C21

It was already rather late, but the old woman had yet to return. Thinking that it was time for dinner, the old woman would definitely have to eat some when she returned. He got up and went into the kitchen. He found that there were still some dishes and bags of rice in the kitchen. He prepared some dishes and rice.

He boiled the rice and began to wash the dishes. Then, he picked up the utensils skillfully and started to cook. Not long after, he cooked a few dishes with a fragrant aroma. Afterward, he placed the rice in a pot and steamed it. Then, he sat in front of the bamboo house and waited for the old woman.

This time, the old woman came back soon after sitting down. However, there was a young girl following behind her. Ding Hong took a closer look. Was it that unreasonable young lady? The young girl saw Ding Hong from afar. She glared at him but didn't say anything, afraid of angering the old woman beside her.

Ding Hong stood up and walked towards the old woman. When he got near to her, he said, "Grandma Qi, I made some dinner, do you want …"

Only Ding Hong and the young girl remained on the empty field.

There was wind in the surroundings. The bamboo leaves were rustling in the wind, and many of them were floating in the wind. The girl looked coldly at Ding Hong, while Ding Hong stared coldly at the girl. The air was suddenly filled with a murderous intent.

This scene was like a pair of swordsmen engaged in a final apocalyptic battle. Suddenly, Ding Hong waved his hand. The girl's expression immediately changed. Just as she was about to form a defensive seal with her hand, Ding Hong snorted and said "bored" before turning around and heading to the kitchen.

Ding Hong didn't even look at the young girl. The best way to deal with those kind of people was to ignore him. He didn't believe that she would still cause trouble for him even if he ignored her. When he arrived at the kitchen, he discovered that the rice was already cooked. He took two bowls of rice and placed them on the long table outside. Then, he brought the dishes out.

He took a chair and sat at the long table to eat, ignoring the young girl who was still standing there foolishly.

The young girl gritted her teeth in anger when she saw that he obviously didn't want to talk to her. Seeing him eating, she felt a little hungry as well. She snorted and joined him at the long table. She ate a few mouthfuls of the food and felt that it was delicious, much more delicious than before. When he heard that the young man in front of him had said earlier that the food was cooked by him, he couldn't help but have a whole new level of respect for him.

She asked, "Hey, did you really cook this?"

Ding Hong knew that the girl was asking him and pretended not to hear him as he continued to eat. When the young girl saw that he was not paying attention to her, she felt a sense of anger, thinking that in the past, anyone who saw her would have to respectfully call her "Second Miss." However, after coming to Penglai, she felt extremely vexed. As she was thinking, she suddenly began to cry.

Her cry caused Ding Hong to be baffled. He raised his head to look at the young girl and frowned. "I didn't bully you, what are you crying for?"

When the girl heard him speak, she put both her hands on the table and placed her head on it, crying even more fiercely. When Ding Hong saw her like this, he thought she was cheating again. He only took a few glances before continuing with his meal. When he was done, he took the bowl in and washed it. When he came out, he found that the young girl was still sobbing on the table.

Seeing this situation, Ding Hong knew that something must have happened to this young girl. Thinking of how she was a girl, there was no need for him to bother about her. He then came to sit opposite of her and said, "Quickly eat. The food is cold."

The girl raised her head and shouted, "I won't eat. So what if I won't?" Her voice was hoarse again, and her eyes were red with undried tears.

Ding Hong knew she was in a good mood and didn't touch her bad luck. He just sat there quietly without saying anything. The young girl was afraid that she was crying a moment ago. She then started to eat again after wagering with Ding Hong for a while. After finishing her meal, she ignored Ding Hong and headed straight for the bamboo building. The direction she was heading towards just happened to be the third floor.

Only now did Ding Hong realize that she was also living on the third floor. No wonder she would bump into him so many times today. He got up and packed everything up before returning to his room. After he finished what he needed to do, he laid down comfortably on his bed.

The room was very quiet, and one could hear the sound of waves of bamboo waves behind the house. Beside the window, there were a few tall bamboo plants. Their extended branches would float into Ding Hong's house from time to time.

He had been busy wandering for so long, and today, he could finally sleep soundly. He did not feel at ease at all. Soon, he entered the dreamy room.

As usual, Ding Hong did not dream. He felt that the moment he closed his eyes and opened them, the sky had already brightened. Stretching his back lazily, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt his entire body brimming with energy.

When he walked out of his room, he found that the old woman had already brought back some herbs and was currently tidying them up. Today's medicinal plants were different from yesterday's. Yesterday, there was only one, but today, with a single glance, one could see many different coloured medicinal herbs.

He washed his face and rinsed his mouth before coming to the long table to help the old woman sort them out. The old woman saw that he had come down so she said: "There is breakfast in the kitchen. Go and have some." The Sect Leader has said that he will send someone to take you to the Hall of No Action later.

Hearing this news, Ding Hong was overjoyed. He thought that if he was accepted as a disciple by Penglai, he would be able to go as high as them and endure the wind and tsunami. He said happily, "I got it, thank you Madam!"

He came to the kitchen. It was the same pot as yesterday. There was some porridge in it. Although the aroma was tempting, Dante was so excited by what the old woman had said about "someone taking him to see Penglai's Sect Leader" that he lost all appetite.

He paced back and forth, wishing that person would hurry up. But the more he thought like that, the slower time passed. He felt that only after a long time did someone say, "Is Benefactor Ding in?"

Hearing this, Ding Hong hurriedly ran out. He saw a middle-aged man wearing a blue and white embroidered robe in front of the bamboo building. He hurriedly ran over and said, "That's me."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "The Sect Leader's Master has asked me to come and bring you to the Wuwei Hall."

Ding Hong took a deep breath and answered, "Yes."

The middle-aged man nodded, turned around and said to the old woman who was busy organizing the medicinal ingredients, "Senior Qi, Junior Master will be taking Lord Ding away."

The old woman responded with a "En" and no longer spoke.

The middle-aged man said to Ding Hong, "Young Benefactor, please follow me."

Ding Hong nodded. The middle-aged man didn't say anything more and brought him along the bluestone path, ready to leave. When the two of them reached the corner of the hill, the old woman suddenly spoke out, "Martial Nephew Dark Profound, if your injuries are not fully healed, you can come directly to me for the medicine."

As Ding Hong listened to their conversation, he faintly felt that this middle-aged man called Dark Mystery seemed to have some conflict with the old woman. However, this was not something he could guess.

Dark Mystery brought Ding Hong to the place where Ding Hong entered yesterday. They did not stop and directly walked over to the front of the small courtyard. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but after coming out from inside, Dark Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He turned around and said to Ding Hong, "Benefactor Ding, this trip to the Li Wu Palace is a bit long. Can I bring you there directly with me?"

Ding Hong replied, "Okay."

Dark Xuan nodded his head, pressing Ding Hong with one hand and forming a spell with the other. He pointed his hand towards the sky and Ding Hong felt his body lighten. He then used a force from his feet to pull himself towards the sky. The road was shrouded in clouds and mist, as if a deity was riding a cloud.

Soon, he saw an enormous lake of lotuses. In the center of the lake, there was an enormous palace. Dark Mystery brought Ding Hong to a stone bridge and landed on it. Afterwards, he channeled a bit of his zhen qi onto Ding Hong's body. Ding Hong was immediately able to recover from the discomfort from his high speed flight.

"In front of us is the Wu Dai Hall. Master and the few elders are all inside, you must not know how to be courteous."

Ding Hong nodded and followed him towards Wu Wei Hall while holding back the excitement in his heart.

There were a lot of protruding bluestones on the lake's surface. Occasionally, there would be a lotus flower blooming on top of it. Dark Mystery just took Ding Hong across and didn't touch them.

Coming to the front of the Formless Temple, Mai Xuan straightened his attire and said: "Disciple Li Xuan brings Benefactor Ding to pay his respects to Master and the elders."

"Come in." An old voice replied.

Mighty Profound saluted and said, "Thank you, Master." Then, he walked in with Ding Hong.

There were many ceiling trays in the hall with candles burning on them. At the four corners of the hall, there were four huge bronze pillars. On them were some inscriptions that Ding Hong did not recognize, and they were even more solemn and dignified.

There were five people dressed in purple robes fanned out above the main hall. In the middle of the hall were a few men and women wearing blue daoist robes, but they were all sitting there as if meditating and were not moving at all.

When they saw Ding Hong and Dark Xuan enter, many people in the hall turned their gazes towards them. In such a solemn hall, these gazes were like weapons that could kill without blinking. Ding Hong's entire body shuddered and his legs nearly gave out.

After the Dark Mystery brought Ding Hong to the center, he saluted and said, "Master, Elders, Almsgiver Ding has already been brought here."

The person sitting right in the middle was exactly Wu Ling Dao, who had observed Ding Hong yesterday. However, he was now wearing a purple gold crown and a purple cloud robe. What replaced it was the appearance of a supreme figure. He nodded his head and said, "I understand. You can go to the side for now."

Dark Xuan saluted and left Ding Hong alone in the middle of the hall. He went to the side and sat down like the others. Thereafter, Wu Lingdao did not speak immediately, but just sized up Ding Hong.

Ding Hong felt a little uncomfortable. His face was covered with cold sweat and he didn't even know how to place his hands. But after a while, he slowly got used to it. After that, his body gradually relaxed and his aura started to slowly change as well.

Other than Wu Lingdao, the rest of the five people sitting on the bronze chair had their eyes closed. It was unknown what they were thinking about.

After a long time, Wu Ling Dao saw Ding Hong merging with the atmosphere here and said, "You are called Ding Hong, and you came here by chance because you avoided the chaos in the dark market, right?"

Ding Hong's heart froze. He did not expect them to be able to investigate so clearly in the blink of an eye. Not daring to hide anything, he replied, "Yes."

Wu Ling Dao then looked at Ding Hong for a long time, and suddenly said, "According to the Pang Lai old rules, as long as you pass the Awakening Heaven Stairway, you can be counted as my Pang Lai disciple. You only need to wait for one of the five hall masters to call you by name to accept you, then you will be considered as a Pang Lai disciple."

Ding Hong's heart was filled with joy. He seemed to have the intention of accepting him as a Penglai disciple. Just as he wanted to kneel down and express his gratitude, Wu Lingdao said, "However, your situation is a bit special. Our Five Palace Lords cannot accept you as a disciple."