710: Chapter 710 Four Gifts

Watching your retreating figure, everyone hesitated.

"Immortal Venerable Qin said the Heavenly Palace won't come? Is that for real?"

"It should be true, right? How could a dignified Mahayana Venerable lie to us?"

"I think so too. But to be safe, we should still send people to the Heavenly Palace to scout for information."

"Hmm, you're right. After all, if we move to a new place, we'd have to start everything from scratch. It might even be hard to advance further in this lifetime."

Many people began to waver, especially those Families whose entire Foundation was on Tianyang Star.

Going to a new place, it's hard to gain a foothold without decades or a century—and that's if you're lucky.

If you are ostracized by local forces, it will only be worse.

However, the Loose Cultivators didn't really care; it was the same everywhere for them.

But Loose Cultivators gamble their lives for Opportunity, so the risks are high.

Consequently, some chose to stay, some continued to wait and see, while many Loose Cultivators left decisively.

Cao Ruide looked at Cao Qingyi beside him and said seriously, "Did you see clearly?"

"See what clearly?" Cao Qingyi looked confused.

"Immortal Venerable Qin's appearance." Cao Ruide lowered his voice. "When he returns, you must go to the Tianhuang Continent to visit him personally. Remember, it would be best if you could attach yourself to him... even becoming his woman, his Disciple, or even his maid would be fine."

Cao Qingyi's face darkened. "Father, what are you thinking? He is a dignified Mahayana Venerable; would he even look at someone like me?"

Cao Tianxiong leaned in, grinning. "Sister, you have the looks and the figure. As long as you're a bit gentler, you'll definitely succeed. By then, I'll have a Mahayana brother-in-law. How cool would that sound?"

Cao Qingyi rolled her eyes at him and didn't answer.

Cao Jun shook his head with a smile from the side.

There were quite a few people with the same idea.

This kind of massive Opportunity was simply irresistible to many low-level Cultivators—they were willing to risk their lives for it.

Attaching oneself to a Mahayana Venerable was an even greater, heaven-supporting Opportunity.

Just like those few low-level Cultivators whose ordinary gold, silver, and jade wares you bought earlier; they were now being treated as honored guests by several major forces.

Especially the Family of the boy whose golden Buddha statue you bought; they were taken away directly by Huangfu Zhanming.

On the other side,

The moment you appeared at the Bu Dao Academy, a voice transmission rang out in your Sea of Consciousness.

It was the Dean's voice, calm and indifferent. "You've arrived. Come over."

He didn't ask if you wanted to come, nor did he ask why you came—as if he had known all along that you would come.

You secretly speculated in your heart—could Sect Master Murong have notified the Dean in advance? Or perhaps, did the Dean guess it himself?

You had originally intended to find Instructor Yun Yao and have her introduce you to Venerable Yuqing. After all, you didn't know where Venerable Yuqing was.

Without delay, you took a step forward, and your figure landed in front of a nine-story pavilion. Then you ascended to the top floor and immediately swept your gaze across the room.

There were five private seats, and four people were seated.

Three old men and one young man.

Yun Xiaozi stood beside the Dean, looking like he was grinning and watching a show.

The aura of the four people in the private seats was suppressed extremely steadily. Though they were all at the Mahayana stage, it made you think of only four words in an instant—unfathomably deep.

It wasn't hostility, but that... instinctive perception between Mahayana Cultivators.

You took an extra look at that young man.

He didn't look like a Mahayana Cultivator.

At least not like the Mahayana Cultivators you knew—he had no sharpness, was plain and ordinary, and even looked like a mortal scholar.

If he weren't sitting in that seat, you wouldn't have noticed him at all.

The Dean's voice pulled your thoughts back. "Come, let me introduce you."

He pointed to the old man in the head seat. "Venerable Yuqing."

Then he pointed to the fat monk sitting cross-legged. "Venerable Damo."

Finally, he pointed to the young man. "This is Venerable Tianming."

You cupped your hands at the three of them. "I have long heard of your reputations."

The three of them nodded at you.

Your gaze inadvertently lingered on Venerable Tianming for a moment longer.

You had finally seen his true face.

You had previously imagined countless possibilities—majestic, aloof, unfathomable.

But the face before you was as ordinary as a bookkeeper flipping through pages in a mortal bookstore; if thrown into a crowd, you would forget it the moment you turned away.

Venerable Tianming noticed your gaze, picked up his teacup, and chuckled. "Is Fellow Daoist Qin very interested in me?"

You smiled and cupped your hands. "I have long heard of your great name. Seeing you today, I didn't expect the legendary Venerable Tianming to be such an easygoing person."

"Tch, sycophant!" Yun Xiaozi crossed his arms, rolling his eyes so hard they almost went to the sky.

The Dean coughed lightly and glared at Yun Xiaozi. "My Disciple is mischievous; I hope Fellow Daoist Qin will not take offense."

You waved your hand with a smile. "It's fine, it's fine. Fellow Daoist Yun is straightforward and open; I can only envy that."

Yun Xiaozi snorted and turned his head away. He didn't say anything more, but the corners of his mouth curled up imperceptibly.

Then, you took an item from your storage ring and handed it to the Dean with both hands—a jade ruler, the body of which was warm and smooth like suet, engraved with the four characters "Righteous Heart, Bright Dao".

"This Junior happened to see this item and felt that the four characters on the ruler matched Senior's character perfectly, so I boldly brought it with me," you said with a smile.

The Dean took the ruler, his fingers brushing over the characters. He was silent for a moment before nodding. "It is easy to have a Righteous Heart, but difficult to Brighten the Dao. This old man has guarded it for a lifetime, yet I have barely touched the threshold. A good inscription, a good ruler."

You sensed that there seemed to be something hidden in his words, but you didn't press for details. You turned to Venerable Damo and took out a palm-sized golden Buddha statue.

"Senior Damo, although this Junior does not understand Buddhist teachings, this Buddha smiles very serenely. When I first saw it, I felt my mind and spirit were very relaxed, feeling... like I was taking a nap under an old tree." You offered it with both hands.

Venerable Damo took the Buddha statue, lowered his eyes to examine it, and nodded slowly. "Amitabha. That the Benefactor could bring this Buddha before me shows that you have an affinity with the Buddha."

You smiled and turned to Venerable Yuqing, taking out a set of glazed teacups. The walls of the cups were as thin as cicada wings, and as light and shadow flowed, clouds and mist seemed to float faintly within them.

"Senior Yuqing, this Junior does not understand tea tasting, but I heard that you love tea, so I sought out this set of teacups. I do not know if they are suitable, but please accept this as a token of my sincerity." You smiled and handed them over.

Venerable Yuqing took the teacups, picked one up, and looked at it against the light for a moment, revealing a smile. "Fellow Daoist is very thoughtful."

Finally, you turned to Venerable Tianming and took out a book—the Tao Te Ching.

"Senior Tianming, this Junior really couldn't gauge your preferences. After thinking it over, I brought this book. I don't know if it is to your liking," you said with a smile.

Venerable Tianming took the book and flipped through it casually.

After flipping through two pages, he closed the book, looked up at you, and smiled gently. "I read this book when I was a child. I didn't expect to see it again today."

He paused, then added, "But since you have given such a precious Tao Te Ching to me, wouldn't you be without one?"

Your expression was calm, and your tone was peaceful. "This Junior has read it once and kept it in my heart."

The Dean smiled and raised his hand, signaling you to take a seat. "Sit."

You nodded and took your seat.

Yun Xiaozi had been watching you the whole time. After waiting for a long time without seeing any gesture from you, he finally couldn't help but ask, "What about mine?"

You looked at him with a smile. "I am truly sorry; I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Yun to be here too. Next time, I will definitely make it up to you."

Yun Xiaozi snorted. "Tsk tsk tsk, you judge people by their status."