Is this exercise method legitimate?

The next day. Inner Sect.

"Junior Brother Qi, congratulations on your promotion to Inner Sect Disciple. Under the orders of Elder Yang, I am here to take you to select your residence. Please, follow me."

After receiving the Token that signified his status as an Inner Sect Disciple, Qi Yuan was led out of the Internal Affairs Pavilion by a Disciple from there to a mountain peak about five or six hundred zhang high.

The vegetation here was lush, the Spiritual Qi was abundant, and the conditions were far superior to the Outer Sect.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan was very satisfied. Although it could not compare to his luxurious Immortal Cave at the Taixuan Holy Land, at the very least, the environment was quiet and secluded, unlike the crowded and noisy Outer Sect.

After this Outer Sect Grand Competition, he had thoroughly offended many Outer Sect Disciples; calling him the public enemy of the Outer Sect would not be an exaggeration.

However, Qi Yuan did not care about this at all; after all, he was now an Inner Sect Disciple of Falling Cloud Valley.

In terms of status, an Inner Sect Disciple was completely superior to an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple. Even if some people were dissatisfied, they would not dare to do anything to him, and in the future, upon meeting him, they would still have to obediently step forward, salute, and call him "Senior Brother Qi."

However, it was predictable that under these circumstances, that Lin fellow who had once openly called Qi Yuan his brother would likely suffer again. After all, that Child of Destiny still had to continue lingering in the Outer Sect...

Thinking about how Lin Zhen had basically not had a single peaceful day since entering Falling Cloud Valley—either being framed or ostracized by his peers—if not for the System's verification, he would really doubt whether that brat was a Child of Destiny or a Child of Misfortune.

Of course, Qi Yuan did not feel guilty about this.

Guilty my ass, he wasn't Lin Zhen's babysitter.

Reject mental exhaustion!

At this moment, the Internal Affairs Pavilion Disciple took a map marked with many courtyards from his sleeve and handed it to Qi Yuan, saying enthusiastically:

"Junior Brother Qi, you may choose a courtyard on this Qiancui Peak as your Immortal Cave, but you can only pick an ownerless courtyard that does not have a name marked next to it."

After this dramatic Outer Sect Grand Competition ended, Qi Yuan's name had completely spread throughout Falling Cloud Valley. As the only man since the Sect's founding to force the Sect to change the rules of the Grand Competition single-handedly, he had become the most prominent figure over the past two days.

Therefore, even though the cultivation he displayed externally was only the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm, making him arguably the Inner Sect Disciple with the lowest cultivation in history, this Internal Affairs Pavilion Disciple still dared not be negligent and was very courteous.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

Qi Yuan glanced roughly at the map and quickly took a fancy to a small, secluded courtyard.

This courtyard was located on the mountainside, surrounded by dense forest. Almost no one walked by, and it was over ten miles away from the nearest courtyard, which perfectly suited his low-key and unostentatious personality.

After deciding, he pointed to that courtyard and asked:

"Can I choose this one?"

The Internal Affairs Pavilion Disciple looked at the location Qi Yuan pointed to, his tone slightly hesitant:

"It is possible, but that place used to be an abandoned courtyard. It has been in disrepair for years and might take some time to clean and tidy up."

Qi Yuan smiled and said nonchalantly:

"It is no matter; I happen to like peace and quiet."

The Internal Affairs Pavilion Disciple nodded and continued:

"Alright, since you have decided, I will fill in your name now. From now on, that will be your residence in the Inner Sect."

Not long after, Qi Yuan sent away the Internal Affairs Pavilion Disciple and stood alone, examining the small courtyard surrounded by green moss before him.

The courtyard was not large. Besides a silent chamber specially used for Cultivation, there was a front hall and two side rooms. Inside the front hall, there was a stone table and three stone stools; other than that, there was nothing else.

After cleaning up the clutter in the courtyard a little, Qi Yuan sat down in the front hall and silently summoned the System interface.

In addition to the side quest in the bottom left corner, the area representing the main quest refreshed again, and it read:

"New Quest: After the Outer Sect Grand Competition, you have finally shed the status of a Utility Disciple and entered the Inner Sect to Cultivate. The Host's outstanding performance has aroused the special attention of Falling Cloud Valley Sect Head Bai Qingwu and Senior Sister Bai Xirou. At the same time, a sudden crisis is about to descend..."

"Quest Difficulty: Four Stars (Difficult)"

"Quest Objective: Please have the Host survive this crisis and investigate all the Demonic Sect spies hidden in Falling Cloud Valley."

"Quest Reward: 800 Counterattack Points, increased favorability from Senior Sister Bai Xirou towards the Host, Heaven-Grade Dual Cultivation Technique 'Yin Yang Transformation Scripture'."

What the...

After reading this, Qi Yuan was speechless for a moment.

He just wanted to ask one thing: Is this "Yin Yang Transformation Scripture" proper?

It was originally a simple survival quest, which he had done before, but what the hell were these quest rewards?

This pit-father System put the favorability of the beautiful Senior Sister Bai Xirou and a Dual Cultivation Technique together, giving him a vague feeling that something was not quite right.

The quest on the interface was not marked as [Abandonable], meaning this quest must be completed. If it were not completed, no further main quests would refresh!

Even a Dual Cultivation Technique had appeared; if this continued, would his persona of having been single for two lifetimes be unable to be preserved...

Realizing this, Qi Yuan's expression suddenly became strange.

Without needing to think, he knew that the newly refreshed main quest was definitely related to the ongoing side quest, and in all likelihood, something would go wrong on Ji Chan'er's side.

After all, in the eyes of this idiot System, he was still a rookie in the Qi Refining Realm and had no qualifications to confront a Nascent Soul Realm Demonic Cultivator head-on.

Even so, the System still issued the quest to rescue the phantom star grass.

This proved that the System believed he had a chance to complete this seemingly impossible task; otherwise, wouldn't it be equivalent to deliberately sending him, the Host, to his death?

Under the close surveillance of a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator, a Qi Refining Realm Cultivator couldn't even get close to the phantom star grass, let alone rescue it.

Therefore, for a "Qi Refining rookie" to snatch food from the tiger's mouth of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, the only possibility was that the Nascent Soul True Monarch was either lured away or entangled; in short, there was a variable in the situation.

The "crisis" mentioned in the main quest was most likely related to this variable.

"According to the quest description, there must be more than just Ji Chan'er as a Demonic Sect spy in Falling Cloud Valley. I have to find all the spies to pass."

"It seems that before the situation becomes clear, I really cannot act rashly, so as not to alert the enemy and affect the completion of the quest."

Qi Yuan secretly complained in his heart, "Small Sects are really unreliable; they have been infiltrated by the Demonic Sect like a sieve, and they haven't even noticed."

...

At the same time. Inner Sect. Dao Entry Pavilion.

"Niece Bai, why do you have time to come to my place?"

Looking at the uninvited Bai Xirou before him, a trace of surprise flashed across the face of the Dao Entry Pavilion Elder, Yin Qingyuan, who then stepped forward with a gentle smile to greet her.

Bai Xirou smiled faintly, "Elder Yin, Xirou has come this time to review the archived data of all newly admitted Disciples in recent years. I ask for your convenience."

Yin Qingyuan's heart jumped upon hearing this, but on the surface, he remained calm and feigned difficulty, saying:

"So that is how it is. Although the information you mentioned is not confidential, according to the rules, to enter and review it, you need the Sect Head's approval. Why don't you tell me the name of the person, and I will go find it for you."

"No need, I will check it myself."

Bai Xirou shook her head and took out a brilliantly shining Token from her sleeve, "This is the Sect Head's command Token. I must trouble Elder Yin to help open the Restriction outside the archive vault."

Seeing this, a flash of wariness quickly crossed the depths of Yin Qingyuan's eyes, but he soon returned to normal and said:

"Alright, come with me."

"Thank you for the trouble."

Bai Xirou replied politely.