A mortal, starting with the Heavenly Bottle!

Qishuge, as the name suggests, is a place for storing ancient books and ancient texts.

Under normal circumstances, not many disciples would come to this place.

Because the ancient books and texts here are mostly about strange tales and local customs in the world of cultivation, there's nothing worth delving into or reading.

The disciples who manage this place only receive two spirit stones per month, so basically no Qi Refining stage disciples are willing to come here to manage it.

The disciple currently in charge here is only at the eleventh level of the Qi Refining stage, and he is quite old, over fifty or sixty years old, named Xiang Zhili.

Among all the disciples of Huangfeng Valley, he was completely unremarkable, and even some of the managers did not know that there was such a disciple in the sect.

Under these circumstances, Mujino Rei's daily life was extremely leisurely.

My daily routine consists of reading the books in this rare book pavilion and sleeping and resting.

Perhaps because he knew he wasn't very talented and was already quite old, he was rarely seen practicing by any disciples.

Disciples like this are not uncommon in Huangfeng Valley.

The higher-ups at Yellow Maple Valley won't interfere much!

As for how he entered Yellow Maple Valley, it is said that he rescued a seriously injured steward.

They sent him to Yellow Maple Valley, and then, with the help of the steward, he stayed there.

……

"Senior Brother Xiang, wake up! I've come out of seclusion to play chess with you!"

That day, Xiang Zhili was lying in a chair sleeping when he heard a familiar voice.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Xiang Zhili had no choice but to open his sleepy eyes and then put on a fawning and humble smile.

"Uncle Lin, you've arrived! Please have a seat, please have a seat, let me pour you some tea."

As he spoke, he jumped up from his chair, quickly poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Lin Fan, who had come to play chess.

Judging from his appearance, he doesn't look like a man in his fifties or sixties at all; instead, he looks like a vigorous and energetic young man.

"Haven't I told you many times already? From now on, you don't need to call me 'Uncle-Master,' just call me 'Junior Brother.' After all, Senior Brother helped me a lot when I first entered the sect, so there's no need to be so polite. It's better if we address each other as peers."

Lin Fan accepted the tea offered by Xiang Zhili and smiled kindly.

"Uncle Lin, how can this be? The cultivation world has its own rules."

Xiang Zhili quickly shook his head and refused.

"The cultivation world is the cultivation world; there's no need for such formalities between us. From now on, when we're alone, you can address me as Junior Brother."

Lin Fan also shook his head, speaking in a slightly serious tone.

Others might not know Xiang Zhili's identity, but Lin Fan knew it perfectly well.

That's why he's been trying to befriend Xiang Zhili all these years.

Moreover, they strive not to reveal any flaws, lest they arouse suspicion and be murdered to silence them.

Lin Fan knew very well that he had no system, no cheat codes, nothing at all, and the only thing he could rely on was himself.

Therefore, Lin Fan never felt ashamed of his behavior of currying favor with powerful figures.

Although Xiang Zhili has not given him any benefits so far, he doesn't care at all.

All he needs to do is befriend Xiang Li as much as possible, and leave the rest to fate.

Under these circumstances, whenever he had time, he would come to find Xiang Zhili under the pretext of playing chess.

Munori's chess skills are truly beyond words.

They're all terrible chess players, yet they were all praised.

Xiang Zhili was unaware of Lin Fan's intentions, but he could only nod in agreement.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. Junior Brother Lin, please have a seat, let's begin our game of chess."

"That's more like it."

Lin Fan smiled contentedly, then placed the chessboard and pieces he had prepared on the table and began playing chess with Xiang Zhili.

"I heard that my junior brother has taken on a disciple with four pseudo-spiritual roots. Is that true or not?"

As the game progressed, Xiang Zhili started looking for topics to discuss, and these topics were naturally the most popular among the sect members during this period.

Lin Fan, a Foundation Establishment cultivator with an ice-attribute unique spiritual root, took in a disciple with a pseudo-spiritual root of four attributes.

Moreover, this disciple joined the sect by virtue of the Ascension Token.

At the same time, he also obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill that all the disciples envied.

"I didn't expect that even my senior brother knew about this. It seems the news has spread quite widely. Yes, it's true."

Hearing Xiang Zhili ask this question, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

He hadn't expected the other party to ask that question.

"The main reason is that the disciples have been discussing this topic lately, and I have to know even if I don't want to. But, may I ask, junior brother, why did you accept a disciple with such a talent for spiritual roots?"

Xiang Zhili nodded, revealing a mixture of helplessness, headache, and curiosity as he pressed for more information.

"Perhaps I took a liking to that disciple, which reminded me of an old friend. That's why I accepted him as a disciple. Besides that, I couldn't bear to see his hard-earned Foundation Establishment Pill snatched away by his senior brother in the sect. It was really hard to accept, so I stepped in to help. Anyway, it's not a big deal for me."

Lin Fan made up an excuse to avoid Xiang Zhili's questioning.

"So that's how it is. This disciple is truly lucky. Not only did he successfully enter the sect with the Ascension Token, but he also obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill. Most importantly, he was able to become a disciple of my junior brother. His luck is simply too good; it's truly enviable."

After hearing Lin Fan's explanation, Xiang Zhili, though not entirely convinced, still showed an envious expression and said...

"It's alright. In short, this disciple is still somewhat useful to me. I'll keep him in the cave and let him cultivate. I hope he can successfully establish his foundation one day. That way, I won't have taken him in for nothing. After all, he's the first disciple I've ever taken in."

Lin Fan nodded, took another sip of tea, and said with a smile.

"Yes. But with his four-attribute pseudo-spiritual root aptitude, achieving Foundation Establishment will probably not be an easy task. Based on past experience, the success rate is at most one percent. You can imagine how difficult it is."

Xiang Zhili couldn't help but sigh.

"It's alright, it's not a big deal. It doesn't matter if he can't reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Anyway, he's my disciple, and no one in this sect will bully him in the future. Letting him live a peaceful life is not bad. Besides, his temperament is quite good, and he's worth cultivating."

Lin Fan continued speaking with his smile undiminished.

"Yes, with Junior Brother Lin's status, he can be guaranteed a peaceful life without much trouble. It's truly enviable."

Xiang Zhili once again expressed her envy.

"What's there to envy? In this Yellow Maple Valley, I can also protect my senior brother for life."

Lin Fan smiled and made his promise without any concern.