exorbitant treasures that cultivators at peak Qi Refinement had to prepare in order to break through to Foundation Establishment.
The higher the grade of the spiritual item and the better its affinity with the cultivator, the superior the result of the Foundation Establishment.
As it stood, of the eldest disciples from the five peaks, all had already achieved Foundation Establishment except for Qi Yuan.
In their eyes, the only reason Qi Yuan hadn't reached Foundation Establishment was that he had offended his master, who had withheld bestowing one upon him.
Xu Yiyi, the eldest disciple of Myriad Methods Peak, said, "A genius on one side, a madman on the other. It's not impossible that Qi Yuan has unique insights."
"All right, save the gossip for later. We still have proper business to attend to," Kang Fulu cut in.
The others stopped chatting, and Kang Fulu turned his gaze to the remaining five recruits.
"There's no need to introduce the rest of them."
"As for me, Kang Fulu, I hail from Five Lights Peak—"
Everyone present rolled their eyes.
The show-off was droning on about himself again.
***
Jiang Lingsu trailed behind Qi Yuan, behaving exceptionally meek.
She was filled with curiosity toward Seven Colors Peak.
Especially toward its peak master, Ruan Yixi.
Even with all her clan's influence, they had failed to uncover Ruan Yixi's true origins.
Of course, that was partly because her clan was so far from the Divine Light Sect and time had been tight.
Even so, it proved that Ruan Yixi was definitely no ordinary figure.
Perhaps she was the very reason the Divine Light Sect could survive the impending calamity.
Jiang Lingsu had traveled thousands of li to the Divine Light Sect entirely for Ruan Yixi.
As for this senior brother?
Merely a transient acquaintance.
"Eldest Senior Brother, what kind of person is Master?" Jiang Lingsu asked carefully, hoping to learn more about Peak Master Ruan Yixi through Qi Yuan.
"Master is... an incredibly beautiful person," Qi Yuan said without the slightest hesitation.
Jiang Lingsu froze for an instant.
What kind of disciple described their master like that?
Isn't that outrageously irreverent?!
It practically smacked of betraying one's master and forsaking the ancestors!
Yet, remembering that her senior brother Qi Yuan walked the path of the Obsession lineage, she accepted it.
Cultivators of the Obsession lineage were eccentric to the core and spoke far too bluntly; it was nothing to be surprised by.
Jiang Lingsu pressed on, "And besides being pretty?"
Qi Yuan halted his steps and pondered for a moment.
Jiang Lingsu waited with high expectations.
"A great figure."
Jiang Lingsu: "..."
She bitterly regretted asking him. If only she had known better!
Cultivators of the Obsession lineage were beyond ridiculous!
Just what was inside his head?
She decided against asking him anything more. Since she had already joined Seven Colors Peak, she would meet Master soon enough anyway.
Neither spoke another word as they climbed toward Seven Colors Peak.
About half an hour later, Qi Yuan stopped.
"This is my room."
Qi Yuan pointed at a small courtyard.
Jiang Lingsu had no idea what he meant by that.
She asked, "Where is Master? Shouldn't I pay my respects to her?"
Qi Yuan looked toward the peak. "Master lives in the palace atop the mountain."
Jiang Lingsu looked up toward the summit, where she saw what appeared to be jade pavilions and terraces nestled among the clouds.
Compared to Senior Brother Qi Yuan's thatched cottage, it was countless times grander.
"Let's go pay our respects to Master right now!" Jiang Lingsu said, eager to go.
Qi Yuan shook his head. "Can't see her."
"Master isn't here?"
"No, there's a restriction between the mountainside and the summit. We can't go up."
"Huh?" Jiang Lingsu was baffled.
"Master once decreed that until one steps into the Origin Core realm, one is forbidden from going to the summit to see her."
The path of cultivation was divided into seven realms: Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Origin Core, Divine Infant, Purple Mansion, Yin God, and Yang God.
The Divine Light Sect was one of the three great cultivation sects of Great Shang, boasting over a thousand disciples.
Most of these thousand-odd disciples were at Qi Refinement.
Above Qi Refinement was Foundation Establishment.
A Foundation Establishment combatant was already part of a sect's middle tier of strength.
Within the sect, their status was exalted enough to serve as deacons or even elders.
And once one stepped into the Origin Core realm, they became a true heavyweight of the sect.
In Great Shang, short of running into those old monsters of the Divine Infant realm, an Origin Core cultivator could practically walk unchallenged wherever they pleased.
As for the higher realms of Yin God and Yang God, rumor had it that Great Shang didn't have a single one.
Jiang Lingsu was stunned.
An Origin Core cultivator was considered powerful no matter where they went.
Even someone like her, backed by the vast resources of her clan, would need at least a decade or two of painstaking tempering to reach the Origin Core realm.
As for her senior brother Qi Yuan, who belonged to the Obsession lineage, his talent might be decent, but in her eyes, it was only mediocre at best.
He might not even reach Origin Core in this lifetime.
And even if he did, the grade of core he condensed would likely be poor.
"Senior Brother, why would Master leave such a harsh requirement?" Jiang Lingsu asked in bewilderment.
She didn't have that much time to wait.
Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Lingsu and said slowly, "Master might just be afraid... of seeing me."
"Huh?" Jiang Lingsu started, recalling Qi Yuan's earlier remarks about their master.
*Master just can't be bothered to look at you, can she?!*
"Senior Brother, I understand." Jiang Lingsu felt utterly helpless when dealing with cultivators of the Obsession lineage.
She looked at Qi Yuan. "Senior Brother, where am I supposed to stay?"
She couldn't go up to the summit, and there were no other houses here.
"There's thatch in the courtyard, and some lumber too."
Hearing that, Jiang Lingsu felt an ominous premonition.
*He wouldn't be building a thatched cottage for me, would he?*
She had never lived in a thatched cottage in her life.
"Carry them over yourself and build a thatched cottage to make do with."
Qi Yuan yawned once more.
Chapter 3