Chapter 79: Second-Class Guest Minister

  Lin Feng and his group followed the people from Baibao Hall back to Baibao Hall. The happiest were Zhao Chun and Lin Feng, as their relationship was originally good. They had been separated for more than half a year, but now they met again in Yaoguang City, so they naturally had a lot to talk about. Liu Kai was somewhat silent, perhaps because he was shocked or perhaps because he was surprised by Lin Feng's identity. Anyway, he didn't say much. Only Xue Bingxin was the most normal. She walked at the front of the group with Wei Fang accompanying her, occasionally saying a few words to him. Her demeanor was extraordinary and she responded appropriately, looking as if Wei Fang was introducing her to the scenery of Yaoguang City.

  Back at the Baibao Hall, several foundation-building experts were standing at the entrance, looking around curiously. Among them was Zhu Yan, and it was clear that news of the rescue order had spread throughout the hall. These people were all here to see how things would develop. As soon as Zhu Yan saw Lin Feng among them, he quickly asked about what had happened. When he heard that Lin Feng was actually a fellow disciple of Zhao Chun, he couldn't help but reveal a happy smile. Since Zhao Chun was Mei Su's disciple, then Lin Feng's identity shouldn't be a problem. Therefore, recommending Lin Feng to become an upgraded guest would be no issue, and this reward would naturally follow.

  Everyone explained the situation, and Wei Fang was about to take Xue Bingxin and Zhao Chun to see Zhou Qiao Dao to report back. Zhu Yan, however, requested that Lin Feng come along as well. Wei Fang glanced at Lin Feng, feeling it wasn't quite right, but although Zhu Yan's cultivation wasn't as high as his own, his authority was almost on the same level. Since he wanted to bring someone to see Zhou Qiao Dao, there was no way for him to stop it. Thus, they left Liu Kai alone to rest on the ground floor, and the five of them went up to the sixth floor.

  As soon as she entered the door, Xue Bingxin directly rushed to Zhou Qiao and saluted: "Disciple Xue Bingxin, has seen Master!"

  Zhou Qiao was still in the same meditative state as before, but upon hearing Xue Bingxin's words, not only did he open his eyes, but he also stood up, walked forward, and grasped her hand. He looked at her carefully for a few moments, then exclaimed with joy: "Indeed, it's really been five or six years since we last met! You've grown into a big girl now! How is your master?"

  Xue Bingxin was a big girl after all, and she felt a bit shy when someone pulled her to look at so many people. She said awkwardly: "Bingxin hasn't seen Master Shu for many years either, Bingxin is very happy, Master is doing well, and she has been missing Master Shu too, and asked Bingxin to greet you!"

  "Haha, Xinger is indeed a big girl now, she knows how to be shy." Zhou Qiao immediately felt that Xue Bingxue's expression was unnatural, and with a haha laugh, he let go of his hand and said: "I already know about your plan to come here for training. How was the journey? Wasn't it you who sent out the rescue order just now?" As he spoke, he looked at Wei Fang with an inquiring gaze, then looked at Lin Feng and Zhao Chun with a puzzled expression, clearly he had received news that only two people were coming, so why were there three now?

  Xue Bingxin spoke first: "It's true that we encountered trouble, but we didn't know who sent the distress signal. There were too many onlookers at the time." She then told Zhou Qiao about what had happened.

  Zhou Qiao thought for a moment and didn't ask any further questions, waiting for Wei Fang to respond. Wei Fang recounted what had happened since his arrival, finally pointing at Zhao Chun and Lin Feng: "This is Zhao Chun, and this is his senior fellow-disciple Lin Feng."

  "Disciple brother, come quickly to pay respects to Master Zhou, Master Zhou, this is the new disciple that Master just accepted, named Zhao Chun. Xiang'er was too excited to see Master earlier and forgot to introduce you, please forgive her."

  "Disciple Zhao Chun has seen Master Zhou Shu!" Zhao Chun stepped forward and saluted respectfully.

  "Haha, not bad, Mei Shizhi indeed has good eyesight, getting a good apprentice, you're not worse than Xiner! How old are you this year?" Zhou Qiao's tone of voice made Lin Feng feel a chill, it sounded like he was teasing a little kid.

  "Thanks for the compliment, I'll be thirteen soon." Zhao Chun's response made Lin Feng even more disgusted. Normally clever as a fox, he now had an innocent and obedient look, coupled with his chubby appearance, even Zhou Qiao Dao, a seasoned Jianghu veteran, was deceived.

  "Heh heh, you're really clever! This is Master's gift to you, do you like it?" Zhou Qiao said as he handed over a short sword to Zhao Chun. Lin Feng's eyesight had also improved, and with one glance, he knew that this short sword was at least a mid-grade artifact. He couldn't help but feel a little envious - having an awesome master was really great! Just look at how they gave gifts, casually handing over something worth thousands of spirit stones. It was just incomparable to someone like him."

  "Thanks, Uncle!" Zhao Chun took the short sword and smiled happily with his eyes narrowed. The look was completely different from his obedient appearance earlier, it was as if a weasel had stolen a chicken, looking very pleased with himself. Zhou Qiao was taken aback at first, but then burst out laughing.

  Perhaps because Lin Feng was present, Zhou Qiao didn't say much and after asking a few questions, he arranged for people to take Xue Bingxin and Zhao Chun away. After completing his task, Wei Fang also retreated, leaving only Zhu Yan and Lin Feng in the room.

  "Are you Lin Feng?" Zhou Qiao asked, regaining his usual calm demeanor, staring into Lin Feng's eyes.

  Lin Feng suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if his whole body was being seen through. His first impression of Zhou Qiao after he came in was that this Jindan period expert seemed like an ordinary person, not scary at all. But now, just one glance made him feel like he couldn't breathe.

  "Yes, junior Lin Feng has seen senior." No way, Lin Feng could only bear the pressure to answer, he didn't know why Zhu Yan brought him here, but he had already foreseen that something was going to happen.

  "I heard that you recently refined a high-quality Qi-tonifying Pill. Can I borrow it from you for a look?" Zhou Qiao's words scared Lin Feng half to death. He had always kept his pill-refining a strict secret, and this Zhou Qiao rarely left his house, so how could he possibly know about his own secret? After glancing at Zhu Yan beside him, Lin Feng quickly confirmed that it was he who told Zhou Qiao, but how did he find out? It had only been over ten days since he refined the high-quality Qi-tonifying Pill, so how did he find out so quickly?

  Is there a surveillance system in the alchemy room? This possibility is not great, let alone what kind of trouble it would bring to Baibao Hall if it were exposed. Just saying that so many people have been refining medicine without discovering any surveillance system, it's unlikely that there will be one. Moreover, with their abilities, they wouldn't be able to use such means against themselves alone. And if it was because of the surveillance that they discovered my alchemy secret, why are they only asking me now and not when I first refined the top-grade medicine ten or so days ago?

  It must be that he himself had let something slip, Lin Feng thought of Zhu Yan's strange gaze at him over the past few days. Although he didn't know how the other party had judged that he had refined a top-grade elixir, he could already be certain that Zhou Qiao wouldn't speak without basis. A person like this who spoke and acted with caution must have already obtained conclusive evidence in his hands.

  What to do? Admit or not admit it? Lin Feng was caught in a dilemma, and not admitting it would obviously be deceitful. He didn't dare imagine what would happen if a Golden Dan period expert were to get angry, but one thing was certain - he, a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator, wouldn't be able to withstand it. If he admitted it, what would happen? Would he be forced to hand over the refining method or be restricted and become a slave for alchemy?

  "Lin Xiao, it seems you're thinking too much. Our Qingyang Sect has always been the leader in Dao cultivation, and we value harmony with the heavens. We don't force or take by force. If there's something difficult for Lin Xiao to say, then let's not mention it. Actually, I came to talk to you today about your guest status." Perhaps having seen this kind of situation too many times before, Zhou Qiao laughed and didn't pressure Lin Feng further.

  Lin Feng felt a great sense of relief as long as he didn't force himself to acknowledge the matter of the superior grade dan, everything else was no problem for him.

  "Please go ahead and say what you have to say, I'll listen respectfully."

  Zhou Qiao didn't say a word and handed over a jade slip: "Take a look yourself, is there anything you need?"

  Lin Feng took the jade slip with a puzzled expression, and after focusing his mind to take a look, he immediately discovered that it was exactly the same as the one Zhu Yan had given him last time. Just as he was about to put it down, he suddenly found that there were many more things on it than what Zhu Yan had shown him before, and all of them were above third-grade. The spiritual medicine even included fifth-grade ones, the spiritual pills included the Golden Coagulation Pill, and the weapons and armor actually included precious artifacts. Although the long string of required contribution points at the back made one's head ache just by looking at it, so many good things were really tempting.

  "How about it, can you still accept these things?" Zhou Qiao asked casually, his expression was similar to Zhu Yan's last time when he coaxed himself into becoming a guest minister. If Lin Feng didn't know their relationship beforehand, he would have thought they were master and apprentice. Are all the people from Qingyang Gate like this?

  Lin Feng did not respond, taking the opportunity to look at the jade slip, various thoughts quickly turned in his mind. Although Zhou Qiao had stopped pressing him about the superior-grade elixir, the fact that he could produce this jade slip already fully explained that they were clearly aware of Lin Feng's success in refining the superior-grade elixir; otherwise, they would not have invested so much capital at once, and whether or not Lin Feng acknowledged it was no longer important to them.

  In addition, it also shows that they have no malice in this matter. Their purpose is to exchange equally, not to take by force. Otherwise, Lin Feng would have become a prisoner long ago. Of course, it's also possible that they spared him because of Zhao Chun. Thinking of Zhao Chun, Lin Feng felt much more at ease. With Zhao Chun around, he shouldn't suffer any losses in his transaction with Qingyang Gate, right?

  Having understood the situation, Lin Feng also put his mind at ease and calmly put away the jade slip after saying: "There's one thing, please enlighten me, senior."

  "Go ahead and ask if you have any questions."

  "How did the senior know that I, a junior, had successfully refined the top-grade Qi-tonifying Pill?" Lin Feng thought he had been very secretive, but was discovered so quickly, and he couldn't understand it.

  "This question should be answered by Zhu Yan, because he discovered it."

  Lin Feng looked at Zhu Yan, and he also guessed that it was him who discovered it, otherwise he wouldn't have been looking at himself with that kind of gaze for the past few days. Zhu Yan chuckled and said: "Actually, it's very simple. After Lin fellow refined the top-grade elixir, the rich aroma of the elixir lingered on, and I was puzzled when I occasionally caught a whiff of it. It wasn't until I saw you suddenly break through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining that I realized the truth. Only the pure spiritual energy of a top-grade Qi Gathering Elixir could allow you to break through the barrier of the sixth layer so quickly." Zhu Yan was overjoyed, and Lin Feng put away the jade slip, which meant he had agreed to join Qingyang Gate, and his own merit for this achievement was now secure.

  "I didn't expect that I was being vigilant all the time, but still got discovered by Senior Zhu. It's just that this matter should not be spread outside, please don't tell anyone, seniors. As a junior with low strength, I'm afraid of attracting unnecessary trouble." Lin Feng said with a self-deprecating smile.

  "This is natural, only I and Zhu Yan know about it on the Baibao Hall side. For convenience, if you have anything in the future, you can find him. As for Qingyang Gate, don't worry, we won't tell them for now. Even if there's a need, the people who know about this matter on that side are absolutely trustworthy." Zhou Qiao said casually, but his tone was not to be doubted.

  Lin Feng nodded, a promise from a Golden Dan period's great expert was still trustworthy, so he said: "Alright then, now let's talk about your conditions!"

  "What conditions?" Zhou Qiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Our condition is that you must become the second-level guest of our Qingyang Gate."

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