"Hey, did you get it?"
"No, man. What about you?"
"I was also declared useless."
*Sigh*
Chatter echoed through the surroundings as people spoke about their experiences.
Now, the crowd had shifted from the village square to the village chief’s household at Ye Chen’s insistence.
People were going in full of hope and coming out dejectedly.
After a while, it was Gu Changsheng’s turn. Entering a guest room, he took in the sight of two women sitting cross-legged on futons.
In front of them lay a simple formation, which shimmered with light, illuminating the room.
"Sit in the center of the formation."
Su Mingyue instructed, following which Gu Changsheng sat in front of them.
Now sitting up close, he truly understood the Dao of big melons, juicy melons. Su Mingyue and Ning Rongrong both had great mother figures.
"Now place your hand above this spirit stone."
Su Mingyue’s voice took away his focus to the spherical blue jade in her hand, which appeared god knows when.
Placing his hand above the jade, his heart surged with a special feeling, like something was seeping out of the jade and getting sucked into his body.
He closed his eyes to better feel this weird but soothing sensation.
Watching the spirit stone lose its luster at a visible speed, surprise flickered in her eyes.
She never expected to meet someone having spiritual roots in this village.
In fact, they never came to this village to recruit disciples. They only decided to on a whim because they couldn’t find ’that’.
What a bargain.
Su Mingyue’s eyebrows tilted slightly, indicating she was smiling, but soon she frowned.
The energy going into Gu Changsheng’s body wasn’t getting absorbed by him.
Placing her own hand on his, she tried to find out why this was happening. Then again, her expression changed, this time with shock.
8th Stage of Body Refinement!
Good lad!
She had found a treasure, a real genius.
As for the issue of spirit energy dispersion, it was nothing but overuse of the meridians. To solve it, a 1–Star healing pill would do.
In fact, Gu Changsheng came here at the risk of exposing himself because he needed to go to a cultivation sect, to solve his own problem and pursue greater cultivation opportunities.
Opening his eyes, he saw Su Mingyue and Ning Rongrong both looking curiously at him.
"Congrats, little brother. You have spiritual roots."
Ning Rongrong finally said something, making it her first conversation of the day. Her voice was meek and low-pitched.
"Ohh!"
Gu Changsheng exclaimed, pretending to be shocked. But his acting looked a bit fake.
"No need to act surprised. You must have cultivated a Body Refinement Technique, right?"
Hearing this, a wry smile immediately appeared on his face. He got caught, as expected.
"Hmm, I did cultivate a rudimentary cultivation technique."
"Alright then, let me ask you. Do you want to come with us, join the Cloud Piercing Sect, or stay here?"
Su Mingyue, nodding her head, came straight to the point, to which Gu Changsheng unhurriedly agreed.
"It would be my honor to join the Cloud Piercing Sect."
"Okay then, meet us in two days at the village entrance. We will leave at that time."
Ning Rongrong stated happily, and Gu Changsheng slowly bobbed his head as he left the room.
...
Two days later.
Dong Household.
"Can I really not come with you??"
Dong Mulan intoned sadly, her voice filled with worry and reluctance. She didn’t expect that Gu Changsheng would leave, without her at that.
"No, you cannot."
Gu Changsheng denied headfast. Mulan had a special talent, the Nine–Elemental Holy Physique. Though that was good, it could also attract trouble.
As the saying goes, with great beauty comes great trouble.
So he would first observe the situation over there and then decide if taking her was okay or not.
He was also a bit reluctant, but there was no other option.
"Take care of yourself out there. My daughter will be waiting for you."
Su Lan uttered softly, worry also clearly expressed in her eyes. But if he didn’t go, then it would be a waste of his cultivation talent. Not many could walk the path of immortality, so he should definitely strive for it.
"Hmm."
Gu Changsheng nodded slightly, turning towards Dong Yang, who stood by silently.
"Uncle, Aunt, Mulan, I will be going then."
"You kid... Cultivation isn’t child’s play. If it doesn’t work out, just come back home."
Dong Yang responded, his tone heavy but also carrying a hint of warmth.
As Gu Changsheng left, began the wait of a woman who longed for him to return.
...
Midnight.
"Have you said farewell to your family?"
Ning Rongrong asked, seeing Gu Changsheng coming with a cloth bag on his shoulder.
Gu Changsheng nodded. The three now stood by the village entrance, as they decided it was better to leave without disturbing anyone.
Su Mingyue whistled, calling forth two white horses.
"We only got two horses, so ride with me, alright?"
Gu Changsheng nodded, while confirming his suspicion.
These two women definitely didn’t come here to recruit disciples, or they could’ve made some preparation.
They were definitely here for something else. He just didn’t know if it was really that Nine–Elemental Lotus.
But then again, if it was, shouldn’t they try to use the villagers to search for it? Unable to search for it themselves, the villagers could definitely try to curry favor with them.
Gu Changsheng’s mind was filled with questions, slowly jumping up to sit on the horse.
Seeing Gu Changsheng finally seated behind her, Su Mingyue signaled for Ning Rongrong as they began their journey.
As the village blurred from sight, Gu Changsheng sighed slightly. He didn’t know when he would be back. Hell, he didn’t even know when they would reach the Cloud Piercing Sect.
"Umm... Senior, in how much time will we reach the Cloud Piercing Sect?"
Gu Changsheng asked, his posture a bit awkward, his hands holding onto the back of the saddle.
Truth be told, he had never ridden a horse.