I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Chapter 96 The Problematic Apprenticeship Gift

Hu Leifeng.

When Zhou Tai rode the Sharp Claw Wind Owl Lai Fu and arrived at the place with his relatives and friends, he saw that the Thunder Peak, which was usually hidden by the illusion array, had completely removed the layers of illusion and revealed the true scenery of the mountain.

Just as he was marveling at this, he saw his fifth senior brother, Zhong Sheng, suddenly leap into the air and come to meet him.

"Greetings, Fifth Senior Brother. Senior Brother, what brings you here—"

Zhou Tai looked at Zhong Sheng, who was dressed in the formal attire of an inner disciple, and bowed while looking at him with surprise, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.

He is one of the main figures in today's apprenticeship ceremony, so it's normal for him to wear a formal suit.

But Chung Sheng was just one of the people who witnessed the ceremony, so it didn't seem necessary!

Zhong Sheng seemed to know what he wanted to say, and immediately gave a wry smile, saying, "I didn't want to either, but it's the rule of our sect!"

He then explained, "When I first joined the sect, it was my fourth senior brother who greeted me here. Now that you, junior brother Zhou, have joined, it can only be me who comes."

After saying that, he pointed to Hulei Peak behind him and said, "And Junior Brother Zhou, you saw it too, didn't you? Today, Master even shut down the mountain-guarding formation, which shows how seriously he takes this matter!"

"I see. Then I'll leave everything to Fifth Senior Brother."

Zhou Tai nodded with a look of realization, and immediately clasped his hands in a gesture of thanks.

She then introduced her five-person group of relatives and friends to Zhong Sheng, and the two exchanged friendly greetings.

Then, led by Zhong Sheng, the group walked up the mountain to Song Yanting's cave.

Before long, the group arrived at the outer gate of the mansion, where they saw two men and a woman standing there, all of whom were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Zhou Tai's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately made a guess about the identities of the three people.

Sure enough, the elderly man with a full head of white hair among the three immediately laughed and said to him, "Hahaha, this must be Junior Brother Zhou! He is indeed young and promising, with the bearing of a dragon and phoenix!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai immediately cupped his hands and said, "You must be Second Senior Brother. Junior Brother Zhou Tai greets Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, and Fourth Senior Brother!"

He then bowed to each of the three men.

Upon seeing this, the white-haired old man immediately cupped his hands in return and said, "Junior Brother is indeed intelligent. I am Liu Zhenshan, the second disciple of Master."

A middle-aged woman in a green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) beside her smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "Greetings, Junior Brother. I am Zheng Yuzhi, the third disciple under Master."

The last middle-aged man in blue also nodded slightly to Zhou Tai and said, "Greetings, Junior Brother. I am the fourth disciple under our Master."

Li Yunlei.

After exchanging greetings, the fellow disciples entered the mansion together.

Since the auspicious time had not yet arrived, and the sect leader Zhao Dongyang and other major cultivators of the Purple Mansion had not yet arrived, Zhou Tai led Hu Qianqian and the others to rest in a courtyard in the outer mansion. They chatted with their senior brothers and sisters and took the opportunity to learn about the upcoming ceremony.

After waiting for more than an hour, the four great cultivators of the Purple Mansion, including Sect Leader Zhao Dongyang and Elder Tian Qi, seemed to have agreed beforehand and successively flew down to the outer mansion in their escape light.

Soon, Mo Yunshuang, the master's wife, sent a message to Zhou Tai, informing him that they could proceed to the main hall of the outer mansion to begin the apprenticeship ceremony.

When Zhou Tai and the others arrived at the main hall, they saw Song Yanting, the owner of the cave, and his Daoist partner Mo Yunshuang sitting in the central seat, with Zhao Dongyang, Tian Qi, and three other great cultivators of the Purple Mansion level sitting on either side.

Seeing this, Liu Zhenshan immediately led his disciples, including Zhou Tai, to kowtow to Song Yanting and his wife, saying, "Disciple greets Master and Mistress!"

"You all need not stand on ceremony, please rise."

Song Yanting waved his hand, signaling everyone to stand up.

"Thank you, Master."

After everyone expressed their gratitude, they stood up and then addressed the four Grandmasters of the Purple Mansion Sect, including Sect Leader Zhao Dongyang and Elder Tian Qi.

Xiu bowed and said, "Disciple greets the Sect Leader and the three Elders!"

The four disciples of the sect, Zeng Qiming, Tang Caiying, Guo Fucheng, and Hu Qianqian, as well as Li Hongzhi, a rogue cultivator from outside the sect, all paid their respects to the five Grand Masters of the Purple Mansion, daring not to show any negligence or disrespect.

After completing the round of greetings, Song Yanting nodded slightly to the sect leader Zhao Dongyang and said, "I'll leave the rest to you, junior brother sect leader."

"Senior Brother Song, you're too kind. This is simply my duty!"

Zhao Dongyang smiled slightly, stood up immediately, and took on the role of master of ceremonies for the apprenticeship ceremony.

At this moment, Liu Zhenshan and the others stepped aside, leaving only Zhou Tai facing the seated Song Yanting and his wife.

Zhao Dongyang's expression turned solemn, and he read aloud, "Disciple Zhao Dongyang respectfully informs the ancestors of Spirit Beast Mountain that Zhou Tai, an inner disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain, is exceptionally talented and of upright character. He sincerely wishes to become the disciple of Elder Song Yanting of our sect. His master, Song Yanting, is an elder of Spirit Beast Mountain, a skilled cultivator, a kind and benevolent man, and has a renowned reputation for virtue. He is a worthy teacher."

"Now that our destinies have aligned, we wish to become master and disciple, and we invite fellow practitioners and friends from all directions to bear witness, Heaven and Earth to bear witness, and the Great Dao to bear witness!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he shouted at Zhou Tai, "Inner disciple Zhou Tai, why haven't you kowtowed to your master yet!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai immediately knelt before Song Yanting and kowtowed, saying, "With the Great Dao above and Heaven and Earth as witnesses, disciple Zhou Tai sincerely acknowledges Elder Song Yanting as his master. From now on, I will certainly respect my teacher, honor my elders, and be friendly to my fellow disciples!"

He kowtowed three times in a row, each kowtow resounding loudly.

"Offering tea to the master!"

As Zhao Dongyang took another sip, Zhong Sheng immediately handed Zhou Tai a cup of hot tea.

Zhou Tai accepted the tea with both hands and respectfully offered it to Song Yanting, saying, "Master, please have some tea!"

Song Yanting nodded slightly with a smile, reached out and took the tea, taking a small sip.

"Presenting the apprenticeship gift!"

Zhao Dongyang shouted again.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai immediately took out a jade box tied with red cloth from his storage bag, held it up with both hands, and handed it to Song Yanting: "Master, I am deeply grateful for your kindness in accepting me as your disciple. I have no way to repay this kindness, so I wish to offer this as a token of my respect. I hope you will accept it with a smile!"

"My disciple is very thoughtful."

Song Yanting nodded slightly, casually accepted the jade box, and immediately opened it to show it to the many guests.

This apprenticeship ceremony is just a formality. Whether the gift is a thousand-year-old spiritual herb or a low-grade spirit stone, it doesn't really matter.

That's why he showed the gift on the spot.

However, upon seeing the Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoots inside the jade box, he was slightly taken aback, then said calmly, "This should be Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoots, right? Where did you obtain it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai felt a sense of unease. Could there be something wrong with the gift?

Not only him, but Li Hongzhi, who was also an observer, also had a slight change in expression and felt uneasy.

Despite his trepidation, Zhou Tai quickly answered truthfully, "Master, you are wise. This item was obtained from an underground trade fair. Is there any problem with it?"

Song Yanting shook his head and said, "The item itself is fine, but the guy you traded with clearly had ill intentions. This item contains a wisp of barely perceptible bloodthirsty energy. If you consume it before you establish your foundation, the bloodthirsty energy will definitely corrode your body and damage your foundation!"

After saying that, he casually grabbed a wisp of dark red blood energy, which floated out from the Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot and was trapped in mid-air like an earthworm.

Seeing the bloodthirsty aura that resembled earthworms, Zhou Tai's face darkened, and he felt a lingering fear in his heart.

Fortunately, he was cautious and well-prepared, and did not dare to consume such demonic spiritual objects easily, otherwise he would have had no way to regret it.

Li Hongzhi's face was extremely grim, filled with shock and anger.

He had assured Zhou Tai with great confidence that he had checked the item and that there was absolutely no problem with it.

And now this has happened!

At this moment, he could only be thankful that Zhou Tai hadn't listened to him and hadn't actually eaten the Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot, otherwise he would have been completely unable to defend himself!

In fact, Zhou Tai is now somewhat suspicious and annoyed with Li Hongzhi, but he knows that now is not the time to pursue this matter.

He immediately prostrated himself and begged for forgiveness, saying, "This disciple truly did not know that this thing had such a hidden danger. Please forgive me, Master!"

'

Song Yanting gently shook his head and said, "With your cultivation level, it would have been impossible for you to discover the problem with this thing. Ignorance is no excuse, so why would your master blame you for it?"

After saying that, he put the Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot back into the jade box, then waved to him and said, "Get up. I am very satisfied with your apprenticeship gift."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Dongyang shouted loudly, "The ceremony is complete!"

Then, with a smile on his face, he cupped his hands in congratulations to Song Yanting: "Congratulations, Senior Brother Song, on taking on such a fine disciple."

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Song!"

The three elders of the Purple Mansion, including Tian Qi, also offered their congratulations.

Upon seeing this, Song Yanting immediately smiled and bowed, saying, "Thank you all, fellow disciples, for coming to witness this ceremony."

A small feast has been prepared to thank you all!

After saying that, he got up and led everyone to the dining area.

A moment later, the group sat down in a garden and divided into three tables.

Song Yanting and his wife, along with four Zifu masters, sat at one table; Zhou Tai and his five fellow disciples sat at another; and Tang Caiying and her five relatives and friends sat at yet another.

After the banquet, Zhao Dongyang and the other three Grand Masters of the Purple Mansion took their leave.

After seeing off his fellow cultivators from the Purple Mansion, Song Yanting sat down at Zhou Tai's table and chatted and drank with his five disciples.

At this moment, only the master and his six disciples were present, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed. While offering toasts, Zhong Sheng and the others also seized the opportunity to ask their master some questions about cultivation.

The cultivation of Foundation Establishment cultivators is no longer just about accumulating mana, as it is for Qi Refining cultivators. It also involves tempering and utilizing divine sense, as well as cultivating and improving supernatural abilities.

Sometimes, a single word of guidance from a master can save you years of detours.

While Song Yanting was instructing his disciples, Tang Caiying, Li Hongzhi, and others seized the opportunity to listen in.

They have no formal teacher and have been able to cultivate to their current level solely through their own comprehension and exchanges with fellow cultivators. They rarely have the opportunity to hear lectures from cultivators of higher levels, let alone receive such detailed answers to their questions.

Zhou Tai had only recently established his foundation, so he didn't have much to ask. He simply listened quietly and memorized everything Song Yanting said.

After answering the questions of the other four disciples, Song Yanting suddenly looked at Zhou Tai and asked, "Sixth Brother, is there anything you want to ask?"

He paused for a moment, then said truthfully, "Master, I have only recently switched to cultivation and have not yet encountered any questions that require your answers."

Unexpectedly, after hearing his answer, Song Yanting turned his gaze to Tang Caiying and Li Hongzhi and said, "Since you have no questions, let them ask!"

Not only was Zhou Tai stunned, but Tang Caiying and Li Hongzhi were also dumbfounded.

They never imagined that coming along to witness the ceremony would bring them such benefits.

Then Tang Caiying was the first to come to her senses, and hurriedly stood up, bowed and said, "Elder, I am deeply grateful for your great kindness!"

'

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Hongzhi came to his senses and quickly bowed, saying, "Senior, your kindness and virtue are beyond measure, and I am deeply grateful!"

"It is fate that we have met. There is no need for formalities. Each of you may ask three questions."

Song Yanting waved his hand and said in a gentle tone.

Upon hearing this, Tang and Li immediately suppressed their excitement and quickly began to think about the questions they wanted to ask.

Zhou Tai was deeply moved by this scene.

He knew that Song Yanting was doing this entirely to give face to his apprentice and to do him a favor.

Tang Caiying and Li Hongzhi will surely remember his kindness today, having received this benefit from him.

Such profound teacherly kindness is truly moving!