Chapter 56

Cuiyan Valley, this time, aims not only to identify the alchemist mentioned by Master Hu Gu but also to seize the opportunity to recruit new disciples.

However, Cuiyan Valley has always had strict requirements for accepting disciples, mainly favoring primary spiritual roots of Wood-Fire. Wood spiritual roots are suitable for cultivating spirit herbs, while Wood-Fire spiritual roots are ideal for becoming alchemists. This requirement eliminates a significant number of cultivators, and upon hearing it, some who were trying their luck left disappointed.

The two cultivators in charge of recruiting disciples are the two direct disciples under Master Hu Gu – the eldest disciple, Sang Shuo, and the second disciple, Wan Siqing. An elder from Cuiyan Valley assists them. The disciples of the valley wear attire adorned with a tripod emblem, the symbol of Cuiyan Valley.

Wan Siqing, exceptionally beautiful, looks down at the cultivators scrambling to participate in the test below and playfully asks her senior brother, "Senior Brother Sang, are we really going to have one more junior brother or sister this time?"

Huting is passionate about alchemy and dislikes mundane affairs. The time he spends on disciples is limited. Since accepting these two direct disciples, he has no intention of taking on more unless there's someone he particularly favors. Therefore, Sang Shuo and Wan Siqing hold high positions in Cuiyan Valley. Their status even surpasses Huting's own grandson because everyone knows that the position of the Junior Valley Master won't fall to Hu Weiding. Given his aptitude, even with his grandfather's help, whether he can establish a foundation is questionable.

Now, with someone their master personally recognizes for exceptional alchemical skills and even expresses the intention to accept as a direct disciple if suitable, Wan Siqing feels a subtle threat. Their master is a laid-back person who goes with the flow. If he likes you, he'll go to great lengths to guide and teach you. If he thinks your talent is mediocre, he might casually pass you over to someone else for guidance and only check in occasionally.

Originally, with Hu Weicai, the younger junior brother, already drawing a significant amount of their master's attention, adding another junior brother recognized by their master could undoubtedly affect Wan Siqing's position under their master.

Sang Shuo's gaze flickered. "If the person hasn't shown up yet, it's either he thinks too highly of himself, disregarding both Cuiyan Valley and Master, or he's not young anymore and doesn't have the face to appear before our Master. The little junior brother is really clueless, making Master personally come out to find him. Yet, the little junior brother hasn't shown up even once."

Wan Siqing smiled, "Let's not discuss the little junior brother for now. Regarding the alchemist, Master has highly praised his alchemical skills. The fusion of various herb properties is remarkably perfect, with very few impurities. The quality surpasses other top-grade elixirs. In the years we've been learning alchemy under Master, I truly wish to learn such techniques."

Sang Shuo, however, was displeased, emitting a cold snort.

He was known in Cuiyan Valley as the second only to the Valley Master. When he entered the valley, he displayed excellent alchemical talent, expected to become the next Hu Valley Master. Now, at the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer, he had almost stepped into the threshold of an Eighth-Grade Alchemist. Under the Foundation Establishment realm on the Tianlin Continent, who could rival him?

Hearing the Master praise someone else so much, words of commendation he had never heard directed at himself, Sang Shuo felt a twinge of jealousy. The person hadn't appeared for a long time, making him think this individual might be all reputation, and Master might have overestimated him.

Wan Siqing, in a place Sang Shuo couldn't see, slightly curled her lips. She had long noticed that the eldest senior brother was dissatisfied with Master's praise for that person.

They looked down on the cultivators below, who, even if unaware of their identities, had learned about them after coming. Just being the direct disciple of Hu Valley Master was enough for them to be envied. Moreover, the eldest senior brother already had the ability to refine Eighth-Grade elixirs, and he hadn't even reached Foundation Establishment yet. Such talent was undoubtedly worthy of the title of Hu Valley Master's eldest disciple.

After Ge Yao arrived, he also heard praises and envy for Sang Shuo and Wan Siqing. However, these two individuals were obviously extremely arrogant, showing disdain for the cultivators participating in the assessment below. As for Ge Yao, he observed with a seemingly indifferent smile, as if watching a group of people acting. Overall, he had a mediocre impression of Hu Valley Master's two disciples.

If Ge Yao didn't know about his own talent in alchemy, Tian FeiRong might have envied and resented him like other cultivators. Now, however, he had the leisure to scrutinize and comment on those two. Leaving aside other factors, the female disciple's appearance was exceptionally beautiful, leaving many male cultivators dumbfounded. She seemed to enjoy the attention. In a short period, many male disciples from the valley gathered around her, occasionally saying something to amuse her.

Chí Cháng Yè, arms crossed, watched with a cold eye and glanced at Wei Shao on the side. Isn't he envious of them?

Ge Yao immediately perked up his ears to listen. He also noticed that Wei Shao's expression was different from others, devoid of envy. Instead, there seemed to be some wariness. Ge Yao knew Night Big Brother very well. Unless there was a problem, he rarely took the initiative to communicate with Wei Shao.

Wei Shao immediately looked vigilantly at Chí Cháng Yè and took two steps back. Even Tian FeiRong, the careless one, noticed something was off and pushed Wei Shao, saying, "What are you doing? Do you have some grudge against these two from Cuiyan Valley? Anyway, I don't think Teacher Fang likes Cuiyan Valley and that Hu Valley Master much. If you don't like them, it's not a big deal."

Hearing these words, Wei Shao, unable to maintain his original expression, looked conflicted and finally said, "Yeah, I just don't like them. If my cultivation wasn't insufficient, I would have taught them a lesson long ago. What are they?"

Tian FeiRong was horrified, quickly taking Wei Shao out of the crowd. He wiped off some sweat, thankfully that no one paid attention to them just now; otherwise, they might have been chased by another force.

"You really said that. You really don't want to live. Just offended the North Star Sect, now you want to offend Cuiyan Valley. I thought I had a big heart, but I didn't expect someone like you, Wei Shao. I really admire you." But in the future, when going out again, should he keep a distance from Wei Shao to avoid being implicated? Tian FeiRong seriously considered this possibility.

Wei Shao, in a bad mood, retorted, "If you're scared, stay away from me."

"Wait, Wei Shao, who are you venting your anger at?" The more he asked him to stay away, the more Tian FeiRong wouldn't comply. He went over and patted Wei Shao's shoulder. The two bickered as they walked further away from Cuiyan Valley.

Ge Yao followed behind them, looking back at the direction of Cuiyan Valley. Suddenly, he realized and whispered incredulously, "Big Brother Night, you're not suspecting that Wei Shao is... that illegitimate child, right?"

Although Wei Shao's facial features didn't match the portrait of Hu Weicai they had seen, there were many ways to change appearance. Considering the situation at the North Star Sect and now, it seemed more suspicious.

Chí Cháng Yè turned his head to look at Ge Yao, smiling, "Not impossible. In my opinion, this Grandson of the Valley Master seems to be having a hard time in Cuiyan Valley."

If it's true, and as the rumors say, Wei Shao couldn't have avoided meeting them. Now, as they interact, Wei Shao's behavior doesn't seem that bad. Nevertheless, his luck is not too good. He might be chased by another force for no reason, just like before at the North Star Sect.

The matter of selling elixirs has been tainted with the reputation of elixir theft.

Ge Yao rested his chin on his hand, looking at the back of the chubby figure. He said, "I can probably imagine his situation in Cuiyan Valley. The Valley Master should have a deep affection for his grandson, but sometimes such affection may not bring protection. Especially when his grandson has poor aptitude and is not suitable for alchemy."

Ge Yao deeply understood the mistreatment one faced due to having poor aptitude. If the original self had excellent aptitude, even if disliked by a father and stepmother, the family and the Patriarch of the Ge family would still have nurtured him. It was evident that the Patriarch valued the future of the Ge family. Other Ge family members and even servants wouldn't have dared to mistreat him.

It was unknown whether the Hu Valley Master himself was meticulous, but Wei Shao's leaving the valley suggested otherwise.

Chí Cháng Yè knew that Ge Yao was thinking about his own experiences. He reached out and patted Ge Yao's head.

Ge Yao looked up and smiled. With many years of experience, alchemical potions, and spiritual power, he wasn't the useless person others described. However, it was indeed a pity for someone with poor aptitude to be born in this ruthless world.

When he had enough strength in the future, perhaps he could try to promote his transformative potions. At least, it could benefit some cultivators.

Yes, that's the decision! Ge Yao silently encouraged himself.

With nowhere to go, Wei Shao eventually followed Tian FeiRong back to the inn where the Tian family stayed. Tian Big Brother, seeing his younger brother making a new friend in such a short time, had mixed feelings but also some relief. Although Wei Shao had similarly poor aptitude, going to the Tianfu Academy together would provide mutual support.

If the students at Tianfu Academy had similar aptitudes, Tian Big Brother felt that his younger brother wouldn't be in a bad situation, at least not facing too much adversity.

Following this line, Senior Brother Zhou easily found out about the backgrounds of the three from the Ge family, except for Wei Shao's history.

The guards of the Tian family weren't very tight-lipped, and Senior Brother Zhou easily learned about Ge Yao and Chí Cháng Yè's situation from them. He returned, saying that he felt like he had picked up a treasure.

"I heard that on their way here, Chí Cháng Yè single-handedly killed a Qi Condensation Seventh or Eighth Layer Rhino Beast with one sword. The sword aura was extremely sharp, and the guards of the Tian family greatly admire him."

"As for Ge Yao, he is a member of a family in the same town. He was expelled from the family, and although that family excels in alchemy, the guards of the Tian family say that Ge Yao's alchemy skills far surpass those of his family. Look, I even bought a Returning Qi Pill from them at a high price." Senior Brother Zhou took out the elixir he had bought at a high price and presented it to Junior Brother Jiang.

"As for Chí Cháng Yè, it is said that he was picked up from outside the town by the Ge family. When he was picked up, he was covered in injuries and was mistaken for an ordinary person. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be a cultivator, a very powerful sword cultivator, and he has always been inseparable from Ge Yao."