“Shen… Shen Ying?” Who! Who? He had never heard of her. But the main point was—since when had this person been standing here? He was a Nascent Soul cultivator, yet he hadn’t detected her presence at all. Xi Qiu swept a questioning look at his sect members, but they all wore equally surprised expressions.

　　His heart immediately sank and he became on guard. He glanced at the girl, releasing a bit of his Divine Perception. His Divine Perception revealed that she did not possess any Spirit Qi—she was only a mortal.

　　Xi Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had not noticed her because he had been overcome by surprise. But… it was certainly strange that Yi Qing, a Golden Core Sword Cultivator, had actually sought a mortal woman as his master. Although the path of a Sword Cultivator was arduous, his future would be limitless once his Core reached fruition. Why had he chosen a master like this?

　　“Miss… Shen,” Xi Qiu greeted her with a smile. She was definitely a mortal. He thought it over again, and surmised that perhaps this girl was Yi Qing’s mortal master from before his cultivation practice began. Perhaps even after he started on the Immortal Dao, he still could not forget his teacher’s kindness which just proved the nobleness of his character. This further convinced Xi Qiu that he had to recruit Yi Qing.

　　“Since you already have a master, I will certainly not force you to choose another.” He smiled and continued to persuade him, “But there is always the position of guest elder in my sect, and since my Fellow Daoist is already a Golden Core Dao Lord, how about becoming a guest elder in my sect?”

　　Yi Qing frowned uncertainly.

　　Xi Qiu immediately added, “Although guest elders are nominal sect members, we usually don’t impose any restrictions on them. Fellow Daoist can still travel like you did before. Only, you can expect help from my sect during your travels. For instance, we can assist in matters such as releasing souls from Gonfalons, saving you much trouble. Just instruct my disciples to bring them back to our sect.”

　　Indeed, being a member of a sect did have its benefits. More than anything, one only had to look at the matter of Rui Mi. If he had had the support of a sect, he could have solved the problem before the Soul Devouring Gonfalon gave birth to the Ghost King.

　　“Besides, my sect always gives our guest elders special treatment.” Xi Qiu continued to try and persuade him. “You can choose whatever cultivation technique you want from our Dao Repository. We will also provide a separate cave abode and a monthly supply of spirit stones and elixirs. If you have any other requests, please feel free to bring them up.”

　　“Are meals provided?” Yi Qing was just about to refuse when Shen Ying suddenly popped a question.

　　“What?” Xi Qiu was momentarily stumped. What kind of request was that?

　　A thought suddenly struck Yi Qing who had been unmoved by Xi Qiu’s speech until that point. There was an contrite expression on his face. He had forgotten that master had not had breakfast yet. This reflected badly on his competency as a disciple.

　　“Sect Master Xi, does your sect provide your disciples with a daily supply of food such as spirit rice and fruit?” he asked solemnly.

　　“Yes, we do…” Is this a very important condition? Isn’t food only required by outer sect disciples who are yet to practice Grain Liberation? “If you like, you can obtain it from the Outer Affairs Hall.”

　　“Okay, I’m in!”

　　“Huh! Huh?” You agreed just like that… don’t you need to think it over?

　　!!!∑(゚Д゚ノ)ノ

　　“Sect Master, I must trouble you to arrange a place with a kitchen.” Yi Qing clasped his hands in a show of thanks.

　　“Alright…” A bemused Xi Qiu called over a disciple to lead the way.

　　However, Yi Qing’s group was already rushing out of the hall with the disciple. Though they were some distance away, the gist of their conversation could still be heard.

　　“I’m famished!”

　　“Fellow Daoist, please lead the way quickly. My master is hungry.”

　　“How much longer?”

　　“Master, don’t worry. We are almost there.”

　　“Oh, please make soup today. I have been hungry for too long, so I need to warm my belly.”

　　“Yes Master, no problem Master!”

　　Xi Qiu: “…”

　　Xi Chen: “…”

　　Hall masters: “…”

　　What should they make of this oddball master and disciple?

　　————————

　　An array formation was spread throughout the Jing Qing Hall. In the middle of the golden array formation, a black flag fluttered in the windless air. A great mass of Ghost Qi was surging inside the flag. There was a broken formation in the center, but not a trace of Ghost Qi could be seen outside.

　　Four Nascent Soul Elders sat nearby, looking at the flag in shock.

　　“What is going on? Why is our sorcery totally useless?” Xi Chen frowned and looked at the ghost flag in the center. “If we don’t release the evil spirits, we can’t purge the Ghost Qi inside. The seal on the flag surface is already torn, but why is there still no sign of any ghosts emerging?”

　　“The flag was definitely made by Rui Mi who has always been a cunning one. There must be a mystery in the flag that we have yet to figure out.” Xi Qiu replied with a serious expression on his face.

　　“What is to be done now? If it goes on like this, the Ghost Qi will only grow stronger.”

　　Xi Qiu flexed his hands tensely before looking to Xi Chen and saying, “I’d better ask Uncle-Master to come. He was always the expert in array formations.”

　　Xi Chen immediately took out a Dharmic talisman and formed a hand seal. In the blink of an eye, the Dharmic talisman turned into a stream of light and flew outside. It wasn’t long before the hall rang with the sound of a male voice. “What is it that you urgently need to see me about?”

　　A figure had suddenly appeared in the hall. He looked extremely young, clad in a long and white gown over a blue outfit, and held a jade flute in his hands. Sporting shoulder-length hair, he had a handsome face and his whole body exuded an aura of Spirit Cleansing Qi. He seemed like an immortal untouched by earthly concerns, giving off the impression that he might ascend into heaven in the very next moment.

　　“We pay our respects to Uncle-Master Lonemoon!” The four men got up and saluted.

　　“Hmm.” He nodded, still wearing that expression of saintly indifference. Looking around, he set his sights on the flag above. “Soul Devouring Gonfalon! Why is it here? Have you gotten rid of that Fiendish Cultivator?”

　　“With all due respect Uncle-Master, Rui Mi is indeed dead, but we didn’t kill him.” Xi Qiu bowed and explained, “He was killed by an itinerant cultivator who delivered the flag here to be purged of its Ghost Qi.”

　　“Hmm.” Lonemoon responded calmly, and at the same time formed a hand seal in passing before directing it at the flag. There was still no response from the flag—it did not so much as tremble.

　　“Huh?” Lonemoon was stunned. This Soul Devouring Gonfalon could actually resist the sorcery of a Soul Formation cultivator.

　　“Uncle-Master, the four of us have just tried the same thing. No matter what spell we used, this ghost flag still did not respond. I wonder why?” Xi Qiu elaborated.

　　“Maybe it’s because of the seal formation on the flag.” Lonemoon looked up at the flag with a frown, scrutinizing it closely. After a while he commented, “I do not know who laid this formation. It seems broken, yet it wields such great power.”

　　A thought struck Xi Qiu and he immediately said, “This may have been caused by the Sword Dao.”

　　“Sword Dao?” asked Lonemoon, turning around.

　　“He is a Golden Core Dao Lord, and he has quite a reputation among the itinerant cultivators,” Xi Qiu said laughingly. “He has joined our sect as a guest elder. His name is Yi Qing.”

　　“What!” Lonemoon exclaimed, unable to maintain his usual calm demeanor. “What did you say his name was?”

　　Xi Qiu was puzzled. He could not understand why Uncle-Master was so shocked, but he repeated it nevertheless. “Sword Cultivator Yi Qing.”

　　“Yi Qing, his name is really Yi Qing. Where is he now?!” Growing increasingly excited, Lonemoon urged Xi Qiu for an answer.

　　A bewildered Xi Qiu pointed the way. “At Yingyuan Peak…”

　　Before he could finish speaking, the man in front of him had flown off like a gust of wind.

　　The remaining four looked at each other wonderingly for some time before they finally returned to the matter at hand.

　　“Uncle-Master, the Soul Devouring Gonfalon…” What now?