Chapter 302

Jiyue was only a maidservant; she did not know much and was basically in a state of bewilderment.

Ji You also knew he could not ask anything from her, so he rose from the small building and, with a whistle, arrived near the Yuheng Hall where the Pill Sect's abbot was "bedridden."

Under the clear breeze, his sleeves fluttering, Ji You tapped his feet on the ground and landed silently in a secluded tea pavilion.

Then, his eyes surged with a golden glow as he looked down toward the mountain forest.

At this time, the Yuheng Hall was heavily guarded, the doors and windows were all tightly closed, and both the front and back doors were guarded by people.

However, the guards were not the Pill Sect's own people, but those who were neither Pill Sect disciples nor Immortal Sect members.

Those people's cultivation was quite good, mostly in the Upper Realm of Merging with the Dao.

Moreover, they looked to be about the same age as Cao Jingsong.

There is a major hurdle between the Lower Three Realms and the Upper Five Realms, and after the Lower Three Realms are perfected, it can be said to be a hurdle step by step.

At Cao Jingsong's age, being able to cultivate to the Upper Realm of Merging with the Dao means one can be an instructor in an Immortal Sect.

Ji You had thought about the identities of these people when going up the mountain, guessing they should come from the Pill Sect's in-law families.

Because they lacked combat power, the Pill Sect, as one of the Immortal Sects, had always lived with extreme caution and care, constantly relying on marriage for thousands of years to obtain the ability to protect itself.

And the objects of their marriages were basically talented people with extraordinary gifts from small families.

Small families are easy to control and will not lead to a situation where the entire Pill Sect is controlled by in-laws due to excessive ambition.

And these guards were basically the backbone of some families that the Pill Sect had roped in through the marriages of female alchemists over the years.

Just at this moment, Ji You suddenly felt a powerful aura whistling toward him, so he turned his head to look.

On the nine-layered white jade walkway, an old man wearing an immortal robe drifted over.

"Shang Que, Elder of the Asking Dao Sect, has come to seek an audience with the Pill Sect's Abbot."

"Our Abbot is currently bedridden and recuperating; he cannot see guests at this time. I ask Elder Shang to forgive us."

In front of the Yuheng Hall, six young people wearing pill robes stepped down to meet him, cupping their hands in polite refusal before they had even stopped.

Hearing this, Shang Que frowned: "Who are you?"

"I am Hong Zhen, a disciple under the Abbot, and these are my junior brothers and sisters."

The Pill Sect's Abbot, Patriarch Yuan Li, had six disciples, all of whom were Upper Five Realm alchemists and the main force for the annual supply of elixirs.

So perhaps others might not be clear about Hong Zhen's name, but these elders were not unfamiliar with it.

This was a disciple under Patriarch Yuan Li with extremely high talent and an astonishing pill-making success rate, the head of the six children. Many Immortal Sect families had once had the thought of letting their younger generations marry him.

And among them, there were two whom Ji You discovered he had seen before.

One was Wen Bin, who was ordered to demonstrate pill techniques for the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan when they came to visit Danshan.

The other was Yuan Bingqing, who, during the Autumn Battle four thousand years ago, followed Danyangzi to Danshan because of You Buyu's affair and was entrusted by Yuan Caiwei to deliver a letter to him.

"So it is the Abbot's high disciple."

"Elder Shang, you are too polite. The pill appreciation meeting at the Kaiyang Hall has already begun, hasn't it? Have you seen any elixirs you like, Elder? Master said that everyone who came up the mountain today is a distinguished guest of our Pill Sect, and all can be gifted for free."

"I don't have much interest in elixirs this time. However, since it is inconvenient for the Pill Sect's Abbot to see guests, then so be it. I will come again tomorrow morning."

Shang Que waved his sleeves, and as he turned, he added: "The Pill Sect's pill path is inherited from the Heavenly Dao, mysterious and infinite. Master Yuan has controlled the holy artifact for many years, and his pill techniques are heaven-reaching; he should be fully recovered overnight."

The six disciples watched him go, their smiles fading, their brows unable to help but furrow slightly.

However, not long after the Asking Dao Sect's Elder Shang Que left, an elder from the Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion also drifted over.

What he said was almost the same as what Shang Que had said, also seeking an audience with Patriarch Yuan Li, and the answer from Hong Zhen and the others remained that the Abbot was bedridden and unable to rise.

"Huo Yu, Elder of the Mountain Sea Pavilion, has come to seek an audience with the Pill Sect's Abbot..."

"Chen Ke, Elder of the Chen family's immortal clan, has come to seek an audience with the Pill Sect's Abbot..."

"Yan Jingfu, Elder of the Spirit Sword Mountain, has come here to seek an audience with the Pill Sect's Abbot..."

Wave after wave of people arrived one after another, all drifting away after failing to seek an audience, without forcing the issue during the process...

After the *shen* hour (3-5 PM), having sent off the elder from Spirit Sword Mountain, the sun had already begun to head toward dusk.

The golden light shifted with the setting sun, at this time shrouding the Yuheng Hall, casting a brilliant radiance reflected by its golden treasure roof.

Seeing this kind of visiting come to an abrupt end, everyone could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, a trace of fatigue appearing on their faces.

Hong Zhen, a high disciple under the Abbot, leaned against the corridor pillar: "Out of the six major Immortal Sects, five have come."

Yuan Bingqing raised her head after hearing this: "Only the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan didn't send anyone?"

"Our Pill Sect and the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan have some friendship after all; even if they wanted to come, they wouldn't be so blatant. It's just that five out of six came, and it's no different from all six coming."

During the conversation, Wen Bin suddenly received a disciple's message. After unfolding it and reading it twice, he walked toward Hong Zhen and said: "It's not five, Senior Brother; all six major Immortal Sects have come."

Hong Zhen's eyes were stunned: "How can that be?"

"Just now a disciple came to report that Ji You of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan also came up the mountain early this morning. He showed his face at the Danxia Terrace and then disappeared."

"Ji You..."

After hearing this name, all the male disciples, including Hong Zhen, fell into silence.

They had grown up on Danshan since childhood and were treated like his own children by the Abbot. In fact, they all had feelings for Yuan Caiwei; after all, who wouldn't like the Abbot's daughter they spent every day with?

When the Pill Sect decided to recruit You Buyu as a son-in-law, intending to marry into the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, they even expressed the thought of taking her to elope, but the other party did not respond.

Later, because You Buyu fell in realm after asking at Spirit Sword Mountain, the marriage was left unsettled.

They had originally breathed a sigh of relief, but who knew that later there would be rumors about Ji You and Yuan Caiwei, which had not stopped for two or three years.

The Pill Sect belongs to a semi-secluded state, and the alchemists on the mountain have no ability to travel everywhere.

They were not clear about the details of the rumors and even had less understanding of Ji You than ordinary Immortal Sect disciples, but the secret pain in their hearts had always existed.

"No, the relationship between Ji You and the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan is not good. Why would he come forward on behalf of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan to ask our Pill Sect for someone?"

Yuan Bingqing opened her mouth in silence: "It must be that the spirit has been tense these past few days, making the disciples down the mountain see wrong."

Wen Bin looked at Yuan Bingqing after hearing this: "It is true that Ji You is excluded by the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, but this is not the first time he has come forward on behalf of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan. Don't forget he has been to Spirit Sword Mountain to ask about the Dao, and has also served as an envoy to the Snow Region as a disciple of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan."

"That was forced."

"The sword forest of Spirit Sword Mountain was not something others forced him to break."

Hong Zhen frowned after hearing this: "People without sufficient background will be treated as aliens in the Qingyun world. Ji You appears aloof to the outside, but in order to integrate, it is not impossible for him to secretly stick his hot face to a cold butt."

Wen Bin looked at the bustling mountain foot at this time: "This may not be a bad thing."

"What does Ji Shidi Wen mean?"

"Five or six makes no difference, but since he came here today like other Immortal Sect members, it shows he has no goodwill toward our Pill Sect, and the rumors with Caiwei are probably just rumors; otherwise, he shouldn't have shown his face."

Yuan Bingqing was just about to say something when her peripheral vision suddenly caught a graceful figure coming down from the Yaoguang Hall high above: "Senior Sister Caiwei..."

Everyone looked over at the sound and saw Yuan Caiwei walking down the mountain with graceful steps.

Several young men wanted to say hello, but discovered Yuan Caiwei's eyes were moist and her steps hurried, with expectation written in her eyes, as if she were going to see someone, and the words in their mouths were suddenly swallowed back.

The Pill Sect has faced many major events recently, the biggest of which is the issue of holy artifact inheritance.

They all knew Yuan Chen had officially gone into seclusion, and Yan Shimei Caiwei was strictly guarding it, not leaving a single step.

In other words, if someone she really wanted to see hadn't come, she wouldn't easily come out of the Yaoguang Hall.

Coincidentally, they had just learned that Ji You had come to the Pill Sect.

And when their gazes shifted with Yuan Caiwei's steps, their complexions gradually became ugly.

Because they discovered that the direction Yuan Caiwei was going was her own bamboo building, and suddenly realized that Ji You, who had disappeared after going up the mountain, might be in her boudoir.

Jiyue also came from the direction of the Yaoguang Hall at this time, barely following behind.

She had gone to the Yaoguang Hall after Ji You left the bamboo building courtyard, feeling that since he was the son-in-law, this news should be told to the young lady as soon as possible.