If You'll Have Me, I Wish to Join Your Sect

A streak of light came from afar.

Within that light stood a young woman who looked eighteen or nineteen. She was slender, with straight legs, and her light-blue gown fluttered naturally around her. Her entire person carried an ethereal, otherworldly air.

She seemed like a fairy, possessing a beauty untouched by the world, like a snow lotus growing in the uninhabited reaches of Tianshan, giving people the impression that she did not partake of mortal life.

The Maiden, pure and refined, stood in midair with a calm expression as her gaze swept over the crowd.

She saw many elderly men and women, as well as Fang Qing among them. A flicker of curiosity passed through her eyes. She had apparently not expected to find someone as fresh and natural as Fang Qing among this group.

Her gaze settled on Fang Qing, and she asked a question.

Her voice was gentle and seemed somewhat different from Chinese, yet everyone could understand it. It sounded somewhat similar to the dialects of southern China.

The Maiden asked, "Did you enter the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone?"

"Yes. We accidentally entered that place."

Fang Qing spoke.

"You actually managed to walk out alive. That was no easy feat."

The surprise on the Maiden's face deepened. Her eyes lingered on the crowd as she asked again, "Are these your true ages?"

"No, we weren't this old. We don't know why we lost several decades of life force. Fairy, can we still be saved?"

One of the male students hurriedly replied, desperately hoping that the Maiden could save them.

"Then did the three of you eat a kind of red fruit, bright scarlet all over, crystal-clear and glistening..."

The Maiden in midair was even more astonished as she looked toward Fang Qing, Ye Fan, and Pang Bo.

"Yes."

The three exchanged glances, and Fang Qing answered.

"You actually encountered such a fortuitous opportunity."

The Maiden felt that she had been shocked far too many times today. This was an enormous fortuitous opportunity. Countless major figures in the Eastern Wasteland wanted such an opportunity but never had the chance, while these people had obtained it!

Their luck was simply too good.

"May I ask whether we can still be saved?"

Wang Ziwen spoke up, his heart filled with urgency. He did not want to become an old man just like that.

"Do not despair. Though it will be difficult to restore your appearances, there is still hope. Moreover, while you lost your youth, you also gained quite a bit. Once you enter the outside world, you will be valued highly. This is also an enormous fortuitous opportunity for you. Let me take you away from here first."

The Maiden raised her hand lightly, and a sheet of rainbow light immediately descended, enveloping everyone before rising into the air.

Fang Qing examined the rainbow light surrounding him. This kind of rainbow light that could carry him through the air was truly enticing, far more appealing than the Purple Haze Skill. He was now greatly looking forward to entering this world's cultivation system and truly embarking upon the path of cultivation.

Whether it was the Purple Haze Skill or the Longevity Art, both were methods from a martial arts world. He needed a more powerful cultivation method.

Fang Qing pondered silently, saying little. The other students, however, had many questions. Zhou Yi cared deeply about having lost several decades of his lifespan and desperately wanted to know how he could regain his youth.

"Entering the Forbidden Zone of Life means a near-certain death, but your Bitter Seas have also been activated. If you embark upon the path of cultivation, you will achieve twice the result with half the effort."

The Maiden replied.

"We can cultivate too?"

"You likely could not before, but now you can. All of you now possess talent."

The Maiden answered everyone's questions.

"What exactly is the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone? Why does it take people's lifespans?"

Wang Ziwen asked again.

"I do not know. But the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone is incomparably dangerous. Once, when an Immortal Gate Holy Land had reached the greatest height in its history, it gathered all its strength to attack the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone. In the end, tens of thousands died there. Apart from a few, everyone else perished. At the time, it shook the entire Eastern Wasteland."

The Maiden recounted a major event from the past.

"Deep within the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone, there is demonic soil everywhere, soaked in endless blood. Your luck was truly extraordinary to have emerged alive."

The Maiden repeatedly praised Fang Qing and the others' luck as she answered their questions and led them onward.

As the sky gradually darkened, the group finally arrived at a small town.

The moment they reached the town, seven or eight streaks of rainbow light shot into the sky, each containing a figure.

"Weiwei has returned."

"This time, the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone seems to have changed. The nearby Blessed Lands have all sent experts, apparently searching for something. You didn't run into them, did you?"

"Thirty people? Where did they come from?"

"What? You're saying they all walked out of the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone? That's too unbelievable."

"Hahaha, the Bitter Seas within them have truly been activated. They are all excellent seedlings for cultivation!"

After hearing Weiwei's account, several elderly men revealed excited expressions. They had apparently never expected the Maiden's gains this time to be so great.

"You are all mortals. How did you enter the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone?"

"Your language is strange as well. Where do you come from?"

"How did you pick the legendary Sacred Fruit?"

The old men bombarded them with question after question, seemingly wanting to understand everything.

Fang Qing spoke directly, telling the old men that they had climbed a Giant Mountain and then been transported here.

That mountain was in the west.

"The west? Could it be the Western Desert?"

"No wonder their hair is so short. I heard long ago that there are many monks in the Western Desert."

"It seems an unparalleled expert once set up a 'formation' on that mountain. It could shift the stars and move the heavens. Such methods are truly terrifying!"

After hearing Fang Qing's words, the old men filled in many details on their own and nodded in acceptance of Fang Qing and the others' origins.

The elders' gazes moved back and forth over the crowd. Several of them kept examining Fang Qing, feeling that not only had his Bitter Sea been activated, but he had also eaten a Divine Fruit. He was entirely an excellent seedling for cultivation.

More importantly, this youth seemed to possess a unique temperament, as though he was especially suited for cultivation.

While the others were still weeping and lamenting, this one had already accepted the reality of the situation. He was well worth nurturing.

"Although you entered the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone and lost your youth, you also activated your Bitter Seas. One day, you may cross the Bitter Sea, step onto the Divine Bridge, and find your own Deity. It is not impossible."

The elders smiled warmly, hoping to guide Fang Qing and the others onto the path of cultivation.

"If you seniors do not find us unworthy, we are willing to join your sects, cultivate diligently, and bring glory to them in the future."

Fang Qing immediately said.

"Hahaha! Hahaha! Good, good, good!"

Upon hearing Fang Qing say this, the elders immediately burst into delighted laughter.

"Fuck?"