Xiang Wu nodded. It was an honor for him and the Mountain Goose sect to obtain a celestial-level spirit stone from Li Shen.
The old man promised and swore on behalf of himself and the Mountain Goose sect that they would be good affiliates to Pillar Azure.
Li Shen fell silent, then stepped closer to them slowly. To Li Shen, having affiliated sects was a good thing, the two sects could exchange cooperation with each other. For now, Li Shen probably didn't need anything from them yet.
However, in the future, Li Shen was confident that the two sects would definitely become good friends again.
Now, Li Shen's focus was on the Huang Valley Test and teaching the 178 prospective new disciples of the Pillar Azure Sect how to cultivate.
Gu Mei looked forward, then turned her head with a bow, saluting Xiang Wu. She proposed something to her sect leader that naturally surprised the old man.
"To repay Leader Li Shen's kindness, allow disciples to be in the Pillar Azure Sect for these few months," Gu Mei explained, asking for permission.
"Why, Elder Gu?" asked Xiang Wu.
"I caught a glimpse of many children being recruited to become disciples of the Azure Pillar sect. Currently, the Azure Pillar sect only has two practitioners who can teach them. That would be quite tiring and draining," Gu Mei said.
"Think of my service to the Pillar Azure Sect as the Mountain Goose Sect's gratitude for Leader Li Shen's gift of celestial-level spirit stones."
Xiang Wu listened. It had to be admitted that Gu Mei's abilities were indeed outstanding, whether in pill making or teaching cultivation to her disciples. Currently, Gu Mei had at least 35 disciples under her care.
However, what Gu Mei said was completely true. It would be unethical if the Mountain Goose Sect didn't give anything back to leader Li Shen, when he had given invaluable treasures.
A celestial-level spirit stone would be a distinct advantage for the individual or sect, so Li Shen's gift was big and special.
"What do you think?" asked Xiang Wu to the remaining two elders.
"We agree with Elder Gu's proposal. After all, that's all we can give to the Pillar Azure sect," one of them replied.
"Think of this as the beginning of good relations between the two sects for the foreseeable future," the other elder added.
Xiang Wu sighed, looked back at Gu Mei intently, then directed the focus of his eyes forward, looking at Leader Li Shen. Li Shen heard Gu Mei's proposal, but the man had yet to respond.
"How about it, Fellow Daoist Li Shen? Do you have any objections about our Elder Gu's proposal?" asked Xiang Wu.
Li Shen glanced clearly at Gu Mei, the woman seemed to have passed the difficult test of defending her soul core from destruction.
Now, her cultivation had reached the early Nascent Soul, a good start for her.
It had to be admitted that Li Shen would definitely be overwhelmed teaching cultivation to those children, let alone later having a Forest Leaf Sect disciple become an official disciple of the Pillar Azure Sect, his burden would increase.
"Elder Gu Mei's presence will be of great help to our sect. She will only teach the disciples basic cultivation," Li Shen explained.
"She can stay for six months if you don't mind," Li Shen said.
Xiang Wu nodded, followed by his two elders. They had no objection to it at all. They would send other elders to teach elder Gu's disciples in the Mountain Goose sect during Gu Mei's service in the Pillar Azure sect.
An agreement was established between them. Li Shen and Xiang Wu walked out of the sect's main building.
The old man said goodbye. He had finished his visit to Pillar Azure Sect and received a souvenir that he never expected.
Li Shen cleared his throat. Xiang Wu and his two elders went flying away leaving the Azure Pillar sect. Seeing that Li Shen's guests had left, Ye Fa walked over to ask her senior.
"Just an ordinary meeting," Li Shen said.
Ye Fa nodded. She turned her head to Li Shen's side, seeing that Elder Gu Mei did not leave with them. It was enough to make Ye Fa confused.
"Leader Xiang Wu has made a deal with me. He will let Elder Gu Mei be in the Pillar Azure sect for six months," explained Li Shen.
"Why?" asked Ye Fa.
"There will be 300-plus disciples joining our sect. If we handle them both, it will be tiring," said Li Shen.
"Not to mention I have to focus on getting Ziyue and Xiao Bai to join the Huang Valley Test," replied Li Shen.
Ye Fa was shocked to hear about the Huang Valley Test. The test was always held once every ten years and was open to all Foundation Establishment stage practitioners.
Previously, Ye Fa did not register any Pillar Azure disciples because there were none. Hao Ziyue and Xiao Bai only joined three years ago.
Even if they practiced earlier, they still couldn't enter because of the cultivation stuck in Qi Condensation and the lack of cultivation techniques.
However, Ye Fa did not know how her two disciples were progressing at this time. Upon Ye Fa's arrival at the sect, she did not see their presence.
"Isn't the Huang Valley Test only allowed to be taken by Foundation Establishment practitioners?" asked Ye Fa, Li Shen nodded with a smile, seeing that Ye Fa didn't know the progress of his disciples.
"Yes. That's why I have to train them hard," replied Li Shen.
"Put aside the Huang Valley Test. You two should work together to train the Pillar Azure sect disciples," said the man, looking alternately at Ye Fa and Gu Mei.
"When they open their dantian and start channeling qi energy through their meridians, try to discover their potential," Li Shen explained.
"Perhaps, we can find a potential disciple among them."
Gu Mei and Ye Fa looked at each other intently, then responded with serious faces. Although Gu Mei was part of the Mountain Goose sect, her current capacity was as an irregular member of the Pillar Azure sect. That woman must obey Li Shen's orders.
Ye Fa pointed towards pavilion five, saying that the construction would be finished in a few months. Li Shen cleared his throat.
If the five pavilions had already been renovated, then he had to start looking for the former Pillar Azure elders.
If not, then Li Shen would inevitably have to leave the pavilion empty for the time being. The man was sure, there must be some among his disciples who managed to achieve Core Formation or Nascent Soul, so Li Shen could appoint them as the grand elders of the pavilion.
"I will handle the matter of the elders. You guys better focus on the disciples," Li Shen explained.
"Okay. We understand, Sect Leader Li Shen."