Xiao Shi responded displeasingly, “So you’re not listening to me, I guess I’ll have to tell Little Sis!”

　　Chu Li replied, “She’s not willing to see me now.”

　　“What are you guys on about now?” Xiao Shi lamented.

　　Chu Li shook his head. “We’ll see in a few days… It’s getting late, you better rest.”

　　“It looks like you really can join the Amethyst Mountain,” said Xiao Shi. “Please don’t be stupid and not seize the chance ahead of you. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”

　　Chu Li nodded and got up waving his arm. He then left the Tianshu Courtyard.

　　In the morning of the second day, Chu Li lay in bed, unwilling to get up.

　　Leng Qiu and Leng Qing were both practicing their swords in the courtyard as the sounds of their swords cutting through the air could be heard. The two females were advancing fast, maturing the first form of Godly Sword.

　　Chu Li, on the other hand, lay in bed, staring up at the sunken panel of the ceiling. His thoughts were far away.

　　“Head Chief?’ Chief Zhu’s voice could be heard from outside the courtyard.

　　Chu Li got up from his bed and answered with dissatisfaction, “Come in!”

　　Chief Zhu pushed open the door to the courtyard. He closed fist saluted at the two females and walked to Chu Li.

　　Chu Li scoffed. “Dare you enter!”

　　“Hehe…” Chief Zhu awkwardly responded. “Please forgive me, Head Chief! It’s another invitation from Miss Yu Qing.”

　　Chu Li’s raised his eyebrow and took the invitation.

　　Chief Zhu chuckled with an odd expression. He was filled with admiration, “Is Head Chief thinking of buying Miss Yu Qing’s freedom?”

　　Chu Li burst into laughter. “You really have a wild imagination. Go about your affairs!”

　　“Hehe, then I’ll wish Head Chief good luck!” Chief Zhu teased him and closed fist saluted in a bid of farewell.

　　Leng Qiu and Leng Qing peered over. It was obvious they had overheard the conversation.

　　Chu Li remarked, “Don’t be distracted while on the sword or your energy will become impure. There’ll be no point of cultivating!”

　　“Yes,” Leng Qiu and Leng Qing responded. They rolled their eyes at him, then continued with their swordplay.

　　——

　　A bright moon hung high in the sky. It was like a wheel of ice slowly shining down across the entire land.

　　Chu Li walked to the Verdant Cloud Brothel and handed the invitation over to the Protector. The Protector took one look at it and gave him a smile. “Miss Yu Qing has already told us that Head Chief may go over whenever he likes. No need to be polite.”

　　Chu Li nodded and paced into the courtyard. He then followed the path he took yesterday to a courtyard where a maid beckoned him into the hall.

　　Yu Qing quietly read a book while dressed in dark green. With her snowy face and gentle brow and eyes, she looked captivating.

　　Upon hearing footsteps, Yu Qing put down her book and got up to curtsey. “Head Chief, sorry to bother you.”

　　Chu Li smiled. “No no, I should be overwhelmed with flattery.”

　　Yu Qing replied, “I have conveyed your interest to the sect, and the sect is welcoming toward you.”

　　Chu Li gave a bitter smile and closed fist saluted. “I am swamped; I can’t enter the Amethyst Mountain.”

　　“Please sit down and talk,” Yu Qing personally prepared tea and brought it to him. Then, she sat down opposite him.

　　The two of them were sitting at opposite ends of the table, about two feet apart. She spoke softly, “There might be a way around this.”

　　Chu Li looked at her in surprise.

　　Yu Qing added, “Not all the disciples in the sect are in the mountain – there are some that live outside the mountain. The disciples in the mountain are usually able to cultivate in peace while the disciple out of the mountain have mortal affairs to attend to and are thus, unable to fully concentrate. Because of this, their cultivation levels tend to be slightly lower.”

　　Chu Li slowly nodded.

　　Yu Qing continued, “Apart from the twelve peaks, there’s another Obvious Clan and Hidden Clan, which are intertwined with the twelve peaks.”

　　“Do explain,” Chu Li leaned forward.

　　He could sense how highly Amethyst Mountain regarded him. They badly wanted him to join them. The reason for this was that he could see through the Phantom Yin Skill, which made him the best candidate to cultivate the Phantom Yin Skill. He would surely go further than anyone else.

　　“The disciples of the Obvious Clan move around the world of martial arts as proud disciples of Amethyst Mountain, but the disciples of the Hidden Clan hide their identity and live in plain sight, observing the mortal world while cultivating in the dark, only appearing at crucial times when they are needed before covering up their identity once again.”

　　“Hidden Clan and Obvious Clan…” Chu Li nodded. This was interesting.

　　“The disciples of the Obvious Clan are those who enter the Buddhist rites and represent the face of the Amethyst Mountain, while the disciples of the Hidden Clan need not enter the Buddhist path of rites. Even if their cultivation levels are not up to par, they can still leave the mountain and cultivate at their own pace,” said Yu Qing.

　　Chu Li responded, “Miss Yu Qing’s cultivation level must be enough to leave the mountain.”

　　Yu Qing shook her head, “Unfortunately not, I couldn’t enter the Buddhist passage of rite.”

　　Chu Li sighed, “So you’re a disciple of the Hidden Clan?”

　　“Yes, the disciples of the Hidden Clan make up the majority of the ‘leavers’ – only a handful are disciples of the Obvious Clan,” replied Yu Qing. “If you really cannot forsake everything here, then you can first become a disciple of the Hidden Clan.”

　　Chu Li fell deep into thought.

　　It was indeed a good idea. Amethyst Mountain was extraordinary and spared no expense in absorbing talents. How could he be dissatisfied with such flexibility in soliciting talent and open-minded cultivation?

　　“What do you think?” Yu Qing continued, “Do you want to join my sect?”

　　Chu Li asked, “How do I learn?”

　　“You can choose to enter the mountain, or not,” answered Yu Qing. “It’s best to enter the mountain, but if you do not wish to, you can learn the martial arts outside the mountain. There will be a specialized master that will come over to train you.”

　　Chu Li slowly nodded.

　　Footsteps could be heard from outside as the voice of the maid called out, “Young lady, Senior Shen has arrived.”

　　“Please have Senior Shen come in,” Yu Qing immediately answered.

　　She got up and went out to greet her guest, quickly bringing in a handsome yet inarticulate middle-aged man. His eye sockets were deep, and his gaze was piercing, as if it could see through one’s heart.

　　Chu Li took one look at him and indistinctly felt a sense of familiarity, despite never seeing him before.

　　“This is Master’s Senior Shen,” said Yu Qing. “Master’s Senior Shen Xu.”

　　Chu Li was stunned.

　　He had a photographic memory. Upon hearing this name and his affiliation to Amethyst Mountain, his identity immediately came to mind.

　　Shen Xu was the person Xiao Qi wanted to ask to aid Chu Li in accessing Amethyst Mountain. However, at the time, Shen Xu was meditating in seclusion, so the matter was put on hold.

　　Shen Xu sized Chu Li up and dully responded, “How is Young Qi?”

　　“You’re the Third Young Lady’s…?” Chu Li replied.

　　“Her uncle,” answered Shen Xu.

　　Chu Li nodded. No wonder he looked familiar. He shared some similarities with Shen Yinghu.

　　“Then Senior Shen Yinghu is…?”

　　“My second sister,” replied Shen Xu.

　　Chu Li closed fist saluted. “Senior Shen.”

　　Shen Xu replied, “No need for the formalities. I have just left seclusion and found out about you. I’m here to guide you into Amethyst Mountain!”

　　“But I…” Chu Li tried to speak.

　　Shen Xu shook his head. “I have already informed the head of the sect about you before I started my seclusion. He has already agreed to you joining. It’s not too late for you to enter now… This is my fault, I didn’t think the seclusion would last so long that it delayed your cultivation.”

　　Chu Li commented, “I can’t leave Fairy’s Capital, I need to cultivate in the King An’s Imperial Residence.”

　　“This is easy,” said Shen Xu. “I will personally teach you martial arts. I believe you want to learn the Nature Restoration Manifestation?”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　Shen Xu continued, “What a coincidence, I am a disciple of the Nature Peak Manifestation!”

　　Chu Li looked at him with doubt. Just how much of a coincidence could there be?

　　Shen Xu remarked, “What’s the point learning the Nature Restoration Manifestation though? There isn’t much impact as you can’t use it to restrain your opponents. I would advise you to learn something else!”

　　Chu Li shook his head.

　　Shen Xu added, “Alright then, you can learn this first. Once you find the time, you may return to the mountain to learn something else.”

　　Now that it had come to this, Chu Li made up his mind. He closed fist saluted. “I’ll be troubling Senior Shen then. Let me thank you first!”