As soon as Li Ping appeared outside the residence, a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator stepped forward to exchange passwords with him.
Hearing the man give the password, Li Ping altered his voice as well, delivering the matching response in a rasp.
Gu Musheng had obtained this password from a Wang Family cultivator, then passed it on to Li Ping.
Only after the exchange was complete did the Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator of the Wang Family smile and lead him into the courtyard.
Stepping inside, Li Ping swept his gaze around and immediately spotted five figures seated cross-legged at scattered points in the courtyard, all dressed much as he was.
His arrival under the Wang Family cultivator's escort drew the attention of those five figures as well, but most merely glanced at him before swiftly looking away, appearing extremely cautious.
Li Ping understood. These five cultivators concealing their identities had likely come with the same goal as his.
What unsettled him somewhat was that the Wang Family's Foundation Establishment cultivator seemed far too bold.
Before coming, he had assumed the man would secretly send no more than one or two cultivators into the Secret Arts Pavilion at a time to select secret arts.
Yet now, including him, there appeared to be a full six.
As far as he knew, a Core Formation cultivator could extend their divine sense over a thousand zhang with a single thought. Wouldn't doing this get them caught red-handed by Windmist True Person?
Could this Fellow Daoist Wang really be so capable that he was confident he could handle the commotion of so many people coming and going?
As Li Ping pondered, a voice reached his ears and pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Fellow Daoist." The Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator of the Wang Family looked solemnly at Li Ping. "Regardless of how you learned about this, you know the rules. Our Wang Family is taking a tremendous risk here, so every fellow Daoist must pay the fee of 100 spirit stones before we depart and swear not to divulge even the slightest scrap of information."
The stern tone of this Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator of the Wang Family actually put Li Ping somewhat at ease.
Right. How could they dare do something like this without having every detail arranged?
That Fellow Daoist Wang must have already smoothed the way at every turn, intending to cut through the tangled hemp with a swift blade and finish this business in short order.
After all, sending in only one or two people at a time might seem more discreet, but it would inevitably require far more trips. The more trips they made, the greater the chance of discovery.
Better to send a large batch of cultivators in all at once, make one hefty haul, then wash their hands of it.
At this thought, Li Ping nodded and took 100 spirit stones from his Storage Bag. Lowering his voice, he rasped, "Heh heh... no problem. Here are your 100 spirit stones."
With the spirit stones in hand, the Wang Family Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator's stern expression instantly relaxed. "Please swear the oath, Fellow Daoist."
Having already paid the spirit stones, Li Ping would hardly quibble over an oath. He immediately swore, as requested, not to reveal the secret or report it to the Immortal City authorities.
Once all that was done, Li Ping looked at the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator. "Can we leave now?"
The Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator merely pointed into the courtyard. "Please wait a little while, Fellow Daoist. We'll set out at midnight."
Since the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator said they would wait until midnight to leave, Li Ping could only find an empty spot and sit cross-legged like the other five figures, waiting silently.
Over the following stretch of time, several more people arrived one after another, and the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator took each of them through the procedure.
First pay the spirit stones, then swear the oath.
By midnight, a full twelve figures were seated in the courtyard, every last one concealing their identity and aura.
Though shocked by their numbers, Li Ping became even more certain of his earlier conjecture. Perhaps the Wang Family Foundation Establishment cultivator only intends to do this once. Good thing I came without hesitation, or I would have missed it.
They waited a little longer, but no one else arrived. It was already past midnight.
The Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator waited no longer. His voice rang out through the quiet little courtyard. "Fellow Daoists, we'll be setting out now. Please follow me closely."
No one answered, but they all moved in unison, rising to follow the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator. Li Ping was no exception. He deliberately chose a position toward the rear, making it easier to flee if anything went wrong.
The party of thirteen headed toward the inner city gate under the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator's lead.
Cultivators possessed keen hearing and sharp eyesight, aided by divine sense, and had no need for sleep to restore their strength.
In truth, day and night made little difference to them. To maintain order within the city, however, the Immortal City closed its gates at night, forbidding cultivators from traveling between the Inner City and the outer city.
Yet Li Ping saw the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator simply take out a voice transmission talisman and say something, whereupon the closed gate opened automatically and let them into the inner city.
This sight reassured Li Ping further.
Just as he had expected, the Wang Family Foundation Establishment cultivator had smoothed the way at every turn. Their journey would face no obstacles at all.
With a high-tier cultivation method seemingly already in the bag, Li Ping unconsciously began thinking about his future plans.
After securing a cultivation method, he would need to consider finding spirit land for his cultivation.
The little courtyard where he currently lived in the outer city had only first-tier upper-grade spirit land.
On first-tier spirit land, he could replenish his magical power. Though slower than on second-tier spirit land, it was barely sufficient.
Cultivating there, however, was entirely out of the question. No matter how hard a Foundation Establishment cultivator cultivated on first-tier spirit land, their cultivation could not advance in the slightest.
Therefore, he would have to rent a cave abode in the inner city afterward, preferably one with second-tier upper-grade spirit land. Only then could he ensure his cultivation speed would not be held back.
But I can't rent a cave abode immediately. I should wait a few months, until the storm over this matter has passed, Li Ping silently reminded himself.
After all, renting a cave abode the moment he obtained a cultivation method would be far too conveniently timed. If the Wang Family Foundation Establishment cultivator really did get into trouble later and triggered a thorough investigation by the Immortal City, Li Ping would fall under heavy suspicion.
As he considered his future plans, Li Ping suddenly raised his head. Something's wrong!
The Secret Arts Pavilion housed numerous cultivation methods and legacies, making it arguably the Immortal City's most important building. It had to be located on Azure Dragon Mountain.
Yet the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator was not leading them toward Azure Dragon Mountain, but toward the residential grounds of a Cultivation Family in the inner city.
Li Ping was puzzled. That should be the direction of the Wang Family Ancestral Grounds. What's going on?
Forcing down his doubts, he followed the Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator. The twelve of them finally stopped outside a multistory building in the Wang Family Ancestral Grounds.
By now, everyone-not just Li Ping-felt something was amiss.
The Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator pushed open the building's main doors and went in first. His voice drifted out from inside. "Please come in, everyone."
Half a quarter-hour later.
"This is the Secret Arts Pavilion?"
Standing inside the building, everyone stared dumbfounded at the row of shelves holding hundreds of Qi Refining cultivation manuals, including the Golden Sword Art, Eternal Spring Art, and Spring Rain Art.
The Wang Family Qi Refining cultivator said with a beaming smile, "That's right. This is our Wang Family's Secret Arts Pavilion. As agreed, you may browse freely and choose one cultivation method to take with you."
Only upon hearing this did Li Ping realize he had been scammed. He could not help cursing inwardly. What a fucking animal.