But what actually unfolded before him far exceeded his expectations.
Not only did the young man's face show none of the discomfort that should have come from merging his divine soul with the Sacred Mountain and then climbing it.
Instead, he looked as though something wonderful had happened to him, his expression betraying something akin to profound enjoyment.
At the sight, Qi Zhentian instinctively fell into a brief reverie, an uncertain light flickering in his aged eyes.
Such a thing had happened before when Mountain-Shaking Immortal Sect disciples gazed upon the Mountain.
But there were only two possible explanations for it.
The first was that the disciple's divine soul could not merge with the Sacred Mountain at all, and he could only pretend to be gazing upon the Mountain to keep the others from finding out.
The other was what happened when Mountain-Shaking Immortal Sect Master Meng Tingchuan gazed upon the Mountain: everything below its halfway point had no effect whatsoever on his divine soul.
Instead, it brought his divine soul an indescribable benefit, which was why his face showed such enjoyment.
In Qi Zhentian's eyes, however exceptional Luo Yi's talent, comprehension, and endowment might be, surely he could not compare to Sect Master Meng Tingchuan?
Yet he had watched everything the young man did since sitting down cross-legged, and nothing about it suggested he was merely pretending to gaze upon the Mountain.
"Strange... strange indeed!"
However much he racked his brains, Qi Zhentian could not work out the precise reason for this change.
Helpless, he could only put those thoughts aside and keep his eyes fixed on the young man's every action.
He intended to rush over the instant the young man awoke and ask exactly what had caused this change.
Meanwhile, inside the Mountain-Shaking Immortal Sect's reception