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

"Report!" A servant ran in from outside the door, looking flustered.

"Elder, the Valley Master's personal disciple has come to pay his respects."

Upon hearing this, Elder Xu suddenly stood up.

"What brings him here?"

Elder Xu pondered for a while, then suddenly became alert. This man had been borrowing money and robbing spirit stones all day; could he be plotting against him?

"Senior Brother Xu, this is no ordinary guest. Just send him away. Do you think he would dare to barge in?" Elder Zhang said from the side.

In their eyes, Jiang Shi was just a Qi Refining stage cultivator, someone they could easily dismiss; they figured he wouldn't dare make a big deal out of it.

"Pass down the order to forbid him from entering this hall. Tell him that this elder is in seclusion and should not be disturbed," Elder Xu instructed his servants.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a series of chaotic noises came from outside the door.

"Elder Xu, Elder Hu, Elder Zhang, that person has broken in!" Another servant rushed in to report.

"What?! What are you all doing? He's just a Qi Refining cultivator, and you're telling me we can't stop him?" Elder Xu shouted.

The servant lowered his head, not daring to say anything, and he felt very wronged.

As the Valley Master's personal disciple, with such a status, who would dare to stop him by force? He certainly wouldn't.

After reprimanding the servants, Elder Xu's spiritual consciousness emanated from his body and spread outwards.

Jiang Shi was walking briskly towards them, followed by a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Granny Zhu.

Grandma Bamboo sensed his spiritual awareness and even glanced in his direction.

"No, we must leave! This man is courting death; there's no need for us to get involved with him," Elder Xu said to Elder Zhang and Elder Hu.

The three elders immediately prepared to use their movement techniques to leave.

Just then, Jiang Shi came in.

"Elders, please wait!"

A single sentence interrupted the three of them.

It wasn't because of Jiang Shi himself, but because Granny Zhu followed Jiang Shi in.

Granny Bamboo was infamous in Biluo Valley. Anyone in the valley who was punished for a mistake was carried out by Granny Bamboo.

If I were to use my movement technique to leave in front of Granny Zhu, she would probably consider it a breach of etiquette and punish me.

"Junior Brother, please sit down, please sit down." Elder Xu immediately changed his attitude and warmly invited Jiang Shi to sit down.

Then he instructed his servants to bring a pot of spiritual tea.

"I wonder, Junior Brother, what brings you here today?" Elder Xu asked cautiously.

"Elders, I am a junior disciple who has only recently entered the sect, but I have been favored by my master and accepted as his personal disciple."

"To repay my teacher's kindness, I would like to present him with a gift as a formal apprenticeship gift."

"Ah, it's just that I'm short of money, there's really nothing I can do about it." Jiang Shi looked like he was about to cry and had no choice but to give up.

Upon hearing this, the three elders turned black with anger.

Good grief, you really did come here to borrow money. What does it have to do with us if you're giving your master a gift to formally become his disciple?

Of course, that's what I think, but I definitely can't say it like that.

Elder Xu pondered for a moment, then took out a small bag of spirit stones, containing more than five hundred pieces.

This amount is not much for a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, but it is a huge sum for an ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator.

"Consider today's loss averted disaster. Anyway, this person won't be around for long, so it's not worth arguing with a dead man."

Elder Xu handed the spirit stone to Jiang Shi, who gladly accepted it.

However, after Jiang Shi finished collecting the spirit stones, he did not leave. Instead, he repeated his previous statement.

He stared intently at Elder Hu and Elder Zhang.

Elders Zhang and Hu wished they could slap Jiang Shi to death, but after all, Jiang Shi was now nominally the Valley Master's personal disciple.

He had no choice but to take out a small bag of spirit stones and hand it to Jiang Shi.

After accepting the spirit stones, Jiang Shi didn't leave. He continued to speak to the three elders using the same words.

This kind of borrowing of spirit stones from a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator can only be done once. Once he leaves this door, all the elders will be extremely wary of him and will never meet him again.

So since we've already offended them, let's just squeeze out a little more profit.

He also wanted to test how much he tolerated this money-spending spree.

"Don't go too far!" Elder Zhang was enraged upon hearing this, and his mid-Foundation Establishment stage magic power was unleashed, crashing towards Jiang Shi like a monstrous wave.

This wasn't an attack on Jiang Shi; it was just a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator releasing his magic power. Even an ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator couldn't withstand that.

However, Jiang Shi was no ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator. He possessed the aptitude of five spiritual roots, a solid foundation, and abundant magical power.

He activated the Five Elements Technique, and also activated the two Five Elements mutual generation techniques: "Water generates Wood" and "Wood generates Fire".

The magic power burst forth from his body, forming a vortex of flames that blocked Elder Zhang's magic power.

"Such formidable magical power!" Elder Xu was initially startled upon seeing this, then sneered.

"With such magical power and such a foundation, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage is no longer possible!"

"You ignorant brat, daring to accumulate such magical power at the Qi Refining stage! Don't you know your path forward is blocked, and your future will be ruined by your own hands!"

Elder Zhang felt ashamed that his released magical power had been blocked by a Qi Refining stage cultivator. He was furious and increased his output of magical power.

That was just a casual thing to do, but now he's going to get serious!

When a Foundation Establishment cultivator takes a serious stance, even the strongest Qi Refining cultivator cannot stop him.

In this critical moment! Jiang Shi has already seized the second-grade superior spirit talisman and is ready to make his move!

Just then, the old woman behind him moved.

Grandma Zhu took a step forward without making a sound, and with just one step, she blocked Jiang Shi's path.

A small insect jumped off Grandma Bamboo's shoulder and swallowed it whole.

Elder Zhang's magical power was completely swallowed by the little insect without causing the slightest ripple.

"Elder Zhang, attacking the Valley Master's personal disciple is a grave act of disrespect! Do you know your crime?!"

Upon hearing Granny Zhu's words, Elder Zhang's expression changed drastically. He quickly withdrew his hand and apologized, saying:

"It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. I acted impulsively and offended you, junior brother. Please forgive me." As he spoke, Elder Zhang took out another bag of spirit stones, which contained as many as 1,500.

Grandma Zhu didn't speak; she was playing with the little insect on her shoulder, seemingly waiting for Jiang Shi to speak.

Jiang Shi knew that Granny Zhu was only there to monitor him and at most protect his life, but would not take the initiative to help him.

Thinking of this, Jiang Shi laughed heartily: "Senior Brother Zhang, you're too kind. I'm really embarrassed."

As he spoke, his hands didn't stop moving; he took the spirit stone and put it into his storage bag.

"As expected, Senior Brother Zhang is very generous, he actually gave three thousand spirit stones."

Jiang Shi shouted, feigning exaggeration.

Elder Xu and Elder Hu's faces darkened further upon hearing this.

They were only given five hundred each. If Elder Zhang had given three thousand, wouldn't the two of them have been targeted by Jiang Shi?

The other party is currently in favor, so it's not advisable to offend them.

But three thousand spirit stones is no small sum; giving it to him would be a huge loss.