"Dear guest from afar, please wait. Do you yearn for immortality?" the green-robed figure whispered like a lurking bandit to Stelle, who was pretending to pass by.
Stelle raised her eyes to look at her. "I yearn for power."
Those words stunned the green-robed woman. Once she recovered, she chuckled. "I understand! You mean you yearn for immortality, right? After all, living forever is a kind of power!"
"No, I only yearn for pure power!" Stelle nodded firmly.
"Uh..." The green-robed woman choked on her words again. "You've really stumped me, sister."
"Haha, you're quite an interesting person. To be frank, all I can offer Outsiders here is a chance at immortality. But perhaps you'd be better suited to joining the Antimatter Legion."
As she spoke, she hunched down, her voice becoming as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "Whichever you choose, let's keep our voices down. Neither is a respectable topic."
"My name is Green Pheobe. I came to the Exalting Sanctum hoping to meet someone with a destined connection like you, so we could ascend the Immortal Path of Longevity together."
She looked rather excited, and Stelle could even see the blood vessels in her eyes. "Three people have already joined us. What do you say? Come with me somewhere suitable for discussing these matters?"
Three people? Could it be...?
Remembering Zhang Xiu's penchant for stirring up trouble, Stelle felt he might well have taken Yaoshi there. Another glance at her phone showed that he still hadn't replied. That was probably what had happened.
"Then let's go."
Seeing Stelle agree, Green Pheobe's smile broadened. "Let's get moving. We shouldn't linger here."
Sure enough, after following Green Pheobe to a secluded little courtyard, Stelle found Zhang Xiu and Yaoshi eating pastries, both sporting entirely new looks.
"Mm... Stelle? You came too?" With pastry crumbs still at the corners of his mouth, Zhang Xiu stared at Stelle with clear eyes.
He wore a fitted martial outfit, predominantly black with pale gold accents. Somehow, the Laurel Wreath on his head didn't look out of place with it at all.
Yaoshi, meanwhile, wore a pale gold dress with a pair of long sleeves, and a faintly visible veil adorned her hair, just as it did on her true form.
Besides Zhang Xiu and Yaoshi, a Cloud Knight was also in the courtyard, while several pairs of eyes watched the place from outside.
"Oh? You know each other? Hahahaha, that's wonderful." Green Pheobe's voice grew somewhat louder.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I'm a Disciple of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. It wasn't convenient to reveal my identity back in the Exalting Sanctum, but now I can tell you openly without worry."
Zhang Xiu, however, paid her no mind at all. Instead, he beckoned Stelle over and stuffed a pastry into her hand.
Yaoshi was quite curious about her, though. She nibbled her pastry like a squirrel while watching Green Pheobe with bright eyes.
Their behavior didn't seem to bother the woman much. She continued her introduction. "The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus is an organization that reveres the Compassionate Medicine King as the true faith and doctrine. 'Disciples' is what we followers call ourselves."
Zhang Xiu raised his hand. "Teacher, I have a question! I heard a new race arrived on the Xianzhou recently. Do we have any of them among us?"
"Oh? Hahaha, you're very well informed, brother. Unfortunately, I only heard that a few members of Skydeep joined us, but afterward, the other members of Skydeep brutally murdered them. Alas..."
Green Pheobe shook her head. It was hard to tell whether she regretted those lost lives or regretted that Skydeep, who could openly worship Yaoshi on the Xianzhou, were so ungrateful.
"Ahem. As for the trial to formally join the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus... it's very simple. You only need to copy this volume of the 'Thousand-Handed Compassionate Medicine King Salvation Text' five hundred times."
Zhang Xiu nearly spat out the pastry in his mouth. "Pfft! Five hundred times?! Do you know how much five hundred times is? Even a handcart couldn't hold all those copies!"
"I copied it fifty thousand times when I joined..." Green Pheobe blinked, looking rather earnest.
Her words made Zhang Xiu swallow what he had been about to say. Instead, he looked at Green Pheobe with admiration.
"I'm sure you'll draw the Lord of Longevity's gaze."
"Ha, thank you for the kind words. But these five hundred copies are only the first trial. Once you finish, there'll be more trials for you."
With that, she took out four books and handed them out, along with four sets of brushes and ink, then went to stand guard at the entrance.
Looking at the book, which wasn't particularly thick, Zhang Xiu clicked his tongue softly, then shifted his gaze to his wife-the one they called the Compassionate Medicine King.
"Wifey, help me out? This is so hard..."
Yaoshi pointed at herself, then at the book in her hand, looking just as troubled. "Husband, I too am distressed by this..."
The two looked at each other, then sighed in unison. "Alas..."
Seeing them like this, Stelle, who had also been hoping to ask Yaoshi for help, quietly pulled back her paper. The three stared at one another helplessly. Finally, the Cloud Knight behind them spoke.
"Uh, you're General Jing Yuan's guests, right? I've seen you before."
At his words, all three blinked at once. After exchanging a round of meaningful looks, they reached a shared decision.
"Looks like we'll have to silence him."
"No, no, no! I'm undercover... I was on duty in the Exalting Sanctum when I noticed that Green Pheobe acting suspiciously. I asked a few questions, and, well-Disciples of Sanctus Medicus."
"It took a tremendous amount of effort to convince them I genuinely wanted to join the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. I'll copy the scriptures for you if you cover for me. I need to go tip off the Seat of Divine Foresight. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great! Don't worry, we're very good at covering for people." Zhang Xiu took Yaoshi's paper and handed it to him along with his own and Stelle's.
The next moment, Zhang Xiu was stunned. The Cloud Knight's hands became blurs, his brushes and ink flying.
In just the time it took a stick of incense to burn, he finished copying a full two thousand sets of the scripture! He even deliberately used four different handwriting styles to keep the people outside from growing suspicious!
"Holy shit... Buddy, being a Cloud Knight is really a waste of your talents. Seriously." Zhang Xiu accepted the copied books, looking at the Cloud Knight with nothing but admiration.
"Heh, hehe, it's nothing. Before becoming a Cloud Knight, I spent a hundred and fifty years doing clerical work. This was still pretty mild by our standards."
With his five hundred copies in hand, Zhang Xiu immediately called Green Pheobe over and handed them to her. The other three did the same.
"You've finished already? That quickly? Let me check... Mm... Hmm? You really have copied them all. Fast and well done. It seems you have quite an affinity for immortality."
"Then can we join the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus now?"
A trace of darkness flashed through Green Pheobe's eyes before she chuckled a few times. "Hehehe... Patience, patience. Isn't there still another trial?"
Hearing that there was another trial, the Cloud Knight nodded. "Sure. Then let's come back tomorrow for the next step. I'm on duty right now and snuck out. If I don't get back soon, they'll get suspicious."
"No need to worry. The second step is very simple. It'll be over soon." Green Pheobe waved her hand with a smile. Then her expression suddenly turned strange.
"We Disciples of Sanctus Medicus don't employ those we distrust, and don't distrust those we employ. So, the four of you must duel here. Whoever survives can become a Disciple~"
Before you continue