Hong Ying

"Can you still stand it?"

"Below Mount Luofeng is a volcano that never extinguishes, so the temperature is very high."

Elder Hong looked at Song Chengan, who was following him, and said.

Song Chengan nodded. "It's okay."

He was drenched in sweat all over.

He hadn't expected Mount Luofeng to be so hot.

It felt like the legendary Flaming Mountain was nothing compared to this.

Mount Luofeng was barren everywhere, with no vegetation. All one could see was endless, scorched red land.

There were over thirty people sent up the mountain this time to be handyman disciples.

Everyone else had been assigned to different places, and only Song Chengan was left in the end.

"You'll get used to it later."

"Was it really Heavenly Fire that fell here back then?"

Song Chengan looked at Mount Luofeng, feeling a bit strange.

Elder Hong nodded. "It was indeed Heavenly Fire."

"Back then, heaven and earth were unstable, and the five elements were in chaos, leading to many natural disasters."

"But fortunately, the Sage later stabilized heaven and earth. However, even so, natural disasters still occur frequently."

"But don't worry," Elder Hong said. "Natural disasters don't strike directly. As cultivators, we can sense the chaotic spiritual energy and avoid them in advance."

Song Chengan thought of the lightning disaster in Luo Village.

It seemed many people had died.

"Can mortals not avoid them?"

Elder Hong said, "It depends."

"Generally speaking, when a natural disaster occurs, there will be omens."

"If there's enough time, mortals can also avoid natural disasters."

"But the problem is they don't know the severity of natural disasters, thinking it's just a stronger thunderstorm, or that the sky has turned red."

"The natural disaster at Mount Luofeng back then, the initial omen was the entire sky turning red."

Song Chengan nodded.

It seemed the reason so many people died in the lightning disaster in Luo Village was that the villagers thought it was just a stormy night with violent lightning.

They didn't expect it to be a natural disaster.

Elder Hong continued, "The place I'm sending you to this time is the furnace room."

"Your duty will be to fetch and deliver refining materials for the disciples who refine artifacts and pills."

"The disciple you'll be following is a junior of mine. She's a gentle person."

"You'll be a handyman disciple under her for now. Then, work hard to cultivate. If you can reach the Dao Seed Realm within ten years, you'll have a chance to become an outer disciple."

Song Chengan cupped his fists. "Thank you, Elder Hong."

This Elder Hong was truly a good person.

"Grandpa Hong!"

At this moment, a girl who looked about sixteen or seventeen appeared ahead.

She had delicate features.

Of course, perhaps it was because she was young.

When young.

What young man wasn't a dashing youth, and what young woman wasn't a heavenly beauty?

"Is this the handyman disciple I found for you?"

"This is Hong Ying."

A hint of surprise flashed across Hong Ying's face.

"Who is this uncle?"

She asked.

She had recently needed a disciple to assist her with artifact refining and had asked Elder Hong, as a senior, to help her find a clever disciple to assist her.

But what she hadn't expected was that the person who arrived was a thirty-year-old man in a worn-out outfit, washed white and with two patches, looking rather down on his luck.

So Hong Ying's first reaction was, "Who is this uncle?"

It wasn't her fault for thinking that.

Elder Hong is truly too much of a softie.

Any of the Hong family's distant relatives, no matter how far removed, could get a job from him just by showing up.

And now...

Last time, there was a huge misunderstanding.

This elder appointed a friend of some grand-nephew or something – a guy who couldn't even read – as the bookkeeper.

It caused quite a joke at the Fire Refining Sect.

So, upon seeing Song Chengan, Hong Ying immediately knew this was probably another relative.

Elder Hong's face showed a rare hint of embarrassment.

"This is a relative from Qiao Wei's hometown."

"He's had a rough life."

"He's thirty, gets bullied in his village, and his wife left him."

"He wants to cultivate, to make something of himself."

"He came to me, and I thought I should at least give him a chance."

"So, you needed a handyman disciple, right? I brought him for you to see."

"If you don't like him, I'll go find another one."

Hong Ying was a little surprised to hear this.

She looked at the haggard man.

It reminded her of her own elder, Hong Lang's, past.

Back then, this elder left in anger to seek immortality after the woman he loved married into a wealthy family.

It was also after this elder succeeded in his pursuit of immortality that the Hong family rose to prominence.

No wonder this elder brought this man to ask her for a favor.

"What are you saying, Grandpa Hong?"

"Since he's family, of course I'll use him."

"Let's keep him here," Hong Ying said. After all, he was her elder, and she was just looking for someone to use for a while.

"Alright then."

"Oh, right. He just arrived at Mount Luofeng, so let him stay for now. After he passes the Heart Scrutiny trial in ten days, then he can start working."

"Grandpa Hong, I understand."

Hong Ying nodded.

She knew that all handyman disciples had to pass the Fire Refining Sect's Heart Scrutiny trial before they could be entrusted with important tasks.

The so-called Heart Scrutiny trial.

Nominally, it was to examine the firmness of one's Dao heart.

But in reality, it was to verify one's identity and background, to see if they had ulterior motives.

"Then I'll leave this person to you."

Elder Hong finished speaking and turned to look at Song Chengan.

"Pull yourself together."

"A man who makes something of himself will never lack a wife!"

"I once had someone I loved, but she thought I was poor and ended up marrying my rival because his family was wealthy."

"But later, when I became an outer disciple of the Fire Refining Sect and returned home..."

"Do you know?" A proud smile appeared on his face. "She regretted it."

But whether it was an illusion or not, Song Chengan felt a hint of loneliness in his eyes.

"And that rival who always bullied me because his family was rich, he and his father couldn't even stand up straight in front of me. They were always smiling."

"That's when I realized it was all meaningless," he said.

He looked at Song Chengan and said, "Cultivate diligently!"

"Once you embark on the path of cultivation, you'll understand."

"Compared to the eternal life of the Great Dao, everything else is just fleeting."

"This disciple understands."

Song Chengan quickly replied.

Elder Hong patted Song Chengan's shoulder and left.

"Elder Hong is truly a magnanimous person."

Song Chengan walked with Hong Ying.

"If I achieve immortality, I'll make those who bullied me pay when I return home!"

Hong Ying glanced at him with a strange expression.

"When Grandpa Hong returned home, that woman already had two children."

"Grandpa Hong cried his heart out then."

Hong Ying lowered her voice, "My grandma told me secretly."

"No one else knows."

Song Chengan: "..."

As they spoke, the two arrived in front of a courtyard.

"You'll stay here for the next few days."

"After you pass the Heart-Questioning trial, you'll be issued an identity token and assigned specific duties."

"Yuan Fusheng."

"Coming, coming!"

"Senior Sister!"

A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy with a bronze complexion ran out.

"This is Qiao An, the new handyman. He'll be staying in this courtyard."

"Take him around and get him familiar with the place."