Under Suspicion?

After returning to his cave, Shaan was full of smiles. 

"Okay, now that I have entered Qi Gathering First Stage, it's time to officially register as an outer disciple."

Having to upgrade his status from a mere handyman to an outer sect disciple was something he had been looking for quite some time. 

Just the perks given were enough to cause envy.

First of all, he can get the official badge of the sect, showing this badge can stop unnecessary bullying while also giving access to some restricted areas at the same time, then there is the benefit of getting 2 free middle-grade cultivation stones every month.

With high spirits, Shaan strode towards the registration office, luckily the distance was only a little far.

"Hello, Sir!"

"I am handyman disciple named Shaan , my cultivation has broken through Qi Gathering Realm, please allow me to officially join the outer sect as I meet the requirements."

Shaan enthusiastically spoke to an old elder who was sitting nonchalantly in his seat. 

"Ohh, that's good!"

"Always remember to work hard for the sect and never slack off!"

"We the Eternal Palace don't need slackers."

The old elder explained some simple words before throwing out a green jade-like badge to Shaan, after that, he once again closed his eyes in meditation.

He hurriedly bowed before running away as fast as he could.

But as soon as Shaan left, the old elder immediately opened his eyes.

"Huh? Why do I feel a little gloomy aura from this boy while examining him superficially?"

"It's like those demon cultivators who killed at least a hundred people!"

"But he was just a mere handyman and with the fluctuation of his energy, it's clear he has recently entered the Qi gathering, so how can a weak person like him kill a hundred people without being unnoticed?"

"That boy ran too fast, otherwise, I would have examined him thoroughly."

Thinking he must have mistaken because of his old age, the elder closed his eyes yet again.

 Shaan, who walked far away, breathed a sigh of relief.

Only he knew how panicked he was when he felt the elder examining him with his divine consciousness. 

The biggest difference between a righteous and evil cultivator is the aura they give off.

A righteous person usually gives off a normal aura but that can also feel serene or pure at times while a demonic monk gives off a gloomy and murderous vibe, this disgusting feeling that an evil monk gives can instantly differentiate him from the usual cultivators.

"Phew! Almost made a big blunder!"

"Thankfully, I have killed only a hundred zombies so my aura hasn't turned that much unpleasant."

As if granted an amnesty, Shaan hurriedly ran to his next destination for countermeasures.

After repeated transfers through small teleportation circles, he once again arrived at the familiar Sect's Warehouse.

"Maybe I can find a suitable technique to conceal my aura and cultivation here!"

Shaan walked in full of hope.

This time a new elder was sitting on the reception, he too, had nonchalantly closed his eyes in meditation.

"Respect to the great elder!"

"I, Shaan , have entered the Qi Gathering Realm and successfully became an outer sect disciple."

Shaan spoke with utmost respect.

Suddenly he experienced a strong divine consciousness examining his body, just like he felt at the registration office but this time the feeling was much more intense and piercing.

'Damn, these sneaky old geezers! How dare you all probe my body?'

'Don't you all know something called privacy?'

Shaan roared furiously in his head.

His mood became extremely agitated.

'Damm, will I be skinned alive and my soul be burned in the eternal fire?'

Just when Shaan thought his practising of taboo techniques would be discovered, the lotus petal suspended in his consciousness emitted a dazzling light.

Under that light, the evil aura of his body was completely masked and it even blocked the probing of the elder's divine consciousness.

Because of the lotus petal's effect, the elder didn't discover anything, he saw Shaan as someone no different from a usual cultivator. 

"Good, yes you have reached Qi Gathering, here is the token that can unlock complete restriction."

"Disciples at your level can completely unlock any one jade slip on the first floor for free, for rest you need sect points that you get after completing tasks issued by the discipline committee."

The elder after throwing away a one-time use token didn't pay any attention to him.

Shaan took the token and hurried inside.

After trying to communicate with the lotus petal in his consciousness, he discovered its other function- It can shield him from probing of any foreign consciousness.

This discovery brought a broad smile on his face.

The sect warehouse had 5 floors in total, each floor was available for specific types of people.

Earlier, he was allowed to visit only the ground floor, but this time he can roam freely on the first floor.

Inside there were a lot of fancy items, weapons. , artifacts and countless jade slips with different introductions, some boasted exaggerated boosts in strength while others were written in powerful styles to captivate the reader's attention.

But Shaan 's aim was predefined from the start.

According to him, what good can be found on lower floors? 

Otherwise, all outer sect disciplines would have long surpassed inner and core disciples.

"Hehe! Got it!"

After much looking through, he finally found the thing he had been looking for.

The jade slip in his hand carried the words-

[Introduction to hide your presence!]

Instantly, he used the one-time token to unlock the jade slip's restriction and the complete text automatically appeared in his head.

[As long as you use this mantra you can hide your cultivation. Note as long as you continue to increase proficiency, the effect of the technique will continue to improve.]

After learning the cultivation concealing mantra by heart, Shaan left happily.

The elder at the reception was disappointed.

"What a waste!"

"Instead of using this opportunity to unlock a powerful weapon or an advanced cultivation technique, you unlocked this concealing mantra?"

"How dumb can one be?"

"You are just at the poor Qi Gathering First stage! What will you do after hiding your little cultivation?"

The elder shook his head like he had completely given up on him.

"Leave, you have already used your opportunity, now you can't regret it!"

The elder instantly dismissed Shaan fearing he might have a change of heart and cry pitifully.