There was no room for Wu Tao to even utter a single word.
The brief moment when Shangguan Yujie turned her head just now, showcasing her spirited demeanor, allowed Wu Tao to get a good look at her.
Shangguan Yujie was indeed beautiful, with a face possessing three parts heroism, three parts boldness, and three parts maturity. Unlike ordinary women, she exuded a unique kind of beauty.
Although Wu Tao had no idea of his master's exact age, judging by her appearance, she was astonishingly beautiful.
Her beauty differed from other stunning women Wu Tao had encountered in his life.
While other beauties each had their own merits, making it hard to declare a winner, Shangguan Yujie's beauty stemmed from a mature aura radiating from within. Every glance, every smile, was imbued with that distinct heroic charm.
Such special allure made people often forget her identity, her age, and become utterly captivated by her presence.
Wu Tao reluctantly shifted his gaze, feeling inwardly astonished.
Though he maintained a calm facade, he had to admit to himself that his master, Shangguan Yujie's, beauty was truly hard to resist.
...
Seeing Shangguan Yujie turn and leave, Wu Tao's mind went blank for a moment. Wasn't today the day for him to officially become her disciple?
Where were the elaborate discipleship rituals? What was going on?
Several questions popped into Wu Tao's mind.
"Master, wait for me!"
Wu Tao shouted and immediately ran after her.
Shangguan Yujie's steps appeared slow, yet she moved with incredible speed. Wu Tao had to exert all his strength just to keep up.
"Master!"
Wu Tao roared again, his voice capable of shaking the four directions.
Shangguan Yujie turned around, a slight daze in her eyes, her body swaying slightly.
"Are you calling me?"
Wu Tao couldn't help but roll his eyes and continued, "Master, the discipleship ceremony hasn't been held yet?"
Hearing this, Shangguan Yujie paused, turned, glanced at Wu Tao, and replied, "Just follow me to pay respects to our Ancestor. We don't have so many formalities here."
The next moment, Shangguan Yujie produced another wine gourd from somewhere and began drinking heartily, gulping it down.
Then, with a delicate flick of her slender finger, wood-attribute spiritual energy gathered, and a wood-attribute flying sword materialized out of thin air, soaring upwards.
Shangguan Yujie stepped lightly and gracefully stood upon the wooden sword.
Seeing Shangguan Yujie mount a wooden sword, Wu Tao hesitated no longer. Although he lacked the ability to conjure a spiritual sword out of thin air, he had several flying artifacts in his storage bag. Retrieving a top-tier flying sword artifact would suffice.
Shangguan Yujie and Wu Tao, one after the other, transformed into two streaks of rainbow light and shot towards a nearby sword-like mountain.
The wind whistled past their ears. From the flying swords, they occasionally saw cranes and spirit birds flitting by. Below, immortal mountains and spiritual veins pulsed with purple energy. Wu Tao, who had never done this before at the Taiyi Immortal Sect's stronghold, found it novel and exhilarating.
...
Wenjian Peak, also known as Sword Seeking Peak, was one of the subsidiary peaks guarding the majestic Qionghua Peak within the Taiyi Immortal Sect's territory. It stood over seven thousand zhang tall, piercing the heavens, appearing like a colossal immortal sword connecting to the nine heavens.
Wenjian Peak was lush with vegetation, its spiritual springs gurgled, and a hundred flowers bloomed. At its summit, purple energy cascaded down, immortal mist swirled, and spiritual energy was abundant.
Shangguan Yujie and Wu Tao, riding their swords, landed halfway up Wenjian Peak.
On the mountainside of Wenjian Peak, besides over a dozen immortal palaces, there was only a grove of Minggan Green Bamboo.
Minggan Green Bamboo had jade-like stalks, crystal clear, emitting a faint green spiritual aura and a rich, subtle fragrance. It was a rare top-tier spiritual bamboo.
...
Shangguan Yujie sat on a stone chair and took another large gulp of wine. Her black hair cascaded around her. She then wiped the corner of her mouth and said with a smile, "From now on, this Minggan Green Bamboo grove will be yours."
Hearing this, Wu Tao's heart leaped in shock. He quickly asked, "Why give it to me? Isn't there anyone else on Sword Peak?"
Shangguan Yujie glanced at Wu Tao, then flicked a wine gourd, hitting his forehead. "When your master speaks, as a disciple, you are not allowed to refuse. If I say it's yours, it's yours."
Wu Tao frowned upon hearing this. Honestly, he didn't want to take charge of the Minggan Green Bamboo grove.
His own schedule was tight, leaving him no extra time to tend to the bamboo grove. In his heart, the path to eternal life was paramount.
...
However, a master's command could not be disobeyed. Moreover, it was his first day as a disciple. If he truly refused outright, it would not only cause his master to lose face but also significantly damage his own reputation.
"Yes, Master!"
Under Shangguan Yujie's sharp gaze, Wu Tao reluctantly nodded, barely agreeing.
...
"Disciple, follow me."
Shangguan Yujie led Wu Tao towards an adjacent immortal palace, her wine gourd still being constantly refilled.
The copious amounts of wine seemed to cause no ripple within her, her complexion unchanged.
The immortal palace had a name: Qiujian Pavilion, meaning Sword Seeking Pavilion.
Qiujian Pavilion was built with thousand-year-old warm jade, etched with numerous sword marks.
These sword marks appeared chaotic, but to Wu Tao, they seemed to contain profound sword principles, likely inheritances left by the sword peak's past sages.
However, with his current cultivation, he couldn't comprehend them fully and would have to return later to meditate and study them.
Rumble—
The door of Qiujian Pavilion creaked open, revealing a scene of flying dust and disarray, as if no one had entered for years.
Shangguan Yujie touched her fair forehead and then waved her sleeve. Countless dust particles gathered in the air, forming a large mud ball.
The next moment, this mud ball was swept out of the door.
Wu Tao stared, stammering slightly, "Master, this Qiujian Pavilion is a bit too..."
Shangguan Yujie gave an embarrassed, wry smile and explained, "Haha, it's because there are so few cultivators who exclusively practice the sword these days. The last time we recruited disciples was three years ago, so no one has been here to maintain or clean it."
Entering Qiujian Pavilion, the main hall resembled a secular ancestral hall, with memorial tablets of past generations of sword peak ancestors enshrined. In front of the tablets stood a statue several zhang tall.
The statue depicted a middle-aged man dressed as a Taoist priest. His countenance was stern, his hands behind his back, his robes flowing. Even standing still, he exuded an aura of immense sword energy that soared to the heavens, making the entire Qiujian Pavilion seem immersed in his formidable presence.
...
Wu Tao was deeply shocked. A mere statue carved from ordinary stone possessed such an overwhelming sword intent. Wu Tao could hardly imagine what celestial level his sword cultivation must have reached.
"This is my master, and also your grandmaster, the Sword Saint Xiao Jingteng. Once you pay your respects to the Ancestor, you will officially be a disciple of Sword Peak."
As Shangguan Yujie spoke, she occasionally let out a hiccup from drinking, completely lacking the demeanor of a lofty master or a refined lady.
Wu Tao, already accustomed to this, paid it no mind. He knelt on the meditation cushion before the statue and respectfully kowtowed three times.
"Very well, from today onwards, you are the seventy-second generation disciple of Sword Peak. The seventy-second generation belongs to the 'Xing' character generation. My Daoist name is Chengjiu, meaning 'Wine Collector.' As for your Daoist name, you shall be called Xingjun."
Shangguan Yujie waved her hand carelessly.
"As for your discipleship gift, I don't expect much. Just give me a symbolic three thousand spirit stones for wine money."
"Don't tell me you can't afford it. I've been observing you for a long time, hehe, I know exactly how much you're worth..."
As her jade-like fingers moved, Shangguan Yujie's peerless face revealed a hint of the common greedy mortal.
Upon hearing this, Wu Tao's heart ached. Giving away three thousand spirit stones as a discipleship gift would mean parting with over half of his accumulated wealth.
This was blatant robbery.
Why was this so-called discipleship gift so expensive?
This didn't seem right. Based on what he had inquired about, normal cultivators offered rare artifacts, treasures, spiritual herbs, and materials as discipleship gifts.
...
Who would offer spirit stones as a discipleship gift, and in such a vulgar manner, especially when the master herself was demanding it?
Thinking of this, and then recalling the demeanor of the leading senior sister earlier, Wu Tao felt utterly speechless. This was a clear case of the upper beam being crooked, causing the lower beam to go askew. This greedy disposition seemed to be truly passed down.
...
Although his heart was filled with resentment, he was in a weaker position. Under the circumstances, he could only obediently hand over the three thousand spirit stones to Shangguan Yujie, in exchange for a reliable backing within the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
"For cultivation matters, find jade slips in the Hidden Sword Pavilion. If you truly don't understand anything, come find me at the back mountain. I'm tired and need to sleep."
As Shangguan Yujie spoke, she yawned twice and turned to leave Qiujian Pavilion.
Her strides were not large, yet they covered several zhang with each step. In moments, she disappeared outside Qiujian Pavilion.
"Master..."
Wu Tao watched Shangguan Yujie vanish instantly, stopping his half-formed words. Helplessly, Wu Tao had to turn back to find the young woman in ornate robes.
Wu Tao and the young woman in ornate robes walked side-by-side, chatting with each other.
Through his conversation with the young woman, Wu Tao learned her name was Jiang Wanyi.
Jiang Wanyi was thirty-six years old, younger than Wu Tao. However, according to seniority, Wu Tao had to address her as Senior Sister.