He Pingsheng followed Senior Sister Zhao farther back.
First, they passed the Grand Ancestor's great hall.
Then they walked along the eastern side of Uncle-Master Yuxuan's cultivation grounds.
When they reached Daoist Jade Virtue's cultivation grounds, Senior Sister Zhao suddenly said, "Junior Brother He, don't come near Uncle-Master Jade Virtue's place without good reason. He keeps a spirit beast that's vicious and unpredictable. It has killed people before!"
"Oh!"
He Pingsheng nodded cautiously.
Beyond Daoist Jade Virtue's cultivation grounds lay True Person Yu Ning's residence.
It was a palace as well. Though small, it had both a main hall and side halls.
"Come on, I'll take you to meet Master. The other disciples are all there too!" Zhao Ling'er led He Pingsheng into a courtyard, then up to the palace entrance.
He Pingsheng looked up and saw three large characters carved into the lintel above the entrance: Yu Ning Palace.
"Master, I've brought him!"
Zhao Ling'er respectfully cupped her hands and bowed toward the entrance to the great hall.
"Mm..." A gentle female voice came from inside the hall. "Both of you, come in!"
Then He Pingsheng and Zhao Ling'er entered the palace.
The palace was spacious. Though the daylight outside could not reach inside, several luminous pearls were set into its vaulted ceiling, illuminating the entire hall brightly.
The floor was spotless.
Directly ahead sat a Daoist nun who looked to be in her fifties. She wore a blue-green Daoist robe and had a solemn expression.
A dozen or so disciples sat before her.
Everyone seated on the meditation cushions turned their heads and bodies curiously, looking at He Pingsheng with varied expressions.
He Pingsheng had seen some of them two years earlier, but none of them could possibly recognize him.
For one thing, his standing back then had been so low that no one had spared him a proper glance. For another, over the past two or three years, his physique, appearance, and bearing had all undergone earth-shaking changes.
"Hurry and kneel. Kowtow to Master!" Zhao Ling'er reminded him.
He Pingsheng naturally dared not delay. He knelt respectfully and kowtowed three times to the master seated above him.
Only then did the Daoist nun at the head of the hall nod and smile. "Good... You may rise!"
He Pingsheng rose cautiously and stood respectfully in the hall.
The Daoist nun said, "My Daoist name is Yu Ning. From now on, I am your master. Starting today, you are a true disciple of my Yu Ning Palace on Bamboo Peak. In order of seniority, you rank ninth!"
"These are your senior brothers and sisters. Greet them!"
He Pingsheng swept his gaze over the others before him, then hurriedly cupped his hands. "Greetings, senior sisters and senior brothers!"
Everyone chuckled.
True Person Yu Ning asked, "Your cultivation is now at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. What method do you practice?"
He Pingsheng had prepared for this long ago. He took out a copy of the Basic Breathing and Qi-Guiding Method that he had transcribed himself and respectfully presented it to Yu Ning. "Master, this is what your disciple practices, with a focus on the fire spirit root!"
The Basic Breathing and Qi-Guiding Method made no distinction between attributes.
It was a low-level method that merely taught how to draw qi into the body and refine spiritual qi. Whichever kind of spiritual qi one refined determined the spirit root attribute one primarily cultivated.
"Mm!" Yu Ning nodded, took the cultivation method, and flipped through a few pages. "It must have been difficult for you... To reach this level with a basic cultivation method alone! It seems Ling'er was right. You must be skilled in pill refining!"
"Well..." He Pingsheng hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare call myself skilled. Your disciple only succeeds occasionally!"
"I have a fire-attribute Cultivation Secret Art here that will suit you perfectly!" Yu Ning took out a book and tossed it through the air to He Pingsheng. "Take it back and study it carefully. Consider it my welcoming gift to you!"
"Also, these twenty spirit stones are for your immediate expenses. From now on, you may collect the regular inner disciple benefits every month, including another ten spirit stones!"
Overjoyed, He Pingsheng accepted the items and thanked her repeatedly.
He had to admit that being an inner disciple was wonderful. He had only just taken a master, and already everything was provided.
Cultivation methods, spells, spirit stones-he had been given them all.
"There are also residences to the left of my palace. You may choose one. They are all of the same standard as those of your fellow disciples!"
"And sixteen sets of Four-Season Daoist Robes!"
"Go. Choose your residence, change into your Daoist robes, then return to see me!"
"Yes!" Together with Zhao Ling'er, He Pingsheng chose a relatively secluded residence and settled in. He also collected sixteen sets of Four-Season Daoist Robes, an Inner Disciple Token, and other items.
Finally, after changing into his new clothes, he returned to Yu Ning Palace.
"Good!" True Person Yu Ning nodded. "Earlier, you said you were proficient in pill refining. Very well, I shall test your skill!"
"Here are ten sets of ingredients for Qi-Gathering Pills. Give it a try!"
As she spoke, True Person Yu Ning tossed out a jade box.
The jade box landed before He Pingsheng.
"Hou Muxian!" True Person Yu Ning said. "Go out and bring back several portions of the wood needed to refine Qi-Gathering Pills."
"Yes!" A tall, slender male disciple in a moon-white Daoist robe stood and left Yu Ning Palace.
About half an incense stick's time later, Hou Muxian returned to the courtyard with several servant disciples.
"Come," Yu Ning said. "Let's go outside and take a look!"
The firewood had arrived, but pill refining certainly could not take place inside Yu Ning Palace. It would have to be done in True Person Yu Ning's courtyard.
"Expand!" True Person Yu Ning waved her hand and brought out an Alchemy Furnace!
The palm-sized Alchemy Furnace spun in midair, instantly growing to roughly a foot across before landing in front of He Pingsheng.
"He Pingsheng!" Yu Ning said. "According to the rules of the Cultivation World, I will give you ten attempts. If you succeed in refining Qi-Gathering Pills within those ten attempts, you will have passed my test. But if you were spouting empty lies, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
A trace of coldness appeared on her face.
Truthfully, a mere fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivator was not enough to catch Yu Ning's eye.
She had no need for such a disciple.
What she valued was He Pingsheng's skill in pill refining.
If He Pingsheng dared deceive her, his fate would certainly be miserable.
"Yes!" He Pingsheng drew a deep breath.
Under normal circumstances, his success rate was one in three.
Now he had been given ten sets of ingredients. If he still could not succeed with ten sets, he really might as well give up.
"Master!" He Pingsheng cupped his hands. "Your disciple has a request!"
Yu Ning said, "Speak!"
He Pingsheng said, "Your disciple has his own Alchemy Furnace and is accustomed to refining pills with it. I cannot switch furnaces at such short notice. Please allow me to use my own!"
Yu Ning nodded. "Very well..."
She waved her hand and put away her own Alchemy Furnace.
In fact, True Person Yu Ning's Alchemy Furnace was of a higher grade than He Pingsheng's.
He Pingsheng's Alchemy Furnace was a supreme-grade magical artifact with four layers of restrictions.
True Person Yu Ning's Alchemy Furnace, on the other hand, was a middle-grade Spirit Artifact with six layers of restrictions.
Yu Ning added, "These two servant disciples assist me when I refine pills here in Yu Ning Palace. Their control of the heat is reliable, so you may let them tend the fire without any worries!"
"All right, you may begin!"
Before you continue