8.Searching for the Mysterious Person

Xu Shan nodded and lay down on the bed. It was about as he had expected. Outer disciples generally didn't dare to cause trouble and were rather honest on a daily basis. If something really serious happened in the inner sect, they wouldn't dare to get involved on their own initiative. His suspicion was barely cleared among the disciples, but he didn't know how things were with Elder Cao, the person in charge of the outer sect. He couldn't act rashly for now. He had to observe the situation and try to sound out the situation in a few days. He just happened to find an opportunity to leave the outer sect and go down the mountain.

The room fell silent for a while. Soon, someone spoke again.

"Brother Shan, you've been practicing quite hard recently. And now you're injured. Are you preparing for that big exam in the outer sect?"

"What else could it be? If I don't participate, I'll have to be kicked down the mountain. There's no chance of a breakthrough. This is my last shot."

As soon as these words were spoken, the dormitory became lively again.

"Brother Shan, don't get mad at me for saying this, but all of us in this room have low-grade spiritual roots. Elder Cao has said more than once that no matter how hard a person with a low-grade spiritual root tries, they can only go so far. At most, they can reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Even if we manage to get into the inner sect, we won't have a chance to get ahead."

"In my opinion, there's also a risk to our lives in that big exam. It's better to go down the mountain early and enjoy a life of wealth and luxury."

"That's right, Brother Shan. I used to be unwilling too, but over the years, the gap between those with low-grade spiritual roots and those with middle-grade spiritual roots among our outer sect disciples is really huge. You came here many years earlier than us. If I were in your position at this time, I would just go down the mountain directly."

Going down the mountain... Xu Shan looked at the ceiling with a heavy heart. If he had no relatives or friends, going down the mountain and living an ordinary life as a mortal would indeed be a good option. A few days after he came here and got used to it, he understood in his heart... There was no way back. He could only keep moving forward along this path. If he couldn't make it through, it might be better to die. Maybe he would wake up and find it was all just a dream.

The others around were still chatting non-stop about the happy harem life after giving up. It was so noisy that Xu Shan got annoyed for a moment and couldn't help but say,

"Guys, stop chatting. You all have nice dreams, but if you make that choice, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Let's not talk about other things. Those senior sisters in the inner sect can all do the art of avoiding eating grains. They won't take a bath for ten years, but they still smell fragrant."

"What if you're a mortal and you can sleep with a beautiful woman? If she doesn't take a bath for two days, she'll stink. You'll never meet a fairy who doesn't poop in your whole life! You should consider yourselves lucky if you can even smell her socks! Go to sleep!"

Xu Shan pulled the covers over his head. The three people in the room looked at each other, speechless for a moment, and fell into silence.

....

In the main hall of the Xinglan Sect, it was also completely silent, and the atmosphere was solemn. Ye Qingbi sat upright in the main seat of the hall, and the other elders stood on both sides. Lu Xiangjun stood in front of Ye Qingbi, sweating, and reported the details of the matter.

After he finished speaking, Ye Qingbi pondered and said, "So the one who cooked the dishes wasn't the disciple that was originally selected, but a disciple you randomly brought from the outer sect?"

"Yes." Lu Xiangjun replied.

"Since you knew something was wrong, why didn't you detain that person? Have you looked for him before?"

"I have, Sect Master." Elder Cao interjected from the side.

"Lu Xiangjun came to the outer sect to look for me at the beginning, but we didn't find that person. I think it's normal that we couldn't find him. In all these years in the outer sect, I've never heard of such a disciple. Could this person... be from outside and came here on purpose to cause trouble?"

"Sect Master, I don't think it's possible that he's a disciple of our sect either. This matter is really rather strange." Someone chimed in.

"But if we say that someone came to cause trouble, it doesn't really make sense either. What's the point of doing all this? And we don't have any enemies in the Xinglan Sect, do we?"

Everyone started talking. Suddenly, someone looked at Ye Qingbi.

"Sect Master, I also tasted the dishes. They weren't poisoned, and it wasn't the result of any spell. Moreover, they were extremely beneficial to the mind. It can be said that they were extremely mysterious. Sect Master, you said it was caused by Heaven - granted Divine Ability. Is that really possible? We've only heard of it, and no one has ever seen it."

Ye Qingbi nodded slowly: "Heaven - granted Divine Ability is unfathomable. It can manifest in any form. Some people are born with it, and some might awaken it later. That disciple in the sect might have awakened it by accident and hid in a panic. We need to keep investigating. We should check everyone in the inner and outer sects carefully and test the disciples' aptitudes. The aptitude of a cultivator with Heaven - granted Divine Ability can't be hidden."

"But don't make a big fuss about it. Many sects at the banquet heard that we have a cultivator with Heaven - granted Divine Ability and might have some ideas. They might be secretly investigating. Try to keep a low profile."

"Elder Jin, it was your disciple who brought that person in. I'll leave this matter to you to handle."

"Yes." Jin Yangqiu nodded and then waved his hand at Lu Xiangjun in the hall. Lu Xiangjun obediently stood back beside him.

Jin Yangqiu added, "Sect Master, what if this person isn't from our sect but an outsider who did this?"

"We have no clues. Then we can only take one step at a time." Ye Qingbi paused and said, "No matter who he is, since he hasn't shown obvious hostility, we'll deal with it like this for now. This time, I invited the various sects here on the pretext of my breakthrough, mainly for the once - in - a - hundred - year competition in the Water Mirror Domain."

"You all probably know that the rules of this competition are very different from previous ones. We must take it seriously."

"This matter is the most important thing at present and will determine the future of our sect. Each of you has your own disciples. Draw up a list and select the participants for the competition."

"I broke through in a hurry and need to go into seclusion to stabilize my cultivation realm. I'll come out of seclusion before the competition starts. Before that, I'll leave the matters below to you."

.....

Two days later, everything was calm.

After finishing his daily chores, Xu Shan found a quiet place to meditate and practice on his own. Logically speaking, outer disciples weren't usually as idle as he was. The main reason was that he was an old hand. He knew how to get by in the outer sect. The elder in charge of the outer sect didn't actually manage them too strictly. It was more of a hands-off management style. Disciples like him, who couldn't make any progress in cultivation and would be expelled from the sect when their time was up, were even less restricted.

After a long time, Xu Shan slowly stopped cultivating. A cloud of worry hung over his head. Two days had passed. Although it seemed that the incident in the inner sect hadn't caused any stir, which was good news. But he himself had many problems. His ability to convert spiritual energy into spiritual power had decreased significantly. According to his normal calculation, with the depleted state he was in before, he should have recovered after half a day of meditation. But until now, it had taken a full two days for the spiritual power in his body to recover completely.

There must be something wrong with his body... It might be a side effect of the towel.

Xu Shan sighed, patted the dirt under him, and walked towards the residence of the outer sect elder. He didn't understand anything and was in the dark. It was useless to think about it. He could only take one step at a time. Since he had now returned to his full state, it was time to find an excuse to go down the mountain and test the function of the towel.

...