Venerable Pantu

Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao noticed that the man's face was very strange.

His face was half deathly pale, and half pitch black.

As for the 'disciple' he mentioned, neither of them paid any attention to it, since neither of them recognized the figure.

As they were still observing the strange figure, the old man spoke again.

"A single Wood Element Single Spirit Root... Good, very good..."

He said this while looking at Sun Yigao.

Upon hearing this, Sun Yigao didn't quite understand what it meant, while Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised.

Sun Yigao actually has a single Wood Element Single Spirit Root? With that aptitude, even if he hadn't come to the Lingxian Sect, he would definitely have had a bright future in cultivation if he went to another sect.

Sun Yigao was somewhat surprised, but out of politeness, he still cupped his hands and said:

"This junior Sun Yigao. May I ask how you should address me, senior? My brother and I were unaware that you were cultivating in seclusion here. We apologize for our intrusion."

But the old man's figure was half white and kind, the other half black with a strange smile. His aged, hoarse voice was like a rusty saw, slowly piercing the beautiful scenery of the valley.

"I am Liao Pantu, the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Net Sect... also known as Venerable Pantu. You are Sun Yigao, right? My self-created cultivation method, the Soul Refining Instruction, is Higher Vehicle method of the Earth Rank Low Grade. Seeing that you have good aptitude, I intend to take you as my disciple. Are you willing to become my disciple?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Yigao politely declined.

"Thank you for your kindness, Venerable Pantu. I appreciate it, but I already have a master and have no intention of joining another sect. I hope you will understand."

Lin Xiao watched their conversation with great interest, secretly thinking to himself:

Pantu... why does that sound so strange?

The Venerable Pantu seemed surprised to be rejected; his strange expression froze for a moment, then he burst into cackling laughter.

"I've been trapped here for decades, and I've finally met someone I like, but I've been rejected! You're very good! Very good!"

He laughed, then suddenly calmed down, his tone turning somewhat sinister as he said:

"Over the past few decades, every year one or two people have ventured into my Spirit Heart Valley. Do you know what became of them?"

Sun Yigao frowned, instinctively sensing that what this man was about to say was not a good thing. He was about to speak when Lin Xiao spoke up before he could:

"Senior, I'm so sorry. My brother made a mistake and refused you. It was all because of your appearance... We're just greenhorns, we'd definitely be scared, right? May I ask, why do you look like this?"

Hearing this, the Venerable Pantu seemed to realize that his current appearance was indeed somewhat frightening, and it was no wonder that others refused. So he reluctantly put away his previous aggressive posture and said:

"You don't need to be afraid. My current state is only because I was persecuted by a villain. Because he Heavenly Mandate Oath he could not kill me, he extracted and divided my soul and sent it to several secret realms. He then used the seals of Nascent Soul Cultivator to imprison me here, so that I can never escape."

Therefore, this is the form of my soul now.

Lin Xiao processed his words in his mind and extracted a few key points.

The "Heavenly Mandate Oath" might be something like a Heart Demon Oath. And considering that the other party would rather go through all this trouble to trap this Venerable Pantu than kill him, this Heavenly Mandate Oath might be directly related to life and death.

And what he meant by 'soul' is that people have a soul state, which means that maybe in the future, the soul can even leave the body or something?

Moreover, this Venerable Pantu didn't explain why the other party had divided his soul into several parts and trapped them in several secret realms.

Did he feel there was no need to explain it to them, or was he simply unwilling?

If you are unwilling.

Lin Xiao touched his sharply defined chin and made a bold guess.

This Green Field Mystic Realm is a secret realm that can only be entered by those with the Qi Refining Stage of Qi Refining.

Is this part of the Venerable Pantu's soul now also below the Foundation Establishment?

In this way, their situation doesn't seem so dangerous.

But then again, if this secret realm were truly fraught with danger, how could those two sects possibly allow their hundreds of disciples to enter and train here?

Speaking of trials, it seems they haven't encountered a single monster or anything like that since they arrived.

Lin Xiao was already lost in thought, his mind wandering to the heavens.

After recounting his own story, the Venerable Pantu continued to ask Sun Yigao:

"How about it? Kid, you're lucky to have caught my eye."

Hearing his story, Sun Yigao was horrified.

It turns out that such persecution is not uncommon in the world of cultivators, and the methods used are even more elaborate and outlandish than those in the mortal world.

However, not knowing the specifics of the matter, he naturally wouldn't readily sympathize with this Venerable Pantu. He merely glanced at Lin Xiao, seeing that he seemed lost in thought and made no further move, and thus still refused:

"I apologize, senior. I am very satisfied with my current sect and have no intention of changing sects. I would appreciate it if you could find another worthy disciple."

Hearing that he had still refused him, Venerable Pantu was furious, but then he seemed to suddenly remember something and waved in their direction.

What was originally a lush green meadow beneath Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao's feet suddenly transformed into a vast medicinal field filled with various herbs.

Lin Xiao, who Orthodox God, was also brought back to his senses by this shock.

He couldn't help but squat down and pluck a small herb.

It was put into the private vault, and the authentication function was activated.

Young silvergrass, an annual plant, is a good feed for wild boars.

He thought it was an illusion, but it turned out to be real!

The Venerable Pantu stroked his beard and said proudly:

"If you become my apprentice, this medicinal herb field that I have carefully tended for decades will all be yours, how about it?"

Sun Yigao sighed. This Venerable One was too persistent. Just as he was about to refuse again, Lin Xiao suddenly spoke up:

"Senior, it seems you have no chance of taking him as your disciple. However, perhaps I can help you bring the part of your soul that's trapped here out of the secret realm. What do you think?"

Feeling that the disciple's repeated rejections were ungrateful, Venerable Pantu was about to explode in anger. All he wanted was a disciple to inherit his mantle; was it easy for him?

But he didn't expect to hear Lin Xiao say these words.

To be honest, his heart, which had been dormant for decades, was stirred.

So much so that the hand that was gently stroking his beard almost pulled it off, but luckily he was in spirit form at the moment.

But he was still somewhat skeptical:

"You two are merely Qi Refining Stage 8 or 9 children; how could you possibly break the seal set by this Nascent Soul Cultivator?"

Lin Xiao was puzzled. How did he know his cultivation level? Didn't he have Divine Sense shielding ability?

system:

[Sorry, host, the other party did not use Divine Sense to probe, but directly observed the fluctuations of your Spiritual Qi Nascent Soul or above.]