Immortality and cultivation: Heaven rewards diligence, and success is inevitable.

"Those outer disciples are all students of Master Lin, and they are from the same school as you and me. This trip is also a way for us to get to know each other beforehand."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shi thought that Li Ze's words made some sense.

He had no power or background.

Even if he were to enter the outer sect in the future, he would be like a tree without roots; for now, he has the identity of being the apprentice of Manager Lin.

Naturally, we should make better use of it.

"Senior brother, you are absolutely right. I will definitely attend this gathering. Thank you for your help, Senior Brother Li." Jiang Shi poured Li Ze a glass of wine.

"What's the trouble? There's no need for formalities between us, brothers." Li Ze picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

The two then toasted and drank again.

A few days later, on the day of the outer sect gathering.

It was still dark.

Jiang Shi was waiting at the entrance of Li Ze's courtyard early on.

Li Ze came out not long after.

Before they came out, the beautiful junior sister even straightened Li Ze's sleeves.

"Junior Brother Jiang, let's go. I've already spoken to Senior Brother Chen, let's hurry over."

Since it was a gathering of outer disciples, the two menial disciples certainly couldn't be late.

The mountain path is very difficult to walk. The inner gate of Qingyun Sect is located on the top of the mountain, while the outer gate is located on the mountainside.

There is a clear hierarchy; the higher the rank, the higher the position.

"Who goes there?" A loud voice rang out from the outer gate.

Jiang Shi and Li Ze were shocked to hear this. This person's cultivation was extremely high. Just hearing his voice made their magical power somewhat unstable.

Jiang Shi looked in the direction of the sound and saw two extraordinary cultivators, dressed in Dao armor, standing on either side of the outer gate.

"Greetings, gentlemen. We are disciples from the miscellaneous courtyard at the foot of the mountain. We have been invited by our senior brother Chen Yuan from the outer sect to attend this gathering," Li Ze said, bowing respectfully.

Jiang Shi also bowed.

These two are at least at the seventh level of Qi Refining, the late stage of Qi Refining.

They are not people that can be offended.

"So you're just a menial servant." A sneer rang out.

Upon hearing the identities of the two individuals, one of them wore a mocking expression.

"Get out of here at once! This outer gate is not a place for trash like you to come to."

"If you keep getting in my way, you'll regret it."

As the man spoke, he stretched out his hand, and a chill ran through him.

Jiang Shi and Li Ze were shocked and their hearts pounded.

I have a feeling I'm going to die here today.

Just then, a voice came.

"Wait a minute, Senior Brother Liang, Senior Brother Ma!" A young man rushed over.

"So it's you, kid. What? You dare to block my way?" Senior Brother Liang didn't care at all when he saw the person who came.

Instead, their tone became even more impolite.

In his eyes, the newcomer was no different from any other servant or disciple.

"No, no. How could I possibly offend Senior Brother Liang? It's just that today is Senior Sister Lin's gathering, and these two were invited by her."

The man was already used to Senior Brother Liang's attitude, and he spoke calmly.

Upon hearing the name "Senior Sister Lin," Liang and Ma paled and became much more composed.

"Don't try to intimidate me with Senior Sister Lin's name. Why would I be afraid of her? I'm only doing this to give her face. Now get out of here!"

"If this happens again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Thank you for your understanding, Senior Brothers Liang and Ma," the man said, bowing with his hands clasped in thanks.

Then he left with Jiang Shi and Li Ze.

"Senior Brother Chen, we owe you so much. This is Senior Brother Chen Yuan. Without Senior Brother Chen, the two of us would probably not have been able to escape," Li Ze said with emotion.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Chen," Jiang Shi said gratefully.

"No need to be polite. Why didn't you two go through the back door and go to the main entrance? You should know that the main entrance is where scions of noble families go."

"People like us, who come from humble backgrounds, can only get in through the back door. Luckily, after waiting and waiting for you to come, I remembered to go to the main gate to check," Chen Yuan sighed.

Neither Jiang Shi nor Li Ze had ever been to the outer sect, so naturally they knew nothing about these rules.

None of them had ever done menial work at the outer gate, so they didn't know that the side gate was specifically for menial disciples to enter and exit.

Chen Yuan assumed that the two men came from a common courtyard and would naturally know these rules, so he didn't remind them.

Who would have thought that Jiang Shi and Li Ze would be so brave? You should know that among all the disciples from the miscellaneous courtyard, only a handful of people are qualified to walk through the main gate.

Lin Yanyi is one of them.

"Hurry up and go in."

The two followed Chen Yuan into the outer gate.

The moment you step through the outer door, the feeling is completely different.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the air was worlds apart from that in the common courtyard.

They're completely incomparable.

"There is a spiritual vein beneath the outer gate, and an array has been set up here to gather the spiritual energy within the vein."

"One day of cultivation here is equivalent to ten days outside."

"This is still the strength of a first-level spiritual vein. The spiritual energy is even more abundant at the inner sect of Qingyun Mountain."

Chen Yuan, who also came from a menial disciple background, naturally knew what a menial disciple would think when they first came to the outer sect.

Only then did he introduce the two of them.

"This is the true place for cultivating immortality and seeking the Dao," Jiang Shi and Li Ze exclaimed in their hearts.

Both of them secretly resolved to step into the outer gate.

Chen Yuan led them to a restaurant.

"Senior Brother Chen, please go to the third floor." The waiter was also a Taoist practitioner.

Judging from his profound magical power, he is at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

The waiter led everyone to a private room on the third floor.

There were three tables inside, with fruits and vegetables on them.

The room was still filled with the scent of incense.

Jiang Shi felt refreshed upon smelling it. Although this incense was inferior to the incense in Steward Lin's room, it was still no ordinary item.

As the three sat down, more people came in.

Jiang Shi and Li Ze had to stand up and greet anyone who came in.

It's very complicated.

This reminded Jiang Shi of his past life, of how he used to have meals with his boss when he was working.

The cultivation world also has many complicated etiquettes and social customs.

Wherever there are people, there is a world of martial arts and intrigue, and even the cultivation world is no exception.

Including Chen Yuan, a total of eight senior brothers were present.

These senior brothers sat at separate tables, with those of similar cultivation levels sitting together.

Besides Chen Yuan, there were two other senior brothers at Jiang Shi's table, making a total of three people.

They are all at the fourth or fifth level of the Qi Refining stage.

The five people sitting at the other table were all at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage.

These eight senior brothers were very warm towards Jiang Shi and Li Ze, and did not look down on them because of their low cultivation level.

Since they were all apprentices under Manager Lin, they naturally stuck together and avoided infighting.

"Senior Sister Lin is here." Chen Yuan had been waiting at the door. He walked in, opened the door, and said very respectfully.

A young girl dressed in a white Taoist robe walked in with light, graceful steps.

Jiang Shi looked at it and it seemed as if he saw a piece of cold jade, icy and chilling.

He lowered his head, not daring to look directly at her.

Li Ze was stunned. The girl was incredibly beautiful, ten or even a hundred times more beautiful than the beauties in his courtyard.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Lin!"

This young girl was Lin Yanyi, a cultivator at the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage.

The cultivators rose and bowed respectfully to Lin Yanyi.

"No need for formalities." Lin Yanyi's voice was clear and melodious, but it carried a hint of coldness, making one's heart tighten.