Rejected Again

Gathering Immortal Pavilion, Heaven-class private room.

Yun Yao, Shen Lie, Lin Chang'an, Li Erniu, and Wei Yiyi—five people gathered around one table.

Wei Yiyi had also taken part in the same batch of examinations back then. Unlike them, he was the descendant of Elder Lu's old friend. They had only met at the foot of the sect examination mountain.

The other four had come together from the Mortal Realm into this unfamiliar Cultivation World.

He had not originally been invited to this gathering. However, considering that he had also come to see Elder Lu off on his final journey, and that they had once been half-classmates, they had called him over as well.

"Fairy Yun, there is no need to decline. In the Cultivation World, strength reigns supreme. You should sit in the seat of honor."

Yun Yao did not decline, taking her place at the head of the table.

Their reunion after twenty years filled the five of them with emotion. The youthful faces of the past had all matured.

Yun Yao's changes were especially great. In their eyes, she had already become a great cultivator at Qi Refining Perfection.

"Since we can still gather together again after twenty years, let us first toast ourselves."

Shen Lie, the Little Marquis who was usually best at cultivating connections, even had reddened eyes as he raised his cup.

Only after personally struggling through the Cultivation World could one understand its bitterness. Twenty years had passed, yet they were all still alive and were even able to reunite. They were already luckier than many.

"Cheers."

No one said much. Even Yun Yao, whose expression was usually cold and distant, showed a faint shift in her countenance.

Lin Chang'an drained his cup as well, his heart full of mixed emotions.

After a round of wine, the unfamiliarity between them gradually faded, and the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.

Especially after learning that Er Niu had broken through in cultivation within the Zhou Family and even had a son with a Spiritual Root, Shen Lie and Wei Yiyi clicked their tongues in wonder.

Who could have imagined that the farm boy with the lowest status back then would instead be doing rather well, having truly put down roots in the Cultivation World?

Even Shen Lie, the Little Marquis, felt a little jealous and envious.

"If I had known, I would have gone to Green Bamboo Mountain Market with Er Niu and Big Brother Lin."

Although Shen Lie was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, only he knew the hardships he had endured over the years.

"Still, Lin Chang'an, hadn't I heard that you were preparing to return to the Mortal Realm?"

Wei Yiyi wore a smile, but when he turned to Lin Chang'an, he put on a surprised expression and asked curiously.

This made Yun Yao and Shen Lie frown. Back then, Wei Yiyi had been somewhat arrogant and had looked down on people like them who came from the Mortal Realm.

Who would have thought that twenty years later, he would still be the same?

No, Wei Yiyi's personality had improved considerably. At the very least, his attitude toward Yun Yao and Shen Lie was nothing like this.

Even when facing Li Erniu, he no longer carried the same contempt as before.

But Li Erniu glared. This fellow surnamed Wei had been the one he found most unpleasant back then, and after twenty years, he had not changed at all.

"Wei, you are wrong about that. Big Brother Lin can already skillfully draw First-Rank Low-Grade Premium Talismans. He is not some half-baked Alchemist like you."

After Er Niu snapped back unhappily, Lin Chang'an smiled and nodded.

"I did indeed intend to return to the Mortal Realm back then. Yet after letting go of the obsession in my heart, I unexpectedly attained enlightenment in a single moment and saw the light through the clouds."

Lin Chang'an spoke with a smile, but he was already making calculations in his heart.

Aside from Er Niu, the only other person he had told about his decision to return to the Mortal Realm was Master Lu, to whom he had sent a letter. Er Niu could not have done it, and Master Lu was not that sort of person either.

Then he thought of how Wei Yiyi had not fared well these years, while Master Lu had passed away and left behind a considerable estate.

Lin Chang'an seemed to understand something, but he merely smiled. With this county princess present, protecting this Junior Sister would be as easy as turning over his hand.

"First-Rank Low-Grade Premium Talismans!"

No one present was foolish. This meant Lin Chang'an already had the ability to learn how to produce First-Rank Mid-Grade Talismans.

Wei Yiyi's face reddened, and he could not help but give an embarrassed laugh.

"I misspoke. Let me drink first as an apology."

People like Wei Yiyi changed their faces quickly. He could put on airs, but he could also lower his head. He raised his cup and drained it in one gulp to show his apology.

"First-Rank Mid-Grade Talismans... Big Brother Lin, what plans do you have next?"

Yun Yao's bright, elegant eyes rested on Lin Chang'an's face, and a trace of memory flashed through them.

When he heard her call him "Big Brother Lin," Lin Chang'an's heart skipped a beat.

"The Market will be increasing its land reclamation efforts soon. I plan to go back and take a look at the Zhou Family."

Lin Chang'an said with a smile. After thinking it over and over, he had initially planned to ask Er Niu when he returned. Since it had come up here, there was no need for him to hide it.

Er Niu, however, beamed with delight upon hearing this. Did that not mean he could be together with Big Brother Lin every day again?

"Then we must congratulate Brother Lin in advance."

Shen Lie excitedly raised his cup in congratulations. The status of a First-Order Mid-Grade Talisman Master was far more valuable than that of a Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator like himself.

"That is good as well."

Yun Yao seemed to think of something and nodded lightly.

"We are all cultivators. There is no need to cling to the forms of address from this lifetime. Why not address one another as Fellow Daoists from now on?"

Lin Chang'an smiled as he raised his cup, taking the initiative to suggest it.

Though his gaze was directed at Shen Lie, the Little Marquis, everyone knew whom he was really referring to.

"Yes, yes. I hope that even a hundred years from now, we may still address each other as Fellow Daoists."

Shen Lie, the Little Marquis, was the most tactful of them all. Under his influence, the atmosphere gradually eased.

Yet Yun Yao gave this Big Brother Lin a meaningful glance. Still, she was the first to address him as Fellow Daoist Lin.

As Lin Chang'an conversed with the others with a smile, he sighed to himself.

It was not that he was timid. He had simply experienced too much.

In the Cultivation World, a single careless moment could bring about a fatal calamity.

Female cultivators like Yun Yao, who possessed great talent, high cultivation, and peerless beauty, were the most likely to attract trouble.

As long as I proceed steadily and solidly, Foundation Establishment may not be impossible in the future. I cannot be careless and draw others' attention.

Lin Chang'an thought to himself. His golden finger had only given him limitless potential for the future; it had not given him the strength to fight above his level.

He possessed such a wonderful future. He could not afford to be reckless.

Wei Yiyi also joined them, and they exchanged cultivation insights while discussing strange tales and curiosities of the Cultivation World.

There was no feast that did not end. As Lin Chang'an and the others walked out of Gathering Worthy Pavilion, they bid one another farewell and offered blessings for an evergreen immortal path before parting ways.

Gathering Worthy Pavilion, upper floor.

Looking at the receding figures outside the window, Yun Yao, dressed in fitted plain-white clothes, softly said, "Qingqing, you have seen everything as well. What do you think?"

At Yun Yao's soft words, Lu Qingqing unexpectedly stepped out from behind the screen.

Yet beneath her pretty, delicate face, her eyes held a composed and steady gaze.

"Sister Yun, you said before that Big Brother Lin was the most suitable. But what I saw was someone who had cultivated bitterly for twenty years without ever giving up. Even now, he is someone with an unwavering Dao heart. However, he is not suited to starting a family."

Lu Qingqing gently shook her head. She was not a female cultivator without worldly knowledge or one who blindly followed others. She knew full well that she possessed only a Low-grade Spiritual Root.

If she tried to climb too high without sufficient capital of her own, she would only become a foil in the future.

"And Wei Yiyi has returned to Clearwater Bay these past two years and frequently visited under the pretext of old family ties. Yet I know perfectly well that he has set his sights on this estate. His utilitarian heart is far too heavy."

Although Elder Lu had only been at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer while alive, he had accumulated a lifetime's worth of assets and connections. Wei Yiyi's parents had died early, and he had failed to make anything of himself outside these years. He clearly wanted to eat and take everything in one bite.

At this point, Lu Qingqing shook her head with a self-mocking smile.

"When Big Brother Lin's letter arrived before, Grandfather sighed in sorrow. Wei Yiyi had only heard a little about it, yet he behaved like this today.

"One must understand that even a genius like you, Sister Yun, still needs to tread carefully in the Cultivation World. If he continues behaving like this, I fear he will bring great disaster upon himself someday."

A crooked heart was not terrifying. What was truly frightening was lacking self-awareness.

Listening to Lu Qingqing's assessment, Yun Yao gently nodded and sighed.

"You are right. The winds and clouds of the Cultivation World are ever-changing. How could it possibly be so easy?"

As Elder Lu's granddaughter, Lu Qingqing did not harbor grand ambitions. She only wished to live her life steadily and honestly.

Lu Qingqing did not mind Wei Yiyi coveting this property. After all, how many people in the Cultivation World were not greedy? But after secretly observing him today...

Wei Yiyi had left her shaking her head in disappointment.

Li Erniu had originally been the most suitable, being honest and dependable. But he had long since become the Zhou Family's live-in son-in-law, so he was immediately excluded.

If Lin Chang'an had known, he would likely have felt stifled all over again. When the Zhou Family was recruiting a live-in son-in-law back then, he had been rejected because of his face. Today, he had been rejected because his Dao heart was too firm.

Li Erniu, on the other hand, had relied on his honesty and dependability to be the preferred choice at every turn.

This Cultivation World was far too unfair.

"Little Marquis Shen Lie has a tactful personality and is skilled at building connections. He knows when to advance and when to retreat, and he does not possess excessive ambition. Moreover, the connections Grandfather left behind will gradually fade as time passes.

"Perhaps the Little Marquis and I can establish a Chamber of Commerce for Sister Yun and earn some Spirit Stones for cultivation."

After pondering for a moment, Lu Qingqing looked at Sister Yun and spoke softly.

"Have you decided?"

"Yes, I have."

Lu Qingqing smiled. Her greatest virtue was knowing her own limits.

Her only support right now was Yun Yao. But as Yun Yao departed, that support would gradually weaken with time. Therefore, clinging to this support now was the best choice.

Not only could she preserve the foundation and connections her grandfather had left behind, but if Yun Yao truly achieved Foundation Establishment someday, her backing would become even firmer.

As the saying went, adding flowers to brocade was easy; delivering charcoal in the snow was difficult.

"Since that is the case, I will introduce you to Shen Lie. As for whether it succeeds, that will depend on the fate between you two."

Yun Yao nodded lightly, a smile blooming across her face.

He was so meticulous in thought—how could he fail to see Lu Qingqing's intentions? Yet it was precisely because she knew when to advance and retreat that she had not made things difficult for him.

After all, she was Master Lu's only descendant.

In truth, Lin Chang'an was the best choice. As Lu Qingqing brushed the dark hair at her temples, she inadvertently glanced at Sister Yun.

Meanwhile, Yun Yao gazed through the window at the figures that had long since vanished, and the emotions in her eyes gradually faded away.

The tender feelings of a young girl had already faded as she grew older and gained more experience, especially after seeing the figure who had fallen from the clouds.

Yet this reunion had not shown her the degradation and mediocrity she had imagined. Instead, she had seen those confident dark eyes from back then.

But! The gap between them now...

Yun Yao smiled indifferently. This was merely one memory along her path through life. In her heart now, there was only one unwavering goal.

Foundation Establishment!