Chapter 56: The Self-Serving Master of Little Bamboo Peak
Li Yan felt a sudden chill run down his spine upon hearing those words.
"Little one, you don't look a day over twenty."
But then he remembered that Li Wuyi, despite being over seventy, still bore the appearance of a charming, refined young man, like a peerless nobleman untouched by time. He couldn't help but mutter inwardly, "Are all cultivators such monsters?"
"Zhi Mei, don't scare him. He's likely just not used to the appearances of cultivators yet," said the chubby young man with a chuckle.
"Hahaha… Li Yan, your Master and Master's Wife are both over two hundred years old now. By seniority alone, wouldn't it be fair for you to kowtow and pay your respects as if we were your elders?"
The first half was clearly addressed to the palace-garbed woman beside him, but the latter was spoken directly to Li Yan with a faint smile.
Li Yan was left dumbfounded. Though mentally prepared, he hadn't expected that the pair of youthful figures sitting above him were older than his grandfather's grandfather.
"You just had to bring up a woman's age, didn't you?" the palace-dressed woman bit out, shooting a glare at the chubby youth, her face clearly displeased.
He only smiled in return, offering no reply.
"Li Yan, since you've already come here with Wuyi, I assume he's told you a few things. You're here today to get familiar with the people on the peak and undergo a simple initiation ceremony.
"I'm not fond of cumbersome formalities, but if we don't observe at least the basics, the other four peaks will start quoting sect doctrine and criticizing us."
Li Yan lowered his head and said nothing. He had heard similar words before when worshiping his master. A flicker of resistance stirred in his heart.
Noticing his silence, the chubby youth furrowed his brows and glanced at Li Wuyi, who was also taken aback.
"Didn't we agree on this beforehand? Why is this junior brother suddenly acting like he's lost his soul, saying nothing at all?"
The two men and two women seated below also began to frown, their expressions growing subtly unfriendly.
Just then, Li Yan raised his head and scratched the back of it awkwardly, smiling sheepishly.
"This disciple was momentarily dazed. I apologize for the lapse in manners."
Upon hearing this, the chubby youth and the others relaxed. It made sense, those accepted into the Wraith Sect were often overwhelmed, as though trapped in a dream.
At that moment, Li Wuyi stepped forward, holding a tray with two cups of tea, and gestured for Li Yan to come forward and offer the tea.
Li Yan respectfully served a cup to the chubby youth and then to the woman in white palace robes. Once done, he retreated a few steps and stood at attention at the base of the hall.
The chubby youth took a small sip, then set the cup on the table beside him.
"From today forward, you are the eighth disciple of Little Bamboo Peak. Like your Seventh Senior Brother Lin Daqiao, you are currently a registered disciple. I hope you both reach the Foundation Establishment stage soon."
As he spoke, he pointed at a lanky youth seated below with long limbs and a cheerful smile.
Following the direction of his gaze, Li Yan thought to himself:
"So this is my Seventh Senior Brother… Seems he's also at the Qi Condensation stage. I wonder which level he's reached."
Lin Daqiao grinned at him and said, "Finally, another registered disciple! From now on, you'll be our youngest junior brother. Heh heh…"
Clearly, he'd been feeling somewhat out of place as the only one not formally accepted until now. Li Yan responded with a polite nod and smile.
The chubby man continued, "I am Wei Chongran, your master. The people seated below are your senior brothers and sisters. You've already met your Eldest Senior Brother. The others are your Second Senior Brother Wei Chituo, your Seventh Senior Brother Lin Daqiao, your Fourth Senior Sister Miao Wangqing, and your Sixth Senior Sister Gong Chenying."
As he introduced them, he pointed to a burly middle-aged man, the lanky youth from earlier, a woman in a pale yellow gown, and a cold-faced woman with short hair.
Most of them nodded or smiled at Li Yan in greeting. Lin Daqiao, in particular, beamed with enthusiasm, and even the aloof short-haired woman gave a slight nod, though her expression remained as frosty as a glacier.
Li Yan returned their gestures with a polite bow. He only knew that Lin Daqiao was at the Qi Condensation stage. As for the others, he guessed they were all at the Foundation Establishment stage but whether early, mid, or late stage, he couldn't tell.
After the greetings, Wei Chongran spoke again.
"Your Third Senior Brother is out on a sect mission and won't be able to meet you this time. Your Fifth Senior Brother is currently in closed-door cultivation after gaining insight during the recent sect tournament. You'll meet him in due time."
He gestured toward the chairs below.
"Sit."
Li Yan glanced around. There were two rows of chairs below, but all four disciples were seated on one side. It wouldn't be proper for him to sit opposite them, so he naturally moved toward the end of their row.
Just as he turned, however, Li Wuyi grabbed his arm and guided him toward the other row, pointing at the seat nearest the top.
"Junior Brother, sit there. Master still has things to say to you, and it'll be more convenient this way. We rarely all gather like this. Master also dislikes excessive formalities, just sit where it's comfortable."
As he spoke, he sat down in the second seat from the top.
Wei Chongran nodded approvingly. He appreciated his eldest disciple's thoughtfulness. Even though cultivators had sharp hearing and could communicate across vast distances with ease, this arrangement felt more appropriate.
Li Yan sighed inwardly but sat down as instructed. Though he took the seat, he wasn't under any illusions, he knew very well that seniority still mattered here.
It was just a little less rigid than elsewhere. Next time, he'd definitely sit at the end.
Wei Chongran lifted his teacup and took another sip.
"Li Yan, while I've heard a few things about you, it's all secondhand. Now that you're officially a disciple, it's best that you tell us your story yourself. Naturally, you can leave out anything that's too personal.
"Of course, this does put you at a disadvantage. Your senior brothers and sisters will hear your past, while you know nothing of theirs.
"Still, as fellow disciples, you'll get to know each other soon enough. It's mainly because your case is unusual, even I know very little about you. So it's only right that you begin with an introduction."
Li Yan felt a bit irritated at this.
'Just like you said, I know nothing about any of you, yet I'm expected to bare everything now.'
But he understood the situation. He had learned the sect's cultivation techniques without proper cause. According to Dong Fuyi, he could have been executed for it and no one would have batted an eye.
Naturally, it was only reasonable that they'd want to know his past, how could anyone take in a disciple without any basis? Although he had already shared much with that Yu-surnamed cultivator on Spirit Insect Peak, this here was clearly the true decision-maker.
What truly made Li Yan uncomfortable, however, was having all his senior brothers and sisters seated nearby, listening in. He had no idea what was going through this new master's mind.
Wei Chongran set down his teacup, then leaned back in his chair with his eyes half-shut. The elegantly dressed woman beside him looked genuinely interested, and although the others remained silent, their eyes were fixed on Li Yan.
With no other choice, Li Yan began to recount his story, how he left his village and joined the army, how he met Strategist Ji, how he sensed something was wrong, and how he ultimately reached out to Marshal Hong and helped kill Strategist Ji.
Of course, he left out Dong Fuyi and the matter of the Guishui Immortal Sect. He also altered the discovery of Ji's ill intent to something more believable: a dead senior brother had left behind a secret note, revealing suspicions that he had been poisoned, and hoping that someone might one day avenge him.
Li Yan claimed to have stumbled upon the note by accident. Combined with his own physical symptoms, he grew terrified and had no choice but to turn to the Marshal. He painted Marshal Hong as a gallant hero of the martial world, someone of great moral virtue. Upon hearing his plight, the man took pity and helped him escape. However, in the end, the marshal and his junior brother both died tragically at the hands of Strategist Ji, and it was only with their sacrifice that Ji was finally slain, Li Yan attributing most of the credit to them.
Everyone involved in that tale was already dead, so naturally he could mold the story however he liked. He had rehearsed this version once before on Spirit Insect Peak. Now, he told it even more smoothly, the narrative flowing like truth.
As he spoke, he even managed to draw frequent sighs from the two women present, though not from his cold-faced Sixth Senior Sister. His white-clad Mistress and the Fourth Senior Sister in the pale yellow gown occasionally chimed in, expressing genuine worry for his past predicament. The rest of the group could only glance at each other, speechless.
Particularly when he described how Marshal Hong set a trap for Ji, the entire room was moved. Who would've thought that even among mortals there could be such heroic figures? Clearly, cultivation didn't make one untouchable, immortals could just as easily fall to mortal hands.
By the time he finished, Li Yan was starting to admire himself. Perhaps he had a talent for storytelling, some parts sounded so convincing, even he nearly believed them.
Wei Chongran remained reclined in his chair the entire time, quietly listening. His expression shifted between solemnity, contemplation, and faint smiles, as though he were calculating something. When Li Yan finally finished, the man looked at him with a half-smile that made his heart skip a beat.
Throughout his story, Li Yan had kept a careful eye on everyone's expressions, afraid of slipping up, especially when it came to the Guishui Immortal Sect. If any trace of immortal cultivation methods from the Immortal Spirit Realm were discovered here, even as a novice cultivator, he knew that possessing such techniques could make him a target.
Dong Fuyi had warned him: even in the Immortal Spirit Realm, from time immemorial, the Five Immortal Sects' legacy arts had been desperately sought after by all major factions. If someone here found out he possessed them...
So when he caught that subtle look from his new master, his heart thudded.
'Did I mess up somewhere?'
But he couldn't tell what, and anxiety gnawed at him.
Then, Wei Chongran sat up and casually asked a few follow-up questions, mostly related to his cultivation. That put Li Yan slightly at ease. It seemed the questioning was centered around the "Fractured Poison Body."
After more than ten questions, Wei Chongran finally turned to the others.
"This is exactly why I had you all listen in, not to expose your junior brother's background, but to let you hear the entirety of his cultivation process. Analyze it for yourselves later. I will also report my own insights to the sect, and hopefully it will be of some help."
Then, turning back to Li Yan:
"Li Yan, are you aware of what the 'Fractured Poison Body' truly is?"
Li Yan quickly stood.
"Master, Eldest Senior Brother has already explained the general differences between this and the other two poison bodies."
Wei Chongran motioned lightly for him to sit.
"Good. These three great poison constitutions form the core of our sect's most powerful battle capabilities. The other two are more manageable, find the matching path, follow the right methods, and there are ways forward.
"But your particular one, the Fractured Poison Body, is notoriously unstable and difficult to cultivate. Since ancient times, only a handful have succeeded, and there's never been a definitive method.
"Thus, any disciple who manages it must document their full cultivation process, so the sect may learn and improve. Yours will be recorded as well.
"Today, I've had your senior brothers and sisters listen in to see if they might glean anything useful. In that sense, they've benefited a little. Now then, one final question, was everything you told us just now true?"
Li Yan thought silently.
"So that's the reason. No wonder he had all these people sit in and probe into my past. Looks like this new master has his own motives. If it were just for record-keeping and reporting to the sect, no way he'd include so many people, it's clear he hopes they'll each gain something from it."
"Master, everything I've said about my cultivation process is true. There isn't a single falsehood."
He answered solemnly and respectfully, but in his heart, he added,
"The cultivation part is indeed true. Even the part about the 'Dark Night Cyan Curtain Technique' is accurate. I just left out the fact that I've practiced other techniques as well. As for how the poison body formed, I honestly don't know myself. Even if they listened for a hundred years, they'd gain nothing from it."
Wei Chongran smiled and nodded. But to Li Yan, that smile seemed just a touch too knowing, making him all the more uneasy.
"Very well. Let's leave it at that for now. Li Yan, come forward."
The sudden summons from Wei Chongran, paired with his unreadable smile, only deepened the anxiety already simmering in Li Yan's chest.
"Don't tell me... did he actually find something?"
(Chapter End)