He Qing recalled for a moment, and then he remembered the young man who was exempted from the entrance examination with a letter. He suddenly realized, "So it was him? His aptitude is indeed good. The head of Guanghan Sect is willing to let him go?"
Guan Yue looked at the father and son who were greeting each other, and said in secret: "Guanghan Sect focuses on sword cultivation. Its leader sent the child here to learn other types of skills."
He Qing understood that this meant that Guanghan Sect wanted to expand its business, so it sent its own son to study abroad in the five oldest sects on Lingshan Mountain. No matter whose teachings he received, it would be a good result.
The head of Guanghan Sect, Yuntian, bowed to Xuanqingzi and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."
Xuan Qingzi responded, "That's not true. Yun Chu has excellent aptitude and is diligent and willing to learn. He performed well in the preliminary assessment some time ago. He will surely be a great talent in the future."
Yun Tian couldn't hide his happiness and said modestly: "Master, you are too kind. This is all thanks to your teaching."
After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Xuan Qingzi mentioned He Qing to Chen Sanyi, the head of Yuling Palace: "This is He Qing, the head of Beifeng Yaoguang Sect. She will be in charge of your sect's daily life during your stay in Lingshan."
He Qing greeted Chen San, who had high cheekbones and a sallow complexion, and said, "Master Chen."
Chen Sanyi chuckled and said, "Master Heqing, you are too polite. Our Yuling Palace is just a small sect. How can we be called a real Taoist? Master Heqing, just call me old Taoist." His voice was hoarse, as if it had been run over by a car.
After hearing what he said, He Qing changed his tone and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Then Taoist Master Chen, I will take your disciples to the North Peak right now."
Chen Sanyi nodded humbly and said, "Thank you very much, but Master Heqing, there is no need to trouble yourself. Just prepare half of the rooms."
He Qing understood and nodded politely with a smile: "As Taoist Master Chen said."
The head of Guanghan Sect, Yuntian, naturally lived in Tianshu Gate on the main peak, while the other disciples lived in the side rooms on the nearby peaks. After everyone had greeted each other, He Qing led more than 40 disciples of Yuling Palace, including Chen Sanyi, to the North Peak.
Gu Changnian had already led several disciples from the mountain gate to stand in front of the palace. Yue Qingru also stretched her neck to look in the team, but Lu Li was the only one missing.
After standing still, He Qing introduced to Chen Sanyi: "This is my first disciple Gu Changnian. Taoist Chen can call on him for help if you have any problem."
Gu Changnian saluted and was about to speak, but Chen Sanyi greeted him faster than he did: "Thank you, little immortal."
Gu Changnian was stunned, a little surprised that the leader of an immortal sect could be so polite to a mid-level disciple like him and be so humble. He couldn't help but look at his master.
He Qing only glanced at Gu Changnian from the corner of his eye, and then instructed several disciples of the mountain gate: "Go and arrange rooms for the immortal friends of Yuling Palace. Half of them will do."
The disciples of the mountain gate looked at each other, and although they didn't understand why, they still agreed.
Chen Sanyi expressed his gratitude and filed in from He Qing with dozens of Yuling Palace disciples. As they passed by each other, He Qing and Gu Changnian both vaguely heard the sound of metal friction coming from those disciples who had their heads covered.
Yue Qingru also raised her head slightly, twitched her nose and sniffed the air, with a puzzled look on her face.
After watching them walk away, Gu Changnian said in a deep voice: "Master, those disciples..."
"Ahem." He Qing cleared her throat and interrupted Gu Changnian. After Chen Sanyi was completely out of sight, she said gently, "Just for you to know."
Yue Qingru, who was standing by, scratched her head and said, "What? Master, what are you and your brother talking about? What happened to those disciples?"
He Qing was silent for a moment——
She didn't want to tell the inside story to Le Qingru. Le Qingru was an impulsive and straightforward person. She dared to expose those who criticized He Qing in person before they even entered the palace. If Le Qingru knew the ways of Yuling Palace, there was no guarantee that he would not say something unpleasant and get into trouble.
But now He Qing thought again, after all, Yuling Palace will stay in Beifeng for such a long time. If Le Qingru is kept in the dark, she might lose her vigilance and fall into danger.
After thinking it over, He Qing said tactfully: "Qingru, you should stay with me and Chang Nian these days. Don't go to the guest room, and don't get close to those disciples wearing cloaks."
Yue Qingru's eyes widened with curiosity: "Why? Are they so powerful?"
"Hmm..." He Qing thought for a moment and asked, "Have you ever heard of corpse drivers?"
Yue Qingru nodded: "I have heard of it. It is said that magic can be used to control the dead to move."
"Well," He Qing considered and explained in less suggestive terms, "Those 'disciples' wearing cloaks are pretty much the same."
Yue Qingru was stunned for a moment, and then gasped in surprise: "Master, you mean, those are corpses..."
He Qing didn't let Yue Qingru finish speaking and just nodded.
Yue Qingru thought about the strange smell she had just smelled and swallowed in disgust: "Aren't they from the Immortal Sect?"
It really doesn't look like a fairy sect. He Qing answered in his heart, but said: "There are many different ways of practicing in the fairy sect. Don't discuss it. Just remember what I said."
Yue Qingru rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and shook her head repeatedly: "I definitely won't go!"
After instructing Yue Qingru, He Qing turned back to Gu Changnian and said, "You too, try not to have any contact."
Gu Changnian listened to these words that seemed to be mentioned casually, and nodded sadly: "Yes, Master."
※
That night, He Qing covered the entire North Peak in her own barrier, not for any other reason, but because she wanted to be the first to know if anyone entered or left.
The book says that the Yuling Palace started out with witchcraft, and upholds the traditional principles of maintaining corpse-driving Taoist priests. This technique of controlling corpses has become the basic skill for all disciples.
Moreover, although the disciples of the Yuling Palace also carried swords, in fact, the corpses that were placed in the spirit body were their real magic weapons. One of the ways of cultivation in the Yuling Palace was to use these magic weapons to absorb the opponent's cultivation when fighting with others, so that the opponent would be useless if not dead.
Although He Qing had already been mentally prepared for this evil immortal sect, she couldn't help but feel scared when she actually faced so many human-shaped magical weapons.
Especially the leader Chen Sanyi, the discomfort this person brought to He Qing was more serious than those magic weapons. This forced He Qing to take it seriously and keep a close eye on this strange immortal sect.
He Qing thought that Lu Li seemed to know a lot of unofficial history and gossip, and maybe he would hear some other information about the Yuling Palace, so he thought about chatting with him, but he didn't expect that he didn't see him for the whole day, which was indeed a bit abnormal.