"Yes! That's why it took me so long to catch him." Fairy Qingxia smiled, then suddenly grew stern again. In a grave voice, she told the Red-Robed Elder and the other two, "What happened today concerns the rise or fall of our sect. You must not breathe a word of it outside. If any rumors get out, I will personally purge our ranks!"
"Yes, Grandmaster Aunt!" The Red-Robed Elder and the other two hurriedly cupped their hands. What no one noticed was the sinister, icy glint that flashed through the Black-Clad Man's eyes as he saluted.
Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, Li Xiaoya wandered over on his own to look at the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma. But just as he approached, Fairy Qingxia immediately stepped away and said coldly, "Don't come near!"
Li Xiaoya sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and murmured, "I just wanted to look at him."
"What's there to look at? You're not allowed to come closer," Fairy Qingxia said mercilessly. She had no intention of letting Li Xiaoya touch the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma again.
"Croak, croak." Trapped inside the silver net, the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma suddenly let out a low cry. The sound was so mournful and miserable that it stirred deep pity in anyone who heard it.
Hearing the cry, Li Xiaoya saw the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma bundled up inside the Silver-Thread Net, staring at him with large, tear-filled eyes and letting out low, plaintive cries. The sight was more than Li Xiaoya's heart could bear.
With a thud, Li Xiaoya suddenly dropped to his knees before Fairy Qingxia and pleaded softly, "Sister Qingxia, could you let him go? He's so pitiful!"
"Well..." Fairy Qingxia had never expected Li Xiaoya to do such a thing. For a moment, she did not know what to say.
The other four were clearly somewhat bewildered by the scene. As a mere mortal, he should not even have dreamed of pleading with lofty Immortal Cultivators like them; their exchanging a few words with him was already an enormous honor. Still, Fairy Qingxia evidently had some connection with the boy, so they could hardly say anything.
A trace of hesitation flashed through Fairy Qingxia's eyes, and she was just about to speak. "Ahem!" Heavenly Venerable Daoling gave a light cough and stepped forward. "Young friend Li, this Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma is of tremendous importance to our sect. We cannot release him. You should abandon that thought."
"That's right! We exhausted every means to obtain this Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma. There's no way we can let him go again!" The hesitation in Fairy Qingxia's eyes had vanished entirely, though her voice was gentle.
"But..."
"Get up!" Li Xiaoya's lips moved as he tried to say more, but Fairy Qingxia cut him off. With a sweep of her sleeve, his body suddenly felt light, and he rose involuntarily to his feet.
"Enough! Don't say any more. Do you want me to cast another Sleep Spell on you?" Seeing that he still refused to give up, Fairy Qingxia spoke evenly.
"But!" Li Xiaoya could only cast a helpless glance at the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma, then ask anxiously, "Will you kill him?"
"Of course not. We don't know what use he has yet, either. We can only find somewhere to confine him with restrictions for now and await the right opportunity," Fairy Qingxia said.
"Isn't that the same as saying nothing? What do you mean, the right opportunity? Why did you catch someone when you don't even know what he's good for?" Li Xiaoya rattled off.
"When the five-element rainbow spirit appears between heaven and earth, the Heavenly Dao's five elements shall deliver us from calamity." Fairy Qingxia suddenly uttered this cryptic verse.
"What do you mean?" Li Xiaoya felt like a ten-foot-tall monk unable to reach his own head. He stared blankly as he asked.
"A senior of our Heavenly Dao Sect who ascended eight thousand years ago left behind this verse, derived through divine divination. It concerns the ten-thousand-year tribulation that will befall our Heavenly Dao Sect two thousand years from now," Heavenly Venerable Daoling added from beside them.
"Why are you worrying now about something two thousand years away?" Li Xiaoya said, thoroughly exasperated. In two thousand years, people would be dead without even ashes left, yet they were still fretting over such things.
"In any case, you'll gradually come to understand the affairs of us Immortal Cultivators," Fairy Qingxia said with a faint smile, changing the subject instead of explaining further.
"I'll gradually understand? How would I come to understand?" Li Xiaoya suddenly asked in bewilderment.
"From now on, you'll stay in our Heavenly Dao Sect! What do you think?" Fairy Qingxia said, suddenly all smiles.
The others were taken aback, but quickly accepted it. Li Xiaoya had been calling her Sister Qingxia over and over without provoking her anger. This outcome was only to be expected.
"Stay in the Heavenly Dao Sect? Hmm! All right. I don't have anywhere to go anyway, so I'll stay here!" Li Xiaoya paused, thought it over, then answered casually.
At his words, the others could not help exchanging looks. Isn't that far too casual? We're Immortal Cultivators, not some Taoist shrine or Buddhist temple where anyone can come as they please! Ordinary people need exceptional talent or must pass trial after trial before they can enter Divine Path Mountain, the Heavenly Dao Sect's main seat, to cultivate. Never mind your poor aptitude, boy-you haven't even taken the basic tests, and you're already admitted! If the other cultivation lineages and rogue cultivators heard about this, they'd be so green with envy their eyes would bleed!
"What? Am I not even qualified to admit a disciple to cultivate?" Fairy Qingxia asked with some displeasure when she saw the other four exchanging looks.
"Hehe! Of course you are, Junior Sister Qingxia! We need only mention it to Xuandao later!" Heavenly Venerable Daoling said with a placating laugh.
"Good, then it's settled. Let's get this Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma properly housed first!" Fairy Qingxia said, satisfied.
"Open!" Heavenly Venerable Daoling rapidly made several gestures with his hands. A beam of yellow light shot out and struck a corner of the stone chamber. Yellow light flickered where it landed, and a doorway opened without a sound.
Once the door opened, Fairy Qingxia led the way out, carrying the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma, and the others followed one after another. Li Xiaoya silently brought up the rear. Little did he know that his casual decision to stay in the Heavenly Dao Sect would turn his life upside down. He would no longer be a mere mortal. From that moment on, he was an Immortal Cultivator-one who would leave legend after legend in the cultivation world.
Outside the stone chamber was a staircase slanting upward into a passage. A pearl similar to those in the chamber, though much smaller, was set into the ceiling every ten feet. Even so, their light was enough to see clearly. After traveling some hundred-odd feet, the group reached the end of the stone steps, which also appeared sealed. Heavenly Venerable Daoling sent out another beam of yellow light and opened a doorway.
Beyond the stairs lay a spacious, circular stone chamber with very simple furnishings: a large square stone table surrounded by eight stone stools. Apart from those, there was only something on the table that looked rather like coral, flickering with a faint red glow. Luminous pearls were also embedded in the ceiling. To Li Xiaoya's surprise, this place had no exit. Then he remembered that the previous chamber had also seemed to have no exit, yet a gesture of Heavenly Venerable Daoling's fingers had produced a doorway. Presumably, this place needed him to make another gesture as well.