"You’re a very perceptive child. That’s the Holy Sect spirit."

Although Qi Yun was shocked and suspicious, he didn’t let it show on his face. Even so, the seemingly senile Elder Master before him saw through his thoughts in a single glance.

Hearing this, Qi Yun opened his mouth to object, but the Elder Master simply waved his hand and said:

"No need to explain. We disciples of the Holy Sect are clever to the point of being demonic and suspicious to the point of being ghostly. If you didn’t have this instinctual alertness, you wouldn’t be a qualified Holy Sect Disciple."

The Elder Master’s words put Qi Yun slightly at ease.

"An Cheng, you may leave us. Qi Yun and I are going for a walk." The Elder Master waved his hand, dismissing Ding Tai. He then clasped his hands behind his back, turned with a shuffle, and led Qi Yun toward the Daoist Temple’s right corridor.

"This disciple obeys." After shooting Qi Yun a look that said ’do your best,’ Ding Tai acknowledged the order and departed.

To say there was no pressure walking shoulder-to-shoulder with a Foundation Establishment Master would be a lie.

But compared to the other Foundation Establishment Masters he had met, this Elder Master seemed far more serene.

The two walked on in silence along the right corridor.

The corridor was long and deep, paved with bluestone slabs worn smooth with time. Mottled gray walls rose on either side, with a few stubborn weeds occasionally peeking from the cracks.

Beyond the corridor lay a small, tidy courtyard with a few stalks of emerald bamboo. Their leaves rustled softly in the wind, a sound that only amplified the silence within the corridor, where only the echo of their two sets of footsteps—one heavy, one light—could be heard.

"Qi Yun, you’ve been in the Sect for two years now. What do you think of our Holy Sect?" After they had walked in silence for a while, the Elder Master opened with a loaded question.

His recently-eased Heart and Spirit tensed once more. Qi Yun’s eyes flickered as he replied slowly:

"It’s wonderful. Without the Holy Sect’s guidance, how could people like us ever hope to glimpse the gates of the Immortal Sect? We would be doomed to live out mediocre lives, eventually turning to a handful of dust."

"Hehehe. How insincere." The Elder Master chuckled at Qi Yun’s response.

"The Holy Sect’s methods, while not as frenzied and extreme as the Great Celestial Demon Sect or the Yellow Springs Netherworld, can hardly be considered peaceful.

It’s just that the likes of the Great Celestial Demon Sect scheme out in the open.

Whereas the Holy Sect... prefers the shadows."

Seeing the Elder Master speak of the Holy Sect’s cunning and craftiness without any hesitation, Qi Yun listened, but his expression didn’t change in the slightest.

’A Master can criticize the Sect, but that doesn’t mean a low-ranking grunt from the Outer Mansion like me can chime in.’

’The more I say, the more I risk a mistake.’

’Besides, who’s to say... this isn’t a test?’

Seeing Qi Yun show no reaction, the smile on the Elder Master’s lips grew wider.

"Actually, the reason I summoned you today is to offer you a fortuitous opportunity."

Seeing the Elder Master finally get to the point, Qi Yun raised his eyes slightly, a complex emotion flashing within them.

’You have an opportunity to give me, too?’

He clearly remembered that he was still holding another "opportunity" from that Yang Cuan Master—one he couldn’t be sure was a blessing or a curse.

"Please enlighten me, Master." Qi Yun suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and replied in a low voice.

"Thirty years ago, I was greedy for progress and rashly tried to break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. As a result, my Heart Demon erupted, and I fell into the Eternal Slaughter Dao. Fortunately, a True Monarch intervened, and I was barely able to recover myself.

After that, I cultivated the Withered and Flourishing Zen and entered a deep slumber for twenty years.

After waking up, although I suppressed my demonic nature, my path forward was all but severed. I have almost no chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage."

His tone was still calm, but Qi Yun could feel the deep regret and bitterness hidden beneath that calmness.

"So, I plan to support someone and help him reach the Realm of Master.

In the future, when I undergo Reincarnation Cultivation, I will need to rely on him to guide me back to the Sect and protect my path.

And you..."

His steps paused slightly. The Elder Master slowly turned sideways, and his lowered, seemingly murky eyes suddenly landed on Qi Yun, his gaze so deep it seemed to see right through a person’s heart.

"...are one of the people I have chosen."

The Elder Master’s words contained a huge amount of information. Even though Qi Yun had been mentally prepared, it still took him a moment to digest it all.

"Master, why not have Senior Brother Ding Tai do this?"

Not rushing to state his position, Qi Yun fell silent for a moment before voicing the doubt in his heart.

’How could choosing an outsider be more reassuring than choosing his own disciple?’

’Although in the Holy Sect, you couldn’t even trust your own son completely, at least you’d know him better.’

"That child An Cheng is too soft-natured. He can get things done, but he can’t accomplish great things.

"He might be able to follow the steps and cultivate to Qi Cultivation Perfection, but the Foundation Establishment trial is fraught with rampant Heart Demons and numerous tribulations.

With his temperament, he would never be able to pass it. He would surely die.

What I need is not a disciple doomed to fail, but a protector who has a chance of success." Shaking his head, the Elder Master explained his reasoning.

"You don’t need to be nervous. You are merely one of the candidates I have chosen.

Who will ultimately become my protector remains to be seen.

Do you have any other questions?"

His pupils trembling slightly, after a long silence, Qi Yun raised his eyes and looked directly at the Elder Master before him:

"The benefits."

"Ho ho ho, very good. You are much more direct than the last few boys who beat around the bush.

On this point alone, you are better than them."

Seemingly quite satisfied with Qi Yun’s directness, the Elder Master said slowly:

"It has been four hundred and thirteen years since I achieved the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The Masters of my generation have either reached their limit and undergone Reincarnation Cultivation, or their bodies have perished and their Daos have been extinguished, with no trace of them to be found.

My strength may not be the greatest among the current Masters of the Inner Mansion."

His words paused slightly, his tone carrying a confidence and weight honed over hundreds of years:

"But my financial resources are absolutely top-tier.

To put it modestly, if I wanted to support someone in reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, they would already be halfway there.

Are you satisfied with this benefit?"

Now that he had laid it all out, the implications were self-evident.

The full support of a Foundation Establishment Master who had accumulated wealth for over four hundred years—its weight was enough to drive any Qi Cultivation Cultivator mad.

"Thank you for your favor, Master. This junior is willing to serve you to the death!" A sharp light gleamed in his eyes as Qi Yun sincerely cupped his hands in a salute.

Watching Qi Yun agree after only a brief moment of hesitation, a hint of admiration appeared in the Elder Master’s eyes.

’Bold yet meticulous. Decisive and pragmatic.’

’He truly is a fine piece of raw material worth carving.’

With a flip of his palm, a Jade Talisman suddenly appeared in the Elder Master’s hand. Its surface flashed with Spiritual Light, revealing countless magical tracks and counting rods, looking quite marvelous.

"I heard you have quite the spiritual nature for the path of Magic. Take this Blood-Drawn Profound Mechanism as a greeting gift."

As he took the Dharma Transmission Jade Talisman, Qi Yun’s eyebrows raised slightly.

’This old fox... The Elder Master investigated me? Otherwise, how could he know I was just looking for a Divination Calculation and Deduction technique?’

Just as Qi Yun was feeling puzzled, the Elder Master had already walked to his side. A withered but exceptionally warm palm pressed gently, yet with undeniable weight, onto his shoulder.

"From this day forward, Qi Yun, you must remember." The Elder Master’s voice was not loud, but every word was clear, carrying a strange Penetration Power:

"I... am your backer."

"If in the future, within the Inner Mansion, any other Foundation Establishment Master shamelessly tries to bully you... you can just drop my name."

Hearing this, Qi Yun’s pupils shrank, his heart trembling.

’From now on... I have a patron?!’

"This disciple does not yet know the Master’s Dharma title." Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Qi Yun cupped his hands and asked.

His eyes raising slightly, the Elder Master grinned, a trace of blood-red light flashing fleetingly in his eyes:

"My surname is Deng, and my given name is Yin.

My fellow disciples in the Sect all call me... the Blood Demon Master!"

...