However, the Sect Master of the Scarlet Moon Sect ultimately never got to hear that juicy gossip.
Because the Sect Master bundled Lan Yue, Li Bai, and the others off to the Four Arts Hall, along with the Spirit Tortoise beneath them.
"The children have already gone to start learning the Four Cultivation Arts. Surely it wouldn't be appropriate for you to remain here, Scarlet Moon Sect Master?" The Sixth Elder beside him finally spoke up, blocking his path.
"It's fine. I'll stay at your sect for a while. You needn't provide any precious Spirit Veins to accommodate me; just let me stay near those two girls." The Scarlet Moon Sect Master offered a faint smile.
The elders thought, That little abacus of yours is clacking awfully loudly! Even your disciples back at the Scarlet Moon Sect can probably hear it!
At that moment, every elder felt that, aside from the trouble caused by Lan Yue's inner voice, this Scarlet Moon Sect Master was no small headache either!
What could they do? They couldn't defeat the Immortal Artifact, and they couldn't very well burn bridges with the Scarlet Moon Sect Master, so they could only hold their noses and accept it.
After all, the Scarlet Moon Sect had always been their ally. Aside from the trouble Elder Whitebrow had stirred up, the two sects had always been on excellent terms.
Otherwise, Yun Chong wouldn't have invited the Scarlet Moon Sect Master over as a guest in the first place. Who knew he would end up inviting a big, bushy-tailed wolf into their home?
There was no telling when he might snatch up one of their cubs and carry her off.
Meanwhile, at the Four Arts Hall.
Like the Morning Cultivation Hall, the Four Arts Hall occupied an entire mountain peak. The two peaks weren't far apart, and both saw plenty of foot traffic.
After all, many people visited both places to study every day. Of course, the busiest place had to be the Four Arts Hall.
The Morning Cultivation Hall was only where newly admitted disciples received their introductory instruction, while disciples from across the entire sect came to study at the Four Arts Hall. There was a considerable difference between the two.
The three of them, bundled here along with the Spirit Tortoise, were still rather dazed.
Especially Lan Yue. All she had registered was a cool, crisp scent of bamboo before her vision went dark, and then she had arrived on this unfamiliar peak.
She stared at the people coming and going in disbelief.
What just happened? How did we suddenly end up somewhere else?
Was that the Sect Master who just showed up?
The thought that she had just been planning to secretly look up all those juicy stories about the Sect Master and the North Ridge Sacred Son in her head left her terribly guilty.
Although she knew the Sect Master couldn't possibly know, she still felt sheepish.
Fine, I'll just sneak a look once I'm back on Spirit Moon Peak!
Anyway, where exactly is this? I think the Sect Master mentioned somewhere called the Four Arts Hall.
Lan Yue looked up and saw an enormous character for "arts" displayed outside a cluster of quaint, elegant courtyards.
[Lan Yue: Ah, life is hard. Yueyue has to sell her talents to get by.]
Sitting on the Spirit Tortoise, Lan Yue propped up her chin.
"Junior Sister, we're here to study." Not to sell their talents.
Li Bai's mouth twitched beside her. He wondered where his junior sister found all these strange lines.
"This is the Four Arts Hall. What we study here are the Four Cultivation Arts: Alchemy, Formation Arts, Talisman Arts, and Artifact Refining."
"Our Southern Spirit Sect is most famous for Talisman Arts and Artifact Refining. Even people from other sects come here to learn." Li Bai sounded rather proud when he reached this point.
"Actually, our Southern Spirit Sect's Spirit Sword Peak is also extremely famous. Many people dream of coming here, especially because of our one-of-a-kind Hidden Sword Pavilion..."
Li Bai hurriedly stopped there, afraid he might reveal some secret if he continued. "Anyway, you've definitely come out ahead by staying here!"
Lan Yue wholeheartedly agreed with her eldest senior brother on that.
[Lan Yue: Of course I've come out ahead! I get a front-row seat to the whole Protagonist Group acting out their path to the Immortal Path. Maybe I can even pick up a few overlooked bargains now and then.]
As soon as that inner thought rang out, everyone in the Four Arts Hall paused, quietly pricking up their ears.
What overlooked bargains? They were dying to know too (⊙o⊙)!
[Lan Yue: Forget it. A little cannon fodder like me might die before I even get close. I'd better just lie back and behave. Lying flat and enjoying gossip is such a joy!]
She decisively abandoned the idea of adventuring with the protagonists. After all, she only wanted to enjoy her gossip in peace. Getting herself killed over a few scraps of loot simply wasn't worth it.
"Ahem. Junior Sisters, you can look around the Four Arts Hall and see what interests you. You can also start studying ahead of time." Li Bai couldn't bear listening to that blissfully idle inner voice anymore, so he spoke up to remind them.
How could anyone just lie flat? Especially a cultivator-cultivation meant wrestling with heaven for one's life!
Forget it, forget it. Little Junior Sister, with that Immortal Artifact of hers, was an exception.
"Looking around the Four Arts Hall sounds great! I'd like to learn a little about it beforehand too!" Lan Yue was quite interested in the Four Arts Hall. She remembered that quite a few things had happened to the Protagonist Group here early on.
"Come on, let's go take a look!" Lan Yue took Yun Xi's hand and headed forward, while the Spirit Tortoise slowly followed behind them.
Lan Yue thought she had slipped into the Four Arts Hall unnoticed, but in reality, everyone on the entire peak was watching them.
"Lan Yue, I want to choose Alchemy. Is there anything you're interested in?" Although Yun Xi had been quiet throughout, she had very clear ideas of her own.
She had already planned her path when she entered the sect. There had simply been an unexpected development along the way: she had suddenly become the Sect Master's daughter.
That wasn't much of a problem, though. In fact, her new identity had given her even more resources.
"Me? I could practice tortoise arts!" Looking at Er Dan beside her, Lan Yue suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Do you mean Divination, Little Junior Sister?" Li Bai had initially wanted to laugh, but then he remembered that such a thing really did exist.
This method of Divination used Spirit Tortoises to divine the future and was an extremely ancient branch practiced in the Northern Region.
After Li Bai explained this Divination technique, Lan Yue stared at him with her mouth hanging open in astonishment.
No way. I only said that offhandedly, and there really is a cultivation technique like that?
In that case, learning this Divination technique doesn't sound so bad.
She had read the original novel and knew a great many things. She even had a Gossip System. If she learned Divination, wouldn't that give her an explanation for everything she knew?
This is perfect!
"Does our sect teach it?" Lan Yue's eyes sparkled. She had decided: in the future, when the Protagonist Group fought up front, she would bring Er Dan along and cheer them on from behind!
"The Southern Spirit Sect doesn't." One look at his little junior sister's expression told Li Bai that things were taking an unfortunate turn.
If he had known, he would have kept his mouth shut. Wonderful-now he had led his little junior sister astray.
She wouldn't defect from the sect overnight just to learn this Divination technique, would she?
The thought made Li Bai shudder, and he hurried to salvage the situation. "Actually, it's not that we don't have it. One of our elders once made a special trip to North Ridge to study it. However, that elder is already in seclusion."
"Which elder?" Lan Yue insisted on getting to the bottom of it. She was seriously tempted.
"That elder... that elder's name is..." Li Bai's mind suddenly stalled. He seemed to have heard it before, but when he tried to recall it on the spot, his mind went completely blank.
"It should be... it should be Fairy Guangji!" Li Bai suddenly remembered the name and was beside himself with excitement.
His voice was loud, and everyone passing by turned to look. The older people in particular wore very strange expressions.
Above the clouds, the Fifth Elder, who was sitting over the Four Arts Hall, pressed a hand to his forehead, reluctant to admit that this was a disciple he had taught.
"Fifth Brother, back when you fought me tooth and nail over your eldest disciple, had you already spotted these outstanding qualities hidden within him?" Beside him, the Sixth Elder slyly tugged at the Fifth Elder's beard.
Expressionless, the Fifth Elder pulled that long strand of white beard back.
"So it's Fairy Guangji! When I have time, I'll definitely ask her to teach me Divination! Then I'll have a foot in two boats and take two masters!" Lan Yue clenched her fists, brimming with fighting spirit.
She took two steps forward before finally sensing that something wasn't quite right.
"Wait, isn't Guangji my master's name? Does our Southern Spirit Sect have two elders with the same name?"
Although she had barely met her master at all, she had still heard his name.
[Lan Yue: Holy croak! Could my master's true form actually be a female immortal?]
Her astonished inner voice spread, and coughing erupted throughout the Four Arts Hall, as though everyone had suddenly developed asthma.
"How strange. Did you hear something?" Hearing the waves of coughing in the distance, Lan Yue scratched her head in puzzlement.
"No." Li Bai instantly shook his head.
"Junior Sister, you must have misheard. Our sect has plenty of Spirit Beasts. Maybe someone brought one that likes to cough!"
Understanding dawned on Lan Yue. "Oh, so that's it!"
"By the way, is that Fairy Guangji also in closed-door seclusion?" she quietly probed.
Li Bai: "..."
"He is indeed in closed-door seclusion, but I misremembered just now. There's no Fairy Guangji. That elder is your master."
"Ohhh." Lan Yue nodded, sounding rather disappointed.
[Lan Yue: Since Master is currently in do-or-die seclusion, I'll sneak a little peek at what gossip he has to offer.]
[Lan Yue: Woohoo, I really found something! All those juicy little stories about "Fairy Guangji"!]
Before you continue