Chapter 717

This premonition was groundless, and Unlike Ning Zhuo himself felt it quite strange.

This undoubtedly increased the importance he placed on Ban Ji; after thinking for a while, he first wrote a reply letter, gave it to Ban Ji, and politely refused.

Then, he summoned Brother Gongsun Yan.

Brother Gongsun Yan cupped his hands and saluted: "Young Master, what are your orders?"

Unlike Ning Zhuo: "Investigate someone for me."

He handed Brother Gongsun Yan the letter from Ban Ji, as well as his own reply, and then gave a bag of spirit stones, letting Brother Gongsun Yan handle it.

Brother Gongsun Yan took Unlike Ning Zhuo's reply, followed the flying letter all the way, arrived at a mountain peak, stood in front of one of the cave dwellings, and held Unlike Ning Zhuo's reply to request an audience.

The cave dwelling opened, and Brother Gongsun Yan was welcomed inside.

Inside the cave dwelling, there was a small banquet. There were singing, dancing, and fine wine and food, and the atmosphere was enthusiastic.

The host and main guest of the banquet were Pi Fujie and Ban Ji.

Pi Fujie had a head full of gray hair, and his eye sockets were sunken like a skull; he was still wearing that wide robe sewn from skin. However, at this moment, his expression no longer had any arrogance, but was full of smiles as he whispered to Ban Ji beside him.

Brother Gongsun Yan knew Pi Fujie; whoever Unlike Ning Zhuo had a feud with, he would naturally take care of his subordinates. Understanding that the other party had strong hostility, he was expressionless and had no fear.

Seeing the flying letter follow the aura and fly straight to Ban Ji, Brother Gongsun Yan focused on sizing up this person.

He saw that Ban Ji looked like a young man, with a yellowish complexion, slightly high cheekbones, a nose like a hawk's beak, and thin lips, appearing mean and greedy.

He was lean and capable, neither tall nor short, with long arms and neck, and leaned forward quite severely; when sitting in his seat, he looked like a vulture ready to pounce on food at any time.

Brother Gongsun Yan saluted Pi Fujie and Ban Ji one after another, representing Unlike Ning Zhuo to state his purpose, neither humble nor arrogant.

Ban Ji sat cross-legged, holding a wine glass in one hand and supporting his knee with the other; it was not until Brother Gongsun Yan finished speaking that he raised his eyes and moved his gaze from the wine glass to Brother Gongsun Yan.

Only then did Brother Gongsun Yan see Ban Ji's eyes.

His whites were prominent, and his pupils were a turbid yellow-brown, like two pieces of old amber.

Ban Ji laughed, saying with arrogance: "This subordinate of yours is not bad. How long have you been following Unlike Ning Zhuo? Is it because you are joining the Myriad Phenomena Sect this time that you were sent to Unlike Ning Zhuo's side?"

Brother Gongsun Yan cupped his hands, stated the truth, and declared that he was originally a guest of the Lin family, assisting Lin Jinglong in joining the Myriad Phenomena Sect, and had only recently defected to Unlike Ning Zhuo.

Ban Ji's expression did not change; he moved his fingers and turned the wine glass in his hand.

He was slightly surprised in his heart, but his mouth was still indifferent: "Oh? The Lin family is also not bad. How much did Unlike Ning Zhuo offer to make you leave Lin Jinglong?"

Brother Gongsun Yan shook his head slightly: "This is not something to be told to outsiders."

Ban Ji laughed. Just now, he had scanned the letter with his spiritual sense and already understood Unlike Ning Zhuo's attitude of refusal.

Immediately, he waved his arm: "Good, I have received the letter. Since Unlike Ning Zhuo has no time, then let's wait until the time is ripe to make an appointment for a contest."

Pi Fujie, on the side, frowned slightly.

He had deliberately befriended Ban Ji and sent heavy gifts; although Ban Ji had agreed and sent a contest letter, after Unlike Ning Zhuo refused, Ban Ji had directly retreated.

Pi Fujie drank a cup of dull wine, watched Brother Gongsun Yan leave, and was just about to open his mouth to communicate with Ban Ji.

Ban Ji had already said in advance: "Fellow Daoist Pi, don't be impatient."

"It is said that one does not hit a smiling person; this Unlike Ning Zhuo's reply is polite and tactful, and he did not completely refuse, only pushing it off by saying he has no time at the moment."

"I have received this letter, so it is not good to publicize that Unlike Ning Zhuo is cowardly and afraid of fighting; it cannot tarnish his name."

Pi Fujie shook his head, his expression slightly cold: "Fellow Daoist Ban Ji, why say such words to me? When have you ever been so tolerant of an enemy?"

"Moreover, this is clearly Unlike Ning Zhuo's delaying tactic!"

"He couldn't grasp your pulse, so he deliberately sent a subordinate to deliver the reply. I'm afraid that next, he will fully investigate your intelligence, striving to be more certain to deal with you."

Seeing Pi Fujie's expression, Ban Ji's own expression sank: "I know this, of course."

"Since you sent a letter last time mentioning Unlike Ning Zhuo, I have also started investigating this guy."

"Do you know that he participated in Chu Xuangui's Xingyun Trial this morning and took the top spot?"

Pi Fujie frowned, showing a look of doubt: "Chu Xuangui?"

He thought for a moment, immediately remembered Chu Xuangui's intelligence, and couldn't help but be even more puzzled: "This is a Confucian cultivator, Jin Dan level, one of the pillars within the Confucian cultivator group in the Myriad Phenomena Sect."

"Why? Is the Confucian cultivator's small trial so easy this year? How could Unlike Ning Zhuo, an outsider, win?"

Pi Fujie really didn't know much about this intelligence.

Ban Ji sneered: "If the difficulty of the small trial really plummeted, that would be a relatively good situation. I'm just afraid—hehe."

"Let me tell you one more thing: participating in this small trial were also Bai Jiyun, Liu Fushu, and Kong Ran."

Pi Fujie shook his head: "I don't know much about Liu Fushu, but I have heard of Bai Jiyun and Kong Ran long ago."

"Kong Ran is the son of the current Prime Minister, and Bai Jiyun is comparable to us, as well as the likes of Situ Xing and Lin Jinglong."

"They are genuine Confucian cultivators, and they actually lost to Unlike Ning Zhuo?"

Pi Fujie became suspicious.

Ban Ji had been observing Pi Fujie's expression; seeing no flaws, he raised his head slightly: "Go investigate the details yourself."

"This person doesn't seem as simple as he appears on the surface."

"Therefore, I want to try my best to collect intelligence and temporarily slow down dealing with him."

Speaking of this, Ban Ji recalled the words his grandfather personally told him when he set off from the family: "Good great-grandson, you are going to the Myriad Phenomena Sect this time; I have already used the family's mechanism to calculate it for you."

"This trip is very dangerous for you, but it also contains great opportunities."

"You cultivate demonic arts and have damaged a lot of positive virtue. Now that you want to join the Myriad Phenomena Sect and go a step further, you have triggered your human tribulation."

Ban Ji felt troubled: "Old Ancestor, the Myriad Phenomena Sect is full of heroes, with so many geniuses and strong people, how can I distinguish which one is my human tribulation?"

The grandfather stroked his beard and smiled slightly: "I have already used the family mechanism to mark it for you."

"When you encounter it, there will naturally be a touch in your heart."

"But once this method is used, the other party will also have a sense. You need to be cautious, and even more cautious!"

Ban Ji nodded heavily: "Old Ancestor, I will keep it in mind."

"Since I chose to cultivate demonic arts, frequent encounters with tribulations are also to be expected. I have never regretted it!"

"I relied on you to avoid the previous few disasters in advance. But this time, I can't avoid it!"

"I must join the Myriad Phenomena Sect; only then will I have a greater future."

"Hehe, I want to see what kind of human tribulation can block my Dao path!"

When Pi Fujie sent a letter inviting Ban Ji to deal with Unlike Ning Zhuo, the moment Ban Ji received the letter, a palpitation arose in the depths of his heart.

"Unlike Ning Zhuo?"

"Is he my human tribulation this time?"

Ban Ji forcibly suppressed the palpitation in his heart; the importance he placed on Unlike Ning Zhuo was something Pi Fujie could not have expected.

Therefore, he was quite cautious about Unlike Ning Zhuo and immediately took extreme measures in secret to actively investigate Unlike Ning Zhuo's intelligence.

When Ban Ji learned the results of Chu Xuangui's Xingyun Trial at noon, he added a bit more wariness toward Unlike Ning Zhuo.

Pi Fujie urged Ban Ji to take action, but Ban Ji felt that if he acted rashly, he would only be meeting the tribulation in advance, acting too hastily, and reaping a devastating defeat.

Therefore, he decided to temporarily slow down his actions and investigate carefully.

"You must know that I succeeded in avoiding tribulations the previous few times."

"This disaster is likely more powerful than any in the past."

"The person who can become my human tribulation must not be simple!"

"Must be extremely cautious!!"

"However, fortunately, he is only a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator—"

"According to current intelligence, I'm afraid the difficulty of crossing this tribulation lies in the fact that he has a powerful force supporting him behind his back."

"If I defeat Unlike Ning Zhuo, I'm afraid I will provoke many unexpected and powerful retaliations!"