Chapter 76: Rescue Order

  The Baibao Hall has a total of seven floors, the first three are trading areas, the fourth and fifth floors are the offices of the guards and staff, the sixth floor is the office area of the high-ranking officials, and the seventh floor is the private space of Zhou Qiaodao, the highest person in charge of Baibao Hall. As the person in charge of the spiritual medicine department of Baibao Hall, Zhu Yan not only has an office on the first floor but also a separate office on the sixth floor. However, at this moment, he is neither on the first floor nor in his own office, but instead pacing back and forth outside Zhou Qiaodao's office door, looking worried.

  The one who made him so hesitant was actually Lin Feng. Since the last time he discovered that Lin Feng might have refined a high-grade elixir, Zhu Yan had been paying close attention to Lin Feng's movements, and he was 90% sure of his guess. However, without concrete evidence, he was unwilling, or even dared not believe that a cultivator in the fifth layer of the Qi Refining stage could actually refine a high-grade elixir. Rather than believing that Lin Feng had refined a high-grade elixir, he would rather believe that Lin Feng had found some kind of spiritual medicine or spice that smelled similar to the high-grade elixir.

  But today, he suddenly discovered that Lin Feng had broken through to the sixth layer of Qi refining. From now on, he no longer doubted that Lin Feng had refined a high-grade pill. It's worth noting that cultivation always leaves clues, and no matter what kind of genius, it's impossible to achieve overnight success unless one obtains an extraordinary spiritual elixir. Lin Feng entered the fifth layer of Qi refining about three months ago, which Zhu Yan knew. With three months of practice, his cultivation in the fifth layer could only be said to have just reached a stable level. According to Zhu Yan's estimation, under the same cultivation progress, without two months of time, it was impossible to reach the peak of the fifth layer and touch the barrier of the sixth layer. If he added the time it took to break through, that is to say, normally, Lin Feng would need about three more months to reach the sixth layer of Qi refining.

  It only took Lin Feng half a month to break through, and combined with the doubts of the past few days, Zhu Yan immediately realized that Lin Feng had indeed refined the top-grade elixir, and he had been taking it for several days. Only this could explain why his cultivation, which would normally take three months to complete, was finished in just half a month.

  At this point, Zhu Yan could no longer sit still. While other alchemists were still struggling to improve the yield of mid-grade Qi Dan, Lin Feng had already succeeded in refining high-grade Qi Dan with a decent yield. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to consume high-grade pills for over ten days. A person like him, who was only a sixth-layer cultivator at the moment, was already worthy of being heavily courted by major sects like Qingyang Gate. Just thinking about it made Zhu Yan feel suffocated - if Lin Feng could refine mid-grade or even high-grade Xiao Pei Yuan Dan, it would be a huge boost to the foundation-building cultivators of Qingyang Gate. And if he could refine mid-grade Zhugong Dan or even Jiejin Dan, the impact on Qingyang Gate's strength would be immeasurable.

  Such a person must be won over, and Zhu Yan had made up his mind. However, the better the talent, the more expensive the price to pay, and thinking about Lin Feng's identity as a guest elder, Zhu Yan seemed to have an idea. The guest elder identity of Qingyang Gate is actually divided into five levels, from fifth level to first level, with increasingly high resources and benefits that can be obtained. Lin Feng is currently only the lowest fifth-level guest elder, although Zhu Yan can upgrade his level, but his authority can only reach fourth level. Don't underestimate this one level, if calculated by Lin Feng's speed of paying 50 middle-grade Qi Dan every month, it would take about seven or eight years to advance from fifth level to fourth level. But even if Zhu Yan uses his own power to directly promote Lin Feng from fifth level to fourth level, he doesn't think it's enough to win him over. Especially when thinking about Jin Ming's actions, Zhu Yan feels even more uncertain.

  Zhu Yan had to give Lin Feng more benefits in order to surpass Jin Ding Auction House and firmly tie him down, this was Zhu Yan's decision. However, if he wanted to give Lin Feng more benefits, he would need to raise his guest status, and in Baibao Hall, only the hall master Zhou Qiao Dao had that right. But when he walked to the door, Zhu Yan hesitated again, what if Lin Feng only had this skill with Tiqi Dan? If he could only refine high-quality Tiqi Dan, although it would make Qingyang Gate look at him in a new light, but to get a guest status above level three was a bit too much. But what if Lin Feng's alchemy skills continued to improve as he grew? At that time, if he made an effort to win him over, he would really gain a treasure. Two different thoughts kept alternating in Zhu Yan's mind, making him indecisive. What to do, go or not go?

  At this moment, the door suddenly opened by itself, and a calm yet heavy voice came: "Is it Zhu Yan? What are you doing standing at the door, come in if you have something to say."

  Zhu Yan didn't find it strange that Zhou Qiao was able to guess her identity. A master of the Golden Elixir stage had a very strong divine sense, and could detect her cultivation through walls, plus the familiar aura, making it easy to guess her identity. However, this wasn't the time to think about these things, since she had already been called out, Zhu Yan had no choice but to go all-in.

  "Disciple has seen Master's uncle!" After entering, Zhu Yan bowed and paid his respects.

  The only person in the Baibao Hall who can make Zhu Yan call him "Shu Shu" is Zhou Qiao Dao. Zhou Qiao Dao's appearance was very ordinary, and judging from his looks, he seemed to be even younger than Zhu Yan. At this moment, he was sitting on a simple straw cushion with his eyes slightly closed, as if he had already entered meditation.

  "Just say it, no need to be polite." Zhou Qiao said that with Jin Dan's mid-term cultivation, he was in charge of the Baibao Hall, which showed the importance that Qingyangmen attached to the Baibao Hall. However, Zhou Qiao was after all a cultivator who focused on cultivating the Tao, and he wasn't very interested in the various complicated things in the Baibao Hall, instead spending more time practicing in the practice room. Fortunately, he had a group of professional cultivators specially assigned by Qingyangmen under him, all of whom were very capable and trustworthy, which made his job much easier.

  Zhu Yan thought for a moment, organized her thoughts and then told Lin Feng's story one by one, including the fact that she wanted to promote him to a higher rank as a guest, and even expressed her own concerns and various thoughts clearly. Then she quietly waited for Zhou Qiao's decision.

  Zhou Qiao's eyes suddenly widened after hearing the news, and his powerful aura forced Zhu Yan to take a step back before he quickly regained his composure, as if nothing had happened. He calmly said: "According to what you've said, it's almost certain that he has successfully refined the top-grade Qi-gathering Pill. Being able to refine a top-grade pill at the fifth layer of Qi-refining is no ordinary feat, and his future prospects are indeed very promising. It's worth promoting him to the rank of Guest Elder, possibly even to the second or third level. Moreover, if he continues to work hard, it's also possible for him to become one of our sect's specially appointed Elders in the future. You've done a great job with this matter, and I will make sure to report your merits to the sect."

  "Thank you, Master Shu, I will work even harder!" After decades of practice, he had already reached the point where he could remain calm and composed in the face of danger, but when he heard the words "offering", he couldn't help but smile. The guests above the rank of Qingyangmen still had offerings, although they were not members of Qingyangmen, their power and resources were greater than those of most Qingyangmen members, and their treatment was comparable to that of a Golden Elixir period elder. As the recommender, the reward he would receive would be enormous, and more importantly, such merit would be enough to serve as an important basis for allocating Golden Elixir, greatly improving his ranking in the allocation of Golden Elixir. This was the fundamental reason why Zhu Yan couldn't help but smile.

  "But that's just a possibility, and we need to wait and see how far he can go. You should know that a third-level guest like him already has access to some of the sect's secrets, and according to the rules, his identity and background should be investigated. I'll arrange for someone to look into it. You go back now and write down everything you know about him, think carefully, don't miss anything. Maybe an unintentional clue can help us determine his true identity." Zhou Qiao continued to say calmly.

  Zhu Yan's body suddenly tensed up, he knew that for thousands of years, the two paths of Taoism and Demonism, including evil cultivators, had gone through countless battles big and small, and mutual infiltration was a common occurrence. Therefore, it was a necessary procedure to investigate those who could come into contact with the secrets of their own sect. If Lin Feng were found to have problems during the investigation, his reward would be gone. Although it was a pity, under normal circumstances, even if his reward was gone, there wouldn't be any punishment for him. But if he provided false information or withheld something, allowing Lin Feng to slip through and later being discovered, he would be in big trouble. Zhu Yan thought of this and quickly straightened up, saying: "Disciple understands, disciple will definitely assist in investigating this matter."

  "Alright, you know the importance of relationships, but don't worry, after all these years, your Shifu still understands you. As long as you work hard and do things seriously, no matter how big the task is, Shifu will support you. Just relax and do it, got it?" Zhou Qiao knew very well about Lin Feng's importance, if not for considering his own identity might cause unnecessary trouble, he even wanted to talk to Lin Feng in person. At this time, letting Zhu Yan take the lead was the most suitable, but the words couldn't be said too clearly, lest Zhu Yan become overly eager and lose out. Reminding Zhu Yan about Lin Feng's background was a rule, but he didn't want Zhu Yan to become timid and hesitant because of it, thus missing out on such a good talent.

  "Yes, I will definitely do my best and not disappoint Master Zhou's expectations." With Zhou Qiao's affirmation and encouragement, Zhu Yan was very confident that he would handle the matter well. He was very clear that Zhou Qiao did things with a human touch, but also decisively and effectively. As long as he didn't mess up, working under him was quite relaxing.

  "Anything else?" The issue was settled, and Zhou Qiao was about to start meditating again. Zhu Yan understood that he had begun to give orders to dismiss the guests.

  Zhu Yan hastily bid farewell, but before she could exit the door, a sharp and piercing whistle pierced her eardrums. A distress signal? Any disciple of Qingyang Gate was extremely familiar with this shrill whistle. According to the rules of Qingyang Gate, anyone who heard the distress signal must rush over and provide support immediately. But now they were in Yaoguang City, and judging from the direction and sound of the distress signal, the person who issued it should be within the city. When did Yaoguang City become so unsafe that even people from Qingyang Gate dared to cause trouble?

  Although there were doubts, Zhou Qiao was still here, and it wasn't his turn to speak yet. For now, the only thing he could do was stand here waiting for Zhou Qiao's orders. Footsteps sounded from downstairs, although they were very light, but Zhu Yan couldn't be deceived. The person came quickly, and in the blink of an eye, they had rushed up to the sixth floor and ran towards this place. At this time, the only person who could rush into Baibao Hall unhindered was someone Zhu Yan knew without thinking.

  Just as Zhu Yan was lost in thought, Zhou Qiao's eyes, which had just closed, suddenly opened again, and his body emitted a boundless aura. With this aura, a powerful divine sense chased after the sharp whistling sound, and in less than a breath of time, the divine sense returned like a tidal wave. Then he shouted at the door: "Two hundred zhang north, take a team over."

  The person outside had not yet reached the door when he stopped and replied, "Disciple obeys!" Then, the sound of footsteps faded away. But Zhu Yan had already recognized that the one who answered was Wei Fang, the captain of the Baibao Hall guard team, a high-ranking master in the eighth layer of the foundation period.