It is impolite not to reciprocate.

Time flies, years pass like shuttles!

In a flash, more than a month had passed.

During this period, Zhong Qing's life could be said to be quite peaceful.

He usually refined pills, occasionally went down the mountain to buy wine, and sometimes played chess and chatted with the Old Beggar.

It felt like a peaceful time, with life as picturesque as a painting.

However, if life only consisted of these things, wouldn't it be too thin?

This day!

The Immortal River Sect was adorned with lanterns and streamers, red and green, with the sounds of flutes and drums soaring into the sky, making it exceptionally lively.

At the same time, a figure arrived from afar, coming directly to Mufu Peak.

This made Zhong Qing, who was refining pills in the courtyard, slightly stunned.

He went out to greet him.

"Seeing the Sect Master so radiant and smiling, has something joyful happened?"

Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong was wearing a large red robe today.

The joy in his eyes seemed to overflow with light.

"Why don't you guess, where does this joy come from?"

As the two spoke, Zhong Qing had already led Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong into the small courtyard's guest hall.

After pouring him a cup of tea, he slowly said, "The happy event the Sect Master mentioned should be that the Xiandao Convention has concluded, right!"

Upon mentioning the Xiandao Convention, Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong's mouth could not help but curve upwards.

"Since my Immortal River Sect first participated in the Xiandao Convention, we could only rank among the middle to lower tiers."

"Every convention, we were always called tail-enders and mere spectators."

"However, this time, Mufu Peak's two Outer Sect Disciples truly brought great honor to my Immortal River Sect."

"The two of them defeated various major sects with overwhelming force, crushed all kinds of prodigies, and even some high-level sect members couldn't sit still and personally entered the fray, yet they were still decisively suppressed."

"You wouldn't believe it, when they learned that the two Outer Sect Disciples sent by my Mufu Peak were once elders of the Limitless Sect's sacred land, their faces turned green."

"They all cursed our Immortal River Sect for being shameless."

"Don't tell me, that feeling of them being annoyed with us but unable to do anything about it, it truly felt great!"

These words made Zhong Qing unable to help but laugh.

He could imagine the despair and frantic complaints in those people's hearts.

The Xiandao Convention was originally an exchange between disciples of various sects, and not just an ordinary exchange between disciples.

It was a stage for various prodigies to make their names.

A competition among a group of handsome men and beautiful women, the younger generation.

Suddenly, two old relics barged in.

And they were existences who could shake an entire region, with strength so high that people could only look up to them.

Their feelings must have been extremely complex.

Just thinking about this scene brought a strange sense of humor.

"You have cultivated some truly remarkable talents for the sect!"

At this moment, Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong exclaimed.

"At the Xiandao Convention, besides the two Outer Sect Disciples of Mufu Peak who stole all the thunder and brought immense glory to my Immortal River Sect."

"Lin Feng and Su Ye also displayed the unparalleled demeanor of my Immortal River Sect's younger generation."

"At a young age, the two defeated thirty-eight sect prodigies in a row, fighting across realms as easily as eating and drinking."

"This trip, my Immortal River Sect will directly leap from a second-rate sect to a first-rate sect."

"All of this is your contribution!"

The Xiandao Convention was not just a competition between disciples of various major sects.

It also involved many intricate situations and vested interests.

This time, the Immortal River Sect won first place with an overwhelming momentum, establishing a formidable reputation.

Both its reputation and strength were now present.

Its promotion from second-rate to first-rate was inevitable.

Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong knew that Zhong Qing would lead the sect to prosperity.

But he never expected it to happen in such a way.

So swift and rapid.

"Here, on behalf of the entire sect, I thank you for your contributions to the sect!"

Speaking of this, Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong stood up to bow to Zhong Qing.

However, Zhong Qing immediately stopped him.

"Sect Master, such a grand gesture is unnecessary."

He said with a serious expression, "Since I entered the sect, I have received great kindness from the sect."

"And I have received the Sect Master's utmost protection."

"Compared to the help the sect has given me, this small contribution is truly not worth mentioning."

For Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong, Zhong Qing had genuine respect from the bottom of his heart.

After his master Daoist Nai passed away, if it weren't for the Sect Master's tireless protection, whether Mufu Peak could even exist would have been a question.

And in his state of having no cultivation at that time, if he had left Mufu Peak, even with numerous trump cards, without a foundation, survival would have been extremely difficult, and even his so-called mountains of gold and silver would have become a burden in his hands.

Just for this point, Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong deserved his respect.

On this day, the old and the young chatted a lot.

Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong basically left floating on air.

Zhong Qing's attitude showed that he had a strong sense of identity and belonging to the Immortal River Sect.

And whether it was the joining of the two great sacred land elders or the growth and rise of Mufu Peak's two true disciples.

All indicated that the Immortal River Sect was about to soar.

In the past, Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong had toiled tirelessly for the sect's development, dedicating his all.

But now, he was already enjoying the benefits of a laid-back victory.

The opportune moment had appeared, and how exactly should he lie back and enjoy the ride?

This was a question worth pondering and deeply considering.

...

On Mufu Peak!

As Sect Leader Xuan Yuanhong left, Zhong Qing paid no attention to the outside commotion and once again immersed himself in the great endeavor of pill refining.

Perhaps he truly had no talent in pill refining, or he bit off more than he could chew, resulting in some absurd outcomes.

After consuming several sets of raw materials for refining the Quenching God Pill.

He ultimately refined nothing but emptiness.

Before, he could at least refine something tangible.

Goodness, now it directly turned into dregs.

But Zhong Qing refused to believe it!

It was bad enough that his cultivation talent was poor, but he couldn't even be stumped by a small Quenching God Pill.

The result, however, was two furnace explosions.

This made Zhong Qing quite dejected.

"Perhaps, today is not suitable for refining pills!"

When one is feeling down, one always needs a way to adjust.

Zhong Qing immediately thought of finding the Old Beggar for a drink.

He didn't dally and went straight down the mountain under the moonlight.

Ling City at night was even more bustling.

Thousands of homes were brightly lit, and the sounds of revelry were continuous.

In contrast, the city's northern wall was relatively quieter.

When Zhong Qing arrived at the old locust tree, he found the Old Beggar drinking alone, his eyes hazy, already three parts drunk.

"Something on your mind?"

Zhong Qing found a spot to sit down and asked.

The Old Beggar turned his head, saw it was an acquaintance, and let out a long laugh, saying, "It just so happens I'm leaving tonight, and I didn't expect to see you again."

"Come, drink with me."

The Old Beggar tossed the wine gourd in his hand directly, and Zhong Qing steadily caught it.

The two then drank back and forth in this manner.

After the pot of wine was almost empty, the Old Beggar sighed wistfully, "I'm leaving. Something happened at home, and I have to go back to deal with it."

Zhong Qing's drinking posture paused slightly: "Do you need help?"

The Old Beggar laughed, "This matter, others cannot help with."

"This Old Beggar has traveled north and south his whole life, and there aren't many people I truly click with; you are one of them."

As he thought about leaving this area and likely not returning for a while, his heart stirred.

He immediately untied his personal waist token.

"Before parting, I have nothing good to give you. Take this jade pendant; consider it a memento."

This was a magic artifact he had refined, which had the function of automatically protecting its master when encountering danger.

It could withstand the full-force strike of an Earth Profound Realm expert.

In this world where cultivators gather and dangers abound, no one knows what will happen next second.

This jade pendant was a life-saving measure the Old Beggar left for Zhong Qing; at a critical moment, it could save his life.

He also didn't explain the jade pendant's function.

A gentleman's friendship is as light as water; if possible, he even hoped that Zhong Qing would never need this item in his entire life.

However, though he didn't speak of it, how could Zhong Qing not see through the value of this item?

He examined the jade pendant in his hand, his thoughts complex.

One had to say, the Old Beggar was truly beyond words when it came to him.

Not long ago, after the other party learned someone was following him, he secretly sent people to help him resolve the trouble.

Now, before parting, he even gave him a precious protective item.

This jade token, even for the Old Beggar himself, was an extremely valuable item.

Yet now, the other party just gave it away.

This sentiment far exceeded the value of the gift itself.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhong Qing also took out an item.

It was a wooden carving.

This wooden carving was something he had obtained through a recent check-in; it could unleash the power of a Tianxuan Realm expert.

Of course, through this wooden carving, he also understood some rules of the check-in system: aside from cultivation techniques and magical treasures, auxiliary items like this would improve as his cultivation increased.

"It is said that it is impolite not to return a favor."

"Keep this thing well."

Facing the wooden carving Zhong Qing offered, the Old Beggar grinned and said, "This item is indeed extremely exquisite."

"Keep it for yourself. It would be wasted in the Old Beggar's hands."

Apparently, in his opinion, the wooden carving Zhong Qing gave was an artistic masterpiece.

And what he himself lacked was precisely that kind of artistic sensibility.

"Take it!"

"This item might help you at a critical moment."

Zhong Qing, however, unceremoniously stuffed it into the Old Beggar's embrace.

Seeing this, the Old Beggar found it hard to refuse and could only accept it.

He just smiled bitterly in his heart: Looking at the entire Eastern Region, there are still very few people who can help me, so what use could an artistic wooden carving be?

"Alright, the Old Beggar should go now!"

"After I finish my family matters, I will come back another day to have a good drink with you, my young friend."

The Old Beggar left.

There was no sadness of parting.

Only a look of solemnity.

A look of being burdened with worries.

...