One person: Orochi, starting with Feng Baobao's Eight Heroes.

The glass in the entire inn shattered with a crash, startling countless birds into flight from the distant mountains and forests.

When Chen Qi opened his eyes, he noticed a golden vertical line between Wang Ai's eyebrows. The boy touched his forehead in confusion.

"Master, I think I saw a monkey eating peaches..."

"That is your guardian deity."

Chen Qi straightened his collar.

"Remember, from this day forward, you are both the young master of the Wang family and the chief disciple of my Tian Tong Sect."

Outside the inn, the rain stopped at some unknown time.

The moonlight illuminated every corner of the settlement, while above the abandoned house to the west, seven stars were aligning themselves into a dipper shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.

On a distant mountaintop, Wugensheng stood with his hands behind his back, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

"The Master of the Heavenly Tong Sect?"

He chuckled.

"This game is getting more and more interesting."

Inside the inn's lobby, the flickering candlelight illuminated the beads of sweat covering Wang Ai's round face.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, his hands forming a mudra on his knees, his brows furrowed as if crisscrossed by deep ravines.

"A pure heart remains unperturbed even when the sky falls..."

Wang Ai silently recited the calming mantra, but the cold look in Guan Shihua's eyes when she refused his help wouldn't leave his mind.

In a corner of the lobby, a few thugs were playing drinking games, their noise like countless steel needles piercing his eardrums.

"Damn it!"

Wang Ai cursed under his breath and slammed his thick hand heavily on his thigh.

After twenty years of cultivation, I still can't even achieve the most basic state of meditation. If my master finds out...

Suddenly, a cold hand pressed down on his head.

Wang Ai shuddered as Chen Qi's mocking voice rang in her ears.

"Junior Brother Wang, you can't be so impatient."

"Senior Brother Chen?"

Just as Wang Ai was about to turn her head, she felt that the palm suddenly exert force, and a chill ran down from the top of her head.

His vision went black, as if someone had hooked his soul with an iron hook and forcibly pulled it out of his body.

Excruciating pain! Indescribable pain!

Wang Ai felt as if her three souls and seven spirits were torn into pieces, and then reassembled under the pull of some force.

As the dizziness subsided, he found himself standing in a gray mist, with a bluish stone path beneath his feet.

"This...where is this?"

Wang Ai looked around in horror.

Deep within the mist, the outline of a high platform could be vaguely seen, with seven eerie blue lights suspended above it, arranged like the Big Dipper.

Wang Ai swallowed hard and mustered her courage to walk forward.

As the distance closed and the fog gradually dissipated, the full view of the high platform finally came into view.

It was a Seven Star Platform made of rough bluestone, its surface covered with obscure runes. Compared to the magnificent Seven Star Platform that Guan Shihua had mentioned, it was as shabby as a latrine.

"Seven Star Platform... Senior Brother Chen's branch?"

Wang Ai pursed her lips and muttered to herself.

"This is far too rudimentary; it doesn't even have half the grandeur of Shihua'er's headquarters..."

Before the words were even finished, the fog suddenly surged!

A fierce wind howled and thunder roared on the Seven Star Platform!

Wang Ai looked up in horror and saw a giant ape, at least three zhang tall, standing proudly in the center of the platform. Its snow-white fangs gleamed coldly, and its golden vertical pupils flashed with lightning as it stared straight at him.

"hiss--"

Wang Ai gasped, her legs going weak.

The giant ape was entirely bluish-white, with six arms growing from its back, each palm bearing a blood-red eye.

A terrifying pressure surged forth, and Wang Ai felt as if the pores on her body were tightening, as if she had been thrown into a boiling oil pot.

"Damn it! Can this monster hear my thoughts?"

Wang Ai's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He had heard Chen Qi mention a vicious "miscellaneous immortal" in the temple, but he never expected it to be such a terrifying sight.

The giant ape—also known as the "Imperial Advisor"—was rolling his eyes inwardly.

Its cultivation of the art of "observing external things" has reached a state of perfection, and Wang Ai's little thoughts are like an open book in front of it.

"What kind of ugly and deformed people does that big-faced thief recruit..."

The Imperial Advisor grumbled inwardly, his six arms impatiently pounding the table, causing the talismans to flicker and fade.

"This chubby kid hasn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet. What can he do besides freeloading when we bring him into the sect?"

Seeing the giant ape's increasingly hostile gaze, Wang Ai paced anxiously. Unable to find Chen Qi anywhere, he gritted his teeth.

He fell to his knees with a thud, his forehead hitting the stone slab hard.

"By the celestial beings above! Your disciple Wang Ai sincerely seeks your guidance! If you grant me your favor, I am willing to offer sacrifices daily and repair the temple monthly..."

Wang Ai, with tears streaming down her face, recounted all the stories she had heard from the storyteller, even promising to create a golden statue and build a shrine for the immortals.

On the Seven Star Platform, the Imperial Advisor narrowed his golden vertical pupils.

It recalled Chen Qi's grand promises—such as rebuilding the Heavenly Court and recreating reincarnation—which it had heard so many times it was sick of.

Chapter 297 Establishing Contact

Although this chubby boy is shabby, he's easy to control.

"Noisy!"

The Imperial Advisor suddenly roared, and all six of his arms spread out at the same time, startling Wang Ai.

Then, its topmost arm stretched out, and its giant hand slammed down on Wang Ai's head.

Wang Ai instinctively tried to struggle, but then heard the Imperial Preceptor's stern voice.

"Don't move! Don't you want power?"

A bone-chilling cold emanated from the giant palm. Wang Ai felt countless fine, hair-like streams of icy air drilling into his seven orifices and rampaging through his meridians.

He grimaced in pain, but dared not resist, and could only follow instructions to clear his mind.

In the real world, Chen Qi leaned against the window of the inn, a scarlet bill appearing in his hand without him even noticing.

With a light tap of his fingertip, a vermilion brush appeared out of thin air, outlining intricate patterns on Wang Ai's name.

"It's done."

Chen Qi smiled slightly.

A flash of blood appeared on the table, then calm returned.

Inside the scene, the Imperial Preceptor suddenly stopped.

Wang Ai collapsed to the ground, feeling her acupoints crackling all over her body, as if countless small doors were being forcibly pried open and then closed.

In a mysterious way, he sensed that he had established a connection with a certain mysterious place.

"Immortals? Immortals?"

Wang Ai asked in a trembling voice, touching her brow.

There was a lotus-shaped red mark that flashed by.

The Imperial Advisor exhaled two puffs of white vapor from his nostrils as a response.

It was pondering how to get rid of this newly recruited underling when it heard Wang Ai shamelessly come closer again.

"Um...would the immortal be willing to serve as my personal messenger? I am willing to use my Qi Sea to build a nest for you..."

These words made the Imperial Advisor's eyes light up.

If I could reside within Wang Ai's body, not only would I not have to constantly be mindful of Chen Qi's mood, but I might even be able to...

"No."

Chen Qi's voice suddenly echoed in the hall. The Grand Preceptor's hair stood on end, and he sheepishly withdrew his six arms.

"The...Master has given an order."

The Imperial Advisor reluctantly changed his tune, his golden eyes filled with annoyance.

"I need to assist the head of the hall in regulating the five elements, so I don't have time to play with you. Just burn incense and call me if you need anything!"

After saying that, its lowest arm suddenly swung around.

He slapped Wang Ai across the face.

The slap was delivered with skillful force, sending Wang Ai spinning seven or eight times without causing her any injury.

"get out!"

The Imperial Advisor roared, still seething with anger.

It dared not vent its anger on Chen Qi, so it took it out on Wang Ai instead.

In a dizzying moment, everything went black before Wang Ai's eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the inn's lobby.

He jumped up suddenly, covered his face with his hands, and looked around.

"Fatty Wang, what's wrong with you?"

Lu Ci sat opposite him with his legs crossed, twirling a wine glass in his hand.

Lu Jin leaned over and curiously poked Wang Ai's chubby face.

"Had a nightmare? It was like you saw a ghost?"

Wang Ai then noticed that Chen Qi was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) drinking by himself, as if nothing had happened.

He touched his burning cheek—strangely, it didn't hurt, but the sensation of the slap felt terrifyingly real.

"I...I've made something of myself!"

Wang Ai suddenly started gesturing wildly, her chubby face trembling with excitement.

"Senior Brother Chen's immortals are powerful! Aggressive! Ruthless!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing like a giant ape, completely forgetting that he had been beaten.

Under the influence of some unseen force, Wang Ai felt that being able to become a disciple of such a powerful immortal family was like his ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke.

In the corner, Chen Qi took a sip of his drink, a playful look in his eyes.

He could see clearly that the Imperial Preceptor had planted a seed of delusion in Wang Ai's soul, but... it was harmless.

0 ······Requesting flowers··· ·········

"It sounds so real."

Lü Ren shook his head with a smile.

"How about we go out and practice? Let us see what they've got?"

"Okay!"

Wang Ai answered without hesitation, her round face flushed with an unusual blush.

Just as he was about to get up, Lü Ci stopped him and handed him a bowl of scarlet liquid.

"One must drink a farewell drink before going into battle."