Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 282 Purple Cards and Gold Cards

Let’s talk about the other side.

Following Murong Ruyan, he returned with a heavy heart to the Lingxiao Hall of the White Stone Immortal Sect, the place he first saw after climbing the "Ascension Steps".

It was midnight, and the night was deep.

The square was empty except for Murong Ruyan and Jiang Wanli.

However, there was a distorted, water-like curtain that looked just like the one I saw when I entered the "Ascension Steps".

"Facing the Lingxiao Palace, that is, the main hall, bow three times—just bow, no need to kneel, our sect does not have the custom of kneeling."

"Remember to silently say 'Please join the White Stone Immortal Sect' when you bow, and then enter the 'Heart Demon Illusion'!"

Murong Ruyan said, "This is the final hurdle. Once you pass the 'Inner Demon Illusion,' you will be able to enter the White Stone Immortal Sect."

The phrase "Please join the White Stone Immortal Sect" left Jiang Wanli somewhat bewildered. He cautiously inquired, "May I ask, Immortal Master, what does 'Please join the White Stone Immortal Sect' mean?"

"Just silently say to yourself that you want to join the White Stone Immortal Sect!"

Murong Ruyan waved her hand and urged, "Hurry up, don't waste time!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanli dared not ask any further questions. He immediately responded, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and then obediently bowed three times towards the Lingxiao Palace under the night sky, silently praying: "Disciple Jiang Wanli requests to join the White Stone Immortal Sect. I humbly request your permission..."

He repeated it once, then twice more, before secretly glancing at Murong Ruyan.

Murong Ruyan grew increasingly impatient at Jiang Wanli's subtle actions: "What are you looking at me for? Once you're done bowing, go into the 'Heart Demon Illusion'!"

Jiang Wanli quickly closed his eyes and disappeared into the "water curtain".

At that very moment, Zhang Chengdao, who was playing Bubble Bobble in his room, suddenly saw three notifications pop up in his field of vision—

You have a new apprentice...

You have...

You have received a new apprentice application. Please check it.

Zhang Chengdao blankly opened the character panel and scrolled to the very end to take a look.

I couldn't help but think to myself: Which unlucky kid had to apply three times?!

"Purple Card?"

Upon seeing the color of the name on the newly appeared character card, Zhang Chengdao jumped out of bed, but then felt a little disappointed.

"Just a purple card... well, it's still better than a blue card. This is the first disciple of this 'Immortal Destiny Conference,' I have to take a look..."

Zhang Chengdao muttered to himself as he sent a wisp of his divine sense into the "Heart Demon Illusion" in the sect's plaza.

Jiang Wanli passed through the "Heart Demon Illusion" relatively quickly, taking only a little over an hour. Even compared to the previous "Immortal Destiny Conference," this was considered fast. As a result, he became the first disciple to be accepted into the White Stone Immortal Sect in this "Immortal Destiny Conference."

After Jiang Wanli, the second person to "obtain" the so-called "key to pass the level" was Lu Mao'er.

As she followed the Hu family's wedding procession, she encountered a group of villagers traveling from Xiaoyang Village to Dayang Village. These were "NPCs" specially arranged by Zhang Chengdao. The other participants in the trial were eager to get to Dayang Village as quickly as possible, so they followed the Hu family's procession closely. Only Lu Mao'er noticed the villagers from Xiaoyang Village who were lagging behind, so she deliberately lagged behind and traveled with them. As expected, an accident did happen. She was blocked by a mountain monster in the mountains. It was Lu Mao'er who stayed behind to fight the mountain monster, allowing the villagers to escape. Only then was her chest ripped open.

Just when Lu Mao'er thought she was going to die, the local earth god of Xiaoyang Village arrived in time, drove away Shan Kui, and treated Lu Mao'er. Unexpectedly, as soon as the medicine was administered, Ye Shuyun appeared with a smile and gave her the "key to pass the test," saying that she had passed the "trial array."

It felt... kind of unreal. Since Lu Mao'er participated in the Heart-Questioning Array during the day, there were some disciples in the square who had come to watch the excitement. In front of a group of White Stone Immortal Sect disciples who were chatting and laughing around her from a distance, Lu Mao'er shamefully did the exact same thing as Jiang Wanli did yesterday.

"Another purple card!?"

Zhang Chengdao looked at the newly appeared "Lu Mao'er" character card with some surprise.

Previously, purple cards were even rarer than gold cards, but now there are two purple cards in a row!

However, the third one to pass the "trial array" was the Gold Card.

Zhang Chengdao stared at the "inner demon" of this precious gold card, speechless.

It was a scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, somewhat like a war, and also somewhat like the "Gates of Hell" scene I had concocted myself, except that it was full of headless "puppets," and as far as the eye could see, there were tens of thousands of them, densely packed and countless.

These "puppets" are probably all figments of Jinka's imagination, and they are very different from real puppets. For example, they inexplicably have horns or multiple arms, which makes people's sanity drop wildly.

"Liulang! Come with me quickly to support Father!"

A familiar face appeared before Shi Yizhi. A suit of silver armor, polished to a shine, was on the man's body. That face was the one Shi Yizhi had seen countless times in his dreams... his elder brother.

The silver armor was polished piece by piece by the eldest sister-in-law herself, and even on the red silk cloak behind the eldest brother, one could faintly see the crooked "master" character embroidered by the second sister for him.

Shi Yizhi didn't move, and his expression didn't even change. He quietly watched his elder brother riding the chestnut horse, without saying a word.

The eldest brother said anxiously, "Sixth Brother! Don't be willful! The entire Shi family is loyal and brave! Do you really want to watch all the men of our Shi family perish?!"

Shi Yizhi closed his eyes with difficulty, but what he heard were familiar voices one after another.

"Sixth Brother! Why don't you practice martial arts properly?"

"Mukuro!"

"Sixth Brother! Even your seventh brother knows how to study hard, but what about you!?"

"Rokuro! Rokuro!"

Second brother, third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother...

Their accusations were like a sharp sword, piercing Shi Yizhi's heart.

Even the second sister's voice followed: "Sixth Brother! You have truly disappointed me and Old Madam Zhong!"

Shi Yizhi finally opened his eyes, but there were no second, third, fourth, or fifth brothers in front of him, nor was there his second sister.

He was silent for a while, then finally sighed and said, "Aren't all the men in the Shi family dead, leaving only me?"

Upon hearing this, the eldest brother's face suddenly contorted, then shattered like glass and vanished into thin air.

Shi Yizhi looked sadly at his vanished elder brother, and let the ferocious headless monsters around him rush towards him.

"Martial arts are dead; only cultivating immortality can..."

Shi Yizhi murmured, and these headless monsters, like his "elder brother," shattered and dissipated.

The illusion vanished, and the surrounding scenery returned to the plaza in front of the main hall of the White Stone Immortal Sect. In the distance, a white-haired man was walking slowly toward him with his hands behind his back.

(End of this chapter)