The moment he heard that voice, Mo Fan's entire body went rigid, his heart pounding like a war drum.
That was a mighty figure at the [ Late-Stage Nascent Soul ] level.
There was no telling whether an existence like this could see straight through his Necromancer identity.
True, the past days had given him some precedent to go on—Lin Dong hadn't managed to detect the fluctuations of Mo Fan using his Necrotic Mana.
But who could guarantee that just because a Golden Core couldn't see it, a Nascent Soul couldn't either?
Gulp.
Mo Fan swallowed a huge mouthful of saliva with great difficulty, drew a deep breath, and—with stiff, wooden steps...
Followed A-Song through the heavy grand doors as they slowly swung open.
However.
When Mo Fan actually stepped into the side hall of the [ Evergreen Hall ], the scene before his eyes made him freeze for a moment.
The interior of this side hall lacked the resplendent grandeur he'd imagined.
If anything, the space felt somewhat cramped—no larger than a few square meters.
There were no walls on any side. All around was nothing but a dense, roiling, dreamlike white sea of clouds.
At the very center of that cloud sea grew a verdant giant tree so vast it connected heaven and earth, its very crown vanishing into the depths of the clouds.
Beneath the tree, the arrangement was exceedingly simple and refined.
Just a few cushioned meditation seats, and a small, archaic table and chairs.
On the table sat an elegant set of purple-clay teaware, tendrils of tea fragrance curling upward.
And a middle-aged man—clad in a cyan robe utterly free of any superfluous ornamentation, black hair draped over his shoulders, his features like warm, polished jade...
Sat properly to one side, leisurely and contently savoring a cup of clear tea.
The Sect Master of Azure Cloud Sect, Qing Feng.
"This disciple greets his Master!"
A-Song stepped forward and performed a deep bow with the utmost reverence, his voice brimming with fondness for this elder.
Standing behind him, Mo Fan—though his heart was in utter chaos—kept up an absolutely composed exterior.
Seeing this, he hurriedly followed suit, mimicking A-Song and giving a deep bow.
Pfft.
Qing Feng, who had been sipping his tea, saw this gesture.
The hand holding his teacup paused slightly—before he actually let out a startled chuckle.
He set down the cup, his gaze turning gently toward Mo Fan, a note of teasing in his tone:
"Xiaoqi, now what's all this? Don't tell me... you've bowed into my tutelage too?"
"Huh?"
Only then did Mo Fan realize that his etiquette a moment ago had been rather... off the mark.
"Ahem... ahem!"
Mo Fan could only repeatedly bow with cupped hands in apology:
"Sect—Sect Master, please forgive my sin! This disciple is dull-witted—I didn't understand the proper etiquette in my momentary nervousness and used the wrong form of address."
"I entreat the Sect Master to punish me!"
Seeing his older brother in such an embarrassed, flustered state—something he fundamentally never caught a glimpse of normally—A-Song couldn't help but cover his mouth and snicker on the side.
"No matter."
Qing Feng didn't reproach him. Instead, he gave an easygoing, amiable smile.
That smile was like a spring breeze brushing across the face, and it actually drove away that bit of tension remaining in Mo Fan's heart.
"I've had this child A-Song constantly chattering in my ear about you all this time. Today, I suppose I've finally gotten to see your true face."
As he spoke, Qing Feng slowly rose from his seat.
And under Mo Fan's utterly astonished gaze—
This Sect Master of Azure Cloud Sect actually slightly cupped his hands toward Mo Fan in a bow.
"I am Qing Feng, Sect Master of Azure Cloud Sect."
Mo Fan didn't dare put on arrogant airs.
He hurriedly returned the courtesy:
"Disciple of Hundred Forging Peak, Lu Xiaoqi, greets the Sect Master!"
"Sit."
Qing Feng waved a hand with a smile, gesturing for the two of them to take their seats before the tea table.
After a few rounds of simple pleasantries, Qing Feng's easygoing, approachable manner thoroughly warmed the atmosphere.
They chatted for a while.
Then Qing Feng glanced at A-Song and said in a gentle voice:
"A-Song, go meditate under the tree. Circulate today's coursework for three grand circulation cycles."
"Yes, Master!"
A-Song nodded obediently, walked straight to one of the seats beneath that heaven-reaching giant tree, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
Before long—
As the cultivation method circulated, the Wood-attribute spiritual energy all around—dense to the absolute extreme...
Seemed to answer some extremely powerful summons, transforming into countless motes of cyan starlight that surged frantically into A-Song's body.
That spiritual energy was drawn into A-Song's dantian, cycled once through his meridians, and the vast majority of it was retained within, converted into pure true essence...
While a small surplus of spiritual energy slowly dissipated back into the world, gathering once more, forming a perfect, endless cycle.
Sitting in front of the tea table, watching this scene, Mo Fan's gaze gradually grew profound.
With a Nascent Soul mighty figure sitting right there, he didn't dare entertain even the faintest thought of activating [ Death Vision ], terrified of leaking even a tiny bit of death energy.
But even without relying on the System, just purely based on the extremely acute perception of spiritual energy he'd developed over this stretch of time, he could still perceive it perfectly clearly.
A-Song's rate of absorbing spiritual energy is already that of a prodigy among same-tier cultivators...
Mo Fan secretly made comparisons in his heart.
But compared to that terrifying, "giant-whale-swallowing-the-sea" suction I felt back in the sealed chamber when I opened up my Tier-2 vision—it seems quite a bit weaker still.
However...
A trace of gloom flashed through Mo Fan's eyes.
The spiritual energy he absorbs actually tangibly remains in his dantian, converting into cultivation.
Whereas me... no matter how fast I absorb it, I'm just a bottomless colander. In the end, I hold on to nothing.
Watching Mo Fan absentmindedly stare at A-Song's cultivating figure, his eyes even revealing a faint, hard-to-detect gloom—
Qing Feng, seated to one side, followed his gaze, and seemed to understand something.
He assumed Mo Fan was sighing over the hopelessness of cultivating immortality in this life—that he could only watch the younger brother he'd grown up with soar into the heavens...
And that a sense of wistful melancholy had inevitably crept into his heart.
"Xiaoqi."
Qing Feng set down his teacup, his voice mellow and lustrous like jade, carrying an elder's comforting tone.
"This path of cultivation is not something human effort can forcibly reverse."
"The divisions of aptitude, the differences in Spirit Roots—these truly are an irreversible chasm laid before the people of the world."
"A-Song is indeed a rarely encountered cultivation genius. But looking at your body-cultivation foundation—your blood-qi is solid and your foundation is stable."
"Clearly, you have put in a great deal of bitter effort, and possess some talent besides."
Qing Feng looked deeply at Mo Fan, as though imparting some Great Dao of life:
"The path of life lies not in where the destination stands, but beneath your feet. As long as you walk steadily and live with equanimity—only then can it be considered true great freedom."
"Another day, this seat shall personally go to the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion and find a top-tier body-cultivation technique for you."
"If you can cultivate with a concentrated mind, achieving Great Accomplishment of the physical body in the future and rivaling a Golden Core stage cultivator—I'm afraid there is also immense hope for that."
Hearing these words, Mo Fan abruptly snapped back to reality.
A top-tier body-cultivation technique, personally hand-picked by a Nascent Soul mighty figure?! This was simply a great thing akin to a meat pie dropping straight from the sky!
"Many thanks, Sect Master! This disciple is overwhelmingly grateful!"
Mo Fan hurriedly stood up and performed a deep, respectful bow, a look of shedding tears of gratitude appearing on his face.
But subsequently—
When Mo Fan sat back down, a faint sense that something was wrong slowly began to rise from the bottom of his heart.
Why?
Mo Fan analyzed at lightning speed in his mind.
The dignified Sect Master of Azure Cloud Sect—isn't he treating me a bit too well?
This is no longer just being approachable. You could even say... he's deliberately trying to win me over and pacify me?!
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world—let alone in this man-eating, bone-spitting cultivation realm.
Mo Fan wasn't the type of naive sweetheart who would let a few nice words rush to his head.
He lifted his head, looked at Qing Feng who still bore a smile before him.
After weighing his options for a moment, he ultimately decided to take a risk and probe.
"The Sect Master's profound love moves this disciple to tears of gratitude. It's just..."
"This disciple still has some doubts. This humble one is merely an ordinary mortal without even a shred of cultivation."
"What virtue, what ability do I have to warrant such a courteous reception from the Sect Master? It truly makes this disciple... feel uneasy in my heart."