The Refining Room was silent enough for anyone to hear Ning Ri's speechlessness.
Anyone who had ever been human knew that Chen Xingfeng was human too.
So he could sense just how deafening Ning Ri's silence was.
He put away all the qi-refining artifacts, then turned to Ning Ri. "So now you know why I never reveal the reasons for failure, right?"
None of those who had participated in Chen Xingfeng's artifact-refining tasks in the past knew why they had failed.
Because Chen Xingfeng had never said, even someone of Yang Xingming's standing had been immensely curious about the reasons behind those failures.
Now that he knew the truth, Ning Ri felt both surprised and unsurprised. It was as though he had been strolling through a forest of steles, only to suddenly discover that the steles beside him had all been Li Cheng in disguise. Every fold of his brain had been smoothed flat, and the stones in his acupoints had been cleared away...
Everything suddenly became crystal clear!
After all that fuss, wasn't it simply because he was afraid the news would reach his wife's ears?
Ning Ri revealed a polite yet not awkward smile. "I understand! If you don't want people to know, then don't say it yourself."
Chen Xingfeng chuckled. "That's well said."
"If you want a secret to remain unknown, you cannot tell anyone."
Hearing that, Ning Ri inexplicably had the illusion that Chen Xingfeng would kill him in the next second. There was a certain beauty to Chen Xingfeng's words: You know too much.
Thinking of that, Ning Ri could not help asking curiously, "Then why did you tell me?"
Chen Xingfeng said, "Because I admire you."
"Really?"
"Just a courtesy."
Ning Ri: "..."
He could only change the subject. "Then why didn't you admit your mistake sooner? That way, perhaps... there would have been more room to make amends~"
Dragging things out like this was no solution, was it?
He felt that if Chen Xingfeng kept delaying like this, he would eventually delay himself to death.
Day dragged into night, night dragged into dawn—could the dragging kill Xingfeng?
Perhaps because he had spoken a little truth, Chen Xingfeng no longer concealed the melancholy on his face. He said gloomily, "Do you think I don't understand such a simple principle?"
"But after she saw me post those tasks, she thought I was commemorating the feelings we had back then. She was overjoyed..."
Ning Ri: "..."
Well, damn. So it was not stubbornly holding on—he simply had no way out.
Chen Xingfeng continued, "I explained this to you only because I hope you understand that your artifact-refining skills are indeed exceptionally formidable. You needn't feel down because of my denial."
Ning Ri said earnestly, "Master Xingfeng, this junior truly was somewhat disappointed just now. But now I understand that you have your difficulties, so I won't be disappointed anymore."
Chen Xingfeng felt that Ning Ri was talking nonsense. Ning Ri had clearly been very happy when collecting the spirit stones just now, but he did not fuss over it. He continued, "However, I brought you here for a private conversation not only to tell you the reason. I also have a question for you."
"What question?" Ning Ri asked curiously.
But Chen Xingfeng did not speak rashly.
Instead, he walked a circle around the still-scorching Refining Room, then sent in a thread of spiritual energy and lit the lamps on the walls.
Bright radiance enveloped the Refining Room, whose walls had been scorched somewhat red by the Artifact Fire.
After the lamps were lit, a trace of coolness spread through the room.
Ning Ri felt his state of mind calm considerably. Clearly, these lamps were not merely for illumination; they also adjusted one's mindset, helping anxious artifact refiners relax.
Only then did Chen Xingfeng ask, "Are you an Inner Sect disciple of the Heaven Defying Sect?"
"Not yet." Ning Ri shook his head. "My cultivation is insufficient."
Everyone knew this sort of thing: qi-refining cultivators could only remain in the Outer Sect. Yet upon hearing this, Chen Xingfeng's face actually revealed immense delight. "With your skills, you are already qualified to enter the Heaven Defying Sect's Inner Sect. Won't they make an exception?"
As he spoke, Chen Xingfeng was also somewhat surprised inwardly—
These people actually have a day when they follow the rules?!
Ning Ri answered, "Elder Zhou Hai gave me an opportunity to enter the Inner Sect early, but I worried that making an exception to enter it would draw criticism and mockery. It might place pressure on Elder Zhou Hai. Besides, my heart is like glazed crystal and is easily affected by outside voices. I feared that doing so would leave my Dao Path unable to advance, so I chose not to join the Inner Sect."
Chen Xingfeng listened very seriously at first, but by the end, he was so angry that he laughed. "Your heart is like glazed crystal? I think your heart is like your face—thick-skinned."
Ning Ri: "..."
Why was he resorting to personal attacks?
Chen Xingfeng continued, "You are overthinking it. Even if you entered the Inner Sect, given the Heaven Defying Sect people's temperaments, they would not have the time to bother with you."
"Still, that no longer matters. Since you have not joined the Inner Sect, are you willing to leave the Heaven Defying Sect? I can recommend you to join another great sect! For example, the Lingxi Immortal Sect, one of the great righteous sects."
Ning Ri understood. Chen Xingfeng had pulled him aside for a private talk, seemingly to tell him the reason, but in truth, he wanted him to leave the sect.
He could not help scratching his head. "Uh... did the Heaven Defying Sect offend you somehow?"
He thought the Heaven Defying Sect was quite good.
Chen Xingfeng said, "The Heaven Defying Sect did not offend me, but I think its environment is unsuitable."
Ning Ri said, "The Heaven Defying Sect, uh... has clear waters, beautiful mountains, birds singing, and flowers blooming. The environment is quite nice."
He did not want to leave the Heaven Defying Sect for no other reason than Xun Zang's approval, Mo Cuidao's techniques, and Zhou Hai's tasks... He could not leave.
"Do not play dumb with me." Chen Xingfeng said, "I mean your fellow disciples. Their environment is unsuitable, and they will drag you down. Besides, the Heaven Defying Sect is a sect of unorthodox cultivators. It truly does not suit you."
Ning Ri was startled. "Unorthodox cultivators?"
"Everyone seems quite kind, though."
Chen Xingfeng waved a hand. "Unorthodox cultivators are not divided by good and evil, but by their cultivation methods. Those who cultivate using non-orthodox methods are all unorthodox cultivators..."
Ning Ri suddenly understood.
By that definition, the Heaven Defying Sect really was a sect of unorthodox cultivators.
Chen Xingfeng said earnestly, "You are a genius. You should walk the broad and upright great path; that is what suits you best."
"The Heaven Defying Sect's ways truly do not suit you."
He upheld teaching according to one's aptitude. If Ning Ri's talent had been a little poorer, then taking the sword-edge path would have been fine. After all, everyone should seek the road best suited to them.
But Ning Ri possessed such powerful talent. Did that not mean he should simply take that broad road?
These words made Ning Ri scratch his head again. "Just how unorthodox is the Heaven Defying Sect? I feel it is actually alright."
From what he had encountered so far, he felt that although everyone in the Heaven Defying Sect spoke of defying heaven, it was only a surface-level slogan. At their core, everyone practiced conventional immortal cultivation; it was more like a gimmick.
In reality, those who refined qi refined qi, those who reached Foundation Establishment reached Foundation Establishment, and those who cultivated cultivated. There was nothing particularly unusual about it.
Take Mo Cuidao's artifact-refining methods, for instance. When competing with others, Ning Ri had not noticed much difference between himself and them.
But upon hearing Ning Ri say this, Chen Xingfeng sighed and said:
"Like this."
"I'll give you an example from the Heaven Defying Sect."
Before you continue