Early the next morning, Chi Yao and Shen Yu waited respectfully outside Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's bedchamber, waiting for him to emerge from secluded meditation.
As the sun gradually rose, the Warding Barrier outside the bedchamber finally vanished, and the doors were opened right after.
"Let's go—Master wants us to come in."
Shen Yu stepped into the hall first, and Chi Yao immediately followed behind him.
However, once inside the main hall, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi was nowhere to be seen. Shen Yu seemed entirely used to this and simply led Chi Yao toward the rear hall.
It was in a pavilion in the rear hall that Chi Yao finally caught sight of her master.
"Master!"
Chi Yao ran over excitedly, and Immortal Venerable Yun Yi immediately waved at her with a smile.
"Well, well! My dear disciple is here! Come, come, have a seat!"
The moment Chi Yao sat down, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi pushed the prepared pastries in front of her, then turned his gaze to Shen Yu, who had followed behind.
"Well, I'll be—the sun must be rising in the west. In the past, you never showed up when I emerged from secluded meditation, yet today you're so diligent."
Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's tone was full of teasing, and as he spoke, he couldn't help glancing at Chi Yao beside him.
But Shen Yu's expression remained unchanged. Ignoring the teasing, he walked straight to the table and sat down.
"Master, when you emerged from secluded meditation last time, I had clearly just visited."
At the mention of this, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi got worked up.
Last time, he hadn't planned to come out of secluded meditation at all—it was this rebellious disciple who had barged in and forced him to come out and take on a new disciple.
He was someone who loved his peace and quiet, so after gaining Shen Yu, a disciple who constantly gave him headaches, he had no intention of taking on any more disciples.
When Shen Yu demanded that he take on a disciple, he refused at first, but this rebellious disciple actually threatened him—if he didn't agree, Shen Yu wouldn't let him enter secluded meditation.
In the end, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi relented.
He had assumed Shen Yu was foisting another little troublemaker on him, but when he arrived at the place, he saw a young girl instead.
At that moment, he immediately understood his rebellious disciple's intentions.
In fact, three years ago he had already noticed that this rebellious disciple's iron tree had finally blossomed. Not only did he often sneak off to watch a certain young girl, he also secretly sent her gifts—without ever letting her know it was him.
He had offered more than once: if the rebellious disciple liked her, he would go propose the marriage on his behalf right away.
But the rebellious disciple said he had his own pace.
So three years later, the rebellious disciple pestered him into taking this young girl as his disciple.
Still, upon meeting Chi Yao, he was quite satisfied.
Although Chi Yao's foundation was a bit weak, her comprehension ability was exceptionally high, and he liked her personality very much.
And so, quite naturally, he accepted Chi Yao as his disciple.
Thinking of this, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi glanced at Chi Yao, who was obediently eating her pastries, and couldn't help nodding in satisfaction.
This was what a good, obedient disciple should be—unlike the rebellious one nearby, who was always stirring up trouble. In those first few years, nearly every time he emerged from secluded meditation, someone would come to file complaints, giving him endless headaches.
Fortunately, the complaints eventually stopped.
Not because the rebellious disciple had reformed, but because anyone who dared to complain had been beaten into submission by him.
Ever since the little disciple arrived, however, this rebellious disciple had been putting on a righteous act all day long, even secretly preening and posing in front of her.
It was simply unbearable to watch.
"Master."
Chi Yao's voice pulled Immortal Venerable Yun Yi back from his thoughts. When he turned to look, she was already holding out an ornate brocade box to him.
"This time I placed first in the disciple examination. This is the reverse scale I obtained during the test—I'd like to give it to you, Master."
"That's my good disciple for you! Simply outstanding!"
Hearing that his disciple had taken first place, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi was naturally overjoyed. He took the brocade box and opened it, and a look of surprise crossed his face.
"This is actually Zhulong’s reverse scale?"
"That's right! If you hadn't prepared the Tianji Pill for me, Master, I never would have achieved such good results in this examination."
With that, Chi Yao stood up and showed Immortal Venerable Yun Yi her mermaid-silk gown and the hairpin in her hair.
"There's also the mermaid-silk gown and hairpin you gave me, Master. I love them both."
"Ah… so I did all these things, did I?" A hint of bewilderment appeared on Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's face.
But he quickly figured out what was going on. He glanced at Shen Yu, who was calmly sipping his tea, and immediately understood that all of this was likely the work of his rebellious disciple.
So it seemed that in the months he'd been in secluded meditation, the two of them had made no progress at all.
At this thought, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's eyes rolled, and he turned his gaze back to Chi Yao.
"My good disciple, you've been at the Tianyan Sect for several months now. Have you taken a fancy to any man?"
"Crash!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the sound of a cup shattering came from nearby.
Chi Yao and Immortal Venerable Yun Yi immediately looked over, just in time to see a cup shattered in Shen Yu's hand, the tea inside spilling out and dripping down his fingertips.
"My apologies. My hand slipped."
Shen Yu's face remained expressionless as he calmly took out a handkerchief and wiped the water from his hand.
But a trace of confusion showed in Chi Yao's eyes.
She really couldn't understand how a slip of the hand could cause a cup to shatter outright.
Immortal Venerable Yun Yi, however, knew perfectly well why his rebellious disciple had reacted this way.
Nothing more than nervousness.
He had only wanted to give the rebellious disciple a helping hand—he never expected such a strong reaction.
Immortal Venerable Yun Yi shot Shen Yu a meaningful glance, then continued questioning Chi Yao:
"My good disciple, you still haven't told me—have you taken a fancy to any man? Don't worry, no matter who you set your sights on, I can get him for you."
Those words did stir a flicker of temptation in Chi Yao.
She instinctively looked up at Shen Yu, only to see him intently wiping the water from his hand, seemingly completely indifferent to what was being discussed.
That flicker of temptation instantly died.
Chi Yao knew very well that even if she told her master she liked Shen Yu, given his temperament, Shen Yu would absolutely never agree—and it would only expose her feelings.
So she couldn't tell her master.
She would win over her Senior Brother with her own hands.
Chi Yao withdrew her gaze and shook her head at Immortal Venerable Yun Yi.
"Master, I don't have any man I fancy. For now, I only want to focus on my cultivation."
What Chi Yao didn't know was that after she said this, Shen Yu's hand paused for a moment as he wiped it, and a trace of disappointment flashed through his lowered eyes.
"I see." Immortal Venerable Yun Yi glanced at Shen Yu and stroked his beard. "My good disciple is so diligent—it warms my heart."
It wouldn't hurt to let his rebellious disciple suffer a little.
Immortal Venerable Yun Yi smiled and withdrew his gaze, then, as if sensing something, looked out toward the pavilion.
At that moment, an emerald-green little bird flew over and landed directly on Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's shoulder. After chirping a couple of times, it flapped its wings and flew off again.
A hint of delight appeared on Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's face.
"An old friend of mine has come. Come with me to greet them."
With that, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi rose and walked out of the pavilion, and Chi Yao quickly stood up and followed behind her master.
Upon arriving at the front hall, Chi Yao spotted three figures inside from a distance.
Only when she drew closer did Chi Yao realize that these three were the family of three she had encountered in the Secret Realm that day.
"Brother Ji and Madam, you've come from afar—what a tiring journey. Please, have a seat."
The moment Immortal Venerable Yun Yi saw them, he warmly invited them to sit.
From her master's form of address, Chi Yao learned of their identities.
This husband and wife were the famous War God Couple of the Cultivation Realm—Immortal Venerable Ji Jin and Fairy Jiang Lan.
The tale of how this couple had battled the Demon Race together was still widely told throughout the Cultivation Realm. The two were deeply devoted to each other, and could truly be called a model couple of the Cultivation World.
Following beside them was their daughter, Ji Yunshang. It was said that this daughter had come to them only after great difficulty, so they doted on her immensely, indulging her every whim.
Chi Yao's gaze lingered on Ji Yunshang for a moment, and she silently concluded that the rumors were not exaggerated.
From her attire to her innocent, carefree demeanor, everything showed that Ji Yunshang must be terribly spoiled.
"And this must be Yunshang? It's been so long—she's grown so much."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi also noticed Ji Yunshang standing to the side.
"Yunshang pays her respects to the Immortal Venerable."
Before the War God couple could speak, Ji Yunshang rose on her own and bowed to Immortal Venerable Yun Yi.
"There's no need for such formality, good child. Do come visit Tianyan Sect often in the future." Immortal Venerable Yun Yi nodded with a smile.
"Then why not take Yunshang as your disciple, Immortal Venerable? Yunshang likes it here very much and wants to stay and cultivate here."
Ji Yunshang's words caught everyone off guard—including her own parents.
"Yunshang speaks without thinking. Forgive her, Immortal Venerable." Immortal Venerable Ji Jin quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
He had assumed his daughter was merely speaking on a whim, but the moment those words left his mouth, Ji Yunshang immediately grabbed his sleeve and said stubbornly:
"I wasn't speaking without thinking. I want to be Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's disciple. Father, Mother, please agree."
These words made the couple's expressions even more troubled.
Setting aside how presumptuous their daughter's words were, even if Immortal Venerable Yun Yi agreed to take her as a disciple, they would truly be reluctant to part with her.
He and his wife had some talent for cultivation, but the daughter they bore had only mediocre aptitude.
It was precisely for this reason that they could never bear to let their daughter suffer, and had never been strict with her cultivation.
But Tianyan Sect had always been demanding toward its disciples, and he genuinely worried that his daughter would suffer there.
"Yunshang, stop this nonsense." Immortal Venerable Ji Jin's tone grew heavier.
"I'm not being nonsense! I want to be Immortal Venerable Yun Yi's disciple. If you won't agree, Father and Mother, I'll never speak to you again!"
Ji Yunshang turned her face away, puffed up with anger, refusing to back down.
This left the Ji couple rather embarrassed.
Ji Jin gave Immortal Venerable Yun Yi a slightly apologetic smile, and after a moment of thought, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi finally spoke:
"Since Yunshang is so fond of this place, how about this—we'll first register Yunshang as a disciple under my name and let her cultivate here for a while. When she grows homesick, Brother Ji can come take her back."
The meaning of these words was quite clear—Ji Yunshang would simply be registered under his name, allowed to play at the Tianyan Sect for a while, and once the novelty wore off, Ji Jin and his wife would take her back home.
"We truly trouble you, Immortal Venerable." Ji Jin and his wife ultimately relented.
This way, they could indulge their daughter's wishes without worrying about her suffering hardship, and they could still bring her home afterward. For them, it was undoubtedly the best outcome.
"Disciple Yunshang greets Master!"
Seeing that things had worked out, Ji Yunshang immediately stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Immortal Venerable Yun Yi.
But when Chi Yao saw the brilliant smile on her face, she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
Master had taken in another Junior Sister, which meant she was no longer his only Junior Sister.
Would Senior Brother also look after this newly admitted Junior Sister the way he looked after her?
At the mere thought of that possibility, a surge of intense jealousy welled up in Chi Yao's heart.
Even though reason told her that it was only natural for a Senior Brother to look after his Junior Sister, that intense possessiveness made it impossible for her to accept Shen Yu caring about anyone else—even if it was just to fulfill his duty as a Senior Brother.
The hand hanging at Chi Yao's side unconsciously clenched.
Meanwhile, Immortal Venerable Yun Yi was already chuckling and telling Ji Yunshang to rise. "No need for such formality. Get up. How about I arrange lodgings for you right now?"
"Thank you, Master!"
Ji Yunshang's eyes lit up with joy, but before Immortal Venerable Yun Yi could say anything more, she suddenly turned a somewhat bashful gaze toward Shen Yu standing nearby.
Chi Yao caught that gesture clearly.
For some reason, Chi Yao's heart grew even more vexed, accompanied by a sense of crisis.
"Master, I like Senior Brother! I want to live in the place closest to Senior Brother!"