Mortal: I really didn't want to be reborn as Zi Ling!

An hour later, Zi Ling smiled and personally escorted the expressionless Han Li to the door.

The stone gate closed, and the protective aura rekindled.

Zi Ling stood behind the door, the smile on her lips slowly fading.

As the saying goes, one who has no desires is invincible.

After some haggling, Han Li had no choice but to agree to help her ripen the Golden Thunder Bamboo, and he also took out a bunch of demon beast essence blood and demon beast inner cores.

The price she paid was nothing more than a section of the root of the Thunder Bamboo.

By any measure, she profited from this deal.

As for why he agreed, he has already formed his core, his master is the Grand Elder of the Star Palace, and he is in Tianxing City.

It seems like there are choices, but in reality, there are no choices at all.

With Han Laomo's wit, it's impossible that he couldn't see through these things.

"Siyue, go and get all the previous visiting cards."

Zi Ling turned around and gave instructions towards the corridor.

"Yes, Miss."

Wen Siyue responded and soon came in carrying a sandalwood tray.

Dozens of jade slips for transmitting sound and visiting cards were neatly stacked on the tray.

The quantity was more than she had expected; this was after Zhou Yuan and Fan Jingmei had sifted through it for her.

Zi Ling sat down at the desk, picked up the top jade slip, and placed it between her eyebrows.

The moment my consciousness sank in, lines of respectful and polite text appeared in my mind.

After seeing Han Li off, she was finally able to calm down and deal with the jade slips that had been piling up for half a month.

These visiting cards were sent after she successfully achieved the Core Formation stage.

Almost all the major powers and Core Formation cultivators in the surrounding area that had even the slightest connection with the Miaoyin Sect sent invitations.

Among them were unfamiliar names: the lord of a remote island, a Core Formation cultivator she had never met; and many familiar names as well.

Jin Qing and Hu Yue were naturally among them.

Zi Ling looked at the elegant signature on Jin Qing's jade slip and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Over the years, she had deliberately made contact with Jin Qing several times and knew that although his cultivation was mediocre, he was full of curiosity and was quite interested in all kinds of ancient tales and anecdotes.

In the future, when searching for the sealed location of the Xuan Bone, this person will be her most important source of clues.

However, Jin Qing seems to be in seclusion recently and hasn't made any moves.

Hu Yue is Jin Qing's friend and one of the duo who discovered the Xuan Gu Sealed Land. She has a straightforward personality and is not scheming. Zi Ling has met her twice over the years through Jin Qing, and they get along quite well.

There are other greeting posts, but these are just ordinary exchanges of congratulations. I'll just mark them and let Siyue reply to them all later.

Zi Ling put down the jade slips from Jin Qing and Hu Yue, and picked up another one.

The material of this jade slip is clearly superior to the previous ones. The jade is warm and delicate, and the edges are engraved with intricate cloud patterns.

After his consciousness sank in, the signature was clearly written with the character "Zhao".

Young Master Zhao.

Zi Ling's gaze lingered on the character "Zhao" for a moment.

Back then, on the plaza on the 70th floor, it was this very person who led the questioning of her becoming Jin Kui's disciple, causing a great uproar throughout the city.

However, looking back, although he was aggressive, he was acting according to the rules. Moreover, his outburst actually spread the news of Zi Ling becoming a disciple throughout the Star Palace, which inadvertently boosted her reputation.

This time, Young Master Zhao's visiting card was written in a proper and restrained manner, only congratulating her on achieving the Core Formation, without saying anything else.

Zi Ling raised an eyebrow, casually placing his jade slip and Hu Yue's together, preparing to reply personally.

She then picked up a visiting card engraved with the words "Ximen".

Ximen Chuan.

This person was the young man in the dark blue robe who appeared with Young Master Zhao and Young Master Liu that day.

Zi Ling later learned that this person was a direct descendant of the Ximen family of Xinggong, with a powerful background. However, he was much more composed than Young Master Zhao and rarely appeared in public.

As for the other party involved that day—

Zi Ling scanned the remaining jade slips but did not find Young Master Liu's name.

According to information Wen Siyue had gathered, Young Master Liu had attempted to break through to the Core Formation stage several times over the past few decades, but failed each time.

The worst time he suffered a qi deviation almost ruined his cultivation.

He has now been completely abandoned by his grandfather, and even his family resources have been cut off. He has become an ordinary disciple of the Tianxing City patrol team.

Zi Ling shook her head, not thinking much of it.

That's how it is in the world of cultivation; if you can't cross that hurdle, no matter how good your family background is, it's all in vain.

She continued to look through the remaining visiting cards.

The Stone Disc Fairy of Red Moon Island is quite an interesting character.

Unlike others who were full of polite formalities, her invitation letter specifically mentioned Fairy Ziling's cave formation in the jade slip. She said that when she passed by the 39th floor half a month ago, she personally witnessed the unique way the illusion formation was arranged and hoped that Fairy Ziling could visit Red Moon Island when she had time to exchange ideas on formations.

Zi Ling had some impression of this stone disc fairy.

This woman also appeared in the original work. She is a rare female array mage in the Chaotic Star Sea. She is cold on the outside but warm on the inside and rarely interacts with others.

The other party's initiative to deliver the invitation was both reasonable and unexpected.

The island lord of Yuangui Island, Old Monster Chihuo, also sent a letter of invitation.

This old monster was a long-time customer of the Miaoyin Sect, purchasing large quantities of demon beast materials from them every year, and had a deep relationship with his mother.

His visiting card was warm and straightforward. In addition to congratulating him, he also mentioned that he hoped the Miaoyin Sect could give him an extra 10% of the monster materials allocated to Yuan Gui Island this year.

However, this guy is a member of the Reverse Star Alliance, so it's worth befriending him as long as he doesn't cross the line.

There are also many other forces that do business with Miaoyin Sect. The content of their posts is similar, nothing more than congratulations and attempts to build relationships, with nothing special about them.

Zi Ling spent half an hour sorting through all the visiting cards, then called out to the door.

Wen Siyue immediately pushed open the door and came in, waiting by the desk with her hands at her sides.

Zi Ling pointed to the leftmost stack: "Please decline these for me. Be polite in your wording, but don't leave any room for negotiation."

She then pointed to the stack in the middle: "You reply to this part for me. In my name, thank all the fellow Daoists for their kindness, and tell them that the Core Formation Banquet will be held on another day, and I will personally send them invitations at that time."

Finally, she picked up the jade slips on the far right, which contained information about Jin Qing, Hu Yue, Young Master Zhao, Ximen Chuan, Fairy Stone Disc, Old Monster Crimson Fire, and a few other cultivators she thought were worth further contact with.

"I plan to arrange a time to meet with these people. Keep an eye on them for me and see if they are available in three months. If they are, arrange a small banquet at Miaoyin Pavilion."

"Yes, Miss."

Wen Siyue took the jade slip, but did not leave immediately. She looked up at Ziling's expression, hesitating to speak.

"Is there anything else?"

"Miss—wasn't your Core Formation banquet originally planned to be held after Master returned?" Wen Siyue asked cautiously.

Zi Ling remained silent for a moment.

Yes.

The original Core Formation Ceremony was scheduled for six months later.

When Father Wang Heng returns from Mad Shark Island, the whole family will reunite, and friends from all walks of life will be invited to celebrate together.

But now her father is missing, and the only thing that confirms he is still alive is a spirit pendant. She has no idea when he will be able to come back.

Let's make an appointment first.

Zi Ling waved her hand, her tone calm, "If Father can return within six months, the banquet will proceed as planned. If not—it will be postponed. With my current status, they're too busy currying favor with me to worry about offending him."

Wen Siyue nodded, asked no more questions, and left with the jade slip in her arms.

The study fell silent again.

Zi Ling sat at her desk, her fingertips tapping the surface unconsciously.

wrong.

She suddenly sat up straight.

Now that I've reached the Core Formation stage, shouldn't I go find that cheap master and fulfill my promise?

Jin Kui personally promised that if he could form his core within a hundred years, he would formally accept her as his personal disciple.

She has only used sixty-nine years, far less than the century-long timeframe.

It's time to get some gold from Old Deng!