Reincarnation Immortal Venerable: Starting from the Ninety-Nineth Incarnation

The next day, just as dawn was breaking and before the morning bell of Qiyun Sect had even rung, Li Yanzhou had already gotten up and prepared.

He changed into a clean, moon-white outer disciple's robe, thoroughly gathered and stabilized the spiritual energy he had been repeatedly processing all night, and even adjusted his aura to be calm and even before he set off for the Cloud Pavilion on the back mountain.

To be honest, he barely slept a wink last night.

The thought of the two elders' words, "Come and see me as soon as you leave the pass," made me feel uneasy, as if I had a stone in my heart.

He had considered the possibility of his identity being exposed, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

He said he was going to see the elders, but he was already prepared that this trip would likely lead to a reckoning later.

The morning mist hadn't yet dissipated, clinging to the grass blades beside the mountain path and dampening the edges of his shoes.

Occasionally, early-rising outer disciples would pass by and greet him with a smile, their tone filled with admiration. Everyone knew that this ordinary disciple, who usually kept to himself and cultivated diligently, had actually managed to break through to the Zhenxi Realm after a month of seclusion. This was a unique miracle in the nearly 100-year history of the Qiyun Sect.

Li Yanzhou nodded in response to each of them, but his steps did not stop. He continued up the stone steps and soon arrived at the Cloud Pavilion halfway up the mountain.

Elder Chaohua and Elder Ruoxue were already sitting in the pavilion.

A pot of spiritual tea was brewing on the stone table, its steam rising gently, mingling with the morning mist from the mountains, and emitting a faint, bitter fragrance.

Elder Chaohua leaned against the railing, waving her ever-present jade fan. When she saw him approaching, she immediately smiled and said in a gentle tone, "Oh my, Little Yanzhou is here. We thought you wouldn't show your face until the sun was high in the sky."

Elder Ruoxue smiled and poured him a cup of hot tea, saying softly, "Please sit down. This is this year's newly harvested Cloud Mist Spirit Tea, which is excellent for calming the mind and spirit. It's freshly brewed, have a taste."

Li Yanzhou bowed respectfully, saying, "Disciple Li Yanzhou greets the two elders." After speaking, he sat down as instructed, his palm touching the warm teacup, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.

"No need for formalities, no need for formalities." Elder Chaohua waved her hand, gently tapped the stone table with her jade fan, looked him up and down, her eyes full of approval.

"Speaking of which, it's truly remarkable. With only ordinary talent and a youth of less than twenty, he reached the early stage of the Zhenxi Realm in just half a year. Not to mention in our Qiyun Sect, even in the entire Wandao Central Plains, we can't find another person like him."

Elder Ruoxue nodded in agreement, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Indeed, such temperament, such comprehension, and such tenacity are truly rare. If you were really a native disciple of our Qiyun Sect, we would risk our lives to cultivate you into a disciple personally taught by the Sect Master. It's just a pity..."

He suddenly stopped speaking at this point.

Neither of the two elders spoke again, but they both looked at Li Yanzhou with knowing smiles in their eyes, without the slightest hint of reproach.

The teacup in Li Yanzhou's hand trembled suddenly, and the warm tea rippled. His heart tightened, and a thin layer of sweat instantly appeared on his back.

The meaning behind those words couldn't be clearer.

They not only saw through his secret departure from the sect to the Qingxuan Sect, but also completely exposed his most crucial secret: he was a disciple who had miraculously escaped after the Qingxuan Sect's destruction.

He tightened his grip on the teacup slightly, took a deep breath, and was about to stand up to bow and admit his mistake, but just as he was about to move, Elder Chaohua gently pressed his shoulder with her jade fan.

"Hey, don't rush to get up, and don't rush to admit your mistake." Elder Chaohua was still smiling, without a trace of reproach in her tone. "We called you here today not to interrogate you, nor to hand you over. What are you panicking about?"

Li Yanzhou was taken aback, looked up at the two of them, his eyes full of astonishment.

"Putting everything else aside, just tell us about your insights after breaking through to the Breath Control Realm." Elder Ruoxue took over the conversation, refilling her teacup with hot water, her tone still gentle. "We're curious, how is your rapid breakthrough, despite your mortal roots, different from that of ordinary cultivators?"

Seeing that the two of them truly had no intention of holding him accountable, Li Yanzhou's anxiety finally subsided.

He composed himself and truthfully recounted his insights from breaking through to the next realm, from the enlightenment of "rooting inward and establishing the Dao outward" to the process of meridians developing patterns and spiritual energy solidifying. He also vaguely mentioned that he had been taken care of by Li Yanran at the Qingxuan Sect and had consumed a large number of pills, which allowed him to improve relatively quickly even in the mortal realm.

The two elders listened attentively, nodding occasionally and offering a few words of guidance. In just a few words, they clarified the areas that were still somewhat unclear to him after breaking through to the next realm, making his previously somewhat rudimentary spiritual energy circulation much clearer in an instant.

After he finished speaking, Elder Chaohua smiled and shook his jade fan: "Good, good idea of ​​taking root inward and establishing a path outward. Everyone has different insights when they break through. Based on your insights, your future path will definitely not be narrow."

"To be honest, we've already informed the sect leader about your relationship with Miss Su Qingyao and your background." Elder Ruoxue looked at him, her tone becoming more serious. "The sect leader's intention is not only not to pursue the matter of you concealing your identities, but also to promote you to inner disciples and provide you with cultivation resources—pills, spirit jade, cultivation techniques—whatever you need, the sect can provide."

Li Yanzhou suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He had considered countless possibilities: being expelled from his sect, being held accountable, or even being handed over to a righteous sect for punishment. But he never imagined it would end like this.

"Oh my, look how startled this child is." Elder Chaohua chuckled and added, "Not only you, but also Miss Su Qingyao. That girl's talent in alchemy is truly remarkable. At such a young age, she can refine a top-grade Qingxin Pill. Even the elders of the Pill Hall are full of praise for her. The sect leader also said that the Pill Hall's resources will be fully open to her, and she can choose which elder she wants to learn alchemy from."

"Elder..." Li Yanzhou opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. He was both surprised and warmed. A thousand words were on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, they all turned into one sentence: "This disciple thanks the elder and the sect master for their kindness."

"No need for thanks." Elder Chaohua waved her hand, tapping the table lightly with her jade fan. Her tone carried a hint of sigh. "I know you're probably thinking, when the Qingxuan Sect first encountered its troubles, our Qiyun Sect refused to accept any disciples from the Qingxuan Sect. Now, we're treating you like this. Isn't that a bit too opportunistic?"

Li Yanzhou remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement; this was indeed a question that had been lingering in his mind.

"To be honest, we had no choice." Elder Ruoxue sighed softly, her tone softening. "At that time, the demonic path was powerful. Mo Yuan led the demonic cultivators to destroy Qingxuan Sect, one of the five upper sects. Although we later learned that Mo Yuan was just an avatar, which sect wouldn't panic when Qingxuan Sect was wiped out overnight? If we had taken in the disciples of Qingxuan Sect at that time, it would have been tantamount to openly opposing the demonic path. Not only would we not have been able to protect you, but we would have dragged the entire Qiyun Sect down with us. With thousands of disciples in the sect, we couldn't risk the destruction of the entire sect for a moment of anger."

"Yes, we are elders of one sect, and our first priority is to protect the entire Qiyun Sect." Elder Chaohua took over the conversation, her tone becoming serious. "Things are different now. The four sects have joined forces to eliminate the main force of the demonic path, which has been driven back to the Western Demon Realm. Even if there are still some petty villains hiding in the shadows, they can't cause any big waves. The overall situation is settled, and we can naturally protect you and are willing to give you a safe haven."

"So, you and Miss Su should settle down in Qiyun Sect and treat this place as your home. Keep these two inner disciple tokens safe." Elder Ruoxue looked at him with gentle eyes. "Cultivate well. With the two of us here, no one can bring up your past."

As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the rising sun climbed over the mountain peaks, and golden light fell into the cloud pavilion, dispelling the chill of the mountains.

Holding the warm teacup, Li Yanzhou finally felt a weight lift from his heart, a weight that had been hanging over him for more than half a year.

From the night the Qingxuan Sect was destroyed, he was like a rootless duckweed, hiding and fleeing with deep-seated hatred, never truly at peace for a moment.

And now, in the Cloud Pavilion of the Qiyun Sect, he finally has a place where he can settle down with peace of mind.

He stood up and bowed deeply to the two elders, saying, "Disciple Li Yanzhou will certainly live up to the kindness of the elders and sect leader in nurturing me."

Li Yanzhou thought to himself: Compared to when he was in Qingxuan Sect, unable to cultivate and with no talent, he was looked down upon and verbally abused. Qiyun Sect seems to be really different.

The two elders exchanged a smile, their eyes full of approval.

A gentle breeze from outside the courtyard passed through the pavilion, carrying the aroma of fine tea towards the distant mountains.